“Hey, have you heard? The Second Master and his family will be returning in a few days, which is why Madam asked us to clean up the Wutong Courtyard, to prepare it for them to stay in.”
“Does that mean that she will be coming back too?”
“Of course! Our young lady will also be returning with them!”
The two maids chatted excitedly while sweeping up fallen leaves.
“Do you think, since the young lady was raised in the Second Master’s household and Second Madam comes from a merchant family, that our young lady might be spoiled by money?” One maid with an oval-shaped face suddenly said to her round-faced companion.
The round-faced maid jumped in fright, quickly glancing around before whispering, “Shh! Are you crazy? How dare you say that! We’ll know what the young lady is really like when she returns. Let’s just finish cleaning quickly, or if the head maid finds out, we’ll be punished for sure.”
“Tch,” the oval-faced maid scoffed but said no more, continuing to sweep.
Meanwhile, the person they were talking about was sitting in a carriage returning to the capital.
“Muqing, your grandmother has never liked me. When we get to the mansion, don’t get too close to me, I don’t want to cause you any trouble,” a middle-aged woman said anxiously from inside the carriage.
This woman was the Second Madam of the Yongding Marquis mansion. Born into a merchant family, her husband was only a concubine-born son of the marquis, but marrying into the marquis’s household was still a great match for her. Though merchants were not short on wealth, the world often looked down on them. As such, the old madam of the Yongding Marquis had never liked her.
“Aunt, don’t worry. As long as we do nothing wrong, grandmother can’t possibly make things difficult for us without reason,” said a young girl softly, taking the Second Madam’s hand reassuringly. “Besides, I grew up with you, and you’ve treated me like your own daughter. How could I distance myself from you because of others?”
The Second Madam was moved and hugged her tightly.
This girl was Chu Muqing. Leaning in her Second Aunt embrace, her mind wandered to memories of her past life. No one knew that Chu Muqing had actually lived a previous life, a life ruined by her own foolishness. She had trusted the so-called relatives of the Marquis of Yongding’s household, betraying those who genuinely cared for her, ultimately meeting a tragic end.
In her first return to the Marquis’s mansion, she had been anxious and cautious in everything she did. The head maid had advised her not to get too close to the Second Master or Second Madam, because as a concubine-born child, the Second Master was not favored by the old madam, and she herself was the marquis’s legitimate eldest daughter. Being too friendly with a concubine-born would be inappropriate and invite ridicule. At that time, she believed that being disliked by her elders and gossiped about by other young ladies at gatherings was because of this reason.
Now, looking back, she realized her grandmother’s dislike was not entirely because of the Second brach family. Her mother, Xiao Yuanrou, was the only legitimate daughter of the Duke of Dingguo household, a family with generations of military achievements. Her maternal grandfather, a distinguished general, had been feared by emperors because of his power. Her grandfather had originally intended to find her mother a less prominent match, but her mother fell in love at first sight at Chu Muqing father and refused to marry anyone else.
At the time, the Yongding Marquis’s family was at its peak. Their legitimate eldest daughter, Chu Huiying, had given birth to the Third Prince and was bestowed the title of Imperial Concubine, making the Yongding Marquis’s family extremely prestigious. Such a marriage between two noble families was a matter of great interest to the entire nation at that time.
Initially, her grandmother liked Xiao Yuanrou very much, believing that such a background suited her son. However, after two years of marriage, Xiao Yuanrou had not conceived. When she finally became pregnant, she bore a daughter and tragically died in childbirth. Moreover, since marrying to the Yongding Marquis family, her husband’s career had stagnated. Her grandmother believed that Xiao Yuanrou had brought misfortune to her son and that her death released her resentment. As for the daughter Xiao Yuanrou left behind, Muqing, her grandmother despised her from birth, seeing her as an ill omen. When the Duke of Dingguo was later killed in battle, the Yongding Marquis family fell from prominence, and Muqing was sent to the Second Master family , who was serving as an official in Hezhou at the time.
As for her father, Chu Changsong, the Marquis of Yongding ,well, one could even say he loathed her. At first, she did not understand, thinking it was because she had not grown up with him. Later, she realized he cared only for Concubine An and her sister, Chu Nianyi, who lives outside the Yongding Marquis residence .
