Chapter 2:- Rebirth

Marquis Jing’an’s residence, Qiongju Pavilion.

Two maidservants were tending a medicine pot, whispering in worry as the herbal scent filled the room.

“Third Young Lady woke up at the hour of Shen, but why has she fallen asleep again before the hour of Xu? Didn’t the Imperial Physician say she would recover in a few days?”

“Perhaps this bout of cold has clung too stubbornly. Last night her fever burned so high that she kept murmuring nonsense even half-asleep.”

The maid beside her sighed heavily. “The Marquis and Madam have been away from the capital for years, and the Eldest Young Lady went to Cheng’en Temple not long ago to pray for the army’s safety. Now there’s no one to take charge at home and Third Young Lady has fallen ill at such a critical time.”

They spoke a few more anxious words, then, when the medicine was ready, carried it inside, only to see a stir upon the bed.

“The Young Lady is awake?”

Jiang Rao had indeed awakened. Half-sitting up, she was about to lift the bed curtain.

It had been five days since she woke in this life again….everything still felt like a dream, and her body was terribly weak.

Seeing her awake, the two maids’ faces brightened with joy. The one in front, Chunxing, quickly handed the medicine bowl to Xiaotao behind her and stepped forward to tie up the curtain.

Chunxing supported Jiang Rao and asked with concern, “Young Lady, are you feeling faint again?”

Looking at the two personal maids who had grown up with her, Jiang Rao’s eyes suddenly stung with tears.

In her previous life, Chunxing and Xiaotao had followed her as dowry maids into the Eastern Palace. Later, they were implicated when the Jiang family was condemned.

When the imperial decree of extermination came, not a single Jiang was spared. Jiang Rao had watched helplessly as Mu Ling’s personal guards dragged the two of them away.

In the chaos outside the hall, some had even tried to violate them. Chunxing, to preserve her chastity, bit through her tongue and died; Xiaotao had dashed her head against a pavilion pillar. Their bodies were discarded in a mass grave, without even a burial place.

And not only Chunxing and Xiaotao but her parents and siblings too had died such miserable, tragic deaths.

On that execution ground beyond the city, the knives were drenched in blood. How many downpours would it take to wash away those infernal stains?

Hatred surged. Jiang Rao’s chest tightened painfully; she could hardly breathe. Clenching her fists, she pounded them against her chest, tears spilling uncontrollably.

Her sudden outburst frightened Chunxing and Xiaotao so much that they dropped to their knees to stop her.

Xiaotao, the younger one, burst into tears as well. “Young Lady, please don’t hit yourself! Your body is precious, if you must strike someone, strike Xiaotao instead!”

“Does the Young Lady have something troubling her heart?” Chunxing, usually the steadier one, seized Jiang Rao’s hands tightly to keep her from hurting herself, and then quickly soothed her. “You are the legitimate daughter of the Marquis’s household, and His Majesty has already decreed your betrothal to the Crown Prince. Soon you will enter the Eastern Palace with endless prospects. What grievance could make you so heartbroken?”

Of course, no one else could see the truth, only Jiang Rao, reborn, knew that marrying the Crown Prince was a road of no return, one that would bring the Marquis’s household to ruin in blood.

That magnificent Eastern Palace was nothing but a gilded prison, a hellish cage that had locked away the daughters of the Jiang family.

Heaven had not forsaken her, granting her a chance to live again but why had it to be in the eighth year of Jinghe?

That year was the very year she had been bestowed in marriage to the Crown Prince.

The imperial edict had already been issued; the engagement was set in stone, known throughout the realm. She had become the envy of every noble lady in the capital, all because of her status as the future Crown Princess.

Behind her stood the Marquis’s house, holding military power; before her waited the heir to the throne. Everyone said Jiang Rao’s future shone with splendor.

How laughable. In her past life, Jiang Rao had once felt secretly delighted too; thinking she was fulfilling her duty as a daughter of the Jiang family.

But now, she was no longer that naive, ignorant girl. She could only feel hatred and contempt toward that imperial decree.

According to the timeline of her previous life, she and Mu Ling would marry two years after the decree was issued. That meant she had only a little over one year to change her fate.

She could not sit and wait for death but neither could she openly defy the imperial edict. The imperial family already harbored suspicion toward the Jiang clan’s military power; she could not act rashly and hand them an excuse.

Besides the imperial marriage, another major event had happened in the eighth year of Jinghe: her father and elder brother had won a great victory at the frontier, defeating the Northern Barbarians despite being outnumbered. For this, her father was granted an audience and allowed to return to the capital to visit his family.

