The original Er Jingzhou was born into the Marquis Wu'an’s Household in the Capital.
Unlike most titled nobles who possessed only empty titles without actual office, her father, the Marquis Wu'an, served as Vice Director of the Privy Council. In this time and space, so reminiscent of Qin Jingzhou’s own homeland, it was the Privy Council that oversaw the border armies of Great Qi.
From this, one could see the extent of Marquis Wu'an's power and influence.
Moreover, as the patriarch of a feudal family in a high position, his personal conduct left little to criticize, his temper was relatively mild, and he was quite receptive to advice.
The only thing about Marquis Wu'an worth gossiping about among idle onlookers was that he had married five wives over his life.
His first wife died of illness before reaching thirty, and at her dying wish, he married her full-blooded younger sister—his own sister-in-law.
But less than a year after the wedding, the second wife died of a cold, passing away before the age of twenty.
After a year spent in mourning for his second wife, his mother, the Old Madam, arranged a third—this wife died in childbirth, taking their child with her.
Having lost three wives in succession, the Marquis Wu'an grew disheartened, suspecting he brought ill fortune to his wives. He told his mother there was no need to be in a rush to marry again.
But the Old Madam would not have her son without someone to serve at his side, so she assigned two ladies-in-waiting to attend to him.
Several years passed like this, and as the Marquis Wu'an grew mindful of his mother's advancing age, not wanting her to worry in her old age, and realizing that not having a proper mistress of the household was, indeed, inconvenient, he took his father-in-law's advice and married the half-sister of his first two wives as his fourth wife.
This fourth wife was also the birth mother of the original Er Jingzhou.
After marrying into the Marquis Wu'an’s Household, Er Jingzhou’s birth mother, following an adjustment period, seamlessly molded herself into a textbook feudal mistress who forgot her own self.
She was so virtuous that even the Old Madam couldn’t find fault with her. She poured her heart and soul into raising the son and daughter left behind by the first wife, and even the two children—initially full of suspicion towards her—were "deeply moved".
By the time Qin Jingzhou finished reading this part of the background, he understood why the original harbored so much resentment towards the entire family: with a "traditional mother" straight out of an ancient morality tale, the original's days, from childhood on, were truly miserable. He was tormented by his own mother to the point of developing psychological issues.
In his memories, his mother had often struck his palms hard with a bamboo ruler, demanding he be accommodating and generous, making him surrender everything he liked or deserved to his brothers and sisters.
Money, being just a worldly possession, could at least be given away—he’d get enough to eat and drink anyway in the Marquis’s household. The legitimate brother and sister kept their distance; the concubine-born siblings alternated between being passive-aggressive and insincere, but none of it hurt all that much.
But it was when her mother strictly ordered him to give up the highly sought-after spot as a personal disciple of a great scholar to his legitimate elder brother that the original realized something was terribly wrong and truly began to hate his mother.
This scholar was the former Emperor's uncle—the Great Qi Taizong's own uncle—a figure held in the highest regard, whose pupils filled the world.
It goes without saying that the scholar’s interest in the original had to be a mark of his own talent, not some courtesy paid to the Marquis Wu'an.
But for some reason, his mother seemed possessed, refusing to listen even to the Marquis Wu'an’s attempts to mediate. She insisted the Marquis Wu'an was merely being modest, using every excuse to demand the original give up the spot to his elder brother—she even invoked charges of filial disrespect.
Helpless, the original could only explain everything to the scholar. After hearing the whole story, he only sighed and told him to go home.
The scholar, while respecting him, did not take him as a disciple, but neither did he allow his elder brother to take his place.
Manipulated by the elder brother and sister, his mother would not let things be. The original was pressured and punished, and finally, unable to stand it any longer, he went back to the scholar for help.
The scholar was shocked this time and summoned the Marquis Wu'an to discuss it face-to-face.
Ashamed, the Marquis Wu'an apologized to the scholar, then brought his son home for a candid talk with his mother.
Her mother, who had lived her whole life satisfied with a marriage marked by mutual respect, found herself facing harsh words for the first time from the man she both revered and adored. That said, the Marquis Wu'an, always cultured and kind to his wives, merely tried to make a point: don’t play favorites.
