Chapter 1

When I woke, I was fighting another maid over a white flour bun.

“It’s mine! Let go!”

“Liar! I saw it first!”

“I picked it up in the garden first!”

“I saw it first!”

We argued until our faces were red, both gripping the bun, neither willing to give way.

Servants at the very bottom of the household seldom had enough to eat.

My stomach was growling.

Our masters had been feasting that day. One had casually tossed a white bun to a dog, but the dog had turned up its nose and trotted off, wagging its tail.

Another sweeping maid and I were ravenous. The moment we spotted the bun, our eyes lit up. We both rushed for it, and the quarrel began.

My sister Si Min heard the commotion and came over. Seeing us clawing at each other, she frowned. “Si Lan, stop arguing. It’s only a bun. Let her have it.”

“I saw it first, and I picked it up first,” I protested. “Why should I give it to her?”

The maid tugged hard while I was speaking. I quickly shoved her away. She fell and began wailing hysterically, crying that she was hungry.

I ignored her. I was starving myself. How could I afford to worry about anyone else?

Besides, I’d had the bun first. She was the one trying to steal it. I had no sympathy for her!

I broke it in half and offered one piece to my sister. “Here, Sister! Eat!” I said happily.

Her frown deepened. She took the bread, then looked hesitantly at the maid weeping on the ground.

I raised my half to take a bite. A hand reached out and snatched it from my mouth.

I stared at Si Min. “Sister?”

Without so much as a glance at me, she gave both halves to the maid. “Don’t cry. Here, eat.”

“Thank you, Sister Si! You’re such a kind person!”

The maid accepted it with delight, shot me a vicious glare, and began wolfing it down.

Watching them, I slipped into a daze.

Memories of my previous life surged through my mind.

Si Min and I were both daughters of the Marquis of Changping.

She was born to his wife. I was born to a concubine.

My mother had died when I was very young. Because the date and hour of my birth were considered auspicious, Grandmother had raised me herself, and my standing among our sisters was far from low.

Still, I knew exactly where I stood. I worked hard to please both Grandmother and Father’s wife so I could keep my place in the family.

My sister had been born to privilege. She needed to do nothing. The best of everything was brought straight to her.

Once, while feeding the fish in the garden, she watched the koi jostling below and sighed. “Why must they fight? Too much scrambling only makes them tiresome.”

She tossed the fish food beyond the crowd so the fish that couldn’t squeeze in could eat too.

The ladies and young women accompanying us praised her lavishly: serene as a chrysanthemum, above all competition.

And she lived up to their words. She never quarreled with anyone, always meeting everything with composure.

But while she remained composed, the fighting fell to me and our other concubine-born sisters.

Father’s wife had given us our orders long before.

Whenever we accompanied Si Min to a banquet, if someone mocked her and she said nothing, we had to speak up.

If a dispute broke out, we had to run about settling it for her.

In time, everyone praised her noble character. Naturally, the rest of us earned poor reputations.

As word of my virtuous sister spread, she attracted the attention of noblewomen.

The Duchess of Zheng took a liking to her and wanted her as a daughter-in-law.

Our marquis’s house was already in decline, while the Duke of Zheng’s family was at the height of its power. His heir was accomplished despite his youth, handsome and dashing into the bargain.

Our entire household rejoiced at the prospect of such a match.

When Si Min heard, she remained composed. “Marriage is decreed by Heaven. It is not for mortals to arrange.”

Her words proved ominously true.

Soon afterward, our family was caught up in a struggle between political factions and made an example of. Our property was confiscated.

Every male member was exiled. The women were condemned to servitude.

Our other sisters were sold to brothels, condemned to miserable fates.

Si Min and I were bought by the Duke of Zheng’s household to serve as maids.

In my last life, I had always believed they had bought her to save her, and that I had benefited only because I was with her.

She was both my sister and my benefactor. So I put her first in everything, planning every step for her.

Even when she repeatedly stabbed me in the back, I endured it.

Only much later did I learn that the masters of the duke’s household had no idea Si Min was even there.

When our house fell, they had immediately cut all ties and soon arranged another marriage for the heir.

Our being bought by their household was pure coincidence.

By the time I learned the truth, it was too late. Our fortunes were bound together. I had to keep scheming for her just to protect myself.

Yet when the heir’s wife turned on me, my sister scolded me. “Si Lan, I told you long ago to curb your temper. Don’t compete. Don’t snatch things from others. All that struggling comes to nothing, and now you’ve ruined yourself too. What was the point?”

I clung to her skirt, sobbing. “Sister, everything I did was for you! You have to save me!”

She shook off my hand and rubbed her brow with a sigh. “Was it for me? You did it for yourself.”

I stared at her in shock.

“Enough,” she continued. “Say no more. Facts are facts. Truth cannot become falsehood, nor falsehood truth. All we need do is wait quietly for the young lord to investigate.”

“Sister, if you don’t ask him, why would he defend a mere maid?” I cried in panic. “We can’t just wait! I’ll die!”

“Si Lan, I told you not to be so competitive. Fighting over everything only invites trouble. We must trust that people have a sense of justice.”

I could hardly believe her. Even now, she still believed that doing nothing and demanding nothing would bring a fair outcome.

She had won while remaining serenely above it all only because her sisters had fought on the front lines and her mother had planned everything behind the scenes!

Here in the duke’s household, we had no one behind us. Sitting quietly and doing nothing was simply asking to die.

“We must trust the young lord,” she insisted.

“Sister, save me…”

They dragged me away and locked me in the woodshed. Every day, I prayed she would save me.

She remained composed. She did absolutely nothing.

In the end, I was found guilty and sentenced to a hundred strokes of the heavy paddle. I died before they finished.

After my death, my sister fell ill.

Only then did the young lord finally find it in his heart to investigate. He discovered that I had been framed, reprimanded his wife, and lavished even more tenderness on Si Min.

I knew nothing of what happened after that…

I had never imagined I would be given another life!