Shen Ruoxi had been reborn.
The first thing she did after her rebirth was corner Murong Heng, the Ninth Prince—rumored to be the most cold and unrestrained invalid—in a private room of a teahouse.
Shen Ruoxi reached out, closed the door behind her, and looked up at the peerlessly handsome man inside the room, a faint smile gracing her lips.
“Prince Ling, it has been a long time.”
Opposite her, Murong Heng sat upright in a carved pearwood chair. He wore an ink-colored python robe woven with gold, his hair bound in a jade crown, his features exquisite.
His excessively pale skin added a touch of gloom to his noble temperament.
At that moment, his thin lips curved slightly, revealing a trace of a searching smile.
“Eldest Miss Shen, what is the meaning of this?”
Shen Ruoxi lifted the hem of her skirt and slowly approached him.
Then, she bent over and sat directly in his lap.
Murong Heng’s gaze froze for a moment.
However, he quickly regained his composure.
No trace of emotion flickered across his pale, gloomy face. Only his cold gaze remained fixed intently on her face.
In the past, Shen Ruoxi would have been afraid of him.
But she had been reborn.
In her previous life, her soul had hovered in the air, watching with her own eyes as this man, after her death, drenched the imperial family in blood. He had riddled Murong Yu—the man who had betrayed her—with ten thousand arrows and cut off his head to throw it before her grave.
His bloodshot eyes had been filled with despair and sorrow as he knelt on the ground and confessed his love.
At that moment, she finally realized that Murong Heng loved her to his very marrow.
Thinking of this, Shen Ruoxi reached out and pushed up her sleeve, revealing her Chastity Bead.
Seeing that speck of vermilion, Murong Heng’s gaze grew increasingly profound.
Then, he curled his lips playfully.
“So, Brother Prince Qi is… incapable?”
“But if Eldest Miss Shen is lonely, you could find anyone else. Why did you think to find a sickly man like me?”
Shen Ruoxi leaned into his embrace. “Murong Heng, I want to leave Murong Yu. Help me, won’t you?”
Murong Heng sneered.
“Everyone knows you have been infatuated with Brother Prince Qi for years. Now that you’ve finally married him as you wished, why are you performing this act for me?”
“I regret it. I don’t want Murong Yu. I want… you.”
As she uttered the last word, she tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
She gave a light peck to his thin, cold lips.
The noble and icy man finally felt the emotions in his eyes fracture.
He abruptly grabbed her small chin.
A sinister aura radiated from his eyes.
“I thought Eldest Miss Shen was utterly devoted to Murong Yu. It turns out you are so lacking in reserve? Do you think this Prince would take a fancy to a woman like you?”
Shen Ruoxi kept her eyes open, her dark, large eyes staring intently at him.
Then, she suddenly smiled.
“You do fancy me.”
Murong Heng’s fingers loosened, and his eyes darkened completely.
He tilted the chin of the person in his arms, causing her crimson lips to part slightly, and kissed her.
Amidst the entanglement, his voice was cold and hoarse.
“Shen Ruoxi, you had better not be playing me.”
As she stepped out of the teahouse, Taoye immediately rushed to meet her.
“Miss, let’s hurry back. Prince Qi has put you under house arrest. If he finds out you’ve left the manor, he will definitely be furious when he returns.”
Shen Ruoxi acted as if she hadn’t heard.
“I heard the best tailor shop in the capital has received many new silks. Let’s go take a look and have a few sets of new clothes made.”
Taoye was stunned.
She felt that ever since her mistress woke up today, something was different.
Filled with confusion, Taoye helped her into the sedan chair.
Sitting inside the sedan, Shen Ruoxi took several deep breaths to calm her emotions.
As the legitimate daughter of the Great General’s manor, this was the first time she had ever done something so provocative.
And the target of her seduction was Murong Heng, Prince Ling, the most troublesome invalid in the Great Yan Kingdom.
If this were the past, she wouldn’t have dared no matter what.
But for someone who had died once, what was there left that she couldn’t risk?
Feeling the faint ache on her neck, Shen Ruoxi’s expression turned a bit awkward.
