Qifeng First Year, midwinter.
It had been over a month since the late emperor passed away, and this day marked the coronation ceremony of the new emperor.
In a distant mansion in Jingcheng, a group of people barged into a remote and secluded courtyard, the sudden muffled sounds startling the birds into flight.
Inside the room, a pair of hands forcefully gripped a woman’s chin. Ignoring her struggles, Jiang Shuangyuan frowned at the maidservant beside her when she felt the pain of being grabbed. In the next moment, the woman’s hands were pulled away by the maidservants, but her will to survive was too strong, and the maidservants struggled in vain.
Until, with a snap—
The woman’s hands were forcibly broken by the maidservants. Caught off guard, she let out a piercing scream. Jiang Shuangyuan turned a blind eye, forcefully pouring the medicine into the woman’s mouth. Then, she raised her hand, and the woman’s mouth was covered, muffled sounds continuing to escape. Jiang Shuangyuan leaned down, brushed her fingers over the woman’s cheek, and clicked her tongue softly:
“Look at you, how pitiful.”
“If you hadn’t abandoned the Crown Prince back then, you would probably be the empress now, wouldn’t you? How could I possibly treat you like this?”
“What a shame. You had a moment of insight once, but you won’t be lucky a second time.”
The woman lay on the ground, covered in bruises. As the medicine took effect, blood trickled from the corners of her mouth. The pain from her broken fingers and the poison tearing through her insides made her body tremble uncontrollably. Whimpers of agony escaped her lips as she stared at the woman, her eyes filled with fear, terror, and a piercing hatred.
Jiang Shuangyuan glanced at the maidservant. “Today is the new emperor’s coronation. No noise is allowed.”
The maidservant deftly stuffed a cloth into the woman’s mouth. Until her death, the woman could only watch helplessly as Jiang Shuangyuan left. As her consciousness faded, she heard those light, airy words—
“Father has ordered that the Third Young Lady died suddenly. With the new emperor’s coronation, it’s not appropriate to hold a grand funeral. Dispose of her.”
Jingcheng, Ministry of Rites Minister’s Residence.
In a secluded courtyard, a woman lay with her eyes tightly shut, covered in cold sweat. She seemed trapped in a nightmare, her face twisted in agony. Suddenly, she opened her eyes, sat up abruptly, and gasped for breath.
Hearing the commotion, a maidservant dressed in a blue gown hurried in from outside. She hastily set down the balsam flowers she was holding and deftly helped the woman sit up:
“Did the Young Lady have another nightmare?”
Qing Su was worried. She didn’t know what was wrong with the Young Lady. Ever since she woke up a month ago, she had been plagued by nightmares, often waking up drenched in cold sweat.
If this were the Eldest Young Lady or the Second Young Lady, the mistress would have been notified long ago, and a physician would have been called for a diagnosis or a visit to Anling Temple for prayers.
Thinking of this, Qing Su sighed and collected her thoughts.
Jiang Yitang looked around in a daze. Hearing Qing Su’s words, she suddenly snapped back to reality. Warm sunlight streamed through the window, falling on her face. She resembled her mother, with delicate, fair skin. Now, with a few drops of cold sweat on her forehead, she appeared even more fragile. Her clear eyes seemed washed clean, and her apricot-colored lips were pale. She lowered her head slightly, revealing only half of her profile, and murmured softly:
“Yes, a nightmare.”
Jiang Yitang forced a faint smile.
Only she knew that it wasn’t a dream at all—it was something that had truly happened.
She had been forced to drink poison and died a miserable death in this very courtyard.
The one who ordered the poison was her own father, and the one who personally poured it into her mouth was her own elder sister.
Jiang Yitang didn’t know why she had returned to seven years ago.
This year, nothing had happened yet.
She was merely a concubine-born daughter in the Ministry of Rites Minister’s Residence, whose birth mother had passed away early.
Unnoticed and forgotten.
Qing Su attended to her as she washed up, noticing her complexion had recovered and was no longer so pitifully pale. Only then did she go to arrange the freshly picked touch-me-not flowers in a vase, adding a touch of brightness to the room.
