Chapter 1: Claiming Her Kin

“You better not mistake the person you seek in your afterlife. It’s the old madam of the Marquis’ house, Madam Meng, who ordered me to throw you into the river to drown.”

Amid the howling wind, there was a voice muttering in a strange manner.

Fang Yuean abruptly opened her eyes, realizing an old woman was holding her, rushing through the dark night.

What’s going on?

Before she went to sleep, she was in the cradle of a wealthy family, but upon waking, she found herself in the cold wind of a dark night, about to drown?

She was just sleeping—just a bit too deeply, it wasn’t a crime, was it?

If she were to die now, she’d only been alive for a little over an hour in this life!

She was a demon, recognized by the gods, cast into reincarnation to experience human emotions.

Now, this was her hundredth life in reincarnation, with her memories intact.

[Huai Ze, what’s going on?] She didn’t want to die without knowing why.

A parrot, visible only to her, was flying above her head.

Fang Yuean communicated with it through her thoughts.

The parrot, named Huai Ze, was originally a small immortal assigned to accompany Fang Yuean through reincarnation, supervising her to prevent her from causing harm.

Huai Ze explained in time: [Before you entered reincarnation, when the gods were discussing how to deal with you, you secretly ran away, mistakenly entered the Hall of Reincarnation, and saw a mortal’s fate book. You were so angry that you tore it apart right then and there. Do you remember?]

[You’re now in that very fate book, as the swapped daughter of Qin Xuan.]

Fang Yuean began to recall.

That mortal’s fate book described the life of a woman named Qin Xuan.

Qin Xuan was gentle and kind-hearted.

Her husband, Fang Zhan, was the heir to the marquisate, proficient in both civil and military affairs, trusted by the emperor.

The couple’s relationship was harmonious, and their children were intelligent and outstanding. They were supposed to live a happy and prosperous life.

But the son of the step-marquis wife, the second master of the household, had long coveted the title of marquis.

The second branch of the family resented the first branch and could not stand seeing them live better lives.

Dressed in sheep’s clothing, they had schemed for years, secretly harming the first branch, causing everyone to meet untimely deaths and taking everything that belonged to them.

When Qin Xuan’s twin daughters were born, one was swapped by the step-marquis wife, replaced with a child whose identity couldn’t be publicly known, to cover up the family’s disgrace.

The real daughter was thrown into the river to drown.

This was one of the many evil deeds of their family.

In the end, the second branch inherited the title, the first branch’s military honors, and with the help of a benefactor, lived a prosperous life.

Why should this be?!

What’s even more infuriating was that now she had become that short-lived true daughter!

[That old, unworthy reincarnation god must be playing tricks on me!] Fang Yuean muttered angrily, [The fate book was probably fixed back up!]

At that moment, her body suddenly plummeted, and her thoughts were abruptly cut off.

In a panic, Fang Yuean held her breath, concentrating to use the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to prevent herself from falling into the water.

The next moment, with a splash, cold water engulfed her.

She knew it!!!

Before entering reincarnation, her spiritual powers had been sealed. Now, she only had a faint bit of it, uncontrollable, often fluctuating, and always absent in crucial moments.

And since she had just been born, she couldn’t even control her own limbs, let alone use her spiritual power.

Fortunately, her true form was special, born from the nurturing of heaven and earth. Even as a mortal, she wasn’t afraid of water.

Though she couldn’t use spiritual power, her fate was strong enough.

Eventually, Fang Yuean was rescued from the riverbank and sold to Jiangnan.

Now, at five years old, her spiritual power had stabilized, allowing her to move freely, and she had successfully escaped from a brothel.

She decided to change Qin Xuan’s fate personally.

With determination, she moved forward.

Let’s see what the reincarnation god can do!

On a mountain path, Fang Yuean’s small figure hurried along.

Huai Ze flew beside her, constantly talking:

“Do you remember what I told you?”

“There’s a maid by your mother’s side, named Bihe, who will be going out today.”

“She’s the daughter of your mother’s dowry maid, Nanny Lei. She’s young, simple in nature, and if you show her your face and mention your missing father from the battlefield, she’ll surely bring the message back. That way, you’ll have a chance to see your mother.”

Huai Ze was checking everyone’s fate records and urged impatiently:

“Can you hurry up a bit! If we miss this chance, it will be hard to find another opportunity to see your mother soon. Her fate has already begun to shift, and if you wait any longer, your entire family will be destined to serve someone else’s purposes.”

“Ah, alright! I’m already taking a shortcut!” Fang Yuean grumbled, walking with a sullen face.