Murong Heng was a sickly man, but she hadn’t expected him to be so forceful when he kissed. She had been completely unable to withstand it.
After having several sets of clothes tailored at the shop, Shen Ruoxi bought some pearl hairpins and jewelry.
Only then did she head back home.
She had just rested for a short while when someone came to report.
“Princess Consort, Prince Qi has returned! He wants you to go to the Orchid Garden; he says he has something to discuss with you!”
Shen Ruoxi’s expression was indifferent.
“I understand.”
She didn’t stand up immediately but turned around.
“Taoye, fix my makeup and hair first.”
Taoye immediately stepped forward to rearrange Shen Ruoxi’s stray hairs.
As the pearl hairpins were set, her long black hair, like fine silk, fell to her soft waist.
Her fair face was without powder, yet it remained exceptionally radiant.
As Taoye brushed, she couldn’t help but mutter.
“Miss, I just passed by the Orchid Garden and saw Ning Lanxue by Prince Qi’s side. Her face was flushed with health; she didn’t look sick at all. I think she’s just faking it so the Prince will punish you.”
Shen Ruoxi said nothing.
This point in time she had been reborn into was the first year of her marriage to Prince Qi, Murong Yu.
Half a month ago, she had an argument with Ning Lanxue.
Ning Lanxue had clutched her chest and tearfully complained to Murong Yu, saying her chest hurt and she had been made ill by anger.
Because of this, Murong Yu was furious and placed Shen Ruoxi under house arrest.
He, meanwhile, took Ning Lanxue to a summer villa in the suburbs, saying it was to let Ning Lanxue relax and recover.
A mocking smile curved at the corners of Shen Ruoxi’s mouth.
As the legitimate Princess Consort Qi and the daughter of the Great General, she had actually let a lowly wench from the pleasure quarters trample over her head. She had truly been pathetic.
But in her previous life, had she only been pathetic in this one matter?
In her past life, she had been just like this—deeply in love with Murong Yu, ignoring the opposition of her father and brothers, and disregarding the fact that Murong Yu had a long-time confidante, Ning Lanxue. She had stubbornly insisted on marrying him.
After entering the Prince’s manor, she repeatedly lowered herself to please him, attending to his every need with meticulous care.
Yet Murong Yu had always remained indifferent to her. Not only had he never touched her, he had even brought his confidante Ning Lanxue back to the manor to keep her there.
The two of them acted like lovers all day long, making her, the Princess Consort Qi, a laughingstock.
Shen Ruoxi had made scenes, but all she got in return was his even more cold-hearted disregard.
Eventually, she compromised.
For the sake of Murong Yu’s pitiful scraps of affection, she had not hesitated to lower her status, yielding the position of primary consort and willing to become a concubine. She had even been coaxed by Murong Yu to go and beg her father and brothers to support him in the Imperial Succession Struggle.
With the full support of the Shen family, Murong Yu, an unfavored prince, finally succeeded in ascending the throne as Emperor.
But the moment his great ambition was achieved, not only did he not grant her the promised position of Empress, but he issued an imperial decree casting her into the Cold Palace, where she was left to be insulted and abused.
Later, fearing that the Shen family’s merit would overshadow the throne, Murong Yu slaughtered the entire Shen clan on trumped-up charges.
The day the entire family was massacred was the Start of Winter.
Snow fell in thick flurries.
She had rushed out of the Cold Palace barefoot, kneeling before the imperial hall until her head bled, weeping and begging Murong Yu to spare the Shen family.
Not far away, Murong Yu wore his bright yellow dragon robe, with the elegant Ning Lanxue nestled by his side, looking at her as if she were something filthy.
He spoke coldly, ordering the guards to beat her to death with clubs.
At that moment, her heart died completely.
As she collapsed in the snow, her eyes saw only vast white and vivid red.
The cold soaked through her skin and into her blood, turning into deep hatred and regret.
She had died with her eyes open…
“Miss?”
Taoye’s call pulled Shen Ruoxi out of her memories.
Only then did she realize her eyes were warm, with a tear at the corner.
Taoye thought she was sad because of Murong Yu.
