“Chuntao, has the young lady still not woken up? How is she doing? What did Doctor Wang say?”
Jiang Yun’s voice was thick with fatigue and hoarseness, and she could not hide the anxiety in it. She stood beside the bed, gazing at the girl lying upon it with deep concern.
Chuntao hurriedly curtsied and replied, “Madam, Doctor Wang came to examine the young lady again just now. He said she was overwhelmed with grief and had become emotionally distressed, but there is nothing seriously wrong with her health. He prescribed several doses of medicine to calm her nerves and soothe her qi. We need only wait for her to wake before giving it to her while it’s still hot.
“Chunxing is keeping watch in the inner room. She’ll inform you at once if there is any movement.”
Jiang Yun raised a hand and pressed against her throbbing temples. The days of exhaustion and grief had left her already frail body tottering on the brink of collapse. Yet whenever she spoke of her daughter, her voice was filled with concern. She added, “You’ve all worked hard. The residence has been in chaos these past few days, so watch over the young lady carefully and don’t let your guard down.
“When she wakes, give her a little warm sugar water first. Let her rest and regain her strength before boiling the medicine and giving it to her. Then send someone to inform me.”
“Yes, Madam. Don’t worry. This servant has taken note. We servants will certainly do our utmost to care for the young lady,” Chuntao replied.
Jiang Yun then walked softly to the bedside. She lifted a corner of the pink gauze curtain embroidered with twisting peonies and looked at her daughter’s pale sleeping face, tears welling in her eyes.
Unable to stop herself, she let out a faint sigh. Afraid of disturbing her daughter, she even quieted her breathing. After a moment, she slowly lowered the curtain and quietly withdrew. The door was gently closed behind her, and her footsteps gradually faded into the distance. At last, the room fell silent.
Only then did Jiang Yanyan slowly open her eyes.
Layer upon layer of pink gauze curtains filled her vision. She raised a hand and pushed them aside. What met her eyes was an ornately carved wooden bed frame. Beside it stood a pearwood dressing table, upon which rested a bronze mirror, rouge, and various cosmetics. In the corner of the room, several dried lotus flowers had been placed in a blue-and-white porcelain vase. Everywhere she looked was the unmistakable appearance of an ancient household.
She propped herself up and sat against the headboard. Then she called, “Eighteen, transmit the original host’s memories and the plot.”
【Understood, Host. The memories are being transmitted. Please wait.】
The instant the mechanical voice fell silent, a vast stream of information surged into Zhang Yanyan’s mind. Piece by piece, the original host’s memories and the background of this small world became clear to her.
The original host was named Jiang Yanyan. She was fifteen years old and the granddaughter of Jiang Yan, Lord of Moyun City.
This was a dynasty that had only recently emerged from years of war. The previous emperor had been incompetent and tyrannical, powerful clans had dominated the court, corrupt officials ran rampant, and successive natural disasters had left the people destitute. As land became concentrated in the hands of a few, countless commoners were driven from their homes and reduced to a life of misery. Rebellions consequently broke out across the land.
In the end, the rebel army led by Murong Qing overthrew the previous dynasty and established the state of Qi. He selected the reign title Mingzheng and became its founding emperor.
Before Murong Qing began his rebellion, Jiang Yanyan’s maternal grandfather, Jiang Yan, had been the Master of Muxue Manor on the border.
After several generations of careful management, Muxue Manor possessed not only immense wealth but also a considerable number of skilled martial artists. Jiang Yan himself was highly accomplished in martial arts and well versed in business. The manor enjoyed great prestige throughout the border region.
Jiang Yan happened to meet Murong Qing by chance. The two hit it off immediately and became sworn brothers. Jiang Yan admired Murong Qing’s character and ambition. Moreover, with the realm plunged into turmoil and the people suffering, he decided to devote the entire strength of Muxue Manor to assisting Murong Qing, contributing both men and money.
Fortunately, Muxue Manor was located on the border, far from the capital of the previous dynasty, so Jiang Yan had no need to fear retaliation from the imperial court. The manor thus became Murong Qing’s most steadfast support.
After Murong Qing ascended the throne and established Qi, adopting the reign title Mingzheng, he rewarded those who had helped him according to their merits. Emperor Mingzheng wished to grant Jiang Yan a princely title, but Jiang Yan refused, saying that he was accustomed to the freedom of the martial world and disliked the restrictions of court life.
