Since her rebirth, Yun Zheng had remained calm—calm in quarrels, calm in battles, calm in probing. But the moment she saw her parents, grievance surged like a tide. Her eyes reddened. She dropped to her knees, tears streaming down. “Father, Mother, your unfilial daughter has returned.”
She had not seen her parents for ten years. She missed them desperately.
The Yun couple’s hearts shattered. This was their cherished jewel, treasured since birth, a lively, cheerful girl who loved to laugh and play. Never had they seen her cry like this.
Madam Yun’s heart twisted like a knife. She embraced her daughter, and mother and child wept together.
Father Yun watched, his own eyes moist. A man does not easily shed tears—unless grief overwhelms him. This was his only daughter, precious beyond measure, now so wronged—and he could do nothing.
“Don’t cry, be careful of your health.”
After crying, Yun Zheng felt her pent‑up anger dissolve, her body lighten, and her spirit be soothed.
A maid brought a basin and towel. Madam Yun herself wiped her daughter’s face. Father Yun pressed a hot egg to her eyes.
Feeling her parents’ deep love, Yun Zheng’s heart steadied. She swore silently: no matter what, she would protect them, never let the tragedy of her past life repeat.
“Father, I haven’t suffered. The Marquis household gained no advantage.”
Her father looked at her slightly swollen eyes, aching with pity. “Zheng’er, what happened?”
The Marquis household had tried to seal their lips, but news still leaked. By the time he learned, it was already night. With curfew in place, he could not rush out. He and his wife had worried through the night.
Yun Zheng did not hide the truth. Now was no time for false reassurance. Her parents needed to know, so they would not be deceived.
When Madam Yun finished listening, she trembled with rage. “Despicable! The Pingxi household deliberately tricked you into marriage. It is utterly intolerable!”
On the wedding day, they had her marry into both branches at once—how could they do such a thing?
Father Yun’s face was iron blue. “It’s more than a false marriage. They want to swallow us whole.”
Like a bucket of cold water, Madam Yun’s heart chilled. “The Marquis household is powerful. We are mere merchants. How can we oppose them? How can we protect Zheng’er?”
The Marquis’s gate was as deep as the sea, its power overwhelming. How could their daughter alone stand against it?
Father Yun’s mind was in turmoil. Commoners cannot fight officials. We cannot win. He looked at his daughter, heart aching. Overnight, she had been forced to mature—her very temperament had changed. Only through upheaval and hardship could one grow so quickly.
“Zheng’er, what do you intend?”
Yun Zheng gazed at him deeply. “Father, I plan to rise again, to make the Yun family flourish, to turn it into a treasure coveted by all. Then, we will strive to become imperial merchants.”
Money alone was worthless before power. A single county magistrate could destroy a great family.
A child carrying gold through the marketplace—without power to protect it, wealth only attracted wolves.
At her words, the Yun couple were stunned. Was she planning to rely on the royal family?
Yun Zhanpeng looked at his beloved daughter, conflicted. Why was she not born a son?
“Zheng’er, that is like pulling chestnuts from the fire. It is dangerous.”
Ten years trapped in the inner courtyard, Yun Zheng replayed her fate countless times and dreamed of escape countless times, never once yielding.
“I know. But the Marquis household wants more than wealth. They want the lives of the Yun family.”
The couple’s faces changed drastically. “What did you say?”
Yun Zheng knew her parents’ instinctive fear of the Marquis household. In the hierarchy of scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant—merchants ranked last, their status worlds apart.
“Father, last night I had a terrible dream. In the dream…”
She did not say it was her past life, but disguised it as a dream, recounting everything she had suffered before.
At first, her parents did not take it seriously. But as their daughter described the scenes vividly, they were drawn in, their expressions growing tense. When they heard of her being exploited, poisoned, and thrown into a mass grave, Madam Yun could no longer bear it—she broke down completely.
Yun Zhanpeng’s heart sank. “Then what about us? Why didn’t we stand up for you?”
In her dream, her parents had not appeared at all. That was unnatural.
Pain flickered in Yun Zheng’s eyes. “A month later, Father went out on business. On the road, he met bandits—his body was never found. Mother, upon hearing the news, was overcome with grief and hanged herself.”
This was her deepest regret. She was determined to prevent such tragedy from happening again.
Yun Zhanpeng clutched his chest, struggling to breathe. Was this Heaven, using his daughter’s dream to warn them? “Who did it?”
Yun Zheng looked at him steadily. “The official investigation concluded it was bandits from Baiyun Mountain. Afterward, the Pingxi household, as in‑laws, took over all of the Yun family’s property—including…”
She paused, her tone complex. “The twenty thousand mu of ancestral land in Jiangnan.”
So, no more illusions. The two families were destined to be mortal enemies.
Father Yun felt as if struck by lightning. The ancestral land was for worshipping forebears, the foundation of the clan, its last refuge. Even if a family was confiscated, ancestral land was never seized. Yet the Marquis household had taken it. The Yun clan was destroyed. By logic, whoever profited most was the true culprit. His heart plunged into the depths, drowned as if in a sea, his fists clenched tight. After a long silence, he drew out a yellow jade seal from his robe and handed it to his daughter. “Zheng’er, you have long surpassed me. I trust your judgment. Do as you see fit. We will support you fully.”
It was the family head’s seal. With it, she could command all Yun businesses and withdraw silver from major banks. He was a wise man. Whether the dream was real or not did not matter. His daughter and the Marquis household had already reached the point of no return. There could be no peace—only a fight to the death.
Holding the seal, Yun Zheng felt its heavy weight. The responsibility was immense.
The world knew Yun Zhanpeng as the richest man in Great Qi, but few knew that Yun Zheng was the mastermind who had raised the Yun family to its peak. From childhood, she showed astonishing business talent. She pestered her father to teach her. Unable to resist his beloved daughter, he agreed, setting rules and disguising her as a boy, teaching her hand‑in‑hand.
At three, she could already use an abacus skillfully. At eight, she earned her first fortune. At ten, she could manage operations independently. By thirteen, she was secretly controlling Yun family enterprises, multiplying their wealth many times over.
Before she took charge, the Yun family was the richest in Jiangnan. After she took charge, in just three years, she made them the richest in the entire empire.
Such ability brought Father Yun both joy and regret—why was she a daughter?
“I regret it so much. I should never have been blinded by the Marquis household’s power, agreeing to their proposal. I should have insisted on bringing in a son‑in‑law instead.”
Yun Zheng sighed softly. “Our family was already targeted. Even if we refused, they would have forced us to agree. Against overwhelming power, we are nothing.”
Father and daughter exchanged a look, both eyes filled with unwillingness and ambition. They wanted to live—to live well, more gloriously than anyone.
Yun Zheng shared a midday meal with her parents, discussed specific plans, and then each went to their tasks. When she left the Yun household, ten strong retainers accompanied her. They were martial men hired at great expense to guard the estate and protect Father Yun when he traveled for business.
“Master Cheng, to Huangjue Temple.”
Master Cheng, silver‑haired, was Yun Zheng’s martial instructor. He had watched her grow up. He had thought her marriage meant retirement, but now he had to guard her once more.
“Huangjue Temple is in the western mountains. The journey takes several hours. We may not return tonight. Are you certain?”
Yun Zheng’s expression was unreadable. “We will stay overnight at Huangjue Temple.”
Master Cheng grew worried and spoke gently. “Miss, you are married now. Spending the night outside may not look proper. The Pingxi household will surely be displeased.”
“It’s fine. I have my own way.” Yun Zheng had to go. There was a great opportunity there—and she intended to seize it first.