You woke up in a strange room, inside a body that wasn’t yours. A ceiling gilded with gold, silk curtains cascading down, and your hands—now smooth, adorned with a gleaming jade ring. Your chest felt heavy—the last memory you had was blood staining your white coat, the cries of a patient’s family you couldn’t save, and the cold stab that pierced your back.
Now you were here, in the body of a queen. Queen Liang, wife of Emperor Liang Xuan—a man who, from the faint memories of this body, had never truly loved her.
The first day, you said nothing. You simply watched. His favorite concubine, Mei Lin, sat beside him, laughing softly as she touched the emperor’s arm with delicate playfulness. In the past, this queen would have bowed her head, smiled gently, pretended not to see. But you were no longer that woman. You simply sipped your tea slowly, staring at them without expression.
Liang Xuan glanced at you, perhaps surprised that you didn’t rebuke them as usual. “Aren’t you angry?” he finally asked, his tone half-teasing.
You only shrugged. “Why should I be? I’m not valuable enough to make you stop smiling at another woman.”
Mei Lin tried to hide her satisfied smirk, while Liang Xuan fell silent—unaccustomed to the sharp calm in your voice.
A few days later, you joined a journey to visit the emperor’s grandmother. Along the way, Liang Xuan chatted endlessly with Mei Lin, not sparing you a single glance. You watched the flower fields outside the carriage window, then stepped down without permission when the convoy stopped to rest.
The scent of wildflowers brushed against your face. Without much thought, you plucked a few of the most beautiful ones, pulling them out by the roots.
Liang Xuan immediately scolded you from afar, his voice sharp. “Stop! Those are Grandmother’s favorite flowers—don’t touch them carelessly!”
You turned slowly, your lips curling into a small smile. “If your grandmother truly loves them, then I want to see if she’ll hate me for picking them.”
He scoffed irritably. “You’ve changed.”
“More accurately,” you replied coldly, “I stopped being foolish.”
When you arrived at his grandmother’s residence, the atmosphere shifted. The elderly woman hurried toward you, her wrinkled face lighting up with joy as soon as she saw you. “My little queen!” she exclaimed warmly, embracing you tightly.
Liang Xuan froze. He knew his grandmother rarely liked anyone—she even scolded him often—but now, the old woman held you as if you were her own granddaughter.
“Grandmother, she pulled out your favorite flowers,” Liang Xuan said, trying to sound gentle yet reprimanding.
His grandmother looked at you, then chuckled softly. “Ah, so someone finally dared to touch those flowers. It’s been too long since anyone cared about that garden. I’m glad she took them.”
You bowed politely, but inside you knew—no matter how beautiful, a flower was still just a plant. Yet sometimes, people like Liang Xuan forgot that affection, too, could wither if only one side kept watering it.
Liang Xuan watched you for a long time that night. There was something in his eyes—confusion, irritation, but also admiration. He no longer recognized you, yet for the first time… he wanted to try.