"Quick, pursue her, she won't get far!"
In the dead of winter, in the heavy snowfall.
In the damp and cold cave, Su Wei, like a defeated flower, curled up in the corner. The cold wind howled into the cave from outside, messing up her withered yellow hair, revealing the dirty scars all over her body from abuse.
She bit her lip tightly, crouching in the cave, not daring to make a sound, for fear of being discovered.
As the cold wind howled, her burning tears couldn’t help but roll down.
Why?
Why has she become like this?
She was originally the legitimate daughter of the Count of Hengdong, destined for a brilliant lifetime.
But in the end, she became a prostitute, living a life worse than death.
She was full of hatred!
She harbored resentment for her blindness, her unjust fate!
Why should good and weak people be humiliated, while the wicked ones, walked over the blood of her family members, and luxuriated in wealth and rank?
"Su Wei must have escaped here!"
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely certain."
Faint voices of a man and a woman echoed from the mountain cave, intertwined with the sound of raging snow, listening but not clearly.
Su Wei, however, curled up in fear as if facing a formidable foe, hiding in the shadow, "No... I don't want to!"
She had barely escaped from that nightmarish prison, she didn't want to be captured again!
Bang!
Thorny bushes blocking the cave entrance were split open with a blade, and a gust of wind and snow rushed in, causing Su Wei's battered body to shiver violently.
A stunningly dressed woman, holding a hot cup of soup in her hands and draped in a fox fur cloak, approached slowly like a commanding deity.
"Sister Su Wei, I hope you've been well."
Su Wei glared at the approaching figure, her eyes radiating a deep-seated vindictiveness. "Su Lian Lian, it's you!"
Su Lian Lian, her cousin.
The chief culprit behind her life plunging into an abyss of despair!
She, Su Wei, was the legitimate daughter of the esteemed Duke Hengdong.
The young lord of Nan Yang was her betrothed.
Her father was a meritorious minister, a general guarding the frontier.
She had a promising future, a life filled with opportunities and happiness.
Everything, all due to the venomous woman standing in front of her, was ruined!
Twelve years ago, due to Su Lianlian's manipulation, she mistakenly thought her fiancé, the Young Master of Nanyang, was an irresponsible playboy who wasted his days in debauchery and fancied the idea of calling off their engagement.
Coincidentally, Liu Zhaodong, the newly crowned genius scholar, was at his peak at that time. He was handsome and a favorite in the emperor's court. Su Lianlian incessantly whispered in her ear every day, maintaining that Liu Zhaodong was her ideal suitor.
During a royal banquet, she fell into the water due to Su Lianlian's scheming, was saved by Liu Zhaodong, and was forced to marry humbly.
At first, she devoted her heart and soul to Liu Zhaodong, seeing no one else but him.
However, within two years of their marriage, Liu Zhaodong had taken more than ten concubines!
Liu Zhaodong didn’t love her and allowed his concubines to publicly humiliate her.
Ridiculously, she, a legitimate daughter hailing from a prominent family, was fighting for favor and flattering others all day in the backyard, eventually turning herself into the joke of the entire city!
Two years after the wedding, she was left childless, causing her mother-in-law’s disdain and she was bullied by her sisters-in-law!
The prime culprit, Su Lianlian, however, took her place and married into the renowned Nanyang Marquis's residence, basking in wealth, while her "useless" playful young master turned into a perfect husband that everyone praised.
Regardless, Su Lianlian still wouldn’t leave her alone and tried every possible way to jeopardize her.
In the third year of their marriage, Liu Zhaodong had someone cripple her by severing the tendons in her hands and feet and threw her into an old temple, forcing her to become a despised courtesan. Thousands slept with her, thousands compensated her!
She was locked in the temple, her hands and feet bound with chains. Unable to live or die, she had been tortured for a full decade!
Having just found a chance to escape from that nightmare-like prison, she was caught up by Su Lianlian again...
Su Wei had her lips bit tightly with a bead of tear of sorrow and indignation escaping from the corner of her eye.
"Soo Lian Lian, my life has already been ruined by you, why can't you let me go?"