In truth, the petty tricks of his first wife’s children were beneath his notice. When he warned his wife “not to favor some over others,” it was in hope that she would wise up and discipline those two children a little—their small-time scheming was no good for the family.
Yet his mother, utterly lost in her morality, somehow took the admonition to mean she was being told not to favor her own son.
So, his mother only doubled down on being harsh to her own child.
It was at this point the original began his spiral into self-destruction, a change in attitude that only infuriated his mother even more. So mother and child ended up locked in a prolonged feud.
Years passed. The original’s elder sister was preparing to marry. As she bid farewell to her full brother, she mentioned the Marchioness and the two of them laughed at her together.
The elder sister even said proudly, “A few tricks and the Marchioness treats her own son like an enemy. She’s so stupid I almost pity her. I’ll let it go now—consider it building up some virtue.”
Just as her voice fell, there came a muffled thump from outside the window.
Sensing something was wrong, she hurriedly sent her head lady-in-waiting to check. Sure enough, her stepmother, the Marchioness, had fainted outside her window, striking the back of her head hard on a stone step. There was no blood, but the sight of her, unconscious and unresponsive, was frightening.
Upon reading this far, Qin Jingzhou laughed and said, “So, the Marquis Wu'an isn’t so bad after all.”
Anyone could deduce what happened: for the Marchioness to reach outside the elder sister’s window undetected, while those in the room noticed nothing, and the maids outside kept silent, all had to be by the Marquis Wu'an's design.
If the Marchioness had ever truly gained the loyalty of the elder sister's retainers, a few words from the children wouldn’t have fooled them.
As the saying goes, nothing is more heartbreaking than a dead heart.
In truth, a bump to the head was nothing. The real wound was to her mother’s feelings—a heart that had always been true.
Her greatest pride was being recognized as a virtuous wife and loving mother, raising her sister’s children as her own; in all honesty, she treated her nephew and niece better than her own son. Yet these two ingrates repaid her so cruelly… and thoughts of her now-miserable son twisted like knives in her heart.
In truth, Marquis Wu'an’s purpose in letting his wife witness the scene was to wake her up, to let her learn from failure, and to wisely guide not just the wayward children of his first wife, but also the third son she bore him.
What he had not expected was that her apparent strength was just a façade. Realizing she had been a laughingstock since marrying in, unable to face the truth, she took to her sickbed—and in less than a year, she passed away.
No matter how tangled the original’s feelings, that was still his birth mother. His mother’s death hit him hard, and his older half-brother and sister, knowing full well the disaster they’d caused, put on perfect performances at the funeral—mourning more convincingly than the real son.
They even turned the story around for the guests, insisting the Marchioness had died of heartbreak and lingering illness.
Marquis Wu'an saw that, even at this moment, his first wife’s children remained intent on sullying his third son’s reputation. Deeply disappointed with his eldest children, he still made no move to defend the third son.
So the original became, in a muddle, the scapegoat suspected of being "unfilial and disloyal".
And so, he finally gave up on himself.
At this point in the story, he was still only pitiful.
What truly made him fit the saying “the pitiful are always somewhat hateful” was what he did after marriage—he took out all his disgruntlement, bitterness, and most of his resentment on his own wife and children. They suffered in silence—he had learned the tactics of cold violence, moral manipulation, and psychological control from his mother, father, and his half-siblings without ever being taught.
The Marquis Wu'an actually felt guilty toward his third son. He offered many chances, but after seeing his son squander them over and over, he grew exasperated and simply let him go his own way.
The original blamed his father, but when he truly stopped caring, fearful that his standard of living might fall, he came up with a rotten scheme—to profit from selling off her children’s marriages. After all, his children were the Marquis Wu'an’s own grandchildren—the Marquis couldn’t truly turn a blind eye!
And so, he “arranged” for his eldest daughter to be sent off to the Jin Wang Manor.
It was worth noting that, until then, no girl in the Marquis Wu'an’s household, whether legitimate or concubine-born, had ever become a concubine.
The Marquis Wu'an was furious, but no matter how angry he grew, what was done was done, and after all, the original was his own flesh and blood, so out of sight out of mind—he simply found hi. a post far away to keep him out of trouble.
