Chapter 1 A Wedding Night Exchange

Great Wei Dynasty, Prince Rong’s Manor.

Yu Yuanzheng wanted to curse.

Pain—her neck hurt terribly. That was her first sensation.

She was just about to cry out when suddenly, voices drifted down from above her.

“Sister-in-law, are you sure about this? After tonight, there’s no turning back,” said a young man’s voice, tinged with excitement.

“I’m not your sister-in-law anymore, you coward. What are you afraid of? Hurry up,” a coquettish woman’s voice replied, impatient.

“In that case, I won’t hold back.”

As soon as the man finished, a low cry of pain from a woman reached Yu Yuanzheng’s ears.

At the same time, she nearly screamed herself.

She bit her lip hard, refusing to make a sound.

For not only did her neck ache, but now a sharp pain throbbed in her head.

A rush of unfamiliar memories flooded her mind.

She had, in the most absurd way, traveled through time—and landed in the body of an ancient woman with her exact name.

All she’d done was work overtime for more than twenty hours straight at the hospital, and now she was dead from exhaustion?

The original owner of this body had married today.

Her new husband, at this very moment, was upstairs consummating his marriage with her cousin, Yu Chaoyang, who had also been wed into Prince Rong’s Manor on the same day. As for Yu Yuanzheng herself, her husband had simply knocked her out and shoved her under the bed.

Her cousin was meant to marry the heir, Shangguan Ziqi, but half a year ago, after falling from a horse during the autumn hunt, he’d never awakened—a living corpse.

Yu Yuanzheng, on the other hand, was married to the second legitimate son, Shangguan Zishu, born of the prince’s concubine.

By the time she finished piecing together the facts, the drama above her head was still unfolding.

She was infuriated—acting out such a scene right in front of her, an unmarried maiden.

There are some things an aunt can’t stand, even if an uncle can.

She lifted her leg.

Thud!

Startled, the young man jolted, wilted, and collapsed onto Yu Chaoyang.

“What’s going on?” Yu Chaoyang, interrupted at her peak, complained in annoyance.

“Squeak, squeak!” Yu Yuanzheng stifled a laugh and mimicked the sound of a rat.

“A rat!” Yu Chaoyang shrieked softly, clinging to Shangguan Zishu’s neck.

After a moment with no more noise, Shangguan Zishu, having lost his momentum, rolled off Yu Chaoyang.

“You said my brother will never wake up—is that really true?”

“He has half a year left at most, then he’ll be completely gone. My cousin from Second Uncle’s branch will be a widow for life,” Yu Chaoyang answered with certainty, reaching out to tease him again.

“So that’s why you reached out to me in secret—to swap places tonight and make it look like the bride was sent to the wrong room?”

He grabbed her wandering hand and guided it downward—clearly experienced, though Yu Chaoyang’s inexperience left her oblivious.

“Do you prefer me, the legitimate daughter of the Marquis of Yong’an, or your cousin, the daughter of a concubine?”

“Of course I prefer you. Your father’s the Marquis. Your cousin is nothing compared to you.”

“In ten days, you’ll be the heir of Prince Rong’s Manor. Just wait for the seal of succession,” Yu Chaoyang declared with confidence.

“How do you know?” Shangguan Zishu was skeptical.

His elder brother was the legitimate son of the princess, while he was just a concubine’s child. Even if the title were to pass to him, it would only be after his brother’s death.

“I have foresight. Just wait and see,” Yu Chaoyang replied, brimming with self-assurance.

“Fine, I’ll believe you.” Shangguan Zishu was eager for the title himself.

Below the bed, Yu Yuanzheng caught a different meaning in her cousin’s words.

She spoke with such certainty, down to the number of days—there was only one possibility: she had been reborn.

If time travel could happen to her, then rebirth was perfectly plausible for others.

No wonder her cousin had orchestrated this wedding swap.

Yu Chaoyang’s marriage was decreed by imperial edict—there was no going back. The double wedding on the same day clearly had been plotted by her and her mother from the start, just to engineer this switch, with the second son as their accomplice.

While Yu Yuanzheng pondered this, the action resumed above her head.

What stamina! Was Yu Chaoyang so deprived in her past life that she had to make up for it all at once in this one?

Yu Yuanzheng lifted her foot and kicked again.

Their movements stalled once more.

“Is Second Sister awake?” Yu Chaoyang noticed the sound.

Shangguan Zishu lifted the bed curtains and peered under the bed, seeing Yu Yuanzheng’s eyes tightly shut.

“I hit her hard. She won’t wake up before morning.”

“We should send her over now. We can continue when you get back.” Yu Chaoyang’s tone was coy, but still anxious.

“Alright, my lady. Wait for me.” Shangguan Zishu planted a rough kiss on her face before getting dressed.

Yu Yuanzheng continued to feign unconsciousness.

She was hauled out from under the bed and slung over a shoulder like a sack of grain.

They slipped out the back window.

Shangguan Zishu, it seemed, was quite the martial artist.

With a few leaps, Yu Yuanzheng was carried into another bridal chamber.

She was set gently by the bedside, propped against a bedpost as if she’d fallen asleep there.

Something was draped over her head.

When she heard the window close softly, she dared to open her eyes.

She removed the item on her head—a pair of mandarin-duck-embroidered red bridal veils.

A sea of red greeted her, the wedding candles still flickering.

On the bed lay a sleeping, beautiful man.

His sleep was peaceful, with a high, defined nose and well-shaped lips—together, his lips looked like a narrow leaf.

This was Shangguan Ziqi, heir to Prince Rong’s Manor.

Awake, he’d surely captivate countless maidens.

“Alas, your bride has been switched, and you’re none the wiser,” Yu Yuanzheng sighed.

“Since we’re to live together, let me introduce myself. I’m Yu Yuanzheng, cousin to Yu Chaoyang, swapped into this marriage by her scheme.

Still, I think marrying you is better. No inner-court rivalry, no fighting over a man with other women.”

Taking advantage of his unconsciousness, Yu Yuanzheng reached out and touched Shangguan Ziqi’s face.

“Six months in bed, and your skin is still so nice. Feels wonderful.”

“What a shame—my cousin says you only have half a year to live.”

As soon as she finished speaking, she thought she saw his brow twitch.

Startled, she wondered if her words had somehow awakened him.

She studied him for a while longer, but aside from confirming that his face was indeed pleasing to the eye, she found nothing else.

Maybe it was just her imagination.

“But don’t worry, my medical skills are excellent. Meeting me is your stroke of luck.

I won’t let you die. If you do, my cousin surely won’t treat me kindly. She’s managed a wedding swap now—who knows what she’ll try next…”

The thought of her cousin being reborn and knowing the future troubled Yu Yuanzheng—she was no schemer, only a healer.

Dawn couldn’t be far off.

To keep up the pretense, she didn’t change out of her bridal gown, but kept the veil on and leaned against the bedpost, dozing while she waited for the next day’s drama to unfold.

What she didn’t see was Shangguan Ziqi’s fingers twitching slightly.

He reached tremblingly toward Yu Yuanzheng, but in the end, his hand fell helplessly back to the bed.