The Supporting Female Always Wants to Hang Herself - Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I was too naive.

At four in the morning, the moment the palace maids dug me out from under my quilt, I realized just how naive I had been.

While the harem might not have an empress, it still had that great Buddha known as the empress dowager.

Perhaps it was her age, but she didn’t seem to need much sleep.

And because she couldn’t sleep, she wouldn’t let anyone else sleep either.

Every single day, she tormented the concubines of the harem by making them wake up early to pay their respects to her.

Lianzhi, my head maid, straightened my robes while nagging me, saying that as the Imperial Noble Consort, I especially had to arrive early to set an example for the other concubines.

I wanted to tell her that was bullshit.

Back in my old life, my boss arrived later than me every day, left earlier than me, did less work than me, and ate more than me.

Setting an example? That’s for people who want to be the empress.

Do I want that?

I do not.

Maybe I should just hang myself after all.

But with so many eyes on me right now, it probably wouldn’t work.

I’ll have to wait until I get back tonight.

…

Even though I was in a sedan chair, four in the morning in the dead of winter was cold enough to freeze a person to death.

The charcoal brazier in the hall had been lit, but it hadn’t warmed up yet.

With a dazed mind, I paid my respects to the empress dowager and then just sat there staring into space.

The Emperor was still young, and the female lead wouldn’t enter the palace through the selection process for another year.

There really weren’t many concubines in the harem yet.

But listening to them chatter on, one sentence after another, about utterly meaningless things made me irritated.

Goddammit!

How is this any different from a morning briefing at work!

[I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die, I want to die…]

I can’t wait until tonight. I want to die right now.

The system advised me to stop spamming the screen; it was getting a bit annoyed.

But I couldn’t control myself.

Just then, the empress dowager, who hadn’t spoken for a while, suddenly said, “Imperial Noble Consort, is there something on your mind lately? Why not tell me about it instead of keeping it bottled up?”

The other concubines exchanged glances and began flattering me one after another.

Really, there was no need.

I stared at the empress dowager, thinking she looked a bit like my grandmother when she was younger.

“I am doing very well. Thank you for your concern, Empress Dowager.”

[Well? Well, my ass. I’m not doing well at all. I have to wake up earlier than I did for my actual job. If I have to get up this early again tomorrow, I’m going to hang myself right at the entrance of the empress dowager’s palace.]

The hand the empress dowager was using to hold her tea suddenly trembled.

She looked at me with a gaze full of shock and uncertainty.

I bowed my head and smiled, but she looked as if she had been frightened by something.

She hurriedly made an excuse about having matters to attend to and dismissed the concubines.

Not long after I returned, I received several pieces of jewelry gifted by the empress dowager, along with a notice exempting me from morning respects.

The system told me to use my brain and dig into the deeper meaning behind why the empress dowager had exempted me.

I waved my hand and climbed into bed. “I’m not studying for the civil service exam.”

Man is made of iron, but the bed is a magnet.

Time to sleep!

The day was going quite well, but unfortunately, in the evening, Eunuch Su arrived again.

He said that the dog emperor was coming over tonight.

I had to attend to him in bed.

Hahahaha, I’m done with this life!

Just as I was looping my little rope to hang myself immediately, the system said, [It is a capital crime for a concubine to commit suicide. When that happens, your entire family will be implicated and put to death because of you.]

I finished tying the knot in the rope.

“As long as I have no morals, no one can kidnap me with morality.”

“Kick the stool out for me, thanks.”

The system was clearly panicking; its entire interface was buzzing with static.

[The birth rate is so critical right now that if you die, you’ll be reincarnated in India.]

Me: …

I stepped down from the stool and began to think.

Which was scarier: being slept with by a strange man, or being reincarnated in India?

Seeing this, the system immediately tried to persuade me. [Host, don’t worry. This Emperor is handsome. He’s not like some fat old ruler. This is a palace intrigue romance novel, after all. Could the male lead be that bad?]

I pondered for a few seconds. “Is he good in bed?”

I spent the first decade or so of my life struggling to survive and the next decade or so working to pay off debts.

In all my years, I hadn’t experienced that yet.

The system blushed. [He should be… decent.]