The Living Ingredient - Chapter 2

Even if Cheng Lang hadn’t thought of it yet, a man like him was bound to come and silence me later.

By the time he remembered, though, I would be long gone from the capital.

The moment I received the chancellor’s silver, I started preparing to leave. The world was vast. Where couldn’t I go?

For some reason, on the day I shouldered my bundle to leave, there were twice as many soldiers at the gate. They questioned everyone coming and going. One stopped me and asked for my place of origin.

His expression changed sharply when he checked it. I couldn’t hear what he said to the men beside him, but a group of people soon hurried over and surrounded me.

The old woman at their head pulled at my collar to examine my neck. At the sight of a small mole, she seemed suddenly certain. She clutched my arm, tears and snot streaming down her face.

“My lady! At last, I’ve found you! You’re the Minister of Revenue’s long-lost daughter!”

Excuse me?

That speech sounded awfully familiar.

Well, damn. This time, I was the living ingredient!

Afraid I might run, they practically dragged me into the minister’s residence.

Fang Nian, the Minister of Revenue, was over fifty. He and his wife rushed to the gate without even straightening their clothes, threw their arms around me, and began to weep.

“Our daughter! You’ve suffered so much!”

I forced the corners of my mouth upward.

Their tears of joy were real enough.

The two old bastards must have been thrilled to find someone to die in their daughter’s place.

I couldn’t escape now. Even if I got out of the house, with their influence, I’d never make it out of the capital.

I put on a frightened look. “How could I be your daughter? I’ve seen the beautiful Miss Fang myself while selling vegetables in the street.”

Madam Fang gave an awkward laugh. “You don’t understand, my daughter. An evil servant switched you as a baby. The other girl is an impostor. You’re our real daughter!”

I closed my eyes, opened my mouth, and let out an earth-shaking wail.

“Father! Mother! I’ve finally found you! I’ve wandered from place to place since I was little. I thought my parents were long dead. I never dreamed we’d be reunited! Mother! I’m so hungry…”

The two of them exchanged looks, then quickly recovered.

Madam Fang pulled me inside.

“Someone! Bring food!”

That evening, they took me to a lavishly furnished room and told me over and over, “Our dear daughter, we prepared this room especially for you. You’ll sleep here from now on. With your father and mother here, all you need do is enjoy a good life.”

I answered obediently, laughing coldly to myself.

Even the chairs were made of the finest sandalwood. They’d only found me today. How could they possibly have furnished such a splendid room in time?

Frowning at the bed, I suspected that its previous occupant was the person whose life they meant to swap with mine.

Late that night, I found an excuse to send the servants away and slipped over to Minister Fang’s courtyard. I arrived just in time to see the old couple carrying a lantern toward a rundown little courtyard.

I followed on silent feet. The place looked uninhabited, with no servants tending it.

Suddenly, a woman’s furious voice rang out.

“How much longer do I have to stay in this dump?”

Edging closer, I saw a young woman about my age smashing things inside the room in a rage.

She seemed to be in poor health. After a few movements, she began coughing uncontrollably.

Distraught, Madam Fang hurried to support her. “Be patient a little longer, my darling. We’ve found the living ingredient. We only have to raise her as our own daughter and feed her Master Xuanqing’s life-swapping medicine for a month. Soon she’ll die in your place, and then your madness will be cured.”

“Does this really work?”

“Of course!”

Fang Nian lowered his voice.

“Chancellor Zhang’s son was dying of consumption. Once they found his living ingredient, he actually opened his eyes and spoke yesterday! Master Xuanqing’s method can’t be wrong.”

Fang Ruqing couldn’t hold back a laugh.

“Good. That filthy village woman has had more than she deserves, enjoying my status. Once we’ve swapped lives, I’ll make sure she dies in agony.”

I watched her with interest.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.

Whether these lives get swapped is still up to me.

Every last one of you wants my life. Well, I’ve already lost it once. This time, anyone who wants mine will pay with their own.

When I returned, a maid brought me a bowl of soup. Madam had specifically ordered it, she said, and she had to watch me finish it.

A little probing told me that everyone except Fang Nian and his wife actually believed I was their long-lost daughter.

That was probably another condition of the life swap. Before I could take Fang Ruqing’s misfortunes upon myself, I had to take her place in fate. The fewer people who knew the truth, the better.

I noticed injuries on the maid’s wrists and neck, some old, some fresh.

“Oh! What happened?”

Taking her hand, I asked with concern, “Why do you have so many injuries? Has someone been mistreating you? Don’t be afraid. Now that I’ve found my parents, I’m a mistress of this household too. I can help you.”

The maid stared at me. Then tears of pent-up hurt filled her eyes.

I doubted anyone in this house had ever been so kind to her.

“What’s your name?”

“Chun’er, my lady.”

“Whose courtyard did you serve in?”

“The… the former young lady’s.”

With Fang Ruqing’s vicious temper and poisonous heart, Chun’er must have suffered frequent beatings and abuse at her side.

I held her hand even more warmly.

“Don’t be afraid. I used to be poor too. I’ll protect you from now on. Chun’er, I’ve only just come home. I don’t know anything yet. Why don’t you tell me about Father and Mother? What they like, what they won’t tolerate, the officials and ladies they’re friends with—I want to know it all.”