Chapter 1: Rebirth

The Marquis’s Residence.

This was an extremely small, dark room where sunlight could not penetrate.

A girl of about sixteen lay there, her body marked with scars of various sizes, her expression pained, as if she had endured great torment.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes, her entire body trembling.

“Am I dead?” Wen Qiao felt no pain in her chest and was momentarily dazed.

The dazzling light caught her off guard. She raised her hand to shield her eyes, then saw a figure approaching against the light.

He held a whip, weighing it thoughtfully in his hand. “Wen Qiao, do you know your mistake?”

“Wen Zehan?” Wen Qiao’s eyes flashed with fierce resolve as she looked at him.

“Call me Third Brother. If you’re in the Marquis’s residence, you must obey its rules. What? Do you still want to taste this whip?” Wen Zehan raised the whip coldly.

At his words, Wen Qiao’s heart trembled.

She was still in the Marquis’s residence?

Hadn’t Xiao Minghe stabbed her to death last time?

Why was she still here?

If she remembered correctly, this was the place she was thrown into whenever she was slandered.

Could it be—

An incredible thought flashed through Wen Qiao’s mind.

She had been reborn!

Seeing the shock in her eyes, Wen Zehan frowned slightly, displeased. “Wen Qiao, Father said if you admit your mistake today, he won’t punish you further. On the Empress Dowager’s seventieth birthday, he can even take you to see the world.”

The Empress Dowager’s seventieth birthday?! She had been reborn just shortly after returning to the Marquis’s residence?!

She was the true daughter of the Marquis’s family. After being brought back, the adopted false daughter Wen Qi was not expelled. Instead, she was doted on by their several brothers born to the concubines like a star among many.

Yesterday, Wen Qi falsely accused her of stealing a bracelet. Wen Qiao denied it vehemently, but the servants found Wen Qi’s bracelet in her room, branding her a shameless thief. She was thrown into this tiny dark room and whipped by Wen Zehan.

When she refused to confess, the matter was spread around. Everyone believed she was of bad character.

A surge of ruthless determination rose within her.

She knew all the evil deeds the Marquis’s family would commit in the future. She would expose every one of them to the entire capital, dragging them step by step into the abyss.

“Sorry, Third Brother, I know I was wrong. Please let me out,” she said, lowering her head as her first move.

Lowering one’s head did not mean defeat.

She had to seek out Emperor Xiao Zheng; after all, her mother was his favorite sister.

In her previous life, he was disappointed in her because the accusations had reached his ears, and she was wholly focused on the Marquis’s household. Even though Xiao Zheng was her uncle, she rejected all his care.

This time, she must make good use of this connection.

Wen Zehan was also shocked by how quickly she apologized.

An hour ago, she was crying and grabbing his arm, insisting she was innocent.

Maybe the whipping made her see reason?

At that moment, Wen Qi poked her head out from behind Wen Zehan, holding a white bottle out to Wen Qiao. “Sister, I don’t blame you for the bracelet. Your injuries must hurt, right? I brought you some medicine.”

Wen Qiao glanced down at the bottle and refused. “Just some minor wounds, no need for medicine.”

That medicine would cause the wounds to fester and never fully heal.

“Do you blame me, sister? But that bracelet was bought for me by Father, and I really like it,” Wen Qi, seeing her refusal, tried another approach.

“Do you still want to go to the birthday banquet? Let Qi Qi apply the medicine for you quickly. This is her good intention; don’t be ungrateful,” Wen Zehan said coldly, displeased with Wen Qiao’s resistance.

This was Wen Qiao’s chance. She forced a solemn face and extended her arm. “Apply it.”

Wen Qi happily came forward and smeared the medicine on Wen Qiao’s wounds. “Sister, from now on, we are good sisters. We must be like real siblings, okay?”

“Qi Qi stole from you, and you’re still so kind to her?” Wen Zehan frowned.

