Transmigrated as the Stepmother of a Rebellious Heir

Finally, we arrived back at the Estate. The moment the car stopped, the driver finally had a reason to turn off the music, "Young Master, Young Madam, we're home."

Suddenly transitioning from a very noisy environment to silence, Fu Yang felt somewhat uncomfortable for a moment.

He pinched his ears and then turned to look at Shu Wan, noticing that she had flipped through the magazine to the last page. Fu Yang scoffed, "What are you pretending for? I don't believe you actually read any of it."

Shu Wan tossed the magazine in front of Fu Yang, "You can test me."

Looking at Shu Wan skeptically, he flipped through the magazine randomly, "Then tell me what's on page 65."

"A fashion show, a red moose-patterned dress with text: 'This season's embroidery collection focuses on animal themes on short tweed suits and overcoat dresses. Not only adorned with doe, stag, and branded classic embroidery, but young kittens, Corgis, rabbits, and swallows also make their appearance.'"

"...." Fu Yang frowned tightly, "Isn't it too noisy? How could you read through that?"

To annoy Shu Wan, he was sure he had turned the music up to the max; his ears were still aching. Yet Shu Wan was able to remember everything in the magazine clearly despite the noise?

"Didn't I tell you?" Shu Wan gave a slight smile to Fu Yang, "I know acupoint."

Not only could she immobilize others by targeting their acupoints, but of course, she could also temporarily block her own hearing, and thus she hadn't heard anything on the journey.

"..." Watching Shu Wan's graceful departure, Fu Yang was astonished. He looked at the Housekeeper, who was smiling at the scene, "Seriously, where did you find this oddity?"

The Housekeeper couldn't help but laugh, "Young Master, you should refer to her as your mother."

"She looks even younger than me; my mother? That's impossible in this lifetime."

After the long hassle, when Shu Wan returned to her bedroom, it was already one in the morning.

She surveyed her bedroom, where every item felt unfamiliar, and her eyes couldn't hide her shock.

With the memories of her predecessor intact, though still unable to comprehend this world a thousand years later, Shu Wan was slowly figuring things out.

Automated curtains, a thermos mug, a constant indoor-temperature air conditioner....

After drinking a glass of water, she went to the bathroom, turned on the faucet to wash her face, and upon looking up into the mirror, she was stunned.

It was a face just like the one she had in her previous life. If there was any difference, it was that the original owner of this life hadn't been through battlefields, hadn't traveled far and wide; her skin was as tender as milk, as smooth as jade.

The same phoenix eyes, the straight nose, the eyebrows like inked mountains, all breathtakingly beautiful.

Especially Shu Wan's eyes, calm and indifferent, they bore an insight and coolness that seemed to transcend the mundane, as though nothing could hide under such a gaze.

Shu Wan's eyes paused for a moment. This face after a thousand years almost identical to her own—was this a coincidence?

Her mind flooded with too many thoughts, Shu Wan didn't want to torment herself any longer.

Taking a towel, she wiped her face, made a quick wash, then lay down on the bed to sleep.

In her previous life, the Prime Minister's Mansion's amenities were of the highest caliber, but compared to those of the modern age, they paled.

Lying on the extremely soft mattress, it wasn't long before Shu Wan was pulled into a dream.

In the dream, she returned to the eve of her rebirth.

In the deep December, boundless snow smothered Chang'an City, except for the East Street Prime Minister's Mansion, which was enveloped in the festivity of red silk and lanterns.

Tomorrow was the day when the second daughter of the Shu Family, Shu Wan, would marry into the Eastern Palace and become the Crown Princess Consort.

Unlike the joyful world outside, the atmosphere in the study room was as cold as ice.

"Father, what is the meaning of this?" Shu Wan, dressed in bridal attire, as red as a firebird, her radiant face, however, was deathly pale.

"Wan'er, your father knows you are wronged, but you must consider the future of the Shu Family. Being born a woman is your lot. It's settled then; tomorrow your half-sister will take your place in the marriage, and you will stay here in the Prime Minister's Mansion to prepare for the exams."

Shu Wan looked towards her elder brother, "Brother, do you think so too?"

Shu Wan's elder brother evasively averted his eyes, "Sister, your scholarship is indeed superior, but you cannot hold office as a woman. Helping me secure the top scorer title is also helping all the people, isn't it?"

"Second sister, although my scholarship may not compare to yours, my virtue, needlework, and household management are not inferior. I can handle the role of Crown Princess Consort. Besides, we look so alike; no one will suspect."

The half-sister's soft persuasion hid an almost uncontrollable pride in her eyes.

"Wan'er, your brother has always treated you well; consider it a plea from your mother, just follow your father's instructions."

