Chapter 2

Chapter 2

◎Husband Exchange (Part 1)◎

Jizhou was in the northern lands, where it turned cold and windy in the deep autumn.

In front of the spacious manor, the wind blew from all directions, not only hitting the face but also blowing into the wide sleeves and trousers. The young woman tightened her hat, deeply regretting that she hadn’t worn the one with a shoulder cape. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shivered as much. As she passed through the manor’s hallway, she could still hear the howling of the cold wind.

However, upon arriving at the main courtyard, the maids lifted the curtains, and a wave of warmth rushed in. The young woman took off her hat and fox fur, handing them to the person beside her, and respectfully entered the inner room.

This young woman’s maiden name was Xin. People called her Eldest Madam Xin. She was about twenty years old, with an oval face, neatly trimmed sideburns, and a silver hairpin on her head, surrounded by gold-plated hairpins, looking very opulent and splendid.

Entering the inner room, she quickly bowed and greeted her, “Mother, your daughter-in-law is here to pay her respects.”

Madame Ji, the wife of Marquis Zhaoji, sat by the kang table near the eastern window, leaning against a half-old and not-so-new cushion. She was an extremely beautiful woman, still very charming despite nearing forty, and her laughter was particularly hearty, “Why have you come in this season? I told you to take good care of yourself during your pregnancy.”

After marrying Madame Ji’s eldest son, Pei Shuo, Eldest Madam Xin moved to Tongling Fang. Madame Ji wasn’t the type to make things hard for her daughter-in-law, nor did she like excessive formalities, so she only required Eldest Madam Xin to come over to pay her respects on the fifteenth of each month.

“I appreciate your care, Mother. I shouldn’t decline, but I came today because I heard that my younger sister-in-law is ill, so I came to visit her.” Eldest Madam Xin knew that her mother-in-law loved her daughter the most, so she felt obliged to come.

At the mention of her daughter, Madame Ji couldn’t help but feel distressed, “My poor daughter has endured much.”

A few days ago, Madame Ji and her mother-in-law, Elder Madame Xu, took their two daughters into the palace to pay their respects to Empress He. The Empress, who had no children, kept them and several other young ladies in the palace for an extra day. However, an accident occurred on that very day. While they were boating on the lake, the boat hit a strange rock. The eldest daughter, De Yin, who was playing the guqin at the prow, fell into the water. The palace servants rowing also fell out, causing chaos. Prime Minister Lu’s daughter desperately tried to row but drifted further away.

Neither of them could swim, and after drifting far, the boat capsized. The daughter clung to a rock in the lake all night and was rescued the next morning, only to fall ill after returning.

Eldest Madam Xin pressed her palms together, “Thank Buddha, has my sister-in-law taken her medicine?”

“She’s been taking medicine for a day, but the high fever wouldn’t subside. It wasn’t until the doctor added coptis that the fever broke. She’s resting now, and I’ll go see her later,” Madame Ji said worriedly.

Eldest Madam Xin rubbed her belly, glanced around, and hesitated to speak. Seeing this, Madame Ji dismissed the servants.

“Is there something you want to say to me?” Madame Ji looked at her somewhat shrewd daughter-in-law.

Eldest Madam Xin said, “Speaking of which, the eldest miss is seventeen, and our miss is sixteen. The Empress summoned both of our misses to the palace. May I ask, is the Empress intending to bestow the position of Crown Princess?”

The Emperor was weak and often ill. Empress He had no children, and her brother dominated the capital with the support of Prime Minister Lu. They had deposed the original Crown Prince and installed the second prince, Li Heng, as the new Crown Prince. The Crown Prince was eighteen this year and had reached the age for marriage.

Although Madame Ji was a capable and straightforward person, there were things she didn’t wish to discuss with outsiders, not even her daughter-in-law. It was because the Crown Prince had saved her daughter from a rockery, abandoning Prime Minister Lu’s daughter and rescuing her own daughter in front of everyone, which made it hard not to speculate about his intentions.

