Chapter 333: Reason for Identity Swap

Chapter 333: The Reason for the Identity Swap

Madam Meng couldn't believe what Ji Nanchuan had said. She shook off his hand in disbelief, her eyes blazing red with fury.

"So they're just supposed to swallow the humiliation they suffered today?"

"Marquis, Ji Yuntang isn't just humiliating Che'er and Hang'er—she's slapping the entire Marquis's household in the face! How can you just stand there and do nothing about it?"

"What happened to the decisive, ruthless Ji Nanchuan of the past? Marquis, how have you become like this?"

As her words fell, a heavy slap landed on Madam Meng's face. Ji Nanchuan said angrily:

"You have the audacity to say that? Back when you gave birth to Ji Yuntang, if you'd taken my advice and strangled her back then, we wouldn't be backed into this corner by her now, with all this chaos she's caused."

"Your sentimental foolishness has ruined our entire Marquis Yongning household. Even Che'er, Feng'er, and Hang'er have been humiliated by her. Have you ever stopped to think about how much of a failure you are as a mother? And now you have the nerve to turn around and accuse me of doing nothing?!"

Madam Meng's face went white, her heart racing with alarm. She said, trembling, "Marquis, she's here to get revenge. She must be here to get back at us, right?"

"Back then, swapping her and Qing Qing was something we had to do. Why can't she just try to understand us?"

These words brought back memories Madam Meng had buried deep in her heart.

She could still clearly remember how she had carried three sons to term, one after another, and desperately wanted a daughter.

With her fourth pregnancy, Madam Meng finally got her wish—she was carrying a girl.

The entire household rejoiced at the coming of this little miss.

But unexpectedly, during childbirth, Madam Meng ran into complications. She was completely exhausted, in so much pain she couldn't even straighten her back, but the baby just wouldn't come out.

After a life-and-death struggle, she finally managed to give birth, but the baby didn't even cry or make a sound.

A baby that doesn't cry is seen as a bad omen, casting a dark cloud over the whole family's hearts.

What horrified Madam Meng the most was the black birthmark on the child's left cheek, covering almost half her face.

For a prominent family, this was like pouring salt on a wound.

They could accept anything, except a daughter who was ugly.

Because for a great family like the Marquis's household, a daughter's purpose was to be a tool for forging marriage alliances.

And a woman's looks were her greatest asset.

Ji Nanchuan dreamed day and night of forging ties with the royal family.

Before Ji Yuntang was even born, he had pinned all his hopes on her, praying she would one day marry the Crown Prince and become the Crown Princess.

After Ji Yuntang was born, Ji Nanchuan's dream was crushed!

He couldn't stand Ji Yuntang—even looking at her made him sick.

He tried to strangle Ji Yuntang many times, but Madam Meng always stopped him.

She was her own flesh and blood, carried for ten months—Madam Meng just couldn't bear to part with her.

Then one day, a Taoist master came to the Marquis's mansion.

He had a bit of a reputation in the martial arts world and was respectfully called Master Zixu.

The first thing Master Zixu said when he saw Ji Yuntang was—

"This child's fate is inauspicious—she has a rare and deadly lone-star destiny. If you insist on keeping her and raising her, once she grows up, she'll bring death to your entire family, and the Marquis's household's hundred years of prosperity will come to an end."

Madam Ji was already deeply devoted to such Buddhist and Taoist beliefs. She panicked the instant she heard Master Zixu say this, chasing after him, begging to know how to break this fate.

Master Zixu said: "There's only one way to break it: you must send Ji Yuntang away and find another baby girl born on the exact same day to take her place, and only then will the Marquis's household be safe."

Though it sounded absurd, Madam Ji didn't dare gamble with the Marquis's household's future. What if Ji Yuntang really was ill-omened? Wouldn't the whole family end up being killed because of her? Under pressure from Madam Ji, Ji Nanchuan sent people to find a baby girl born on the exact same year, month, and day as Ji Yuntang.

That search led them to Ji Qingqing, a baby girl just born in a farmer's home in a small mountain village.

Master Zixu examined Ji Qingqing, cast her birth chart, and then sang her praises.

He said: "This child is different from the eldest miss. The eldest miss has a lone-star calamity fate, but this child is a once-in-a-century Destined Phoenix Maiden. It's just that being born in a mountain village has dimmed much of her destiny."

"If you nurture her properly, perhaps when she grows up, she could become the Empress, second only to the Emperor himself."

At these words, the entire Marquis's household was overjoyed.

Ji Nanchuan didn't hesitate for a moment. He swapped Ji Qingqing in and sent Ji Yuntang to the countryside.

Over the years, he raised Ji Qingqing as his own daughter, nearly forgetting he had another daughter left outside.

But now, after all that had happened, Ji Nanchuan, like Ji Zihang, had begun to doubt Ji Yuntang's identity, suspecting she might be an imposter.

But after their blood test confirmed their relation, that doubt was dispelled!

Ji Yuntang was still Ji Yuntang, carrying the bloodline of Marquis Yongning's household.

However, her heart had long since turned against them, no longer loyal—something that infuriated Ji Nanchuan.

Madam Meng was still sobbing. She picked up her handkerchief to wipe her tears, and suddenly a terrifying thought flashed through her mind.

She tested the waters: "Marquis, what if Master Zixu miscalculated back then? Ji Yuntang and Qing Qing were born on the same day. What if Ji Yuntang is actually the Destined Phoenix Maiden, and Qing Qing is the lone star of calamity?"

Ji Nanchuan roared furiously: "What nonsense are you spouting? Ji Yuntang is already married to Prince Ye. How could she possibly be the Destined Phoenix Maiden?"

"Use your brain. The Destined Phoenix Maiden is called that because she's destined to become the Empress."

"And the prerequisite for becoming Empress is that her husband becomes the Crown Prince. Do you think Prince Ye, a disfavored cripple, could ever be named Crown Prince?"

"The position of Crown Prince can only be held by a prince of legitimate birth, like the Empress's own son. Prince Ye, the son of Concubine Li, has nothing going for him. He'll never come close to the Crown Prince's position."

"So Ji Yuntang becoming Empress is utterly absurd. The Destined Phoenix Maiden must be our Qing Qing, and the Empress's position must belong to her as well."

Ji Nanchuan's words were logical and left Madam Meng unable to argue.

Even though she felt that only a woman outstanding in every way deserved to be Empress.

Ji Qingqing wasn't good enough.

But looking at Ji Yuntang, with her talents unmatched by any woman in the Dongchen Kingdom, Madam Meng couldn't say it out loud. Deep down, she felt Ji Yuntang fit the image of an Empress far better.

At that moment, Ji Nanchuan said viciously: "Regardless, Ji Yuntang can't be allowed to live any longer. As long as she's alive, she'll bring endless trouble."

On this point, Madam Meng agreed.

Though Ji Yuntang was her biological daughter, mother and daughter stood on opposite sides, their blood ties thin.

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