Six months ago.Ye Nanyuan arrived in the capital for the second time on the day she turned sixteen.The first time was sixteen years prior, when she was still in her mother's womb. Ningzhou Prefect Jiang Lin had been transferred back to the capital as part of a major official reshuffle.Her mother, Ye Wanru, was Jiang Lin's second wife. She had followed him into the Jiang residence with a swollen belly, and there she gave birth to Ye Nanyuan.In the years before she had fully mapped out her surroundings, she had actually enjoyed a rather comfortable life as a young lady of the Jiang household.Unfortunately, counterfeit goods were bound to be exposed sooner or later. She had been reborn into this young lady's body, but it turned out the young lady's identity was itself a fraud.As she grew older, her features gradually began to reveal themselves.Her mother, Ye Wanru, was a rare beauty—gentle as water, with a celestial grace that defied description.The more Ye Nanyuan grew, the more she resembled her mother, yet in appearance and temperament she bore not a single trace of Jiang Lin. In the end, the truth came to light. The Jiang household sent her out of the capital under cover of night, settling her in a manor in Wuzhen, Jiangnan, where she was raised.From the age of six onward, Jiangnan Yuan became Ye Nanyuan.For ten years, she had never returned.Suddenly, footsteps sounded nearby, and the next moment a thin blanket was draped over her. Ye Nanyuan pushed aside the thoughts in her mind, and her closed eyes snapped open."Your servant deserves death for waking you," Banxia said, her hand still frozen mid-air, at a loss.Ye Nanyuan turned over, her dark eyes fully alert with no trace of drowsiness. "It's fine," she said. "I was thinking about something. I wasn't asleep at all."A gust of wind suddenly rushed in through the window, carrying a few pear blossoms onto Ye Nanyuan's shoulder. She sat on the beauty couch, head lowered, fingers toying with the Buddha-Lotus Jade Bead on her right wrist, clearly lost in thought.Seeing her young lady like this, Banxia's eyes were filled with pity.She knew—her young lady was thinking about the eldest young lady, Jiang Zhiwei, again.Ye Nanyuan was not Jiang Lin's flesh and blood, but Jiang Zhiwei was the true legitimate eldest daughter. Jiang Zhiwei had been born to Jiang Lin's first wife, who had passed away from complications during childbirth.Jiang Zhiwei was initially raised under the old madam's care.It wasn't until a year later that Jiang Lin brought back a pregnant Ye Wanru. Ye Wanru was an orphan, without father or mother, but possessed of extraordinary beauty. Jiang Lin had fallen head over heels in love and overcome every obstacle to marry her as his second wife.During those years in the Jiang residence, Jiang Zhiwei, as the elder sister, had always taken great care of her younger sister from a young age.Because Ye Nanyuan had transmigrated, her mind was sharper than others, and she was also a bit more mischievous. From childhood, she had been a little terror—climbing trees and getting into fights were second nature to her.She had none of the gentleness expected of an ancient young lady.In contrast to her being a wild monkey, Jiang Zhiwei was someone who loved quiet. She was beautiful, delicate yet obedient, and in her every gesture she resembled Ye Wanru even more than Ye Nanyuan herself did.She was only two years older than Ye Nanyuan, yet she treated her extremely well. Even after Ye Nanyuan's true origins were exposed and she was sent back to Jiangnan, the sisterly bond between them never broke.The Jiang family considered her a family disgrace, and Ye Nanyuan had no desire to return to the capital, that place of heartbreak. But every year on her birthday, Jiang Zhiwei would travel all the way from the capital to Jiangnan to see her.From age six to her current sixteen, it had been so every year, without exception.Only this year—in the once-every-three-years imperial selection, Jiang Zhiwei had been bestowed to the Fourth Prince as a Gege. She herself had been unhappy about it, but Jiang Zhiwei was delighted.She wrote a letter to Jiangnan, saying: "The Fourth Prince is tall and handsome, with an extraordinary bearing. I am pleased."What was so good about a prince? His backyard was full of concubines, and everyone was confined to one courtyard day after day, scheming against a pack of women, consumed by jealousy and petty squabbles. The daily chatter was nothing but who the prince had glanced at, or whose room the prince had visited.A lifetime spent revolving around a single man.Ye Nanyuan was so angry her chest ached. She tossed and turned all night, unable to sleep, and wrote back: "Tall doesn't mean he isn't crude. Handsome is nothing but a stinking flesh sack. As for extraordinary bearing—ha… he's an imperial prince of the royal family, raised in a nest of gold and silver. Even a complete fool could be cultivated into someone with extraordinary bearing."The letter was sent by swift horse to the capital. Ye Nanyuan waited day and night, hoping the letter would arrive quickly so Jiang Zhiwei could read it.Jiang Zhiwei's reply came just as quickly, without a trace of anger. She only said: "The Fourth Prince is talented. He can play the qin, play chess, and paint. He also knows horseback riding and is skilled at archery. Though he appears cold on the surface, he treats people with considerable thoughtfulness."Between every line, her gentleness