Chapter 1: I've Transmigrated Again

Jade, given to the child by his father.

On the second day of the ninth month of the thirty-fifth year of the Kangxi reign, a cool breeze was blowing.

A woman of about sixteen or seventeen years old followed the voices out of the alley. She turned her head slightly and saw the shop she was looking for on the opposite corner of the street, so she walked over there.

The woman wore a light green long gown and a moon-white horse-face skirt, both embroidered with orchids, which perfectly complemented her delicate face, making her look like a fairy spirit who had come out of the mountains and fields.

Chen Guanxue lowered her head slightly, not wanting to attract more attention. Her fair fingers were tightly clenched, revealing only a hint of her warm and white color, like the bright moon.

This is the most valuable thing she has since traveled back in time.

Yes, Chen Guanxue is a time traveler, and a second time traveler at that.

The first time she was just taking a walk by the river, she woke up feeling dizzy and became an unknown concubine in Kangxi's harem. It was only by chance that Kangxi saw her that her legendary path of promotion began.

Kangxi looked young, only in his thirties. She was someone who loved appearances and enjoyed life, so she compliantly entered his heart step by step.

As a Han woman who was a concubine, she rose from a concubine to an imperial noble consort in just a few years and was pregnant. Even if she could not become empress or empress dowager, she would still have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of her life.

But she wore it again.

Just like the first time she time-traveled, it was all so inexplicable. She only took a few steps before she went from Changchun Garden to the capital. Her clothes had also changed. Unlike the first time, this body was the one she had when she was an Imperial Noble Consort.

After time-traveling again, she regained her memories. Now, she is a bondservant of the Han Banner Army, and the emperor is still Kangxi.

This year is the thirty-fifth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Just a few months ago, the Kangxi Emperor personally led an expedition to quell the Dzungar rebellion.

She was originally supposed to participate in the palace maid selection this year, but for some reason she became pregnant. To protect her life and to prevent her from implicating the clan, her parents kicked her out of the house.

She felt strangely familiar with this, and after thinking about it carefully for a while, she remembered that it seemed to be a dream she had.

As an adult, it is quite common to have adult dreams. One of them dreamed of meeting a young Emperor Kangxi and having a one-night stand with him. After waking up, she was very curious about whether he looked like he did in his dream when he was young. Kangxi gave her an affirmative answer.

It turns out that her dream not only came true, but also took her back to more than 20 years ago.

Now that she had been kicked out, she could not go back. She could only stand in the alley, touching her stomach with great helplessness.

It's manageable for one person, but surviving with a child is a real challenge.

However, the jade seal hanging around her neck gave her an idea.

This seal was given to her by Emperor Kangxi, who said it was a keepsake left to her by his mother, the Empress Dowager. She had carried it with her for decades, and after she became pregnant, he gave it to her. She wore it around her neck every day and eventually brought it with her.

This seal is made of good material, Hetian jade. Although it's called a jade seal, there are no engraved words. It's just a square, finger-sized strip with a small gourd at the top, perfect for tying a rope.

Normally she would just wear it to nourish her body, but now that she's sold it, she can get some money, enough to buy a small house to take care of her pregnancy, and she won't have to worry about the rest of her life.

As for entering the palace to recognize Kangxi?

She wasn't stupid, and neither was Kangxi. How could they believe she was someone who had arrived twenty years later, or that she was carrying his child? Even if they did believe her, she wouldn't be able to enter the palace. It was better for her to raise the child and live a good life.

While pondering, they arrived at the pawnshop.

"What do you need, young lady?" The waiter greeted the elegant young lady as she entered.

She was dressed as she always was at home, with new fabrics and expensive jewelry. It was strange that she came to the pawnshop, but given the current state of affairs, many people were suddenly facing hardship, and the waiters were used to it.

The 35th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was not only the year he campaigned against the Dzungars, but also the year when a great flood struck the south, causing many officials to suffer and many to be imprisoned. Some women and young ladies even came to pawn their belongings for silver.

Chen Guanxue followed him to the chairs at the back where female customers were greeted and sat down. She smiled gently and said, "I'm afraid we'll have to find the manager of your shop."

As he spoke, he put down what he was holding, leaving the waiter stunned. When he came to his senses, he went to the back and called the shopkeeper who was eating melons and fruits.

Although the jade seal was small, its quality was excellent. In addition, Emperor Kangxi had carried it with him for decades, so it had long been popular. The waiter had seen good things before, so he called the shopkeeper out without hesitation.

The waiter brought the manager along, along with tea and fruit.

The shopkeeper carefully took the jade seal in her hand and examined it. She hadn't eaten or drunk anything since being kicked out, and was even thirstier now, so she picked up her teacup and took a sip.

Having grown accustomed to fine food, my palate naturally dislikes this simple yet bitter tea, which I only used to moisten my lips before putting it down.

The shopkeeper held it and examined it for a while before asking, "This is a fine item. Do you intend to redeem it, young lady, or...?"

"If the money you give me is enough, I'll pawn it." She doesn't have any money in the short term, so how could she possibly redeem it? Right now, she's even more in need of money.