“Maybe sister just liked the bracelet. It’s nothing. Sister, you’ll see many more beautiful things in the future,” Wen Qi’s words seemed sweet but mocked Wen Qiao’s lack of worldly experience.

A country girl—what worldly experience could she have?

The cold medicine applied to Wen Qiao’s wounds burned as it seeped in.

It hurt.

After finishing her arm, Wen Qi looked at the other wounds on Wen Qiao’s body. “Sister, why not apply it to all your wounds?”

The more applied, the worse they’d rot.

“Give it to me. I’ll apply the medicine later. Father will be worried if I delay too long,” Wen Qiao said, reaching out.

Wen Qi handed over the bottle, a gleam of triumph in her eyes. “I hope your wounds heal quickly, sister.”

“…”

“All right, Wen Qiao, today is the Empress Dowager’s birthday, and we’ll celebrate your return to the Marquis’s residence as well,” Wen Zehan warned, his eyes sharp. “Behave at the banquet. Don’t show those rustic habits there, or forget about entering the palace.”

“Understood, Third Brother,” Wen Qiao nodded obediently.

Seeing this, Wen Zehan said no more and turned to leave with Wen Qi.

They looked like true siblings.

Inside the room, only Wen Qiao remained.

She lifted her foot, memories from her previous life still swirling in her mind, those agonizing moments refusing to fade.

Stepping outside, the sunlight fell on her, a sensation long missed.

Such light had not touched her for a long time.

Being locked away was painful and unbearable.

But she had been reborn.

All the past had been etched into her heart; she would never repeat the same mistakes.

Following her memory, Wen Qiao returned to the small courtyard prepared for her in the Marquis’s residence.

The courtyard was tiny, with only one very small room inside. It contained a simple hard bed, a wooden table with two stools, and a rough wardrobe beside it.

Nothing else.

She opened the wardrobe and then a bundle inside, revealing a very plain wooden box.

Opening it, inside was a pair of earrings.

This was why the Marquis’s family brought her back, and also one of the causes of her death in the past life.

They wanted them.

She had to hide these earrings deeply, so no one in the Marquis’s family could discover them.

She placed the earrings in the deepest corner, then took out another small bundle wrapped tightly inside the luggage. Opening it, she found an array of silver needles and a knife.

Wen Qiao gritted her teeth and cut off the part where she had just applied the medicine.

The medicine was fresh.

There was still hope.

The only way was to separate the medicine that had seeped in from her body.

A sharp pain surged. Sweat beaded on her forehead.

She bit her lip and endured silently, watching the flesh slowly being cut away.

Plop!

The piece fell to the ground. Dizzy, Wen Qiao hurriedly steadied herself against the wardrobe door, took out the medicine inside to stop the bleeding, bandaged the wound, cleaned the bloodstains around, and pulled out a plain garment to change into.

This pain—compared to the past life, what was it?

Fortunately, she had learned medicine from her grandmother in the small mountain village.

It was a pity that in her past life, to please everyone in the Marquis’s household, when they learned she had medical skills, they made her secretly treat everyone behind Wen Qi’s back, then gave Wen Qi the credit.

Ha…

This was the so-called talented lady of the capital?

Just thinking about it made her feel foolish and amused.

As for the bottle of medicine on the table, Wen Qiao would find a chance to let Wen Qi taste it as well.

After changing clothes, Wen Qiao went out.

“Sister, you don’t look well. Are you feeling unwell?” Wen Qi immediately approached and linked her arm with hers, deliberately pressing down on the wound.

She wanted the medicine to seep in faster.

The medicine was gone.

But the pressure made the wound hurt even more.

With everyone in the Marquis’s residence watching, Wen Qiao could not show displeasure to Wen Qi. She merely smiled faintly. “Good…”

But when the ugly truth of the Marquis’s household was revealed to the world, and Wen Qi’s so-called ‘talented lady of the capital’ facade was shattered, would she still be so happy?