“My child! My child!!”
The excruciating pain, like bones being torn apart, burned through my flesh, as if lava were being poured over my head, making me wish I were dead.
Cao Lingyun woke up from her nightmare with a scream, her fingers tearing through the bedding, her body drenched in cold sweat.
“No, no…” Like a drowning person, she gasped for breath almost greedily, but in the next moment, through her blurry, tearful eyes, she saw the purple curtains fluttering in front of the bed.
And the pair of small clay figurines that she used to keep at the foot of her bed when she was a child.
!!
Cao Lingyun’s heart skipped a beat, and she sat up abruptly. She then noticed a perfectly ironed pomegranate-colored silk skirt on the small couch beside her.
Those were the clothes her mother prepared for her coming-of-age ceremony!
Could it be.
Cao Lingyun stroked her flat stomach, and after the initial shock, a bitter feeling almost welled up in her throat.
Heaven has eyes! She actually returned to three years ago—the day before her coming-of-age ceremony, the day when everything could still be changed!
There was no incense blown into her room before her birthday banquet, no strange man who suddenly barged into her boudoir that night and took advantage of her in a daze; she was not yet pregnant and was being forced by her furious father to marry that mean-spirited scholar as a gift; nor was she killed by her heartless husband and vicious concubine in the endless power struggles within the household, resulting in the deaths of both mother and child…
The events of her past life flashed before her eyes like an absurd tragedy. Recalling the tragic scene before her death, dragging her bleeding pregnant belly and weeping uncontrollably, unable to even get a basin of hot water, she clutched her chest, exhaled heavily, and stared blankly for a long time. After a while, she suddenly chuckled.
“Ha.” Cao Lingyun stroked her pomegranate skirt, her eyes flashing with hatred.
Dawn was breaking outside, and there was still a full day until her birthday banquet. She would never forget who had brought her to this state. Her dear half-sister and aunt, neither of them would escape punishment!
She crawled back from hell with an undying hatred. Now that heaven has granted her a second chance, she is determined to repay all the suffering she has endured over the years!
Moving her stiff limbs, Cao Lingyun hid the torn bedding, cleared her hoarse throat, and called out to the outside, “Someone come here!”
After a while, a round-faced, round-eyed maid ran in from the outer room.
“Why did you wake up so early today, young lady! Oh dear, are you having a nightmare? Why are you sweating so much?”
Rouge had served her since childhood. After her impoverished marriage, the girl tried to sneak out to see her several times, but was beaten half to death by Aunt Peng.
Cao Lingyun’s eyes stung with tears, and she leaned against Yan Zhi’s shoulder, hiding her own tears. Then, mimicking her old tone, she said in a coquettish voice, “Good Yan Zhi, please go and talk to Mother for me. Tomorrow is my coming-of-age ceremony, and I want to go out and have some fun before my birthday—”
“Girl, you’re here again!” Rouge’s little face scrunched up, but in the end she couldn’t resist Cao Lingyun’s soft words and mumbled a reply.
Before long, news came from the front yard that Cao Lingyun had dressed and gone to Yifeng Courtyard to see her mother. The loving woman was as gentle and kind as she remembered, and with a smile, she patted her head and stuffed a bag of loose silver into her hand.
Cao Lingyun suppressed the urge to cry, ordered a carriage, and changed course as soon as she left the mansion, heading straight for the Tang residence in the east of the city.
After hurriedly reporting to the gatekeeper, Madam Tang soon came out from the inner room wearing an apron. Because she was a close friend of Cao Lingyun’s mother, Liu Ruoyan, Madam Tang always treated her as her own daughter.
Therefore, when her “adopted daughter” suggested borrowing her sleeping potion to catch the thief in the courtyard, she agreed without hesitation.
Cao Lingyun obtained the items effortlessly. She went back to the market to buy some jewelry to cover them up, and returned to the Cao residence leisurely around noon.