“Miss, don’t cry. Perhaps the Prince is only interested in that Ning Lanxue for the novelty. In time, he will realize how good you are…”
“Taoye, this outfit is too plain. Use the clothes and jewelry I bought today.”
Shen Ruoxi spoke softly, interrupting her.
Taoye immediately went to fetch them, finally choosing a light-colored floral mist skirt.
Over it, she wore a water-blue silk robe embroidered with gold thread patterns.
It was dignified yet luxurious.
Taoye praised her.
“Miss is indeed the number one beauty in the capital. Just a little bit of dressing up makes it impossible to look away… Miss, if I may speak boldly, you used to dress too plainly, which hid your beauty.”
“In the past, my head was indeed filled with water.”
Shen Ruoxi’s tone was self-deprecating.
Before, Ning Lanxue was jealous of her beauty, so Murong Yu had told her to dress simply, and she had obediently complied.
Standing next to the brightly dressed Ning Lanxue, those who didn’t know would have thought she was Ning Lanxue’s maid.
“Let’s go. I am curious to see what Murong Yu wants with me.”
A cold glint flashed in Shen Ruoxi’s eyes as she walked out.
Orchid Garden.
Murong Yu was embracing Ning Lanxue, standing on an arched bridge feeding the fish.
Ning Lanxue would occasionally turn back to whisper secrets to him.
They looked incredibly intimate.
Shen Ruoxi’s gaze was icy, and she cursed them in her heart.
Scum couple.
Ning Lanxue was the first to see her and said in a low voice, “Sister Ruoxi is here.”
Murong Yu turned around, saw Shen Ruoxi, and his face immediately darkened.
“I heard you left the manor today? This Prince told you that you were confined to the manor. How dare you go out without permission?”
Shen Ruoxi’s expression was calm.
“The shopkeeper of the Tingya Pavilion sent a message saying my favorite spring tea had arrived. The Prince knows that my father is on good terms with the shopkeeper of Tingya Pavilion. Surely the Prince wouldn’t want my father to know that I am being confined by you?”
Hearing this, Murong Yu said nothing.
He would need to rely on the General’s manor in the future; he indeed could not let Shen Tianrong know he was mistreating his daughter.
Ning Lanxue, leaning against Murong Yu’s side, suddenly spoke.
“Sister Ruoxi is dressed so beautifully today. Are the jewelry and clothes newly bought? I am so envious.”
Hearing Ning Lanxue’s slightly dejected tone, Murong Yu put his arm around her waist and glanced at Shen Ruoxi.
“Ruoxi, this Prince does not like you dressing so ostentatiously. Go back and change into something simpler.”
He knew that Ning Lanxue had always been sensitive about her status and didn’t want to see Shen Ruoxi putting on the airs of Princess Consort Qi.
Therefore, in terms of food, clothing, and expenses, he had always forced Shen Ruoxi to be as low-key as possible.
He felt for Ning Lanxue and didn’t want her to feel the vast difference in status between herself and Shen Ruoxi.
“It doesn’t matter if the Prince doesn’t like it.”
Shen Ruoxi reached out and smoothed her sleeve. “This consort likes it herself, and that is enough.”
Murong Yu frowned.
He was somewhat surprised by her reaction.
After not seeing her for half a month, why had Shen Ruoxi become so cold towards him?
Shen Ruoxi raised her eyes. “Didn’t the Prince call me here because he had something to say?”
Upon hearing this, Murong Yu remembered the main business.
He cleared his throat, unexpectedly softening his tone.
“This time, this Prince took Lanxue to the summer villa for a while. After calming down, I felt I had neglected you a bit, so I hurried back.”
“Ruoxi, you are my Princess Consort. Ultimately, you still have a place in my heart.”
Hearing this, Shen Ruoxi’s expression did not change in the slightest.
Her dark, clear eyes just stared at him intently, as if they had the power to see through everything.
Murong Yu suddenly felt a bit guilty under her gaze.
He continued.
“You also know that Lanxue has been with me for many years. If not for her lowly status, she should by now…”
“The Prince might as well speak plainly.”
Shen Ruoxi curtly interrupted him.
Murong Yu then spoke directly.
“Lanxue wants to be my Princess Consort. Ruoxi, can you yield the position of primary consort to her?”