In her previous life, she had devoted much effort to this concubine-born daughter, helping her marry the Third Prince, Yuan Yang, as a concubine. Eventually, the Third Prince ascended the throne, and Chu Nianyi became a noble concubine.
Speaking of the Third Prince, in her previous life, he had married her second younger sister, Chu Shuran, the legitimate second daughter of Marquis of Yongding , as his primary consort. Later, he also took a concubine-born daughter from the Yongding Marquis family. The two sisters shared one husband, and their families were ridiculed for it at the time.
By then, Chu Muqing had already married into the Marquis of Zhongyong’s household. She had been puzzled by the news, as she had a good relationship with Chu Shuran and had even confronted her father to defend her sister. Because of this, she was labeled unfilial, worsening her relationship with her mother-in-law. When her husband, the heir of Marquis of Zhongyong, took multiple concubines, her life in the household became even more difficult.
Originally, she had never expected to marry into the Marquis of Zhongyong household. The engagement had been arranged between the Marquis of Zhongyong’s heir and the Marquis of Yongding’s legitimate second daughter. Later, when Chu Muqing returned to the capital with the Second branch family, the old madam, unwilling to part with Chu Shuran, kept her there. News then spread that the Marquis of Yongding eldest daughter was engaged to the Marquis of Zhongyong’s heir. She dared not defy her father or grandmother and married into the Marquis of Zhongyong household. Her husband appeared refined but was in reality a beastly man.
A year later, Chu Shuran married the Third Prince. Looking back, it seemed the family had already intended for Chu Shuran to marry the prince but could not break the engagement with the Marquis of Zhongyong household. Chu Muqing, as the eldest legitimate daughter, was used to balance the arrangements. Whether she would have a happy marriage was of no concern to them.
Her own foolishness had played a part as well. Although her maternal grandfather had died, her uncle remained a general with military power. He had adored her mother and extended that care to her. When Chu Shuran asked for help, reminding her that they were sisters, Muqing interceded with her uncle, eventually supporting the Third Prince’s faction despite her uncle’s initial reluctance.
With her uncle’s help, the Third Prince eventually ascended the throne. But once he became emperor, he found a fabricated reason to confiscate the Dingguo Duke’s household. The Dingguo family had been loyal and heroic, with many dying on the battlefield, yet because of her own foolishness, Chu Muqing’s family perished in a web of treachery.
It was the dead of winter, snow falling thickly everywhere. She begged Chu Shuran, “Second Sister, Uncle couldn’t have rebelled. Please, plead with His Majesty.”
Chu Shuran only covered her lips with a smile and said, “Sister, the evidence against the Duke of Dingguo family is irrefutable. Who else can you blame? If anyone, it’s your own foolishness. Haha. Now the emperor is on the throne, and as for you and the Dingguo household… you’re useless. Useless people are only fit to die.”
She still smiled as gently as the first time they met, but now Chu Muqing found her utterly detestable. Chu Muqing now bitterly regretted only realizing Chu Shuran’s true nature so late.
Chu Shuran was about to leave, paused, then turned back suddenly. “Sister, are you curious why your second uncle’s family never came to see you after your marriage? That’s because they were already dead. Oh, and your little brother… barely a month after your marriage, your husband played him to death. Do you know who sent him away? It was that good-for-nothing Sixth Sister of ours. Tsk tsk… she conspired with your husband to marry into the Marquis of Zhongyong household, using your name to trick him.”
Chu Muqing’s head snapped up. “What did you say?”
She finally understood why her second aunt had gone mad shortly after her marriage. She had thought her aunt had been devastated by her cousin disappearance, never did she imagine the truth. Chu Ningchu! That timid Sixth Sister, who had seemed so kind and pitiful, had repaid her care in this way.
Her Jin’an, still so young… how much pain he must have felt in death.
Chu Muqing returned to the Marquis of Zhongyong household in a daze, only to be immediately surrounded by servants. Her husband, Xiang Heng, emerged slowly, holding a woman in his arms. Mockingly, he said, “My wife has been committing adultery. Take her to the woodhouse.”
Chu Muqing looked up in disbelief, her voice hoarse as she spoke deliberately, “I knew you were vile, but I didn’t think you could come up with a reason this shameless.”
