“Do you know why the Jingyuan Marquisate is managed by our second branch?
Clearly, the eldest branch in the family genealogy is the legitimate eldest son born of the principal wife. The eldest branch should rightfully inherit the title.
It was your grandmother, Old Madam Wang, your stepmother Wang Chenbi, and your father—the three of them working together.
One deliberately nurtured the fetus of Madam Bai, the wife of the eldest branch, causing her to have an oversized fetus that was difficult to deliver.
Another, during Madam Bai’s labor, swapped her labor-inducing medicine for a fetus-preserving one, dragging out her suffering until she died, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child.
The third bribed the midwife and doctor, framing Madam Bai’s death as a difficult childbirth.
But killing Madam Bai wasn’t enough. At her funeral, the three of them schemed against Elder Master Bai, your uncle, arranging for him to engage in an illicit affair with a maid in front of the spirit altar.
This led to Elder Master Bai being reprimanded by the emperor and ordered to be caned. They then tampered with his wounds, causing him to die from the injuries, completely wiping out the eldest branch. Only then did the title of the Jingyuan Marquisate fall to your father of the second branch.”
This long, detailed account resurfaced in Swallow Holding Branch’s mind, causing her to open her eyes at that moment and stare blankly at the pink canopy embroidered with butterflies and flowers.
If she hadn’t accidentally overheard this private conversation in her previous life, she would never have known that the entire second branch of the Jingyuan Marquisate were the murderers of her father and mother.
Yes, in her previous life, Swallow Holding Branch had died once and was now reborn.
Swallow Holding Branch was originally a noble daughter from a prestigious marquisate, the legitimate eldest daughter of the eldest branch.
But in her previous life, from the moment she could remember, she had never enjoyed a single day of good fortune.
In her previous life, Swallow Holding Branch grew up in the countryside of her ancestral home. From a young age, everyone around her told her that she should have been a pampered young lady living in luxury.
But her father, Yan Tingbai, had behaved improperly, engaging in misconduct with a maid in front of the spirit altar of his deceased wife, Madam Bai, bringing shame upon the marquisate. After being reprimanded and caned by the emperor, he passed away.
The second branch of the marquisate inherited the title. Swallow Holding Branch, because her birth chart clashed with that of her aunt, Wang Chenbi, caused her aunt to go into premature labor.
Thus, this noble young lady was exiled to the family temple in their ancestral home in Jinling, where she lived with her grandaunt who had taken vows there.
Everyone told her that all the hardships she faced today were caused by her irresponsible father. The young Swallow Holding Branch believed this wholeheartedly.
In her previous life, Swallow Holding Branch secretly resented her father for many years while also feeling that her mother’s fate was unjust—losing her life while bearing children for her husband, only for her husband to misbehave at her spirit altar. If her mother had a soul in heaven, she would surely be unable to rest in peace.
But no matter how much resentment she held toward her father or how much she grieved for her mother, they were both gone, vanished like smoke, leaving nothing behind.
Swallow Holding Branch was sent to live at the family temple in Jinling when she was just over three years old.
Without loyal servants by her side, it was her grandaunt at the temple who protected her and raised her.
The family temple was no place of luxury. Thus, although Swallow Holding Branch was a noble daughter from a prestigious family, her life from childhood was one of hardship, no different from that of an ordinary girl.
To make life more bearable, Swallow Holding Branch had to learn handicrafts from her grandaunt from a young age, using her skills to improve her living conditions. Otherwise, if she fell ill, she wouldn’t even have money to buy medicine.
Swallow Holding Branch had fantasized about what it would be like to live in luxury as a noble young lady.
For a time, she felt deeply resentful.
She believed her uncle and aunt from the second branch were too cruel. If she truly brought misfortune to her relatives, why was her grandaunt able to remain unharmed?
It was simply that the second branch of the family disliked her and found an excuse to exile her.
They had taken all the benefits, yet couldn’t even tolerate an orphan girl from the main branch.
