At the same time, Shen Mianmian secretly observed the female lead as well.
Jiang Yinjin was dressed in a bright red wedding robe made of luxurious brocade. The expensive fabric reflected an elegant sheen under the sunlight.
The vivid red made her peach-blossom-like features appear even more stunning.
Shen Mianmian couldn’t help thinking:
As expected of a novel’s heroine—graceful, dignified, and imposing.
Still, she felt that the body she now occupied was even more beautiful.
Lowering her head respectfully, she said,
“This servant greets Young Madam and pays her respects.”
Jiang Yinjin was stunned.
Why was this happening?
Why had she come?
In her previous life, she had spent her wedding night alone. The next morning she had offered tea to her mother-in-law by herself, and she hadn’t seen this courtesan the entire day.
Yet in this life, although she had once again spent her wedding night alone, the heir had unexpectedly shown up in the morning, and now the courtesan had appeared in the afternoon.
Suppressing her shock, Jiang Yinjin said,
“You may rise. I heard you attended to the heir last night. You must have worked hard.”
Shen Mianmian immediately threw all responsibility onto the idiot “fledgling phoenix.”
“Please don’t be angry, Young Madam. None of it was my choice. My status is lowly—I had no way to refuse.”
Jiang Yinjin was shocked again.
Shouldn’t the courtesan be showing off?
Why was she explaining herself and trying to distance herself from the matter?
Could it be…
Had the courtesan been reborn too?
The thought made her gaze grow wary.
Shen Mianmian noticed the caution in Jiang Yinjin’s eyes and thought:
She’s not seriously suspecting that I’m reborn too, is she?
Truthfully, she hadn’t wanted to come at all.
But according to the original plot, when the transmigrator failed to appear, Jiang Yinjin would politely inform Madam Hou.
Madam Hou would become furious and rush over.
Then, encouraged by Jiang Yinjin’s seemingly gentle but actually manipulative words, Madam Hou would go confront the transmigrator.
The transmigrator, whom the author had deliberately written as foolish and lacking common sense, completely disregarded the authority of the household matriarch.
She immediately started arguing with Madam Hou.
The heir found himself trapped between the woman he loved and his own mother.
Though conflicted, he had been raised under Confucian ideals and could not bear the reputation of being unfilial.
So he sided with his mother and scolded the transmigrator.
Would the transmigrator accept that?
Of course not.
She jumped up, argued with him, and even slapped him across the face.
After that, her life only became more miserable.
Jiang Yinjin pressed her lips together.
A trace of disdain entered her voice.
“Miss Shen, I think you misunderstand. Where the heir chooses to spend the night is entirely his decision. I will not interfere.”
She paused.
“However, remaining in the Marquis’ estate without any title or status is truly unfair to you. Why don’t I make the decision on your behalf and have the heir formally take you as a concubine?”
A sly smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
She knew the courtesan would refuse.
In her previous life, right up until Jiang Yinjin’s death, the woman had never agreed to become a concubine.
The heir was an only son, dearly treasured by both his parents.
When the courtesan later gave birth to twin sons, they had simply turned a blind eye.
But this time would be different.
Whether the courtesan wanted to or not—
She would become a concubine.
Determination and coldness flashed through Jiang Yinjin’s eyes as she stared at the beautiful woman before her.
Shen Mianmian saw the calculation in her gaze.
With complete respect, she replied,
“This servant will follow whatever arrangements Young Madam makes.”
“…”
Jiang Yinjin froze.
Why did she agree?
That wasn’t possible.
Things weren’t supposed to happen like this!
Everyone present was equally shocked.
Miss Shen had agreed to become a concubine?
Ever since arriving at the estate, Shen had been famously proud and stubborn.
She constantly talked about monogamy.
She told servants not to kneel.
She lectured everyone about equality.
She encouraged women to pursue their own love.
How had she suddenly become so obedient?
Had the heir secretly promised her something?
Shen Mianmian inwardly sneered.
How could I not agree?
According to the original plot, the transmigrator had stubbornly refused.
But the reborn heroine was extremely skilled.
First, she used Madam Hou to drive a wedge between the transmigrator and the heir.
