Chapter 3 Living for You

Thinking of the missing bride, Su Qingge began to recall somebody else’s memories. They played through her mind like a movie.

This was not another country. It was not even another time. It was somewhere else in space and time – Jin State.

This was not the body of Su Qingge, but of Lin Mengya, daughter of Marquis Zhennan.

Lin Mengya had been born to rank and doted upon, but she suffered from brain damage. Unexpectedly, she’d still been arranged to marry Prince Yu, the third crown prince of this land.

Today she was meant to marry into the family of Prince Yu.

Her silky red veil was embroidered with a singing golden phoenix, each stitch done by hand. It was nothing like the rough fabric made by modern machines.

Su Qingge could not decide if she was lucky.

She had died in that experiment, but she had been allowed to live again.

She closed her eyes, rubbing her brows as another memory came to the surface.

Before getting into the chair, Lin Mengwu, her younger half-sister, had given her a handful a fresh dates. She’d said they represented a wish that her sister would soon be blessed with a child.

She’d told that matchmaker that the dates would keep her sister from acting up on the road. The dates would relieve the tedium of the journey. Su Qingge couldn’t help but smile bitterly.

It could have been a thoughtful gesture. Lin Mengya had suffered a high fever when she was young, and she thought much like a seven or eight year old. The long ride would be quite boring for her.

Of course she ate the dates eventually, but not as fast as hoped.

It was assumed she would polish off the dates long before she reached her destination. Lin Mengya treasured food. She wiped each date carefully, placing them in a box and holding it close.

Su Qingge looked at her hands. Her lab work had left harsh calluses, but these hands were soft and delicate. They were smaller than hers too.

Li Mengya was only sixteen.

Su Qingge felt uncomfortably blessed. Many people wished to be young again, but it was impossible. But here she was, young again, in the body of a girl who would now not get the chance to grow old.

God had given her an opportunity. She would not waste it. She would replace Lin Mengya and live a good life in this strange word.

She looked at the box in her hands, tracing the peony patterns carved in the wood. It held Lin Mengya’s dreams of a happy marriage. She didn’t understand the proper behavior for a wife, but she had been so excited to be married. Her head had been filled with naïve dreams about her future husband.

Even after she’d eaten every date, Lin Mengya had been filled with joy. Su Qingge could still feel her excitement. The girl had never realized the dates were poisoned.

She had taken this girl’s body. The least she could do was avenge her death.

Su Qingge… no. She was no longer Su Qingge.

Lin Mengya wiped the blood away from her mouth and placed the veil back over her face.