Chun Feng’s father, Lin Datian, a rough-hewn farmer who had lived simply all his life, found himself resorting to trickery—pretending to “sell the tears of a buried daughter” to scrape together money. He told himself it was only because he had no other way out, forced to stage this pitiful act with his wife and child.
Startled by his daughter’s bold words, Lin Datian shuddered: “No, this won’t do! This could land us in prison!”
Chun Feng’s mother, Yu Xiujun, a sharp-minded and quick-witted woman, immediately sensed the helplessness behind her daughter’s suggestion.
Her temper flared; she slapped Lin Datian and spat at him: “If you hadn’t stood surety for that scoundrel, would our family have sunk to this? Would Chun’er have to play dead—such bad luck!”
In truth, Chun Feng’s first idea had been to fake a father’s funeral. But crying was exhausting, while lying still as a “corpse” was far easier. Setting aside taboos, the couple let Chun Feng play the part.
Lin Datian hunched his shoulders under the blows, mumbling: “I was wrong, truly wrong…”
Ignoring her parents’ quarrel, Chun Feng knelt on the damp ground, gazing toward the boundless sky.
Rain poured down in torrents, blurring heaven and earth into mist, as if echoing the world’s cold indifference.
Not long ago, Yu Xiujun and Lin Datian’s weeping had been so heartrending that it was hard to believe it was mere performance—for the Lin family of three had indeed been living through bitter days. They were once decent folk of Linjia Village in Ye County—not wealthy, but not destitute either. Their steady, modest life ended one midnight last year, when a neighbor came knocking. The neighbor wanted to undertake a sure-win business deal, borrowing a hundred taels of silver from a county magnate, and earnestly invited Lin Datian to act as guarantor. Being a guarantor was risky, and Lin Datian hesitated. But the two families had been close for years, bound by trust. As the saying goes, “a near neighbor is better than a distant relative.” Refusing would chill the heart.
Besides, Chun Feng and the neighbor’s son had grown up as childhood sweethearts. As long as nothing unexpected happened, the neighbor’s son was destined to become their son-in-law—an unspoken understanding among the adults.
After much deliberation, Lin Datian convinced himself the neighbor had no reason to harm him, and in the end, he agreed to stand as guarantor. If the neighbor defaulted, the hundred taels of silver would fall on his shoulders.
When Yu Xiujun learned of it, she quarreled bitterly with Lin Datian. But the deed was already signed and sealed; the matter was settled. Sleepless through the night, she secretly asked her family to prepare three travel passes, just in case they needed to flee.
At first, things seemed ordinary enough. The neighbor’s parents went away, but their son remained at home. Yu Xiujun thought they surely wouldn’t abandon their own child, and her heart gradually eased. She even regretted the silver wasted on those passes. Yet just when she let down her guard, the neighbor’s son vanished without a word. When the creditors came knocking, the family discovered the neighbors had long since disappeared without a trace. Now Lin Datian was forced to shoulder the debt of a hundred taels. Worse still, the wealthy creditor set his sights on Chun Feng.
“Trees die when uprooted, but people live when they move.” With that thought, Yu Xiujun quickly gathered the passes and fled with her husband and daughter.
They left in such haste that most of their property remained in Linjia Village. They carried little money, and misfortune piled upon misfortune—their coins were stolen at an inn. To make matters worse, the creditor reported them to the authorities. They dared not do the same, and so they trudged on, humiliated, surviving by trickery and scraps. It was unbearable.
At last, Yu Xiujun, having scolded her husband enough, sat down and brushed the dust from her daughter’s clothes, muttering, “It’s been so long… I wonder if Lin Qingxiao is still in Zhang County.”
Chun Feng slowly shook her head.
Lin Qingxiao—the neighbor’s son, Chun Feng’s childhood sweetheart, the “good son-in-law” in Lin Datian’s eyes—was now one of the culprits behind their ruin.
Just days earlier, while passing through Zhang County, Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun had gone to the fields to steal melons. Chun Feng kept watch—and there she spotted Lin Qingxiao, skulking about. He was thinner and darker from the sun. But when he saw Chun Feng, he bolted without a word.
