Su Jing Fei awoke to a throbbing pain in her head and winced as she moved to sit upright from the ground where she laid. Her mind was hazy, and her vision blurred from the noise of chatter and a constant ringing in her ears. The last thing she remembered was a shaking of the earth, then the lights of her room went out and everything had been engulfed in darkness. She was sure it had been an earthquake, but… as she glanced around, shock and fear struck her heart. She was no longer in her room back in the present, but she seemed to be sitting in the ground of a courtyard bearing an ancient style. It was similar to the courtyards styled in the large inn she managed for the corporate company, but this one looked highly authentic. Not to mention, the people surrounding her wore robes and dresses of the ancient style as if she had just suddenly landed in the past! For a moment, she thought she had maybe just dozed off and awoken at work, but this place was unfamiliar. However, someone seemed to know who she was as they shouted her name.

“Su Jing Fei! You vile woman!” An angry voice shouted, catching her attention. It was an exceptionally handsome young man looking to be in his late teens. His handsome face was twisted in anger and through clenched teeth, he shouted more at her. “Know your place! It’s not enough that you have to brag everyday about our engagement, but to attack and injure an innocent girl is too much! I won’t stand for your evil ways any longer!”

The people on the side clamored in agreement, shouting “You should have just died!” “Shameless!” “Bully!” “Serves you right!” Their shouts seemed to grow louder, and Su Jing Fei winced from the growing headache and pain radiating from her head. She reached up and carefully touched the back of her skull to find blood wetting her hair and clumping it together. She was dumbfounded at the situation she found herself in. She didn’t know where she was, who she was, but even just looking at the pale white hands before her, she knew she wasn’t in her same body. Could this be the rumored transmigration she’d heard about?

“Da xiaojie*(eldest daughter) please be careful,” cried a small girl at her side. The girl looked to be around 14 or 15. “Your head is bleeding!” The young girl kneeled beside Su Jing Fei and rested a small trembling hand on Su Jing Fei to help her sit upright.

“What’s going on here?” Shouted an angry voice. An older woman broke through the crowd and glared at the people at the center. When her eyes landed on the angry man, she automatically kneeled in greeting, speaking the words “Greetings, your Highness, third prince Chen Hui Zhe. My name is Fu Bao Zhai, and I am the manager for Oak Tree Courtyard. I apologize that we have to meet under such circumstances, but may I inquire what is happening here to cause a ruckus in our Oak Tree Courtyard?” Although the Oak Tree Courtyard was usually a place of scholarly discussions and occasional entertainment, this particular place allowed for men and women to mingle casually. Men would naturally seek to impress young women by outdoing each other, and young women would sometimes argue and fight for the attention of the young men. Fortunately, Fu Bao Zhai was used to such disruptions, and she even had the backing of the Emperor to discipline as needed. Though, this was the first time a prince had caused such a scene in her Oak Tree Courtyard.

“You may rise,” spoke third prince Chen Hui Zhe in a restrained voice, as though he couldn’t contain his anger at the next words. “The peace of this courtyard has been ruined by this vile woman Su Jing Fei!” His finger rudely pointed in her direction.

Su Jing Fei looked up to face him and finally noticed that there was a small girl in his embrace. She looked young and had an innocent and pitiful appearance, trembling in his big arms. However, Su Jing Fei definitely caught a look of satisfaction and pleasure on the girl’s face as Chen Hui Zhe continued to berate her. This girl definitely wasn’t as innocent or pitiful as she seemed.

“She attacked an innocent girl, harming her. Using her power, she bullied and attacked this girl, and she has no conscience to even apologize!” Chen Hui Zhe placed full blame on her, but Su Jing Fei saw that the other girl was unharmed at all. It was she who was injured. However, memories seemed to flow into Su Jing Fei’s mind. She remembered the original body’s owner seeking out the young girl, indeed berating her with words and bullying her. When the original body’s owner was just about to pour hot tea over the girl, the young girl had screamed loudly and the prince had come to save her. In his anger, he had thrown the cup of tea at her which hit her on her head as she could not dodge it. This scene… looked familiar. Felt familiar. And before Su Jing Fei could figure out why, she found herself being dragged to her feet by two women. They must be yatou*(servant girl(s)) of the courtyard.

“Your Highness,” spoke a soft trembling voice. The young girl with the pitiful experience somehow had mustered up tears in her eyes and flashed a look of fear and sadness. If Su Jing Fei hadn’t seen that look earlier on the girl’s face, she would have indeed also pitied the girl. But she knew that the young girl was no more innocent than the original body’s owner. Chen Hui Zhe turned to the young girl and stopped his shouting to speak softly to the girl.

