Chapter 1: Rebirth
◎She was reborn.◎
“If you are willing to serve me, you may avoid death.”
Nan Gong Xuan, who had not yet held his coronation ceremony, stared intently at the woman in the light blue dress, showing considerable interest.
White funeral banners hung everywhere. The palace was immersed in the atmosphere of the emperor’s death, and all the women in this room were childless concubines.
Although it was noon, the sky was as gloomy as night. Three eunuchs carried trays holding poison, white silk, and daggers.
Mu Jiaojiao, who was kneeling, remained motionless, as if she hadn’t heard the man in the five-clawed golden dragon robe, her gaze fixed on the trays.
Several women had already prostrated themselves at Nan Gong Xuan’s feet, their clothes half-undone, demonstrating their willingness to submit, just to stay alive.
But the man didn’t even glance at them, his eyes only on Mu Jiaojiao, waiting for her decision.
At that moment, the light blue figure swiftly stood up, snatched a bottle of poison, opened the lid, and drank it down.
Disappointment flickered in the man’s black eyes. What a pity, those eyes… if only he could toy with them in his tent tonight.
Another boring night.
The poison quickly spread through her body, burning her organs as if with a branding iron. A wave of salty blood surged up her throat, and she instantly lost her life.
Rather die than live here.
At the moment of death, only a blurry face flashed before her eyes – Mu Jiaojiao’s only regret.
A cryptic smile played on Nan Gong Xuan’s flamboyant face. He drew a sword from a nearby guard and ran it through three women kneeling on the ground.
Those who interested him were dead; the others were of no use alive.
Four guards quickly cleaned up the room, including the eunuchs who had been executed.
Seventy-three corpses in total, all murdered, except for one, who was carried out of the palace by the new emperor, her whereabouts unknown.
The summer in Yanhua Town was different. Amidst the heat waves, there was a unique fragrance of wildflowers.
Cool and refreshing.
There was a river on the road to Yanhua Town that required a ferry. It cost five cash per person.
Mu Jiaojiao’s internal organs had just felt like they were being chopped to pieces by hundreds of knives, but now there was a sudden feeling of suffocation. She gasped for breath, taking a large gulp of water, which shocked her back to consciousness.
She opened her eyes to see a clean and dignified face – Zhan, the scholar who had died saving her.
He was exhausted from struggling in the water but still desperately held onto her, swimming towards the boat, his arms around her waist.
Four or five people on the ferry were shouting something she couldn’t hear.
Water filled her ears, and her throat was so choked she couldn’t speak, only her bright, grape-like eyes watching as the man, his body sinking and rising, dragged her toward the boat.
Mu Jiaojiao realized she had been reborn.
After the ferryman pulled them ashore, Mu Jiaojiao’s mother had her maidservants remove her wet clothes and wrap her in dry ones.
Since she was safe, the aftermath needed to be addressed.
Zhan Qiyu, equally soaked, sat by the boat coughing up water. He had swallowed a lot of water saving her, despite not being a strong swimmer.
Mrs. Zhou quickly signaled to a servant woman to hush the matter and ensure the ferryman was satisfied with the payment to prevent the incident from spreading.
Otherwise, her youngest daughter would have to marry the scholar.
A Li patted his master’s back while chattering, “Master, you can’t swim, why did you go to save her?”
Zhan Qiyu coughed violently, his eyes squeezed shut.
A pair of black embroidered shoes approached the master and servant, the tone polite, “Thank you for saving our young miss. This silver note is a small token of our gratitude.”
The servant offered a one hundred tael silver note. A Li, having never seen such a large sum, hesitated, looking to his master.
Zhan Qiyu, having somewhat recovered, said calmly, “Don’t worry, I will never reveal a word about today. Please keep your money.”
Even the strict old woman had never seen such a handsome man, a poor scholar, who even if he passed the imperial examination would only become a minor official – a match Mrs. Zhou wouldn’t consider.
Although the Mu family were merchants, given her daughter’s beauty, she wouldn’t marry her off to someone without status.
This world belonged to the powerful families.
His insistence surprised Mrs. Zhou, who was accustomed to looking down upon those without noble connections.
Mu Jiaojiao also coughed violently, her long hair dripping wet, wrapped in a maid’s garment. She wanted to thank her savior but was held tightly in the maid’s arms.
The ferryman rowed frantically to get closer to the shore.
In the decades he’d been ferrying people, no one had ever fallen overboard. He felt uneasy, even with the money.
Reaching the shore, Mu Jiaojiao was ushered into the carriage before she could speak to the ferryman, revealing her face.
The water droplets on her delicate skin only heightened her beauty.
“Mother, I haven’t properly thanked him yet.”
Seeing her mother again, she felt emotional, but she needed to thank her savior.
Zhou’s eyebrows furrowed at her words, ready to slap her.
Her daughter had intentionally fallen into the water, something her mother knew.
Now, not only had she been embraced by a man outside the family, she wanted to thank him, ignoring propriety.
The tutor they had hired was a waste of money.
“Don’t think I haven’t noticed your little schemes. Even if you died, your father and I wouldn’t let you get your way.”