Chun Feng swung her legs and chased after Lin Qingxiao. She didn’t even know where the sudden burst of strength came from, but somehow she managed to grab hold of him. Yet before she could ask why he had abandoned her family, Lin Qingxiao—anxious and ashamed—took off the jade Buddha pendant he always wore close to his body and thrust it into her hands. That jade pendant was his most treasured possession, never once separated from him.
Chun Feng froze in surprise, but Lin Qingxiao had already darted far ahead, leaving behind only a single line: “Chun Feng, I’ve wronged you all. Take this jade and use it for money!”
With no other choice, Chun Feng kept the pendant.
When Yu Xiujun learned she had encountered Lin Qingxiao, she was both furious and desperate. No matter what, the only way to escape their crushing debt was to track down the neighbor’s family.
Zhang County was the only place with a lead. Clinging to the faint hope of finding Lin Qingxiao, Yu Xiujun decided the family would remain there.
But the travel passes they had arranged were not for Zhang County. Under the dynasty’s household registration laws, they were little better than vagrants, unable to earn a living with their hands. Even though the jade pendant fetched several hundred coins when pawned, their expenses quickly drained it away.
Thinking about the next meal, Chun Feng secretly sighed.
Yu Xiujun’s sharp ears caught the sound. She slapped her daughter’s back and scolded: “Child, what are you sighing for?”
Chun Feng glanced at Yu Xiujun, sharply swallowing back the sigh she had just let slip.
Yu Xiujun: “…”
The shower had come quickly but lingered, turning into a steady drizzle as the sky grew heavy.
Worried her daughter’s stomach was still empty, Yu Xiujun urged Lin Datian: “Let’s head into the village and trade for some food.”
Seeing his wife’s temper had cooled, Lin Datian rubbed his hands together and asked cautiously: “If we can’t find anyone, should we keep heading south?”
That was what the neighbor’s business had been about—going south.
Yu Xiujun snapped: “As if it were that simple! Do you even know where they went? The south is vast—how would we find them? Our travel permits only take us as far as…”
Before she could finish, Chun Feng tugged at her sleeve and whispered: “Soldiers.”
Not far off, a troop of officers came splashing through the puddles, their boots striking the ground in sharp rhythm.
Yu Xiujun’s heart sank. Sure enough, the soldiers charged straight toward the Lin family, surrounding them in a tight ring.
Chun Feng’s eyes widened. Lin Datian quickly pulled his wife and daughter behind him, trembling as he stammered: “G-good sirs, we are honest folk!”
But fleeing as a guarantor was a grave crime.
Just as despair set in, the head constable compared their faces to a portrait and declared: “It is indeed you. The lord requests your presence.”
“Requests?” Lin Datian hunched his shoulders, exchanging a wary glance with Yu Xiujun.
The constable’s tone was not harsh. The authorities were rarely kind—if they were being treated with courtesy, perhaps things weren’t as dire as they feared. Still, unease gnawed at them. Their three anxious hearts finally sank into dread when they were led into the county yamen and saw Chang Ying seated at the head of the court.
So it was a noble they had offended—come now to exact revenge.
The county magistrate bowed and scraped before Chang Ying: “These are the three, my lord. They are indeed not residents of Zhang County.”
The common folk cannot contend with officials. Lin Datian pulled Yu Xiujun and Chun Feng down with him, and with a heavy thud, they all knelt, crying out: “Spare us, my lord! I’ll never dare again!”
His wail faded, leaving the hall in silence.
Chun Feng kept her eyes on the ground. Rain had just fallen, and with soldiers coming and going, the floor was damp and clammy. She wondered—was the prison just as wet? If crashing into someone meant jail, then she might as well have stolen a carriage.
Suddenly, a pair of black boots appeared before her. The nobleman himself had stepped forward, reaching out to lift her up. Suppressing her bewilderment, Chun Feng rose in a daze.
