Jiang Li’s eyes widened in disbelief.
The space… her mother’s jade pendant…
But it was all too late.
It was only when she was about to sink to the bottom of the sea that her aunt finally revealed the truth. Lu Yuanshan had never cheated on her. Everything had been a scheme designed to trick her into aborting her child and seize all of her family’s property. They had successfully lured her to Hong Kong and made her work for them. Even the letters that supposedly proved Lu Yuanshan’s infidelity had been specially forged for that purpose.
After her death, she watched as they used the space and the treasures taken from her family to expand their business empire. Her aunt and cousin gradually gained access to high society, frequently attending exclusive clubs and upscale gatherings. By chance, her cousin met the heir of Hong Kong’s wealthiest family at a banquet. Together, they became a powerful couple and a celebrated match among the city’s elite.
Later, Jiang Li’s soul was summoned away by a mysterious force and sent to another world to complete various missions. There, she saw that after she left, Lu Yuanshan never remarried. Even after rising to the position of military district commander, his hair turning gray with age, he remained alone until the day he died.
When she completed her missions in that other world, she was granted a chance to be reborn.
And so she returned here.
How foolish she had been in her previous life. Her aunt only had to show her a little kindness and say a few sweet words, and she had been manipulated completely. Thinking about it now, she wanted nothing more than to slap herself a few times.
Instinctively, she placed a hand over her lower abdomen.
Thankfully, her child was still there.
She could almost feel the stubborn little life growing inside her.
This time, things would be different.
She would never abort her baby as she had in her previous life. She would carry her child and travel northwest to join Lu Yuanshan at his military post.
Although there wasn’t much affection between them and she was somewhat intimidated by him, he was still her husband and the baby’s father. Surely he would take care of them.
Feelings could be cultivated over time.
As for the physical side of marriage, she had always felt that Lu Yuanshan was simply too much for her. Their wedding night had been painfully difficult. Based on her medical knowledge, however, a woman’s birth canal widens after a natural delivery. Once she gave birth to the baby, perhaps she would be able to handle it better.
And all the things her enemies had stolen from her in her previous life—
She would take them back.
Every single one of them.
Thinking of the child in her womb, she quickly sat down and took her own pulse to make sure the baby was healthy and safe.
As the daughter of a wealthy family, she had grown up learning some traditional Chinese medicine from her grandfather, a renowned physician whose family had owned pharmaceutical businesses for generations. Most of her medical knowledge, however, had been acquired during her time in the other world.
After examining herself, she confirmed that the pregnancy appeared stable and that she was in good health. Still, she decided to visit a hospital for an examination. She wanted imaging equipment to confirm the exact location and size of the gestational sac before she could truly relax.
Her grandfather specialized in traditional Chinese medicine, but she herself had received systematic training in both Chinese and Western medicine in the other world. She wasn’t biased toward either discipline. As far as she was concerned, any form of medicine that could heal people was good medicine, and it was even better when the two complemented each other.
She got out of bed, slipped on her slippers, and walked into the living room.
The spacious house felt empty now.
Back when her grandfather was one of the most respected doctors in Beijing, their home had been furnished entirely with golden nanmu wood. While many families didn’t even know what televisions or washing machines were, they had owned them—and not just one of each. Radios, record players, cameras, and other household appliances were considered necessities in their home.
Later, after her parents were sent away during political campaigns, some of the furniture was confiscated by local authorities. The better pieces had been quietly moved to her aunt’s and uncle’s homes beforehand. The washing machines, televisions, radios, and other appliances were divided among them as well.
They called it “safekeeping.”
In reality, they intended to keep everything for themselves.
Looking around the empty house, memories of her previous life surfaced once more. Thoughts of her father and mother brought tears to her eyes.
They had once been so happy together.
But those days would never return.
There was no time to dwell on the past.
She returned to her bedroom.
There was still something very important she needed to do.
By this point in her previous life, her aunt had already discovered her pregnancy. Today, she would be contacting an illegal clinic. Tomorrow, she would come to take Jiang Li there for an abortion. She would also sell the house and give away Jiang Li’s job.
Before any of that could happen, Jiang Li intended to deal with both the house and the job herself.
She pulled a key from around her neck and unlocked the bottom drawer of a cabinet.
Inside, on top, lay the deed to the house.
Beneath it were a bankbook, a little over three hundred yuan in cash, a stack of ration coupons, and a Rolex watch. There had originally also been a Titoni and an Omega watch, but she had given them away to her cousin and another relative’s wife because she had depended on her aunt and uncle at the time.
She sighed.
She would get those back too.
At the very back of the drawer sat a Seagull camera. Her cousin Zhao Zhizhi had wanted it badly, but Jiang Li loved it too much to give it away.
Beneath everything else lay her marriage certificate with Lu Yuanshan.
The moment she thought of that man, guilt filled her heart.
She should never have believed her aunt’s lies and misunderstood him. She didn’t know why he had remained unmarried for the rest of his life, but she suspected she was the reason. If she hadn’t brought him a failed marriage, perhaps he wouldn’t have spent his entire life alone.
Her fingers gently traced their names on the certificate.
It felt as though their wedding had happened only yesterday.
She took out the marriage certificate, a document that looked almost like an award certificate, and immediately the memories of the day she and Lu Yuanshan registered their marriage came flooding back.