In the Great An Kingdom, during the autumn of the twelfth year of Jinghe, in Fu Family Village.
The road still carried the fresh scent of wet earth after the rain. Fu Shiyue was walking back into the village with books on his back when he suddenly noticed someone in the river beside the road, struggling desperately.
Fu Shiyue set down his books and quickly ran toward the riverbank, shouting as he ran, “Help! Someone fell into the water! Hurry and save them!”
Feeling the bone-piercing cold, Xue Zhi instinctively cried for help.
“Help… help me…”
“Don’t be afraid, I’m coming to save you.”
Hearing that faint voice by her ear, Xue Zhi clung tightly like drifting duckweed grasping at the only straw that could save her life.
At this moment…
She seemed to have been reborn.
In her previous life, on her wedding night, her husband had been forcibly conscripted. Barely two years later, news arrived that he had died in battle.
Her in-laws cursed her as a jinx, tormented and abused her, slandered her as having an affair, and even deliberately pushed her into the river, causing her to drown.
Only after her death did she learn that her husband had not died at all. Instead, he had risen rapidly through the military ranks and fallen deeply in love with a noble lady disguised as a man, pledging themselves to each other for life.
To erase the stain that she represented, he joined forces with his family and had her killed.
This drowning incident was proof of that. She had never jumped into the river to kill herself.
Someone had pushed her.
And that person was her sister-in-law—Fu Rong.
Everyone believed that after the truth was exposed, she had been too ashamed to face it and killed herself out of guilt.
But who knew that after death, her soul had not returned to the underworld? It had remained in Fu Family Village.
Two months after her death, her husband returned gloriously with the noble lady and took the Fu family with him to the capital.
Everyone in the village said she had no luck. If only she had waited two more months, she would have become the general’s wife.
But who knew?
If she had not died, would her husband have returned at all?
She watched the Fu family, who had once murdered her, live prosperously in Chang’an—wealth, glory, money, power, everything at their fingertips.
Hatred surged endlessly in Xue Zhi’s heart. If hatred could become a blade, the Fu family would have died countless times already.
Why did those who harmed her deserve such good fortune?
Was she meant to die?
If her husband had truly fallen in love with someone else, she would not have clung to him. They could have divorced.
Why did he have to kill her?
Fortunately, heaven had eyes and gave her another chance.
This time, she would make everyone who humiliated, bullied, and harmed her pay with blood.
Thinking of this, Xue Zhi tightened her grip around the person beside her.
In her previous life, no one had saved her, leading to her death.
But now, someone had.
Perhaps this was the turning point that would change her fate.
Fu Shiyue felt her strength and frowned slightly as he struggled to pull her ashore.
As soon as they reached land, before either of them could react, a shrill voice rang out.
“Xue Zhi, you little slut! My Lin’er marrying you was the worst luck in eight lifetimes!
My son just died, and you’re already seducing men everywhere. Sneaking around with wild men behind our backs wasn’t enough, and now you’re even trying to seduce the scholar!”
Li Honghua’s eyes darted around as she cursed viciously.
“Everyone come look! My shameless daughter-in-law is causing trouble again!
Where is the face of our Fu family supposed to go now? My poor son just died, and he ended up with this loose woman!”
Then she turned to Fu Shiyue.
“Scholar, I’m truly sorry. I’ll discipline this wretch properly and give you an explanation.”
Hearing this, Fu Shiyue felt awkward.
He had only saved someone out of kindness. No matter who it was, he would have done the same.
He simply had not expected it to be Xue Zhi—the widow whose husband had supposedly died in battle.
Narrowing his eyes slightly, he looked over the scene before him.
Xue Zhi was soaked through, her hair in disarray, droplets of water falling from the ends onto her collarbone. Her arms were wrapped tightly around herself, her body trembling nonstop, biting her pale lower lip—a pitiful sight.
Meanwhile, Li Honghua looked exactly like a vicious mother-in-law bullying her daughter-in-law.
Fu Shiyue lived at the academy and rarely returned to the village, but he knew enough about village matters and the Fu family’s affairs.
As for the accusation that Xue Zhi was promiscuous and having affairs—
He did not believe it at all.
As Li Honghua shouted, the surrounding villagers began whispering and pointing fingers.
Sensing everyone’s eyes on her, Xue Zhi endured the discomfort in her body and stared directly at Li Honghua, deliberately raising her voice.
“Mother! Why must you do this again?
I already swore I would never tell anyone about your matter. Why do you insist on forcing me to death?”
She paused, pretending sorrow.
“Yes… if I die, then you’ll have nothing left to worry about.”
Her words immediately stirred the villagers’ curiosity.
“Honghua… what does this mean?”
“What is Xue Zhi talking about? Could it be… all this was Li Honghua…?”
“What secret could Li Honghua have?”
“Sounds like Xue Zhi is holding something over her. What could be so serious that she’d have to kill her?”
Li Honghua’s face changed instantly, panic flashing through her expression.
“Xue Zhi, what nonsense are you spouting? You’re full of lies! Believe it or not, I’ll tear that filthy mouth of yours apart for ruining the Fu family’s reputation!”
As she spoke, Li Honghua lunged forward to grab her.
Xue Zhi subtly stepped aside, pale-faced and despairing.
“Mother… are you truly this heartless?
Just because your daughter-in-law accidentally saw… saw you and… you and…”
She stammered helplessly, unable to continue, drawing everyone’s attention.
One woman who had never gotten along with Li Honghua urged loudly,
“Second Daughter-in-law Xue, just say it boldly and clear your name!”
Others echoed her.
“Yes! If there’s really some hidden truth, we can stand up for you!”
Seeing the crowd fanning the flames, Li Honghua’s eyes flashed with anxiety. She glared fiercely at the woman.
If that old hag hadn’t stirred things up, how would it have come to this?
Nothing was going according to plan.
Did Xue Zhi know something?
Had their scheme been exposed?
Li Honghua’s mind fell into chaos. She only wanted to drag Xue Zhi home as quickly as possible.
“I only made you do a little more work, and now you say I abused you?
Shameless! Over such a tiny matter, you dare talk back to me?
Get home now!”
With that, Li Honghua grabbed Xue Zhi’s arm and tried to pull her away.
Having just come out of the river, Xue Zhi’s limbs were weak. She stumbled, then slightly curled her lips and shouted loudly:
“Mother! I promise I won’t tell anyone about you having an affair with another man! Please don’t kill me!
Mother, I beg you!”
The moment those words came out, everyone present widened their eyes in disbelief as they stared at Li Honghua.
Under their gazes, Li Honghua’s face turned dark with rage, and she charged like a shrew to hit Xue Zhi.
Xue Zhi swiftly dodged and hurriedly explained:
“Mother, I was wrong! Don’t be angry—I didn’t mean it!
I misspoke just now. My mother didn’t have an affair with anyone.
Mother, please stop hitting me!”