Jiang Muyan abruptly opened her eyes, a hint of confusion flickering within them.
She found herself lying in a dilapidated room. The roof beams, draped in spiderwebs, gave her a profound sense of unfamiliarity.
Before she could gather her thoughts, the faint sound of a man speaking drifted in from outside the door.
“Mother of my child, how about we just let this marriage go? Muyan is our child after all, we can’t just…”
Before the man could finish, he was interrupted by a sharp, piercing female voice:
“Master of the house, what nonsense are you talking about! How can we let it go? If this marriage falls through, what will happen to our Tianci? He’s been pampered since he was a child—how could he possibly endure any hardship? You can’t seriously let him be sent down to the countryside to suffer!”
“But… but Muyan, she…” The man hesitated, thinking of his daughter who had slammed her head against the wall in protest.
“Don’t you worry, she just couldn’t see reason for a moment and got stuck in a dead end.” The woman’s tone was certain and spiteful. “What’s wrong with Director Zhang? So what if he’s a bit older? Older men know how to cherish a woman! If that wretched girl marries him, she’ll be a ready-made official’s wife with no worries about food or clothes. What a wonderful life that is.”
She paused, her tone adding a layer of calculation:
“Besides, with her looks, as long as she’s willing to soften up, are you telling me she won’t be able to wrap Director Zhang around her finger? When that happens, not only will Tianci benefit, but even your position might move up a level. It’s a win-win situation!”
Hearing his wife’s words, the man felt a stir of interest. However, when he thought of Director Zhang, he spoke with some hesitation:
“But Director Zhang is over forty, and he’s already had two wives die on him. If Muyan marries him, won’t her life be ruined?”
It wasn’t that he felt particularly sorry for his daughter; he was simply afraid of being mocked by outsiders. After all, Director Zhang was older than he was.
“Ruined? How is it ruined!” The woman’s voice suddenly spiked. “Marrying Director Zhang is her good fortune. Do you think her life would be better if she didn’t marry him? What’s waiting for her but being sent to a production team in the countryside? How bitter is life in the country? Sleeping in the elements, endless farm work… In my opinion, it’s not nearly as comfortable as being married to Director Zhang!”
Seeing the man still wanted to argue, the woman waved her hand impatiently:
“Fine, fine, stop dilly-dallying! I’m going to see if that girl is awake. The house has been a mess these past two days with no one to cook. I have to serve the whole family after I get home from work—I’m exhausted!”
As the woman turned around, her lip curled in a disdainful sneer, her eyes hiding a secret calculation. A while ago, she had received a letter from her biological daughter, who wanted her to “obstruct” Jiang Muyan’s future.
When she gave birth to her second daughter years ago, she noticed that the woman in the same hospital ward was elegantly dressed and clearly from a wealthy family. That woman had given birth to twins—a boy and a girl. The twins were somewhat frail, and since her own daughter was also premature and similar in size to the female twin, she had hatched a wicked plan and swapped the babies.
She never imagined that her moment of greed back then would actually pay off. From her biological daughter’s letter, she learned that the family was actually one of the top elite families in the capital. As long as they clung to this connection, their family could soar to the heavens with the help of her biological daughter and never have to live this bitter life again.
But before that, she had to deal with the threat of Jiang Muyan, lest she one day reclaim her roots and ruin her biological daughter’s life of wealth and status.
Although she was curious how her biological daughter knew her address—after all, she was the only one who knew about the swap, and even her husband was still in the dark—she didn’t dwell on it.
Her biological daughter had said that as long as she could completely cut off Jiang Muyan’s path, she would give her a large sum of money. That was why she had gone to such lengths to scout out Director Zhang. Jiang Muyan would marry him whether she wanted to or not!
That Director Zhang was notoriously violent; both of his previous wives had been beaten to death by him. If a wretched girl like Jiang Muyan married into that, she would likely end up dead too, which would settle everything once and for all.
