“Before Traveling to the 1970s, She Emptied Out Half the Imperial Palace”

Gongsun Wanru, the daughter of the disgraced Prime Minister Gongsun Li, stands sentenced to death by waist-severing in the imperial prison of the Dayan Kingdom. Her father has rebelled against the throne, and she is blamed for treason and the fall of border cities. Unknown to the court, Wanru is not the original host intended for a system named Xiaodu. The system, a novice device from a higher dimension, mistakenly bound to her due to a spatial error, as she shares an identical appearance with her cousin, Gongsun Wanyan. With only three days remaining before her execution, Xiaodu reveals a desperate plan: utilize the upcoming transit of Venus to transport Wanru through time to a new era where she can escape her fate. However, the system lacks sufficient energy for a direct jump and requires Wanru to accumulate points by completing tasks first. To prepare for the journey, Wanru must survive the final days in the Cold Palace.

Using an invisibility cloak borrowed from the system mall, Wanru embarks on a nocturnal spree through the imperial palace. She systematically empties the outer and inner imperial kitchens, seizing vast quantities of food, utensils, and luxury items. She also loots the Empress’s quarters and the Shanggong Bureau, collecting bedding and fabrics. Her most audacious act involves using her mental connection to the system space to teleport the entire structure of the Emperor’s private treasury into her storage dimension. The thefts plunge the palace into chaos, causing the Emperor to suffer a heart attack upon discovering the empty vaults. Meanwhile, Wanru hides in the Imperial Garden, waiting for the celestial event. On the night of the transit, a blinding white light engulfs her, and she vanishes from the prison, leaving behind only rumors of her ascension to heaven.

Wanru awakens in a dense, primeval forest, far removed from the imperial city. The system, Xiaodu, falls into a deep slumber due to energy depletion, leaving Wanru alone and disoriented. She changes into coarse peasant clothing and begins a perilous journey toward the setting sun. Lost and exhausted, she is found by Lu Yao, a reclusive hunter known for his ferocity and a distinctive centipede-shaped scar on his face. Lu Yao, suspicious of her strange attire and evasive answers, interrogates her but ultimately decides to help her after realizing she is a victim of human trafficking rather than a spy. He carries her to his mountain cabin, where she recovers and witnesses a lush, free landscape that contrasts sharply with her confined life in the palace. She learns that she has traveled to the year 1973 in the People's Republic of China, a time and place without emperors or feudal hierarchies.

Lu Yao arranges for Wanru to obtain a false identity as Ji Wanru, an educated youth sent to the countryside for re-education. He secures her household registration and a letter of introduction, enabling her to legally reside in Yushugou Village. In exchange for her help, Wanru gives Lu Yao a collection of precious gems and gold taken from the imperial treasury, which he secretly sells on the black market to generate funds for her future. Wanru joins a group of educated youths, including Qiao Xiaobei and Du Meiting, and travels to the Sikanzi Brigade. As she settles into her new life of manual labor and rural simplicity, Wanru embraces her hard-won freedom, unaware that her past in the Dayan Kingdom is slowly being forgotten, while the system Xiaodu begins to recharge, hinting at future complications.