“Quick! The Jiang girl is all alone; she won’t have gone far!”
“Matron, what should we do? I clearly watched her drink the entire cup of fruit wine. How does she still have the strength to run away?”
“Stop talking nonsense! Find her first. If the Crown Prince finds out she’s missing, both our worthless lives are forfeit!”
Jiang Henian hid around the corner, breaking into a cold sweat as she listened to the voices not far away. At this moment, she not only lacked even a shred of strength, but her consciousness was also beginning to blur.
She pressed her back firmly against the wall and, with a sudden burst of resolve, bit down hard on the tip of her tongue. The sharp pain brought back a glimmer of clarity.
Though she was tense, she felt an even greater sense of exhilaration.
Because she had been reborn!
Heaven had given her a chance to turn the tables, and she would never let the tragedies of her past life happen again!
Escaping Crown Prince Lu Huan’s scheme today was the first step she had to take to change her fate.
Glancing around, Jiang Henian knew that if she wanted to escape safely, she had to leave the palace first.
Waiting until the matrons and maidservants searching for her headed in the opposite direction, she gritted her teeth and stumbled forward, supporting herself against the wall.
As she reached the end of a long corridor, she accidentally knocked a flower pot to the ground.
The moment it shattered, Jiang Henian cursed inwardly.
Sure enough, a moment later, she heard the footsteps of the group of matrons and maids doubling back.
Jiang Henian’s heart hammered like thunder, yet she hated that the drug’s effects made it impossible for her to move any faster.
Just as she looked back and saw silhouettes appearing under the lamplight of the archway, she was suddenly yanked into a nearby corner.
Jiang Henian instinctively tried to cry out, but the person covered her mouth with their hand.
By the faint moonlight, she finally saw the man pinning her against him.
It was Lu Huai, Prince Huaiyang—the very man Lu Huan had exhausted every effort to win over in her previous life, and the renowned “Little Imperial Uncle” of the Great Liang Dynasty.
She didn’t dare make a sound, for the footsteps of the servants and matrons were pacing back and forth along the corridor.
Fortunately, these people lacked patience. After searching the area once, they left while shouting curses.
Only when the footsteps had completely vanished did Jiang Henian release the strength she had been forcing to hold herself up, sliding down the wall to the floor.
But to her surprise, Lu Huai also reached out to brace himself against the wall and slid down right next to her.
Jiang Henian gave him a suspicious glance and noticed that his face was flushed with an unnatural feverish red.
He looked much like she did right now.
“Was your drink tampered with as well?”
As soon as she spoke, Jiang Henian realized how soft and weak her voice sounded.
She instinctively looked into Lu Huai’s eyes, and sure enough, she saw a clear struggle of suppression and endurance within those brilliant, starlit depths.
Lu Huai likely knew his situation was dire as well. After glancing at her, he shifted slightly further away.
“Miss Jiang is quite humorous. At a time like this, instead of climbing into the Crown Prince’s bed, you have the leisure to question this Prince.”
Jiang Henian shook her head as the discomfort in her body grew more intense.
She gripped her skirt tightly, desperately forcing herself not to touch the man before her.
This feeling was truly wretched.
“Prince Huaiyang isn’t doing much better. I’m sure the Crown Prince’s dear cousin, Su Ruo, would be more than willing to help ease your troubles. Why bother hiding?”
Jiang Henian had only intended to retort to his remark, but she was suddenly yanked off balance by Lu Huai.
Her already burning body felt as though it had been struck by lightning the moment they touched.
She bit her lip, suppressing the dry heat radiating from within her, and sensitively noticed that Lu Huai’s fiery body stiffened slightly at her movement.
“How do you know that Su Ruo is the one waiting for this Prince in the hall?”
Jiang Henian’s heart skipped a beat, and she instantly regained some clarity.
In her muddled state, she had accidentally let slip something she only knew from her past life.
Using every ounce of her strength and willpower, she wrenched her hand away from Lu Huai’s grip, her beautiful eyebrows knitting together.
“Your Highness, we are currently on the Crown Prince’s territory. Is that really so hard to guess?”
Lu Huai clenched his fists, no longer having the spare energy to analyze how much truth was in her words.
He was enduring the torment of the drug, and the fact that a woman of exquisite beauty—whose eyes were like those of a soul-stealing enchantress—was sitting right beside him made his remaining willpower feel as though it was about to crumble into dust.
Jiang Henian looked toward the path and noticed that the number of servants passing by seemed to have increased.
“It seems it won’t be easy for us to leave this place safely.”
“Not necessarily.”
Hearing the strange tone in his voice, Jiang Henian turned to look at him.
She was caught off guard, staring straight into eyes that were like a vast sea of stars.
They were inches apart, their breaths mingling.
Jiang Henian had always known Lu Huai was exceptionally handsome, but she had never looked at him from such close proximity.
In that moment, she saw a kind of bewitchment in his eyes, enticing her to lose herself uncontrollably.
Already in immense distress, Jiang Henian used the last of her willpower to force her gaze away.
“Prince Huaiyang, you…”
“You are unwilling to be with the Crown Prince?”
Lu Huai’s scorching breath fanned against Jiang Henian’s ear, sending goosebumps across her skin.
Jiang Henian swallowed hard and shook her head.
“I am unwilling.”
“Then what about this Prince? Would you be willing to be with me?”
Lu Huai’s low, raspy voice was eroding every bit of Jiang Henian’s resolve.
Seeing the confusion in her eyes, Lu Huai continued to lead her on: “If you agree, this Prince will personally visit the residence of Chancellor Jiang to propose marriage.”
Propose marriage?
Jiang Henian’s mind suddenly cleared at those two words.
In her previous life, she hadn’t been able to wake from her stupor, so Lu Huan had successfully had his way with her.
Afterward, what did Lu Huan say?
Oh, he seemed to have said the exact same words Lu Huai just did.
He said he would propose, that he would respect her, love her, and never fail her.
Even though her heart was filled with a thousand refusals, for the sake of her family’s face and her grandfather’s lifelong reputation, she had agreed.
However, her nod was the beginning of a nightmare.
On the second day after becoming the Crown Prince’s side consort, she was forced to drink the Sterilization Decoction. The humiliation left her chilled to the bone, but for the sake of the Jiang family, she grit her teeth and endured.
Yet, half a month later, she received news that her grandfather had been falsely accused of being a rebel and her entire family had been thrown into prison. She wanted to beg Lu Huan for help, but was instead framed for having an illicit affair with his nephew.
Not only did she fail to get Lu Huan’s help, she was locked away in a woodshed in the back courtyard.
Lu Huan’s dear cousin—the future Crown Princess Su Ruo—came to the courtyard every day to torture her. Seeing her body covered in wounds, tormented until she was crawling on the ground like a dog, Su Ruo laughed radiantly.
Lu Huan stood to the side watching coldly, his face full of impatience and disgust.
For the safety of everyone in the Chancellor’s Manor, she had grit her teeth and endured everything.
But as she was consumed by flames, Su Ruo had told her with a smile that both her marriage into the Eastern Palace and the destruction of the Jiang family were traps set by Lu Huan, waiting for her to lead the entire Chancellor’s Manor down a path of no return!
Regret, pain, resentment… until finally, a towering hatred!
“Miss Jiang, if you continue to daze off like this, you and I will only be at the mercy of others.”
Though Lu Huai’s voice betrayed a hint of urgency, he maintained excellent self-control.
Jiang Henian pulled herself back to the present and met Lu Huai’s eyes.
In this life, she had been given a chance to choose again. She would never repeat the same mistakes!