That was the usually doting mother of Shu Wan; however, between Shu Wan and Shu Ye, the legitimate son, she still favored the latter.

While the others in the family were still trying to persuade, Shu Wan had already stopped listening to anything.

She stood alone, surrounded by her beloved family and friends.

Yet now, all were asking her to willingly give up her identity and become the "shadow" behind the legitimate son of the Prime Minister's Mansion.

All this, simply because she was female.

Even though she could recite the "Book of Songs" by heart at three, read the "Four Books and Five Classics" at five, and became the closed-door disciple of a contemporary scholar at seven, mastering both civil and martial strategies.

Her parents had always asked her to cede her literary and strategic ideas to Shu Ye, and for the sake of family, Shu Wan did not care and thus Shu Ye gradually became known as the "Qilin Genius."

But now, to solidify that title, the Shu Family was willing to completely swap her identity with a half-sister's, making her wholeheartedly become Shu Ye's ghostwriter.

Shu Wan felt a desolate coldness in her heart. Holding back tears, she stood tall and straight, "I, Shu Wan, will not become someone else's shadow."

"Disaster! Had I known this, I would have never sent you to the academy!" The Prime Minister, who used to be kindly and benevolent, now glared furiously with an inexplicably ferocious look, "I don't need your agreement. Someone come, take Shu Wan away. Qingqing, dress up and prepare the bridal sedan for early tomorrow morning."

Without waiting for the guards to come forward, Shu Wan removed her phoenix crown, broke away from the crowd, and returned to her sleeping quarters.

The lamp burned all night long, and Shu Wan lay in bed, sleepless for a long time.

She had never met the Crown Prince and didn't really care whether she got married or not. As for the Shu Family wanting to confine her to ghostwrite for Shu Ye, she had a way to escape.

What kept Shu Wan awake all night was the thought that even if she managed to flee, in this vast world there seemed to be no place that could accommodate her, a mere woman.

The bright moon hung outside the window, shining over this part of the world, dimly illuminating the reality and dreams. For a while, Shu Wan couldn't tell whether the Prime Minister's Mansion was the dream, or a thousand years later was the dream...

Perhaps due to the late night, when Shu Wan woke up the next morning, her head was in tremendous pain.

Rubbing her temples, she sat up and glanced outside.

She was still in the highly advanced world of a thousand years later.

Outside, as far as she could see, trees were lush, and flowers blossomed brilliantly—a world entirely different from the frigid Chang'an City.

While Shu Wan was deep in thought, the sudden ring of a phone broke the silence.

Shu Wan reached for her cell phone and, using the memories of her original self, tapped the screen. The next second, an angry female voice came through, "Shu Wan, didn't you listen when I told you to study properly before the exams? Now everyone knows you've failed every subject and can't graduate. How embarrassing! Now that the whole internet is calling you illiterate, are you happy?"

"Graduate?" A flicker of bewilderment passed through Shu Wan's eyes, but she quickly remembered that in this era, women could study continuously like men.

The original owner of her body was 21 years old and in her senior year of college.

Despite her family's wealth, the original owner had a tough life, which led her to join the entertainment circle at a young age. With her extremely beautiful appearance, she had gained some fame in the entertainment industry.

However, yesterday must have been the most infamous day of her career. Because her university exam results were leaked online.

The almost universally failing grades were completely out of line with her reputable university, and people criticized her as a poor student and speculated whether she cheated on the college entrance exams.

With these labels stuck on her, no matter how attractive Shu Wan was or how good her acting skills were, she was labeled a "low-quality artist."

Her agent continued to nag about Shu Wan's lack of effort, causing Shu Wan to grow impatient, "You don't need to keep on. I will graduate normally. Is there anything else?"

Shu Wan had always had a weak character; harshly put, she was an obedient vase, and had never spoken to her agent like this before. The agent was taken aback and then, enraged, "I haven't even settled accounts with you and you're losing your temper? Fine, I'd like to see how you graduate. Let me tell you if you can't graduate, I can't keep you as a star either."

As the agent was about to hang up, Shu Wan beat her to it. Seeing the prompt that she had hung up first, the agent was shocked.

Wasn't Shu Wan driven insane by the netizens??

Why did it feel like she had become a completely different person?

At this point, Shu Wan had no mind to care about the agent's thoughts.

Because a message on her phone captured Shu Wan's attention.

It was a bank's debt collection message.

Last month, the original owner fell for a friend's investment advice and incurred a huge amount of debt.

Now she had to make payments every month, an amount the original owner could not afford at all.

She might be able to postpone this month's payment, but if she couldn't pay next month, her credit would be completely blacklisted.

In this era, this was a serious matter.

Shu Wan felt a headache coming on. She was still unfamiliar with this era—where could she find so much money?