Chapter 2: The Switch Plan

With a flurry of disorganized footsteps, the little boy ran into the main hall.

"Mother."

The little boy gave his mother a formal salutation, then buried his head against his younger sister, unwilling to pull away.

"Sister smells so good. When she gets older, I want to hold her and smell her every day."

Little Boy Geer visited the West Courtyard to see his sister almost every day, but since she spent most of her time sleeping, he could only catch a glimpse of her from the doorway. Occasionally, when he wanted to look closer, before he could even lean in, Nanny Li would say the baby was hungry and needed milk...

Princess Dongyang let out a soft laugh. "You are the older brother; you must protect your sister in the future."

"Of course. A cousin's sister isn't fragrant, and a brother's sister isn't fragrant; only my sister is fragrant, the best smelling of all."

This was the little boy's greatest pride. His face was very close to Xun Xiang; the breath from his words blew against her face, making it feel itchy and tingly.

Xun Xiang liked the thin little boy. She reached out and pinched one of his little "ear flaps." It felt plump and soft in her hand, not thin at all.

Having smelled her enough, the little boy lifted his head, looking as if he had discovered a new continent. "Ah, Sister's smile is so beautiful, even more beautiful than the flowers in the courtyard."

Princess Dongyang and the servants all laughed.

An old maid added playfully, "The little lady looks just like Her Highness the Princess and the Consort; of course she is beautiful."

A young maid added, "The little master is handsome too."

The other servants chimed in, their praise making Princess Dongyang's eyes crinkle with laughter.

At the end of the Chen hour, while the people of the Princess's Manor were preparing to welcome guests, a messenger suddenly arrived from the palace with news of a death: the Empress Dowager, who had been bedridden with a long illness, had passed away.

Although the Empress Dowager was not Princess Dongyang's biological grandmother, the Princess still wept bitterly. She hurriedly handed her daughter to Nanny Li and changed into plain mourning clothes with her son to go to the palace to mourn.

Hearing those disorganized footsteps gradually fading away, Xun Xiang felt an inexplicable sense of panic in her heart, mixed with an indescribable sense of loss.

She knew that the panic and loss were not for the Empress Dowager, whom she had never met; she had no emotional bond with her.

This emotion was for those two departing relatives.

But why did she feel this way?

A baby cries whenever they are sad.

"Wah~~ Wah~~"

A pacifier was forcibly shoved into Xun Xiang's mouth. She turned her head to dodge it, but it was shoved back in. After a few rounds, she could not resist the milky scent and began to suckle.

After eating and drinking her fill, Xun Xiang fell into a daze and drifted to sleep. When she woke up again, she overheard two people whispering.

One voice was unfamiliar and somewhat old; Xun Xiang had never heard it. The other voice was familiar—it was the wet nurse, Nanny Li.

"Nanny He, are we really going to do this? If we are discovered, it is a crime punishable by death," Nanny Li's voice betrayed her trepidation.

Previously, because they had leverage over the man and his son, and were driven by massive profits, she had agreed to do it. She didn't dare refuse; such an important matter had been shared with her, and refusing meant death. But now that the moment had arrived, she was afraid.

Nanny He whispered, "Don't worry, they won't find out. Her Highness the Princess won't return to the manor for another three days. Giving birth nearly cost her half her life, and with the added exhaustion and grief, she will surely fall ill upon returning home. The Consort is away, and Boy Geer is still small; who will notice Xiang-jie'er?

"Feng-jie'er is only one day older than Xiang-jie'er; they look alike, and their weight is similar. A one-month-old baby changes every day. If we let her fall ill, her face will be covered in rashes and she will smell of medicine. Once the illness passes, the fragrance will be gone, and her appearance will have changed slightly. Aside from you and Xia the Second's wife, who serve her closely, no one will notice anything amiss."

Xia the Second's wife was Nanny Xia.

Xun Xiang was so terrified she nearly soiled herself.

*Holy crap, they're going to swap her?* They were incredibly bold. She was the Princess's daughter and the Emperor's granddaughter.

Xun Xiang strained her ears to listen closely, analyzing the situation with her dim-witted brain.

This "Feng-jie" who looked like her must be a relative. Judging by the name, that family had quite high ambitions. But Xun Xiang had limited information; she didn't know what kind of relative Feng-jie was, or whose family Nanny He belonged to.

One thing was certain: Nanny Li was a disloyal servant.

Nanny Li said, "True, if the little lady changes, Xia the Second's wife will definitely notice. If she finds something wrong, she will surely report it to Her Highness, and we'll be dead."

Nanny He took an oil-paper packet from her bosom and handed it to her. "Here, put this medicinal powder in Xia the Second's water. She will break out in rashes all over her body tonight. Once she contracts a 'malignant illness,' she will be cast out and will no longer be qualified to be the lady's wet nurse."

Nanny Li said hesitantly, "Xiang-jie'er has a unique fragrance; won't she be discovered if she is taken to the Xun Manor?"

Xun Xiang gained another piece of information: the Xun Manor.

If Feng-jie looked like the original body, it was undoubtedly her grandfather's manor; Feng-jie must be the daughter of her uncle or her father's younger brother.

Nanny He said, "How could we let her live? She will die in the night after being brought back."

Xun Xiang was so terrified she lost control of her bowels and bladder again.

*So I can only live until tomorrow night? I've only lived for thirty-one days. Am I the shortest-lived transmigrator ever?*

Nanny Li breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Have you all made the arrangements?"

Nanny He whispered, "For this matter, the First Madam, the Third Master, and the Third Mistress have plotted for a long time. Using the excuse that Feng-jie'er's health is poor, only her wet nurse and the Third Mistress are allowed to care for her closely. Hearing from the imperial physicians that the Empress Dowager won't last much longer, the manor has made all the necessary preparations. To implement the plan, the First Madam feigned illness to avoid mourning in the palace so she could arrange things in the manor.

"Xia the Second's wife will be sent out of the Princess's Manor before tomorrow morning, leaving you as the only one to serve Xiang-jie'er. Use this handkerchief to cover the lady's nose, and she will fall into a deep sleep. At the beginning of the noon hour, I will bring some clothes and food to induce lactation; Feng-jie'er will be in the box. When you leave, use the lady's name to offer some food to the Grandmother, and I will take Xiang-jie'er away in the box.

"We will first give Feng-jie'er some medicine so she breaks out in rashes this afternoon. You will divide this medicinal powder into six doses and put it in the water to feed Feng-jie'er... oh, no, I mean Xiang-jie'er. The rashes on her face will be more severe, so those unfamiliar with her won't notice a change. She wears a small sachet that smells similar to Xiang-jie'er's natural scent. Then, we will call an imperial physician; the medicinal decoctions and ointments will also mask and confuse the fragrance on the lady's body.

"The powder will be administered once every four days, so she will have rashes for a month. A two-month-old baby and a one-month-old are naturally different; it's perfectly logical that her natural scent vanished after falling ill. No one will realize the person has been swapped."

Xun Xiang gained another vital piece of information: the mastermind behind this evil deed was the First Madam, who was also her grandmother.

Xun Xiang figured that the First Madam was likely not the Consort's biological mother, but a stepmother or a legal mother. And that "Third Master" must be the First Madam's biological son.

The Third Master's daughter, Feng-jie, was thus a cousin to this body; no wonder they looked somewhat alike.

Nanny Li's voice trembled, "Will the imperial physician find out?"

Nanny He said, "Don't worry. This poison is a secret medicine the First Madam had someone buy in the Western Regions. The imperial physician won't be able to detect it; he will assume Xia the Second's wife caught a contagion..."