“Hurry, hurry, hurry! I’m only five years old and have been traveling for over a month! It’s all because of you, useless bird, with your blind eyes watching as they swapped me out!”

When she first set out, she was a little girl dressed in fine clothes. Now, she was in tattered rags, her hair disheveled, and her body reeked, worse than the beggars on the street.

Huai Ze was so angry that his beak opened wide, letting out a growl: “It’s not my fault! When I saw that old woman carrying you away, shouting like that, you didn’t even wake up! Why didn’t you wait until your next life to wake up?!”

Fang Yuean ground her teeth: “I was just born! What’s wrong with sleeping a little too deeply? I’m just a mortal now, it’s hard to control my instincts!”

Huai Ze gathered himself: “I don’t have a mortal body, I can’t intervene directly in mortal affairs. How many times have I told you that? Are your ears stuffed with donkey hair?!”

He rolled his eyes: “If it weren’t for you forcing me, and the thunder not striking us, you think I’d tell you so much about the Fang family’s secrets!!!”

Fang Yuean didn’t argue with him, coldly snorting: “Go ahead and scream, let’s see if I have the time to roast you!”

Huai Ze was momentarily stunned, remembering that before entering reincarnation, the gods had to work together to restrain this little demon, and helplessly softened his tone.

“Forget it, based on the age of immortals and demons, you’re still only a few hundred years old. I’ve been an immortal for over a thousand years, I won’t argue with you, a child.”

---

In Jingguo, the capital city.

At the Fang family’s residence, Yunxiang Courtyard.

“Madam! A little girl is here, claiming to be your daughter.”

The maid, Bihe, rushed in.

Inside the outer room, the master and servant paused their quiet conversation and looked up.

“What’s the fuss? The eldest daughter is married, and both the fifth and sixth daughters are at home. What do you mean, a daughter?” Nanny Lei, the maid, stepped forward sternly.

“The master has been missing for more than a month on the battlefield, and Madam is already anxious enough. You’re spreading rumors, ruining Madam’s reputation. See if I don’t slap your mouth!” She raised her hand to strike.

Bihe stepped back two steps, quickly saying, “Madam, this little girl looks about five or six years old. She looks exactly like the sixth daughter, even more like a twin sister than the fifth daughter.”

“Still speaking nonsense!” Nanny Lei rushed forward, slapping her.

“Madam, I swear I’m not lying, I won’t tell anyone else!” Bihe hurriedly knelt down before the matriarch, Madam Qin. “That little girl even said she knows where the master is. If Madam doesn’t send someone soon, the master will marry someone else!”

Nanny Lei’s hand froze in mid-air, and she looked back at Madam Qin.

The room was silent for a moment.

Qin Xuan lowered her hand from her brow, her face weary, and sighed, her voice dry. “Let her in.”

Before long, Fang Yuean entered the room with Bihe.

She was exhausted, her steps unsteady, and she didn’t have the energy to look around.

[Heavens, that old turtle, please run away, this is killing me.]

Qin Xuan was staring at the beggar-like child when suddenly she heard a soft sigh, which she couldn’t hide her shock at.

She was certain that the child didn’t speak.

It must have been too much happening recently, and she was too exhausted to hallucinate.

Bihe knelt down, brushing aside Fang Yuean’s messy hair, and wiped the grime off her face with a handkerchief, stepping aside.

“Madam, look, doesn’t she look exactly like the sixth daughter?”

Fang Yuean opened her eyes wide, fighting to keep her eyelids from closing, and smiled.

The face, so similar to her little daughter’s, left Qin Xuan stunned.

Looking at that obedient smile, Qin Xuan’s heart tightened painfully.

Her little daughter, Fang Shuer, had an accident six months ago, hitting her head and had not cried or smiled since, becoming dumb and slow-witted.

[Is she really my mother in this life? The person from the fate book?]

Once again, the child’s soft voice pulled Qin Xuan back to reality.

She couldn’t understand the strange words, but she was certain that this was not an illusion.

She could actually hear the child’s thoughts!

[How can I make my mother believe that I am her true daughter, the twin born on the same day? It was my damned step-grandmother who swapped me with her family’s widow niece, making me the child of a different person. The second daughter of the household, the fifth miss, should actually be me.]

[That damned old thing, not only had me thrown into the moat, but to make the fake daughter get all of mother’s love and dowry, they wanted to kill my sister by pushing her off the rockery.]

[Thankfully, our sisterly fate is strong, I didn’t drown; she got her clothes torn by the rocks but survived, even though she became stupid. There’s still hope.]

[Old thing, let me see if I won’t make you pay for this!!!]