shone through.Ye Nanyuan wished she could bore a hole through the letter with her stare. With a sneer, she mocked again: "Which of those noble sons doesn't know such things? These aren't worth mentioning. He merely had a better reincarnation and got himself the title of prince."Letters traveled from Jiangnan to the capital, and from the capital back to Jiangnan.Before she knew it, more than a dozen letters had been exchanged—Jiang Zhiwei praising, Ye Nanyuan rebutting, all their back-and-forth revolving around every detail of the Fourth Prince.The correspondence continued for nearly half a year, until last winter. Before the charcoal brazier, Ye Nanyuan opened the letter that had arrived carrying ice and snow.Jiang Zhiwei's handwriting remained as gentle as ever, as if one could see her sitting by the windowsill on the other end, smiling as she wrote back.She said: "It grows cold in Jiangnan, and you've always been sensitive to the chill. Remember to wear your winter clothes."She also said: "You have a lively temperament but striking looks. From now on, stop dressing as a man and going out to play. Pay more attention to whether there's a young gentleman who catches your eye.""Your elder sister doesn't understand your 'one life, one person' ideal, but if you meet someone you like, you must hold on tight and not let go." Every word was a reminder, every line touched the heart. She ended with: "Ayuan, the Fourth Prince treats me very well."Ye Nanyuan stared at that final sentence for three days.After that, she carefully wrote back a single word: "Good."She thought, her elder sister belonged to someone else after all.The letter was sent to Jiangnan, but no reply ever came. She waited from the second month for her birthday, yet it wasn't until after the day had passed that news of Jiang Zhiwei's death arrived.Jiang Zhiwei had been entangled with others—suspected of collusion.The messenger was a servant from the Jiang estate, who showed not a shred of respect for this counterfeit young lady. His words carried contempt for Jiang Zhiwei: "The young lady took her own life with a white silk sash to preserve the Jiang family's century-old reputation. That the Fourth Prince did not blame the Jiang household is already a great mercy."She thought, she had been wrong after all. She had only spoken of how heartless the Fourth Prince was, fearing her gentle elder sister would fall into the whirlpool of romance—but she had forgotten to warn her to be careful, to steer clear of the vipers and scorpions in the inner courtyard.Ye Nanyuan smiled, ordered the servant bound, and personally took a shoe sole to beat his mouth until it was swollen.The next day, a carriage set off for the capital.
"Young miss."Seeing Ye Nanyuan lost in thought again, Banxia hurriedly offered up the bowl of white fungus and lotus seed soup in her hands: "Young miss, you haven't eaten properly for days. You've grown so thin."Ye Nanyuan was naturally beautiful. In Jiangnan, when she donned men's clothing and a hat, she cut the figure of a dashing young gentleman, stirring secret affections in countless young women's hearts.Since arriving in the capital, she had visibly lost weight. Banxia had served her since childhood, and seeing this, she felt distressed.When Ye Nanyuan showed no reaction, Banxia pushed the bowl forward again: "Nanny Zhou made it herself. Young miss, please drink a little." Nanny Zhou had been Ye Nanyuan's wet nurse back in the Jiang estate.When Ye Nanyuan's true origins were exposed and she was cast out to Jiangnan as a bastard, Nanny Zhou naturally couldn't remain at the Jiang estate either, so she left.A couple of years earlier, Ye Nanyuan had earned a considerable sum of money in Jiangnan. With nothing better to do, she began buying land in the capital. She had originally intended to give it to Jiang Zhiwei as a dowry—but who would have thought she'd enter the Fourth Prince's household instead?She had been both furious and anxious at the time. Though she knew the Emperor's decree could not be defied, the thought of Jiang Zhiwei spending every day competing with a crowd of women infuriated her so much she couldn't sleep at night—and she forgot all about the land.Who would have thought that deed, tucked away at the bottom of a chest, would never be delivered after all.It was a kindness from the old woman, so Ye Nanyuan accepted the lotus seed soup and took a few sips: "How did that matter I asked you to handle last time go?" The location Ye Nanyuan had purchased was excellent—the front faced Sanqing Temple, the most popular spot in the capital, and behind it stretched a large expanse of rear mountain.Because Jiang Zhiwei loved pear trees, she had ordered a vast grove planted, calling it the Pear Garden.Banxia had a lively disposition, and the location near the temple, bustling with people coming and going, made it very convenient for gathering information and spreading rumors."Done." Banxia nodded quickly. "Half the capital should know by now that there's a Spirit Fox on the rear mountain." This was what Ye Nanyuan had told her to spread. Though she had carried it out, she still didn't understand what her young miss meant by it.She stammered: "Young miss, why did you have people spread that?"Ye Nanyuan set the bowl down on the table. After a crisp clink, she curved her lips into a brilliant smile.Her face was stunningly beautiful, but her voice was cold enough to chill the bones: "To bait the hook for the fish."