Great Zhou, the third year of Guangsheng, Fengjing.
The Marquis of Changchun’s Manor, the bridal chamber.
“Young Madame, as the managing nanny of the Marquis of Changchun’s Manor, I have essentially watched the Heir grow up. I will take the liberty of representing the Old Madame and the Marchioness to give you a lecture. Since the Northern Kingdom has sent you here for a marriage alliance, from this day forward, you are a member of our Great Zhou’s Marquis of Changchun’s Manor. You must abide by our manor’s rules, and even more so, the rules of our Great Zhou.”
The candlelight flickered. The stout Nanny Chen stood before the bed, droning on incessantly at Ruan Xingci, who was currently rubbing her head.
Ruan Xingci, who had just transmigrated, was sorting through the memories of the original host that were flooding into her mind.
She had originally been an unfavored concubine’s daughter of the Marquis of Wu’an’s Manor in the Northern Kingdom. Four years ago, her mother died of illness, leaving her without support. She was cast off to a rural estate to fend for herself.
When the internal strife in the Great Zhou—the largest nation—ended, the empire decided to form marriage alliances with the six surrounding small nations to balance their restless powers.
The original host was finally remembered, brought back to serve as a scapegoat and marry into the Great Zhou in place of her legitimate elder sister. This was because the person chosen for the Northern Kingdom’s alliance was a terminally ill Heir.
Once the Heir died, a woman from the Northern Kingdom would naturally have no way to survive in the Great Zhou.
Throughout the journey, the maidservant sent by her stepmother had been constantly lecturing and cold-shouldering her. Upon arriving in the Great Zhou, she was subjected to endless contempt due to her obese and ugly appearance.
On the wedding day, had it not been for the presence of the Imperial family’s observers, she wouldn’t even have been qualified to enter through the main gate.
During the ceremony, she could hear the whispers about her figure and the Heir’s uncontrollable coughing…
After brooding over it, the original host had downed a pre-prepared vial of poison, ending her tragic life.
After receiving these memories, Ruan Xingci couldn’t help but feel that the Heavens were playing a joke on her—the most outstanding descendant of a Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ancient Martial Arts lineage from the new century. Was she the type of person to just take abuse?
Ruan Xingci, who had always been highly adaptable, lowered the bridal fan and looked at Nanny Chen with great interest.
“What did you just say? I didn’t hear you clearly. Would you like to say it again?”
Bailu, the maid standing nearby, was startled by her tone. Her mistress had been gentle and submissive since childhood and had spent the entire journey weeping. What was with this sudden sarcasm?
Seeing her put down the fan, Nanny Chen said with a look of disdain, “Sigh, the rules of the Northern Kingdom truly are lacking. The groom hasn’t even entered the room, so how can the fan be lowered? The Heir is too kind as well, even instructing us to bring over some food—ah!”
Before Nanny Chen could finish, Ruan Xingci’s foot slammed into her stomach, forcing a cry of pain from her as she doubled over.
Ruan Xingci grabbed a fistful of her hair and yanked it upward with force. Nanny Chen’s eyes were pulled into thin slits, and the sharp pain in her scalp snapped her into complete alertness.
Bailu was utterly stunned. The tray in her hands fell to the floor as her hands instinctively flew to cover her mouth.
“You said you were representing the Old Madame and the Marchioness to lecture me?”
Ruan Xingci’s cold tone not only terrified Nanny Chen but also made the two maids who had come with her to deliver the food tremble.
“Young Madame, I am one of the Marchioness’s people! Is this how you slap your mother-in-law in the face? Did the Northern Kingdom not teach you rules properly before sending you here?”
Her response was a flurry of slaps to both cheeks from Ruan Xingci.
Nanny Chen had never expected this alliance bride from a small nation to be so barbaric; only now did the derogatory term “Northern Barbarian” come to mind.
By the time she wanted to beg for mercy, it was already too late.
Ruan Xingci stood up and kicked her flat onto the floor. She straddled the woman’s stout body, grabbed her hair from behind, and began slamming her face into the ground over and over again.
“Mouthy wench! You think you’re so special? Representing the Old Madame? Representing the Marchioness? I’ll represent your ancestors!”
