Yong’an Marquis Estate.
Shen Qingqing lay on her sickbed, terminally ill. Though only in her early thirties, she already appeared haggard and old.
No one attended to her bedside, and a foul stench emanated from her body.
The door was pushed open, and a gust of cold air, heavy with the scent of rain, rushed in, making even the seams of her bones ache.
“Mother, we’ve come to see you.” Her three children stepped into the room but did not approach the bed, their faces showing expressions of disgust.
“Second Sister, take this bowl of medicine to Mother,” the eldest son, Song Yu, said, taking the medicine bowl from a maid and handing it to the second daughter, Song Xinlan.
She took the bowl without hesitation and walked to the bedside, her brow furrowed and her eyes filled with indifference.
“Get up and drink your medicine!”
When the medicine was brought to her lips, Shen Qingqing did not want to drink it.
Since she had fallen gravely ill, her three children had barely visited her. Yet today, in the pouring rain, they had all gathered here to feed her medicine. Something felt deeply wrong.
“Hurry up and drink! You stink to high heaven!” Song Xinlan snapped, pinching her chin and forcing the medicine down her throat. The scalding liquid entered her throat. She wanted to struggle but had no strength.
“Once you’ve drunk it, you can go die!”
She looked at her own daughter in shock.
Just then, a clap of thunder boomed. Startled, Song Xinlan dropped the bowl in her hand. It rolled twice on the floor before shattering.
“You… cough, cough!” Shen Qingqing could no longer speak. She coughed violently after spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Immediately, a sharp, twisting pain seized her internal organs.
She fell from the bed, landing on the floor covered in shards.
Her three children took two steps back and stood in a line, bowing to her in unison.
“Mother, have a safe journey!”
A bolt of lightning as thick as a bowl’s mouth instantly lit up the room as bright as day.
A figure was hidden by the door, smiling at her.
“Wh…” Why?
Why were her three children doing this to her? Calling her Mother while personally sending her to her death?
She struggled to push herself up, crawling forward and leaving a trail of blood on the floor.
She didn’t want to die!
However!
Song Lingxiao stepped on her lower back, and the bone snapped.
“Ah!” she screamed, unable to muster another ounce of strength.
The thunder continued to rumble, but her eyes remained open as she breathed her last.
Unexpectedly, she could still hear a voice:
“Shen Qingqing, thank you for helping my Song family soar to the heavens!”
**
“My lady, it’s time for your medicine.”
Shen Qingqing’s eyes flew open, and she violently knocked the medicine bowl from the maid’s hands.
“Get out!” she glared, her eyes bloodshot and her chest heaving.
“My lady, what… what’s wrong with you?” The maid was frightened by her appearance.
She froze.
She stared blankly at the maid before her. Nanzhi?
Hadn’t Nanzhi hanged herself?
While she was ill, Nanzhi had tried to climb into the Marquis’s bed while he was drunk. She was thrown out of the room, and the scandal became known throughout the entire Marquis Manor. Not two days later, Nanzhi hanged herself in her room.
“My lady, please don’t scare me. I’ll go fetch the manor physician to have a look at you.”
Just as Nanzhi was about to turn and leave, Shen Qingqing grabbed her wrist.
“I’m fine. I just had a nightmare.”
“My lady, you scared me to death. I thought you had hit your head when you fell into the water.” Nanzhi breathed a sigh of relief. Her lady’s expression just now had been truly terrifying, as if she wanted to kill someone. “Then I’ll go get you another bowl of medicine.”
Drowning?
Had she been reborn seven years in the past?
“My lady, drink your medicine first.” Nanzhi returned with the medicine bowl, her worried expression not seeming fake.
In her past life, she had never believed that Nanzhi would try to climb into Song Lingxiao’s bed. But before she could investigate, Nanzhi had died. Overcome with grief, her illness worsened, and she became bedridden. Subsequently, the people around her disappeared one by one until she was left isolated and helpless, sent to her death by her own children with a bowl of poison.
At this thought, a surge of viciousness rose within her.
So all three of her children wanted her dead? Fine! Since the heavens had given her a chance at rebirth, then in this life, she would have no descendants!
“My lady?” Nanzhi was a little frightened by her terrifying gaze.
“How long was I unconscious?” Shen Qingqing closed her eyes, forcing herself to conceal her emotions.
“Two days and one night.”
Two days ago, she had taken her son and daughter to the Jing’an Count Estate to celebrate the old madam’s birthday. Unexpectedly, she had fallen into the lake and nearly drowned. In her previous life, she had thought it was an accident, but thinking back now, it was no accident at all.
Someone wanted her dead!
At that moment, voices came from outside.
“Young Master Yu, Young Miss Lan, her ladyship may not be awake yet,” Mama Zhao said, leading the two children inside.
“Mother? Mother’s awake!” Song Xinlan ran joyfully to the bedside and knelt, grabbing Shen Qingqing’s hand. “That’s wonderful! You’re finally awake. I was so afraid you would never wake up.”
She tried hard to squeeze out tears, but her eyes remained dry.
Shen Qingqing pulled her hand back and looked coldly at her own daughter.
“Do you really wish for me to wake up?”
“Mother, what are you saying? Of course your daughter wishes for you to wake up.” Song Xinlan was somewhat flustered and at a loss.
However, Shen Qingqing’s voice suddenly rose in an angry shout, “Song Xinlan, why did you push me into the water?”
Song Xinlan’s face instantly turned deathly pale. She immediately denied it, “No, I didn’t push you, Mother. How could I possibly push you?”
“It was just you, me, and Yu’er there. If it wasn’t you, then it was Yu’er.” Shen Qingqing looked at Song Yu, who stood to the side. The eight-year-old boy was already growing up to be gentle and handsome, bearing a striking resemblance to his father, Song Lingxiao, but none to her. Could this be the reason they wanted her dead?
The thought was like a knife slowly slicing through her heart.
A flash of annoyance crossed Song Yu’s eyes as he looked at her. He then took two steps forward and said with a worried expression, “Mother, Lan’er didn’t do it on purpose. I will apologize to you on her behalf.”
As he spoke, he made to kneel, but his movement was slow, as if waiting for Shen Qingqing to pull him up.
But Shen Qingqing just watched him kneel, not stopping him.
In her past life, she would have certainly stopped him.
In this life, she wanted nothing to do with these three children. Giving birth to these three vicious creatures was worse than giving birth to a wooden club! Since they wanted her dead, she would absolutely not let them have an easy time.
Her nails dug into her flesh, keeping her calm and clear-headed.
“Lan’er, tell me what happened.” She lowered her gaze to Song Xinlan. The girl was likely surprised by her sternness. In the past, she had always doted on these two children, giving them her heart and soul, teaching them everything she thought was good, and always prioritizing their food, clothing, and expenses.
“Mother, I’m sorry. I accidentally bumped into you while playing. It was my fault. Please punish me,” Song Xinlan said, asking for punishment but not kneeling.
“As the legitimate eldest daughter of the Marquis Manor, have you forgotten all the rules I’ve taught you? Go outside and kneel! You are not to get up without my permission!”
Song Xinlan stared at her in astonishment, tears instantly rolling from her eyes. This time, she was truly crying.
“Yu’er, get up. This matter has nothing to do with you,” she said to Song Yu in a gentle tone.
“Thank you, Mother.” Song Yu stood up without looking at Song Xinlan.
Shen Qingqing saw a fleeting look of dissatisfaction in Song Xinlan’s eyes.
Weren’t the brother and sister very close? She was going to drive a wedge between them.