However, nothing was certain yet, so she simply shook her head, “I don’t know about that. There’s still her elder sister above her. Good things won’t come to our second daughter so readily. The Grand Madame has never liked me, and the Marquis follows his mother’s every word. Since the eldest miss was raised by the Grand Madame, she will definitely be favored. Everything is uncertain.”

Eldest Madam Xin thought that though Elder Madame Xu, the Grand Dame of Marquis Zhaoji, disliked her mother-in-law, Madame Ji had given birth to the Zheng family’s only male heir, Zheng Wuheng. Her husband, Pei Shuo, although born to Madame Ji and her previous husband, was already serving in the Jizhou army and was highly regarded by the Marquis. The mother of the eldest miss, Madame Xu, although a niece of Elder Madame Xu, had long been living a secluded life of a widow, and couldn’t be compared to her own mother-in-law.

She was about to say more when she saw Madame Ji stand up and hurriedly took her leave.

Madame Ji called out to her, “Take my warm sedan chair back. Don’t catch a cold. Go back and take good care of your pregnancy.”

“Yes,” Eldest Madam Xin bowed again before leaving.

After Eldest Madam Xin left, Madame Ji went to the back room to see her daughter. As she entered, the room was filled with the bitter smell of medicine. It used to be filled with the fragrance of books and ink or a faint medicinal aroma. Huiyin was filial and would always help her father and brothers with medicinal soups to recover whenever they returned from battle injured.

Her daughter was still asleep, seemingly having a nightmare, her hand tightly gripping the bedding below her.

Madame Ji sat by the bed, gently patting her daughter’s shoulder, “I’m here, my baby. I’m here. My precious one will be alright.”

“Madame, the eldest miss woke up a long time ago and has already gone to the capital to thank the Empress. Why is our miss still unconscious?” Ji Xue, Huiyin’s maid, was very anxious.

She had witnessed the Crown Prince carrying her miss down from the rockery with her own eyes. Her miss said that the Crown Prince didn’t even glance at the higher-born Miss Lu, which showed how special he was to her.

With the season for selecting the Crown Princess upon us, the young lady must not fall ill.

Just as Lady Ji was about to speak, she heard a soft murmur from the bed, and her daughter woke up.

"Huiyin, my Huiyin, you’ve finally woken up," Lady Ji said with a smile.

Zheng Huiyin looked at her mother in a daze, listening as her mother chattered about her falling into the water, and looked at her attire and familiar bedroom. She had actually gone back to the age of sixteen.

Only her mother would call her Huiyin.

Lady Ji continued, "Your grandmother and your elder sister have gone to the palace to give thanks, but you were sick. Still, it’s probably for the best, saving you a long and tiring journey, though..."

Huiyin had spent an entire hour coming to terms with the fact that she had been reborn.

Hearing her mother say "though," Huiyin asked with a smile, "Though what?"

"The Crown Prince is intent on marriage. Your elder sister went to the palace to give thanks, but since you didn’t go, I’m afraid you might miss your chance," Lady Ji said.

Huiyin felt an inexplicable urge to vomit at the mention of the Crown Prince. In her previous life, at this time, her elder sister had gone to the palace with her grandmother to give thanks. Coincidentally, the Prince of Huaiyin, on behalf of the Prince of Wu, was also seeking a wife. As the saying goes, when two powers clash, choose the stronger. The Prince of Huaiyin, who was the son of the Prince of Wu, was of similar age and interests to his uncle, the Prince of Wu. When the Prince of Wu rose in rebellion, the Prince of Huaiyin assisted him with troops.

Later, after the death of the Prince of Wu and his wife, the Prince of Huaiyin went to seek refuge with the Prince of Wu. The Prince of Wu was delighted and gave him troops to defend Xuzhou, a strategic location. At this time, the Prince of Huaiyin was only twenty and had not yet married, still in mourning for his grandfather and parents. The Prince of Wu intended to strengthen his alliance with Zheng Huiyin’s father and sent the Xu family from Donghai, the elder sister’s uncle, to persuade her father to betroth one of his daughters to the Prince of Huaiyin.

