Chapter 9: The Great Escape to Victory

After traveling through time for so long, Dingxiang thought of her parents from her previous life for the first time.

They had both committed adultery with their respective first loves. Her cunning mother had seized upon her father's indiscretions to initiate a divorce, even securing a larger share of the family assets. Her father, realizing the situation too late, was consumed by resentment and had attacked her, leading to a confrontation at the police station.

After the divorce, neither parent wanted little Xunxiang, so her grandmother had no choice but to take the seven-year-old to live with her.

Later, both parents had children of their own. Aside from sending Xunxiang monthly living expenses, they were terrified she would come to their homes to "cause trouble." Xunxiang hated them too, and had even less desire to live with them.

Whenever she needed money, she would call them: "I've run out of money; I want to come stay at your house."

The moment she said those words, whether it was her father or her mother, they would rush to transfer money to her, fearing she would disturb their lives.

Both families were well-off and never let Xunxiang lack for money, yet they never gave her even a shred of the love she craved.

As an adult, reflecting on her parents' actions, Xunxiang decided that if "infidelity," "excitement," "lying," and "scheming" were what defined love, she would rather have none at all.

She held no nostalgia for that world. Her grandmother passed away during her fourth year of university. She had wept bitterly, feeling as though there was no one left in the world who loved her, nor anyone left for her to love.

She did not believe in love, and her grandmother's death had taken away all her familial bonds and affection.

In this life, she had been born amidst splendor, only to suffer a sudden catastrophe and end up among the common folk. Thanks to the halo of a "transmigrator," she had not only escaped disaster but had fallen into such a good family; her parents were kind-hearted, far better than certain biological parents.

Dingxiang felt no regret over the loss of wealth; instead, she was filled with the profound relief of a survivor and the fortune of having landed in this home.

Dingxiang had a fuzzy, semi-conscious bowel movement. She didn't dare cry, only letting out a few whimpers. Hearing this, Mrs. Zhang got up to clean her, and Ding Zhao rose to warm some rice water to feed her.

From this, it was clear they not only truly loved this foundling but were also fastidious. Ding Zhao, in particular, possessed none of the chauvinistic tendencies of ancient men; he was diligent and attentive.

The next morning, Ding Zhao went to the market, while Mrs. Zhang brewed rice water in the kitchen.

Dingxiang lay quietly on the heated kang, listening to the chirping of birds outside the window, the laughter and clamor of children and adults in the alley, and the cries of vendors and peddlers outside the alley.

This was the marketplace, naturally different from the Princess's Manor, where one had to walk on tiptoe.

She turned her head toward the source of the white light—the window.

The brightness also highlighted the difference between a wealthy household and a poor one.

In the former, the lights burned like day during the night, and since her canopy bed was far from the window and the corridors were wide, the light during the day and night was roughly the same.

In the latter, the small oil lamp was dim at night, creating a massive contrast between day and night. Based solely on the light, Dingxiang could distinguish day from night, which made her very happy after having been blind for over a month.

Even though she couldn't see, she could feel that there were many birds nearby. This indicated that where she lay was very close to the small window.

Dingxiang felt a sense of liberation, as if the world outside was vast and wide, and she could spread her wings and soar.

Her heart leaped like a bird's, and she kicked her legs wildly in the air.

Without the restraint of swaddling clothes, it was truly refreshing.

After a few kicks, she remembered she wasn't wearing a diaper; the wind felt chilly against her crotch, so she lowered her legs.

Mrs. Zhang placed the rice water on the table, took out a diaper to fasten around her, and picked her up to feed her.

She murmured, "Sigh, I can only wrong my Xiangxiang by making her drink rice water. Once we get on the boat, Mother will pay to hire someone with milk to nurse you. When we get to our hometown, we'll buy goat milk or cow milk for you to drink."

Dingxiang had no intention of drinking a stranger's milk. She gulped down the rice water, acting as if she loved it and felt no grievance at all.

