《A Match Made In Heaven (Jade Pair)》


 CH 1.1

    It was the first year of the Shengli1 era, the day after New Year¡¯s Eve, and it was snowing heavily. Buddhist pagodas of different sizes stood unevenly amidst the snow and mist.


    Luoyang appeared like a land for immortals overnight.


    As soon as Ming Huashang raised her head, she could see the golden phoenix entering the clouds from the top of the Vientiane Shrine. Even while shrouded by the thick mist, and heavy snow, none of this could hide the phoenix¡¯s spirit and its fluttering wings which desired to fly.


    Ming Huashang withdrew her gaze and sneezed due to the cold.


    Zhaocai was the same as usual, prattling endlessly to her, ¡°Miss, it¡¯s fine that you like to sleep in, but today is the day to greet the Old Madam. How could you dare to sleep in like usual today as well?¡±


    A bright red cloak covered Ming Huashang from head to toe, and the cloak was trimmed with rabbit fur. The fine and soft fur collar covered most of her face making her voice indistinct.


    Zhaocai thought she heard the girl say something, but when she looked back, that face, which was more delicate and beautiful than new year¡¯s paintings, was buried in the white fur. It didn¡¯t look like she was talking.


    She thought, perhaps it was because the wind outside was too strong, so she misheard. She continued to talk to Ming Huashang like normal, ¡°Miss, you can¡¯t be so undisciplined anymore. You are the eldest di2 daughter of our duke manor¡¯s main branch3, the legitimate daughter of the Imperial Duke4 Zhen. I know you never cared before and no one dares to chide you, but after the New Year, you will be sixteen. It¡¯ll be time to arrange your marriage. Madam left early, so your marriage will have to be arranged by the Old Madam. If you don¡¯t try to warm up to her, how can the Old Madam think of you?¡±


    From greetings to the topic of marriage, it was like Zhaocai opened a chatterbox, filled with never-ending long-winded prattle. First, she weighed some prospective young masters of Luoyang who have yet to begin marriage talks then especially emphasized Ming Huashang¡¯s superior family background, and finally concluded, ¡°Miss, although you never tried to be the best in anything and have always been too lazy to compete for recognition in the four arts5, but with the Duke manor and second young master by your side, you¡¯re guaranteed to have a good marriage.¡±


    Zhaocai really deserved to be her maid. She could embellish both the good and the bad in such a nice way. There were herds of aristocratic families in Shendu6, dukes and marquises all around, and there was especially no shortage of well-bred noble family daughters. Ming Huashang never competed for a reputation in the four arts; was it really because she didn¡¯t want to?


    After weighing the odds, even her most biased maid knew that Ming Huashang¡¯s only advantage was her family background, which proved just how authentic a salted fish7 Ming Huashang was.


    Ming Huashang sighed again. Even Zhaocai had more initiative than herself, which made Ming Huashang feel a tiny bit ashamed. Of course, she wasn¡¯t ashamed about not working hard, but from the guilt that she was probably going to let Zhaocai down.


    Because she didn¡¯t even have the family background advantage anymore.


    Ming Huashang woke up late today, not entirely because she wanted to snooze, but because of a nightmare, she had last night. In that dream, a slender and beautiful woman with a temperament like an orchid came to the Ming family claiming that she was the real daughter of the Ming family. Along with her claim, she presented physical evidence.


    After a period of turmoil, her father, Duke Zhen came over from the back courtyard. It looked like he had found the answer after an investigation, and emotionlessly described a series of events from the past.


    That year, Wang Yulan, the official wife of Duke Zhen, gave birth to a pair of rare fraternal twins. The elder brother was named Ming Huazhang, and the younger sister was named Ming Huashang. Unfortunately, Wang Yulan collapsed from excessive bleeding post-birth and passed out before she could even see the children. This gave an evil servant a chance to cause trouble. When Duke Zhen named the children, he didn¡¯t know that the younger sister of the fraternal twins had been switched.


    This evil servant happened to be Wang Yulan¡¯s wetnurse, Su-shi8. Everyone from the inner courtyard had to respectfully call her momo9 Su. Although momo Su was a noble family¡¯s servant, in fact, she owned land in the countryside, so she had some personal wealth.


    However, this bit of family property was nothing in comparison to the Duke manor. It just so happened that momo Su¡¯s daughter-in-law gave birth to a daughter; she was stealthy and secretly swapped the two children. She let Ming Huashang, who was supposed to be the daughter of a common farmer, enjoy seventeen years of wealth and honor in Luoyang, while the real daughter of the Duke manor lived among the commoners, settled down in the countryside, and became a servant¡¯s granddaughter, Su Yuji.


    Seventeen years later, Su Yuji, a girl raised by a common farmer, yet still grew up to become outstanding, found out the truth and went to the door of the Ming family herself. Only then did Duke Zhen learn that the di young miss who had lived with him for seventeen years was a fake.


    T/N: Since this novel is set in a real period of ancient China, loosely follows that period¡¯s timeline of events, and even uses real historical figures, I thought it would be worthwhile to try and explain how some of these events and people were significant and a little bit of their history in the footnotes.


    Also, I¡¯ll do a daily release for all the parts of Chapter 1, so stay tuned. Enjoy!

 CH 1.2

    Chapter 1 Part 2


    After the truth came to light, the entire Ming family was in an uproar. Even Duke Zhen was about to order his servants to set up a carriage on the spot and send Ming Huashang straight back to the commoner Su family. In the end, his shizi1 Ming Huazhang who couldn¡¯t overlook this came forward to stop him. Only then did Duke Zhen reluctantly give up.