Furthermore, Director Zhang was a director at the machinery factory. He had promised that once the matter was settled, he would secure a good job for her son. It truly was killing two birds with one stone.
Thinking of this, a sinister smile appeared on the woman’s face as she pushed open the door to Jiang Muyan’s room. Seeing Jiang Muyan turning her head to look at her, a flash of disappointment crossed her face—this girl’s life was truly stubborn. With such a large wound on her forehead and so much blood lost, she still hadn’t managed to die.
“Wretched girl, if you’re awake, then get up! Who are you trying to impress by lying there being lazy? Hurry up and go cook!” Liu Fangmei began scolding the moment she opened her mouth, her tone sharp and entitled.
Seeing that Jiang Muyan didn’t respond, she didn’t take it to heart. After all, this girl had been raised under her constant berating and had long ago developed a submissive, silent personality, never daring to resist.
But just as she was about to urge her again, she discovered that Jiang Muyan had sat up. A pair of pitch-black eyes were staring fixedly at her. There was none of the usual cowardice in that gaze; instead, it held a piercing coldness that seemed to see through everything.
“Who are you?” Jiang Muyan’s voice was as calm as still water.
As Jiang Muyan spoke, a flood of memories that didn’t belong to her rushed into her mind—the short, stifling life of the original host.
In those memories, the woman before her was the original host’s mother. However, the moment Jiang Muyan looked at Liu Fangmei’s face, she no longer believed that. She finally understood why, in the original host’s memory, she was the least favored child in the house.
Her Heavenly Eye could discern the physiognomy of those unrelated to her by blood, but she could not read the faces of those with whom she shared a biological bond.
Now, she could clearly see everything Liu Fangmei had done. This meant the original host was not biologically related to Liu Fangmei.
She could even see in Liu Fangmei’s face that the reason she wanted the original host to marry that Director Zhang started with a letter.
However, because that letter was likely related to the original host, she couldn’t see its contents clearly, nor could she see the source of the host’s true parentage.
But she had already seen from Liu Fangmei’s face where she had hidden that letter, so there was no need to hurry.
Hearing Jiang Muyan’s words, Liu Fangmei’s brow instantly knotted, and her heart skipped a beat—could this wretched girl have knocked her brains out when she hit the wall?
“What kind of talk is that? I’m your mother, obviously!”
The corner of Jiang Muyan’s mouth curled into a cold arc, her eyes sharp as knives.
“Is that so? Don’t you see this huge wound on my forehead? Never mind not sending me to the hospital; I just came back from the gates of hell, and the first thing you say is to tell me to cook for you. I really doubt if I’m your biological child—after all, you’ve never treated Jiang Tianci or Jiang Muqian like this.”
Panicked by the question, Liu Fangmei’s eyes instinctively flickered away before she forced herself to shout back with feigned composure:
“It’s just a small nick on your forehead! What’s the big deal? You want to go to the hospital? What a beautiful dream you’re having! Enough, enough. If you don’t want to work, just say so. Don’t go looking for these messy excuses!”
She muttered inwardly, wondering why Jiang Muyan seemed like a different person today. Before, when she was scolded, she was like a quail, not even daring to breathe loudly. How did she dare to talk back like this today?
Recalling Director Zhang’s promise, Liu Fangmei suppressed the unease in her heart. Her gaze instantly became fierce, her tone carrying an uncompromising hardness:
“I’m telling you, this marriage to Director Zhang—you’re marrying him whether you want to or not! Think about it carefully. If you don’t marry, you’ll have to be sent down to a production team in the countryside. How bitter is it there? You’ll eat coarse grains, live in an earthen shack, and have endless farm work. How good it is to marry Director Zhang! You won’t have to worry about food or clothes, and you won’t have to work for money. This is a fortune so many people couldn’t even pray for!”
Listening to her distorted, fallacious reasoning, Jiang Muyan let out a cold laugh, her voice full of mockery. “No matter how bitter the countryside is, could it possibly be as bitter as staying in this house?”