The Jiang men guarded the borders with blood and steel and they were not recalled unless summoned. As for the Jiang women, aside from Madam Jiang who had followed her husband to war due to her martial skill, the rest lived pampered lives in the capital.

The reason was obvious: the court officers held command in the field, while their families remained in the capital as a subtle royal restraint.

Now that her father and brother were to be summoned home, the family could finally be reunited. Though the road ahead was perilous, the thought gave Jiang Rao a trace of comfort. Even if not for herself, she would fight for her family’s survival.

Seeing the frightened faces of Chunxing and Xiaotao, Jiang Rao realized how much her earlier behavior had scared them. Unable to explain, she changed the subject. “Has my elder sister not returned yet?”

Jiang Rao was the youngest daughter in the family. Above her were one elder brother and one legitimate elder sister, Jiang Yuan.

But as fate would have it, when she awoke in this life again, her elder sister was still at Cheng’en Temple, praying for the Jiang army’s victory. The sisters had yet to meet.

When Chunxing saw that her mistress’s mood had steadied, she finally relaxed her grip and answered, “The Eldest Young Lady sent a letter that upon hearing that you’d fallen ill, she had left Cheng’en Temple immediately. She should be back the day after tomorrow.”

Jiang Rao was about to ask more when Xiaotao approached, holding a bowl of pitch-black liquid, and lifted it toward her. “This is the medicine prescribed by Imperial Physician Xu, Young Lady. Please drink it while it’s still warm; once it cools, it will lose its effect.”

Her body was weak; she had to take her medicine. Though inwardly resistant, Jiang Rao obediently took the bowl.

“…” She drained it in one gulp, her delicate face scrunching tightly, as if life itself had lost its flavor.

Imperial Physician Xu was still the same man as in her past life. In both lives, his medicines were just as unbearably bitter.

Afterward, the two maids helped Jiang Rao wash and freshen up. Once they left the room, Xiaotao grabbed Chunxing’s sleeve with relief. “I was starting to think the Young Lady had become a different person after her illness. Only now do I feel at ease that she’s still our Third Young Lady, who’s been afraid of bitter medicine since childhood.”

Chunxing tapped her lightly on the head. “Nonsense. How could our Young Lady ever be someone else?”

Two days later, Jiang Rao finally awaited her elder sister’s return. Unable to restrain her joy, she hurried to the gate to greet her.

As she watched her sister gracefully lift her skirts and step down from the carriage, every movement reflecting the poise of a noble lady that Jiang Rao suddenly froze mid-run.
In her mind flashed the final scene of her previous life, the last time she and her sister had met.

Back then, Jiang Yuan had been wounded by love. Because she had grown close to a scholar before marriage, her reputation as a noblewoman was utterly destroyed. To avoid affecting Jiang Rao’s prospects, Jiang Yuan resolutely severed ties with the Marquis’s household and became a nun, spending the rest of her life in quiet devotion before the Buddha.

That day of parting, Jiang Rao too had stood at the gates of the Marquis’s residence to bid her sister farewell and the two of them had never met again.

But now, thinking carefully, her elder sister had been raised under the strict guidance of palace matrons since childhood, thoroughly trained in etiquette and propriety.
Such a woman, so well-mannered and disciplined how could she have risked the family’s honor for the sake of a mere scholar, sacrificing the chastity most valued by a young lady?

“Rao’er, I’ve been gone less than half a month and you’ve already grown so thin?”

Jiang Yuan’s reproachful voice pulled Jiang Rao back to the present. When she came to her senses, her sister had already come forward, her face full of worried disapproval.

Jiang Rao gazed at that familiar, living face; the face of her own flesh and blood and for the first time she truly felt that she had really returned; there was still hope in this world.

“Elder Sister…” Jiang Rao could no longer hold back her grief. She ran into Jiang Yuan’s arms, weeping as she clung to her, murmuring, “I missed you all so much… I keep fearing this is just a dream and that when I wake, you’ll all be gone again.”

“Could it be your fever has addled your mind?” Jiang Yuan gently touched her sister’s cheek, and then glanced toward the maids behind her.

Chunxing immediately understood and explained, “The Young Lady’s body is fine now, only… only that she sometimes says things that make no sense.”

Jiang Yuan relaxed, thinking that Jiang Rao was simply missing her family too much. “Don’t worry, Rao’er. Our troops have won a great victory at the border, Father, Mother, and Ming’er will reach the capital in about half a month. Our whole family will soon be reunited.”

