“I won’t marry him; let her go instead.”
The crisp voice brought Xue Wanyi back to her senses.
It had been two days since her rebirth, yet her mind remained in a trance, still struggling as she remained trapped within the nightmares of her previous life.
“That is the residence of the General Who Guards the State. If you don’t marry General Ye, do you truly intend to fulfill the marriage contract with the Chu family?”
Upon hearing this, Madam Jiang looked at her daughter with disapproval.
The imperial envoy who had delivered the decree had just departed. The decree bestowed a marriage upon a daughter of the Xue family, naming her the wife of the Duke of Zhen.
The Duke of Zhen held a First-Rank title.
Given the Xue family was merely the household of a third-rank vice minister, they would normally not have been qualified for such a match.
However, times had changed.
Ye Zhuo, the Duke of Zhen, had led his troops in a desperate battle against the Southern Yuan last year. Although he successfully repelled the enemy, he fell victim to a scheme and was afflicted by a rare, deadly poison.
After a divine physician exhausted all efforts to save him, the toxins were concentrated below his waist. His life was spared, but he was left a cripple, unable to father children.
The once-renowned young general—the hero on a white horse with a silver spear, admired in secret by countless noble ladies—had now become a broken man whom everyone avoided like the plague.
The current Emperor, feeling a sense of guilt toward the Ye family, intended to select a woman to accompany him.
The high-ranking nobility had been maneuvering behind the scenes to avoid this. The Xue family had never expected this marriage to fall upon their heads.
Xue Mingfei raised her eyebrows as she looked at Madam Jiang. “Mother, my engagement with the Chu family was set by Father. Naturally, it must be honored. Otherwise, would we not be placing Father in a position of being perceived as unrighteous?”
Seated at the head of the room, Official Xue looked at his daughter with gratification, his eyes full of praise.
Xue Mingfei continued, “Though the Chu family has fallen on hard times, they were once a family of scholars and nobility. No matter how poorly off they are now, their foundation is not something an ordinary family can compare to.”
“I was raised and educated with great care by Father and Mother. I believe I am no less capable than the daughters of princes or marquises. With my talents, the support of my parents, and Young Master Chu’s character, what difficulty would there be in a resurgence?”
She spoke with certainty and confidence.
Standing to the side, Xue Wanyi had a general guess. Perhaps her legitimate elder sister was just like her—a regressor who had also been reborn.
In her previous life, Xue Mingfei had looked down on the destitute Chu descendant, Chu Yuan. Upon seeing the imperial decree for the marriage, she had resolutely broken her engagement, desiring to become the high-and-mighty Duchess.
Xue Wanyi had then become the one to “pick up the scraps” of her sister’s discarded engagement.
As a concubine-born daughter who was ignored in the household, being able to leave the Xue family was, for her, the best outcome.
After marrying into the Chu family, she had worked tirelessly to care for her ailing mother-in-law and attend to her husband’s daily needs. She even had to scheme and toil to earn money for the household, her spirit and health slowly depleting day after day.
After the new Emperor ascended the throne, Xue Mingfei had suddenly died at the Duke of Zhen’s estate.
Wanyi would never forget how her husband had stayed out drinking all night, constantly muttering Xue Mingfei’s name.
Because Chu Yuan had aligned himself perfectly in the political struggle, he leapt to the pinnacle of civil officials, becoming the youngest Grand Secretary in history. At the age of twenty-five, Wanyi had become a lady of the First-Rank Imperial Decree Title.
Just when she thought her hardships had turned to joy, on the very night she was conferred the title, Xue Wanyi plummeted into hell.
Chu Yuan blamed Xue Mingfei’s death entirely on her.
He hated her for scheming against them both; he hated her for stealing his engagement to Xue Mingfei.
In the years that followed, she slept in stables and ate slop, living like a dog. Any servant could insult or beat her at will.
The mother-in-law she had served with all her heart never spoke a single word in her defense.
Her own biological son loathed her to the extreme.
Finally, she was turned into a Human Pig—her limbs severed and her body stuffed into a vat—by a body double personally trained by Chu Yuan.