Jiang Yitang lifted her head, squinting as the sunlight stung her eyes. Uncomfortable, she turned away, catching sight of the touch-me-not flowers from the corner of her eye. A thought suddenly occurred to her, and she asked:
“Qing Su, what’s the date today?”
Without turning around, Qing Su replied, “Have you forgotten, miss? Today is the eighth day of the seventh month. Chunan Street was bustling with excitement yesterday—the eldest and second young ladies both went out. It’s a pity you went to bed so early.”
Yesterday was the seventh day of the seventh month, the Qixi Festival. By dusk, Jingcheng had already come alive with festivities.
Jiang Yitang, of course, knew about this. In her past life, she hadn’t slept but had gone out with her elder sisters. Her second sister, Jiang Shuangyuan, found her annoying and refused to walk with her. At that time, she was still young, and no matter how fast she walked, she inevitably fell behind. Amid the crowded throng, she accidentally lost sight of her elder sisters. The memories that followed were far from pleasant.
Unable to find her elder sisters, as the festivities began to wind down, she had no choice but to return to the residence alone. By then, the gates had long been locked.
She knocked for a long time before a servant finally opened the door. The servant didn’t mock her but gave her a sympathetic look, urging her to hurry back to her courtyard.
The next day, her stepmother scolded her for wandering off, causing her elder sisters to search for her in vain, and she ended up being punished.
Having been reborn, Jiang Yitang was unsettled in mind and spirit. Moreover, she was already well aware of her standing in the residence and had no desire to invite disdain. Most importantly, she feared that if she saw her second sister, Jiang Shuangyuan, she might not be able to control her emotions, risking exposure. So, she simply went to bed early.
Now, hearing Qing Su’s words, Jiang Yitang felt no regret. Instead, she suddenly remembered something.
Jiang Yitang silently clenched her handkerchief.
In her past life, it was on the tenth day of the seventh month in the twenty-eighth year of Zhaohe—two days from now—that he was brought to the Minister’s Residence in a carriage.
He would then reside in the Minister’s Residence for two months.
This person was none other than the current Crown Prince, Xie Yuzhao.
He had contracted smallpox and could no longer stay in the Eastern Palace. However, the Crown Prince was deeply cherished by the Emperor, who could not bear to see him suffer far from the capital. Thus, the Emperor decided to have him stay in the home of a high-ranking official, where he could receive meticulous care. After much deliberation, this heavy responsibility ultimately fell upon the Ministry of Rites Minister’s Residence.
Among the many reasons given, the most important one was that Jiang Ze Min, the younger brother of the Minister of Rites and Jiang Yitang’s uncle, had once served in the Imperial Hospital before resigning and returning home. It was most appropriate for him to oversee the Crown Prince’s care.
For a moment, Jiang Yitang was lost in thought.
Her birth mother had passed away early, and she was not favored by her stepmother. Her living quarters were in a secluded and remote part of the residence, with only Qing Su and a lowly maid to attend to her.
Perhaps because of this, when she was young and encountered her uncle, she received a measure of his pity. Under his subtle influence, she gained a superficial understanding of medicine. After the Crown Prince moved into the Minister’s Residence, a thought suddenly arose in Jiang Yitang’s mind—
If she saved the Crown Prince, even if he only remembered a fraction of her kindness, he might take her away from the Minister’s Residence in the future.
Once the Crown Prince ascended the throne, she would naturally rise to prominence alongside him.
Once this thought took root, it refused to fade. Jiang Yitang had only this one opportunity. She had just three years left before her coming-of-age ceremony, after which her stepmother would surely arrange a marriage for her.
Her stepmother disliked her.
Jiang Yitang had known this since she was a child.
Her father paid no attention to the affairs of the inner household, and with her second sister constantly targeting her, Jiang Yitang had no idea what her fate would be. In the end, as she leaned against the window and saw that person lying in bed, his face sickly, sweat beading on his forehead as if enduring immense pain, Jiang Yitang made up her mind.
She wanted to take a gamble.
By nature timid, she usually stayed within her courtyard and rarely ventured out. That was the boldest she had ever been.
As it turned out, her gamble paid off.
Two months later, when the Crown Prince recovered from his illness and returned to the Eastern Palace, those who had previously hesitated and declined were filled with regret. Under such circumstances, the Crown Prince’s special regard for Jiang Yitang suddenly elevated her status within the residence.
