Chapter 35

Chapter 35

Once again, I have returned to the moment before my murder.

The difference is, this is my final rebirth.

Hongyu remained as she was in my previous life-submissive on the surface, but her words carried an underlying pressure. “This is a gift from the Empress Dowager. If you refuse it, I fear you will be held accountable for a crime.”

I looked at the woman with indifference.

Hongyu felt uneasy under my gaze and reminded me guiltily, “Madam, the soup should be drunk while it’s hot.”

I asked, “Does your head still hurt?”

Hongyu froze. “Huh?”

I let out a soft chuckle and reclined lazily on the bed, my fingertip tracing the side of my face.

Given my current predicament, I would likely have to resort to that trick from my previous life-the one where I disfigured myself.

“Hongyu, my…”

Just as I started to speak, a sudden rush of footsteps came from outside.

Soon, a knock sounded on the door, and an attendant asked in a deep voice, “Is Auntie Hongyu there?”

Hongyu snapped back displeasedly, “What is it!”

The attendant replied, “His Majesty has urgently summoned the Marquis back to the capital. The Marquis is currently at the temple to take Madam back to the manor.”

“The Marquis said that the soup gifted by the Empress Dowager was carried all the way from the palace. It has cooled and been reheated; it’s no longer fresh. Madam does not need to eat it.”

I was stunned. What was going on?

Why did Yuan Heng suddenly change his mind? Could it be that he had thought of another way to kill me?

I looked up.

Hongyu hadn’t reacted yet either, glancing outside in confusion. However, she was quick to recover and smiled. “Then this servant shall pack up immediately and attend to Madam’s return to the capital.”

A quarter-hour later, I left the meditation room that had been my death trap several times over.

As soon as I stepped out of Qiyun Temple, I saw Yuan Heng standing under a ginkgo tree, his head turned as he spoke with Cheng Wei.

The moment I saw them, I remembered the various horrors and injuries they had inflicted upon me, and my body couldn’t help but tremble.

I knew I was weak and easily bullied, no match for them.

But was running away useful? Was begging for mercy useful?

It would only result in even more cruel treatment.

Since I couldn’t escape, I would face my fears head-on.

Yuan Heng’s face was grim, clearly irritated. Seeing me approach, he gave Cheng Wei a meaningful look.

Cheng Wei nodded and turned to leave.

I hurried forward a few steps. “Second Brother, wait!”

Yuan Heng and Cheng Wei both froze, turning to look at me simultaneously.

I walked over with poise.

Yuan Heng took off his silver fox fur cloak and draped it over my shoulders, asking with interest, “What did you just call him?”

I looked up at him. “I always hear you call him Second Brother. I thought a wife should follow her husband’s lead, so I followed suit.”

Yuan Heng let out an understanding ‘oh’ and smiled. “Then why did you stop him? What do you want?”

I glanced at Cheng Wei and handed over my hand warmer. “It’s freezing cold, and Second Brother is dressed so thinly. Be careful not to catch a chill.”

Cheng Wei remained expressionless. He didn’t even look at the hand warmer, let alone give me a proper glance. He simply said to Yuan Heng, “Then I shall head back first.”