Chapter 1 — The General's Path

When the blood test was performed to verify my identity, the blood of the fake daughter mingled perfectly with the elder Marquis’s blood. The Marchioness wept with joy, and the elder brother looked at her with eyes overflowing with affection. Recalling the humiliation I suffered after returning to the Marquis’s estate in my past life, I looked at the bowl of water—already tainted with alum to ensure the blood would merge—and chose not to expose them. I simply clutched my jade pendant, knelt down calmly, and spoke.

“I came here to find my kin, but I must have gone to the wrong door.”

1

“I beg the Marquis to be magnanimous and not hold my mistake against me.”

“I shall leave at once, and I swear upon my life never to disturb this estate again.”

As soon as I finished, the old Marquis breathed a sigh of relief, and the Marchioness began to sob with happiness. The young Marquis, Shen Zhihan, immediately wrapped his arms around the fake daughter, Shen Danxue, and lifted her off her feet, spinning her around. Danxue instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.

“I knew it! Ah Xue is the only precious pearl in the palm of our estate!”

“I told mother long ago. Back at the butcher’s house where we were sent that year, I never left our sister’s side from the moment she was born. I didn’t even dare to close my eyes for a single second.”

“There is no way anyone could have swapped our sister right under my nose, yet mother insisted on this blood-testing farce…”

As he spoke, Shen Zhihan bowed his head in sorrow, gently blowing on her finger. He even pressed his lips to the index finger where Danxue had been pricked by the needle. I lowered my head further, shielding my eyes. I felt like an outsider who had blundered into a banquet, ruining the warmth of the scene. I did not know if Shen Zhihan truly could not remember, or if he was simply beautifying a memory he dared not confront.

When I was born, the people outside the room were busy mimicking the chirping of crickets. He had rushed out, terrified that the cricket would escape. That year, Shen Zhihan was only three, frail and sickly. Every physician claimed he possessed the face of one destined to die young. The Marchioness had knelt on her prayer mat, weeping and begging the gods to grant him a path to survival. An old nun in the temple, seeing she was pregnant, said hesitantly, “The child in your womb possesses profound karmic roots. She is the sister of the young master.”

“If you are willing to let this child bear a portion of the young master’s calamities, he will grow up in peace.”

The Marchioness nodded. That very night, Shen Zhihan, who had been in a high-fevered coma, miraculously woke up. As for me, I encountered refugees on the road while the Marchioness was on her way to offer prayers of gratitude. She gave birth to me prematurely in a butcher’s shop, and shortly after, I was stolen away. From that day on, Shen Zhihan was free of illness and disaster, living smoothly until his eighteenth year. Meanwhile, it was as if all my luck had been drained away in a single night. From the moment of my birth, my fifteen years of silk-clad life had been stolen by another. Whether in my past life or this one, whenever Shen Zhihan swore that he “only recognized Ah Xue as his sister,” did he ever remember? When he was three, after waking from his coma, he had pressed his pale, fever-worn face against the Marchioness’s belly and rasped a promise:

“My sister has borne this fate for me. Her path ahead will be a little harder.”

“But it does not matter. I will use my life to protect her forever. I will never let anyone bully her!”

Perhaps he still remembers. It is just that, over time, he decided to bestow that promise upon someone else.

2

“Brother… there are outsiders present.”

Danxue tugged at Shen Zhihan’s sleeve, her gaze flickering toward me. Only then did Shen Zhihan raise his head, frowning in disgust.

“Why aren’t you gone yet?”

“I am in a good mood today, so I won’t hold you accountable for trying to impersonate the Marquis’s bloodline.”

“I thank the Marquis, the Marchioness, the young Marquis, and the eldest lady for their generosity. This commoner will take her leave.”

The old Marquis waved his hand, as if brushing away a speck of dust not worth mentioning.

“Yes, be gone.”

Receiving the permission, I breathed a secret sigh of relief and hurriedly backed away. The jade pendant hidden in my robe—the very thing that could prove my identity—swayed with my movements. It hit my chest heavily, so hot it made my heart tremble. Just as I was about to cross the threshold of the main hall, Danxue’s voice came from behind me.

“Wait… meeting is fate.”

“Since this sister is new to the capital, why don’t you tell us what your biological parents looked like?”

“I can help you inquire.”

Hearing this, the guarded look in Shen Zhihan’s eyes deepened.

“Ah Xue, you are too kind.”

“People of her rustic background—how could she possibly have biological parents living in this inch of land that is worth an inch of gold in the capital?”

“She is likely just a drifter, looking to exploit the nobility by pretending to be a lost daughter…”

I did not know why Danxue had risked using alum to secure her status as the Marquis’s daughter, but now that she would not let me leave, what exactly was she plotting? I suppressed the bitterness churning inside me and carefully replied, “The young Marquis is right.”

“I lost my family when I was far too young to remember.”

“In these chaotic times of war and disorder…”

“My parents are likely no longer in this world.”

