In the third year of Qingyuan, Princess Qingrong, who held supreme power over the imperial court, died a sudden death. Emperor Qingyuan was consumed by grief, suspending all court affairs along with his officials to keep vigil, and making her funeral exceptionally grand.
On the seventh day of the princess's wake, everyone in the Marquis of Yongan's Estate rose before dawn to bustle about, preparing to enter the palace for the funeral rites.
"My word, what a wretched state of affairs! That scourge of a princess is finally dead, which should be a joyous occasion for everyone—we ought to be celebrating nationwide. Who would have thought His Majesty would make such a tremendous fuss over it..."
"Who else would? The princess was His Majesty's full sister, and I've heard that the only reason His Majesty was able to ascend the throne smoothly in the first place was thanks to her. Word has it she was a merciless female fiend who could kill without blinking an eye..."
"It's a good thing she's dead! Otherwise, our eldest young master would have very nearly become her consort... That woman kept over a dozen kept men; God knows how filthy she is, how could she possibly be fit to defile our eldest young master, who looks like an immortal descended from the heavens..."
Two maidservants of Yunqi Courtyard chatted as they carried basins of fresh water into the room.
"By the way, do you happen to remember what this Princess Qingrong's given name was?"
"Let me think... Her surname is Li... Li... what sound?"
"Li Fuyin!"
The moment she heard the name, the woman lying on the couch snapped her eyes wide open. Her pale face was covered in cold sweat, and her wide-open eyes flashed with a momentary, fierce murderous intent before she quickly reined in her sharpness, letting a look of bewilderment take its place.
Where... is this?
"The second young miss is finally awake? You fainted yesterday while kneeling at the vigil in the palace. The Marquis and Madam said you were feeling unwell, so there's no need for you to enter the palace today. Although His Majesty commanded that all direct descendants of officials of the fourth rank and above must attend the funeral rites, after all, you aren't truly of our Marquis's estate's bloodline, so presumably it won't matter if you don't go."
The maidservant holding the water spoke as she wiped the young woman's face.
"Audacious!"
The coarse washcloth was still dripping water, but Li Fuyin rebuked sharply and kicked out without a moment's hesitation.
Where did this ignorant palace maid come from, daring to be so perfunctory in her service?
"Clatter—"
The maidservant, along with her basin, was kicked sprawling to the ground, leaving her utterly dumbfounded.
"Second young miss, how dare you treat me like this! I am a person belonging to Madam... Do you believe I'll go tell Madam right now? Just wait to be driven out of the Marquis's estate!"
Recovering her wits, the maidservant sprawled on the floor started shouting angrily. Her status seemed somewhat different from the others; seeing this, the remaining maidservants rushed forward to help her up.
"Shut your traps, all of you! Get out if you don't want to die!"
Li Fuyin felt that her mind had gained a cluster of memories that did not belong to her, and hearing the maidservants' voices only made her feel irritated—she just wanted them to shut up instantly.
Her gaze swept rapidly around the surroundings: soft curtains, soft pillows, a soft quilt... not a single weapon within arm's reach!
The moment she raised her hand, she noticed a jade bracelet of ordinary quality worn on her slender wrist.
The next instant, she took off the bracelet without a moment's hesitation and hurled it fiercely toward the floor—
"Clang."
The bracelet smashed onto the ground, shattering into pieces instantly. The splashing fragments grazed the face of the maidservant on the floor, leaving a clearly visible bloody scratch.
"Ah!"
The maidservant let out a startled scream, staring at Li Fuyin with her jaw slack as if she had seen a ghost. "This... this was a birthday gift from Old Madam, and yet you actually..."
Seeing this, the remaining maidservants wore looks of utter disbelief as well.
After all, the second young miss had always been weak-tempered, timid, and afraid of trouble; she had never lost her temper with anyone, and toward the Old Madam of the Marquis's Estate she was always walking on eggshells, never daring to show the slightest disobedience. Now, not only had she kicked Jinxiu, the trusted personal maid of the Madam, but she had even smashed her most treasured bracelet... Could she be possessed by a ghost?
"Elder sister is awake? Mother asked me to come check on you before entering the palace... What has happened here?"
Just then, a white, graceful figure stepped leisurely into the room.
