"Commandery Princess!"
The intermittent sobbing was disturbingly incessant.
Jiang Shaohua's head was heavy, her eyes felt glued shut, unable to open them, she managed to murmur two words: "Shut up!"
The response was an excited cry of joy: "The Commandery Princess spoke!"
"This is wonderful! The Commandery Princess has finally awakened. Wuwuwu!"
Even in the Yellow Springs, there was no moment of peace.
Rage surged in Jiang Shaohua's heart, and from some unknown strength, she suddenly opened her eyes.
Two little maids were huddled together, their heads hovering over her eyes. One's eyes were red like a rabbit's, while the other had a runny nose.
"The Commandery Princess is awake!" cried the little red-eyed rabbit with delight.
The runny-nosed one wiped her nose in happiness, "I'll go call Mrs. Zhang."
"Yin Zhu, Tu Bai!" Jiang Shaohua's nose tingled with emotion, muttering softly, "You're both here."
These were the two close maids who grew up with her.
At the age of ten, she was taken into the palace by Empress Dowager Zheng, with Yin Zhu and Tu Bai accompanying her. Later, Yin Zhu died tragically in the palace while protecting her. Tu Bai accompanied her into marriage, but within a few years, died from a plague that ravaged the Capital City.
She lived to be thirty-five years old, and on her birthday, Emperor Taixi poisoned her with wine, causing her to die with anger and reluctance. Unexpectedly, she reunited with Yin Zhu and Tu Bai in the Yellow Springs.
How could they look like they're only thirteen or fourteen?
Jiang Shaohua reached out to stop Tu Bai, who was about to leave excitedly, and was startled by the warm skin she touched.
This was clearly the temperature of a living person.
Wait a minute, why was her hand so much smaller?
Jiang Shaohua's pupils suddenly contracted, and an alarming thought flashed through her mind: "Yin Zhu, go get a makeup mirror."
Yin Zhu, confused, asked no questions and quickly brought a copper mirror shaped like a Begonia flower.
The copper mirror was smooth and bright, clearly reflecting a tender young girl's face.
Describing it as a girl was a bit of a stretch, as the face in the copper mirror seemed to be caught between a child and a young girl.
Her long, black hair was smooth, resting on her shoulders, and her skin was pale as if glowing.
Her eyebrows were shaped like crescent moons, and her eyes were like ink spots, with a slightly upturned nose and lips as red as vermilion. Even at such a young age, she already possessed stunning beauty.
"What year is it now?" Jiang Shaohua's voice trembled, only now realizing how particularly youthful her voice was.
Yin Zhu was taken aback by the question, "Why is the Commandery Princess suddenly asking this?" Was it perhaps a nightmare?
Tu Bai's wrist was gripped painfully, her eyes welling up with tears: "Commandery Princess, my hand's about to break."
Jiang Shaohua forced herself to calm down and released her grip, glancing downward, only to see a ring mark on Tu Bai's wrist.
She had only used a fraction of her strength, so how did it leave a mark?
Her heart was full of doubts, shrouded in mist.
Jiang Shaohua took a deep breath: "You both step back first, go call for Mrs. Zhang."
Yin Zhu and Tu Bai exchanged a glance, complied, and stepped back. A moment later, a woman entered the room. The woman appeared to be about thirty-two or thirty-three, with an oval face, an elegant appearance, and dressed neatly.
It was Jiang Shaohua's nursemaid, Mrs. Zhang.
Mrs. Zhang, whose maiden name was Zhuyue, was once the close maid of Nanyang County Princess Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan brought in a husband-in-residence for two years, and Mrs. Zhang was married off to a guard in the Prince Mansion. Within a few years, the guard died protecting his master during a hunt. Mrs. Zhang was inconsolable and gave premature birth to a posthumous child, who died within a month.
At this time, Jiang Shaohua was born. Mrs. Zhang wiped away her tears and became Jiang Shaohua's nursemaid.
