Chapter 1
Chapter 1
I am Ning Yan, the third daughter of Baoding Marquis Manor.
But at this moment, I had become an impostor.
The real Third Miss Ning was recognizing my mother as her own, the two of them weeping in each other’s arms as though their hearts were breaking.
The whole story was quite simple.
Madam Ning (eldest branch) had offended Madam Ning (second branch).
So when Madam Ning (eldest branch) was giving birth, Madam Ning (second branch) switched the babies-swapping a wildcat for the Crown Prince.
The daughter she had raised for fifteen years was not her own flesh and blood.
And I was that wildcat.
There was no need for further verification, because the real Third Miss Ning looked exactly like Marquis Baoding.
She was his daughter beyond a doubt.
As for me-
Madam Ning (second branch) had already passed away from illness, and no one knew where I had come from.
When Madam Ning (eldest branch) finally finished crying, she sat down with her biological daughter in her arms. Her gaze shifted to me, and disgust gradually surfaced in her eyes.
I agreed with and understood how she felt.
A child of unknown origin had stolen her daughter’s life. Anyone in her place would hate me.
In the vast flower hall, the atmosphere turned cold and still.
Suddenly, He Lingzhi rose to his feet.
His eyes locked on me, filled with disdain. “So it was a substitution all along. How utterly disgusting.”
Then he added, “My lord Marquis, this junior wishes to break off my engagement with Ning Yan.”
The people around us began murmuring.
I folded my arms and looked at He Lingzhi. “And your reason?”
With righteous conviction, he declared, “The one I wanted to marry was the real Third Miss Ning. I will never marry an impostor.”
I gave a slight nod. “Fine. Then return all the policy essays, poems, and lyrics I ghostwrote for you over the years.”
The guests around us instantly broke into louder whispers.
He Lingzhi strode over and stared hard at me, enunciating every word. “Ning Yan, this is your retribution. Retribution for how arrogant and insufferable you’ve always been.”
I stared at that face of his and said with a sneer, “Then remember this moment. Your retribution will come too.”
He tossed down half a jade pendant. “You’re no longer the third daughter of Baoding Marquis Manor. What can you possibly do to me?”
“He Lingzhi, we’ll just have to wait and see!”
He swept his sleeves and left.
The guests dispersed as well.
Inside the flower hall, everyone from Baoding Marquis Manor sat in silence.
After a long while, Third Master Ning spoke. “Then… how should this be handled now?”
As he said this, he looked at me.
Handled. Of course, he meant handling me.
“Send her to the family temple,” Third Madam Ning said.
“Sending her to the family temple definitely won’t do. People will laugh at us. Best to just find some random household and marry her off.”
Just like that, they arrived at their conclusion with perfect ease.
I lowered my head and stroked the jade bangle on my wrist, thinking of what He Lingzhi had just said. He claimed it was retribution that everyone was kicking me while I was down.
Perhaps it really was.
I had a bad temper, and I had never thought much of the way the people of Marquis Baoding’s family conducted themselves.
When I was little, I would argue with Marquis Baoding. After I grew older, I simply tried not to speak.
Now that I was not their biological child, they were delighted.
I stood and looked at Marquis Baoding and his wife.
“Madam Ning (second branch) switching the babies was not my fault. I was a victim too.”
I asked them, “The children were raised in the wrong places, but surely the feelings weren’t false. Are you really going to abandon me just like that?”
I did not understand. Could human affection be severed so quickly?
Or was it because I had no value, so I could be discarded however they pleased?
“With matters having reached this point, you still expect us to treat you as if nothing happened? Impossible!” Marquis Baoding said.
“Do as your third uncle said. Get married.”
I raised an eyebrow.