"Third young miss, you must take a look at the second young miss! She's gone completely mad! I was serving her properly, and not only did she kick me, but she also smashed the priceless bracelet given by Old Madam and scratched my face..."
The moment Jinxiu saw her, she began lodging her complaint, looking at her as if she were a savior while brimming with grievance and anger.
Bai Xiyue glanced at the mess all over the floor, then looked at Li Fuyin on the couch, seeming to understand something. Her delicate brows then knitted together, and she rebuked coldly: "Elder sister has always been gentle and meticulous; she would never do such a thing. It must be that you all failed to serve properly, knocked these things over, and broke elder sister's bracelet. Why don't you hurry up and clean this place, then withdraw at once, or else I will tell Mother and have her punish you!"
"Third young miss... It was this servant's fault, this servant knows her wrong."
Jinxiu was, after all, an old hand in the estate and not entirely foolish. No matter how aggrieved and resentful she felt inside, at a single look from Bai Xiyue, she could only behave herself and dare not say another word.
After all, in the Marquis's Estate nowadays, the third young miss was the legitimate daughter who truly called the shots.
Once the maidservants had withdrawn, Bai Xiyue walked over to the edge of the bed and sat down, quite naturally placing her fingers on Li Fuyin's pulse as she said gently: "Elder sister's body is weak and she ought to rest properly. Today is the day of Princess Qingrong's funeral procession, and His Majesty is personally leaving the palace to see her off; naturally, we too must follow. The journey is long, and I'm afraid elder sister's body simply won't be able to bear it..."
Li Fuyin quietly looked at the face before her, observing her closely for a good long while.
At last, she sorted through all the memories, suppressing the churning emotions in her eyes. Then she smiled slightly, grabbed Bai Xiyue's hand, and said with a firm tone: "No, I must go to Princess Qingrong's funeral rites. I only hope younger sister can help me."
In her past life on this very day, quite a grand drama had unfolded in the capital. As a wisp of a lonely spirit in her past life, she had only been able to sit atop her own coffin to watch the farce, unable to do a single thing. Now that she had hands and feet and could move about, how could she possibly fail to insert herself into it?
Bai Xiyue was slightly startled, as if she hadn't expected the person before her to have this reaction. Though she found it strange in her heart, she could only say: "How does elder sister want me to help?"
"My body is weak; I'm unlike you, younger sister, who knows martial arts and medicine. Later when we attend the funeral rites, I hope younger sister can support me when my strength fails me, and ideally stay by my side every step of the way."
With that, Li Fuyin got up and began changing her clothes, paying no mind whatsoever to Bai Xiyue's puzzled expression.
"Younger sister's hair is neatly combed today, help me style mine as well. Since we are attending funeral rites, it's not fitting to wear cosmetics, so you can skip the makeup."
Since birth, Li Fuyin had never combed her own hair and could barely manage to change her own clothes. Unwilling to summon the maidservants outside, she quite naturally ordered Bai Xiyue about.
After all... Bai Xiyue, the true legitimate daughter of the Marquis's estate, had drifted out in the jianghu in her early years and could be said to understand everything, know how to do everything, and even advocated for universal equality within the Marquis's estate, never needing anyone else to wait on her.
Bai Xiyue was taken aback once more, evidently not expecting the person before her to boss her around so naturally. In her impression, although Song Yunqing had been raised in the Marquis's estate for fifteen years, her temperament was extremely cautious and timid, so dull and uninteresting that she was almost cowardly. Because she lacked the Madam's affection, she fawned on everyone everywhere in the estate, and now she wouldn't dare show the slightest bit of negligence toward her, terrified of losing her blood ties and being driven out of the Marquis's estate.
Toward such a weak and incompetent person, Bai Xiyue naturally disdained to treat her as a rival. By getting along with her on the surface like a real sister, she could even build a good reputation in the capital.
Therefore, although Bai Xiyue felt somewhat uncomfortable, she didn't dwell on it and stepped forward directly to comb her hair for her.
Gazing into the bronze mirror at her youthful face today, Li Fuyin curled the corners of her lips with a intrigued expression.
She hadn't expected the heavens to open their eyes and let her be reborn after death into the body of Song Yunqing, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yongan's Estate—and this Song Yunqing... was none other than the future Empress of the Great Sheng State!