Jizhou was in the northern lands, and after deep autumn, the weather turned cold and the winds blew high.Before the spacious marquis manor, winds came from every direction, not only lashing against the face but also pouring into the loose robes and trousers. The young woman tightened the hood around her head, deeply regretting not having brought the fur-lined cap with its attached shoulder covering. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been shivering so violently, and as she passed through the manor's corridors, she could still hear the mournful howl of the bitter wind.When she reached the main courtyard, however, the maids lifted the curtain and a wave of warmth rushed out. The young woman removed her hood and fox-fur cloak, handing them to someone nearby before respectfully stepping into the inner chamber.This young woman's maiden name was Xin, and she was known as First Madam Xin, around twenty years of age. She had an oval face, neatly trimmed sideburns, and wore a silver-threaded bun adorned with gold filigree hairpins arranged all around—truly resplendent in appearance.Entering the inner chamber, she promptly bowed and paid her respects: "Mother, your daughter-in-law greets you."Madam Ji, the wife of the Marquis of Zhaojie, sat beside the kang table by the eastern window, leaning against a slightly worn blue-patterned pillow. She was an extraordinarily radiant woman, full of charm even as she approached forty, and her laugh was especially hearty: "At this time of year, why have you come? Didn't I tell you that now that you're with child, you should focus on nurturing your pregnancy?"After First Madam Xin married Pei Shuo, the eldest son of Madam Ji, she had moved to Tongling Ward, not far from the Marquis of Zhaojie's manor. Madam Ji was not the sort to torment her daughter-in-law, nor did she care for excessive formalities, so she only required First Madam Xin to come pay her respects on the fifteenth of each month."Mother-in-law's kindness is appreciated, and I wouldn't normally decline, but I came today because I heard that my younger sister is ill, so I've come to visit her." First Madam Xin knew well that her mother-in-law doted most on her youngest daughter, and so she had to come no matter what.At the mention of her daughter, Madam Ji couldn't help but say with distress: "Your sister has truly suffered greatly."It turned out that a few days earlier, Madam Ji and her mother-in-law, Old Madam Xu, had brought the two daughters into the palace to pay respects to Empress He. The Empress, having no sons of her own, had kept the sisters and several other young ladies to stay an extra day in the palace. But unexpectedly, in that single day, something went wrong. It was said that as their party was boating on the lake, they accidentally struck a strange rock. The eldest daughter, Deyin, who had been playing the zither at the bow, was knocked into the water, and the palace eunuch rowing the boat also tumbled overboard. Chaos broke out, and Chancellor Lyu's daughter, in her panic, rowed desperately—only to drift farther and farther away.Both girls were from the north and couldn't swim. After drifting far out, the boat capsized, and the daughter clung to a strange rock in the lake all night, only being rescued in the morning. She returned home and fell ill.First Madam Xin pressed her palms together: "Thank heavens for Buddha's mercy. Has my sister taken her medicine now?""She took medicine for a day, but the high fever wouldn't break. It was only after the physician added coptis root that the fever subsided. She's resting now, and I'll go see her in a moment." Madam Ji looked deeply worried.First Madam Xin patted her belly, glanced around, and seemed hesitant to speak. Seeing this, Madam Ji dismissed the servants."Do you have something you wish to say to me?" Madam Ji looked at her rather shrewd daughter-in-law.First Madam Xin said: "Speaking of it, that eldest young lady over there is seventeen now, and our family's young lady is also sixteen. The Empress summoned both of our family's young ladies to the palace. I dare to ask, Mother—is the Empress considering one of them for the position of Crown Princess?"The Son of Heaven was weak and sickly, and Empress He had no sons. Her brother held great power in the capital, supported by Chancellor Lyu. Because they had deposed the original crown prince and installed the second prince, Li Heng, as the new crown prince, and the prince was now eighteen, the age for marriage had arrived.Although Madam Ji was a capable and decisive woman, there were some matters she did not wish to discuss with outsiders, not even her daughter-in-law. Because it was the crown prince who had saved her daughter from the rockery, and he had ignored Chancellor Lyu's daughter to save her own daughter in full view of everyone—it was hard not to suspect his intentions.But nothing was settled yet, so she merely shook her head: "That I wouldn't know. She has an elder