“Speak! You aren’t even married yet. Whose bastard are you carrying in your womb?”
A thunderous roar erupted beside Chen Wanqing’s ear, jolting her awake.
Dazed, she looked up to see her grandmother, Old Madame Chen, sitting in the high seat. The old woman’s wrinkled face was grim and terrifying as she stared down coldly.
Chen Wanqing found herself kneeling on the floor, the bricks beneath her knees cold and hard.
This was… the Chen residence of the Dukes’ Qi Manor, her grandmother’s courtyard. Wasn’t she dead?
Had she been reborn?
Chen Wanqing instinctively reached up to touch her neck. The agony of a sharp blade piercing her throat still felt etched into her very marrow, yet her skin was now smooth and unblemished.
She lowered her gaze to her flat stomach. Was she pregnant?
In her past life, she had personally saved Zhou Ranfang. The girl claimed to be the niece of the third branch’s aunt, Madam Song, stating she had traveled all the way from the Zhou family in Sichuan to seek refuge, losing her servants to bandits along the way.
Out of the kindness of her heart, Chen Wanqing brought Zhou Ranfang back to the manor and delivered her to the third branch. After the “reunion,” Zhou Ranfang stayed at the Chen residence. The two became inseparable, like biological sisters; whatever Chen Wanqing had, she made sure Zhou Ranfang had a share of it as well.
Yet, Zhou Ranfang had been plotting in the shadows. She orchestrated Chen Wanqing’s loss of virginity and then adamantly persuaded her to marry the child’s “biological father,” Liang Tingjian.
After the marriage, Zhou Ranfang framed Chen Wanqing’s step-brother for rape to get him into the Chen family’s bad graces, eventually causing his death. Then, she conspired with Liang Tingjian to murder Chen Wanqing’s father!
The Chen family’s military power changed hands. Her aunt’s family, her fifth uncle, her elder cousin—every one of her blood relatives met a tragic, gruesome end!
Meanwhile, Liang Tingjian stepped over the corpses of her father and brother to climb the social ladder, restoring the Liang family to its former glory.
Only after her loved ones were all dead did Chen Wanqing discover that Zhou Ranfang was actually her half-sister from her mother’s previous marriage!
She had actually been reborn to the day her pregnancy was discovered—the day her grandmother wanted to beat her to death, and the day Zhou Ranfang would “intervene” to persuade her to marry Liang Tingjian.
In this life, she would protect the lives of her father, brother, and kin. She would make Zhou Ranfang and Liang Tingjian pay in blood until they were buried in ruin!
But the first problem to solve was the grandmother before her—Old Madame Chen. The old woman was currently fuming with a murderous rage, claiming to act for the Chen family’s reputation while actually seeking to clear the path for the third and fourth branches to inherit her father’s title and position.
“Old Madame, Wan’er is of weak constitution, and she’s carrying a child. She cannot endure kneeling for so long…” A delicate, charming voice pulled Chen Wanqing from her memories back to reality.
A slender, bony hand reached out to help Chen Wanqing up. Following the arm upward, Chen Wanqing saw a face that appeared frail and timid, eyes brimming with tears. Zhou Ranfang looked at Old Madame Chen with an earnest expression. “Please, let Wan’er stand up first.”
Zhou Ranfang?
Chen Wanqing’s eyes filled with frigid, murderous hatred.
“My dear sister…” In her previous life, it was this same charming voice that had uttered words of ultimate malice: “On the day you gave birth, Tingjian swapped your son for mine. Your son died of starvation long ago; he’s nothing but a pile of withered bones now!”
Zhou Ranfang had shown no panic upon being exposed then, only giggling: “That pair of children you have aren’t of the Liang bloodline at all. On the day you lost your virginity before marriage, Tingjian sent you straight into a certain noble’s bed…”
In her past life, Chen Wanqing had hidden a blade and killed the woman with a single strike. Zhou Ranfang had died instantly, but unfortunately, Liang Tingjian had been protected and managed to survive.
Chen Wanqing’s hand instinctively reached for a knife, but grasped only air. She then remembered that this wasn’t her past life; she didn’t have that sharp blade on her person yet.
Zhou Ranfang grabbed her hand and patted it gently, comforting her softly, “Wan’er, don’t be afraid!”
The touch was ice-cold, like a slithering snake, sending a chill straight into Chen Wanqing’s heart. Her hand tightened instantly.
Zhou Ranfang gave her a reassuring smile and lowered her voice. “Don’t worry, Aunt will be here soon!”
Third Aunt?
Chen Wanqing sneered inwardly. Today’s events surely involved the third branch. If Madam Song knew that Zhou Ranfang was an impostor niece who was secretly sabotaging the third branch’s interests, one wondered what she would think.
From above, Old Madame Chen’s face was a mask of fury. She glared at Zhou Ranfang. “An outsider like you dares to meddle in the Chen family’s affairs?”
“I gave you a little face, and now you think you can run your ‘dye shop’ in my house? Get out!”
