"What?"
Ji Xu'an frowned slightly, her tone exceptionally cold.
Only then did Jiang Jiang realize that she had accidentally spoken her thoughts aloud.
She immediately shut her mouth tight and shook her head vigorously, pretending that she had not said anything at all.
Yet her heart was still filled with shock. It was not as though she had never imagined what Ji Xu'an might look like, but she had never expected that Ji Xu'an would possess a face so familiar to her.
She looked exactly the same as Princess Huaining!
Jiang Jiang's thoughts were in complete disarray.
Who was Princess Huaining?
She was the eldest daughter of Emperor Jiacheng, born of the Empress, deeply trusted and doted upon by the Emperor. Though clearly a woman, she commanded the Luanjing Bureau, supervising the hundred officials on behalf of the sovereign, her power towering above all.
In addition to that, she also had another identity—she was the Crown Prince's full-blooded elder sister. If Jiang Jiang married the Crown Prince and became Crown Princess, she would have to follow him in addressing Princess Huaining as "Elder Sister."
What kind of situation was this?
After transmigrating, I married my fiancé's biological elder sister??
Jiang Jiang's mind was nearly numb.
She stared blankly at Ji Xu'an for a long time, unable to regain her senses.
Under Jiang Jiang's strange gaze, Ji Xu'an grew increasingly impatient. What did Xie Xiao mean by this?
Just staring at her without speaking—was she waiting for her to speak first?
Ji Xu'an felt the faint throbbing in her head begin again. Hunger and exhaustion dragged her patience down to its lowest point. She casually removed the watch from her wrist and tossed it aside, then said coldly to Jiang Jiang, "Come down."
After speaking, Ji Xu'an did not give Jiang Jiang any chance to refuse. She turned and walked toward the living room, sitting down on the sofa.
When Jiang Jiang came over, Ji Xu'an was leaning back against the sofa with her legs crossed, holding a delicate teacup between two fingers, taking occasional sips to moisten her throat.
Her gaze was slightly lowered, leaving Jiang Jiang with nothing but an indifferent profile to look at.
The moment Jiang Jiang saw that face, an indescribable tension seized her. Combined with Ji Xu'an's cold and domineering attitude, it made her not dare to act rashly.
She sat upright and straight, her back rigid, her hands placed properly on her knees. Her eyelashes trembled faintly. Her gaze remained fixed on a certain point, and she did not even have the courage to look up at Ji Xu'an.
Ji Xu'an lifted her eyelids. Her gaze was far from respectful; she looked Jiang Jiang over boldly, starting from her long curled lashes and traveling all the way down to her tightly clasped fingers. When her eyes swept over Jiang Jiang's feet pressed closely together, Ji Xu'an could not help but give a soft snort.
Xie Xiao seemed very afraid of her?
Ji Xu'an thought to herself—she had not done anything excessive, had she?
Or was it a guilty conscience?
She tapped her fingertips lightly, thoughtful.
Jiang Jiang was so nervous she nearly forgot how to breathe. She could feel Ji Xu'an's scrutiny, even the bone-chilling coldness of her gaze as it wandered over her like something tangible.
The words Jiang Jiang had prepared suddenly seemed impossible to say. After hesitating again and again, she could not help but sneak a glance at Ji Xu'an—only to be caught immediately.
Ji Xu'an arched a brow. "Are you afraid of me?"
In her heart, Jiang Jiang kept repeating: She is not Princess Huaining. They are two different people…
After bracing herself mentally, she mustered the courage to raise her eyes and meet Ji Xu'an's gaze. The moment their eyes met, Jiang Jiang's fingertips tightened abruptly, and she found herself unable to speak.
Ji Xu'an stared at her quietly, taking in every small movement. "Let's talk."
"Talk about what?" Jiang Jiang replied softly.
She stole glance after glance at Ji Xu'an, thinking to herself—indeed, they look extremely alike. The only difference was that Princess Huaining had a small mole between her brows, whereas Ji Xu'an's forehead was smooth and unmarked.
