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At thirteen, Chun Di learned that his life had been swapped with someone else’s. He was not a gambler’s son, but the son of the wealthy Lin family in Suzhou.
He returned to his home with both excitement and fear, only to be met with rejection from the entire family.
His father hated that he was uneducated, his mother felt his manners were poor, and his older brother called him wicked. Even his twin younger brothers cried and said they didn’t want to see him.
His treatment was the exact opposite of Lin Chongtan, the boy who had taken his place. Lin Chongtan was noble, handsome, and highly educated. At a young age, he had already become the last disciple of a famous scholar.
Even though Chun Di was the real young master, everyone loved Lin Chongtan.
Naturally insecure, Chun Di grew gloomier every day, like a toad hiding in the dark.
When they went to the capital to study at the Imperial Academy, Lin Chongtan got in on his own merit, while Chun Di’s father had to pay for his spot. Even the high-ranking officials there only wanted to be friends with Lin Chongtan.
Finally, one day, the toad threw himself into the swan’s arms.
Using his body as a lure and love as an excuse, he made the swan help him. With Lin Chongtan writing for him, Chun Di’s reputation as a talented scholar began to spread. For the first time, his father wrote a letter to praise him, and even the Crown Prince invited him to a private banquet.
Overjoyed, Chun Di put on his best clothes to go to the meeting. However, he was publicly exposed—everyone found out his poems and essays were all written by Lin Chongtan.
Full of shame, Chun Di looked at Lin Chongtan. But the “swan,” who used to lose control in front of him and kiss his fingertips, only looked at him coldly.
Chun Di ran away in the rain and drowned in the river that night.
At the same moment, the Emperor’s favorite concubine’s son—the foolish Ninth Prince—opened his eyes after dying from a high fever.