Jiang Yan exhausted her frail life giving birth to a daughter and died within a year.
In Jiang Shaohua's heart, her nursemaid, Mrs. Zhang, was like half a mother.
Sadly, when she went to the Capital City, Mrs. Zhang fell ill and couldn't accompany her. After that, Mrs. Zhang passed away from illness, forever separated from her master and servant.
At this moment, repressed longing and yearning from over twenty years surged to the surface.
Jiang Shaohua's eyes suddenly grew hot as she threw herself into Mrs. Zhang's embrace, sobbing bitterly.
Mrs. Zhang was startled, quickly embracing her ten-year-old master and soothing her: "Did the Commandery Princess have a nightmare? Don't be afraid, I'm here; any monsters will keep their distance."
Jiang Shaohua clung tightly to Mrs. Zhang's sleeve, crying uncontrollably.
…
At the age of ten, she heeded her father's advice and left Nanyang County for the palace. She never returned to Nanyang County afterward.
The vast Nanyang Prince Mansion and family estate were left in her father's hands.
At sixteen, Empress Dowager Zheng arranged a political marriage for her with the powerful Wang family.
She had someone she loved, but softened at Empress Dowager Zheng's tearful plea. For the sake of the young emperor's stable throne, she cut ties with her beloved and married into the Wang family.
At eighteen, she gave birth to a son. By twenty, her husband died unexpectedly, and she couldn't bear to abandon her son to remarry. Resolutely, she remained a widow for more than ten years, raising her son to adulthood.
As her son grew, he listened to rumors, suspecting her of having ongoing ties with her old lover, leading to arguments and a rift between mother and son.
That cup of poisoned wine was handed to her by her son himself, his gaze full of disdain and disgust as he watched her: "All these years, you've been entangled with your old lover. He has been relentlessly targeting the Wang family because of you."
"You're frivolous and unchaste, unfaithful in your conduct, unworthy to be my mother."
The youth who hated her, who resented her and wanted her dead, was the same person who, years ago, had clung to her wrist, wholly reliant on her.
The choices from her youth transformed into arrows striking true to her brow years later.
When the poisoned wine poured down her throat, her heart was filled with despair, rage, grievance, and reluctance.
Mrs. Zhang continuously patted her back, gently comforting: "The Prince passed a year ago. The Commandery Princess has been in mourning at the mansion. With such filial piety, the Prince is watching over from the heavens and will surely bless the Commandery Princess with peace."
The third year of Taikang, Prince Nanyang passed away, and Jiang Shaohua mourned her grandfather for an entire year, today marking the end of the mourning period. It is now the fourth year of Taikang.
Visitors from the palace should soon be arriving at the Nanyang Prince Mansion.
Lingering memories quietly surfaced in her heart.
Jiang Shaohua ceased her crying, gently wiping her tears with a handkerchief, and softly said: "Don't worry, Mama. I won't cry anymore."
Her tone was firm and resolute.
Mrs. Zhang was taken aback, instinctively glancing at her young mistress.
Ten-year-old Jiang Shaohua straightened her somewhat thin and frail body, her dark eyes were deep and bottomless like a pool of water.
It was as if, in an instant, she had experienced innumerable storms and yet stood resiliently unwavering.
Mrs. Zhang felt a mix of anxiety and tenderness.
Knock, knock, knock!
The knocking on the door was steady and gentle, with a tone of concern: "Shaohua, father has come to see you."
Jiang Shaohua's gaze turned slightly cold.
Mrs. Zhang subtly furrowed her brows but quickly returned to normal, stepping forward to open the door.
A man in his thirties stepped inside. He was tall, with a gentle demeanor and strikingly handsome features. His eyes, in particular, were exceptionally attractive.
Such a gentleman of noble character, nothing more, nothing less.
This was Jiang Shaohua's biological father, Lu Xuan.
The first black hand in her past life to push her into the abyss of a whirlpool.