Just like between her and Xie Xiao—there was a black mole on the inner side of her right wrist, but Xie Xiao did not have one.
It was difficult for Jiang Jiang not to make certain associations—her identity had switched with Xie Xiao's, and the relationship between Ji Xu'an and Princess Huaining…
Ji Xu'an loosened her cuff slightly, her tone indifferent. "Let's talk about our 'heaven-destined' marriage."
She bit down heavily on the words "heaven-destined," her sarcasm unmistakable. It was impossible for Jiang Jiang not to hear it.
Ji Xu'an's attitude was blatantly unpleasant. Paradoxically, Jiang Jiang felt relieved. She was not afraid of Ji Xu'an being harsh with her; she was afraid of unpredictability, of being unable to discern Ji Xu'an's true thoughts.
"I know… you don't like me." Jiang Jiang looked at her seriously. "It's just… for now, could you let me stay here first?"
As she spoke, two faint blushes rose on her cheeks. Begging someone to take her in was an experience Jiang Jiang had never encountered before in her life.
Ji Xu'an gave a mocking smile. "Haven't you already moved in?"
She and that grandmother of hers—so full of schemes—had forced her into agreeing to this absurd arrangement.
Jiang Jiang twisted her fingers together and lowered her head, not daring to look at Ji Xu'an again. "I'm sorry."
Aside from apologizing, she had no other method. She did not even possess enough money to pay rent.
Jiang Jiang knew what Ji Xu'an wanted. Before Ji Xu'an could speak, she hurriedly added, "You can rest assured about Old Madam. I will explain everything to her clearly."
Ji Xu'an let out a cold laugh. "And how will you explain it? For all I know, Grandmother might think I'm the one forcing you."
She leaned back against the sofa, her gaze faint. "Xie Xiao, don't do unnecessary things."
A chill ran down Jiang Jiang's spine. Even if Ji Xu'an was not that blood-soaked Princess Huaining, her aura was equally overwhelming.
Jiang Jiang realized that the negotiation she had initially planned was entirely unnecessary—because Ji Xu'an did not need it.
"Then I'll listen to you. Whatever you say to do, I'll do." Jiang Jiang met her gaze again, her eyes sincere and earnest.
Ji Xu'an was unmoved. She regarded Jiang Jiang's submission as a strategic retreat.
"Let's hope you can keep your word. Tomorrow in front of Grandmother, don't play any tricks."
Ji Xu'an stood up and looked down at Jiang Jiang from above. "Xie Xiao, you need to understand one thing."
Jiang Jiang looked up at her. In her round almond eyes, there was no panic at being seen through—only clear calm like spring water.
Ji Xu'an did not care to investigate further. No matter what tricks Jiang Jiang played, she was confident she could handle them. If it came to a direct confrontation, the one who would suffer would only be Jiang Jiang.
She parted her lips and said coldly, "Because of your grandmother's dying wish, I have no choice but to accept this engagement."
"I will marry you, but I will never love you."
"Do you understand?"
Fake. All of it was fake.
Ji Xu'an sneered inwardly. How could she possibly marry her?
It was merely drawing a pie in the sky so that Jiang Jiang would behave herself.
Hearing these words, Jiang Jiang did not feel sad in the slightest. Instead, she felt relieved.
To be honest, she could not imagine Ji Xu'an falling in love with her. That image would probably be even more terrifying than a starving tiger pouncing on its prey.
Besides, how many political marriages among great families were ever based on true love?
She did not love the Crown Prince either, yet she still accepted the Emperor's decree and became the Crown Princess without any room for change.
The fact that Ji Xu'an was willing to marry her already surprised her greatly.
"I understand. I will not indulge in delusions or attempt to obtain your love." Jiang Jiang raised several fingers, sincerity overflowing. "I swear."
Ji Xu'an stared at her for several seconds, let out a cold laugh, and walked unhurriedly toward the dining room.
Watching her back, Jiang Jiang silently let out a long breath of relief. Fortunately, she had passed this hurdle.
——
Tonight was Jiang Jiang's first night staying in the Ji family home.
