Rebirth and Rewriting Fate

Walking along the long corridor of the mansion, the noise from Zengcai Pavilion could be heard from afar. Today, the First Madam had gone to great lengths to invite an opera troupe to perform, making it quite a lively occasion. In addition, her father was the Vice Minister of Revenue, so there was no shortage of social connections involved.

Before even entering the banquet hall, voices could be heard.

"I've heard that the lady celebrating her coming-of-age ceremony today is Xue, the eldest daughter-in-law of the highly respected Madam Shen. Her character and family affairs are second to none!"

"Of course! Although Madam Shen is not getting married, her presence at the ceremony is a great honor. Look at how beaming Madam is today."

The guests in front were chatting together.

Zhu Ling muttered to herself, "The young lady hasn't even had her coming-of-age ceremony yet, they've probably already forgotten."

Hearing Zhu Ling complaining softly, Nan Rao quickly tugged at her, and Zhu Ling immediately fell silent.

Upon entering Zengcai Pavilion, everyone was chatting idly. Someone announced to the First Madam, "The Eldest Miss has arrived." Immediately, everyone turned to look.

"Greetings, Mother," Ye Xingchen said hastily, bowing.

"Hmm, why didn't you change into the clothes I prepared for you? Go and change quickly!" Madam Rong said, glancing at you.

"Mother, today is my second sister's big day. I shouldn't steal her thunder, should I?" Ye Xingchen said with a forced smile.

Before Rong could say anything more, Rong Mama whispered, "Old Madam Shen is here."

Rong hurriedly got up to greet him.

In his previous life, Ye Xingchen's impression of Madam Shen was that she was a highly respected elder, and they didn't have much interaction.

Ye Xingchen found a corner to sit down. She was just there to make up the numbers and not attract attention. Having been given a second chance at life, she hadn't decided whether to seek revenge or to live quietly and not fight for anything.

"The time has come!" the butler announced loudly.

Ye Ruohuan's coming-of-age ceremony is about to begin.

Oh right, I forgot to mention, Gu Chengjie didn't show up. Ye Xingchen remembered that in her past life, he had been punished by the Emperor to copy imperial edicts and missed his coming-of-age ceremony. However, Ye Xingchen didn't care anyway, so she stopped paying attention to his whereabouts. "You like Ye Ruohuan, fine, I'll give you back your destined marriage," Ye Xingchen muttered to herself.

As the coming-of-age ceremony began, the father rose and addressed the guests, saying, "Today, my daughter Ruohuan is undergoing her coming-of-age ceremony. Thank you all for coming! Now, the ceremony will officially begin. Please welcome Ye Ruohuan to enter and greet our guests."

The officiant, Ms. Xue, came out first, washed her hands in a basin, and took her place on the west steps. The young woman, Ye Ruohuan, dressed in splendid attire, came out to the center of the ceremony, faced south, and bowed to the guests. She then sat facing west on the young woman's seat. Ms. Xue combed her hair. The ceremony continued with the guests washing their hands, the first addition of hairpins, the first bow, the second addition of hairpins, the second bow, the third addition of hairpins, the dipping of hairpins, the young woman receiving her hairpin, listening to instruction, and the young woman bowing in thanks. The ceremony was then complete.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. All eyes were on Ye Ruohuan; the First Madam was happy, the Father was pleased, and the Grandmother was full of praise—it was truly a scene of family joy.

Envy? Or perhaps not. Maybe, having been reborn, these things are no longer important. Before figuring out her path, Ye Xingchen just wanted to live a quiet and ordinary life, but unfortunately, some people didn't see it that way.

"Where's my older sister?" Ye Ruohuan called out.

All eyes immediately turned to Ye Xingchen. Ye Xingchen smiled helplessly; what was bound to happen had finally happened.

"Big sister, today is my coming-of-age ceremony, have you prepared a gift for me?" Ye Ruohuan asked happily, but she smiled with ill intent.

Tsk, what a little trick. That year, because she didn't prepare a gift and still flaunted it everywhere, people's impression of her was that she was selfish and didn't love her sisters.