Then her tone shifted back to the authority of an elder sister. “So, if you don’t regain your weight in the next half month, Father and Mother will think I’ve been mistreating my little sister at home.”

“They won’t.” Seeing her sister tease her on purpose, Jiang Rao’s sorrow faded, and a smile finally returned to her face.

After supper, Jiang Rao went alone to her sister’s residence, Wanyan Pavilion.

There were some things that could not be said during the day before servants. The Crown Prince had schemed for years; perhaps spies from the Eastern Palace were already planted within the Marquis’s household, with someone here acting in secret correspondence with him.

Now, aside from her elder sister, the only people Jiang Rao could truly trust were Chunxing and Xiaotao.

Entering her sister’s chamber, Jiang Rao glanced around deliberately, and then raised her voice on purpose. “Cuiping, Yueli, I have something private to discuss with my sister. You two may leave us for now.”

Yueli was just about to withdraw respectfully, but Cuiping couldn’t help teasing with a laugh, “In the past, the young ladies never kept secrets from us. Now that you’re grown up, you’ve begun having a young lady’s secrets, haven’t you?”

Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but laugh. “Enough, don’t make fun of Rao’er.”

Once Cuiping and Yueli had withdrawn, the shy expression on Jiang Rao’s face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of grave concern. Jiang Yuan noticed at once and reached out to hold her hand reassuringly.

“What is it? Tell your sister.”

“Elder Sister,” Jiang Rao paused briefly, and then spoke with firm resolve shining in her eyes. “I don’t want to marry into the Eastern Palace.”

Jiang Yuan’s brows drew together in shock. She instinctively glanced around, and then lowered her voice quickly. “Has something happened?”

Of course something had happened…The master of that Eastern Palace had destroyed the Jiang clan and the men were forced to die unjustly, the women dishonored and driven to suicide. Between them lay a hatred as deep as the sea. How could there ever be talk of marriage again?

But how could she possibly tell her sister all this?

In the end, Jiang Rao only shook her head and said, “I simply wish to find someone whom I truly love. No matter his status or his family’s rank, I wouldn’t care.”

If there was no genuine affection between them, what meaning would there be in the grandeur of palace or marquisate? A grand residence with an empty heart; what happiness could it offer?

Jiang Yuan pondered the hidden meaning behind her words for a moment, then suddenly half-covered her mouth in realization. “Could it be… the one you fancy is His Highness Prince Chen?”

“How could that be…”

That second prince had seldom been in the capital; she had barely seen him a few times, so how could there be talk of affection?

Jiang Rao was about to deny it, but her sister was already analyzing earnestly.

“Prince Chen’s mother was born a palace maid; he has no maternal family to support him, so his rank isn’t as noble as the Crown Prince’s. But His Highness is extremely gifted; skilled in both civil and martial arts, deeply favored by His Majesty. In the capital, aside from the Crown Prince, he’s indeed the gentleman most admired by noble ladies.”

Jiang Rao quickly interrupted in exasperation, “Elder Sister, when I said ‘regardless of rank or status,’ I didn’t mean to compare princes.”

“If not a prince, then perhaps the heir of some earl’s house?”

Jiang Rao was struck speechless. Since her rebirth, she had thought only of how to escape her engagement with the Crown Prince, but hadn’t yet planned whom she should marry instead.

The Jiang family had commanded the border armies for generations. As long as they held military power, even if the engagement were somehow dissolved, the Crown Prince would remain suspicious and wary.

And if Mu Ling truly inherited the throne in the future, then to establish his authority, the first to be suppressed would surely be her Jiang clan.

Therefore, if she truly wished to deviate from her doomed path and protect the Marquis’s household, she had to find someone powerful enough that the Crown Prince could not and would not dare to provoke.

Prince Beiqing, Chen Lian.

The name suddenly flashed in Jiang Rao’s mind.

In her previous life, before her death, the Crown Prince Mu Ling had boasted that he had gained real power after winning over Prince Beiqing and no longer relying on the Jiang family’s military support. It was because of this that he turned on them so ruthlessly.

If in this life she could stop Chen Lian from joining the Crown Prince’s camp or even gain his protection then Mu Ling would no longer dare to easily move against the Marquis’s household. That would be the most effective path for now.

Thinking this, Jiang Rao’s mind began to form a plan.

Cultural Notes:

• • Marquis Jing’an :- Jiang Rao’s father, a hereditary noble and general.

• • Cheng’en Temple:- a temple where nobles prayed for blessings or military victories.

• • Jinghe Eight Year:- fictional reign year; key year of Jiang Rao’s rebirth.