The villa was very quiet at night. Not even the sound of insects could be heard. Thanks to the air conditioning, the room maintained a comfortable temperature, and the bedding was soft and warm.
Jiang Jiang should have slept well—if she had not had that dream.
Awakening abruptly from the nightmare, Jiang Jiang shot upright, gasping for breath, cold sweat covering her forehead.
She pressed a hand to her chest, as if she could still feel the terror of falling from a great height.
After calming herself slightly, she climbed out of bed without even putting on shoes, barefoot as she searched her wardrobe for her black backpack, rummaging inside for the White Jade Linglong Mirror.
Once she held the mirror in her hands, she realized they were still trembling. She did not care how disheveled she looked. Sitting cross-legged at the foot of the bed, she used their unique method to call for Xie Xiao.
This time, the connection came quickly. Almost in the next instant, Xie Xiao's figure appeared in the mirror.
The moment their eyes met, each saw the lingering panic in the other's gaze.
In the next second, they spoke in unison: "I had a nightmare!"
Jiang Jiang's heart tightened. The fear of an unreadable future grew stronger. It was as though she were walking in endless fog, white in all directions, unable even to see the ground beneath her feet.
No direction. No end in sight.
Her throat felt unbearably dry. Seeing Xie Xiao's reddened eyes, she felt overwhelming helplessness threatening to drown her.
Both fell silent, steadying their emotions. After a moment, Jiang Jiang spoke first. "Xiao Xie, you go first. What did you dream about?"
Xie Xiao sniffed, curling into the corner of her bed and hugging her legs tightly. The sense of isolation made her feel like a headless fly; Jiang Jiang was the only person she could trust.
"I dreamed that the world I'm in right now is actually an ancient romance novel."
She looked at Jiang Jiang. "You are the original female lead of this story. The Crown Prince is the male lead. You grew up together and were meant to be a perfect match. He was supposed to cherish and love you all his life, treating you like a treasure."
Hearing this, Jiang Jiang felt little stir in her heart. Ever since she and Xie Xiao had switched identities, she had never loved the Crown Prince. And she noticed that Xie Xiao had said "original" female lead—there must be a twist.
Sure enough, Xie Xiao continued, "But that was only the initial plot. Because the Crown Prince's concubine, Zheng Zhouzhou, was reborn. She is the true female lead. In her previous life, Zheng Zhouzhou was like an insignificant weed in the Eastern Palace. The Crown Prince never favored her."
"So she deeply resented and envied you. After being reborn, she did everything she could to attract the Crown Prince's attention and stole his favor."
"The Crown Prince fell in love with her. But because her status was low and you were the Emperor's appointed Crown Princess, he did not dare defy the imperial decree. He reluctantly married you. After ascending the throne, you smoothly became Empress, while Zheng Zhouzhou became the favored Noble Consort by virtue of bearing a son. Not long after becoming Empress, however, you 'died of illness.'"
"After your death, the Crown Prince established Zheng Zhouzhou as Empress. The two lived in love for the rest of their lives, and Zheng Zhouzhou's son became the next Emperor."
In short, Jiang Jiang—the legitimate daughter of the Duke's manor—was nothing more than a cannon-fodder villain, a stepping stone in the protagonists' love story.
Now Xie Xiao had replaced her in that role.
Thinking about the disgusting things the Crown Prince and Zheng Zhouzhou had done, Xie Xiao nearly vomited in anger.
She wiped her tears fiercely. "Pah! Those two cheap bastards want to step on me to rise? In their dreams!"
Anger churned in Jiang Jiang's chest. She dug her nails into her palm, yet her expression remained calm. She nodded, looking at Xie Xiao with concern. "You're right, Xiao Xie. The Crown Prince is not a good match. You shouldn't jump into that pit of fire."
Xie Xiao rubbed her eyes. "Don't worry about me, Jiang Jiang. I have plenty of ways to make the Crown Prince call off the engagement."
Jiang Jiang opened her mouth to speak, but Xie Xiao cut her off before she could. "Your turn. What did you dream about?"
