The thunder rolled like the furious roar of heaven, as if protesting the injustice of fate toward Jiang Wan, and as if trying to wake her, telling her—
"Heaven has heard your pleading and has granted you one chance to begin again."
The entire Prime Minister's residence was deathly silent. The servants were all sheltering from the rain under the eaves, while those harboring guilty intentions hid even deeper inside, afraid the thunder might strike them.
A maid dressed in peach-colored clothes was running through the torrential rain toward Jiang Wan's room. Her face was drenched, making it impossible to tell whether it was rain or tears.
"Miss, Miss, please don't sleep anymore! Wake up, Miss!"
Xi Tao's anxious voice pulled Jiang Wan back from a long dream. Jiang Wan's fingers twitched slightly, and she slowly opened her eyes.
Jiang Wan suddenly froze. The calm in her eyes instantly vanished, replaced by confusion and bewilderment.
"Why am I here?"
Hearing Jiang Wan speak, Xi Tao looked at her with worry.
"Miss, you've finally woken up. If you're not here, where else could you be? Did you have a nightmare?"
Jiang Wan followed the sound and looked over—it was Xi Tao. Xi Tao wasn't dead. And she herself was lying on the bed completely unharmed. What was going on? Could it all have been a dream? But the feeling was so real, as if it had just happened. Or had the heavens pitied how miserably Jiang Wan had died, heard her pleas, and allowed her to be reborn?
Jiang Wan pulled back the countless thoughts swirling in her mind and looked at Xi Tao, who was soaked through.
"Xi Tao, what happened? Why are you so out of breath? You're drenched in rain—hurry and change your clothes so you don't catch a chill."
Xi Tao's face was full of sorrow, and even her voice carried a sob.
"Miss, the master ordered Steward Cao to come deliver a message. He said Miss must go to the Tea Pavilion Hall to receive the imperial decree and give thanks. His Majesty has granted a marriage between Miss and General Gu on the second day of next month. Steward Cao even detained Xi Guo, saying that if Miss doesn't promptly express gratitude and angers the Emperor, he will sell Xi Guo off to a broker."
As she spoke, tears like large beans rolled uncontrollably down Xi Tao's round little face.
Hearing Xi Tao's words, Jiang Wan was certain it hadn't been a dream—she had truly been reborn to the day the Emperor bestowed the marriage. Jiang Wan gently wiped away Xi Tao's tears and comforted her tenderly:
"Alright, don't cry anymore, my good Xi Tao. If you keep crying, this little face will really swell into a peach. Don't worry—as long as I'm here, neither you nor Xi Guo will come to harm."
Jiang Wan had grown up together with Xi Tao and Xi Guo since childhood. To her, they were not just maids—they were the only ones in her previous life who had never abandoned her, who treated her sincerely, even willing to die for her.
In her previous life, the Emperor had betrothed Jiang Wan to Gu Chen. But back then, she had been deceived by Shen Quan's sweet words and refused no matter what to marry Gu Chen—leading to her tragic death.
Jiang Wan had thought that although her father didn't love her, he would at least, out of blood ties, be unwilling to see her marry someone she didn't love and live a miserable life. That was why she had risked her life several times to kneel before the Emperor begging for the engagement to be annulled, and even spent a fortune seeking a century-old ginseng to present to the Emperor, pleading for him to betroth her to Shen Quan. Only at the moment of her death in her previous life did she realize the conspiracy between them.
At this thought, scenes from her past life flooded into Jiang Wan's mind…
She had been sitting in the exquisitely decorated bridal sedan, wearing a phoenix coronet and crimson wedding robes like blood. The sound of suona filled the air, petals rained from the sky. Inside the sedan, Jiang Wan was breathtakingly beautiful, her heart full of joy as she imagined her future happiness.
"Arrived at Prince Quan's residence—please welcome the Princess Consort out of the sedan!" the ceremonial officer shouted.
Following the guidance of the matchmaker, Jiang Wan stepped over the threshold, crossed the fire basin, bowed to heaven and earth, thanked the elders, and exchanged bows with her husband. At last, she had formed a lifelong bond with the Shen Lang she had yearned for.
