Jade Mislaid on Dusty Roads

[Synopsis]

At the Hou Mansion's lively coming-of-age ceremony, a secret buried for seventeen years is exposed before everyone.

Two jades, each marking a life switched at birth, are laid bare before the noble guests.

One girl has returned from the muddy streets, guarded from head to toe. The other grew up surrounded by splendor, yet is tormented by the fear that her identity was never truly hers. Blood ties are inborn, but so too is the weight of seventeen years spent together, day after day.

"What do blood ties matter? Seventeen years of living side by side outweighs a piece of paper proving our birth."

Pei Linheng stood among the guests. A draft swept through the hall, lifting the hem of his robe. His words fell, and the entire hall went frighteningly quiet.

Su Ciqu's palms bore the thick calluses of years of hard labor. The rough skin brushed her sleeves, and her fingers tensed ever so slightly. As she listened to everyone calculate the uses of her marriage, her voice remained calm, without a trace of hostility or competitiveness:

"I have no intention of fighting for the heir's betrothal. I came back only to reclaim the status that should have been mine. I refuse to become a pawn for others to move around."

Shen Qitang held her hands at her sides, unable to stop her fingertips from trembling. Her nails dug into her palms until they went numb. Raised in the Hou Mansion and cherished since childhood, she now found disaster falling on her out of nowhere. Her voice was quiet, full of bewilderment and helplessness:

"I've never done anything wrong. Why should I be the one to bear the consequences of a mistake made so long ago?"

Lu Yanshu gripped the book of records hidden in his sleeve. Its edge dug painfully into his palm as he looked at the gathered aristocrats weighing their gains and losses:

"A person's birth only determines their starting point. Not everyone from the streets is crude, and not everyone in a grand mansion has integrity."

The grand ceremony fell apart in an instant.

The girl who returned carried the hard, solitary edge forged by life on the streets, wary at every turn. The girl who had enjoyed seventeen years of luxury was draped in finery, yet felt adrift within.

Four people are swept into this turmoil, each with a different position, their fates reflecting and entangling with one another.

There are no clear lines separating good from evil, and no satisfying revenge or face-slapping.

Some are trapped by their birth, others bound by their past. Even when they understand the constraints each other has faced, the wounds they have suffered will not simply disappear.

The road ahead will ultimately depend on their hearts and the choices they make.

[Note]

The complete outline of this book has been registered as blockchain copyright evidence with Quezao.

Cover art by Nanzhi

Theme: I believe a person's birth can only determine their starting point. Their heart and choices decide where they end up.