    But even so, Ming Huashang was driven to a remote side courtyard and left to fend for herself. The real daughter, Su Yuji, changed her surname back to Ming, recognized her ancestors and returned to her clan. The Ming Huashang in her dream continued to be a salted fish, eating and sleeping every day. She didn¡¯t take things too hard.


    This was very much like Ming Huashang; no matter whether it was in the good or bad times, she would always insist on not making progress. That was why one night with a bright moon after she fell asleep, she died silently.


    She didn¡¯t even know how she died.


    After being startled awake from fright, Ming Huashang remained terrified in the darkness for a long time. That heart-wrenching pain was ever present in her body and lingered for a long time. She stared at her brocade screen for half the night and couldn¡¯t shut her eyes until dawn.


    Not long after, she was awakened by Zhaocai and Jinbao, and went to greet the Old Madam.


    After thinking about it for half the night, Ming Huashang was much calmer when she went out that morning. But she still couldn¡¯t figure it out, who wanted to kill her? Why did they want to kill her?


    Before Ming Huashang¡¯s identity was exposed, she was just an ordinary girl in Luoyang who was part of a family recognized for its meritorious service. Her father, Duke Zhen, Ming Huaiyuan, was a minister under Emperor Gaozong¡¯s2 reign. Now that the Empress was in power, the Ming family could not be placed in an important position, but with the shade of their ancestors there to protect them, they were not considered destitute. There were a bunch of families like theirs in Luoyang, so they were nothing special.


    Her mother, Wang Yulan, was a daughter of the Wang clan from Taiyuan3. She was born to one of the most prominent aristocratic families belonging to the Five Surnames and Seven Families4, and had a very noble reputation. However, under the suppression of Emperor Gaozong and the Empress, these families had already become empty shells with only good reputations to their name. They no longer had any political influence.


    Wang Yulan and Ming Huaiyuan had three children in total. The eldest son didn¡¯t survive and died at the age of two, so their remaining two children were their fraternal twins.


    It was a pity that Wang Yulan also passed away after giving birth to the twins. Ming Huashang and Ming Huazhang lost their mother at birth, and Duke Zhen lost his son and wife. These losses made him use the remainder of his affection to treasure and dote on the twins. For their sake, Duke Zhen didn¡¯t even remarry. All these years, his heart was single-mindedly attached to the brother and sister pair, he didn¡¯t even have any shu children.


    Her father had already inherited the noble title, but since her grandmother Ming, Zheng-Shi, was still alive, the family did not separate. They lived with her second shu uncle, Ming Huaiyuan5, and his third di uncle Ming Huaihan. Both uncles had married wives and started families, each having their own children.


    These were all the members of the Ming family, and it wasn¡¯t considered complicated. Ming Huashang thought, was it the second branch, or the third branch who wanted to kill her?


    It was possible. Since momo Su dared to secretly switch the blood of the Duke manor, with such inferior blood flowing within Ming Huashang¡¯s body, how could she deserve to continue living with Ming family?


    Or was it that real daughter Su Yuji?


    That would make sense as well. After all, Ming Huashang replaced her identity, gained her relatives, and enjoyed wealth and honor in Luoyang, yet she shamelessly stayed with the Ming family. It was reasonable for her to get angry enough to make a move.


    Or was it her father Duke Zhen or her elder brother Ming Huazhang?


    Each of them seemed to have a motive, but neither of them was conclusive. The second branch and the third branch would eventually separate from the manor sooner or later. Momo Su tampered with Duke Zhen¡¯s blood, not theirs, so why would they want to get involved? To put it bluntly, even if their motive was to obtain the title and family property, the second and third branches should poison Ming Huazhang. What¡¯s the use of poisoning Ming Huashang?


    The real daughter Su Yuji made an aggressive return and overthrew Ming Huashang, the fake daughter. Ming Huashang had been swept out like dust, and took shelter in a remote courtyard where she kept to herself and didn¡¯t scheme, so why would Su Yuji feel the need to kill her?


    As for Ming Huazhang, it was even more unnecessary. If he really wanted Ming Huashang to die, it would have been enough to not stop Duke Zhen in the beginning and let her go back to the Su family. If there was an accident on the way there or at the Su family, making her disappear without anyone noticing would be guaranteed. Why would Ming Huazhang make such an unnecessary move, let her continue to live with the Ming family, and then dirty his own space?


    Then could it have been Duke Zhen? Ming Huashang tried to hypothesize it, but couldn¡¯t imagine that her father, who used to grant all her wishes and always let her have her way, could be so heartless.


    After being in a father-daughter relationship for so many years, would Duke Zhen have such an urge to kill her just because she was switched in by her elder and deceived the Ming family? Could it be that her father¡¯s company and indulgence over these years were all pretend?


    Ming Huashang¡¯s head hurt from thinking. She didn¡¯t like this feeling at all, suspecting whether everyone around her wanted to kill her or not.


    It wasn¡¯t that she never doubted the authenticity of this dream, but everything was too detailed, from Duke Zhen¡¯s subtle movements as he spoke in the dream and the behavior and actions of the people around her were exactly the same as in real life! Even until now, Ming Huashang could clearly remember the appearance of the real daughter Su Yuji.


    Could a face she didn¡¯t recognize appear in the dream? Ming Huashang didn¡¯t know. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a forked road beside her, paused slightly, and suddenly changed direction.