Chарtеr 1: Тhrоwing Herself intо Нis Arms to Сry
Hоt, sо hоt.
Shеn Мingshu slоwly ореnеd her eуes, her vision blurred.
Shе lоokеd аrоund аt thе scеnеrу—rockеriеs, pаvilions, small bridges, flоwing watеr…
It looked likе the bаckуаrd of somе wealthy fаmilу’s еstаte.
Hаdn’t shе diеd? Нow cоuld she bе here?
Тhe neхt moment, а strange tingling sensаtiоn suddеnly rоsе in her chest, burning hеr chееks and making hеr fingertips trеmble.
Неr bоdy fеlt weak, uttеrly devоid оf strеngth.
Shen Mingshu’s heart “explodеd” with rеalization.
This fаmiliаr reactiоn—
It wаs an aphrodisiac.
How could she not remember?
When she was sixteen, she had been drugged at a banquet. Sensing something was wrong, she had immediately left.
But unexpectedly, she had run into Xiao Zheng, her childhood friend.
He had taken her inside to rest and ordered someone to fetch a doctor.
Yet shortly after entering the room, they were discovered.
Although nothing had happened between them, their clothes were disheveled, and her reputation was ruined.
She had no choice but to marry Xiao Zheng.
But on their wedding day, Xiao Zheng brought Lin Qingyan into the household, and from then on, he treated her with cold indifference.
Later, he even drove her to impale herself on a blade…
Shen Mingshu snapped back to reality, realizing the heat within her body was growing more intense.
She let out a soft moan, unable to bear it any longer, and tremblingly bit the tip of her tongue.
Ouch, that hurt.
But she clearly felt the dizziness and burning in her heart lessen slightly, and her mind could barely function again.
In this life, she must not encounter Xiao Zheng again.
Find someone else…
A figure flashed through her mind.
That person had handsome features, but his eyes were extremely dark and deep, always carrying an oppressive intensity when he looked at others that made it hard to breathe.
He was the adopted son of the Shen family, her elder brother—
Jiang Xun.
Her parents had passed away when she was four years old. For as long as she could remember, the one holding up the Shen family’s reputation had been him.
He was strict to the point of harshness. If she showed the slightest impropriety, he would give her a cold glance, and she would be too frightened to move.
She had never dared to provoke him.
For ten years, she had consistently kept her distance from him.
At seventeen, he achieved the top rank in the imperial examinations, entered the Grand Secretariat, and the declining Shen family rose once again, gaining status in the capital.
It was also him who, after her death, slaughtered the Xiao family to avenge her.
Remembering this, Shen Mingshu felt her eyes grow sore, and she desperately wanted to cry.
The wind picked up, a cool breeze brushing against her sweat-dampened hair.
Shen Mingshu opened her eyes and saw the winding, twisting path ahead.
In her previous life, she had taken this path and ultimately fallen into Xiao Zheng’s hands, her reputation completely destroyed.
In this life…
Shen Mingshu abruptly turned around and walked in the opposite direction without looking back.
The effects of the drug surged again, making the world spin around her, and she could barely see the path ahead.
Shen Mingshu bit her lower lip and walked step by step toward the West Courtyard where Jiang Xun lived.
He was the only person she could trust, the one who would not harm her.
The night was deep in the West Courtyard, the wind whistling through the hall. Shen Mingshu stood before the dark wooden door, her heart pounding like a drum.
She reached out and knocked, “Thump, thump.”
Two short knocks, as if striking her own chest, one after another, leaving a dull ache.
The door opened in response.
It was still that cold, handsome face, with deep-set features and an aloof, imposing presence. Even standing quietly, he inspired awe.
Shen Mingshu looked up and met his deep, dark eyes. Instantly, her eyes reddened.
It was him! It was really him! She had finally seen him again!
The weakness brought on by the heat within her body and the grievances and pain in her heart overwhelmed her, and she could no longer hold back. She threw herself straight into his arms.
“Elder Brother…”She called out to him with a thick, nasal voice, trembling uncontrollably as tears streamed down her face like a breached dam.
Back at the Shen family home, Jiang Xun had been strict with her, but she had never suffered any grievances…
Yet after marrying Xiao Zheng, she seemed to have endured all the hardships she had been spared in the first half of her life.
She cried while staring at Jiang Xun.
She missed him so much, truly missed him.
Jiang Xun was caught off guard as she threw herself into his arms.
He lowered his head to look at her.
She had always been delicate, with skin as smooth and fair as snow, tinged with a faint, almost imperceptible blush. Now, her eyes were red from crying, and the tip of her nose was flushed as well.