The man studied her, smiling kindly. “I am Chang Ying, chief eunuch of the Eastern Palace.”
Chun Feng didn’t know what “chief of the Eastern Palace” meant, but she understood the word eunuch. That only made her more confused.
Chang Ying asked, “Is your name Lin Chun Feng?”
“Yes,” she replied.
He nodded, then produced a sheet of paper. On it was a finely drawn jade pendant shaped like a Bodhisattva. “Do you recognize this?” he asked.
Chun Feng answered honestly: “I do.” She had examined it closely before, hoping to pawn it for more money.
Chang Ying’s smile deepened. “This pendant belonged to Consort Yide. It was also the keepsake of the princess lost among the people.”
Chun Feng’s lips parted slightly. Could Lin Qingxiao’s jade really have such a grand origin?
Lin Datian and Yu Xiujun exchanged furtive glances, baffled by what sounded like a tale from an opera.
Before they could question further, Chang Ying declared: “I have seen the princess.”
Chun Feng pointed at herself. “Me?”
Her parents snapped their heads up, stunned.
Chang Ying had expected this. He bowed and asked, “Was it Your Highness who pawned this pendant?”
Chun Feng hesitated: “Well, yes, but—”
He cut her off: “Then it is certain. The palace’s appraisal cannot be wrong. After the princess vanished with the pendant, His Majesty and the Empress Dowager never ceased searching among the people. Now, at last, the princess may return home.”
Chun Feng was speechless.
Seizing the moment, Chang Ying turned to the county magistrate and constables: “Why do you not greet the princess?”
At once, a crowd dropped to their knees, hailing her.
Chun Feng saw the reverence—and envy—in their eyes. It was like a dream, one most people wouldn’t dare to dream. She had truly become a phoenix upon the branch.
Flustered, she spun in place, then looked back at Chang Ying. He prompted gently: “Your Highness may say, ‘Rise.’”
Chun Feng echoed obediently: “Rise.”
Chang Ying ordered the magistrate: “Prepare a clean, comfortable room in the yamen for the princess and her foster parents.”
The magistrate bowed hastily: “Yes, yes.”
Chang Ying added: “Soon attendants will come to serve Her Highness. Please rest well.”
The magistrate fawned: “This way, Princess.”
Chun Feng could only stare.
Knowing the Lin family needed time to absorb this astonishing fortune, Chang Ying withdrew.
But in truth, Lin Chun Feng was no princess. She was born in Linjia Village of Ye County, her origins plain. The jade pendant had belonged to a man who had recently given it to her. That man seemed to be hiding from creditors, skilled at concealing his tracks. For now, he could not be found. Where he had gotten the pendant was uncertain—but not impossible. The year the princess was lost was the chaotic end of the Qingsheng era; anything could have happened. Thus the trail of the real princess broke off here. A few days’ investigation would have revealed the truth. But the Crown Prince wanted precisely this “mistake.”
Chang Ying recalled his words in the rain: “She will do.”
The princess lost among the people was the Empress Dowager’s lingering sorrow. It could not be delayed further. By rights, royal bloodlines must never be confused—but the Crown Prince did not care.
Choosing Lin Chun Feng was no whim. This charade had dragged on for years, unsettling the imperial household. The “princess” had to return, whether true or false.
Thinking of the Lin family’s stunned faces, Chang Ying chuckled and shook his head.
No doubt, suddenly elevated to nobility, Lin Chun Feng was overjoyed. Even if she had doubts, she dared not voice them. Fortune had favored her—she had passed the Crown Prince’s test.
Just then, hurried footsteps sounded behind him, followed by a clear, ringing voice: “Lord Chang!”
It was Lin Chun Feng, chasing after him. Her hair was slightly disheveled, her eyes dazzlingly bright. She still wore the filthy dress from her “corpse” act, not yet changed at the yamen.
Chang Ying frowned in puzzlement. “Your Highness may simply call me Chang Ying. Why rush here?”
Chun Feng spoke firmly, her words like thunder: “The jade pendant is not mine. I am not the princess. You are mistaken.”