Until the day her false princess identity was exposed, Wang Zhaoyi cried bitterly while holding her real daughter, her eyes filled with despair as she questioned why the girl had impersonated the princess, causing their mother and daughter to be separated despite their proximity.

Yet, it was clearly Wang Zhaoyi who had burst into tears upon seeing her, convinced that she was her long-lost daughter.

Jiang Yingwan shrank back, avoiding her touch, and said, turning her face away, “Your Majesty, I am not your biological daughter.”

She felt Wang Zhaoyi stiffen slightly, that uncomfortable gentle gaze enveloping her again.

“Wanwan, you had a nightmare,” Wang Zhaoyi said, stroking Jiang Yingwan’s face with affection. “I only have you, my daughter. You are the Princess Lingyi, appointed by His Majesty. Remember this, don’t forget it again.”

“But I…” Jiang Yingwan tried to shake her head, but Wang Zhaoyi stopped her by pinching her face.

Wang Zhaoyi said lightly, “How could I not recognize my own daughter?”

Yes, how could you not recognize your own daughter?

Jiang Yingwan recalled the wet nurse’s testimony from her confrontation with Yinghan in her past life. The real princess had a butterfly-shaped birthmark on her right shoulder, but before that, Wang Zhaoyi had never mentioned it, nor had she ever questioned her identity.

After entering the palace, she lived in constant fear, bullied by other princes and princesses for her lack of manners, ignored by the emperor for her timidity and inability to win favor, and neglected by the only person she trusted, Wang Zhaoyi, for her dullness.

She had suffered so much, yet she still tried to find out about Yinghan.  Yinghan, however, coldly watched her being punished, eager to reclaim her position.

Jiang Yingwan stared blankly at her gentle eyes, silent for a long time, before asking as if confirming, “Your Majesty, what is the date today?”

Wang Zhaoyi looked at her in surprise and replied softly, “Wanwan, why have you forgotten? Yesterday was your enthronement ceremony; today is March 14th.”

March 14th? Jiang Yingwan clearly remembered that the day her identity was exposed was June 20th.

She suddenly clenched her hands, her knuckles turning white. So she had been reborn?

A numb sensation surged to her scalp, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably, tears streaming down her face.

Heaven had mercifully given her a second chance at life, but why not simply let her be reborn before anything happened?

By this time, the emperor had already publicly announced her appointment as Princess Lingyi. Even if she stood up again and said the royal family had mistaken her, the crime of confusing the royal bloodline was inescapable.

She didn’t want to die again; being strangled by a white silk sash was too painful.

It wasn’t her fault. The royal family had mistaken her for their lost princess, and Wang Zhaoyi had personally acknowledged her identity. Why should she bear the consequences of the royal family’s mistake?

“I understand, Mother.”

Jiang Yingwan wiped away her tears and gave her a supremely docile smile.

She would survive; she would never repeat the mistakes of her past life.

————

Perhaps the shock was too great; Jiang Yingwan fell ill with a high fever that night.

Jiang Yingwan lay in bed in a daze, hearing Wang Zhaoyi’s tearful complaints through the layers of curtains.

“It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t been incompetent and failed to take care of Wanwan, she wouldn’t have suffered so much. My poor Wanwan…”

Then came another cold voice, firm and authoritative, leaving no room for argument.

“Enough, what did the imperial physician say?”

Wang Zhaoyi’s crying subsided. “The imperial physician said that Wanwan grew up in the south and might not be adapting to the palace. If Wanwan had been with me since childhood, she wouldn’t have…”

Jiang Yingwan was delirious with fever and didn’t quite hear the rest of the conversation. She only felt that Wang Zhaoyi kept crying, and the man’s voice became colder and colder, his replies shorter and shorter.

Suddenly, someone lifted the curtains beside her bed. She struggled to open her eyes and saw a dark black dragon robe, the golden dragons on the clothes baring their teeth and claws at her.

A large, warm hand touched her forehead. As it was about to be withdrawn, she instinctively grabbed his hand.

“Your Majesty.”

Jiang Yingwan remembered that when she first entered the palace in her past life, the emperor had actually been quite concerned about her. He often visited Wang Zhaoyi’s palace to see her and gave her the title only princesses who were getting married could have.

But she was too timid. She couldn’t accept her identity at once, always avoiding him, and speaking timidly in his presence.  Coupled with Wang Zhaoyi’s frequent complaints to him about her grievances, he gradually stopped coming, only occasionally sending gifts through palace servants.

Wang Zhaoyi said that the emperor was the heaven of this palace.  To change her fate, she had to change his impression of her.

She would become the most filial daughter to the emperor, so that even if he discovered her identity, he would still show mercy.

“Father…” Jiang Yingwan dared not be too presumptuous, only looking at him timidly with red eyes.

She was still afraid, her heart beating rapidly, as if it would jump out of her chest. But she had no choice; to survive, she could only rely on the emperor’s meager paternal affection.

