Chapter 2

Yi Ling died with her eyes open.

She collapsed to the ground, her eyes wide, as yellow sand swirled in the air and arrows fell like rain. Some hit her body, others fell by her feet.

Amid the sounds of battle, Yi Ling finally could not hold on any longer and closed her eyes.

But not long after, her body regained a little awareness.

The surroundings seemed unusually quiet, and her entire body felt warm.

Several unfamiliar voices became clearer in her ears.

“How could you let the madam fall into the water? What were you thinking?”

“Servant, servant was only following the madam’s orders to fetch a cloak!”

“Madam? Fall into the water?”

Who are they talking about?

“How careless you all are! When you went out with the madam, didn’t you prepare warm clothes? Look, it’s already this late, and you still haven’t covered the madam with blankets!”

“Th-the madam often complains of feeling stuffy, so…”

“Shut up!”

After being scolded, Yi Ling heard soft footsteps.

Then, she felt the blankets being carefully adjusted around her, tucked in tightly.

Are they talking about me?

Yi Ling suddenly understood but felt it was unbelievable.

She had clearly been shot by Xie Hengzhi’s arrow and died, so how could she have fallen into water?

Moreover, her chest had been pierced by a cold arrow, blood flowing profusely. Yet now, there was no pain at all, and instead, her limbs felt slightly feverish, as if she had caught a chill and developed a high fever.

This body… It doesn’t feel like mine.

Yi Ling desperately wanted to sit up to see what was going on, but she couldn’t even open her eyes.

“You’re wasting your time with excuses! When the master returns from pacifying the rebellion in Qingyang, if the madam hasn’t recovered, none of you will escape punishment!”

Who is the master?

Pacifying the rebellion in Qingyang… Isn’t that Xie Hengzhi?

Yi Ling suddenly realized something, and with a deep breath, she gasped.

This must be a nightmare, and she needed to wake up quickly!

---

A month later.

The bright autumn sun filtered through the leaves, casting patches of dappled light.

It was a rare good day, and the entire capital enjoyed the sunshine, except for the Xie residence, which was nestled beside the southwestern Yintang Lake, shrouded in ominous clouds.

Yi Ling suddenly felt a sharp pain in her left chest, just like the day she was shot dead by Xie Hengzhi’s arrow—cold and piercing.

She opened her eyes suddenly.

The long-awaited daylight seeped through the curtain, casting a soft, moonlight-like glow. But for Yi Ling, who had been unconscious for a month, it was still blinding.

She slowly raised her hand to shield her eyes.

The maids didn’t notice that the person in bed had woken up and were still whispering to each other.

Occasionally, a bird chirped by the window, accompanied by the crackling sound of burning charcoal, so faint yet so real.

Yi Ling was stunned for a while, until she moved her hand away and tried to see the scene in the room, only to realize belatedly that she could move.

She could move?!

Yi Ling, as if waking from a deep sleep, immediately propped herself up and sat on the bed.

The rustling of the blankets finally alerted the waiting maids.

The two of them exclaimed in surprise, hurried over, lifted the curtains, and clustered around the bed.

“Madam! You’re awake?!”

Yi Ling didn’t speak, only staring blankly at the unfamiliar faces in front of her.

In fact, she had been awake for a long time.

For the past month, her mind had been incredibly clear. She could hear people talking, feel the days passing, and even taste the bitter medicine the maids fed her, instinctively resisting it.

But she just couldn’t fully wake up.

Her eyes wouldn’t open, she couldn’t speak, and her body couldn’t move—just like when she had sleep paralysis as a child.

And so, Yi Ling had remained “unconscious” for a whole month.

At first, she thought she was just having a nightmare.

But day after day, hearing the doctor visit her, drinking the medicine the servants forced into her mouth, feeling the maids change her clothes and wipe her body… she finally realized that this was no dream.

It seemed that she had somehow lived in someone else’s body.

And by overhearing the maids’ conversations, she realized that her current identity was…

“Mirror…”

The moment Yi Ling spoke, she immediately stopped.

Her voice had completely changed.

She froze for a while, then said, “Mirror, give me a mirror.”

She had been unconscious for a whole month, and now she immediately wanted a mirror?

The two maids were very confused but didn’t dare ask questions. After exchanging glances for a moment, one ran out to inform the housekeeper, while the other fetched the mirror.

Looking at her reflection in the copper mirror, Yi Ling’s breath almost stopped.

It was the face of a blooming beauty, delicate yet radiant.

Red lips, jade-like face, misty hair, everywhere a striking beauty, the kind only a noble family could cultivate.

What was most striking was the tear mole beneath her delicate brow, like a flaw in a beautiful jade, adding a touch of graceful elegance to her already exquisite face.

Yes, this was unmistakably it.

This face belonged to Xie Hengzhi’s new wife, Madam Shang.

Yi Ling closed her eyes and pinched her leg hard.

…It hurt.

In fact, Yi Ling had never seen Madam Shang before, but she had heard of her talent and beauty.

Scholars from the capital praised Madam Shang, a noblewoman from Jiangzhou, for her poetic talent and virtuous nature. But these qualities couldn’t compare to the beauty of her tear mole.

Moreover, one of the maids always by Yi Ling’s side, Mallow, was actually one of Madam Shang’s personal attendants.

These days, while Yi Ling was bedridden, Mallow and another maid, Yun’er, would often chat by her bedside, mentioning stories from the Shang family in Jiangzhou.
 
