A wicked mother swaps her son and sucks his blood? The true legitimate daughter is reborn and goes o

"That birth date and time have been buried under the crabapple tree for five or six years. There is a secret technique in the southern border region where people write their birth date and time in blood, trap the person under the tree, and cast a curse."

"The person cursed will suffer from headaches, nightmares, and be plagued by illness. Over time, they will become delirious and their personality will change drastically."

Song Qingning's voice was very soft, but Song Shiyin's heart was in turmoil.

In his previous life, Song Shiyin was beaten to death for competing with others for the title of courtesan, but Song Shiyin was not a lecherous person.

Song Shiyin's face turned deathly pale.

Six years ago, his mother suddenly fell ill and needed her children's blood as a medicine. Qingning was still young, and he couldn't bear to see his younger sister suffer, so he volunteered to donate blood.

For seven days straight, my mother drank a bowl of blood each day, and after seven days, she recovered.

Looking back now, that illness was just an excuse for him to donate blood.

Despite his trembling, Song Shiyin suppressed his resentment and cried out, "Why is a mother so cruel and heartless?"

Song Qingning almost told him that Liu was not their mother!

Lady Liu was not cruel to her own children; on the contrary, she loved them very much.

But she ultimately held back. Her brother needed to focus on preparing for the imperial examinations and couldn't afford to be distracted. "Brother, taking the imperial examinations is your way out. You must seize this opportunity!"

Only by winning the imperial examinations could they have more leverage.

She wants more than just to be reunited with her family.

She wanted them to live well.

Today we saved my brother; next up is the poetry appreciation gathering.

Lady Liu wanted to elevate Song Mingtang to a divine status, but she insisted on pushing him down to hell.

……

This year's poetry appreciation event was attended by Prince Rui and Prince Huai.

As the two biggest contenders for the throne, they both wanted to take this opportunity to select capable individuals.

Although Liu was a woman, she understood that she could not place all her bets on one person.

The Prince of Huai was the son of Empress Meng, but he was not favored by the emperor, and because of the death of the crown prince, even his own mother, Empress Meng, disliked him.

However, he commands 100,000 Shence Army soldiers, which even the emperor fears.

Prince Rui was the son of the late Consort Shen.

The Emperor was deeply in love with Consort Shen. Even though Consort Shen had been dead for many years, the Emperor still took care of the Shen family and showed great affection for Prince Rui.

Lady Liu arranged for Song Mingtang to get close to Prince Rui, and also arranged for Song Qingyan to marry into the Prince Yu's mansion, which supported Prince Huai.

No matter which prince gains power, they will be able to handle things with ease.

The death of the Princess Consort of Yu in their previous life forced them to abandon their path of marrying into the Yu Prince's mansion.

In this life, they still hold onto hope.

Before going to the poetry gathering, Lady Liu saw him off outside the Yongning Marquis's residence.

Song Mingtang was displeased that he hadn't ruined Song Shiyin's hand last night, and blamed Liu Shi, "Second Aunt, you didn't manage your son well."

"Don't worry, Your Highness, after today, your second aunt will have a chance to discipline him properly," said Madam Liu.

Song Shiyin wanted to get ahead through the imperial examination.

But once today is over, and Mingtang's identity as Mingyue Xian is revealed, the old Marquis will no longer be able to see Song Shiyin.

"I've arranged everything. Someone will cooperate with you. Just take the seal and accept Mingyue Xian's identity," Liu said confidently.

Song Mingtang had been looking forward to this day for a long time. With his displeasure gone, he said, "Alright, Second Aunt, please make all the necessary preparations at the mansion to welcome my triumphant return today."

Just as Song Mingtang was about to get into the carriage, Song Qingyan followed, "I want to go too."

The poetry appreciation event is open to both men and women.

Liu's mind was entirely on Song Mingtang, and she had no intention of letting Song Qingyan go.

Song Qingyan was dissatisfied that Madam Liu had tacitly agreed that "Mingyue Xian" could only be Song Mingtang, but she dared not express it.

"On an occasion like today, the heir apparent of Prince Yu should be here, right?"