Then she repeatedly manipulated situations to provoke the transmigrator’s emotions, causing endless arguments between the couple.
Eventually, the heir became mentally and physically exhausted.
Later, after the transmigrator became pregnant, she grew increasingly paranoid.
She constantly accused the heir of seeing other women.
Enraged, the heir eventually acted out of spite and truly did sleep with two other women.
Jiang Yinjin immediately elevated those women to the status of concubines and became their patron.
With the Young Madam backing them, the two women tormented the transmigrator every day.
Pregnant with twins and already suffering severe morning sickness, how could she possibly endure it?
She nearly miscarried.
Naturally, she blamed everything on the heir.
At first he had felt guilty.
But after being cursed at endlessly, his guilt disappeared.
Instead, he began feeling completely justified and openly favored the two concubines.
Before long, one of them became pregnant.
Only then did the transmigrator realize how serious the situation had become.
At that point Jiang Yinjin came to her, spoke a few sympathetic words, and calmly analyzed the pros and cons.
“If you refuse to become a concubine,” Jiang Yinjin had explained, “your children will have no legitimate status. The position of eldest son will belong to another concubine’s child.”
In the end, the transmigrator compromised and accepted concubine status.
Shen Mianmian remembered one line from the novel particularly clearly.
It was Jiang Yinjin’s inner thought:
“Tsk. If this was the outcome anyway, why make such a fuss in the first place?”
Shen Mianmian completely agreed.
Exactly! Since I already know the plot, why bother struggling?
She had no intention of becoming a pawn in the heroine’s household schemes.
For a moment, silence filled the room.
Beneath her embroidered sleeves, Jiang Yinjin slowly clenched her fingers.
The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became.
Why did her plans keep failing?
Was it merely coincidence?
Or had Shen Mianmian really been reborn?
If she had been reborn, why would she willingly become a concubine?
If she hadn’t been reborn, why was she making completely different choices from her previous life?
Forcing herself to calm down, Jiang Yinjin pondered for a moment before quickly devising a new plan.
It didn’t matter.
Shen Mianmian’s maid, Hanrong, had a younger brother suffering from a terminal illness and desperately needed money.
In the previous life, Jiang Yinjin had provided the funds and successfully won Hanrong’s loyalty.
Although that arrangement was later discovered.
If Shen Mianmian had truly been reborn and retained memories of her past life, then she would either provide the money first or dismiss Hanrong entirely.
Through this matter, Jiang Yinjin could determine whether Shen Mianmian had also been reborn.
Meanwhile, Shen Mianmian left Peony Courtyard together with Hanrong.
As they walked, she silently calculated her next move.
Jiang Yinjin had definitely noticed that the “plot” was changing.
She was certainly suspicious.
Shen Mianmian absolutely could not let herself be exposed.
If Jiang Yinjin altered the story too much and the novel could no longer reach its ending, how would Shen Mianmian ever have a chance to return home?
There was no way she wanted to spend the rest of her life as a courtesan in this ridiculous novel.
Thinking this, she glanced at Hanrong.
In the original story, Hanrong’s younger brother had suffered from a terminal illness in both timelines, and Jiang Yinjin had helped him both times.
Would the heroine use this matter to test her?
Hmm.
Perhaps she could turn that to her own advantage.
Soon, the two returned to Bright Moon Courtyard.
Shen Mianmian originally intended to have water prepared, enjoy a bath, and then sleep properly.
However, the moment she entered, she noticed someone sleeping on the bed.
It was none other than that unfortunate idiot—
The “fledgling phoenix.”
No.
The heir, Bai Qingzhou.
Hearing movement, Bai Qingzhou struggled against overwhelming sleepiness and slowly sat up.
Rubbing his sleepy eyes, he mumbled,
“Mianmian… you’re back?”
He wore a snow-white inner robe.
The collar hung loosely open, exposing part of his slender chest and his beautifully defined collarbones.
His porcelain-white skin almost blended into the white fabric itself.
Long black hair cascaded over his shoulders, creating a striking contrast against the pale robe.
Combined with his extraordinarily handsome features, he looked pure enough to be a celestial attendant serving beside a deity.
And yet, with his collar hanging open like that…
He was unbelievably tempting.