Spoiled Eldest Miss x Two-faced Madman

CHAPTER 95: The Girl in My Heart Suddenly Became My Mom

　　An Jiu traveled day and night through wind and rain, barely stopping to rest, and somehow made it from the northern borderlands all the way to the capital in just five days.

　　The good news? She managed to shake off the big bad villain who wanted her dead.

　　The price? Well, by the time she dismounted at the outskirts of the capital, her legs felt like noodles. She nearly collapsed to her knees in full surrender pose.

　　The Xuan Yi Wei Guard who brought her back, Qing Que, gave her a very strange look.

　　But none of that mattered now. The important thing was that she’d made it back safely.

　　Even though she made it super clear with her actions that she wasn’t trying to run off and genuinely wanted to return home to see her family, the ever-dutiful Qing Que still insisted on escorting her right up to her doorstep. He only left once he saw her knock and someone actually open the door.

　　She knocked on a side entrance, and the face that appeared was one she vaguely remembered.

　　It was the gatekeeper of the Shangsu Mansion, who had watched over their doors for decades.

　　“Wait… Eldest Young Miss? It’s really you, Eldest Young Miss!” The old man rubbed his eyes and practically shouted with joy.

　　An Jiu gave him a slightly awkward smile and raised her hand. “...Hello.”

　　Fifteen minutes later, An Jiu was lounging in the main hall of the Shangsu Mansion, surrounded by four maids who were busy massaging her aching arms and legs. One familiar maid, Ji Xiang, brought her tea, fed her snacks, and dabbed her lips with a handkerchief.

　　Next to her sat a graceful and dignified middle-aged woman, holding a silk handkerchief and sobbing softly, all while fussing about how thin her daughter had gotten.

　　Further off in the hall stood a few younger girls who looked a bit timid, stealing glances her way.

　　That woman was the original An Jiu’s mother, and the shy girls were her half-sisters from the concubines.

　　As for her father, Minister An, he was reportedly still at court. Her two legitimate brothers—one stationed at the military camp, the other studying at the academy—wouldn’t be home anytime soon either.

　　An Jiu, or rather the original An Jiu, was definitely the treasured daughter of the entire household. She was the only legitimate daughter, spoiled endlessly since birth.

　　Even after running away to escape an arranged marriage, now that she was back, her mother couldn’t bear to scold her. She just kept fussing over how much her precious daughter must have suffered.

　　An Jiu leaned back in the chair with a long sigh. All the exhaustion and stress from the journey seemed to melt away. She felt completely at ease for the first time in days.

　　Ji Xiang brought over a cup of hot tea and gently held it to her lips, saying eagerly, “Miss, you just had some pastries. Your mouth must be dry. Have some tea.”

　　An Jiu gave a slight pout, and the tea was brought right to her lips. The warmth and flavor were just right. The original An Jiu didn’t like bitterness, so it seemed they'd even added a bit of sugar to soften the taste. The mild sweetness was soothing and refreshing.

　　After finishing the tea, An Jiu finally felt a little better. She turned to the elegant middle-aged woman beside her and asked, “Mom, does Dad still want me to marry Ming Wang?”

　　The woman’s sobs hitched mid-cry, and she suddenly looked nervous and restless.

　　“Jiu’er, well… well, that’s your father’s decision. I know you don’t want to marry him, but there’s nothing I can do either. I don’t want you to marry him either. He’s nearly your father’s age, and I heard he even has a son around your age. Wouldn’t my daughter be walking straight into misery?”

　　An Jiu already knew this marriage was her father’s idea.

　　In most families, the mother handled the daughter’s marriage, maybe after consulting the father. But the An family was different. This marriage had been decided without warning—on her eighteenth birthday, no less. Minister An simply told her she was going to marry Ming Wang. No discussion, no asking for her opinion.

　　Her mother, Madam Chen, had complained about it, but even her disapproval didn’t change a thing.

　　To An Jiu, this engagement was clearly a political alliance between Minister An and Ming Wang.

　　Minister An had a great reputation in the court, widely respected. He held real power and was one of the emperor’s most trusted ministers. Normally, a man like him wouldn’t need to use his daughter for a political marriage.

　　But behind the dazzling front, his situation was getting risky.

　　His reputation was too high, and his grip on power too tight. Now that the young emperor was growing up, it was only a matter of time before he started resenting that power. Sooner or later, Minister An would be purged.

