The original Luo Tang had lost her mother at the age of eight and was taken in by her maternal grandmother to be raised. When she turned eleven, her father passed away due to illness. She traveled south to Jiangnan to collect her father’s remains before returning north, after which she took up permanent residence in the Xiao household.
The Xiao household was currently managed by her maternal uncle, who held the hereditary title of Grand Commandant. Her grandmother, the Dowager Elder, was cared for by her sons and lived within the Grand Commandant’s estate.
When Luo Tang arrived at the household at age eleven, she had liquidated her family’s assets, bringing all of her fortune back to the Xiao family.
When Gu Tang awoke in the body of Luo Tang, those assets were nowhere to be found. She had questioned her personal maid, only to be met with a blank, uncomprehending stare.
No one had ever mentioned these belongings, meaning the maid knew nothing about them.
The original Luo Tang had been easy to fool, but now that a completely different soul inhabited this body, she naturally wasn’t going to let the matter drop so easily.
She was grateful to her maternal family for raising her, but making an orphaned girl’s inheritance vanish into thin air crossed the line into utter depravity.
Gazing at the remaining coins in her purse, Luo Tang let out an involuntary sigh. She had gone out today without buying a single thing, yet half her money was already gone.
Turning her head to look at the person lying on the inner side of the bed, she asked, “Do you have any money?”
A whole night had passed, and the effects of the drug had long since worn off. Having recovered her usual composure, Zhe Qing turned her head away to avoid looking at her, yet still answered, “The Jiangnan Luo family possesses thousands of acres of fertile land and a vast fortune.”
Though distracted for a moment by the sheer allure of the woman’s beauty, Luo Tang still caught the core message: the Luo family was exceptionally wealthy.
So where did all the money go?
Luo Tang pondered deeply, convinced there was definitely something fishy going on behind the scenes, but she simply said, “My money from today isn’t enough.”
Morning light illuminated the room, and the young maiden’s smile appeared entirely sincere. Keeping her back turned, Zhe Qing replied, “There’s money in the money pouch.”
Eagerly, Luo Tang went to inspect the other woman’s purse. As her hands brushed against the fabric, she let out an inquiring oh? and remarked, “The fabric of your pouch isn’t very fine.”
Zhe Qing remained silent.
Luo Tang fished out the money pouch and opened it, only to find a meager handful of copper coins inside.
Luo Tang: “…”
Never mind. She opened her own purse, divided out half of its contents, and slipped them into Zhe Qing’s pouch. Living under someone else’s roof, who ever had any spare cash to begin with?
“Alright, I must be going.” Luo Tang patted down her clothes.
“I’ll escort you back,” Zhe Qing said, rising to her feet as her long raven hair cascaded down to her waist. She turned her gaze directly toward the maiden.
That single look from her was calm and unruffled, devoid of any worldly desires or demands.
Luo Tang fixed her gaze on her and said, “The Grand Commandant’s estate doesn’t seem to be on very good terms with your mentor.”
This was merely a guess on Luo Tang’s part. Because the fragmented journal entries frequently mentioned Zhe Qing’s close friends and confidants without ever uttering a single word about the Grand Commandant’s estate, she deduced that the relationship between the two parties could not possibly be pleasant.
The peaceful morning stillness was filled with a delicate fragrance lingering within the room.
As they exchanged glances, Zhe Qing felt much more relaxed than before, finally noticing that the maiden’s gaze was sharp and piercing, entirely lacking her usual gentle compliance.
Curious, Zhe Qing asked, “Are you truly Luo Tang?”
“I suppose I’m Luo Tang,” Luo Tang answered candidly. She felt it best to lay her cards on the table first; after all, since the original owner of the body had once cursed Zhe Qing, any necessary explanations should be made upfront.
Hearing this, Zhe Qing let out a faint smile.
Luo Tang frowned, noticing that Zhe Qing’s smile was light and delicate, retaining its gentleness yet rendered somewhat ethereal by her lingering weariness.
Zhe Qing asked, “What do you mean by ‘suppose’?”
Luo Tang raised a hand to tidy her robes. Standing before Zhe Qing, she felt a profound sense of ease; there was an inherent tranquility radiating from the other woman.
“Luo Tang is dead. I come from a hundred years in the future. Do you believe me?”
There were only two people in the room. The young maiden possessed snow-white skin and vibrant red lips. Zhe Qing was momentarily stunned. The girl had spent the entire night keeping vigil by her side without taking advantage of her vulnerable state, proving her character was exceptionally noble.
Though harboring a restless beast deep within her own heart, hearing those words actually brought Zhe Qing a sense of comfort. She replied, “I do not believe in ghosts and spirits.”
