At thirty-eight, Xu Jingman had been in love with twenty-two-year-old Shen Yan for four years in the modern world. In the end, she broke up with him despite her feelings because of their age gap, then quietly helped him reach the pinnacle of the business world. Three years later, with everything settled, she was terminally ill. In a dream, a Taoist priest used a circular jade pendant called “Dream Return” to take her to an alternate ancient world, giving her the chance to start over as Xu Jingman, the sixteen-year-old only daughter of a wealthy landowner, and meet Shen Yan, a twenty-two-year-old prince of a different surname.
This time, there was no sixteen-year age gap between them, but their status and station were worlds apart. His father had died young, and he was a peerless prince renowned for his military achievements, the emperor’s most trusted confidant, and ruthless and cunning in his methods. She was the cherished daughter of a modestly wealthy family in Jiangnan, whose parents wanted nothing more than for her to live a safe and happy life. As fate’s wheels began to turn again, could she rewrite their ending? Even though the Taoist priest warned her that “the outcome may still not be a happy one,” Xu Jingman chose to love again, summoning all her courage and wisdom to reach the man who had captured her heart in both lives.
This is a story about time, status, and love: an unwavering determination to find each other again and again across different timelines, and a desperate gamble against the sorrow of “I was born before you, yet when you were born, I was already old.”
Chapter One: Life Is But a Dream
When Xu Jingman opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was the canopy above her bed, embroidered with curling lotus vines. The pale blue silk shimmered softly in the morning light.
She blinked as her awareness slowly returned like the tide.
Three days ago, she had paid 300 million at a Sotheby’s auction for a circular jade pendant known as “Dream Return.” Its jade was smooth and warm, its two rings intertwined, and it was said to be able to