Zhou Ranfang’s expression froze. Just as she was about to speak, Chen Wanqing pushed her hand away and stood up straight.
With a calm face, Chen Wanqing looked directly at Old Madame Chen. “The child in my womb…”
“The child in her womb belongs to Master Liang, Liang Tingjian!” Zhou Ranfang suddenly interrupted, her voice slightly shrill. “Old Madame, you cannot hurt Wan’er, or you risk the Liang family’s wrath!”
The corners of Chen Wanqing’s mouth curled. Was the girl afraid she wasn’t dying fast enough?
Why would Old Madame Chen fear the Liang family—a clan of a fallen former Tutor to the Crown Prince?
Old Madame Chen’s chest heaved with ragged breaths. Her face was ashen as she glared at Chen Wanqing, squeezing words through her teeth: “Disgraceful! Shameless!”
“What else do you have to say? Even your cousin from the third branch knows of your filthy deeds!”
Old Madame Chen slammed her dragon-head cane against the floor repeatedly with a series of dull thuds. “Men! Drag her out!”
“Beat her to death!”
“She cannot be allowed to ruin the Chen family’s name!”
Before she had finished speaking, several sturdy servant women standing beside her rolled up their sleeves and reached out to grab Chen Wanqing.
Chen Wanqing raised her hand and delivered a sharp slap. With a resounding crack, five bright red finger marks appeared on the lead servant’s face.
Chen Wanqing shouted coldly, “Who dares touch me?”
She swept her frigid gaze over the servants. “Father will be leading his troops back to court soon. If you force his only bloodline to death, are you all tired of living?”
The servants’ expressions changed drastically. They retreated several steps in unison, turning back to look at Old Madame Chen.
Through the crowd, Chen Wanqing’s eyes met the clouded gaze of Old Madame Chen.
Sitting high above, the old woman sneered. “No matter how high an official your father is, he is still my son!”
“At a time when we are negotiating a marriage with the manor of Duke Wu Yu, you have committed such a scandal. If your father knew, he naturally wouldn’t tolerate a wretched thing like you who ruins the family reputation!”
“Whether he tolerates it or not is not for you to decide, Grandmother!” Chen Wanqing refused to yield an inch. “If not for Father risking his life on the battlefield, how could you enjoy such honor and prestige today?”
In her past life, her grandmother had repeatedly pressured her father to choose someone from the third or fourth branches to inherit his hereditary title and position. Because her father only had her, his only daughter, he had refused many times. Not only had the grandmother seized her mother’s household management rights and given them to the third branch, but she had also tried to use her parents’ absence as an opportunity to kill her!
Meanwhile, Wu Mao, the eldest illegitimate son of DukeWu Yu, was notoriously lecherous and violent. He had raped numerous women, yet the Emperor had pardoned him repeatedly out of respect for the late, highly decorated Duke.
Ever since they heard the Emperor intended to grant a marriage alliance, her father had been sighing in distress, and she had been filled with worry. Zhou Ranfang had used Chen Wanqing’s desperation to avoid marrying into the Wu family to successfully trap her.
In this life, they wouldn’t get their way!
“Good!”
“Fine!” Old Madame Chen pointed a trembling finger at Chen Wanqing, her face a mask of pained indignation. “What a grand-daughter I have!”
“Is this how you show filial piety to your elders?”
Chen Wanqing had long ago seen through her grandmother’s tactics. In the old woman’s eyes, only the males of the Chen family mattered. As the only daughter of the second branch, she was a stumbling block, and her mother—a woman who had remarried into the family—was a thorn in the old woman’s side. She wished for nothing more than to eliminate them to make room for the third and fourth branches.
The grandmother had always claimed to be fair, saying it would be best for the third branch to inherit the title and military power while the fourth branch took the official positions and family assets. That way, everyone would be happy!
But the mother and daughter of the second branch were “occupying the latrine without pooping,” enjoying years of luxury. In the grandmother’s mind, the Chen family’s money shouldn’t be wasted on them!
In her previous life, the grandmother had constantly used the concept of filial piety to crush her.
“Filial piety?”
“An elder must first cherish their descendants!” Chen Wanqing stood tall, staring back at Old Madame Chen. “What is there to respect in a grandmother who is bent on killing her own granddaughter?”
Old Madame Chen braced her hands on the armrests of her chair and slowly stood up. Her eyes, fixed on Chen Wanqing, were filled with a murderous light.
“Grandmother, do not forget that this Duke Manor was earned by my father through blood and military merit. You and my third uncle are merely parasites living off my father’s success!”
Old Madame Chen’s expression turned chillingly cold. Leaning on her cane, she hobbled forward on her small feet and hissed viciously, “A shameless girl who lost her virtue before marriage like you should have been drowned in a pig cage long ago!”
“If you had a shred of shame, you wouldn’t stay in this world to tarnish the Chen name!”
“Today, I shall execute a relative in the name of righteousness!”
She suddenly swung her cane, smashing it down toward Chen Wanqing with all her might!