Seeing this, Mrs. Zhang felt even more heartache. "Sigh, my Xiangxiang should have been living a life of gold and silver, yet she suffers with us."

In the morning, the courtyard gate rang twice, both times from neighboring women.

Mrs. Zhang did not let them in, weakly claiming she had a cold and was suffering from a headache and exhaustion.

Unable to enter, the women still gossiped a bit about the officials who had come to the house yesterday looking for the child.

"Oh my, whoever finds that child will strike it rich and have enough to eat and use for a lifetime. Tsk tsk, five hundred taels of silver! Just look at how anxious those parents were. Sigh, why don't I have such good luck..."

Mrs. Zhang echoed a few words and closed the door.

In the afternoon, Ding Zhao returned home. He had not only bought several feet of soft cloth and a bag of cane sugar for Dingxiang, but also a rattle and a small embroidered hat.

Ding Zhao shook the rattle to tease Dingxiang, and Dingxiang graciously showed her appreciation for it. When the sound came from the left, her head turned left; when it came from the right, her head turned right.

This made Ding Zhao very happy, feeling that he had good taste in gifts and that his daughter liked them.

Ding Zhao worked late into the night to prepare the medicinal pills. He placed two in a small pouch and tied the pouch to Dingxiang's small garment. The medicinal scent was quite strong, overpowering the faint fragrance.

Seeing his daughter smile at him, Ding Zhao smiled and instructed, "Remember, Xiangxiang, you must carry this medicine pouch with you every day from now on."

Mrs. Zhang laughed, "You've gone silly with joy; Xiangxiang can't even understand you."

Ding Zhao said, "Our Xiangxiang is smarter than other children. She understands; she just can't speak yet."

On the twenty-second of the eighth month, Ding Zhao and Mrs. Zhang rose at the beginning of the Tiger hour; it was not yet light when they finished breakfast.

After feeding Dingxiang the rice water and placing the crushed medicinal pills in her clothes—which made the medicinal scent even stronger—they poured the remaining rice water into a small copper pot, wrapped it in a quilt to keep it warm so she could be fed twice on the road.

To better resemble a woman in the nursing period, Mrs. Zhang stuffed two clumps of cotton into her chest to make them appear larger.

The night was as cold as water, and the sky was full of stars.

Mrs. Zhang carried Dingxiang on her back, draped a cloth over her, and headed toward the nearby street corner with two bundles. The donkey cart was waiting for them there.

Ding Zhao went to invite the landlord from the previous alley to hand over the house, then carried two large baskets of belongings to meet up with Mrs. Zhang.

By leaving at this hour, the neighbors wouldn't see them, and they would arrive at the South City Gate just as the Rabbit hour began, when the gates opened.

Dingxiang felt a sense of a "victorious escape"—anxious and excited, yet tinged with a hint of regret and reluctance.

Last night, when the mourning period ended, the Princess and the young master should have already returned to the manor. They certainly hadn't realized the child had been swapped; otherwise, the capital would not have been so quiet last night—there would have been a massive search.

Perhaps it was truly as the old woman said: the Princess's health was already poor, and with the added grief and exhaustion, her condition had worsened, leaving her unable to even glance at her daughter. Even if the young master had seen his sister, with the medicinal ointment on her face, he wouldn't have noticed anything unusual.

Regardless of the reason, losing one's daughter in one's own home was a failure of motherhood.

Dingxiang was very disappointed in the Princess; she truly did not care for the child. If she had kept the child close, known everything about her, or had trusted servants watch closely, or even found an absolutely loyal wet nurse, no one would have dared to plot such a heartless scheme.

Dingxiang had initially thought that transmigrating meant she could just lie flat, cling to powerful thighs, and enjoy life as a form of revenge. She hadn't expected a single switch to send her to the countryside, thousands of miles away from the capital.

The plot had been forcibly changed from a classical historical fantasy to a farming and business story.