With the momentary silence, Fu Bao Zhai took in the scene before her. She saw the young prince fawning over an young unknown girl in his arms, and although Chen Hui Zhe had spoke of the young girl being harmed, there were no such wounds on the body that could be seen. However, the woman had noticed that Su Jing Fei was the harmed party, with blood still dripping from the wound on her head. Everybody knew the situation. Chen Hui Zhe never wanted to marry Su Jing Fei who had been his betrothed since young. Su Jing Fei, however, was madly in love with the third prince and would be arrogant and brag about it so much that her arrogance and love was known throughout the capital. Fu Bao Zhai didn’t know what to do. On one hand, it was clear that Chen Hui Zhe was a prince and she could not offend him; however, Su Jing Fei was also his future wife and future wangfei.*(wife of a wangye/prince) On top of that, her father was the Right Prime Minister Su Xuan Mo and her maternal family were the esteemed military Qu family. Her background wasn’t light here either. Fu Bao Zhai’s eyes suspiciously narrowed onto the young girl in Chen Hui Zhe’s arms. What kind of girl would cause such a ruckus in her Oak Tree Courtyard?

Suddenly, Su Jing Fei had a terrifying realization. All of this looked really familiar because she recognized the scene from a movie she’d seen before! The movie was called Blossoms in the Wind, and the only reason she had watched it was because a friend had recommended it to her due to the fact that Su Jing Fei managed a prestigious old-style inn and also because the villain of the story had the same name as her! She can’t believe she actually fell into the world of Blossoms in the Wind! Or wait… had she died from the earthquake in the real world? Su Jing Fei’s thoughts were interrupted by a sudden dizziness that washed over her, causing her legs to tremble in weakness.

Fu Bao Zhai noticed Su Jing Fei’s condition and immediately spoke. “Your Highness, if I may suggest, it would be best to invite a doctor to come tend to the injuries. Although there has been a disturbance at Oak Tree Courtyard today, it is important to tend to wounds immediately. We need to take care of leaving no injuries to scar for the future of these guniang*(young unmarried girls).” Her words spoke of concern and were reasonable, but there was also a hint of warning in her tone at the ‘guniang.’ Everyone heard it, and their eyes locked onto Chen Hui Zhe who was quite closely embracing one of those guniang in his arms rather shamelessly. But he was a prince, and no one could really reprimand him. But they knew that the Emperor had strict rules for the Oak Tree Courtyard about propriety and manners in regards to male and female interactions, and Fu Bao Zhai’s strictness was also a reason why she had been hired as the manager of Oak Tree Courtyard where such interactions took place.

Chen Hui Zhe swallowed his anger, glaring once more at Su Jing Fei. Although he hated her, he couldn’t afford to let her die or else his father would be angry with him. Little did he know that the real Su Jing Fei had already died and been replaced with another person. “Call the imperial doctor to come quickly! After the imperial doctor has come, I’ll be bringing Su Jing Fei to the Imperial Palace to discuss this matter with the Emperor!”

Now that Su Jing Fei recognized the scene, she knew what was going to happen. In the movie as well, Chen Hui Zhe had brought the original Su Jing Fei to the palace in order to break off the engagement. This was good for her though, because now that she had been forcibly transmigrated into the body of this villainous Su Jing Fei, she wanted to avoid trouble so breaking off the engagement would be best than fighting for it when she didn’t even want it herself!

“Fu Bao Zhai thanks the third prince for his kindness and will be escorting these two guniang to rooms where their injuries can be attended to.” With a flick of her wrist, the two yatou supported Su Jing Fei as they move away from the courtyard and into a room. The young girl at Su Jing Fei’s side followed. They helped her lay down into a bed and left.

“Da xiaojie,” cried the young girl at her side. The young girl was kneeling and sniffling, holding back tears. “If it wasn’t for that horrible girl Jiang Li Ling, you wouldn’t be suffering like this!”

Now that she was lying down, Su Jing Fei found it easier to think and she recalled the face of the young girl in Chen Hui Zhe’s arms. From her memories, she only remembered a little bit about the plot of the movie Blossoms in the Wind. That young girl… was the protagonist Jiang Li Ling! In the movie, Jiang Li Ling was the daughter of a concubine, and although she was of low birth, Jiang Li Ling was known for her kindness among the common people and nobility. She happened to meet the third prince Chen Hui Zhe and they fell in love. He fell in love with her kind and quirky demeanor, and she fell in love with his heroic nature and handsome face. However, Chen Hui Zhe was engaged to Su Jing Fei who was the eldest daughter of the Su family. Her father was the Right Prime Minister and her maternal family was the military Qu family that were stationed at the border of their Chu country. The details were hazy, but she remembered that the fate of Su Jing Fei was for the engagement to be cancelled and for her to be sent to the countryside. Beyond that, she didn't really remember much about the original Su Jing Fei in the movie. If that was her fate, then so be it. It would be easier for her to live in the countryside where she wasn’t around people who knew the original Su Jing Fei, and it would also help her avoid all the troubles of the capital city where officials and families were always fighting. As Su Jing Fei closed her eyes, she quietly spoke some words of prayer in her mind for the original Su Jing Fei who had already passed. However, she didn’t know if she wanted to thank or curse whoever gave her this second lease of life because it seemed to be an ill-fated one.

