[A Play of Pretence]
Because of a rebellion, Jiang Mingzhao was switched at birth. She was the lowborn cat, while the real Sixth Miss Jiang was raised in her loveless, unwanted family until the age of ten. When the truth came out, the Marquis of Yuning saw it as a scandal and sent Jiang Mingzhao to a villa on West Mountain, leaving her to fend for herself.
Five years passed. Jiang Mingzhao not only survived, but was accepted back by the marquis's household, who said they would bring her home to live in comfort.
Comfort?
When Jiang Mingzhao saw Nanny Wang, who had always been so mean, trembling as she handed her a steaming bowl of soup, she gave a cold laugh.
She hadn't even returned to the marquis's residence, and someone was already rushing to harm her.
She was determined to find out who wanted her dead. Unfortunately, the wicked servant was shameless, and Jiang Mingzhao failed to force a confession and was instead dragged into the water.
As she sank beneath the surface, a familiar man suddenly jumped in and rescued her. Squinting, she remembered that year when she had run away, soaked through and looking up at the man before her as he gazed down from above. She had asked pitifully, “Young master, will you marry me?”
The man’s eyes had widened. With a cold face, he had flicked his sleeve and walked away. Jiang Mingzhao had sighed, too. She had been a fool to dream that marriage could help her escape that villa. Thinking about it now was so embarrassing.
From then on, she prayed to the gods and Buddha with one extra wish: Never let me meet him again.
Three years ago.
The weather was fine, but the chill on the man’s face was like winter frost.
With one hand behind his back, he stared at her in disbelief and said with disgust, “Miss, please behave yourself.”
Shen Fengjun hadn’t expected that one moment of kindness would bring him a rotten peach blossom. What bad luck.
Later:
He heard that His Highness Prince Chen was going to the Marquis of Yuning’s residence to ask for Jiang Mingzhao’s hand in marriage, and he immediately rushed to the marquis’s residence in alarm.
It had only been a short time since he last saw her, but the young woman had grown more graceful and beautiful. But what was Prince Chen doing beside her, looking so irritating? And why was she smiling with her head bowed?
He rushed forward, no longer carrying himself with his usual composure, and gasped, “Sixth Miss... does what you said back then still stand?”
Jiang Mingzhao blinked, puzzled. She had said so many things to him. Which one did he mean?
Theme: No matter where we find ourselves, we must make a world of our own.
