Stepsister Chu Shunqing pushed the door open with a grim expression.
She wore a deep blue medical officer’s uniform, her face oval-shaped with slender eyebrows and phoenix eyes, her waist so delicate and slender it seemed it could be snapped with a single grasp. Her fair skin was flushed red from the wind and snow.
Unlike Chu Nianci’s bright, pure, and clear eyes, when Chu Shunqing glanced sideways at someone, her sparkling eyes carried a hint of disdain.
Chu Shunqing cast a sidelong glance at her sister.
As if telling Chu Nianci that she could never compete with her.
Chu Nianci withdrew her gaze, her heart calm and undisturbed.
In her previous life, she had lost her child due to an unexpected miscarriage, yet Chu Shunqing had come to harm her child.
She was no longer her sister.
Chu Nianci noticed her gloomy expression.
At this moment, Chu Shunqing should have been riding high on success, having just been appointed as a female medical officer by the Empress, a time of pride and ambition. She would never be this composed, nor would she take the initiative to see her.
The only explanation was that Chu Shunqing had also been reborn.
“Shunqing, it’s late and the dew is heavy. Why didn’t you bring a maid with you?” Seeing her, Lin Jingrui’s cold and aloof lips curved upward, his icy eyes softening with a hint of tenderness as he stepped forward to take her hand.
Chu Shunqing placed her delicate fingers in his slender hand.
Lin Jingrui gently blew warm air onto them, a tenderness and affection she had never seen before.
Chu Nianci slowly turned her face away.
Ten years of hardship had long worn away the last traces of affection she held for him. Now, she only felt irony and disgust.
“Lin Lang, you’ve been back for two days, always clinging to me. You haven’t even had a proper conversation with Sister,” Chu Shunqing said, pressing his hand against her cheek, smiling sweetly and coquettishly.
Her tender gaze was filled with attachment.
Lin Jingrui nodded indulgently. “Alright, you sisters have a good chat. Nianci, don’t bully your younger sister.”
With that, he kissed her delicate fingers again, brushed the hem of his robe, and stood up to leave.
The candle flame flickered momentarily as he opened the door.
Chu Shunqing snorted coldly.
As soon as she turned around, her expression changed completely—the sweetness and delicacy vanished without a trace.
Arrogantly, she tilted her chin toward Chu Nianci and said, “Chu Nianci!”
She thought that wearing an official robe would be enough to make Chu Nianci, a woman confined to the inner chambers, too intimidated to raise her head.
Unexpectedly, Chu Nianci met her gaze with clear, cold eyes, so calm that it took her by surprise.
Tonight, she had deliberately let Chu Nianci catch her in an intimate moment with Lin Lang.
She wanted to see her break down.
Chu Shunqing had imagined many possible reactions from her, but she never expected such composure.
She could have accepted jealousy, resentment, hurt, or even a furious slap from Chu Nianci—anything but this calm, indifferent gaze.
Chu Shunqing’s voice trembled slightly with frustration and anger.
“You’ve taken my place.”
“You stole Jingrui.”
“You stole my life.”
“Isn’t it exhausting, living by forcing yourself to keep up appearances?”
Chu Nianci was speechless.
The first thing her stepsister did after being reborn was to come and hold her accountable.
She believed that her previous life had been exhausting because Chu Nianci had taken her place and divided her husband’s affection.
All of it was Chu Nianci’s fault.
Little did she know that Lin Jingrui was inherently cold-hearted and ungrateful.
Even later, when he forced her to take in those concubines, Chu Shunqing thought she had used them to divide his affection.
Chu Nianci said calmly, “I don’t want to compete with you either, but do I have any other choice?”
“Don’t beat around the bush,” Chu Shunqing sneered sharply. “Give back what rightfully belongs to me.”
Chu Nianci suddenly smiled.
The smile was radiant and dazzling, making Chu Shunqing inexplicably uncomfortable.
“I have no interest in Lin Jingrui whatsoever,” Chu Nianci said, sweeping her gaze over the other’s sparkling eyes.
“Since that’s the case, out of sisterly affection, I advise you to leave tonight. Don’t stay here and humiliate yourself.”
Leave?
How could she not want to leave?
But she couldn’t slip away secretly—the Lin family had the Empress backing them.
Leaving in secret would implicate her mother and uncle in Yangzhou.
If she were to leave, it had to be done openly and honorably.
She might as well leave this mess for Chu Shunqing to handle.
Chu Shunqing had only ever indulged in romantic pursuits and had never managed household affairs.
How could she know that the Earl’s estate was already an empty shell?
Her in-laws were greedy and vicious, her sister-in-law spoiled and willful.
With expenses exceeding income and resources dwindling, the Cheng’en Earl’s estate had become a den of tigers and a pool of dragons.
On the surface, they received seasonal gifts from the Empress’s daughter, but it was merely a drop in the bucket.
Her father-in-law held a noble title but no official position, receiving only a few dozen dan of grain as a stipend from the Imperial Household Department each month, which amounted to barely a hundred taels of silver when converted.
Lin Jingrui’s monthly salary was only two hundred taels.
Yet Madam Xie’s monthly medicine expenses alone cost around two hundred taels.
Fortunately, she had personally prepared the Wind-Dispelling Pills, saving on costs.