When the people outside heard the commotion and rushed in, Nanny Chen’s two front teeth had already been knocked out, and her mouth was a bloody mess.
Ruan Xingci patted the dust off her hands, straightened her slightly crooked bridal crown, and spoke to the bruised and battered Nanny Chen. “Today is my wedding day. Consider this ‘seeing red’ as your celebratory gift. Next time you run your mouth, I’ll take your life!”
Nanny Chen wanted to say something more, but the two maids behind her quickly dropped what they were holding, pulled her up, and hurriedly apologized before fleeing.
Bailu didn’t react for a long time. Looking at her mistress, she asked with a face full of heartache, “Miss, just how much of a shock did you suffer to become like this…”
Ruan Xingci looked at the maid before her. She was the only person her mother had left her who could be trusted. Over the years, Bailu had suffered alongside them at the estate. Despite being beaten and scolded countless times because of Ruan Xingci, she had never wavered in her loyalty.
Thinking of this, Ruan Xingci silently resolved to protect this maid in the host’s stead.
“Third Miss, what are you doing? Before we left, the Marquis and Madame warned you that once you arrived in Great Zhou, you weren’t to cause trouble for the Northern Kingdom even if it meant your death! I was only away for a moment and you’ve already caused such a disaster!”
Biyun, the maid sent by the stepmother, walked in from outside with an impatient look, acting as if she were the master.
Just as Bailu was about to apologize on Ruan Xingci’s behalf, a teacup flew through the air and smashed against Biyun’s forehead.
“Ah!”
The teacup shattered on the floor, followed by Ruan Xingci’s mockingly apologetic voice.
“Oh, I was aiming for your mouth. How did I aim too high…”
Biyun wiped her forehead. Seeing her hand covered in blood, the way she looked at Ruan Xingci changed.
“Third Miss, have you forgotten what the Madame told you before we left the Northern Kingdom? If you don’t want your mother’s grave to be desecrated, you will listen to my arrangements!” She was getting nervous.
Ruan Xingci spoke with an imposing aura, “Bailu, pin down this lowly servant who doesn’t know her place!”
For some reason, upon hearing her mistress’s command, the grievances Bailu had accumulated over the years exploded. She rushed forward and pinned Biyun down with clumsy but firm force.
“Bailu, you little wench! You’re rebelling too?”
Ruan Xingci walked over, pinched Biyun’s chin, and poured the soup Nanny Chen had just delivered down her throat.
Bailu released Biyun, who collapsed like a dead dog and began vomiting blood.
“You…”
“Don’t you worry about my mother.”
Meeting Biyun’s incredulous gaze, Ruan Xingci crouched down considerately and said, “As for your mistress, if the day comes that I return to the Northern Kingdom, she will have been dead for a long time.”
“As for you, since you’ve traveled so far to follow me, I’ll grant you the favor of dying in a foreign land. How does that sound?”
Biyun was stunned, the metallic taste of blood in her throat making her want to gag.
She couldn’t understand how a concubine’s daughter, who had been submissive and broken by years of mistreatment, could suddenly have a change of heart. Ultimately, the light faded from her resentful eyes, and she collapsed in despair.
“Miss, what do we do now?”
Bailu couldn’t remain as calm as Ruan Xingci. She fearfully shoved Biyun aside, pacing around in a panic.
Ruan Xingci’s voice softened. “Bailu, we are no longer in the Northern Kingdom. The weak Ruan Xingci who couldn’t protect you is dead. The Ruan Xingci standing before you now has been reborn. I will no longer tolerate anyone bullying or insulting us…”
Hearing this, Bailu felt a strange surge of excitement.
However, looking at her mistress’s figure and face, she didn’t have much confidence.
While Bailu was dazed, Ruan Xingci took her own pulse. Aside from the toxin from the original host’s suicide, there was another poison she had been in contact with for years. It was likely the culprit behind her facial swelling and obesity.
No wonder her biological mother in the host’s memory had been a peerless beauty, while she was such a disappointment.
No matter; she could cure all of it.
“By this time, the people in the front hall should have been alerted…”