The True Daughter of the General's Household

Untitled Part 1

I am the true daughter of the General's Mansion, but I'd much rather be the little butcher girl.
The fake daughter, a bit naive, keeps wanting to switch back with me.
People who've never lacked love can't understand why I feel no resentment.
It's the crown prince, who seems to lack a sense of security, that's always stirring up trouble.

After fifteen years as the butcher's daughter on the east side of town, I found out I'm actually the true daughter of the General's Mansion.
One day, a finely dressed old woman arrived, insisting she would pay any amount of silver to buy the best cuts of pork.
But when she saw me, she looked as though she'd seen a ghost and quickly turned to run.
Not long after, a grand entourage arrived in a flurry.
Each person was draped in silk and jewels, exuding wealth and grandeur.

The old woman took one look at me, then said, "This face, this build... just like Madame back in the day."
Then everyone crowded around me, some crying, some laughing, all surrounding me.
I was in a fog, and before I knew it, I was in the grand hall of the General's Mansion.
The general's wife held me tightly, sobbing uncontrollably.
"My own flesh and blood, my heart and soul. You've suffered so much all these years," she cried.
"Now that you're home, I will make up for everything."

But I wasn't nearly as moved as she was.
I simply stared, stunned.
Our faces, while not identical, shared at least an eighty to ninety percent resemblance.
Strikingly, our expressions, the dimples that appeared when we smiled-they were almost the same.
And I felt a strange, inexplicable closeness to her that convinced me she was indeed my kin.

Still, having never met them before, I couldn't bring myself to instantly cry "mother" and "father."
Besides, though I grew up in a butcher's shop, I was never mistreated. I was my mother's cherished daughter, her precious little girl.

"You all keep saying there was a mix-up... So whose child was swapped with me?" I asked, unable to suppress my curiosity.

A brief moment of awkwardness hung in the air.The general's wife looked at me with a trace of hesitation in her eyes.
Perhaps she thought I had been mistreated, seeing my thin, dark figure and assuming I'd been neglected.

In truth, I didn't mind my appearance. I didn't look like a refined lady, but that was my own fault for being mischievous, picky with food, and generally looking like a scrawny child.

"Please don't blame Qinyin; she's innocent in all this," the general's wife said gently.
"She's been raised in this household for years, and she's delicate, unused to hardship. But don't worry-you are the daughter of the General's Mansion, and no one will mistreat you.
"I hope the two of you can become close sisters."