“Husband, I’m sorry, I can’t be with you until we’re old. After I’m gone, just forget me.” Huo Ningyu was on her last breath, her eyes filled with tears.
Xie Zhengyang gripped her pale hand. His grief vanished, replaced by a sinister smile.
“My lady, Ning’er and I have been waiting for this day for over half a year. We are the ones who are truly in love.
On the very first day of our marriage, Ning’er and I consummated our relationship.
I’ve been poisoning your food every day, making your body weaker and weaker, so you would slowly die.
You can go in peace. Once I marry Ning’er, your dowry will become her dowry.”
Jiang Ning, that was her sworn sister.
Huo Ningyu’s small mouth opened and closed in shock, her chest heaving rapidly.
In the end, she died with her eyes wide open.
Her resentful spirit lingered, drifting over Jing Cheng for five whole years, watching her husband marry her sworn sister as his second wife, and then watching them plot the execution of the entire Huo Family.
All to secure the Xie family’s Hou Jue title.
It turned out her sworn sister was a venomous snake the Huo Family had raised.
How she hated them!
If only she had a chance to do it all over again…
Jing Cheng, Nan Chu Kingdom.
The residence of the Hubu Shangshu, the Huo Family, was festooned with lanterns and decorations. Tomorrow was the joyous day of the Huo Family’s Da Xiao Jie, Huo Ningyu, marrying into the Zhongyi Bo Fu.
But Huo Ningyu, sitting before her dressing table, wore a complex and shocked expression as she stared fixedly at her reflection in the mirror.
Her slender, jade-like fingers touched her rosy cheeks.
So healthy, so full of life.
She had been reborn to the day before her wedding!
This was wonderful. She would absolutely not marry Xie Zhengyang.
“Miss, what’s wrong?” her maid, Zhenzhu, asked in confusion.
She had been watching her miss stare into the mirror as if she had lost her soul.
“Zhenzhu, go and find out if my sworn sister is in her courtyard,” Huo Ningyu said, snapping back to her senses.
“Yes.”
Zhenzhu returned quickly.
“Miss, Miss Ning has gone out.”
“How long has she been gone?” Huo Ningyu froze. Could she be too late?
“About half a shichen.”
Huo Ningyu shot to her feet and ran out of her boudoir like a madwoman.
“Miss, where are you going?” Zhenzhu exclaimed in alarm.
Her miss was getting married tomorrow, yet she was acting so rashly.
“Zhenzhu, quickly, go tell the gatekeepers to prepare a carriage to go out,” Huo Ningyu’s command drifted back from a distance.
Running into the main courtyard, Huo Ningyu saw her mother checking the dowry list one last time.
Seeing her mother alive and well before her, Huo Ningyu nearly burst into tears.
She really had been reborn, and her mother was still alive.
“Ningyu, come quickly and help Mother see if there are any mistakes or omissions,” Madam Huo, Rong Huazhi, said, smiling and waving her daughter over.
“Mother, quickly, come with me somewhere,” Huo Ningyu was jolted awake. She grabbed her mother’s hand and pulled her outside.
Madam Huo was bewildered.
But seeing the urgent look on her daughter’s face, she had no choice but to follow.
Just as they reached the main gate, they saw her father, Huo Pengcheng, returning from outside.
Huo Ningyu was so moved she thanked the heavens again.
This was wonderful. Both her parents were alive.
She pulled her father onto the carriage as well.
She knew that Xie Zhengyang had a small private villa in the west of the city.
When they arrived at the villa, the gate was closed.
Huo Ningyu peeked through a crack in the gate and saw no one inside.
She ordered the coachman to step on the horse’s back, jump over the courtyard wall, and open the gate without alerting anyone inside.
Huo Ningyu gestured for her parents to tread lightly.
The three had just stepped into the courtyard when they heard voices coming from a side room.
“Ning’er, I’ve wronged you. Although there’s no grand red bridal sedan, the bride in my heart will never be anyone but you.
Today, we will consummate our marriage and create our most beautiful memory.
Though I am a man, I never indulge in debauchery. Today is also my first time.
I want to give my most precious first time to you.” Xie Zhengyang’s affectionate voice reached the ears of the three.
Huo Pengcheng and Madam Huo were so shocked they nearly lost their composure.
Huo Ningyu was already mentally prepared, and with the experiences of her past life, her heart had long gone numb.
“Zhengyang, I know your heart belongs only to me, so you must find a way to marry me soon. I will wait for you forever,” Jiang Ning’s equally sentimental voice drifted out.