Ten years of living hell, her once sweet voice like an oriole, has now become hoarse like an old crone.
Soo Lian Lian hooked up her lips maliciously, she disgustingly covered her mouth and nose as if looking at a filthy bug, "Soo Wei, don't blame me, you shouldn't have existed in this world in the first place."
"Only after your death, can I live in peace."
She had spoken and drawn back several steps, her eyes shot out a malicious light, "I've prepared a big gift for you. Enjoy it well before you die."
Uncountable beggars rushed in from outside the cave.
They were unbearably dirty and stinky, seeing Soo Wei, they couldn't help but pounce.
Her ragged linen dress was torn to shreds, many pairs of filthy hands, exploring Soo Wei's body.
The beggars lined up like maggots in a dung pit, one after another.
Soo Wei did not struggle, did not scream.
She just stared intensely at Soo Lian Lian's malevolent face, her fingers gradually tightened, her nails sinking deep into her palm.
Soo Lian Lian, oh Soo Lian Lian.
If there is a next life, she will skin her, gnaw her bones!
Throw her into the abyss of hell.
Neither could she live, nor die!
In a daze, Su Wei seemed to see her father who fell on the battlefield, her frail, sickly brother who left the world early.
And there was Cai Zhi, the maid who had been by her side when she was growing up, faithful, and never wavering...
Slowly, a smile crept onto Su Wei's face as tears fell down her cheeks. She slowly closed her eyes.
Father, mother, little brother, Cai Zhi,
Su Wei has come to find you.
It's good, Su Wei, you won't feel pain anymore...
...
"Who would have expected in the palace banquet, the second Miss Su would go as far as employing such vile means, just to grab onto the marriage prospect with Liu Bangyan."
"Falling into the water purposefully right before the eyes of Liu Bangyan, making him have no choice but to jump in and save her. What a trick."
"She is wearing so little, after falling into the water, one can almost see everything, it seems like she had this planned out well in advance."
"Poor Liu Bangyan, ended up getting involved with such a scheming woman."
Su Wei shut her eyes tight, the annoying voices of conversations echoing in her ears.
Her body was freezing, her soul felt as though it had been squeezed, it was pain enough to lead her to let out a soft groan.
She opened her eyes, looking at the lavish halls in front of her, the familiar yet strange faces that she saw, it felt like a world apart.
"Mistress! Are you awake?!" A maid dressed in green ran up crying, "Thank God, Mistress, we thought you..."
Su Wei's eyes widened, her chaotic vision gradually clearing.
She looked at the charming maid in front of her and exclaimed in astonishment, "Cai Zhi?"
Hasn't Cai Zhi already passed away?
After being schemed against, getting pregnant and having a miscarriage, and finally succumbing due to her physical decline...
But at this moment, isn't this anxious, red-eyed, tender-faced little girl in front of her none other than her Cai Zhi?
"Second Sister, how could you be so careless! Even if you are fond of the young master Li, you should not have schemed against him at the Empress Li's flower viewing banquet! Now that you and young master Li have had physical contact, your reputation is ruined. How are we supposed to explain to the Manor of the Marquis of Nanyang? What about our Su family?"
Hearing the woman's voice, Su Wei froze.
It took her a while to recover, and she turned to look at the woman who was covering her face in tears.
Su Lianlian, the prime culprit responsible for her demise!
This scene, and the one years ago, after she had fallen into the water at the palace banquet, all reappeared in Su Wei's mind.
She was reborn!
And she found herself back twelve years!
Back to the pivotal point where her life had taken a turn for the worst!
Twelve years ago, it was Su Lianlian who schemed to make her fall into the water, causing her to lose face and the betrothal to the Nanyang Marquis's Manor.
It was because of this fallen-in-the-water incident, her deep attachment to Liu Zhaodong had developed, ultimately leading to her agonizing death.
Her hand hidden inside her sleeve was clenched tightly. In her indifferent eyes, a trace of cold resentment passed.
Fortune had indeed smiled upon her, for she was reborn!
So be it, if she did not stir up a storm and take down those responsible for her past life's miseries, how could she justify this second chance at life?
