The Truth Was Like This
“If I hadn’t faked my death, how could I be together with my Fu’er? And how would you have been willing to use your dowry to support the marquis’s household for me? Besides, I just wanted to see how the famously noble lady of the capital would mourn for me as a widow, how she would become a chaste and virtuous martyr for me, hahaha…”
On the bed.
The seriously ill Jiang Zhaoying was emaciated.
She stared in shock at her husband Song Chengyu, who had returned from the dead, and at Shen Yuefu sitting on his lap with a smug expression.
Her heart felt as if pierced by thousands of knives, the pain so intense that she nearly suffocated, struggling to breathe.
“Is this Jiang Zhaoying?”
In Song Chengyu’s arms, Shen Yuefu’s seductive eyes held several traces of disdain.
She stroked the luxurious brocade she wore, and as she lifted her face, the precious hairpin in her hair gleamed with a radiant light from the sunlight streaming through the window.
Looking at Jiang Zhaoying’s withered body, blackened lips, and dying state, she laughed with increasing delight.
“You’re so fortunate—you can lie down whenever you want during the day, and you don’t have to endure your husband’s daily torment. He’s young, reckless, and impulsive, always finding ways to leave me so weak in the legs that I can’t get out of bed for days. Even now that I’m pregnant with his son, he still refuses to touch other women, staying by my side every day, doting on me. Look… how delicate and beautiful I’ve become under my husband’s care.”
“Oh.”
As if remembering something, Shen Yuefu straightened up, her captivating eyes flickering with a flash of malice.
“I almost forgot to tell you—this isn’t just an ordinary illness. You’ve been… poisoned… and this poison was something my husband and I found together for Mother.”
As she spoke.
Shen Yuefu turned and caressed Song Chengyu’s handsome face, her tongue teasingly licking his lips. Right in front of Jiang Zhaoying, they soon became consumed with passion, their lips and teeth colliding recklessly, the sound of saliva echoing…
From the moment she fell ill.
Jiang Zhaoying had gradually sensed something was wrong.
But she never imagined the truth would be so repulsive, so vile that her eyes blazed with fury, and she gasped out in rage.
“You shameless couple!”
Grabbing the medicine bowl beside her, she hurled it at them.
But the poison was too potent. In just over ten days, she had grown so weak that the bowl slipped from her withered hand, rolling lightly to Song Chengyu’s feet, where he disdainfully kicked it aside.
The humiliation made Jiang Zhaoying writhe in pain, tears falling in large drops from her eyes. Hatred surged through her, causing her hands and feet to tremble uncontrollably.
She saw it.
This Shen Yuefu.
Everything she wore on her head, everything she had on her body, even the bracelet on her wrist—all of it was hers, part of the substantial dowry her mother had prepared for her since birth.
Three years ago.
Song Chengyu had died on their wedding night. The Song family immediately rushed into the bridal chamber, wailing and lamenting, beating and cursing her, loudly denouncing her as a jinx in front of all the guests in the courtyard, claiming she had brought death upon her husband the moment she entered the household.
She had stepped joyfully into the Song residence, having done nothing, said nothing, yet she became the greatest sinner of the Song clan!
At that time.
She truly believed she had caused Song Chengyu’s death, feeling guilty and heartbroken. So no matter how the Song family tormented or mistreated her, she endured and yielded.
Later.
As the deception became impossible to hide, Madam Song resorted to various schemes to frame her while shamelessly and righteously forcing her to hand over all her dowry to cover the losses.
Now.
With the Song residence under her care and the Jiang family’s support, not only did its reputation and status in the capital grow increasingly prominent, but life also became exceedingly luxurious. Just when Jiang Zhaoying thought she could finally relax a little, she suddenly fell ill.
The illness struck swiftly and fiercely.
Madam Song pretended to arrange for a physician to examine her, only to secretly eliminate everyone around her shortly afterward.
Within a few days.
No one remained to attend to her, and she could not even send a message out.
What tore her heart apart even more was this:
Song Chengyu, who had been dead for three years, suddenly returned to the residence with a visibly pregnant woman, appearing triumphantly before her.
Because the physician said it was a male child, Madam Song and her son were overjoyed.
They quickly poisoned Jiang Zhaoying.
Impatient to wait for her death, they rushed to bring the woman into the residence and elevate her to the status of the legitimate wife.
All so that this illegitimate child could transform into the legitimate heir of the Song residence.
The Emperor had once said:
Once Song Chengyu married and fathered a son, he would issue an edict allowing Song Chengyu to inherit the marquis title.
So as soon as Shen Yuefu showed signs of pregnancy.
They eagerly anticipated it day and night, truly unable to wait a single moment longer!
“Don’t worry, she’s glaring at us, watching us.”
Shen Yuefu stopped the hands caressing her body, panting softly as she seductively and deliberately licked behind Song Chengyu’s ear. She knew exactly how to make Song Chengyu lose control and how to provoke Jiang Zhaoying even more thoroughly.
“She’s about to die, why bother about her? My dear Fu’er, let me see if our son is kicking you.”
When glancing toward the bed, Song Chengyu’s eyes were filled with disgust.
But as he supported Shen Yuefu, his gaze instantly softened with tenderness, careful and gentle.
Once Shen Yuefu sat beside him, Song Chengyu lifted her clothes and leaned close to her rounded belly, listening intently.
Shen Yuefu held Song Chengyu’s head, laughing joyfully. Jiang Zhaoying was deeply wounded, a metallic taste flooding her throat as she trembled and pointed toward the door.
“Get out… get out… ugh…”
A torrent of blood gushed from her mouth.
In her weakened state.
Her entire body crashed heavily onto the cold floor. Her skull felt as if it had been torn open, darkness instantly engulfing her vision, and excruciating pain, like countless threads, seeped through the cracks, twisting and spreading throughout her body.
…
“Miss, miss.”
The voice beside her sounded so familiar. The swirling black fog seemed to be violently torn apart, light piercing her eyes as the suffocation dissipated, startling Jiang Zhaoying into opening her eyes wide and gasping for breath.
A hazy red filled her vision.
In her daze.
Jiang Zhaoying realized she was dressed in a phoenix crown and ceremonial robes, with her maid Shu Yun standing before her, speaking to her cheerfully.
“The groom is outside entertaining guests, but he was afraid you might be hungry, so he specially asked me to bring you a bowl of lotus seed porridge.”
Tears welled up in her eyes.
She gripped Shu Yun’s hand tightly, clutching it until she felt the warmth in Shu Yun’s palm. Only then did she truly believe that she had been reborn.
Moreover.
She had been reborn on the very day of her wedding to Song Chengyu—the day he faked his death and left the residence!
“Miss, are you nervous? The groom is a good man. He speaks very gently to us servants, and we’ve also brought many people with us. Don’t worry.”
Shu Yun allowed Jiang Zhaoying to hold her tightly, thinking she was afraid, and soothed her with even greater gentleness.
Jiang Zhaoying released Shu Yun and stared coldly at the steaming bowl of lotus seed porridge in her hands.
In her previous life.
When the bowl of porridge was brought over, she was truly delighted, thinking her husband not only came from a good family and was handsome, but also considerate and gentle.
But who could have expected.
Not long after finishing the porridge, her mind began to grow heavy and foggy. In her dazed state, she saw Song Chengyu in his wedding attire walk in, lift her up without even removing her bridal veil…
Later.
Her body was in excruciating pain, and around her, cries, wails, and angry shouts rose and fell.
She hurriedly opened her eyes.
Only to find her wedding dress torn to shreds, her exposed fair skin stained crimson with blood.
…