Prince Yu's heir, Xie Yunli, and Prince Huai, Xie Xuanjin, were inseparable.

As long as Xie Xuanjin is here, Xie Yunli will definitely be here too.

After thinking it over, Madam Liu agreed, "Alright, alright, go ahead. Yan'er, today is your brother's big day, don't cause him any trouble."

Song Qingyan agreed.

But ever since he learned that "Mingyue Xian" was unclaimed and was so close to her, his greed never disappeared.

The poetry appreciation event was held at Chongwen Hall.

Song Qingning wore a veiled hat and kept a low profile in the crowd.

The students gathered at Danshuang Pavilion to discuss and refine their poetry.

Inside a private room on the second floor.

Xie Xuanjin's expression remained calm.

Since entering Chongwen Hall, Xie Yunli had been paying attention to his reaction. Although he couldn't tell anything on the surface, he knew that Xie Xuanjin must be feeling bad inside.

The Crown Prince died of poisoning at Chongwen Hall back then.

From then on, Xie Xuanjin never set foot in Chongwen Hall again.

However, the emperor insisted that he attend the poetry appreciation gathering in person, and even chose this location for the gathering.

He suspected that the Emperor was deliberately making his fourth brother unhappy.

Xie Yunli didn't want to see him entangled in the cruelty of the past, so he deliberately diverted his attention.

"What should I do? I've been searching for days, but I still haven't found the woman who saved my mother that night. Lately, my mother has been looking at me like I'm trash!"

"Fourth Brother, you have to help me!"

Xie Yunli looked at Xie Xuanjin.

The two were the same age, but Xie Xuanjin was calm and composed, while Xie Yunli was young and impetuous.

Xie Xuanjin recalled the person who rushed out of the fire that night, took out a token and threw it to Xie Yunli.

The fish-shaped tally of the Shence Army can be used to mobilize 100,000 Shence Army soldiers.

He actually ordered him to dispatch the Shence Army to find a woman!

Xie Yunli immediately felt that the token was too hot to handle.

He dared not touch the Shence Army, which even the Emperor feared.

Xie Yunli threw the token back, "I'll take my time looking."

At worst, we can just have Rou'an invite the noble ladies who attended the mother's birthday banquet that day out for tea.

Then, by chance, the maids knocked over the teacups, wetting their clothes, so that they would wear red clothes and veils to identify them.

Downstairs, students are composing poems in a lively atmosphere.

Suddenly a voice rang out, "The winds of war are blowing fiercely in the imperial city, blood is spilled on the palace walls and flesh and blood are torn apart."

The one who spoke was Shen Yue, the heir of the Duke of Shen's mansion.

Dressed in a brocade robe, resembling a peacock, Shen Yue glanced maliciously at the private room on the second floor. "Excuse me, everyone, how should we continue with the next two lines?"

It involves the imperial city and palace walls, alluding to the secrets of the royal family in the past.

None of the students dared to speak.

"You all don't know? Then you must not know what happened in Chongwen Academy back then. In Chongwen Academy, the Crown Prince and the Prince of Huai..."

"Shen Yue, shut your stinking mouth!" Xie Yunli came out of the private room and interrupted Shen Yue.

Shen Yue's provocation succeeded. "What? Can't you say? It's a secret everyone knows, it's no longer a secret. Is Your Highness afraid of people talking about it?"

Xie Yunli turned around and glanced at Xie Xuanjin.

Fourth Brother remained expressionless, his knuckles white as he gripped the teacup.

What happened back then—the Crown Prince was a victim, but wasn't the Fourth Brother also a victim?

But over the years, even those who know the inside story have not spoken up for him.

Fourth Brother was wronged.

"His Majesty has already investigated and clarified what happened back then; it wasn't..."

"Yunli!"

Xie Xuanjin interrupted Xie Yunli as he finished speaking.

The teacup in Xie Xuanjin's hand shattered at some point, and a shard flew from his fingertip, landing downstairs and grazing Shen Yue's left ear.

At the same time, another fragment of a teacup flew from a corner on the first floor toward Shen Yue, grazing his right ear.

Blood splattered from both ears simultaneously.