She couldn’t bring herself to hit her, but she needed to warn her.
Mu Jiaojiao then remembered why she had jumped into the river in her past life, her face reddening, unable to speak.
She feigned sleep, already devising ways to repay her benefactor.
Back in her familiar home, she excitedly grabbed her mother’s hand, acting spoiled, “Mother, I missed you.”
Zhou shooed her away to bathe and change her clothes. The river water might be dirty.
After Mu Jiaojiao changed, she found herself confined.
Shancha brought over some pastries, “The mistress has ordered you to reflect in your room for a month. Your father will decide your punishment when he returns.”
She remembered this. She had been confined for a month, only to be selected as a palace maid on the last day. She needed to help her benefactor within a month.
“Shancha, my benefactor saved me. Shouldn’t I repay him?”
Shancha, tall and strong but simple, nodded. “But miss, we’re confined. We can’t do anything.”
An hour later, Shancha returned with two sets of clothes belonging to the second young master, an axe hidden under her arm.
Mu Jiaojiao nodded, starting her plan.
The sweltering night offered no breeze, only the endless chirping of cicadas.
Someone was chipping away at the wall. Mu Jiaojiao sat on the grass, panting, thinking how hard repaying favors was.
“Miss, almost done, almost done!”
Shancha’s hard work paid off. A palm-sized hole had been made. They only needed to widen it to climb out.
Mu Jiaojiao remembered the abandoned house next to her east wing and decided to dig a hole to escape. She would visit her benefactor tomorrow.
Another hour passed, and Shancha, wiping sweat from her brow, finally finished. They wouldn’t leave tonight but would block the hole and leave tomorrow morning. Shancha also learned that the mistress would go to the temple to pray for two days, so they could leave tomorrow. She looked worriedly at her beautiful miss. “Miss, should I go instead?” What if something bad happened to her? Mu Jiaojiao shook her head; she’d already died once. This was nothing.
Meanwhile, in Chang Hu Village, Zhan Qiyu was still studying under the lamp.
A Li had fallen asleep beside him and was surprised to see his master still studying.
Although diligent, his master wasn’t usually this focused.
He suspected it was related to the hundred taels of silver, realizing later the implication – they’d been dismissed, the money a way to end the connection.
The warm yellow light of the oil lamp illuminated his profile. A Li thought that once his master became a top scholar, no one would look down on him.
The cicadas fell silent in the late night. A bony hand held a brush, sketching.
It was a portrait of a beautiful woman, simply outlining a graceful figure.
His cold eyes stared at the picture for a while, then threw it into the lamp, flames engulfing it, turning it to ash.
Zhan Qiyu blew out the lamp and left the desk. He couldn’t sleep that night.
As Mrs. Mu left with her entourage, there was movement in the hole in the east wing of Mu’s house.
“Miss, is this really alright?”
“No turning back now.”
Mu Jiaojiao carried a small bag, waiting for Shancha to widen the hole.
Dressed in men’s attire, her hair neatly bound, her neck exposed. Her robe was tucked into a belt, clearly ill-fitting. Unlike Shancha, one glance revealed her to be a woman.
They crawled out into the neglected house, overgrown with weeds.
Shancha used the axe to clear a path before cautiously exiting. Mu Jiaojiao rented this house and would give it to her benefactor. They took a rented carriage toward Chang Hu Village. After taking the ferry, they still needed to walk ten kilometers. Shancha watched her lively miss, almost running and jumping the whole way. Was this the legendary “A girl’s transformation at eighteen”? In Chang Hu Village, the air smelled of soil and wildflowers – far better than the palace’s blood-tinged luxury. Even the free-range chickens and ducks got greetings. A pretty young man in men’s clothing attracted the attention of the village women.
“Excuse me, where does Scholar Zhan live?”
Shancha quickly asked for directions and they arrived at Zhan’s house. It was more dilapidated than she expected, even compared to the other simple village houses.
“Is anyone home?”
Shancha knocked only a few times when A Li opened the door.
“Two… gentlemen, what can I do for you?”
Zhan Qiyu, by the north window, saw them. He paused his writing, his ink-stained paper blotted.
Author’s Note:
Check out my next work, “The Princess Has Another Lover”.
The Princess Hean’s husband is Mingnan’s most devoted man. The princess falls into a coma, and he willingly becomes her husband to bring her good fortune. After a year of tireless care, the princess miraculously wakes up. The court believes they will be the happiest couple, but that’s not the case.
She calls out a name other than her husband’s upon waking. She doesn’t acknowledge her marriage, insisting her husband took advantage of her, his intentions wicked.
Teng Ziyao did use underhanded methods to become the husband, not only because of his humble background, but also for someone else.
Just as the princess and her husband are about to divorce, the princess suffers morning sickness at a royal banquet. Everyone speculates, concluding the husband is cuckolded. However, he quickly clarifies that the child is his. Once again, he cements his reputation as Mingnan’s most devoted man.
The male lead is dark and devoted. The female lead is kind and frail. The princess is completely under the control of her husband.