sister above her; how could such good fortune fall to our second girl? The Grand Lady has never been fond of me, and the Marquis is utterly obedient to his mother. The eldest girl was raised at the Grand Lady's knee, so everything will surely favor her. None of this is certain."First Madam Xin, however, thought that although the Grand Lady of Zhaojie Marquis's household, Old Madam Xu, disliked her mother-in-law, her mother-in-law had borne the only heir of the Zheng family, Zheng Wuheng. Her husband, Pei Shuo, though born of Madam Ji's previous marriage, was already serving in the Jizhou army and was highly cultivated by the Marquis. The eldest girl's mother, Madam Xu, though the niece of Old Madam Xu, had long since devoted herself to a life of Buddhist devotion and could not be compared to her own mother-in-law.She was about to say more, but seeing Madam Ji rise, she hurriedly took her leave.Madam Ji called her back: "Take my warm palanquin back. Don't catch a chill. Rest well and take care of the child.""Yes." First Madam Xin curtsied once more before departing.After First Madam Xin left, Madam Ji went to the rear chamber to see her daughter. As she entered, the bitter smell of medicinal broth wafted over. Originally, this place had carried the scent of ink and books or a faint fragrance of herbs. Huiyin was filial—whenever her father or brother returned from battle wounded, she would brew medicinal soups to help them recover.Her daughter was still in a deep sleep, seemingly caught in a nightmare, her hands tightly clutching the bedclothes beneath her.Madam Ji sat by the bed, gently patting her daughter's shoulder: "I'm here, Mother is here. My precious child must be well.""Madam, how is it that the eldest young lady woke up long ago and even went to the capital from Jizhou to thank the emperor, but our young lady is still groggy?" Jixue, the maid of the second young lady Huiyin, was very anxious.She had seen with her own eyes the crown prince carrying her young lady down from the rockery, and her young lady said the prince hadn't even glanced at the higher-born Miss Lyu—clearly, she was special to him.With the time for selecting the crown princess approaching, her young lady could not afford to fall ill.Madam Ji was about to speak when she heard a soft moan from the bed—her daughter had woken."Huiyin, my Huiniang, you've finally woken." Madam Ji smiled.Zheng Huiyin looked at her mother before her, somewhat dazed, and listened as her mother chattered on about her falling into the water. She looked at her own attire and the familiar bedchamber—she had returned to the age of sixteen.Only her mother would call her Huiniang.Then she heard Madam Ji say: "Your grandmother and eldest sister have already gone to the palace to thank the emperor, but you were ill. Still, perhaps it's for the best—it saves you the hardship of travel. It's just a pity—"Huiyin had already spent an hour coming to accept that she had truly been reborn.Hearing her mother say "pity," Huiyin smiled: "What's the pity?""The crown prince intends to take a wife. Your eldest sister went to the palace to thank the emperor, but you didn't go. I fear you've missed your chance." Madam Ji said this.Huiniang did not know why, but the mere mention of the Crown Prince made her want to retch. In her previous life, it was at this very time that her elder sister had accompanied their grandmother to the palace to express gratitude for the imperial favor. Coincidentally, Prince Wei was also seeking a bride for his nephew, Prince Huaiyin. As the saying goes, "When two advantages conflict, choose the greater." Prince Huaiyin was originally the son of Prince Wu, and he was similar in age to his young uncle, Prince Wei, with whom he shared common interests. When Prince Wei rose in rebellion, Prince Huaiyin had even led troops to assist him.Later, after Prince Wu and his wife passed away one after another, Prince Huaiyin went to seek refuge with Prince Wei. Prince Wei was overjoyed, granted him troops and horses, and stationed him to guard Xuzhou, which had always been a strategic military stronghold. At that time, Prince Huaiyin was only twenty years old. It was said that he had observed mourning for his grandparents and parents and had not yet married even at twenty. Prince Wei wished to establish friendly relations with her father, so he sent Madam Xu of the Eastern Sea—her elder sister's maternal uncle—to act as a matchmaker, requesting that her father give one of his daughters to Prince Huaiyin in marriage.Her father had originally thought that while the eldest daughter could become the Crown Princess, the second daughter becoming a prince's consort was also acceptable.But in those days, the old Madam Xu and the Xu family believed that Prince Huaiyin, being young and accomplished with real power, was far superior to the puppet Crown Prince Li Heng, who depended on others' whims. Moreover, Prince Huaiyin was also of noble imperial lineage. Li