Later, Xie Yuzhao even learned of her experiences in the residence and would frequently invite her to stay at the Crown Prince’s Residence for short periods.
Everyone knew that Xie Yuzhao had requested the Emperor to grant him a marriage—to a concubine-born daughter of the Minister’s residence. Out of guilt for having once expelled him from the Eastern Palace, the Emperor agreed, though not as his principal consort.
Instead, she was to be the Crown Prince’s secondary consort.
Even so, everyone in Jingcheng said she had stumbled upon incredible luck, managing to climb her way up to the Crown Prince.
Jiang Yitang remembered that after the imperial decree was issued, Xie Yuzhao brought her to the Crown Prince’s Residence, gently smoothing her hair as he softly told her not to worry.
At the time, Yitang was confused and didn’t understand what Xie Yuzhao meant.
She whispered to Xie Yuzhao that being a secondary consort was enough.
She was merely a concubine-born daughter of the Minister’s residence. Given her status, even being a secondary consort was a stretch, and the fact that the Crown Prince cherished their bond was enough for her to establish herself in the Crown Prince’s Residence.
To this, Xie Yuzhao only smiled without a word.
Jiang Yitang waited to marry into the Crown Prince’s Residence after her coming-of-age ceremony, so she never imagined that Xie Yuzhao would suddenly rebel.
She couldn’t believe it.
Xie Yuzhao was already the Crown Prince. All he had to do was wait for the Emperor to pass, and he would naturally ascend to the throne. Why would he rebel?
Was it because of her?
But Jiang Yitang felt it was impossible. Xie Yuzhao was not that kind of person.
Later, on her way to the Crown Prince’s Residence, Jiang Yitang encountered her father. He stopped her, forbidding her from leaving the residence, and coldly demanded, “Do you intend to drag down the entire Minister’s residence?”
Jiang Yitang froze in place.
Call her heartless or cold-blooded if you will—her birth mother had long passed away, and in truth, she cared little for the Minister’s residence.
But should she go to the Crown Prince’s Residence?
Xie Yuzhao had committed the grave crime of rebellion!
His life was in constant danger.
Jiang Yitang had already gambled on Xie Yuzhao once. The reason she had taken that gamble was because she feared death.
In the end, Jiang Yitang succumbed to fear.
She did not go to the Crown Prince’s Residence.
Until her father ordered her to be poisoned to death, she never saw Xie Yuzhao again.
Jiang Yitang snapped back to reality just as Qing Su lowered her voice:
“I heard that in two days, the Crown Prince will be moving into the residence. They say he has smallpox. Miss, do you think it can be cured?”
Jiang Yitang blurted out:
“It can!”
Not only did that person recover from smallpox, but he ultimately ascended to the throne.
Qing Su was startled and looked at her mistress in confusion. Jiang Yitang averted her gaze slightly. Just as Qing Su was about to say more, Jiang Yitang interrupted her:
“Don’t say any more. Discussing the imperial family recklessly is a serious crime if word gets out.”
Qing Su immediately shrank back, not daring to speak further.
Jiang Yitang lowered her head. She didn’t want to hear any news about that person.
When she learned he had become the new emperor, Jiang Yitang was momentarily stunned but also relieved for him. After all, during those two years, Xie Yuzhao had truly been very good to her.
Jiang Yitang held no illusions of having any further connection with him.
Yet she never imagined she would die because of him. She understood why her father had issued that command—he feared she would bring trouble upon the Ministry of Personnel.
Jiang Yitang hated Jiang Ze Min, hated Jiang Shuangyuan, hated everyone in the Ministry of Personnel.
But she did not hate Xie Yuzhao.
She had once saved Xie Yuzhao, and later, as promised, he treated her well.
Yet now, Jiang Yitang found herself in confusion.
In her past life, she had resolutely gone to save Xie Yuzhao. But now, should she still go?
Jiang Yitang recalled the agony of her insides tearing apart after swallowing poison in her past life, the pain of her fingers being broken one by one. Her body trembled faintly as she lowered her head, her lips pale.
Fear could not help but arise within her.