Chapter 1

Chapter 1

When word reached the barracks that the Prefect wanted to see me, my brothers-in-arms all got nervous.

They asked me, “Wood, what kind of trouble did you get yourself into? How did it get all the way to the Prefect?”

But the moment I was led inside, before I could even bow, a noblewoman dressed head to toe in silk rushed over and grabbed me, turning me this way and that for a look.

“Those brows, those eyes, that face… You’re the spitting image of me when I was young.

“My darling girl, Mother never thought she would be able to find you in this lifetime…”

Seeing that the lady was about to burst into tears, Lord Zhao, dressed in official robes behind her, was comparatively less emotional.

Or rather, perhaps he had been emotional at first, too. But the moment he saw me in person, that emotion instantly turned into deep disappointment.

“To think a daughter of Zhao Dongzhi could end up looking like this. What is to become of the Zhao family’s reputation? This is an utter disgrace!”

I looked myself over.

I was wearing an old suit of armor. Though I washed it often, there were still bloodstains and grease stuck in the seams that would never come clean, making me look grimy all over.

I had just fought bandits last night, so my face was injured as well: a panda-like bruise around my left eye and a long bloody gash down my right cheek.

I looked like a stray dog that had spent its whole life rolling through the mud.

Across from me stood a girl who made a stark contrast.

She wore a pale yellow ruqun. Her skin was fair, her waist slender as a willow branch swaying in the breeze. She looked every inch the delicate, gentle young lady of a noble family.

At that moment, she was shrinking behind a young man. Her misty eyes brimmed with tears, as if she wanted to study me but was also afraid. The sight made her seem especially pitiful.

Sure enough, the young man shielded the fragile girl and looked toward Prefect Zhao.

“Father, Qingqing is the daughter you and Mother raised with your own hands. She is also the young lady who has inherited the Zhao family’s upbringing.”

With those words, Madam Zhao, who had been holding me and crying, seemed to snap back to herself. She immediately let go of me and went forward to embrace the frail girl’s shoulders. “Qingqing, don’t be afraid. Even now that we’ve found your elder sister, Mother will not abandon you.”

Zhao Qingqing could no longer hold back. With a soft whimper, she threw herself into Madam Zhao’s arms and began to cry.

Madam Zhao held her, her own eyes reddening. Lord Zhao and the young man also gathered around them, comforting them again and again.

The whole family clung to one another, making me look like a complete outsider.

I did not get angry. I simply helped myself to a piece of pastry and stood to the side, listening to their broken sobs and complaints until I more or less sorted out what had happened.

These four were Lord Zhao, Madam Zhao, their son Zhao Shuo, and the false daughter who had usurped my place, Zhao Qingqing.

Seventeen years ago, the midwife who had delivered Madam Zhao’s baby secretly swapped me with her own granddaughter, then abandoned me on the streets on a snowy night.

That midwife’s granddaughter, Zhao Qingqing, had been treated as the daughter of Lord Zhao and Madam Zhao, living a pampered life of wealth and luxury in the Zhao family for seventeen years.

It was only when the midwife lost her wits on her deathbed and accidentally revealed the secret that the Zhao family learned Zhao Qingqing was a fake.

But after raising her for seventeen years, their feelings for her already ran deep. And since I, the real daughter, had been thrown into the snow back then, I had most likely died long ago.

So Lord Zhao and Madam Zhao tried hard to comfort themselves and forget the whole affair.

They never expected to actually find me in the military camp at Qingzhou.

I guessed that when Lord Zhao saw a ruffian of a soldier like me, he very much hoped they had found the wrong person.

But my nose and mouth resembled his, while my brows, eyes, and facial structure resembled Madam Zhao’s. They also performed a blood kinship test, which proved that I was indeed their biological daughter.

Blood was thicker than water. In the end, Lord Zhao and Madam Zhao still decided to bring me back to the residence.

From then on, Zhao Mansion would have two young ladies: Zhao Qingqing and Zhao Mujin.