The room was quiet except for the baby's soft breathing.
She stared at the wooden ceiling.
Green Willow Valley.
Not the Regent's manor.
Not the capital.
But something inside her mind cracked open.
Not flames.
Not betrayal.
But…
A hospital room.
Bright white lights.
The smell of disinfectant.
The sound of a monitor flatlining.
Her last memory from another world.
Her heart stopped.
Then—
Darkness.
Then—
A baby's cry.
Her own cry.
Twenty years ago.
Her pupils trembled.
"I… wasn't born here…"
Images flooded her mind violently—
Modern streets.
School uniform.
University lectures.
Reading historical web novels late at night.
Laughing at tragic plots.
And then—
The novel.
This novel.
The Regent.
His cold political marriage.
The tragic wife who dies abandoned.
The premature child.
Her breathing turned uneven.
"I didn't enter this world later…"
Her fingers slowly tightened in the blanket.
"I was reborn here."
She had lived twenty years believing this was her only life.
Believed her cold marriage was fate.
Believed her husband's indifference was destiny.
Believed she was just unlucky.
But now—
She remembered everything.
This was a novel world.
And she had known the ending once.
Tears slid down her temples.
"Back then… I pitied the wife."
She let out a weak, bitter laugh.
"I was pitying myself."
Granny Wen rushed closer.
"Child, are you in pain?"
She slowly shook her head.
"No… I just remembered who I am."
Li Shen's gaze sharpened from across the room.
There was something different.
Her expression was no longer confused.
It was awakened.
Controlled.
Clear.
She looked toward the cradle.
Her son.
In the novel—
The child dies young.
She remembers reading the comment section:
"Too tragic."
"The wife deserved better."
"Why didn't she fight back?"
Her lips curved faintly.
This time—
She was not the naive noble girl who fell in love.
She had modern education.
Modern thinking.
Knowledge of future political storms.
She knew which ministers would betray.
Which general would rise.
Which famine would hit next year.
Which rebellion would erupt in the western border.
Her near-death experience unlocked it all.
She gently touched her son's tiny hand.
"You almost followed the original ending."
Her eyes slowly hardened.
"But this world no longer follows the script."
Li Shen stepped forward slightly.
"You seem… different."
She looked at him calmly.
"People who survive death usually are."
But inside, she was thinking—
I have already died once before this life.
And she would never die helpless again.
Power does not begin with armies.
It begins with control over supply and information.
She understands three important things from the original storyline:
After the rebellion, the capital will face medicine shortages.
Border towns will suffer from unstable trade routes.
Certain merchant families will rise during this period.
So she does not rush back.
She begins small.she wants to monopolize the entire food market, it cannot be reckless. It must be layered, patient, and almost invisible until it is too late for anyone to stop her.
She remembers from the original novel:
After the rebellion, harvests failed in two southern provinces.
Grain prices doubled within three years.
Corrupt officials hoarded food and created artificial famine.
The regent later intervened too late.
In the original story, famine strengthened certain noble factions.
But now?
She moves first.Food is power.
Armies march on grain. Cities obey whoever feeds them. Officials panic when prices rise.
She studies the valley.
The soil near the river is fertile. The surrounding villages rely on middlemen traders. Most farmers borrow seed grain from merchants at high interest.
That is the opening.
The main hall of the Regent's residence was silent.
The banners still carried the insignia of the empire. Outside, soldiers stood in tight formation. Inside, tension coiled like a drawn bow.
The Regent stood by the window.
He was known as the Empire's most ruthless blade.
But today, his hand remained motionless behind his back.
A guard knelt.
"My Lord… the search team returned."
He did not turn.
"And?"
The guard hesitated.
"No sign of Her Highness."
Silence.
The wind moved the curtains.
Finally, he spoke.
"Expand the search."
"My Lord… the border region is unstable. The rebellion remnants—"
"I said expand it."
His voice was not loud.
But the guard immediately lowered his head.
"Yes, Your Highness."
When the guard left, only one person remained in the hall.
The female doctor.
Doctor Mei stepped forward carefully.
"My Lord, your wound has not healed. You should not stand for long."
He did not respond at first.
"You told me she was safe," he said quietly.
Doctor Mei's fingers tightened inside her sleeves.
"At that time, the situation was chaotic. If you had brought her with us, she would have been a target."
"And leaving her behind was not?"
The question cut sharper than a blade.
Doctor Mei lowered her gaze.
"My Lord… you chose the lesser risk."
He finally turned.
His eyes were calm — terrifyingly calm.
"She was eight months pregnant."
Doctor Mei felt her breath catch.
"I thought the estate was secure—"
"You thought."
A long pause.
Then he dismissed her with a slight wave of his hand.
When she left, the hall felt empty.
He stood alone before the ancestral tablets.
The rebellion had forced him to leave quickly. If he had taken his wife, enemies would have used her as leverage.
He calculated.
He measured.
He chose.
Like he always did.
A knock.
The general lowered his head.
"The estate was attacked the same night you left."
His fingers slowly clenched.
For the first time, something flickered in his eyes.
Not fear.
Not anger.
Something heavier.
"Continue the search," he ordered.
"Yes, My Lord."
It's had been a month.
The general paused at the door.
"My Lord… if she is found… or died there were no single person was found in fire remains.what will you do?"
The Regent looked at the burning candle.
Its flame trembled but did not go out.
"I will bring her home."
But even he did not know…
Would she still consider that place her home?