Murong Qing also understood that the martial sects of the jianghu possessed formidable strength. Many martial artists had joined the rebellion, and once the realm was at peace, those sects could become a serious threat if left unchecked.
He therefore consulted Jiang Yan and made him Lord of Moyun City, granting him authority over the city’s military and civil affairs. On one hand, Jiang Yan would oversee the martial sects in the border region and restrain their conduct. On the other, he would command Moyun City’s troops and guard Qi’s northwestern frontier. Moyun City thus became the gateway to Qi’s northwest.
Jiang Yan had taken only one wife in his life: Jiang Yanyan’s maternal grandmother. Sadly, her daughter Jiang Yun’s birth had been difficult, and she died in labor.
Moved by his feelings for his late wife, Jiang Yan later took two concubines but never married again. He devoted all his thoughts to his only daughter, Jiang Yun, and to governing Moyun City.
Because her mother had died in childbirth, Jiang Yun had been frail since childhood and frequently fell ill. Jiang Yan treasured his only daughter dearly and raised her with every possible indulgence.
When she reached marriageable age, Jiang Yan married his daughter to his adopted son, Jiang Lei.
Jiang Lei had been an orphan whom Jiang Yan found and took in. Because he displayed exceptional talent in martial arts, Jiang Yan accepted him as his adopted son.
Jiang Lei and Jiang Yun had grown up together as childhood sweethearts. He was exceptionally capable and had learned martial arts from Jiang Yan. After coming of age, he joined the military camp in Moyun City, where he repeatedly distinguished himself in battle and became Jiang Yan’s right-hand man.
The couple’s relationship remained deeply affectionate after their marriage. Before long, they had a daughter, the original host, Jiang Yanyan. Nine years later, they had a son, Jiang Xiao, who was now only six years old.
Emperor Mingzheng, Murong Qing, had shared a deep friendship with Jiang Yan. However, his years of campaigning in the north and south had damaged his health, and his body gradually weakened.
When the original host was ten, Emperor Mingzheng personally issued an edict betrothing her to his grandson, Murong Xun.
At the time, the original host was still young, so the engagement was only a verbal arrangement. They would marry once she came of age.
But Emperor Mingzheng ultimately did not live much longer before passing away.
After Emperor Changping ascended the throne, he still decided to honor the engagement. Now that the original host had turned fifteen and reached adulthood, he issued an edict ordering Prince Yong, Murong Xun, to personally travel to Moyun City and escort the original host back to the capital for their wedding.
However, Prince Yong, Murong Xun, had already given his heart to someone else.
The Sixth Princess of Jing, Song Yanran, had once traveled through the jianghu under the assumed name Lu Yanran. It was during that journey that she met Murong Xun. The two traveled together, weathered many trials, and gradually fell in love.
Murong Xun had originally intended to bring Lu Yanran back to the capital and ask Emperor Changping to grant them a marriage decree. Before he could do so, however, he received Emperor Changping’s order to go to Moyun City and escort the original host back to the capital for their wedding.
Murong Xun wanted to ask his imperial father to withdraw the decree, but his mother, Consort Rong, strongly opposed the idea.
She told Murong Xun that Lu Yanran’s status was too low and that she was far inferior to the Jiang family, which held military and civil authority over Moyun City. Jiang Yanyan was Jiang Yan’s only granddaughter, and marrying her would win Jiang Yan’s full support, greatly benefiting Murong Xun’s future prospects.
As for Lu Yanran, if he truly loved her, he could simply bring her into the palace as a secondary consort.
After much deliberation, Murong Xun agreed to the marriage.
But his acceptance infuriated the proud Yanran. As the princess of Jing, she was a daughter of heaven, born to wealth and honor. How could she be willing to become a secondary consort?
To put it nicely, she would be called a secondary consort. Put bluntly, she was nothing more than a concubine.
In a fit of anger, she returned to Jing.
Murong Xun sent people to search for her everywhere, but they never found her. Resentment gradually took root in his heart, and he blamed everything on Emperor Changping and the original host, Jiang Yanyan.
Emperor Changping was his father, so Murong Xun did not dare do anything to him. And since his marriage to the original host had been decreed by the late emperor, he did not dare openly defy the imperial will either. He could only suppress his anger in silence.
For that reason, although Murong Xun had come to Moyun City by imperial order to escort the original host back to the capital, he treated her with extreme indifference. He wore a blank expression all day and could barely be bothered to speak.
The original owner naturally did not try to approach Murong Xun and risk making herself unwelcome.
