"Jiang Li now that you’ve married into our Yin Family, you are one of us. From now on, no matter what happens, the Yin Family will protect you." The kind-faced woman took the teacup, her eyes crinkling into a smile as she looked at her daughter-in-law kneeling before her.
"Don’t be afraid, Jiang Li. The Yin and Jiang families have been friends for generations. Even with no one left in the Jiang family, no one will dare bully you." The middle-aged man’s smiling eyes were filled with affection for the younger woman.
"Jiang Li, from now on, you’re my sister-in-law. Rest assured, even with my eldest brother gone, you’ll always be my family. No one can ever replace you." The young girl’s bright eyes curved into crescents, her smile as sweet as candied fruit.
"You don’t need to worry about not having a son to support you in the future. Huiniang and I have already discussed it. We will have our son adopted under your name to carry on my eldest brother’s line." The young man flashed a set of white teeth, his sincerity practically written all over his face.
...
Jiang Li came back to her senses and looked at the smiling faces before her, her mind in a daze.
’Didn’t I die? After marrying into the Yin Family, I toiled for fifteen years, eventually falling ill from exhaustion. But with no money for treatment, I died in agony.’
’Why... am I alive again?’
Jiang Li’s gaze swept over them, as if she could see their true faces behind those false smiles.
Her father-in-law, Yin Hongcai, coveted her Jiang family’s trading company and medical hall. Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Fan, had her eyes on her family’s shops and land. Her younger brother-in-law, Yin Chengzhou, wanted the Jiang family’s connections at court, while her younger sister-in-law, Yin Ranshuang, lusted after the various jewels and trinkets from her dowry.
Jiang Li quickly realized she had been reborn.
In her past life, before her grandfather died, he worried that she, an orphan girl, wouldn’t be able to protect the Jiang family’s fortune. So, he entrusted her to the Yin Family, with whom she had a childhood betrothal, hoping she could live out her life under their protection.
But just before the wedding, terrible news came from the border: the Yin Family’s eldest son, Yin Hezhou, had died on the battlefield. They couldn’t even recover his body.
Not wanting to worry her elders in the afterlife, Jiang Li went through with the marriage ceremony holding his memorial tablet, officially becoming the wife of the Yin Family’s eldest son.
Today was the second day after her marriage, and she had woken up early to serve tea to her parents-in-law.
In her past life, she had seen the kind faces of her parents-in-law and heard the gentle words of her brother- and sister-in-law, mistakenly believing the Yin Family was easy to get along with.
Little did she know, these people were only after her dowry.
The good family she thought she had married into was actually a den of wolves that devoured people, bones and all.
A pack of ungrateful wolves, at that.
If she remembered correctly, it was on this very day in her past life that she learned her mother-in-law had suffered from headaches for years. She had knelt before the Divine Doctor’s door for ten days to persuade him to treat her mother-in-law.
She had attended to her mother-in-law’s bedside daily, serving her medicinal broths. It took over half a year of constant care for her to finally recover.
But when she herself fell ill and was no longer of use, it was that same mother-in-law who had cursed her for being bad luck, locked her away on a rural estate, and left her to die from her illness.
She had even denied all of Jiang Li’s contributions to the Yin Family, branding her with a malicious reputation.
A wave of bitter resentment washed over her. Jiang Li fought back the tears, barely managing to stop them from falling.
Just then, a strange voice sounded in her ear.
[Congratulations, Host, on your successful rebirth and for binding with the Make the Ungrateful Wolves Weep with Regret System. As long as you make the people who harmed you in your past life feel regret, you will earn points and rewards! The system will also provide you with any necessary assistance. Do your best, Host!~]
The corner of Jiang Li’s mouth twitched into an almost imperceptible smile. Although she didn’t quite understand what a "system" was, she could guess that her rebirth was related to the voice she had just heard.
’Now that I have a chance to live again, I will never let the Yin Family take even the slightest advantage of me.’
’In my past life, I exhausted myself putting the Yin Family on the right track. This time, I won’t lift a finger.’
’I will watch with my own eyes as the Yin Family walks step by step toward their ruin.’
The most urgent task was to find a way to make the Yin Family agree to a divorce.
Jiang Li’s eyes flickered. A plan had already formed in her mind.