“Alright.”
Huo Pengcheng was about to step forward but was held back firmly by Huo Ningyu, who gestured for him to be patient.
The three of them stood at the door of the side room, listening to the commotion inside.
A stool fell over, a table was bumped, and teacups trembled.
The sound of tearing clothes…
“Zhengyang, be gentle.”
“Ning’er, I’ve waited for this day for three years. I can’t wait any longer,” his voice was urgent and eager.
“But I’m scared,” her voice was coquettish and soft.
“Don’t be afraid. You are my darling treasure. I won’t hurt you,” his voice was deep and doting.
The sound of a man and a woman kissing was crystal clear.
The faces of Huo Pengcheng and Rong Huazhi turned green with rage.
But Huo Ningyu wouldn’t let them make a move.
She wanted to catch them in the act; this was the highest level of a clandestine affair.
Jiang Ning wanted to marry as the main wife?
She might not even be able to enter the Zhongyi Bo Fu as a concubine.
“Ah! Zhengyang, it hurts.”
A woman’s soft cry of pain came from inside.
The three people at the door all knew what stage things had progressed to.
The fire in Huo Pengcheng’s eyes practically erupted.
Rong Huazhi wept silently, gently pulling her daughter into her arms.
On the eve of her wedding, her daughter had been betrayed.
Jiang Ning was their adopted daughter, whom they had raised for eight whole years.
Whatever their own daughter had, she was never denied the slightest bit.
They had raised her like their own daughter.
They hired tutors for her, teaching her zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
They even helped her find a prospective husband.
And her mother, too, was never short of clothes or jewelry throughout the seasons. Whatever they ate, she and her mother ate.
And this was the result—raising such an ungrateful wretch.
“Mother, I’m fine,” Huo Ningyu gently patted her mother’s back and whispered words of comfort in her ear.
Feeling that enough time had passed and the two should be lost in their passion, Huo Ningyu fiercely kicked the door open.
The shameless pair, who had reached the height of their passion, were so startled by the sudden loud noise that they both cried out in alarm.
Xie Zhengyang let out a muffled grunt and fell directly on top of Jiang Ning.
Huo Ningyu strode over in a few steps and ripped aside the bed curtains.
“Ah!” Jiang Ning shrieked in terror.
Two naked bodies were entwined together.
In her past life, Huo Ningyu had been married to Xie Zhengyang for a full six months, and they had been a real husband and wife.
She was not afraid to see Xie Zhengyang unclothed.
“Ningyu!” Xie Zhengyang quickly pulled the blanket over them both.
At that moment, the two were so frightened they didn’t know what to do.
Rong Huazhi suddenly erupted with unprecedented fury. Disregarding that Xie Zhengyang was a man, she lunged forward and slapped Jiang Ning several times.
“Ah!”
“You shameless dog! Is this how you repay the Huo Family for raising you?”
“Aunt, don’t hit Ning’er! It’s all my fault,” Xie Zhengyang reached out to block the blows.
“Yes, it is all your fault.” Rong Huazhi showed no mercy, landing two slaps on Xie Zhengyang as well.
“Mother, let’s go. Let them get dressed,” Huo Ningyu only wanted to catch them in the act.
This would leave them with no way to escape.
Her wedding with Xie Zhengyang tomorrow would not happen.
Thankfully, she was reborn today. She hadn’t married him yet; there was still time to fix everything.
Huo Ningyu stopped her mother, who still wanted to hit them, and led her out of the room.
Huo Pengcheng was already seated in the main hall.
“Ningyu, it’s all Father’s fault. I was a poor judge of character, betrothing you to such a shameless dog.”
Tears streamed down his old face.
“Father, this has nothing to do with you.”
Jiang Ning had set her sights on Xie Zhengyang long ago and had seduced him until he was utterly bewitched.
Xie Zhengyang and Jiang Ning hastily dressed and came in.
Jiang Ning hid behind Xie Zhengyang, so ashamed she wished the ground would swallow her whole.
“Uncle Huo, Aunt Rong, I’m sorry. Since you’ve already caught us, let’s call off the marriage between Ningyu and me. I plan to marry Ning’er.
All along, my heart has belonged to Ning’er. She is well-read, gentle, and obedient. She is the most suitable person to be the eldest daughter-in-law of the Xie family.” Xie Zhengyang cast aside his pride and spoke his truest thoughts.
“Since you two are so in love, why did you still want to marry me?” Huo Ningyu questioned coldly.