Meanwhile, Fu Bao Zhai greeted an imperial doctor at the entrance to Oak Tree Courtyard and guided him to the adjacent rooms where the two girls were resting. Because it was improper for a man and a woman to be alone in a room together, she had originally advised Chen Hui Zhe to wait in the courtyard but he demanded to be at the young girl’s side and so she had a mama*(old female servant), a eunuch, and two yatou watching the room under strict orders. Just was they reached the rooms, Fu Bao Zhai hesitated between entering either the room with Chen Hui Zhe or Su Jing Fei. She knew Su Jing Fei had a more serious wound, but Chen Hui Zhe was a prince and she couldn’t afford to offend him since he had the Emperor’s favor. With a sigh, she pushed open the door to Chen Hui Zhe’s room and entered with the imperial doctor.

“It hurts, wu.” Sniffled the young girl on the bed. Her arm was being tenderly held by Chen Hui Zhe. Fu Bao Zhai’s face stiffened, and she announced in a sharp tone, “The imperial doctor has arrived!”

Chen Hui Zhe jolted in surprise, but recovered quickly with a smile. He didn’t seem ashamed of holding the young girl’s hand and instead, gently laid it on the bed before turning to greet the imperial doctor.

“This imperial doctor greets his Highness, Chen Hui Zhe.” The doctor kneeled before the prince.

“Rise, and I thank the kind doctor for coming so quick!” He helped the doctor up and led him to the bed. “This is a friend, Jiang Li Ling. Her father is the Minister of Justice, Jiang Wen Chang.”

Fu Bao Zhai gave a momentary look of surprise. Who knew that the young girl was actually the er xiaojie*(second daughter) of the Minister of Justice’s Jiang family. However, her eyes narrowed in slight annoyance. She knew the er xiaojie of the Jiang family was shu born*(born of a concubine), and at 14 years old, she wouldn't even reach marriageable age yet for another three years. Although presently, the rules weren’t as strict about male and female interactions before marriage, it still adhered to much of it. The rules were mostly lightened in terms of allowing men and women to meet to further allow compatible marriages; however, many still looked down upon unsupervised prior meetings between an unmarried man and unmarried woman. Judging by the familiarity between the third prince and Jiang Li Ling, they had met up before; and it seemed to be even intimately at times. Her dislike for the er xiaojie, and even a bit for the third prince, grew even more since Fu Bao Zhai had a strict attitude to adherence of propriety and rules. But she kept her mouth shut, and let the imperial doctor examine Jiang Li Ling in silence.

It didn’t take long before the imperial doctor sighed. When he had first been called out of the imperial palace and invited by the third prince, he thought it would be for a more important matter but the girl he was tending to was barely injured. A waste of time, honestly; but he had to give face to the prince and spoke in a calm and decisive manner. “Miss Jiang, your injuries are minimal. There is only a small bruise on your wrist that should heal in time. There is no need for medication since the injury is so small and should heal in a day.”

Jiang Li Ling’s face turned red as she lay in the bed. She had been complaining about her wrist because Su Jing Fei had grabbed it to take the tea from her, and she had indeed felt pain so she had cried about her wrist feeling weak and unable to move. She had wanted her injuries to illicite more pity from people, but it was also so that Chen Hui Zhe would hold her hand. Who knew that it was only a bruise… and that her tolerance for pain was so low…

Chen Hui Zhe furrowed his brows. “Are you sure it’s not broken?”

“This imperial doctor is sure. The bones are uninjured, and there are no external wounds. Only a small bruise. Perhaps Miss Jiang had been frightened, but there is no need to worry. It should heal within a day.” The imperial doctor confirmed.

Fu Bao Zhai gave a look of disapproval at Jiang Li Ling because she had also seen the young girl making a big deal of her wrist, but the imperial doctor had just confirmed that it was only a small bruise. However, Chen Hui Zhe breathed a sigh of relief and smiled at Jiang Li Ling who gave a small pitiful and shy smile back. Fu Bao Zhai and the imperial doctor both sighed. They knew that the third prince was already engaged to Su Jing Fei, but for him to be here smiling like this at a young girl… it really was too improper. But they couldn’t reprimand a prince so they could only watch in disapproval.

“Is there anything else this imperial doctor can do for his Highness?” asked the imperial doctor with a bow.

A look of anger flashed through Chen Hui Zhe’s face and he turned away with a cold look. “Go tend to Su Jing Fei in the next room. Make sure she doesn’t die.”

