Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 107

Haitang Courtyard.

After Sheng Mingzhu was injured, Sheng Yong punished all the servants in the courtyard by deducting three months’ wages.

He also ordered Mingzhu’s two first-tier personal maids, Tianzhang and Qionglou, to kneel in the courtyard.

He didn’t specify for how long, and they were still kneeling there.

Therefore, the person on night duty attending to Sheng Mingzhu tonight was Feng Sanya, also known as Xia Zhi.

She made a pallet on the floor beside Sheng Mingzhu’s bed, exhausted but wide awake.

She had also heard about what happened earlier at the ancestral hall.

She never expected Liuya (Six-Ya) to be so favored!

This filled Xia Zhi with immense fear, while simultaneously igniting a fire of jealousy within her.

Her actual biological younger sister had been switched into the Sheng family by their mother as an infant and had lived as an official’s daughter for seven years. In all likelihood, she would continue to live as a young mistress.

And her nominal younger sister, who had been recognized and brought back, was now the true  precious daughter of the household…

Why did all the good fortune belong to others?

Why couldn’t she get even a sliver of advantage?

Now she even had to serve her own biological sister. The more Xia Zhi thought about it, the more unfair it felt, grating on her nerves and making her utterly miserable.

Xia Zhi was unwilling; she refused to accept this!

She also wanted to rise above her station and make something of herself!

But what could she do?

Tossing and turning, Xia Zhi finally came up with an idea.

She realized she actually bore some resemblance to Sheng Mingzhu. Prince Qi, the Eldest Young Master, the Third Young Master, and the Fifth Young Master all liked Sheng Mingzhu…

If she dressed up nicely, wouldn’t she also have a chance to fly up a branch and become a phoenix [rise high] someday?

Catching Prince Qi’s eye would be best. If that really wasn’t possible, even becoming a concubine to one of the Sheng young masters would do…

As long as she became the woman of any one of these four men, she could later enjoy a life of luxury, surrounded by servants.

Her heart swelled with excitement at the thought of such a life!

Xia Zhi had entered the mansion late and had only seen the flamboyant Concubine Hong and Concubine Bai, who occasionally needled Sheng Mingzhu.

Because these two concubines indeed lived very comfortable lives, it gave her the mistaken impression that becoming a concubine guaranteed a life of wealth and privilege.

It never crossed her mind that unpopular concubines might live worse than ordinary maids.

She also naively believed that if she became a concubine, “Liuya” wouldn’t dare bully her.

She didn’t stop to consider that “Liuya” even dared to hit Sheng Mingjian and Sheng Mingbo. So what would she, even as a concubine, amount to?

Moreover, she only thought of herself, completely forgetting about how her birth mother, Tao Niang, was doing now…

“Xia Zhi…”

At that moment, Sheng Mingzhu woke up from the pain and called out. Xia Zhi reluctantly got up.

“Young Mistress—”

Sheng Mingzhu had medicine applied on her head and face, wrapped tightly, only revealing a pair of bloodshot eyes and her mouth.

“Water—”

Xia Zhi unhurriedly went to pour Sheng Mingzhu a cup of cold water.

If she had been on night duty before, she would have tried every way to serve Sheng Mingzhu well, hoping to improve her own status within Haitang Courtyard…

For instance, she would have brewed a pot of good tea in advance for the night, filtered out the leaves, and kept the clear tea warm on a small porcelain warmer.

Then, whenever Sheng Mingzhu felt thirsty, she would have a sip of warm tea.

She would also have prepared some suitable pastries and fruits. If Sheng Mingzhu suddenly felt hungry, she could eat something to avoid harming her health. In short, she would have been meticulously attentive.

But today, after learning that Sheng Mingzhu was her biological sister, Xia Zhi no longer held any reverence for her in her heart.

Coupled with her anxiety about her own future, she had prepared nothing and was utterly perfunctory.

Sheng Mingzhu seemed exceptionally thirsty and didn’t fuss about being given cold water. She drank two cups before asking,

“My… brothers…”

Her words weren’t very clear due to her injuries.

Xia Zhi sneered inwardly. Sheng Mingzhu probably still thought her brothers would seek justice for her.