“Our lady’s calligraphy is priceless in Jiangzhou. It’s said that if our lady were a man, she would surely have been the top scholar in the imperial exams.”

“Our lady’s name originally only had the character “ridge”, which means a steep mountain.

However, later, someone wiser suggested that she lacked water in her fate, so ‘ridge’ was changed to ‘Ling’ .”

The Shang family of Jiangzhou is the only one of its kind, and coincidentally, it shares the same name as Yi Ling.

Who else could it be, aside from Xie Hengzhi’s new wife?

Now, waking up and seeing this face again, Yi Ling could no longer deceive herself.

“Madam…”

Mallow, seeing Yi Ling’s heavy expression, assumed she was too concerned about her appearance. She comforted her, “You’ve only been unconscious for a long time and have become a bit thinner. If you rest well in the future, you will surely return to being as radiant as before!”

Yi Ling remained silent, only setting down the mirror and struggling to stand up despite her weakness.

She walked around the screen, heading to the door, and pushed open the diamond-patterned wooden door, facing the bright sunlight.

What greeted her was a graceful little courtyard, with pine and cypress trees still lush in the autumn and a few pots of chrysanthemums ready to bloom.

Under the eaves, the corridor was lined with flower railings, and the crossbars beneath the flower grids were carved with turtle-back patterns.

The ground beneath her feet was carefully paved, with layers of bricks and linseed oil “ink-washed” into the surface—meticulous craftsmanship.

Everything before her seemed to confirm that this was the capital.

She had returned to the capital in the body of Xie Hengzhi’s wife.

But Yi Ling couldn’t understand. Why did she have to become Xie Hengzhi’s wife? Why not someone else?

Was heaven purposely trying to annoy her?

Moreover, before Yi Ling passed away, she had already harbored some grievances toward this Shang family.

Two strangers, separated by a thousand miles, should never have been connected in this life.

Although their names were pronounced the same, no one compared them. After all, one was renowned for her talent, while the other was only talked about behind her back due to her marriage.

But after the Shang family changed their name to match Yi Ling’s, it was as if they were tied together.

Praising Shang as a “talented woman” meant belittling Yi Ling as a “rich woman”—almost no talent, but an entire room full of gold and jewels.

Saying that Shang was virtuous and kind would naturally involve disparaging Yi Ling’s “husband-killing” reputation.

Yi Ling was already suffocating from the situation, but it only got worse.

This newly famous female scholar was discovered to have written 96 love poems for Xie Hengzhi in her private chamber!

Shang’s casual couplets were often admired by scholars, let alone her passionate love poems.

The news spread faster than a plague, and before long, even the capital knew about it.

When Yi Ling heard this, she felt even more disgusted from afar.

To have the same name and be labeled as “infatuated with Xie Hengzhi” was enough to make Yi Ling choke on her food just thinking about it.

That said, Shang’s poems were indeed well written. Even Yi Ling, who was unskilled in the arts, felt a deep sense of sorrow and beauty upon reading them.

The current emperor was fond of poetry, and upon hearing of this, he praised Shang’s deep feelings and devotion. The more he thought about it, the more he felt they were a perfect match, and he directly arranged a marriage for them at his longevity banquet.

Yi Ling still remembered the day Shang was married to the capital—ten miles of bridal procession, a grand spectacle.

At that time, Yi Ling only had a few scattered belongings, riding in a plain and narrow carriage, secretly sent to Yongliang by her parents.

The two parties met at the capital gate, one entering, one leaving, with Yi Ling looking pitiful in comparison.

Perhaps the wheels of fate began turning at that very moment, or perhaps even earlier, when the Shang family changed their name, sealing her current twisted fate.

A breeze blew, brushing Yi Ling’s loose hair, and the sensation was fleeting yet real.

A short, middle-aged maidservant led several attendants, hurriedly approaching.

She was Granny Cao (Mama Cao) Shang’s maid, who had been looking after Yi Ling during her slumber. She had just gone to the kitchen to prepare medicinal porridge when she was called back.

Upon hearing the news, she rushed back and even brought warm porridge.

“Madam, you’re awake! Why are you standing outside? You got wet and caught a chill; you mustn’t face the wind!”

Before she even arrived, Granny Cao was already scolding, “Why hasn’t Jin Kui put a coat on the madam? What if she catches a cold? Yun’er! Where’s Yun’er?! Madam must be hungry after sleeping so many days; hurry and set the porridge and dishes!”

Yi Ling stared at Granny Cao (Mama Cao) unmoving.

The woman’s voice was strong yet naturally husky, very recognizable.

Even during her sleep, Yi Ling often found herself irritated by Granny Cao’s constant chattering, always calling her “Lady” this and “Lady” that.

Yi Ling had once hoped that all of this was just a hallucination and that when she woke up, she could escape this dream.

But now, awake, that coarse voice had merged with the figure of Granny Cao (Mama Cao) unmistakable and real.

It seemed that from the moment she regained consciousness, she had completely become Shang Yi Ling.

Such a bizarre thing had really happened to her.

Yi Ling looked up at the sky, squinting against the sun’s glare.

Unbelievable, yet helpless.

Granny Cao (Mama Cao) seeing Yi Ling’s solemn expression, hurriedly said, “Madam, you probably don’t know yet? The master arrived in the capital early this morning and has already entered the palace. If nothing goes wrong, he should be back soon!”

Yi Ling paused, then turned to look at Granny Cao.

“He—”

Before she could finish, a young servant hurriedly ran in.

“Madam! The master has returned! The master has returned!”