Chapter 2

Yiling 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, Yiling 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, Yiling heard soft footsteps.

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

Are they talking about me?

Yiling 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.

Yiling 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?

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

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

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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.

Yiling 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 Yiling, 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.

Yiling 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?!

Yiling, 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?!”

Yiling 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, Yiling 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 Yiling 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, Yiling’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, Mrs. Shang.

Yiling closed her eyes and pinched her leg hard.

…It hurt.

In fact, Yiling had never seen Mrs. Shang before, but she had heard of her talent and beauty.

Scholars from the capital praised Mrs. 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 Yiling’s side, Mallow, was actually one of Mrs. Shang’s personal attendants.

These days, while Yiling 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 is from the word Yi, originally only had the word “ridge”, which means Junling.

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 Yiling.

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

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

“Madam…”

Mallow, seeing Yiling’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!”

Yiling 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 Yiling 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 Yiling 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 Yiling’s, it was as if they were tied together.

Praising Shang as a “talented woman” meant belittling Yiling 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 Yiling’s “husband-killing” reputation.

Yiling 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 Yiling 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 Yiling choke on her food just thinking about it.

That said, Shang’s poems were indeed well written. Even Yiling, 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.

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

At that time, Yiling 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 Yiling 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 Yiling’s loose hair, and the sensation was fleeting yet real.

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

She was Mama Cao (granny Cao), Shang’s maid, who had been looking after Yiling 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, Mama Cao was already scolding, “Why hasn’t Mallow 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!”

Yiling stared at Mama Cao unmoving.

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

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

Yiling 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 Mama Cao unmistakable and real.

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

Such a bizarre thing had really happened to her.

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

Unbelievable, yet helpless.

Mama Cao seeing Yiling’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!”

Yiling paused, then turned to look at Mama Cao.

“He—”

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

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