Originally, Huiyin’s father had considered making his eldest daughter the Crown Princess and his second daughter a princess. However, Grand Lady Xu and the Xu family believed that the Prince of Huaiyin, young and talented with real power, was far better than the puppet-like Crown Prince Li Heng. Moreover, the Prince of Huaiyin was of royal lineage. Li Heng could be deposed at any time, while the Prince of Huaiyin held significant power. Thus, Grand Lady Xu decided that the eldest daughter should marry the Prince of Huaiyin.

In her previous life, Huiyin had thought she would marry a local lord to survive in such turbulent times, but unexpectedly, Empress He summoned her and said that the Crown Prince liked her very much and was willing to make her Crown Princess. Her father, who was easily swayed and fickle, agreed.

However, Prime Minister Lu had not anticipated this turn of events and married his daughter to the Crown Prince as his primary consort. Huiyin, who had been considered for Crown Princess, became a concubine. For the sake of her position, her elder brother died in a conflict with the Lu family, and her younger brother followed Li Heng to attack Xuzhou. When Li Heng was ambushed, her younger brother swapped clothes with him, allowing Li Heng to escape. This had been her greatest regret in her previous life, and now, seeing her younger brother again, she couldn’t help but smile.

"Mother, if I miss my chance, then so be it. The palace is a place of schemes and dangers. We were only there to accompany the Empress for a day, and look what happened. If I were to enter the palace, it would be fraught with peril," Huiyin said, fully aware.

In her previous life, if it hadn’t been for the Crown Prince’s excessive favor early on, she would never have spoken to her mother about his goodness, and her father and brothers wouldn’t have fought so hard for the Crown Prince.

But this life…

"Madam, Grand Lady Xu and the elder Miss have returned, and they’ve brought back an imperial edict. The whole family is to receive it," Lady Ji’s trusted servant, Liu Ma, entered to report.

Huiyin was puzzled; there had been no such edict at this time in her previous life. Nevertheless, she followed her mother to the front hall, where she saw her mischievous younger brother, her father who slightly opened his tiger-like eyes, Grand Lady Xu, and her elder sister De Yin, who had looked withered in her previous life but now appeared elegant and reasonable.

"Kneel," Lady Ji pulled her daughter down.

Having been an Empress Dowager for years, Huiyin was no longer accustomed to kneeling, and it felt uncomfortable.

"By the mandate of heaven and the decree of the emperor: the foundation of the world lies in the virtuous prince, who must be matched with a lady of noble birth. The eldest daughter of Zhao Jie Marquis Zheng Fang of Jizhou, from a prominent family, is deemed fit to join the Crown Prince’s household as his concubine. The necessary rites shall be prepared, and may you uphold your duties as a wife and heed your mother’s teachings. So be it!"

"This commoner, Zheng De Yin, gives thanks to the emperor. Long live the emperor!" Zheng De Yin gracefully stepped forward, her demeanor dignified and her bearing elegant, as she glanced at Huiyin.

Huiyin realized that during her coma, her elder sister must have also been reborn. In her previous life, her elder sister had fainted upon seeing her become Empress Dowager. Now, she had taken the initiative to become Li Heng’s concubine, aspiring to be Empress Dowager like her.

Otherwise, with Grand Lady Xu’s sharp and unyielding nature, she would never have allowed her to marry the Crown Prince.

It must have been her own decision.

…

"Elder sister, allow me to congratulate you," Huiyin offered her congratulations first after the officials left.

Zheng De Yin looked at her younger sister, feeling a little guilty for taking her rightful place. However, she consoled herself that by marrying into the Eastern Palace and securing a good match for her younger sister, she would be doing right by her. If she could gain the Crown Prince’s exclusive favor and attain the highest status, she would also be able to honor her mother, Lady Xu, properly. It would be a win-win situation.