“If they were, they would not have gone all these years without looking for me.”

Danxue would not let up, a flash of maliciousness surfacing in her eyes.

“If you have nowhere to go, why not stay in the estate temporarily?”

“Become my personal maid. At least you will have a place to live.”

“Mother, do you agree?”

The Marchioness looked at Danxue—who was pretending to be wronged—with deep affection and, naturally, agreed to everything. So that was her scheme. Keeping me as a maid would allow her to humiliate me, but more importantly, it would keep me under her nose where she could torment me and snuff out any threat to her status before it could bloom. I was weighing my words to refuse when a familiar, cold voice sounded from outside.

“Does Ah Xue know that a personal maid must eventually become… a concubine included in the marriage dowry?”

“You wish to use my purity to fulfill your own kindness.”

“But have you ever asked if I agreed to it?”

3

The man who entered wore a robe of ivory-colored silk, his hair secured by a jade crown. Between his brows was a look of nobility and detachment, tempered by years of high status. He was the fiance of Danxue, the Heir of the Zennan Prince, Li Tai. He arrived with an air of nonchalance, yet everyone in the room instinctively made way for him. The smile on Shen Zhihan’s face dimmed slightly. Danxue tilted her head to look at Li Tai, acting like a pampered child.

“Then I must ask the Heir brother, will you accept this person?”

Li Tai feigned anger, as if coaxing a proud little kitten, his words masking his true thoughts.

“What kind of girl pushes her own husband into the arms of another?”

At that moment, he cast a cold glance at me. The oppressive weight of his gaze fell upon me. It was a casual look, yet it made my spine stiffen.

“My taste is very selective.”

“Only the finest woman in the world could catch my eye.”

“As for someone like her…”

He chuckled, leaving the sentence unfinished. Yet, in that laughter, everything had been said. Amidst the belittling words of Li Tai, I shrank back, lowering my head even further.

“Very well, you heard him, sister…”

After a long while, Danxue finally seemed satisfied. Her gaze returned to me, carrying a trace of weary charity.

“Let this misunderstanding end here. You may go.”

4

Fearing that those in the room might change their minds, I hurriedly followed the servants out of the main hall. The two young maids leading the way paid no heed to my presence, gossiping openly in front of me.

“The eldest lady is truly blessed. Not only is she doted upon by her family, but her future husband also holds her in the palm of his hand.”

“Half an hour ago, the Heir received the news and immediately sent word.”

“He said that no matter the result of the blood test, the Zennan Prince’s estate would only recognize the eldest lady as their daughter-in-law.”

“Of course! If the eldest lady hadn’t saved the Heir in Qi Province that year, how could a Marquis’s estate like ours, which cannot inherit its title, climb so high as to marry into the Zennan Prince’s line?”

My steps faltered. When the great flood hit Qi Province that year, Li Tai had been rescued by a woman. Before he fell into a coma, he had vaguely seen her face. There was also a weeping Guan Yin jade pendant hanging from her neck, drenched in water. The Guan Yin lowered her eyes, as if looking at him, or perhaps looking through the veil of water at something else. That tear of jade, forever unable to fall, had been etched into his heart. The strange thing was that afterward, he searched all of Qi Province but could not find his savior. Until one day, he saw the Marchioness on the streets of the capital. The shape of her brows was identical to the woman from years ago, separated only by the passage of twenty years. He stopped the carriage and asked urgently, “Does the Marchioness have a daughter who visited Qi Province?”

Everything that followed fell into place. He found Danxue, who wore a pendant identical to his memory. She, having admired him, had braved the dangers of travel to reach Qi Province. In truth, Danxue and the Marchioness looked nothing alike. It was only after years of careful molding and cultivation that she had acquired a similar temperament. In my past life, after accidentally learning the source of this "beautiful romance," I could not swallow the rage of Danxue stealing my rescue. I took my jade pendant and went to find Li Tai. I told him I was the one who saved him. Li Tai stared at the pendant for a long time, then laughed coldly.

“A well-made imitation. Did you copy Ah Xue’s pendant and find a craftsman to carve it?”

He didn't even lift his head as he said it. He didn't want to look at me; to him, a second glance was a waste of time. The disgust in his voice was like driving away a buzzing fly.

“Fortunately, Ah Xue is always forgiving toward you. If you dare to lie again, claim credit for her deeds, or steal her belongings, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

Because he didn't like me, he didn't want to verify the truth of my words. Even though a single question would have revealed I had come from Qi Province to the capital to find my family... Thinking of the cold stares, the suspicions, and the grievances I suffered in my past life, I gripped the pendant tightly beneath my robe. In this life, I do not need him to believe me. Let the evil ties of the past life end today.

5

Lost in these thoughts, the maids had led me to the edge of a corridor. Ahead lay a dark green, silent pool of water. I reached for the pendant at my chest, intending to throw it away.

“What are you doing?”