Her eyelashes were damp and stuck together, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her lips were a startlingly vivid red.
As she looked up at him, she resembled a crabapple blossom blown down by the wind—fragile, trembling, and utterly pitiful.
Jiang Xun’s heart clenched, as if gripped by an unseen force.
His hand hovered in mid-air, not lowering, but tightening slightly.
“What’s wrong?” His voice was low and calm.
“Mingshu, tell me.”
Just these few words felt like a heavy blow to Shen Mingshu’s ears.
She burst into even louder sobs.
Wuwuwu, why was he so good to her?
Her tears wouldn’t stop, and all the grievances and bitterness she had buried deep within her heart poured out in that moment.
She had heard these words in her past life too.
On the day of her bridal return to her family home, Jiang Xun had stood beneath the corridor, watching her with a look of tenderness she had never seen before.
His voice had been hoarse then, asking her the same question.
But at the time, she still harbored foolish hopes for Xiao Zheng and hadn’t told him the truth.
It wasn’t until later that she realized—if she had spoken up then, perhaps many things would never have happened.
Shen Mingshu cried until she could no longer speak, tears dripping one by one onto Jiang Xun’s lapel.
In her past life, she had gone with Xiao Zheng and Lin Qingyan to offer incense at Yongqing Temple. On their way back, they were ambushed by a band of mounted bandits.
This group was notorious in the Jiangnan region. Despite multiple government crackdowns, they had repeatedly escaped capture, specializing in kidnapping women from official families, committing rape, murder, and every imaginable atrocity.
Her face instantly turned deathly pale, and she instinctively grabbed the sleeve of Xiao Zheng’s robe.
But in the next moment, a crossbow bolt shot from among the bandits. Lin Qingyan screamed, clutching her calf as blood instantly stained the hem of her robe.
Xiao Zheng’s expression changed drastically. He turned and shielded Lin Qingyan in his arms, not even glancing back at her, and hurried away with Lin Qingyan.
She fell into the hands of the bandits, and all her guards were killed.
The bandits swarmed around her, roughly seizing her. One of them clicked his tongue and laughed, “What a beauty. Let’s take her back and have some fun.”
She struggled desperately, her nails digging into her palms.
She knew that if she fell into their hands, there was only one outcome.
Worse than death.
Then she would rather die.
Gritting her teeth, she took advantage of the moment the bandits loosened their grip and lunged headfirst toward the sharp longsword in their hands.
After her death, her spirit wandered the mortal realm for seven days.
On the second day after she died, Jiang Xun submitted a memorial to the emperor, listing Xiao Zheng’s crimes: embezzling military funds, engaging in favoritism and fraud, and sheltering bandits.
She saw him standing in the imperial court, uncharacteristically losing his composure, his eyes bloodshot, struggling several times to contain his emotions.
Three days later, an imperial decree was issued: the entire Xiao family was exiled to the capital’s prison.
Just one night later, every member of the Xiao family died a gruesome death in prison.
After that, troops were dispatched, and the bandits were all executed.
Jiang Xun returned alone to the Shen family home, to the boudoir where she had once lived.He sat there, still in his court robes, hair slightly disheveled, his entire frame alarmingly gaunt.
He remained seated like that, staring blankly for a long, long time.
Shen Mingshu’s eyes reddened instantly—it was the first time she had seen Jiang Xun so utterly defeated.
She reached out, wanting to touch him, but her hands passed right through his body.
How could she have forgotten? She was a ghost.
After that, she drifted and drifted until the seventh night.
That day, heavy snow fell. She saw him leave his home alone.
In the outskirts of the capital, he was surrounded.
The men wore masks, and a sharp sword pierced straight through his chest.
Blood pooled on the ground. He opened his hand, still clutching a hairpin in his palm—it was hers.
Shen Mingshu’s eyes snapped open, her thoughts yanked back from her past life.
She looked at Jiang Xun before her, the image of him dying in the snow still vivid in her mind.
Without time to think, she lifted her hand and pressed it against his chest.
Right here!
Right here—where that sword had pierced him!
Her fingertips trembled uncontrollably, but the pressure she applied was anything but light.
If there really was a sword wound here, pressing like this would surely make him react!
Jiang Xun froze, completely caught off guard by her actions.
Then, unable to help himself, his throat moved slightly, and he let out a low, muffled groan.
The tips of his ears quietly flushed a faint red.
The blush crept up his gaunt cheek all the way to his temple.
On his usually cool and reserved face, a trace of barely noticeable panic appeared.