The day passed quickly. After returning home, she summoned Baoyan, the most capable maid in the courtyard, and asked her to find an excuse to call her elder brother to the courtyard at 7:45 PM.
He also instructed Rouge to keep a close eye on his parents and prevent them from approaching the courtyard before 7 PM.
After arranging everything, Cao Lingyun calmly washed and bathed as usual, then piled clothes on the couch to form a human-shaped mound before hiding behind a screen.
As the sun sets, the courtyard falls silent.
As two furtive footsteps drew near, shadowy figures loomed in the moonlight, their reflections shimmering on the window paper.
She recognized one of the figures even after it turned to ashes; the one with the hairpin askew and acting arrogantly was none other than her beloved half-sister, Cao Linglan.
“Hurry up and go down there to light the sleeping incense. Do as I say, understand?”
As soon as she finished speaking, the paper window was pierced with a “poof,” and as wisps of incense smoke diffused from the thin tube, Cao Lingyun held her breath and watched with clear eyes as Cao Linglan pushed a lewd-looking burly man through the door.
“Hehe.”
The next moment, the big man rubbed his hands together, drool still hanging from the corner of his mouth, and walked towards the bed with a fawning smile. Cao Lingyun felt a sudden wave of nausea. As the big man turned around, she suddenly leaped up, like a nimble cat, climbed behind him, and covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief smeared with sleeping potion.
Before she could even struggle, the big man rolled his eyes and went limp. Cao Lingyun dragged him to the ground with disgust. When she looked up, she saw that Cao Linglan was still outside the door, her silhouette pressed against the window, as if she was about to poke a hole in the window to find out what was going on.
Cao Lingyun smiled and silently approached the door. Then she suddenly opened the door and greeted her half-sister, who was staggering back in shock.
“Good evening!”
“you-”
Under the other person’s ghost-like gaze, Cao Lingyun used the same trick again, suddenly making a move and dragging the person into the house while covering their mouth and nose.
After arranging the two people together, she calmly lit incense in the corner of the room.
Of course, it’s an aphrodisiac fragrance.
Then, with a creak, the door slammed shut.
Cao Lingyun wiped her hands, but instead of lingering, she went to the kitchen. She had set up a grand show, so she needed to get plenty of rest, otherwise no one would be able to enjoy it!
Fortunately, the kitchen had prepared a lot of food for her birthday. She ate and strolled around for a long time under the helpless gazes of the maids. It was only when the nanny reminded her that it was almost 7 p.m. that she wiped her cat-like mouth and said “goodbye” to everyone with a smile.
On the other side, Bao Yan had just heard the bell toll at the hour of Xu (7-9 PM) when she rushed to the study. Cao Lingtang, the eldest son of the Cao family, had just arrived at the mansion to rest and hadn’t even had a chance to sit down when he heard that his most precious little sister was missing. He immediately put down his teacup and was about to rush out.
Unfortunately, the two generals he was discussing matters with were no ordinary people: the one named Wang Xiao was married to the eldest daughter of the Cao family and was now a noble son-in-law of the Cao family; the one named Zhou Hongbai was even more distinguished. He was not only the only legitimate son of the Duke of Zhou’s family, but also in charge of military affairs. He had made great achievements at a young age, and had already been betrothed to Cao Lingyun, the youngest daughter of the Cao family, and they would be getting married soon.
Upon hearing the news of Cao Lingyun’s disappearance, the three of them got up almost simultaneously, summoned a large group of guards, and headed towards Luoying Courtyard in a grand procession.
“Baoyan!! Lead the way quickly!! Yun’er is perfectly fine in the manor, how could she be lost!”
The group had only gone halfway when they encountered Cao Jianfeng, the father of the Cao family, who had been invited by Yan Zhi, and Liu Ruoyan, who looked anxious.
“Yun’er! Yun’er!”
Inside the vast Cao mansion, no one paid any attention to the guests who had already arrived in the front courtyard. They hurriedly stepped into Luoying Courtyard, but froze in their tracks the moment they entered.