Jiang Jiang gripped the White Jade Linglong Mirror tightly, her fingertips icy. "I dreamed that the world I'm in now is also a novel."
"Except the protagonists are two girls."
Xie Xiao frowned deeply. "One of the protagonists wouldn't happen to be…"
Jiang Jiang took a deep breath, her expression grave. "One of them looks very much like the Crown Prince. She is Ji Xu'an's younger sister, Ji Heyuan."
After a few seconds of silence, Xie Xiao exploded, "Isn't that just the damn Crown Prince's gender-swapped version?!"
"How does that bastard still get to be a protagonist?"
Jiang Jiang also wanted to ask why. The Crown Prince was morally bankrupt, favoring concubines over his wife. How could such a person be a protagonist?
After venting, Xie Xiao forced herself to calm down. "Jiang Jiang, go on."
Jiang Jiang lowered her eyes. "The other protagonist is a minor celebrity named Zheng Zhouzhou. She met Ji Heyuan at a banquet."
It was a simple story. Zheng Zhouzhou was harassed by an investor, and Ji Heyuan helped her out. Upon accidentally learning Ji Heyuan's identity, Zheng Zhouzhou decided to use her beauty to seduce her in order to obtain more resources.
In the original story, Ji Heyuan did not take the bait. She was not seduced by Zheng Zhouzhou but instead fell in love with the orphan Xie Xiao living temporarily with the Ji family.
In that version, there was no engagement between Xie Xiao and Ji Xu'an. Rather, after learning of her friend's death and pitying Xie Xiao's loneliness, Old Madam Ji invited her to stay for several months.
During those months, Ji Heyuan and Xie Xiao fell in love and eventually ended up together. Zheng Zhouzhou was naturally written out.
Without accidents, it would have been a warm redemption story. Unfortunately, Zheng Zhouzhou was reborn.
After rebirth, unwilling to lose to an orphan with nothing, Zheng Zhouzhou used her knowledge of the future to attract Ji Heyuan's attention first and became her girlfriend.
Still dissatisfied, fearing Ji Heyuan might once again be drawn to Xie Xiao, she staged a drama, incited her fans to cyberbully Xie Xiao, and ultimately drove her to suicide by jumping from a building.
After Xie Xiao's death, Zheng Zhouzhou pretended to be grief-stricken in front of cameras, harvesting sympathy and stepping over Xie Xiao's corpse to rise in status.
Now Jiang Jiang had replaced Xie Xiao in that role.
After finishing the story, both fell silent.
They stared at each other. After a moment, Xie Xiao forced a smile. "Why are we so unlucky? Whether in an ancient romance or a girls' love novel, we're always cannon-fodder villains."
The kind destined not to survive until the ending.
Jiang Jiang bit her knuckle, her expression solemn. "Xiao Xie, in that story there was no engagement with Ji Xu'an. Do you think Grandmother knew something?"
Xie Xiao hesitated. "To be honest, my grandmother knew a bit about metaphysics."
"She could read faces."
She dared not continue.
But the thought was the same in both their hearts.
Could it be that Grandmother had long known this day of identity exchange would come, and thus arranged this engagement that should not have existed?
Fang Xunchun had kept everything tightly concealed. Even from her own granddaughter, she had said nothing. Xie Xiao did not even know that her grandmother had instructed Old Madam Ji to wait two months before bringing her to the Ji family.
If she had known, she would have guessed that Grandmother Xie had foreseen something.
Leaning weakly against the bedpost, Jiang Jiang's thoughts gradually cleared. "If that's the case, it means the plots of these two stories are not unchangeable."
"Xiao Xie, don't be afraid. We already know what will happen in the future. There must be a way to break it."
They would not follow the storyline toward inevitable death.
Xie Xiao nodded firmly. "I'm not afraid. Jiang Jiang, don't worry either. Worst case, I'll pretend to go crazy. The royal family can't possibly accept a Crown Princess with mental problems."
Jiang Jiang shook her head. "It hasn't come to that."
After pondering for a moment, she frowned slightly.
