Chapter One: The Exchange Marriage

Kangyuan, eighth year.

In the dimly lit room, the candle flickered.

Green Willow, who was working on her embroidery, suddenly felt a chill and shuddered involuntarily.

“My lady, are you cold?”

Without waiting for a reply, she set aside her needlework and went to close the window herself.

As she turned back, she was startled to see her mistress seated before the dressing mirror at some unknown moment. The wavering candlelight cast shifting shadows across the girl’s fair face. With her head slightly bowed, her delicate hand traced her own cheek, gazing fixedly at her reflection. A faint smile rippled across her lips, but in the dim light, that smile seemed almost twisted.

Though she had served her young mistress day and night, this scene unsettled Green Willow profoundly.

“My lady?” she called out, forcing herself to speak though her voice trembled.

Lin Jian—no, she was now Lin Menghua.

Having just returned from the Underworld, she had failed to mask the lingering chill from the netherworld in time, inadvertently frightening the living—her fault.

Lin Menghua quickly regained her composure, offering a smile befitting the living. “Is something wrong?”

Only then did Green Willow breathe a sigh of relief. “Nothing at all.”

“Very well.” Lin Menghua returned to the bed and closed her eyes.

This body’s name was Lin Menghua. As for her, Lin Jian, she had been a staff member at the Underworld Relief Center, now acting as Lin Menghua’s agent, here to help her dispel resentment and regret, smoothing her way to reincarnation.

In her previous life, Lin Menghua and her cousin Lin Qingwan were to be married just a day apart. Lin Menghua was to wed the current third prince, Prince Ning, while Lin Qingwan’s marriage was arranged with the Jiang family, a fifth-rank official.

Lin Menghua’s grandfather, Lin Zheng, Marquis of Loyal Valor, had begun as a commoner, earning his title through perilous campaigns alongside the late emperor. For Great Xia, the direct line of the Lin family had repeatedly marched off to war, their bones buried on distant frontiers.

After Lin Menghua’s father, Lin Cheng, died, the direct line of the family was left without an heir. Thus, Lin Zheng decided to select someone from a collateral branch to support and sustain the family’s glory. Lin Qingwan’s father, Lin Zhiyuan, was chosen.

Lin Zhiyuan now served as Assistant Minister of Revenue. When Lin Qingwan came of age, he arranged for her to marry into the Jiang family. Though the Jiangs were not an aristocratic clan, they were regarded as upright and scholarly—an appropriate match.

To strengthen the bond between the two families, Lin Zheng had Lin Zhiyuan’s household move into the Marquis’s residence.

The third prince, Prince Ning, adopted son of the favored Consort Zhang, was not as strong a contender for the throne as the Crown Prince, the King of Cheng, the King of Rong, or the fourth prince. Still, the position of Princess Ning remained highly sought after in the capital.

However, Prince Ning already had a favored concubine, herself from the noble Pei family of Hedong, whose grandfather had served as Right Chancellor. Though now retired, the Peis still carried considerable influence at court.

It was said this concubine was deeply cherished. Prince Ning had even sought to make her his official consort, but Consort Zhang opposed the union, thwarting his wishes.

That June, Prince Ning defied his foster mother and petitioned the emperor for a marriage decree. Yet under Consort Zhang’s interference, the intended bride became a concubine, not the principal wife. Prince Ning personally delivered betrothal gifts to the Pei family, and her wedding was held with honors equal to those of a legitimate wife.

This maneuver caused many noble families in the capital to withdraw their daughters from consideration. With such a favored concubine in the household, who would risk sending their legitimate daughter into such a situation?

Consort Zhang, for her part, disdained those who still expressed interest.

During the Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet, Consort Zhang took a liking to Lin Menghua and directly requested the emperor to issue a decree.

Despite the complicated state of Prince Ning’s household, for the Lin family, this was still a splendid match.

Lin Qingwan, disdaining the modest Jiang family, conspired with her mother, Lady Su, to swap the marriages.

Lady Su, who controlled the inner quarters of the Lin household, drugged Lin Menghua and her personal maid on the wedding day, so it was Lin Qingwan who entered the prince’s residence as the bride.

The next day, the emperor was furious. Lin Zheng and Lin Zhiyuan knelt in the Hall of Supreme Heaven, begging for forgiveness before all the officials. The emperor, acknowledging Lin Zheng's steadfast loyalty and the family’s history of sacrifice, uttered only, “The Lin line is at an end!” before sweeping from the hall.

Out of consideration for Lin Zheng’s service, the emperor merely docked a year’s salary, but from that day forward, everyone in the capital knew that the Marquis of Loyal Valor had lost imperial favor.

Lin Zhiyuan was demoted three ranks and nearly banished from the capital.

Due to Prince Ning’s indulgence of his concubine, Consort Zhang treated Lin Qingwan with some leniency, shielding her—especially in her conflicts with the concubine, siding with her without question.

For a time, as Princess Ning, Lin Qingwan enjoyed great prestige, even petitioning Consort Zhang on Lin Zhiyuan’s behalf. As the prince’s new in-laws, the consort pleaded with the emperor, and Lin Qingwan’s influence grew. On hearing rumors that Lin Zheng had lost favor, she urged her family to move out of the marquis’s residence, severing ties.

But her good fortune did not last.

Emboldened by the consort’s favoritism, she became increasingly intolerant of the concubine, provoking and tormenting her at every turn—Prince Ning saw it all.

After a particularly violent altercation that led to the concubine’s miscarriage, Prince Ning’s patience snapped. He accused Lin Qingwan of jealousy and formally petitioned to divorce her.

To preserve royal dignity, the emperor allowed Prince Ning to depose her, confining her to a remote courtyard to live out her days in obscurity.

As for Lin Menghua, after marrying into the Jiang family, her fortunes steadily improved. Jiang Ping passed the civil service exam and, though his rank was initially low, secured a post in a provincial county. Lin Menghua accompanied him, serving as the magistrate’s wife through two terms before returning to the capital, where Jiang Ping was appointed an aide in the central secretariat. His career soared, and Lin Menghua herself was ennobled.

Meanwhile, Lin Qingwan, trapped in her lonely courtyard and forced to rely on the whims of her servants, became increasingly despondent and deranged. News of Lin Menghua’s prosperity drove her further into madness until she died suddenly.

Lin Menghua, unable to attend the funeral, was soon poisoned and died as well.

Her spirit, filled with resentment, lingered in the mortal world, only to witness her husband conceal the truth of her death for the sake of his career, publicly declaring her death the result of illness, and soon after marrying a noble lady from a powerful family. The bitterness of it all only deepened her regret.

Just as she was about to become a vengeful spirit, she was dragged down to the Underworld.

Lin Jian took on her case, entering the hidden world to dissolve her grievances.

As she pondered these things, Green Willow spoke, “My lady, you are to enter the prince’s household tomorrow. You should rest.”

“Very well,” she replied.

According to her predecessor’s wishes, Lin Menghua had hoped to revive the Lin family’s fortunes, and so after marrying Jiang Ping, she dismissed his concubines immediately to prevent any chance of being poisoned.

Lin Jian gazed at the blue bed curtains, her eyes flickering with thought, a smile playing about her lips.

To marry Jiang Ping meant years of hardship, exhausting herself for him—a life of sorrow and struggle she did not desire.

She wanted only happiness!

Happiness, and to complete her mission!

She got up, poured all the water from the table into the incense burner, and after finishing these precautions, lay down to rest.

According to the original course of events, Lin Qingwan and Lady Su would come early to her room to prepare. They would hide her in the wardrobe while Lin Qingwan donned the bridal attire, covering her face and waiting in the room.