Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 95

Sheng Residence.

No sooner had Sheng Minmin left the residence than a woman wearing a veiled hat slipped in through a side gate and hurried straight to the Haitang Courtyard.

This veiled woman was none other than Taoniang.

A few days earlier, Taoniang had received a letter from Sheng Mingzhu, delivered with the help of Sheng Mingjian’s people. At the time, she had been so furious and distraught that she nearly fainted—

Her precious daughter had been injured?

And her leg had been crushed by “Huang Yaning”?

Was it intentional, or just an accident?

Either way, Taoniang wished she could have that man kill Huang Yaning all over again.

But that man had vanished, and now she had no way to contact him…

That same night, Taoniang bargained with Old Lady Li—offering 100 taels of silver per month and promising to take the entire Second Branch of the family to the capital—before finally “redeeming” the key from her.

Early the next morning, she set off with Feng Lao’er and their three daughters, settling into the small courtyard she had bought upon arriving in the capital.

To her family, she simply claimed it was a property bought by the Sheng family’s young miss.

After staying there for two days, someone delivered a message instructing her to wait by the side gate today. Once the madam left, someone would lead her into the residence.

And so, Taoniang was finally reunited with Sheng Mingzhu.

“My poor young miss, how could you have suffered so much in such a short time…”

Now alone in the room, Taoniang knelt by the bed, weeping uncontrollably.

Sheng Mingzhu also cried endlessly. Without her nursemaid by her side, there had been no one to speak the words she wanted to hear, no one to advise her—everything had gone wrong.

By the time the two finished crying, a quarter of an hour had passed.

Taoniang carefully inquired about Sheng Mingzhu’s recent life. Though her daughter no longer lived in the same luxury as before, she learned that the master and the young masters still doted on Mingzhu as much as ever.

And when she heard that Mingzhu had caught the eye of Prince Qi, Taoniang’s eyes gleamed with delight.

But upon learning that Mingzhu had been forced to feign closeness with Huang Yaning—despite resenting her for the broken leg—just to secure her future dowry, Taoniang’s heart ached.

“Young Miss, you don’t have to demean yourself to please the madam—”

“As long as you can capture Prince Qi’s heart and make him vow to marry no one but you, given his status, the madam wouldn’t dare shortchange your dowry in the future…”

“Otherwise, she’d be slapping Prince Qi in the face…”

Sheng Mingzhu thought it over and realized this was indeed true, her spirits lifting instantly.

The two couldn’t help but lose themselves in fantasies of Mingzhu marrying into Prince Qi’s mansion, becoming a princess in a grand ceremony.

Truly, like mother, like daughter—their audacity knew no bounds.

In their past life, Sheng Mingzhu had managed to marry Zhu Qisheng for several reasons:

First, she had carefully crafted an image of herself as a kind, fairy-like maiden from a young age.

Then, at a banquet, her mesmerizing dance had taken the capital by storm, skyrocketing her reputation.

There was something peculiar about human nature—the more one was praised, the more beautiful they seemed to become.

People viewed Sheng Mingzhu through layers of admiration, as if she were a celestial maiden descended to earth, worthy of Zhu Qisheng.

Second, Sheng Mingjian and his brothers—two excelling in civil service, one in martial arts—were all outstanding, their futures boundless.

Third, Zhu Qisheng had been utterly devoted to Sheng Mingzhu. Even after discovering she was a fake heiress, he had helped cover it up, insisting on marrying her as his official wife—his love ran deep.

Fourth, the Eldest Princess had also lent a hand.

But in this life, Sheng Mingzhu’s reputation was already tarnished. Without her dance to captivate the capital, people no longer saw her through rose-tinted glasses.

Of Sheng Mingjian’s brothers, one was too ill to attend school, and another was unlikely to rise as a military officer as he had in their past life. That left only Sheng Mingjian—a single pillar could not hold up the sky.

As for the Eldest Princess? After the incident at Chunshan Temple, she would certainly no longer speak in Sheng Mingzhu’s favor.

In this lifetime, if Sheng Mingzhu wanted to become a princess, relying solely on Zhu Qisheng’s insistence would be nearly impossible.

But Sheng Mingzhu lacked self-awareness, blindly convinced she could still rise from a branch to become a phoenix.

“Young Miss, I’m so worried about you being alone in the residence…”

Taoniang’s joy was tinged with concern. “What if I send my eldest daughter in? She can stay by your side from now on…”

“If anything happens, she can leave the residence to inform me…”

Sheng Mingzhu had no reason to refuse.

“Nursemaid, of course I’d be willing. But it would mean委屈ing Elder Sister—nowadays, entering the residence requires signing a deed of sale…”

Originally, Taoniang had hoped that, through Mingzhu’s connections, she could later find a good match for Third Ya.

Third Ya was pretty and clever—with Mingzhu’s help, she might have married well.

But given the current situation, safeguarding Mingzhu’s wealth and status took precedence. Third Ya would have to be sacrificed.

Taoniang gritted her teeth. “Serving you is her good fortune…”

And so, Feng Sanya’s fate was sealed.

In her past life, she had married a minor official, climbing the social ladder.

But in this life, she was condemned to a life of servitude.

Sometimes, one wrong step leads to countless more.

Pity that Feng Sanya, still so young, could not yet understand this.

…..

Eldest Princess’s Residence.

“Elder Sister Rui, we were really just joking with this sister earlier—you’ve misunderstood me…”

Murong Yan spoke with a hint of grievance.

Duanmu Rui glanced at Murong Yan, then at the young girl standing nearby, her eyes red but not daring to cry. She scoffed.

“Hmph!”

“What kind of joke is it when only you and your friends find it funny?”

“I saw it clearly—you were using your status to force this girl to dance for you!”

“Let me make this clear: no matter who this girl is, she is my mother’s guest, not some singing or dancing girl for your amusement!”

“Today is my mother’s birthday. If you dare cause trouble and ruin the occasion, don’t blame me for teaching you a lesson!”

Normally, Duanmu Rui could barely tolerate Murong Yan’s provocations, let alone today, of all days.

So when she saw Murong Yan and her friends bullying a young girl, she had immediately stepped in to warn them.

To her annoyance, Murong Yan had followed her here with the bullied girl in tow, spouting nonsense and delaying her search for her cat.

“Elder Sister Rui, you’ve truly misunderstood…”

Murong Yan sighed lightly, her delicate brows furrowing as if deeply troubled by the misunderstanding.

Every time Murong Yan schemed, she ended up wearing this same innocent, wronged expression. Duanmu Rui’s temper flared.

“Murong Yan, did you follow me just to spout this nonsense? Can you stop pretending? There’s no one else here but the three of us!”

Behind the bamboo grove, Sheng Minmin finally understood—outside were the Blessed Spirit Princess and the Xia Yi County Princess.

These two had a notoriously poor relationship.

According to Nanny Wang, the Third Princess had always envied the favored Eldest Princess, often resorting to underhanded tricks.

Later, after marriage, the Eldest Princess and her consort were harmonious, blessed with a healthy son and daughter.

The Third Princess, however, constantly quarreled with her consort and bore only one son—a sickly one at that.

Years after the Eldest Princess gave birth to the Blessed Spirit Princess, the Third Princess remained childless and thus adopted a concubine-born daughter, giving her the name Murong Yan.

A few years ago, the Third Princess had petitioned the Emperor to grant Murong Yan the title of princess.

At first, the Emperor refused. After much persistence, he finally relented—but only bestowed the title of county princess.

The difference in status and stipends between a princess and a county princess was vast!