However, as Ming Chengli reached middle age, good fortune came knocking on his door.
It turned out that he was actually a lost child of the Xu Family.
The Xu Family was a prestigious household in Jianghuai. Last century, when Old Madam Xu was pregnant with her youngest child, she experienced pregnancy complications and had to temporarily settle in a small hospital for the delivery.
Rumor had it that a rural man in the neighboring bed, driven by greed and the desire for his daughter to live the life of a wealthy heiress, switched the two infants in their swaddling clothes.
Technology was not advanced at the time, and the Xu Family never imagined anyone would be so audacious as to swap a baby boy for a girl. Believing they finally had a daughter, they naturally showered her with endless affection.
If Old Sir Xu hadn’t gotten injured recently, this secret might have remained buried. Their youngest daughter, Xu Zhao Yu, had cried and begged to donate blood to him. Because direct relatives cannot safely transfuse blood to one another, the Xu Family had to coax her into taking a blood type test first. This led to the discovery of a discrepancy, which eventually proved that she was not a Xu Family Member by bloodline.
The classic tale of exchanging a civet cat for a Crown Prince had finally come to light after forty-five years. The entire Xu Family was shaken to its core, and a massive uproar swept through Jiang’s social circles. Other prominent families immediately rushed to get paternity tests done without delay.
Naturally, the Xu Family had to bring Ming Chengli and his family back home.
What they didn’t expect was that Ming Chengli had accomplished absolutely nothing in life. Worse, he was a widower dragging along a burden of a daughter, bringing immense shame to the Xu Family.
Having sorted through the information, Shi Changying knew the situation well and turned her head to look out the car window.
The glass reflected her face. It was different from her past life—perhaps even thirty percent more beautiful—though she looked rather pale.
Rows of towering skyscrapers flashed past her eyes. Below the overpass lay a ten-mile street bustling with heavy traffic, with throngs of people weaving through the entire city like a relentless tide.
The architectural style was completely unfamiliar, yet still incredibly prosperous. Shi Changying paused slightly in surprise.
She wondered, "Is this the world four hundred years later?"
This very land she had once conquered had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
Thirty minutes later.
The car stopped at the entrance of a manor.
Swallowing his anger, Housekeeper Xu opened the car door for Shi Changying again. "Miss Changying, please step out."
Shi Changying stepped down slowly and swept her gaze around. "Poor."
She thought, "Does such a petty place deserve to be called a prestigious household? Jianghuai has truly regressed a thousand years."
Clasping her hands behind her back, Shi Changying walked up the stone steps with a swaggering, arrogant gait, just like a King inspecting his territory.
The servants paused their work, all sizing up the girl who seemed so out of place in this manor with peculiar looks.
"Poor? The clothes she’s wearing aren’t even as nice as ours. Where does she get the nerve to talk down about the Xu Family?"
"She’s no noble heiress, yet she puts on more airs than a princess. What is she so arrogant about?"
"Does she really think being brought back to the Xu Family will turn a pheasant into a phoenix and let her soar into the sky?"
"It’s Miss Zhao Yu who has it the worst. She’s lived here for forty-five years, only to suddenly be told she isn’t a Xu Family Member. How could anyone accept that?"
Xu Zhao Yu genuinely couldn’t accept it; she had been crying for a whole day.
She had always been the Xu Family’s only apple of their eye, and her three older brothers doted on their sole sister endlessly.
At the age of twenty-five, she married into the Jianghuai Meng Family and gave birth to a brilliant pair of fraternal twins. She enjoyed a harmonious marriage and a perfect family life.
Her smooth-sailing, protagonist-like life was ruthlessly shattered by a single paternity test.
"Zhao Yu, how could Mom ever abandon you?" Old Madam Xu coaxed her. "You are Mom’s daughter, and you always will be."
Wiping away her endless tears, Xu Zhao Yu choked out a sob. "Mom, but I... I essentially stole the magpie’s nest. It’s all my fault that you were separated from your own flesh and blood for over forty years. I... I’ve wronged you!"
"Don’t say that!" Old Madam Xu said sternly. "You were just an infant back then. What did it have to do with you? Did someone spout nonsense in your ear?"
At that moment, Housekeeper Xu walked in, clutching his hand, and whispered, "Old Madam, Miss Changying has arrived."
Xu Zhao Yu raised her head, her eyes blurry with tears.
The girl’s complexion looked somewhat pale from a high fever, but it still couldn’t conceal her breathtaking features. She was so stunningly beautiful that it was almost aggressive, making one’s breath catch in their throat.
Xu Zhao Yu tightened her grip, lowering her voice further. "Mom, s-since they’ve returned, I should leave first. I... I am a mistake. If I stay here and Fourth Brother sees me later, he definitely won’t feel good about it either."
"Sit down!" Old Madam Xu’s voice was authoritative. "I’ve said it before, no one can drive you away."
Only then did she cast a charitable glance at the girl, her face immediately darkening.
She wondered, "Does she even look slightly like a proper lady?"
However, since the girl was her biological granddaughter after all, Old Madam Xu softened her tone. "Your name is Changying, right? Do you have any special talents?"
Shi Changying casually examined the modern, high-tech style villa without answering.
Time ticked by, second by second, until it reached the Linjie point where Old Madam Xu was about to blow her top.
"Miss Changying, the Old Madam means to ask, what can you do? Do you possess any special talents? This is so she can arrange for you to transfer into the aristocratic academy as a special talent student." With Old Madam Xu backing him, Housekeeper Xu regained his confidence. His smile carried a trace of sarcasm. "After all, with your grades, there’s no way you could test in on your own."
She thought, "Special talents? I certainly do."
Shi Changying lifted her eyelids and leisurely spat out three words: "Executing nine clans."
A dead silence filled the air, instantly quieting the room.
Xu Zhao Yu even forgot to cry, completely dumbfounded.
Old Madam Xu was stunned for three seconds. Upon coming to her senses, her hands trembled with anger. SLAM! She struck the table fiercely. "What did you say? You frightened your aunt!"
[Author’s Note: Starting a new story! In 2026, I bring Shi Changying and Shaoyuan to you. The original owner is the female protagonist, and no spoilers regarding the main plot will be given~ Watch two eternal emperors fall in love. Both are pure, and the male and female gods are the female lead’s fiercely loyal subjects.
It’s my usual satisfying, thrilling, and sweet style; I hope everyone likes it~ The entire story is set in an alternate universe with mountains of personal world-building. Remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don’t get lost!]