Heng could be deposed at any moment, while Prince Huaiyin held great authority in his hands. Thus, the old Madam Xu had the eldest sister marry Prince Huaiyin.Originally, in her previous life, Huiniang had also thought she would marry a regional feudal lord, which would allow her to survive in such turbulent times. She never expected that Empress He would summon her and say that the Crown Prince was very fond of her and willing to grant her the position of Crown Princess. Her father had always been weak-willed and capricious in his decisions, so he agreed.But Chancellor Lyu had not anticipated this unexpected turn of events—his own daughter was to marry the Crown Prince as the principal consort, while Huiniang, who had once been orally hinted at as the Crown Princess, was reduced to the rank of a secondary consort. To protect her position, her eldest brother died in a bloody conflict with the Lyu family, and her younger brother followed Li Heng to attack Xuzhou. When Li Heng was ambushed, it was her younger brother who exchanged clothes with him, allowing Li Heng to escape with his life.That was her greatest regret in her previous life. Having been reborn, she could see her younger mother again, and hearing that her eldest brother was with her father in the military camp, and that her younger brother had been too lazy to practice his spear in the cold morning, she could not help but smile."Mother, if there's no opportunity, then so be it. The palace is a place of trouble. We merely went in to accompany the Empress for a day, and yet it led to such a situation. If we truly entered the palace, our future would be fraught with danger." Huiniang was clear-headed.In her previous life, it was only because the Crown Prince had doted on her so thoroughly when she first entered the palace that she had spoken well of him to her mother, and her father, brothers, and younger brother had all worked so desperately to help him.But in this life…"Madam, the old Madam and the eldest young lady have returned, and they brought back an imperial edict. The whole family is summoned to receive it together." Nanny Liu, Madam Ji's trusted confidante, came in to announce.Huiniang was puzzled for a moment—in her previous life, there had been no such edict at this time! But she followed her mother to dress properly and walk to the front hall, where she happened to see her younger brother making faces at her, her father with his tiger-like eyes slightly widened, the old Madam Xu, and her elder sister Deyin, who in her previous life had looked haggard and withered but now appeared refined and composed."Kneel." Madam Ji pulled her daughter down.Having been Empress Dowager for several years, Huiniang had long since needed to kneel before no one, and now kneeling felt somewhat unfamiliar."By the grace of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: The foundation of the realm lies in the heir apparent, and to match the heir apparent, one must await a worthy lady of the state. You, the eldest daughter of Zheng Fang, Marquis of Zhaojie in Jizhou, born of a noble house whose gates carry the height of prosperity, are suited to be the consort of the heir, fitting for a distinguished clan. You may be made a Crown Princess's Consort. Let the rites be prepared for your investiture. May you respectfully uphold the way of womanhood, never forgetting the teachings of your governess. So it is decreed!""Your subject, Zheng, thanks the Emperor for his grace. Long live the Emperor, ten thousand years, ten thousand times ten thousand years." Zheng Deyin stepped forward with composure, her bearing dignified and her demeanor graceful, and she unconsciously glanced toward Huiniang.Only then did Huiniang understand—during the time she had been unconscious, this elder sister must have also been reborn. In her previous life, when she saw Huiniang ruling the realm as Empress Dowager, she had fainted in anger. Now, however, she was willingly becoming Li Heng's consort, hoping to follow the same path as Huiniang and one day rule the realm as Empress Dowager.Otherwise, given Madam Xu's unyielding nature, sharp and seasoned with age, she would never have allowed her to marry the Crown Prince.So it could only have been her own request.…"Elder Sister, congratulations." Huiniang was the first to step forward and offer her felicitations once the officials bearing the decree had departed.Zheng Deyin looked at her younger sister, and seeing her offer congratulations as if entirely unaware of the situation, she felt a pang of guilt—after all, she had taken her sister's rightful match. But then she reconsidered: if she entered the Eastern Palace and married her second sister off to a good man, that would be repayment enough. And she herself would gain both her husband's exclusive favor and the highest position, eventually clearing her mother Madam Xu's name. In this way, it would be a solution that benefited both sides.
Chapter 2
Rebirth of the Empress