“Very well, as you wish. Rest a bit longer; I need to head back.” Luo Tang didn’t press the matter. “Until we meet again.”
With her money pouch securely in hand, Luo Tang departed with an easy, unbothered stride.
Left in puzzlement, Zhe Qing raised her eyes just in time to see the figure vanishing through the doorway. Just like that? She’s leaving?
Noticing her own money pouch lying close by, she reached out and picked it up. It felt noticeably heavier than before. Opening it, she found it packed with gleaming gold nuggets. And she claimed she had no money?
Overwhelmed by a profound wave of exhaustion, Zhe Qing lay back down. Expecting her thoughts to drift back to yesterday’s harrowing ordeal, she found herself instead recalling the maiden’s sharp, piercing gaze.
She had heard that Luo Tang was kept tucked away in the Xiao family estate and never ventured outside. Where on earth did such imposing presence come from in a mere young girl?
The name Luo Tang had firmly rooted itself in Zhe Qing’s heart.
After resting for a short while, Zhe Qing got up, tidied herself, and checked her reflection in the bronze mirror. Her complexion looked healthy and composed, free of exhaustion, though the outer corners of her lingeringly flushed brows retained a faint, rosy tint.
Suppressing the lingering discomfort in her chest, she headed for home.
Zhe Qing lived under the roof of her mentor, the Grand Preceptor of the current dynasty, whose name was Lin Huaijin. The Grand Preceptor paid no heed to affairs of state, spending her days tending to flowers and plants, essentially living the life of a wealthy, leisurely recluse.
Lin Huaijin had never married. Back when the Zhe family met its downfall, she had submitted tearful pleas for mercy, willingly surrendered her position as Prime Minister, and brought Zhe Qing back to her estate to raise and educate her.
Upon returning home, Zhe Qing first went back to her bedchamber to change into fresh robes before proceeding to pay her respects to her mentor.
The Grand Preceptor was not at home.
Standing outside the doorway for a brief moment, Zhe Qing instructed the gatekeeper to saddle a carriage and head straight for the Grand Commandant’s estate.
Meanwhile, back at the Grand Commandant’s estate, heaven had turned upside down following Luo Tang’s return. Having stayed out for an entire night, everyone from the Dowager Elder down to the gatekeepers had spent the night wide awake without closing their eyes.
Upon seeing her granddaughter return safe and sound, the Dowager Elder rushed forward to pull her into a tight embrace, chanting heartfelt invocations of Amitabha under her breath.
“Where on earth did you go?” The Dowager Elder looked her granddaughter up and down from head to toe. Confirming she was completely unharmed, she pulled her down to sit beside her and instructed servants to bring out tea and pastries.
Sensing the elderly woman’s genuine anxiety, Luo Tang softened her expression into a reassuring smile. “I lost my way yesterday, ended up sheltering in a street corner all night, and only managed to find my way back after asking for directions at dawn.”
Anxious, the Dowager Elder scolded, “Why on earth did you run off like that?”
“I wanted to see the world a bit,” Luo Tang prevaricated smoothly. “Yesterday, I needed ginseng for a medicinal decoction, but when I sent someone to fetch it, they told me there wasn’t any left. So I thought I’d go buy some myself.”
“You only needed to tell your grandmother; why on earth did you have to run off by yourself?” The Dowager Elder pulled her back into her arms, murmuring endearments while immediately dispatching servants to retrieve ginseng from her own private quarters.
Luo Tang sneered inwardly. Servants constantly fawned over the powerful and stepped on the weak; since she wasn’t a true-born member of the Xiao family, they looked down on her, always finding excuses to delay or deny her daily provisions whenever she asked for things.
After exchanging polite, superficial pleasantries with the Dowager Elder for a while, she finally retreated to her own courtyard.
The eldest daughter of the Xiao Dowager Elder served the Emperor closely within the imperial palace as Consort De, a source of immense pride for the Xiao clan.
The second daughter was Luo Tang’s mother, who had married far away to Jiangnan and given birth only to Luo Tang.
The Xiao Dowager Elder had three sons: the eldest inherited the noble title, while the second and third sons lived out their days within the estate, making it a bustling, crowded household.
Upon returning to her courtyard, Luo Tang climbed onto her bed, propped her feet up, and began plotting out her household affairs. Just as she leaned back, a figure stepped into the room.
“Oh my, you’re finally back! Not a single soul in the estate got any sleep last night.”
Stepping past the folding screen, a tall young woman wearing a short red quilted jacket and possessing an oval-shaped face made her appearance. Luo Tang stared blankly. Who on earth is this?