’The Yin Family only agreed to this marriage because they’re after my dowry. If I can make them believe that not only is my dowry meager, but that I’m also completely useless—or even a liability—they’ll be desperate to cut ties with me.’
After the tea ceremony, Jiang Li stood up.
Her mother-in-law, Mrs. Fan, rubbed her temples, feigning a pained expression. "I’m getting old, and my headaches are terrible. Ali, I heard you have a connection with Divine Doctor Bai. I wonder, could you ask the Divine Doctor to come and have a look at me?"
Jiang Li put on a troubled expression, biting her lip before speaking with difficulty. "To be honest with you, Mother-in-law, it was my grandfather who was acquainted with Divine Doctor Bai. Your daughter-in-law has only met him a few times. We can’t say we have any real connection."
Mrs. Fan found Jiang Li’s form of address strange. Just a moment ago during the tea ceremony, she had called her "Mother," but now it was "Mother-in-law," creating an inexplicable distance.
But then she considered that Jiang Li’s entire family was dead. ’Perhaps Jiang Li is bad luck,’ she thought. ’If I let the girl call me "Mother," that bad luck might rub off on me.’
So, Mrs. Fan didn’t dwell on the form of address.
Mrs. Fan took Jiang Li’s words as mere humility and smiled. "It’s worth a try, regardless. Just do what you can. I wouldn’t trouble you if my headaches weren’t so severe."
Jiang Li feigned obedience with a slight curtsy. "Yes, your daughter-in-law understands."
After leaving the main courtyard, Jiang Li returned to Qinghe Courtyard, the place where she had lived for fifteen years in her past life.
Seeing her dowry maids, Bai Zhi and Wangyou, and thinking of Ren Dong and her nurse, who were managing her family’s shops, her nose tingled with the urge to cry.
In her past life, her poor judgment of character and blind trust in the Yin Family had not only destroyed her but also brought ruin upon those closest to her.
Ren Dong and her nurse were implicated in a murder case and died tragically in prison.
Bai Zhi was caught stealing from the storeroom and sold off.
Wangyou had stayed with her the longest. After Jiang Li was sent to the estate, Wangyou tried to seek justice for her but was killed before she could get the word out.
Jiang Li held back her tears. ’I can’t cry. Now is not the time for tears.’
’Reborn, there are so many things I must do.’
Bai Zhi noticed something was off with her lady and asked with a worried expression, "Miss, did someone bully you?"
Jiang Li forced a smile. "I’m fine. Has the dowry list been sent to the Yin Family’s storeroom?"
The two maids exchanged a look, then lowered their eyes and shook their heads.
They expected their lady to be displeased, but instead, they heard her gentle voice.
"Prepare a new dowry list. And there’s no need to move the rest of the dowry items that haven’t been brought to the Yin Family yet."
She was the only one left in the Jiang family, so her dowry was substantial, including not only what her grandparents had left her, but also what her parents had left her.
Worried that bringing too large a dowry on the wedding day would attract too much attention, Jiang Li had specifically instructed for it to be delivered to the Yin Family in batches after the wedding.
Now that she was planning a divorce, there was no need to bring over the rest of the dowry.
’As for the dowry items already moved to the Yin household, I will take every last one of them back.’
"Wangyou, go to the Yin Family’s storeroom and request two stalks of ginseng. Say it’s to hire Divine Doctor Bai for my mother-in-law."
Wangyou agreed, not questioning her lady’s orders in the slightest.
Before long, Wangyou returned holding a wooden box, her face etched with displeasure.
"I told the storeroom steward it was to hire Divine Doctor Bai for the Madam. The steward even went to ask the Madam for permission, but they just fobbed me off with a single five-year-old ginseng root. They refused to give any more."
A smile touched Jiang Li’s lips. She had guessed the Yin Family would be unwilling to spend their own money but would also be too embarrassed to openly ask her, the new bride, to pay. So, they used this single ginseng root to brush her off, likely assuming that she, the daughter-in-law, would make up the difference.
’What kind of treasures hasn’t Divine Doctor Bai seen before?’
’In my past life, I offered two top-quality ginseng roots and knelt for ten days before Divine Doctor Bai finally relented.’
’This time, if I go visit him with a root like this, I’ll probably be thrown out the door immediately.’
"Wangyou, take this ginseng. You’re coming with me to visit Divine Doctor Bai."