The Marriage Swap

Mother said that twin princesses were a terrible omen, so when my sister and I came of age, one of us would be a princess and the other a servant.

My sister, tears streaming down her face, clung to Mother’s legs and begged.

Mother pitied her for being the younger one and ordered me to give way.

From then on, my sister became the exalted Princess Sui Ning, while I became Chang Ning, a servant in the Cold Palace.

My sister adored the young chancellor and did everything she could to win his favor. But he disliked the nobility and instead grew close to a servant like me.

When the Xiongnu invaded, my sister, in the prime of her youth, was forced into a political marriage. She wed a khan decades older than her and endured endless humiliation in a foreign land.

Meanwhile, I married into the chancellor’s household and became the envy of all as the chancellor’s wife.

While I was pregnant and awaiting childbirth, my sister secretly returned and killed both me and my unborn child with a single stab.

When I opened my eyes again, we had been reborn on the day we were brought back to the palace.

This time, my sister was eager to claim the servant’s place in the Cold Palace.

I couldn’t help laughing.

Who would turn down being a princess to become a servant?