Luo Tang lacked the original owner’s memories, making it impossible for her to identify the newcomer on sight.
“My goodness, what’s wrong with you? Don’t you even recognize your own elder cousin?” The young woman, around eighteen or nineteen years of age, affectionately sidled up to sit beside her, poked her cheek with a finger, and asked, “Tell me honestly, what did you get up to wandering outside for a whole night?”
Her tone was utterly familiar as she reached out to stroke the back of Luo Tang’s hand.
Instinctively drawing her hand back, Luo Tang thought: It seems the two of us aren’t actually that close.
“Have you lost your mind? I’m your second cousin, Xiao Sese,” Xiao Sese fretted anxiously. “After falling ill once, you don’t even recognize me anymore.”
Luo Tang nodded with a cold inner sneer. I caught a severe chill, yet you didn’t even bother to come visit me once.
She had vaguely heard maidservants gossip that the original Luo Tang and Xiao’s second young miss, Xiao Sese, were exceptionally close, frequently sharing the same blanket in bed.
Luo Tang detested excessive physical intimacy with others, especially since Xiao Sese hadn’t even bothered to check on her while she was bedridden.
“I wanted to come, but they kept saying your illness was carrying too much baleful qi and refused to let me near. I was grieving heartbrokenly for you when I suddenly heard you had run away from home,” Xiao Sese said, dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief before giving Luo Tang a playful nudge. “Come on, tell me where did you go to have fun?”
Luo Tang offered no explanation. Instead, Xiao Sese grabbed her hand and looked her up and down thoroughly. “I must say, your complexion looks a lot better now.”
“Much better,” Luo Tang perfunctorily replied, her mind elsewhere. If your maidservants told you not to come and you simply stayed away, then whatever deep sisterly bond or bed-sharing intimacy you supposedly had clearly wasn’t worth much.
Having spent many years navigating the imperial court, Luo Tang was well-equipped to distinguish between a genuine ally and a hypocrite. Just as she was contemplating how to throw this person out, Xiao Sese unlaced her shoes and crawled right up onto her bed.
Though they were cousins, climbing straight into bed together like this felt rather inappropriate, didn’t it?
Xiao Sese, however, was completely accustomed to it. Leaning against her and grasping her hand with a comfortable sigh, she chirped, “Let’s roast some meat for dinner tonight, shall we? We can sleep together just like old times.”
Having missed lunch upon her return, Luo Tang knew that if she wanted to eat, she would simply have to wait until evening.
As Luo Tang rolled over to sit up and make her escape, Xiao Sese yanked her back. “Where are you going? I’m tired; keep me company for a nap.”
Though young, Luo Tang was yanked backward and pulled right back under the covers.
The two of them lay there side by side, bolt upright.
“A-Tang, let me tell you, I recently started reading a book it is utterly fascinating and so exciting! I’ll lend it to you to read later,” Xiao Sese murmured right next to her ear, letting out a low chuckle before adding, “Why are your ears so red?”
Pushing her away, Luo Tang said, “I have things to attend to.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a maidservant hurried inside, blurting out, “Young Miss, Second Young Miss! Prime Minister Zhe has arrived and is asking to see you.”
Xiao Sese looked baffled. “Why is she here? Striding directly into the inner quarters like this is that appropriate?”
Rolling her eyes in unmasked exasperation, Luo Tang thought: You just dragged me into bed together, is that appropriate?
Harboring their own distinct thoughts, Luo Tang scrambled down in a hurry. The moment her soles hit the floor, she caught sight of Zhe Qing stepping past the folding screen.
Is there no such thing as privacy in this room at all?
Zhe Qing had rushed over in a hurry, fearing the Grand Commandant’s estate might mistreat Luo Tang. Yet upon entering, she found the two girls flushed and in a state of disarray. She felt distinctly out of place.
“Pardon me,” Zhe Qing said with consummate tact, turning around to exit.
Luo Tang cast a helpless, exasperated glance at Xiao Sese still lounging on the bed, then hurried out after Zhe Qing.
“Prefect Zhe, hold your step.”
Stepping out of the room, Zhe Qing stood in the courtyard still damp from the recent rain and waited for Luo Tang to approach.
Drawing close, Luo Tang lowered her voice to explain, “I told you, I am not Luo Tang. Do you believe me now? Whatever trouble Luo Tang got into has nothing to do with me.”
Luo Tang’s voice was exceptionally pleasant soft and unhurried, like light footsteps falling directly upon one’s heart, causing it to flutter.
Hearing her voice, Zhe Qing raised her head. Her gaze landed upon the maiden’s flushed, plump lips, perfectly curved and full of youthful vitality.