She turned to the woman in Xiang Heng’s arms, her maid, Bai Lan. Bai Lan had been with her since returning to the capital. Chu Muqing had treated her like a sister and had even arranged a decent match for her, but Bai Lan had begged to stay, unwilling to leave. On the way back, Chu Muqing had wondered how the rebellion letter had ended up in her uncle’s study. Now, seeing Bai Lan, she understood.
“It was you, Bai Lan. You planted that letter, didn’t you? I treated you well, yet you grew into an ungrateful traitor.” Only her people could move freely in the Dingguo household.
Bai Lan spoke softly and meekly, “Miss, I admire the Young Master. But you wouldn’t even let me become his concubine. The Empress said that if I planted the letter, I could become his secondary wife.”
“Ridiculous.” Chu Muqing laughed bitterly, pointing at Xiang Heng. “A man like him, being his primary wife would disgust me, yet you rushed to become his concubine? Hahaha!”
“Someone, kill her immediately! I was going to show her some mercy, but this wretch won’t even accept it!” Xiang Heng roared in fury.
As the baton struck her, Chu Muqing felt not just pain but a strange sense of release. Her life had been a string of failures, those she trusted deceived her, those who cared for her died because of her, and her enemies had been mistaken for family. Foolish beyond measure.
Gradually, she even stopped feeling pain. She seemed to see Jin’an again, standing under a tree, mud on his clothes, waving his arms excitedly. “Sister, look! I picked these fruits for you! Eat them quickly, or Mother will scold us!”
…
“Muqing, wake up! We’re almost at the Marquis’s residence.”
Chu Muqing awoke, realizing she had been leaning against the Second Madam while sleeping.
“What a child… what bad dream made you cry?” The Second Madam’s expression was full of concern. Chu Muqing knew she worried for her.
Smiling faintly, she shook her head. “Aunt, I was just feeling a little homesick.”
“My child, when we arrive at the Marquis’s household, don’t say things like that. That is our home now. If word gets out, it won’t be good for your reputation.” The rebuke in her voice carried warmth and affection. Chu Muqing had been raised on her lap since birth, she was like her own daughter.
“Sister, I heard that! Don’t pretend, I’m not homesick!” Chu Jin’an’s voice came from outside the carriage. Now eight years old, he had insisted on riding with Second Master, and the Second Madam had agreed.
After her rebirth, Chu Muqing had held Jin’an and cried for an hour, frightening the Second Madam, who thought Jin’an had harmed her. Only after Chu Muqing explained it was a nightmare was the misunderstanding cleared.
Even so, the Second Madam warned the maids that even if they were cousin, boys and girls over seven should not sit together, for appearances.
“You’re teasing your sister again,”
Jin’an laughed. The Second Madam also chuckled in the carriage.
“You two are very close,” the Second Master said with a hearty laugh. “We’re almost at the city. People from the household should be waiting at the gates.”
The Second Master of the Yongding Marquis household, Chu Changbai, was capable. Though born as a concubine son, he had achieved his position through his own efforts rather than family connections.
Chu Muqing lifted the carriage curtain and could faintly see the city walls of the capital. In her past life, she had been buried in this bustling city. This time, she vowed not to let Chu Shuran, Chu Ningchu, Xiang Heng, or Bai Lan escape. The capital was full of intrigue, and this time, she would protect her second uncle and her uncle’s family.
“Second Master, I am Feng Quan, butler of the outer residence. By order of the old madam, I am here to welcome you back to the capital,” said a man.
Chu Muqing listened quietly inside the carriage. In her previous life, it had been this same Feng Quan who came to receive them. Though he claimed to be acting on the old madam’s orders, Feng Quan was actually a trusted aide of the Marquis of Yongding, shrewd, capable, and resourceful. Concubine An, whom the Marquis had cherished, had originally been kept outside the mansion as a mistress, and it was Feng Quan who had overseen her arrangements.
“Thank you for your concern, Butler Feng,” Chu Changbai said politely.
“It is my duty. Second Master, you must be weary from your journey. Please enter the city and return to your residence without delay,” Butler Feng replied, bowing respectfully.
Chu Changbai nodded, remounted his horse, and was about to set off for the Yongding Marquis’s residence when a sudden commotion arose in the city. A group of young men, all around seventeen or eighteen, rode up to him.