After a long while, Jiang Yingwan heard him sigh, his tone much softer than it had been to Wang Zhaoyi.

“Father is here.”

The Crown Prince, Elder Brother

Sensing the comfort in the emperor’s words, Jiang Yingwan’s heart settled down. She looked up at this “father” whom she had always revered in her past life.

Jiang Yingwan was born in the year the emperor ascended the throne, sixteen years ago. Yet, the emperor looked no older than thirty, his dark clothes and high crown making him look noble and stern, his presence awe-inspiring.

Meeting those oppressive, dark eyes again, Jiang Yingwan couldn’t help but shiver.

The emperor and her biological father were so different in temperament and appearance. Her father was a refined tea merchant, always gentle and amiable in front of his children.  It was because of this that she had been so afraid of the emperor in her past life, unable to truly treat him as her father.

Noticing her timidity and fear, the emperor’s gaze softened slightly, and he lowered his voice, asking, “Is there anything uncomfortable?”

Jiang Yingwan suppressed her fear and timidly replied, “I have a headache.”

She didn’t know how the emperor interacted with his other children, so she could only apply her past experiences with her biological parents.  She would act coquettish and clingy, which her father had liked very much, but she didn’t know if the emperor would appreciate it.

A headache? The emperor pondered for a moment, and his other hand hesitantly rubbed her forehead.

“Does it still hurt?”

The emperor’s touch was neither too light nor too heavy, immediately relieving her headache. Jiang Yingwan comfortably narrowed her eyes. “It doesn’t hurt anymore, Father is amazing.”

The emperor’s tight lips relaxed slightly. “I’ll have the imperial physician take a look.”

Jiang Yingwan looked past him at Wang Zhaoyi, who was still wearing her usual gentle mask. When their eyes met, the smile on Wang Zhaoyi’s lips deepened.

“Father,” Jiang Yingwan withdrew her gaze, summoning her courage to look at him. “Could you spend more time with me?”

Jiang Yingwan firmly believed that as long as she appeared more often in front of the emperor and showed more filial piety, the emperor would be moved by her sincerity.

She didn’t want to occupy Yinghan’s identity; the princess’s position would eventually be returned to her. But she hoped that she would not end up like she did in her past life, hoping that the emperor would spare her life on the day the truth was revealed, out of gratitude for her filial piety.

She would leave the capital far away, return to her hometown, live a peaceful life, and never have anything to do with the palace again.

This question made the emperor silent for a long time. Jiang Yingwan dejectedly lowered her eyelids, thinking she was too hasty.

But Wang Zhaoyi spoke up, “Wanwan, His Majesty is busy with state affairs and cannot be frequently disturbed.”

“It’s alright,” the emperor’s brow relaxed. “Wanwan has suffered a lot outside; I should make up for it.”

Jiang Yingwan mumbled, “I haven’t suffered much. My father… my adoptive parents were very good to me.”

The Jiang family was considered wealthy in Yuezhou, and her parents had doted on her and Yinghan, raising them since childhood. If it weren’t for the fact that after her parents’ death, she had no brothers to rely on, and her family property fell into the hands of her uncle, she would not have left her hometown to seek protection from relatives in the capital.

Her voice was indistinct, and the emperor didn’t hear clearly, only gently stroking her hair without speaking.

In the year Wanwan was born, he was busy seizing power and neglected his family, causing his young daughter to be lost.

He felt somewhat guilty towards Wang, so after ascending the throne, he disregarded the criticism and made her, a concubine, the head of the nine concubines, even though he didn’t particularly like her.

Jiang Yingwan knew when to stop. When her father was busy as a child, she wouldn’t keep bothering him, but would take Yinghan to play elsewhere.

“I feel much better. Father has been busy all day and should take care of his health and rest early.”

The emperor saw her small figure huddled in the quilt, her cheeks flushed, looking at him obediently, and his heart softened.

“Take care of your health, I’ll come see you tomorrow.”

“Mm.” Jiang Yingwan nodded lightly, watching his figure leave.

After Wang Zhaoyi sent him out, Jiang Yingwan fell asleep drowsily. When she woke up again, it was evening.

After a long sleep, she had sweated a lot, and when Jiang Yingwan woke up, her spirits had improved considerably. Wang Zhaoyi sat by the bed, looking at her with a complex expression.

“Wanwan has become much more sensible.”

Jiang Yingwan knew she was referring to her proactive behavior in front of the emperor today.

She probably also knew why Wang Zhaoyi, knowing that she wasn’t her biological daughter, still dared to acknowledge her.

Because Wang Zhaoyi needed a daughter, a daughter who could arouse the emperor’s pity. Although Wang Zhaoyi held the position of one of the nine concubines, she had no children and was not favored by the emperor.  For so many years, she had only relied on the emperor’s guilt.