In the end, Xue Wanyi died on a sweltering summer night.
To her surprise, she had been granted the fortune of rebirth.
Did she cherish this life?
Xue Wanyi pondered blankly.
Half and half, perhaps.
If she had to marry Chu Yuan again, she didn’t want this life.
She wanted to drag that ungrateful, cold-blooded mother and son down to hell with her!
“Well said! Truly a daughter of my Xue family.”
Official Xue praised his daughter greatly.
Then, looking at the dazed concubine-born daughter beside her, his expression clouded with displeasure.
“In that case, let her marry into the Duke’s estate.”
Madam Jiang looked at Xue Wanyi with a cold gaze, her heart naturally unwilling.
Even if General Ye was destined to have no heirs and was a cripple who needed a wheelchair, he was still the Duke of Zhen.
The thought of the daughter she had raised with such care marrying into a ruined household while this concubine-born girl got to stand above her daughter as a Duchess made it hard for her to swallow her resentment.
“Husband…”
Official Xue knew what his wife was thinking.
He asked in return, “The decree has been issued. Does Madam have any other way?”
Madam Jiang was choked into silence. Indeed, there was no other way.
The Xue family only had these two daughters.
If they did not let Xue Wanyi marry, it would be an act of defying an imperial decree, and the entire Xue family would be destroyed.
No matter how unwilling she was, because Xue Mingfei had chosen Chu Yuan, this marriage could only fall upon Xue Wanyi.
Wanyi returned to Wangshu Pavilion, her living quarters.
As she stepped into the room, she saw a woman with a ruddy complexion and delicate features sitting in the hall.
The moment she saw her, a surge of hatred rose in Xue Wanyi’s heart.
Concubine Qiu was Xue Chong’s only concubine.
She was also Wanyi’s biological mother in name.
Only because many years ago, Concubine Qiu had secretly swapped her with Xue Mingfei, causing Xue Wanyi—who should have been the legitimate eldest daughter of the Vice Minister’s household—to become a concubine-born daughter whom everyone ignored.
In her previous life, she had only learned the truth from her body double just before she died.
Xue Wanyi had died and been reborn with monstrous hatred.
Since she had been granted a second chance at life, she would naturally settle every grievance and avenge every wrong.
None of those who had bullied and humiliated her in her past life would be allowed to live.
Only the blood and lives of her enemies could quell her absolute hatred.
“Why has the Concubine come here?”
She sat down across from Concubine Qiu. Her personal maid, Feicui, poured her some warm tea and stood quietly behind her.
Concubine Qiu’s flirtatious eyes flicked toward Feicui, filled with disdain and loathing.
“Do you think that because you can marry into the Duke’s estate, you’re qualified to give me an attitude?”
She had managed to swap the two children back then without a word leaking out to this day.
Did this girl think that marrying into the Duke of Zhen’s estate would allow her to escape her control?
Xue Wanyi was no longer the trembling concubine-born daughter she had been in her previous life.
Though she had died miserably, she had, after all, spent several years as the wife of the Grand Secretary alongside Chu Yuan.
She had entered the imperial palace and socialized with the matrons of many noble houses.
A mere concubine could no longer evoke any fear in her.
“The Duke of Zhen is crippled in both legs and is destined to never have children.”
Wanyi spoke calmly, finding the joy in Concubine Qiu’s eyes particularly laughable.
It seemed the more miserable she was, the happier Concubine Qiu became.
Xue Wanyi continued, “In such a family, no matter how high the title, marrying in is destined to be a living widowhood. It would be better to die and be done with it.”
Concubine Qiu: “…”
She wants to die?
Is there such a good thing?
Suppressing the excitement and joy in her heart, Concubine Qiu gave a mocking laugh. “Who’s stopping you if you want to die? There are ponds and wells outside; there will always be a place for you to die.”
With that, she flicked her handkerchief—which was stained with a heavy fragrance—and swayed her willow-thin waist, leaving with an air of grace.
Not even fifteen minutes after she left, a scream echoed through the entire residence.
“The second young lady has fallen into the water! Someone, come quickly…”