Chu Tianjiao knew that Sang Shen had now been replaced, with the soul of Ancestral Founder Lu Dingfeng inhabiting her body.
On that night when she fled her arranged marriage, she had originally taken Sang Shen with her when leaving the mansion. But Lu Dingfeng had secretly run away halfway through their escape.
Chu Tianjiao couldn't understand why he had come back after already escaping.
She closed her book and ordered:
"Bring her in."
A few minutes later, Sang Shen was brought before her.
The household staff didn't know Sang Shen had tried to run away, and still believed the young mistress had sent her out on an errand.
So when Sang Shen approached, though she looked disheveled, her movements were unrestrained.
Seeing her messy hair, dirty face and tattered clothes, Chu Tianjiao asked curiously: "You've only been gone a few days. Did you run into a den of bandits?"
Sang Shen glanced at Qingluan standing to the side. Chu Tianjiao gestured for Qingluan and the others to leave.
Only then did Sang Shen (Lu Dingfeng) start whimpering and complaining.
"Young daughter-in-law..."
Chu Tianjiao's almond-shaped eyes widened. Lu Dingfeng hurriedly corrected himself:
"Young mistress, I almost lost my virtue..."
Chu Tianjiao recalled seeing Lu Dingfeng with girls on each arm that night at the Surprising Swan Pavilion. She curled her lip in disgust.
As it turned out, after Lu Dingfeng had run away, he planned to leave the city and roam free. He figured that since he had achieved great things in his past life, in this life he didn't need to accomplish anything grand. Just being self-sufficient and living a carefree life would be easy enough.
What he didn't realize was that he had been gone from this world for 200 years. Though he had originally established the capital here, the Capital City was now completely unrecognizable to him.
He took a wrong turn and unknowingly wandered into the red-light district.
When Lu Dingfeng was alive, the entire Qianyuan Continent was plagued by natural disasters. The common people could no longer survive, so rebellions began breaking out.
He had started his rise to power from within the rebel forces.
By the time he conquered the Li Country, the whole nation was in ruins, with all industries in decline. Even the brothels had gone out of business.
Though it was now nighttime, the red-light district was brightly lit. Lu Dingfeng had never seen the Capital City so lively before.
His curiosity piqued, he strode confidently into the Surprising Swan Pavilion.
Though inhabiting a young woman's body, Lu Dingfeng still had the mind of a crude man.
After 200 years of abstinence, as soon as he entered the Surprising Swan Pavilion and saw the scantily-clad women, his eyes bulged.
He was wearing the clothes of a young maid from a wealthy family. With his good looks and noble bearing, the madam of the Surprising Swan Pavilion initially thought he had been sent by some noblewoman to catch a cheating husband.
Not wanting to offend someone of high status, the madam had her staff carefully attend to him.
Lu Dingfeng boldly ordered a feast and called for several courtesans, thoroughly enjoying himself.
The only regret was that he could only look and touch, but couldn't go all the way.
Though Lu Dingfeng's behavior was odd, the women of the brothel were worldly and used to strange occurrences. Being groped by a young maid wasn't anything too out of the ordinary for them.
But when it came time to pay the bill, Lu Dingfeng was in trouble.
He did have a few pieces of silver on him, which would have been a significant sum 200 years ago.
But over two centuries, silver mining in various countries had increased dramatically, and prices had risen several dozen times over.
The silver he had wasn't nearly enough to cover the bill.
So he was detained at the brothel.
The madam threatened him, saying he could either pay with his body or reveal who his master was.
Lu Dingfeng had escaped from the Marquis of Liyang Mansion. He knew that runaway slaves were usually beaten to death or sold off, so he adamantly refused to give up the Marquis' name.
Then the madam forced him to work off his debt with his body.
For the past few days, Lu Dingfeng had been locked up in the Surprising Swan Pavilion, enduring all kinds of hardships.
Thinking about how he had escaped from under a fat middle-aged man only to end up here, Lu Dingfeng felt uncomfortable all over. As he complained to Chu Tianjiao, he scratched his head, feeling irritated everywhere.
Chu Tianjiao put on an air of authority as she sipped her tea and pondered: Sang Shen was after all a maid of the Marquis of Liyang Mansion. If she was let loose to cause trouble, it would reflect badly on the Marquis' household.
Chu Tianjiao resolved that she needed to subdue Lu Dingfeng so he wouldn't dare act out again.
When the time was right, she could find an opportunity to release him, and consider their karmic ties from hanging in the Imperial Ancestral Temple together to be settled.
"Will you try to escape again?" she asked.
"No, I won't run away again even if you beat me to death!"
"Then from now on, work diligently and always remember your new identity."
"Young... Young mistress, I've come to realize being your maid isn't so bad. Just promise you won't marry me off to someone randomly!"
Chu Tianjiao held back her laughter and threatened him:
"If you run away again and get caught, next time I'll sell you directly to a brothel."
Thinking of his experiences these past few days, Lu Dingfeng shuddered. He put aside his rebellious attitude and nodded meekly with lowered eyes.
"You'll need to relearn proper etiquette. Your actions and behavior should be as ladylike as possible. Don't let anyone discover anything amiss, or they might burn you as some kind of monster."