　　The young emperor was thirteen this year, just about old enough to take full control. Minister An forming ties with Ming Wang now looked like a backup plan.

　　Ming Wang was the young emperor's uncle. He had achieved great military success and made outstanding contributions over many years of warfare. In the eyes of many, he was also seen as a threat to the throne. For years, the Empress Dowager had kept him stationed at the border or confined to his fief, not allowing him to return to the capital. Even summoning his only heir to the palace had been a way of keeping him in check.

　　An Jiu didn’t know whether her father was planning to help Ming Wang seize the throne, or if he just wanted a powerful ally—or maybe they simply agreed to support each other. Either way, this marriage was clearly a political move.

　　And when politics are involved, her personal feelings didn’t matter at all.

　　While she was lost in thought, her hand was suddenly pulled and patted gently.

　　Her mother said softly, “Jiu’er, don’t be afraid. You really scared your father and me when you ran off like that. But your father’s regretting it now. I’ll talk to him again, ask him to call off the marriage. It’s not like you’re our only daughter, right? If Ming Wang wants a daughter from our family, let your sister marry him. He’s a ¹qinwang, after all. Marrying into his family means becoming a wangfei and living a life of luxury. Your sisters are more than willing, aren’t you girls?”

　　The elegant woman who’d been all loving and gentle with An Jiu turned her head to glance at the young girls standing nearby, and her gaze turned sharp in an instant.

　　From what An Jiu could tell, the oldest among them looked no more than fifteen, and the youngest was probably around ten.

　　They were all dressed pretty plainly. Not shabby, but you’d never guess they were daughters of a high-ranking official.

　　As soon as Madam Chen’s eyes swept over them, the girls instantly looked terrified. Huddled together like a bunch of frightened quails, they peeked cautiously at An Jiu and murmured, “W-we’re willing, eldest sister.”

　　An Jiu: “…”

　　Their little faces were pale with fear, and their voices trembled as they spoke. It was obvious the original An Jiu hadn’t treated them kindly.

　　Digging through her memories, An Jiu quickly found plenty of moments where the original had bullied her half-siblings.

　　She didn’t do anything outright evil, but she was definitely a brat—like sneaking her pet snake into their beds, throwing away their stuff, or deliberately breaking things they cherished.

　　But her parents spoiled her so much that no matter what she did, they’d just say she was playing around. Instead, they scolded the kids who got pranked.

　　So over the years, of course everyone was scared of her.

　　An Jiu could immediately tell—those girls weren’t offering to marry out of willingness. They were just scared of the main wife.

　　Sure enough, rotten apples usually came from the same tree. An Jiu wasn’t a great person, and clearly her parents weren’t much better.

　　She let out a silent sigh and turned to Madam Chen. “Mom, I’ll marry him.”

　　Madam Chen froze. “What?”

　　An Jiu said seriously, “After traveling around these past few days, I’ve realized I’ve been living a pretty pampered life. I’ve thought it through. Marrying Ming Wang doesn’t sound so bad. Once I become the wangfei, I’ll be the one running the household, and I won’t even need to serve in-laws. Besides, he’s older, right? When he dies, I’ll be the one in charge. The whole household will have to listen to me, right?”

　　What’s so bad about marrying an old man?

　　Especially one with power, status, and money.

　　Not only could she become a mom without the pain, but once he died, she’d still be young and beautiful, inherit a mountain of wealth, and go on to raise seven or eight adorable little toyboys while living her best rich-lady life. Wasn’t that the dream of modern girls everywhere?

　　An Jiu narrowed her eyes and smiled. She really did sound sincere.

　　Even though she knew perfectly well she’d never get to enjoy any of that.

　　Madam Chen was overjoyed the moment she heard it. She rushed forward and hugged her tightly. “My sweet daughter, you finally came around! I’ll tell your father tonight. Your dowry’s already been prepared—we’ve just been waiting for the big day!”

　　Wow. So they were all just waiting for her to give in, huh?

　　No wonder they sent the Xuan Yi Wei Guards after her. They had everything set and ready—she was the only missing piece.

　　An Jiu, still in a daze, returned to this house that felt both strange and familiar. She spent two confused days meeting all of the original body’s relatives and then got swept right into wedding prep.