In the bridal chamber, the crimson curtains swayed gently, the soft candlelight emitted a warm fragrance that filled the entire room…
The door was pushed open, revealing a handsome face. A man with a warm smile slowly walked in. He wore bright red wedding robes, tall with a straight nose and a pair of dark amber phoenix eyes fixed directly on Jiang Wan on the bridal bed. In that gaze were desire, conspiracy, affection, and disdain…
"Wan'er, today you and I are finally married. I have waited so long for this moment…"
Shen Quan's voice was extremely cold and quiet. Apart from a slight hoarseness, there was no emotional fluctuation.
Jiang Wan's face flushed crimson with shyness as she replied softly, "Your heart is the same as mine."
Shen Quan walked toward his bride and lifted the veil. His eyes flickered, and beneath that burning gaze was a trace of darkness hard to detect.
A hint of affection appeared in Shen Quan's eyes, yet his voice remained calm.
"Wan'er, let us drink the nuptial wine first."
Still immersed in happiness, Jiang Wan responded shyly, "Alright."
After drinking the wine, Jiang Wan opened her mouth slightly as if to say something—
"Pfft—"
Blood sprayed from Jiang Wan's mouth. Her body felt as if crushed by a mountain, struggling even to breathe. She trembled all over, her lips turning pale, until the last bit of strength was drained from her body and she collapsed straight to the floor.
Jiang Wan looked at the unharmed Shen Quan before her, as if she understood something, yet also didn't.
"What happened to me? You… how could you?"
Shen Quan's expression was calm, as if none of this concerned him. Seeing Jiang Wan fall, he didn't even bother to pretend anymore.
"Jiang Wan, since you are about to die, I'll allow you to become a clear-headed ghost. Now that Father Emperor is unfit for the throne, lacking benevolence, I, Shen Quan, cannot allow the people to suffer without a wise ruler—so I must replace him. And your mother's vast fortune, I need it to train the future royal army. If you were not Jiang Wan, if your mother were not Pei Qinghe, with your beauty, once my great cause was accomplished, I would surely have made you Empress. Unfortunately, in this life you are Jiang Wan, so on my path to power, you can only die."
Jiang Wan felt as if her heart was being seized and crushed repeatedly, even her breath stinging with pain. Tears spilled uncontrollably from her eyes. Her body trembled violently like an autumn leaf about to fall, and she used all her strength to squeeze out a few words from her throat:
"My sincere devotion to you was not worth even a fortune… how ridiculous."
Shen Quan's upright features twisted slightly.
"Jiang Wan, after you die, I will gouge out your eyes and place them in the hall so you can watch as I marry your most beloved sister Jiang Nianzhu. I will compensate her for all I owed you. You can depart in peace."
A flood of heartache surged again, drowning her completely. Jiang Wan stared at the man before her, her eyes filled with hatred, as if she wanted to devour this honey-tongued, dagger-hearted man.
Her whole body curled up in pain, unable to utter a word.
Seeing Jiang Wan only collapse in agony and cry silently without questioning anything, Shen Quan thought she must be unable to accept the truth. Yet he wanted to see her heartbroken, so since she wouldn't ask, he would tell her himself.
"Jiang Nianzhu is the child your father truly dotes on. For her, Prime Minister Jiang would feed her with his flesh and nourish her with his blood if he could. For me to ascend the throne, I naturally need the full support of the Prime Minister. Everything you suffered was planned by Zhu'er for me. By the way, tonight is my wedding night with Zhu'er. Soon she will replace you as Jiang Wan and become my Princess Consort. Back then I asked you—if we married, would you be willing to hand over your dowry to strengthen the forces of the estate? You said your mother told you never to give those assets to anyone. Since that was the case, I could only have Zhu'er replace you. She is willing to give everything to me. You possess beauty but not even a tenth of your sister's intelligence. Have you not realized—if you had handed over the dowry, when I became Emperor and you Empress, what in this world would not be yours?"
Jiang Wan was confused. Replace her? How could she be replaced?
"Replace me?"