She recounted the events at the ancestral hall. After finishing, she saw the eyes revealed between the bandages take on a sinister look—

Like a vengeful ghost clawing its way out of hell to demand a life from its enemy…

Xia Zhi’s heart quivered slightly, and she didn’t dare look further.

“First thing tomorrow morning… go invite… Prince Qi here…”

Sheng Mingzhu wanted her to fetch Prince Qi tomorrow?

Xia Zhi was just worrying about how to get close to Prince Qi. She was overjoyed that Sheng Mingzhu was creating an opportunity for her and hurriedly agreed.

Sheng Mingzhu fussed for a good while longer before finally falling back asleep.

Early the next morning, Jixue, another second-tier maid, came to attend to Sheng Mingzhu.

Xia Zhi hurriedly left the mansion for Prince Qi’s residence. She wanted to see him before he left for the academy.

Recently, having been promoted to a second-tier maid and often by Sheng Mingzhu’s side, she had gotten to know some servants from Prince Qi’s mansion.

But upon arrival, she received news: Prince Qi had fallen ill last night after returning home!

Rumors said he had nightmares. Princess Jing had sent someone to the academy to request leave for Prince Qi for a few days.

Xia Zhi had no choice but to return to the mansion and relay this news to Sheng Mingzhu.

Sheng Mingzhu’s chest heaved violently with anger, as if she were about to erupt, but she ultimately held it in.

She wrote a letter, gave Xia Zhi a pouch of silver pieces, and insisted she find a way to deliver the letter to Prince Qi.

Xia Zhi tried to enter Prince Qi’s mansion, but the gatekeepers absolutely refused to let her in.

Left with no option, she managed to summon Prince Qi’s personal pageboy and finally handed the letter to him.

She waited outside for quite some time before the pageboy brought out a reply.

After reading Prince Qi’s reply, Sheng Mingzhu’s eyes finally returned to a somewhat normal state.

Xia Zhi gritted her teeth secretly. She must learn to read! She would learn everything Sheng Mingzhu knew!

…..

Elsewhere, Sheng Mingjian woke up.

He had dreamed again. His dreams were strange; the timeline seemed to run backwards.

This time, Mingzhu didn’t appear in the dream. Instead, it was their mother’s funeral.

Mother had died saving Mingzhu.

Furthermore, he gleaned some information from the dream: in the dream, all three brothers held important positions in the court.

His third brother’s health didn’t seem poor at all and he had extensive connections.

And his fifth brother was a mighty military general, impressive and powerful.

Sheng Mingjian felt his heart pounding wildly!

The more he dreamed, the stronger his intuition grew: the events in the dream were the correct path.

Like Mother’s attitude towards Mingzhu. Even if Mingzhu wasn’t the Sheng family’s legitimate daughter, Mother would still dote on her endlessly, even willing to die for her.

And his third and fifth brothers would become his aids, not like they were now…

Why was the difference between reality and the dreams so vast?

When did Third Brother’s health begin to deteriorate?

It started after they began eating vegetarian meals to “force” Mother to forgive them and resume managing the household affairs.

Why didn’t Fifth Brother learn martial arts?

Also because Mother disagreed!

Mother also no longer doted on Mingzhu…

The variable seemed to start with Mother!

Thinking of this, Sheng Mingjian felt a chill in his limbs and shuddered…

If one day he had to choose between his future prospects, Mingzhu, and Mother.

Sheng Mingjian knew he would unquestionably choose the former without hesitation!

He shook his head. It hadn’t come to that yet. Besides, he wasn’t sure what exactly had happened to Mother; it needed to be investigated slowly.

And his “biological sister”… Her various actions yesterday proved she was anything but ordinary.

He should have someone properly investigate her.

Additionally, he needed to seek out famous doctors to examine Third Brother’s health, and perhaps find a martial arts master for Fifth Brother…

As for Mother, he would keep it secret for now.

But recently, he and his pageboy needed to recuperate, so he couldn’t take action immediately. He would first write a letter and have Xiong San handle these matters.

Little did Sheng Mingjian know that Xiong San was actually his “mother’s” person.

So, after Xiong San received the orders, Sheng Minmin soon got wind of the news as well.