At the end of the day, Qin Jingzhou felt the original’s anger at his parents was justified; his mother was foolish, and the Marquis Wu'an, for all his awareness, had failed to act. As they say, a father is to blame for the children’s failings, and with so many problematic children, the fault clearly lay with the Marquis. But the original bullied the weak and feared the strong: unable to deal with his father, he tormented his wife and children just to sicken him indirectly. Qin Jingzhou could not approve of that. Offenses should be settled with the true culprit—what skill is there in torturing one's own family?
Although the World Will had only demanded that he “conform to the rules and get rid of, or thoroughly subdue, this idiotic male lead”, and said nothing about anything else, he still intended to properly compensate the original’s children. As for his wife, who had already died, the compensation that was rightfully hers would go to her just and kind family.
The System, hearing his plan, said, “Brother Zhou, your ‘cheap’ eldest daughter, Er Yao, is now a concubine of Prince Jin, while the female lead is Prince Jin's mistress. Prince Jin, as the second male lead, is still a favorite candidate for the Crown Prince, while the male lead, Prince Chu, is just one more imperial prince in the palace—not outstanding, but not entirely without status either…”
Qin Jingzhou laughed outright. “That's a lot to process. So the female lead is still Prince Jin’s concubine right now, which means she doesn’t even know the male lead yet?”
The System answered, “That’s right, they don’t know each other yet. According to the plot, they’re supposed to meet at a palace banquet, falling in love at first sight, after Prince Jin goes against all opposition and makes the female lead his official wife.”
With a father like the original, Er Yao was bound to lack love.
Prince Jin was hopelessly romantic, but unfortunately, his devotion was not directed at her. Without hope for affection, Er Yao turned all her energy to seeking power. Yet Prince Jin, as if bewitched, gave the female lead everything, setting Er Yao up as the female lead’s rival.
Before her rebirth, Er Yao lived up to her reputation for “viciousness,” but only towards the female lead. And with Prince Jin and Prince Chu both shielding the female lead, it went without saying that Er Yao, as the villainess, would meet a grisly end, without so much as a whole corpse left.
Having run over the outline, the System added, “Er Yao’s plan after rebirth is currently unknown.”
Qin Jingzhou asked, “Did Er Yao try to harm her father before her rebirth?”
“She did.” The System answered instantly. “It was only because the original threatened to report her to Prince Chu and ruin her plans that she finally snapped and turned on him. After her rebirth, her first move was to contact her full brother and convince him to take out the original once and for all.”
Qin Jingzhou mused, “Sounds like this child has turned rather dark after her rebirth—not easy to educate.” He paused and asked, “What about Xiaoling? If the main problem here is the male lead, then she must have transmigrated into the male lead’s relative.”
“Miss Ling’s identity is that of the Emperor’s full sister—Prince Chu and Prince Jin’s aunt. She’s currently in mourning, living as a widow.”
Qin Jingzhou laughed again. “The original is a widower then, how convenient.” With that, he sat up and straightened out the original body.
Just then, a small figure suddenly appeared by the door.
It was likely the original’s youngest daughter, who at four years old...
Qin Jingzhou swept her with a glance, and immediately his expression softened. “Xiao Xi?”
At his level, recognizing someone required only a look at their soul, or even just a brush of divine sense. He could easily discern whether someone carried memories of their past life.
Unmistakably, Xiao Xi’s circumstances were like Xiao Qing’s before—she had somehow gotten fortunate, bringing most of her memories with her into this new life.
The moment he called “Xiao Xi,” the little girl, without hesitation, ran forward and nearly tripped on her skirt, about to fall flat on her face, but she landed right into those familiar, warm arms.
Her face was covered in tears. “Daddy, Daddy, Daddy! I missed you so much!”
Qin Jingzhou spun in place, holding his little daughter. “Daddy missed you very much too.”
Xiao Xi clung to his neck and hurried to report, “Daddy, did you just wake up? Do you know they’ve set up an inescapable net to kill you?”
Qin Jingzhou kissed his daughter’s forehead. “Daddy knows.”
Xiao Xi broke into a smile through her tears, wiping her face. “Mhm.”
Qin Jingzhou smiled and said, “If Daddy wants to break the deadlock, the best way is to take you to your mother.”
Xiao Xi: ...Huh?