Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

"A fake, actually thinking he's the real deal."

These words, like an echo in a valley, lingered in my ears.

Upon hearing this, Mu Tingting felt a surge of anger suddenly erupt in her heart.

She could no longer bear it, so she walked over to the palace maid, grabbed her, and slapped her hard twice.

The palace maid was stunned by the blow, and stumbled and fell to the ground.

Mu Tingting was still not satisfied and went forward to kick him twice more.

This action not only stunned the palace maids nearby, but even Ying'er was terrified.

She was stunned for a moment before she remembered to stop him.

"Miss, what's wrong?"

Hearing Ying'er's voice, Mu Tingting slowly calmed down.

Looking at the palace maid in front of her, who was covered in bruises from her beating, and at the surprised looks on her face, she was so frightened that she took several steps back.

Ying'er quickly helped her up, "Miss, let's go and rest for a while."

With the help of her maid, Mu Tingting arrived at the small room next door, still shaken.

Seeing this, Ying'er poured another glass of water.

"Miss, please have some water first."

Mu Tingting leaned against the small couch, staring at her trembling hands, her face looking very pale.

She asked instinctively, "Ying'er, what just happened to me?"

Ying'er couldn't answer the question about her young mistress's seemingly bewitching behavior.

In her eyes, the young lady rarely got angry. Even if she was very angry, she would only say a few words of abuse and that would be it. She would never hit anyone.

But just now…

Ying'er was very worried: "Is Miss under too much pressure? Are you putting too much pressure on yourself?"

Hearing this, Mu Tingting not only felt upset, but also began to have a headache.

Lately, she has indeed been restless, unable to eat or sleep well, and plagued by nightmares every night.

Throughout the day, except for a brief respite when doing embroidery, my mind is constantly on edge.

Now that we're in the palace, my nerves are only on edge.

"Go out for a bit, leave me alone for a while."

She pressed her aching head and simply leaned against the small couch.

Ying'er knew she was upset, so she simply lowered the curtains on both sides and planned to wait for her at the door.

Mu Tingting closed her eyes, but the noise around her didn't subside. It sounded like someone was babbling incoherently, making sarcastic remarks, sometimes real, sometimes illusory, sometimes near, sometimes far.

"I think Princess Ding'an is right. How could the daughter of a military general only know how to embroider?"

"Yes, I heard that the embroidered pouch even received praise from the Empress."

"So what? You're such a petty person, aren't you ashamed of yourself!"

"Exactly, it's shameful!"

The last two words seemed to be emphasized, constantly echoing in Mu Tingting's ears.

In a daze, she felt as if she had returned to that spring day four years ago, when her mother, Madam Fan, suddenly took a set of clothes and walked into Tingshui Nuange.

"Put this on, and come with me to see Lady Hou in a little while."

She was startled and stammered, "To see the Lady of the Marquis?"

"Yes."

Madam Fan's expression was solemn, and her tone was even more stern: "When you see Madam later, you must act as if you were Xia Ximo, understand?"

Mu Tingting was terrified and tried to refuse: "Mother, I don't want to go..."

"Don't you want to go?"

Madam Fan stared coldly at her: "You have to go, whether you like it or not. Your cousin is sickly; we don't even know if she'll survive this winter."

"We spend so much money on her every day, and she takes so many expensive medicines, but her health hasn't improved at all. Are we supposed to keep supporting her like this?"

Suddenly, her tone softened: "Tingting, since the Lady of the Marquis has never met Ximo anyway, it's the same if you go to see him on her behalf."

Urged by her mother, she reluctantly went to see Lady Rong, the wife of the Marquis.

It wasn't what she had imagined.

Lady Hou was gentle and kind, spoke with propriety, and her every move exuded the elegance of a distinguished family.

She bestowed upon herself many things, each one precious and rare.

They were all things I had never seen before in Xiling County.

The meeting was a great success. As expected, the Lady of the Marquis had no suspicions, and Lady Fan's eyes and brows were full of joy.

Mu Tingting, however, always felt a sense of guilt.

She knew that her fate had changed from that moment on.

As long as you behave well, you can marry into the Marquis's household.

In the future, she will also be a dignified and elegant lady of the Marquis.

But whenever she wakes up in the middle of the night, she still trembles with fear.

She could only confide in her mother, but all she received was blame.

"I've wasted so much time teaching you! Are you really willing to stay in Xiling County for the rest of your life and marry some ordinary man?"

"Mu Tingting, don't embarrass me!"

Shame!

These two words hit her right in the face, forcing her to swallow back all her panic, unease, grievances, and resentment.

Mu Tingting leaned against the small couch, feeling drowsy, her thoughts like a densely packed web of needles…

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and saw a white figure standing by the small couch, like a thin veil, making it impossible to distinguish between reality and illusion.

"Who are you?"

Strangely, she didn't feel afraid when she looked at the white figure.

The white-clad figure smiled sweetly: "We've met before, have you forgotten so quickly?"

Hearing her charming voice, Mu Tingting immediately remembered.

That day at the Duke of Du's mansion, in the pavilion by the lake, the woman was drinking with His Highness the Crown Prince.

"I remember now..."

"Not too stupid."

A white shadow, like smoke, drifted over, carrying a cool, refreshing fragrance.

Mu Tingting then felt a little scared; "You...you're not human?"

Bai Ying laughed and said, "Of course not. If it were a person, they couldn't help you."

"You...you're going to help me?"

Mu Tingting seemed incredulous.

"Of course, your father, Mu Zheng, came to me precisely to help you marry Ren Fengjue smoothly, right?"

The white figure hovered beside her shoulder, breathing softly: "I can help you, but the question is, are you willing?"

Mu Tingting's heart raced, and she almost blurted out, "I...of course I'm willing. If you can help me, I'll agree to anything you ask."

"very good."

Bai Ying smiled and said, "As long as you're willing, everything will be fine. From now on, you are me, and I am you."

"I can help you get what you want."

"At the same time, your body will also be used by me."

"Would you be willing?"

Words laced with a bewitching intent, like a wisp of smoke, lingered around my ear.

Mu Tingting felt as if a gentle hand was soothing her heart, gradually dispelling all her anxiety and unease.

Then, a strange smile appeared on her face, and she uttered three words.

"I do."

The wind rustled the beaded curtain.

Ying'er noticed the commotion and subconsciously looked up, only to find it was Mu Tingting.

"Miss? Have you rested well?"

Mu Tingting got up quietly. Compared to her previous panic, she now looked radiant and exuded a calm and composed demeanor rarely seen before.

"Let's go, it's so stuffy here, I want to go for a walk."

These words left Ying'er somewhat confused.

But she didn't dare ask any more questions and followed behind the other person into the Imperial Garden.