　　The whole marriage process would take half a month. First came the exchange of birth details, followed by the groom’s side presenting betrothal gifts, and a bunch of other traditional steps. The whole thing was long and complicated.

　　And this half-month schedule? That was considered an express rush job. Normally, in this era, it could take months or even half a year from engagement to the wedding.

　　When it came time to exchange birth dates and details, Ming Wang hadn’t arrived in the capital yet, so his son came to stand in for him during the ceremony.

　　When the heir to Ming Wang arrived at the Shangsu Mansion, An Jiu was sitting behind a decorative screen.

　　The moment she heard his voice, she quietly poked her head out to take a peek.

　　The man seemed to sense her gaze and turned to look in her direction. The next second, An Jiu saw a tall, handsome young man in purple brocade staring back at her in absolute shock.

　　“Miss An?! Why is it you?!”

　　Minister An and Madam Chen blinked. “You two know each other?”

　　The heir to Ming Wang—also known as Ming Yi—pressed his lips together and paused for a moment before replying, “We met once by chance.”

　　Ming Yi’s mind was in complete chaos.

　　He’d only recently found out that his father was planning to marry again. He hadn’t paid much attention to who the bride was supposed to be. It had nothing to do with him anyway, and he had no interest in getting involved in his father’s schemes.

　　So when he got a message from his father asking him to handle a few of the formalities in his place, Ming Yi didn’t think much of it.

　　Until this moment.

　　Only now did he finally realize who his father’s bride-to-be actually was.

　　It was An Jiu. Miss An Jiu!

　　Ever since they parted ways at Jinshe Villa, he hadn’t been able to forget her. The more women he met, the more he missed that unique girl—someone who just seemed to click with him, someone who felt like a kindred spirit.

　　But now she was marrying his dad? She was going to be his stepmother?

　　That line kept echoing in his mind, and his eyes started to lose focus.

　　An Jiu, on the other hand, was completely unbothered as she spoke up. “Father, Mother, Ming Yi and I are good friends.”

　　Hearing that made something in Ming Yi’s chest tighten painfully.

　　They had been close friends. He had even started to fall for her. But after today, he’d be calling her “Mother.”

　　His crush was about to become his mom.

　　What kind of messed up plot twist was this?

　　In the Shangsu Mansion, An Jiu had absolute freedom.

　　So when she asked to speak with Ming Yi alone, even though it was totally inappropriate and would sound scandalous if word got out, Minister An and Madam Chen just told the servants to keep quiet and let the two of them take a walk in the garden.

　　They strolled through the vast garden, one ahead and one behind, with maids and attendants following at a respectful distance far enough that no one could overhear their conversation.

　　When they reached a flowerbed, An Jiu stopped, turned, and looked at the young man behind her in brocade robes.

　　“Young Master Ming, long time no see. Hope you’ve been well?”

　　Her eyes were bright and clear like spring water, her smile warm and graceful.

　　Ming Yi was still trying to process the emotional damage. In a daze, he blurted out without thinking, “Should I start calling you Mom now?”

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GLOSSARY:

In Chinese noble titles, “Wang” (王) means prince, but there are different ranks:

Qinwang (亲王): The highest rank of prince, usually the emperor’s brother or uncle. This is what Ming Wang (明王) actually is.

Junwang (郡王): A rank lower than qinwang, roughly equivalent to a duke.

Wangye (王爷): A respectful way to address a prince like Ming Wang.

So when people say “Ming Wang”, it’s his title-name combo — kind of like saying “Duke Wellington” or “Lord Byron”. It’s the usual way to refer to him in the third person.

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T/N:

In this novel, titles like “Ming Wang” are kept in pinyin to preserve the historical flavor. While “王 (wang)” literally means “king,” in the context of imperial China it refers to a noble title below the emperor — more like a prince or high-ranking lord.

A qinwang (亲王) is a senior prince, usually someone very close to the emperor by blood. So even if “Ming Wang” sounds like “King Ming,” he’s actually a powerful royal prince, not the emperor.

Basically:

“王 (wang)” = not king, but imperial prince with real power and prestige.

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Author's note:

Ming Yi: I wanted you to be my bride.

Jiujiu: Happy to help. Go on, call me Mom.

Ming Yi: What a painfully bitter realization!!

Honestly, I don’t think I wrote the Demonic Sect arc all that well. I’ll probably stick to my original outline and fix that part after finishing the full draft~

　　

　　　　

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