The imperial doctor gave a surprised look and glanced at Fu Bao Zhai who only shook her head in response. Why was the third prince here in this room with the young miss Jiang when his betrothed was in the next room? He knew there was a story here, but he didn’t dare ask what had happened. Fu Bao Zhai and the imperial doctor respectfully left the room and entered the adjacent room. Seeing the blood soaking the bed coverings near Su Jing Fei’s head, they rushed forward. The doctor took ahold of Su Jing Fei’s wrist and checked her pulse. It was only a little abnormal, but that was probably due to the blood loss affecting it. Luckily, there was nothing worrying about it. He sighed and turned to speak to the yatou. “How long has the young miss been unconscious?”

The young girl was still kneeling at her master’s side and cried. “For a few minutes now. She fell asleep after closing her eyes, but I’m afraid to move her or try to wake her in case her wound worsens.”

Fu Bao Zhai furrowed her brows and glanced worriedly at Su Jing Fei’s weak figure on the bed. “Is it fatal?”

The imperial doctor shook his head. “No, but the blood loss most likely caused miss Su to fall asleep. The body is able to repair itself faster without the worry or the pain endured in consciousness. She will be fine after I clean and bandage the wound.” With those words, he set about helping to clean up and bandage the wound on Su Jing Fei’s head. Luckily, it was only a small cut. It had only bled a lot due to its location on the head, where wounds tend to bleed more profusely. “Make sure the young miss Su takes one of these pills when she awakes to help with the pain and once the wound scabs, apply this cream to increase healing and also avoid scarring.”

The young yatou took the medication into her hands and handled it with extreme care. She thanked the imperial doctor profusely and kowtowed three times on the floor. Fu Bao Zhai breathed a sigh of relief and also thanked the imperial doctor for his help before guiding him out of the room and away.

Once Su Jing Fei awoke again, she found that her wound had been tended to and got the whole story from the young yatou. Su Jing Fei wanted to thank the young girl but didn’t remember her name; however, a word popped into her head like a memory. “Yi...ze?”

The young yatou’s eyes lit up. “Yes, da xiaojie! It’s me, Yize!” The yatou quickly got the pill from the table gave it to Su Jing Fei. “The imperial doctor also said for you to take this pill. He said it should help with the pain.”

Su Jing Fei gave a small smile, thanking Yize before taking the pill. The pain in her head became a dull ache, and she sighed in relief. With this, at least her headache will be less and she could think more clearly. She found that although the original Su Jing Fei was no longer, the memories had still remained within the body and occasionally she’d get a flash of a memory. Similar to how currently, Su Jing Fei’s mind showed a memory of a young beggar child on the street. It seemed that the original Su Jing Fei had picked up Yize from the street to become her playmate at home because she had thought the girl was cute and the selfish young Su Jing Fei had wanted someone to boss around secretly. Luckily, the Su family had indulged her because Yizewas brought home and played with her. But it was only for a couple of years before Yize had to leave to train to become a proper yatou. Yize had only returned just recently to serve the original Su Jing Fei, but Su Jing Feicould tell that this body and the original Su Jing Fei trusted Yize a lot. And it also seemed like Yize treasured Su Jing Fei quite a lot because the young girl had saved her from a life of begging. Hopefully, the loyalty was real because Su Jing Fei needed all the help she could get to survive through the next couple of days.

There was a knock on the door before Fu Bao Zhai entered, greeting Su Jing Fei respectfully. “Young miss Su Jing Fei, the third prince Chen Hui Zhe has left for the imperial palace, and instructed us to help prepare a carriage to take you to the imperial palace as well.”

Su Jing Fei nodded her head, careful of the movement of the bandages to avoid reopening her wound. She knew what was going to happen next, so she had to be very careful about the words she spoke to the Emperor. Fu Bao Zhai led them out of the room and to the entrance of the courtyard and into a small carriage. Before they were about to leave, Su Jing Fei turned and bowed respectfully to Fu Bao Zhai. “I thank madame Fu Bao Zhai for having the doctor take care of my wounds. When I get home, I will send the necessary money for the cost of the doctor to this courtyard.”

Fu Bao Zhai shook her head and respectfully declined. “No need. The third prince has already taken care of the payment, but I thank young miss Su for her generosity.” Fu Bao Zhai had been surprised at Su Jing Fei’s offer. The rumors of the capital spoke of a haughty and bragging manner that Su Jing Fei usually conducted herself in, but the girl before her was neither haughty or a braggart. Instead, she carried herself respectfully with a polite manner that was neither overbearing or too familiar. Her appearance was a little disheveled from the injury, but she stood upright with grace and her dark ink eyes reflected pools of calm and coldness. It was an appearance uncommon for any young miss from a noble family, much less one of only 16 years of age. But she shook her head with a sigh and watched to make sure the carriage carried on down the path safely before returning into the Oak Tree Courtyard.