The household’s food, clothing, daily expenses, and social engagements required at least a thousand taels each month.
Madam Xie stubbornly held onto the keys to the household management, refusing to hand them over.
The honor of being a first-rank titled lady had actually been bought with her million-tael dowry.
And the reason she could control the inner household was that, after seeing the true nature of this family, she gradually took control of the finances.
It was precisely because of this that Madam Xie had resorted to extreme measures.
As for Lin Jingrui, lacking talent but filled with arrogance, it was only through her efforts in paving his way that he had risen to the highest ranks of officials.
Chu Nianci quietly observed her half-sister.
A faint, elusive smile curled at the corner of her lips.
“Since we’ve laid our cards on the table, I don’t wish to stay here any longer,” she sighed leisurely. “But I cannot leave. What can I do?”
“Why can’t you leave? You could return to Jiangnan, to Yangzhou, to Lintao, or even retreat to the deep mountains and become a nun…”
“No matter where I go, can you guarantee that Lin Jingrui won’t bring me back?” Chu Nianci retorted with a cold laugh.
“This…” Chu Shunqing lowered her gaze in thought.
It seemed her sister had a point.
With the Empress backing the Earl’s estate, no matter where she went in the Great Xia Kingdom,
Lin Lang could bring her back.
“Unless it’s a place the Earl’s estate wouldn’t dare provoke,” Chu Nianci murmured, as if offering a revelation or a reminder.
“A place the Earl’s estate wouldn’t dare provoke?” Chu Shunqing furrowed her delicate brows.
“The imperial palace,” Chu Shunqing suddenly brightened.
The Empress held her in high regard, so arranging for her to enter the palace wouldn’t be difficult.
Lin Jingrui wouldn’t dare defy imperial authority.
Only if her sister entered the palace and became the emperor’s woman could his hopes be severed.
“I have no desire to enter the palace. The deep palace is like an ocean,” Chu Nianci shook her head repeatedly, her face filled with fear and unease, though a flicker of cunning laughter flashed in her eyes.
She had seen through it all.
Men’s promises and affections were the least reliable.
Since she had been reborn into this life and still had to fight, why not fight within the palace? She could strive for wealth, honor, and a splendid future.
In her previous life, the emperor had suffered from a chronic illness, but she possessed medical skills.
The palace servants were greedy and opportunistic, but she had a million-tael dowry.
The concubines schemed and fought, but she had a decade of experience in household struggles.
In her past life, she had attained the rank of a first-rank titled lady and had once caught a glimpse of the emperor.
From afar, outside the Hall of Diligent Governance.
All she remembered was a peerlessly elegant young man.
Handsome in appearance, with an ethereal demeanor. If she could become a concubine, it would naturally be ideal. Even if she failed, her dowry would be more than enough to live comfortably within the palace.
After all, she only sought wealth and status, not a devoted heart.
She only sought to seize pleasure in the moment, not everlasting love.
But this is no longer up to you. A calculating glint flashed across Chu Shunqing’s face.
In her previous life, she had served as a female physician in the palace for ten years.
She knew all too well the deceit and treachery within the imperial court.
The deep palace devoured people—this was no exaggeration.
The Empress appeared kind but was ruthless at heart.
The Empress Dowager was deep and scheming.
Though the Emperor was born with a noble and majestic appearance, he was frail and weak, passing away after only a few years on the throne.
For her sister to enter the palace would truly be seeking her own doom.
“You should hide in the palace for a while. Once the storm passes, I’ll find a way to send you away,” Chu Shunqing began to persuade instead.
“That won’t do. I have no desire to enter the palace,” Chu Nianci lowered her gaze, concealing the amusement in her eyes.
Chu Shunqing silently calculated in her heart.
Lin Lang hadn’t revealed her sister’s name to the Empress.
She could easily exploit this loophole.
Jingrui is mine.
The title of first-rank imperially bestowed lady is also mine.
Her confident smile was tinged with smugness.
Chu Nianci took in her stepsister’s determined expression, a trace of cold mockery surfacing in her heart.
Chu Shunqing snorted and sneered, “Today, I will consummate the marriage with Lin Lang here. I must trouble you, dear sister, to move your noble steps and stay in the side chamber.”
With that, she straightened her back proudly, picked up the teacup on the table, and waved her hand dismissively.
Watching her arrogant demeanor, a sarcastic smile curled at the corner of Chu Nianci’s lips.
Consummate the marriage here.
Very well. Before leaving, she still wanted to disgust her.
On the table was the rose dew laced with aphrodisiac by her mother-in-law, and in the secret chamber was a lustful brother-in-law.
Tonight, she would reunite their family of three.
“If my sister likes it, then rest here,” Chu Nianci rose, brushing her sleeves. Before leaving, she walked to the curio shelf and pressed open the hidden door to the secret chamber.
Inside was Lin Jingfan, who had drunk the aphrodisiac—the nominal husband of her “dear sister.”
In a while, once the effects of the acupuncture wore off, he would be able to move freely.
He must have heard every word of their conversation just now.
Having personally heard that his younger brother not only seized the title but also intended to marry in his stead, how could he not harbor hatred?
With relatives and friends gathered in the front hall, it was the perfect time to send them a “grand gift.”