Ye Xingchen called Nan Rao over, got up and walked onto the stage, smiling as she said, "This is a congratulatory gift prepared for you, my younger sister. I hope you won't find it offensive."

Ye Ruohuan was surprised that Ye Xingchen had actually prepared a congratulatory gift. When she opened it, she saw a white jade bracelet, noble yet elegant. She was stunned for a moment.

Madam Rong, the eldest daughter-in-law, hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over, but Ye Ruohuan was unwilling to accept this and said, "Sister, were you shocked by today's coming-of-age ceremony? You must have never seen anything like it in the countryside before, right?" Ye Ruohuan smiled smugly.

Ye Xingchen sighed softly. What a brainless person! Sure enough, she saw her father and the First Madam's expressions change.

"I have never seen anything so grand," Ye Xingchen replied.

"What? The eldest daughter of the Ye family didn't have a coming-of-age ceremony?"

"Yes, I heard that Miss Ye is sixteen this year. That must have been her coming-of-age ceremony last year, right?"

The seated guests whispered among themselves.

Left with no other choice, the First Madam hurriedly came out to explain, "When my Chen'er came back last year, there were too many things to do at home, so she missed her coming-of-age ceremony. Time flies so fast."

"Isn't a girl's coming-of-age ceremony a big deal?" a guest asked. The crowd began to murmur amongst themselves.

Today, not only high-ranking officials and nobles came to witness the ceremony, but also his colleagues in the court who were on good terms with his father. For a moment, his father's face became increasingly grim.

"Since there isn't one, we'll make up for it today," a clear male voice said.

"The Prince of Jin has arrived." As the voice faded, a man dressed in a moon-white robe and holding a black fan slowly entered.

The father hurried forward to greet him, saying, "This humble official was unaware of the Prince of Jin's arrival; I have failed to greet you properly."

"It's alright, I have no interest in this today, I'm just here to pick up Madam Shen." After saying this, Prince Jin Gu Ruoxiao bowed to Madam Shen.

"You rascal," Old Madam Shen said with a laugh.

Why would he come? Did he come in my past life? Ye Xingchen pondered, but couldn't recall. She could only blame herself for being so focused on Gu Chengjie back then, and for being so presumptuous.

“Yes, yes, Prince Jin is right. Today is an auspicious day, and everything is available. Why not just hold a coming-of-age ceremony for the young lady?” said the person who was flattering Prince Jin, and then a group of people echoed him.

Prince Gu Ruoxiao of Jin sat down next to Madam Shen, waving his fan and smiling without saying a word.

The father quickly replied, "Replacing it is no problem, but there are still some things we haven't prepared."

The First Madam hurriedly said, "We didn't invite the apologist, but the apologist is related to Chen'er's future, so we can't be careless."

The old nanny Rong quickly chimed in, "That's right, that's right, it's very important."

Gu Ruoxiao raised her hand and closed her fan. "That's easy. Since Madam Shen is already here, won't you join in?"

These words caused an uproar among the attendees. This was an invitation for Old Madam Shen to endorse Ye Xingchen! How prestigious that must be!

"You rascal, alright, I'll give you face," Old Madam Shen said with a smile. "But we still need to ask Miss Ye's opinion."

All eyes turned back to Ye Xingchen.

"What did Miss Ye say?" Gu Ruoxiao asked Ye Xingchen.

Ye Xingchen bowed to Madam Shen and said, "I leave it all to the elders to decide."

At this moment, Ye Xingchen was extremely puzzled. Why would Gu Ruoxiao help me? I don't remember that we had any relationship.

The coming-of-age ceremony proceeded smoothly and solemnly, making up for the deficiencies of her previous life. Ye Xingchen looked up at the sky. "Mother, can you see that?"

When they reached the place for the hairpin ceremony, the father hesitated, probably because he hadn't thought about giving his eldest daughter a courtesy name.

Ye Xingchen looked up and smiled, "My mother gave me a courtesy name, Yun Chu. Thank you, Father."

Then, he bowed to his father.

The ceremony was thus completed. The coming-of-age ceremony almost turned into a farce, but the fact that the Prince of Jin invited Lady Shen to be the officiant added a lot of glamour, and it still became a topic of conversation among ordinary people.