The shopkeeper looked at her; there was no worry in her eyes, and she was not a down-on-her-luck person. He just didn't know her identity. He thought that even if he resold this piece of jade, there would be plenty of people who would want it. Moreover, he remembered something else, so he gave her a fair price.

"One thousand taels."

Chen Guanxue nodded; the price was much higher than she had expected.

Although the jade is fine, it would be quite good if it were worth eight hundred taels at the pawnshop. Eight hundred taels would be enough for her to support a child for the rest of her life, but a thousand taels would be beyond her expectations.

"Thank you, shopkeeper."

After taking the silver, she went out and found a slave trader.

She wasn't in a hurry to buy a house. She was used to being waited on, so it would be better to buy someone to wait on her first. Besides, she felt insecure being a woman alone with no one by her side.

She doesn't need an older, experienced person, because such people have often worked for other people before, and being sold again would be bad, whether they made a mistake or something else. She needs someone who is loyal and will serve her.

After spending the afternoon choosing, he bought a fifteen-year-old girl who had fled from the south. She originally had a father and a younger brother, but she was sold so that her brother could survive.

At fifteen, with her delicate features, she could be bought not only as a servant, but also by wealthy young men as a concubine.

Chen Guanxue bought her because she saw that her hands looked like they were used to manual labor.

She's not a kind person; she's barely able to take care of herself right now, so how could she possibly be kind?

They brought her back with them, changed her name to Runxi, found her a temporary residence, and then gave her money to go out and buy groceries.

While Chen Guanxue was resting, she was unaware that the previous shopkeeper had already gone to see the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

"Sir, these are what we collected today. Is this what you're looking for?"

A few days ago, the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture summoned all the pawnshop owners in the capital, saying that a noble person had lost something and that if anyone came to pawn jade, they should be informed immediately.

None of the shopkeepers knew what the lost jade looked like. They could only send over the precious jade they collected each day to have a look at it. Even if it wasn't theirs, they could at least get to know it. It was a bit of a hassle, but it wasn't a loss.

The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was also helpless. This was the order given to him by the Fourth Prince. As for the jade, he only knew that there was a gourd-shaped part on it. Unfortunately, he couldn't let others know that he was looking for this thing. He could only look at the things that the pawnshop owners sent over every day.

He had no hope today either; what fool would steal something and sell it at a pawn shop?

But upon closer inspection, one sees the gourd shape on the jade. Even with eyes treated, are there really such foolish people?

"Who was appointed to this position?"

The shopkeeper glanced at his cautious expression and thought: Did he really get it?!

"It was a girl of sixteen or seventeen who came to be the position, and she came alone at the time."

"Portrait." The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was too lazy to listen to him; he just wanted to find this person as soon as possible so he could curry favor with him.

As the pawnshop owner, he had good taste and was also skilled in painting. While recalling Chen Guanxue's appearance, he raised his hand and drew her likeness on the paper.

After obtaining the portrait, they quickly ascertained the person's whereabouts. The Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, without even taking off his official robes, led his men to the house rented by Chen Guanxue.

Just then, Runxi's meal was served. The three dishes and soup didn't look very appetizing, but they smelled quite good, so he was about to eat when he heard a loud bang followed by the sound of orderly footsteps.

She frowned slightly as she watched an official lead his men into the house. Runxi trembled behind her, looking at the newcomers with fear.

"Is this what you're going to give away today?"

She had pawned the jade, but judging from the official's appearance, could there be some story behind it that she didn't know? Had Emperor Kangxi tricked her?!

Without time to think, he simply nodded and said, "Take it down!"

"Wait." Chen Guanxue didn't even stand up, but slowly uttered two words, which made the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture tremble with fear.

For some reason, he felt a sense of familiarity with the appearance, and he had an irresistible urge to move, as if his life would be in danger if he made another move.

Even if she is now an ordinary person, she was once an Imperial Noble Consort who received the homage of noblewomen and faced Emperor Kangxi every day. Naturally, she learned how he looked when he was angry, and she could even intimidate the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

"I wonder if you could tell me, sir, what bad history this jade has?" The fault cannot lie with her; the fault lies with the jade.

“This jade was lost by an adult a few days ago. Since you took it to pawn, you should be arrested.”

How could something she brought from the 57th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign have been lost by someone from the 35th year of his reign?

After thinking for a while, she wondered if it was like her, who had transmigrated and replaced Chen Guanxue, who had been kicked out of the family, and that the jade had also disappeared from Kangxi's hands.

If that's the case, then the Shuntian Prefect's reaction doesn't seem like he's looking for something for Emperor Kangxi.

"Your Excellency, may I ask them to leave? I have something to say to you, about the four men who asked you to find the jade." Only Yinzhen could find things for Kangxi. He was efficient, discreet, had easy access to the palace, and was close to the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture.

"Get out." He turned his head and, seeing everyone had left, asked, "What did you say?"

Chen Guanxue stood up, placed one hand on her belly, pointed to the jade in his hand with the other, and smiled gently, "My lord, guess what the relationship is between the child in my belly and the owner of this jade?"

[Author's Note]

Guan Guan: I've given you a chance, don't be a disappointment.