After saying this, Chu Tianjiao called Qingluan back in and pointed at Lu Dingfeng:
"Qingluan, I see this girl Sang Shen has completely forgotten her manners and doesn't seem to know the rules. Take her away and find an older woman to teach her properly."
Though Qingluan didn't know Sang Shen's soul had been replaced, she had noticed the maid acting very strangely these past few days.
"Young mistress, Sang Shen was ill recently. Could she be possessed by some evil spirit?"
Chu Tianjiao cut off Qingluan's line of questioning, saying only that Sang Shen was still young and immature, and just needed more training.
"However, she's no longer allowed to serve in my chambers. After she's properly trained in etiquette and rules, send her to attend at the martial arts grounds."
Qingluan led Sang Shen away.
Seeing how filthy she was, Qingluan told her to go wash up first.
In the bathtub, Sang Shen grabbed at the small mounds on her chest in frustration:
When this flesh was on other people's bodies, it felt so nice to touch. How come when it's on his own body, it's just a nuisance?
Just then, his head started to ache, as if something was pounding inside his skull. Though weak, a very clear voice emerged:
"Stop that, you pervert!"
Back at the Fourth Prince's Manor, Lu Zhaoling's face was getting increasingly itchy.
"Quickly summon the Imperial Physician!"
The Imperial Physician who had just prescribed preventative medicine for measles was called back.
"Your Highness, the burn on your face is not serious. But looking at these red spots and small blisters, I suspect you've come into contact with something you shouldn't have, causing an allergic skin reaction."
"An allergy? Not measles?"
The Imperial Physician said it looked similar to measles, but based on the pulse, it likely wasn't.
As the Imperial Physician wrote out a prescription to be boiled into medicine, Lu Zhaoling was already scratching uncontrollably.
He wanted to scratch, but was afraid of ruining his face. The Imperial Physician suggested having someone tie up his hands.
Lu Zhaoling did care a lot about his looks, so he reluctantly agreed.
But just then, the steward suddenly came to report that a decree had arrived from the palace. The Emperor was summoning him to court.
Lu Zhaoling wanted to claim illness and not go, but the eunuch delivering the decree revealed that the Emperor was currently in the Imperial Consort's Palace, discussing whether to cancel the engagement with the Chu family.
Lu Zhaoling grew anxious, guessing that the Emperor must be wavering on whether to let him break off the engagement with Chu Tianjiao, which is why he was being urgently summoned to the palace.
He had to go! He needed to show the Emperor his determination to marry none other than Chu Tianjiao.
After applying some of the ointment prescribed by the Imperial Physician and covering his head with a veil, Lu Zhaoling entered the palace.
Arriving at Consort Ye's Auspicious Cloud Palace, Lu Zhaoling had to remove the veil as he knelt to greet the Emperor and Consort Ye.
But fearing he would startle His Majesty, he kept his head bowed as he knelt on the ground.
The Emperor told Lu Zhaoling to rise, so he had no choice but to stand up.
The Emperor was shocked and cried out: "Where did this pig head come from?"
The palace attendants all shouted "Protect the Emperor!" Consort Ye was so frightened her face turned pale.
"Imperial Father, Imperial Mother, it's me. The Imperial Physician said I'm having an allergic skin reaction, it's not contagious."
Lu Zhaoling didn't realize that on his way to the palace, his face had swollen up to the point it was now indistinguishable from a pig's head.
After the chaos died down and Lu Zhaoling's identity was confirmed, the Emperor summoned the Chief Physician of the Imperial Medical Academy, who verified that Lu Zhaoling was indeed suffering from a skin allergy.
The Chief Physician reported:
"The Fourth Prince is allergic to ginkgo, which has caused urushiol-induced contact dermatitis. It's not contagious. After taking some medicine, he'll be fine in a few days."
Lu Zhaoling recalled the bowl of medicine Chu Tianjiao had smashed on his head at the Chu residence. A thought struck him and he asked:
"Is ginkgo used to treat colds or measles?"
The Chief Physician nodded, saying some prescriptions did indeed contain ginkgo.
Only then did Lu Zhaoling let go of his suspicions.
The Emperor, overhearing the conversation between the two, inquired about the situation. Upon learning that the eldest daughter of the Chu family had likely contracted rubella, and that Lu Zhaoling had gone to visit her and suffered this undeserved misfortune, the Emperor hesitated:
"The Chu matriarch's petition stated that your two destinies are incompatible. It seems there might be some truth to it."
Lu Zhaoling grew anxious, "Father, I am fond of the Chu family's daughter. I do not wish to break off the engagement."
The Emperor's expression grew cold. Having once been a prince himself, he knew all too well what went on in a prince's mind.
The Emperor rose and called for his carriage to return to the palace. As he left, he dropped a final remark: "If you truly care for that Chu girl, as long as the Chu family is willing to withdraw their petition to break the engagement, I will grant your wish."
Chu Tianjiao was unaware that her quick thinking had softened the Emperor's stance, effectively leaving the decision of whether to break the engagement in the hands of the Chu family.
Lu Zhaoling's allergy to ginkgo was something Chu Tianjiao had discovered in her previous life.
When preparing that bowl of medicine, she had instructed Qingluan to add a large amount of ginkgo to it.
She had merely intended to substantiate the high monk's assessment that their destinies were incompatible, but hadn't expected Lu Zhaoling to enter the palace with a face swollen like a pig's head.