Xie Xiao noticed. "What did you think of?"
Jiang Jiang looked at the small mole on her wrist. "It's not that I discovered something… There's something I forgot to tell you. I was going to wait until tomorrow."
"What is it?" Xie Xiao asked curiously.
Jiang Jiang spoke slowly. "You probably haven't seen Ji Xu'an, have you?"
"Ji Xu'an looks exactly the same as Princess Huaining."
Xie Xiao was stunned. "Who? Princess Huaining?"
Wasn't that the Crown Prince's biological elder sister?!
Wait—that lined up. Ji Xu'an was also Ji Heyuan's biological elder sister!
For a moment, Xie Xiao did not know what to say.
Jiang Jiang was unsure whether she should suggest what she was thinking. Princess Huaining's temper was far worse than Ji Xu'an's.
More importantly, Princess Huaining commanded the Luanjing Bureau and held the authority to execute first and report later.
If she killed someone, it was not a crime.
Jiang Jiang felt that Xie Xiao would not be Princess Huaining's opponent.
Yet after brief contemplation, Xie Xiao suddenly grew excited.
"Jiang Jiang, you've reminded me!"
"The Crown Prince is so arrogant because he's going to inherit the throne."
"But what if he doesn't?"
If modern-day Ji Xu'an could take over Linghai Group and develop it into greater prosperity, why couldn't ancient Princess Huaining become a female emperor and unify the realm?
Xie Xiao decided she would incite Princess Huaining to ascend as Crown Princess and leave that damn Crown Prince to rot!
The more she thought about it, the more perfect it sounded—one hundred and twenty out of a hundred.
Jiang Jiang rubbed her temples. "Princess Huaining is extremely deep and calculating. She's not easy to deal with. Xiao Xie, we must consider this carefully."
"Mm-hmm, cautiously proceed," Xie Xiao replied perfunctorily.
After temporarily settling her own worries, Xie Xiao turned to Jiang Jiang's predicament.
"Jiang Jiang, since you've become Ji Xu'an's fiancée, just marry her! Then seduce her with all your might—make her obsessed with you, crazy for you, neglecting everything for you and forgetting her sister!"
"At that point, whether it's Ji Heyuan or Zheng Zhouzhou, they'll have to obediently call you Sister-in-law!"
How satisfying!
"As the elder sister-in-law, you'd practically be half her mother. Would she dare disrespect her own mother?"
Jiang Jiang was horrified. "That won't work…"
Xie Xiao touched her nose. "Why not?"
So Jiang Jiang recounted her earlier conversation with Ji Xu'an.
Now it was Xie Xiao's turn to be stunned. "How dare Ji Xu'an be so arrogant?"
Jiang Jiang blinked. Arrogant? She had not thought so…
But under Xie Xiao's fiery glare, she did not dare say that aloud.
Xie Xiao grew furious. "Fine, so she wants to be arrogant?"
"Then you must seduce her even more! Make her fall for you, slap herself in the face, then reject her harshly and let her taste the pain of loving without being loved!"
"You have to give her a full-blown crematorium chasing-wife arc!"
Jiang Jiang raised her hand weakly. "Xiao Xie, killing people is against the law."
"We can't do bad things."
Cremate Ji Xu'an? That sounded terrifying!
"That's not what I mean!" Xie Xiao floundered for words. "Anyway, make her fall in love with you, then throw today's words back in her face."
"Tell her: 'Ji Xu'an, I will marry you, but I will never love you.'"
"Make her furious!"
Just imagining it felt exhilarating.
Xie Xiao could hardly wait to see that scene.
In Jiang Jiang's mind, Ji Xu'an's cold, frost-like face surfaced automatically. She shuddered violently.
"I can't. I really can't!"
—
Author's Note:
Jiang Jiang: Fainted by the lesbians.
President Ji: (staring expressionlessly) I heard someone wants to arrange a crematorium chasing-wife arc for me?
(This chapter is a simple background introduction. The following plot will mainly focus on Jiang Jiang and President Ji, so don't worry about the side couple stealing the spotlight.)
—
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