In the bitterly cold cattle shed, Wen Wan curled up on a bed of damp straw, her skeletal fingers clutching half a moldy cornbread bun.
“Go on, eat it! What, the rich young lady from a capitalist family thinks she’s too good for a working man’s food?” A militia guard jabbed her sharply in the back with a wooden stick, sending dust drifting down from the rotting roof.
Ignoring the pain, Wen Wan stared at the dark lump of food in her hand. Once, she had been the most celebrated daughter of the prestigious Wen family in Shanghai, dressed in the latest fashions and chauffeured everywhere in a private car. Now, she was worth less than a stray dog.
“Cough! Cough! Cough!”
A violent fit of coughing seized her. A metallic sweetness rose in her throat. She quietly wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, unwilling to let anyone witness her humiliation.
“Stop pretending! Your Wen family colluded with foreign forces. You deserve every bit of this punishment!” the guard cursed before stomping out. The wooden door slammed shut behind him, letting in a gust of icy wind.
Only then did Wen Wan loosen her grip, allowing the cornbread to roll onto the dirt floor.
She knew she wouldn’t survive the night.
Her lungs felt as though they were burning. Every breath was like a knife cutting through her chest.
Slowly, she lay back and gazed at the few stars visible through the gaps in the leaking roof. Scenes from her short and tragic life flashed before her eyes.
At twenty, she had married her childhood sweetheart, Xu Mingzhe.
They were a perfect match—equal in family background, talent, and appearance. Everyone called them a match made in heaven.
Only after the wedding did she discover that her husband’s tenderness was nothing more than an act. What he truly coveted was the Wen family’s wealth and connections.
“Wanwan, Father’s health isn’t good lately. Why don’t you help review the factory accounts?”
That was how Xu Mingzhe tricked her into handing over the Wen family’s business secrets.
“Wanwan, this deal will benefit both our families. Please persuade your father.”
The result? The Xu family’s fortune doubled while the Wen family’s market share was steadily devoured.
After three childless years, her mother-in-law, Zhang Cuihua, called her a “hen that couldn’t lay eggs” day after day. What no one knew was that her husband found her too dull and rarely touched her at all.
The cruelest joke came when she finally uncovered Xu Mingzhe’s affair with Lin Xiaoman, a sales clerk at a department store.
By then, the adulterous pair had already siphoned away most of both families’ assets and fled to Hong Kong.
Meanwhile, her parents were accused of “colluding with foreign forces” and publicly denounced. Her father died of a heart attack during interrogation. One brother lost his mind, while the other died.
Wen Wan had long since run out of tears.
She hated Xu Mingzhe for his betrayal.
She hated herself for her foolish innocence.
And she hated this merciless world.
“If I could do it all over again…” Her consciousness began to fade. “I would make them pay in blood for every debt they owe.”
Another violent cough wracked her body.
Blood poured from her mouth.
Her body grew lighter and lighter, as though her soul were drifting away.
“Young Madam! Young Madam! Wake up!”
An urgent voice called out as someone shook her shoulder.
Wen Wan’s eyes flew open.
The anxious face of her maid, Xiao Tao, filled her vision.
“Xiao Tao?”
She stared in shock at the girl who had been dismissed by the Xu family long before her exile.
“Weren’t you already…”
“You must have had a nightmare, Young Madam.” Xiao Tao handed her a warm towel. “You said yesterday that you were visiting the old residence today, so you told me to wake you early.”
Confused, Wen Wan looked around.
This was her bedroom in the Wen family home!
A Swiss clock sat on the dressing table, clearly displaying the date:
March 15, 1966.
She had been reborn.
Returned to one month before Xu Mingzhe and Lin Xiaoman’s planned escape.
Suppressing the storm raging inside her, Wen Wan took the towel and wiped her face. The cool droplets running down her skin felt far too real to be a dream.
“Where’s the young master?” she asked casually.
“He left early this morning,” Xiao Tao replied while making the bed. “Said he had an important business deal to discuss. Oh, and Madam instructed that when you visit today, you should bring that pair of jade bracelets. She says they’re a gift for an important guest.”
Wen Wan sneered inwardly.
The bracelets had been part of her dowry, a gift from her mother. Zhang Cuihua had coveted them for years.
In her previous life, she had foolishly handed them over. A few days later, they appeared on Lin Xiaoman’s wrists.
“I understand. You may go.”
After Xiao Tao left and closed the door, Wen Wan immediately leaped out of bed and rushed to the mirror.
The reflection staring back at her was still that of a twenty-three-year-old woman—skin like snow, delicate features, and none of the hardship and suffering that would later age her beyond her years.
Her trembling fingers touched her cheek.
Suddenly, dizziness washed over her.
The bracelet on her wrist emitted a golden glow.
Darkness swallowed her vision.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself standing inside a gray, mist-filled space roughly ten square meters in size.
“What is this?”
She looked around in astonishment.
With a mere thought, the dressing table from her bedroom suddenly appeared inside the mysterious space.
Another thought—and she was back in her room.
The dressing table was gone.
A storage space!
She had actually obtained a legendary dimensional space ability!
Even more astonishing, there was a well at the center of the space.
It seemed to be the fabled spiritual spring water capable of curing illnesses and strengthening the body.
Taking a deep breath, Wen Wan forced herself to calm down.
No wonder Lin Xiaoman and Xu Mingzhe had managed to smuggle away the fortunes of both families in her previous life.
They had stolen her golden finger.
But Heaven had granted her a second chance—and this extraordinary power—not so she could repeat the same mistakes.
“Young Madam, the car is ready,” Xiao Tao called softly from outside.
“Coming.”
Wen Wan changed into an elegant qipao and carefully arranged her hair before the mirror, wearing her usual gentle and refined smile.
The black iron gates of the Xu family estate slowly swung open.
Stepping out of the car, her high heels clicked crisply against the stone pavement.
This three-story mansion, a blend of Chinese and Western architecture, had once been her dream home.
Now it looked more like a magnificent prison.
“Young Madam has returned.”
The house steward, Old Chen, stood in the entrance hall with a professional smile, though his gaze drifted toward a second-floor window.
Following his line of sight, Wen Wan caught a glimpse of Zhang Cuihua’s sharp-featured face disappearing behind the curtains.
The corners of her lips lifted slightly.
It seemed her mother-in-law could hardly wait to make things difficult for her.
“Madam is waiting in the sitting room,” Old Chen said quietly. “A telegram arrived this morning. The young master won’t be returning for lunch, and Madam is in a foul mood.”
“I understand.”
Wen Wan nodded and discreetly slipped a silver dollar into his hand.
The gesture was subtle, yet enough to make surprise flicker across the old steward’s eyes.
Only before her exile in her previous life had she learned that Old Chen was actually a distant relative of Xu Mingzhe’s biological mother and had secretly monitored her for the Xu family all these years.
This time, she intended to use small favors to lull the watchdog into lowering his guard.
Inside the sitting room, Zhang Cuihua sat stiffly on a French-style sofa.
She wore the latest fashionable qipao, a pearl necklace around her neck, and a gold bracelet that had originally been part of Wen Wan’s dowry.
When Wen Wan entered, Zhang Cuihua didn’t even bother to look up, instead focusing on her teacup.
“Mother, I’m back,” Wen Wan greeted respectfully, standing to one side.
“Oh, so you still remember this place?” Zhang Cuihua snorted coldly. “Mingzhe is out there working himself to the bone for this family, while you spend your days hiding at your parents’ house enjoying yourself.”