The hardships of life made her cynical, but her aunt told her: “Circumstances are stronger than people. If you want to reason with the second branch, you must stand at the same height as them. Otherwise, as an orphan girl, who would pay you any attention?
Knowing something is impossible yet still dwelling on it, making yourself angry—that’s a losing battle.
Better to think of ways to seek justice for yourself.”
How to seek justice for herself—Swallow Holding Branch pondered this for a long time in her previous life. Relying on herself alone was difficult; without the clan’s approval, she couldn’t even obtain a travel permit to go to the capital.
To escape the family’s control, she could only marry out, and her husband couldn’t be from some minor household either, or she would still be unable to break free from the family’s grip.
Not only did her future husband’s family have to be prestigious and influential, but her husband also had to be an outstanding talent among men—someone capable of entering the court as an official through his own abilities and family support, with both the skill and ambition to rise step by step.
Only then could Swallow Holding Branch use her husband’s influence to confront the second branch head-on.
But such men were one in a hundred—what kind of girl couldn’t they choose? Why would they ever take a liking to Swallow Holding Branch?
Fortunately, Swallow Holding Branch had a beautiful face. Her aunt said she had inherited the best features of both parents, taking the essence and discarding the flaws—a rare beauty among ten thousand.
Relying on her beauty, Swallow Holding Branch almost achieved her goal.
But just as they were about to exchange betrothal documents, a eunuch who had served three dynasties and retired to his hometown arrived in Jinling.
Though he was a eunuch, having served three dynasties and still managing to retire intact from the palace showed he was no ordinary figure.
Anyone in Jinling with any standing had to show respect to this Eunuch Xia, and the family Swallow Holding Branch had her eyes on was no exception.
It was because of this connection that Eunuch Xia saw her. After learning about Swallow Holding Branch’s past and identity, Eunuch Xia actually felt that letting her marry would be a waste of her beauty.
Eunuch Xia intended to present a beauty to the emperor, and Swallow Holding Branch was one of the candidates he had in mind. Such heavenly beauty deserved to be matched with wealth and honor.
Thus, the family that had almost arranged a marriage with Swallow Holding Branch naturally didn’t dare to proceed with the match.
And so, Swallow Holding Branch was sent on a boat to the capital. She wasn’t without fear about the sudden change in her fate, but if she could meet the emperor and gain his favor,
it would clearly help her achieve her goal much faster. So, despite her fear, she had no regrets.
Swallow Holding Branch’s plan in her previous life wasn’t bad, but she overestimated her own abilities, naively thinking she could carve out a future for herself.
She underestimated the second branch’s methods and capabilities—or rather, she underestimated their audacity.
On the very day Swallow Holding Branch set foot in the capital, the Jingyuan Marquis Estate used the excuse that the estate’s matriarch, Old Madam Wang, missed her granddaughter, insisting she go pay her respects to her elders.
Swallow Holding Branch had no choice but to go. Filial piety had always been a weapon that could crush people since ancient times. As a junior, if she didn’t pay her respects to her elders upon her first arrival in the capital, Old Madam Wang could accuse her of being unfilial.
But who could have known that once she went, she would never walk out of the Jingyuan Marquis Estate alive again.
Swallow Holding Branch died in the Jingyuan Marquis Estate. Old Madam Wang gave her a cup of tea that caused symptoms of acclimatization sickness. Feeling unwell, she naturally couldn’t enter the palace and had to stay at the Jingyuan Marquis Estate to recuperate.
Raised in the family temple, she witnessed for the first time a place where human life was as cheap as grass, yet it was her own life that paid the price—dying in confusion, unclear and muddled.
At that time, she had just passed her fourteenth birthday less than three days before, and she perished in the Jingyuan Marquis Manor. It could be said that in her previous life, Swallow Holding Branch was foolishly killed by her own naivety.
End of chapter: Please, dear readers, read a few more chapters and share your thoughts!