“Open up.”
“Second Young Lady, lift them higher.”
Her consciousness was hazy.
“Second Young Lady?”
It had been a long time since anyone addressed her like that after she left the family home.
Every day, she sat idly in that gilded palace, surrounded by endless flatterers who called her “Empress Dowager” one after another. How had she suddenly become the Second Young Lady again?
Looking at the slender, plump jade-like legs being held, Wen Yunmian froze in astonishment.
No, her skin wasn’t like this. Her skin had clearly become loose.
Were these her legs from her youth?
Wen Yunmian suddenly snapped back to reality.
Right, this was the scene before she and her stepsister entered the palace, when the nannies hired by the family were examining their bodies?
So, had she been reborn?
Before she could think further, the nanny nodded in satisfaction. “Slender in build, yet graceful and alluring. With such a figure, it’s truly a captivating weapon—simply excellent.”
Outside, the women of the Marquis’s household were already waiting.
They heard Nanny Zhang say with a smile to Lady Meng, “The Second Young Lady has an excellent figure, graceful and alluring, while the Third Young Lady is slender and delicate, evoking pity. You are truly blessed. With these two daughters entering the palace, they are sure to be greatly favored.”
Wen Yunmian became even more certain that she had been reborn after living out her natural lifespan.
Sure enough, after the two nannies left, the maids brought Wen Yunmian, now dressed, and Wen Leyan, who had emerged from the side room, to the main hall.
Wen Leyan gave her a strange smile.
The Marquis was already waiting in the main hall.
After the two entered, they respectfully bowed. “Greetings, Father.”
Marquis Wen Fuan sat down. “The nannies have already examined you today. Both of you are qualified to enter the palace.”
He sighed, placing his hopes on his two daughters. “Our family has no sons. If we want to preserve the Marquis’s wealth and status, we can only rely on you gaining favor in front of the Emperor.”
“Additionally, there is something your father must give you to help you establish yourselves firmly in the palace.”
The Marquis looked at the steward beside him, who immediately brought out two boxes and placed them before the two girls. “These are excellent secret medicines developed by our family. One aids in bearing children, while the other damages fertility but can enhance one’s beauty to a stunning degree.”
The Marquis said calmly, “You two choose.”
“I choose the Shengzidan!”
Wen Leyan’s voice abruptly interrupted Wen Yunmian’s thoughts.
Wen Yunmian looked up in surprise to see Wen Leyan, under Lady Meng’s astonished gaze, claim the Shengzidan for herself.
In her previous life, Wen Leyan had clearly chosen the Maomeidan.
Because she had said, what use was having so many children? It was better to maintain eternal youth, stunning beauty, and surpass all women, so that the Emperor would never forget her!
Indeed, when Wen Leyan first entered the palace, she gained some advantage with her beauty.
On the first night the consorts served the Emperor, she was the first to be carried to the Chaoyang Palace.
But later, she suddenly fell seriously ill and was sent by the Emperor to a secluded place for treatment and supervision.
As Wen Leyan’s elder sister, Wen Yunmian had sent people to check on her, but unfortunately, there was no news.
It wasn’t until Wen Yunmian ascended to the position of Empress Dowager that she learned Wen Leyan had been imprisoned in the Cold Palace, driven mad.
As for what she had experienced, Wen Yunmian never found out.
She only knew that the Maomeidan had not worked on Wen Leyan in the slightest.
Meanwhile, after entering the palace, Wen Yunmian, having taken the Shengzidan, served the Emperor only a few times before successively giving birth to the Second Prince, Third Prince, and Fifth Princess for the nearly heirless Emperor.
Gradually rising from a low-ranking concubine to a noble lady, then to a consort, and finally becoming the imperial noble consort, second only to the empress herself.
She was an evergreen tree standing tall among a garden of delicate flowers.
She weathered the emperor’s passing, palace upheavals, and eventually saw her own son ascend the throne, becoming the revered and well-supported Empress Dowager, enjoying boundless glory.
When her stepsister learned of her journey, she was consumed by envy and resentment. From the cold palace, she bribed a palace maid to request an audience.
Out of the last shred of compassion she held for her family, she agreed to meet. Yet, she never expected Wen Leyan would risk her life to kill her.
A dagger plunged straight into her chest. Before the searing pain could fully register, Wen Leyan’s desperate cry filled the air: “Why should you become Empress Dowager while I suffered such a wretched life? I’ll kill you! If I can’t have peace, neither will you! Die with me!”
Fortunately, Wen Yunmian was blessed with great fortune and survived, waking after half a month in a coma.
“Father, Sister is healthy and should have good fertility. Even if she takes the Maomeidan, she likely still has the ability to bear children. Unlike me—frail and sickly—if I were to take the Maomeidan, I might not even survive to enter the palace and would perish right here in the manor.”
Lady Meng did not know what her daughter was planning. She shot her several warning glances, but Wen Leyan ignored them all.
Knowing her daughter’s stubborn nature, Lady Meng had no choice but to chime in, “Indeed, my lord. If Yan’er had the Shengzidan, she could bear children to secure her position.”
“Yunmian is already beautiful. If she takes the Maomeidan, surely no one could compare. One with offspring, the other with beauty—our marquis’s daughters would surely gain a firm foothold in the palace.”
Wen Leyan looked pitifully at Wen Yunmian. “Sister, you wouldn’t fight me for the Shengzidan, would you?”
Lady Meng clutched her handkerchief tightly. The current emperor was nearly without heirs, having none in the two years since his accession. Even if the Shengzidan were powerful, it still required the man to have at least a drop of vitality—otherwise, how could one conceive?
Originally, the plan was for the Shengzidan to go to Wen Yunmian.
Wen Yunmian curved her lips into a faint smile. Seeing the determination and wary vigilance of this mother-daughter pair, she couldn’t help but laugh softly, finally understanding completely.
It wasn’t just her who had been reborn.
Wen Leyan had also been reborn.
That was why she was so desperate to steal the fruits of Wen Yunmian’s previous life’s victory.
Did she truly think bearing the emperor’s child was a blessing, a guarantee of peace and security?
How utterly laughable.
Since her dear sister was so eager to snatch it, she could have it.
Soon enough, she would come to understand just how terrifying it was to struggle for survival in the harem while constantly conceiving and giving birth.
In her past life, she had ascended to the position of Empress Dowager not because of her two sons, but through her own efforts!
If women could become emperor, she would never have settled for the role of Empress Dowager.
Moreover, the endless schemes and attacks after giving birth, the stretch marks on her abdomen—all of it had repeatedly plunged her into a state of being out of favor and despised. Every night, she dared not sleep soundly, often jolting awake from nightmares.
That kind of life—she had no desire to live it again.
Besides…