Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Like a drowning person grasping a piece of driftwood, I “surfaced” from the water, let out a sharp gasp, and snapped my eyes open.

I had been reborn once again.

There was no burning sensation on my body, only a slight ache in my neck.

As Cheng Wei had said, my death this time wasn’t “too painful.”

I let out a cold sneer. *Well, thank you very much!*

“Madam.”

Hongyu stood by the bed, holding a jade bowl. She looked down at me with confusion. “Why are you laughing?”

I looked at the drugged soup in the bowl, which was still steaming, and my left eyelid twitched violently.

The scenes from before my death in my previous life and Cheng Wei’s demonic voice seemed to still be right before my eyes and echoing in my ears.

He had revealed two “secrets.”

I placed my hand over my flat stomach. Regarding the first secret, I now knew how I had “offended” that devil.

He said I had once shared a night of passion with him.

How could that be?!

But then again, how could it not be?

I still remembered the night I first married into the Marquis Manor. I had waited in the room for Yuan Heng for a long time.

Late into the night, Yuan Heng had sent Hongyu with wine bestowed by the Emperor, telling me to drink some to warm my body.

Hongyu said that a “distinguished guest” had arrived at the front hall, and the Marquis didn’t dare neglect him, so he had to stay and share a few cups of wine.

She hinted that the distinguished guest was the Emperor.

How would I have dared to ask more?

So, I drank as many cups as Hongyu poured for me. Before I had even finished many, I was drunk and unconscious.

By the time I woke up again, it was broad daylight.

I was completely naked, my body covered in the bruised marks of lovemaking, and my lower body was so sore it felt numb…

It didn’t feel like a wedding night; it felt more like a violation.

And my husband was not by my side.

Hongyu said the Marquis had left the manor before dawn, as if there were an urgent summons from the palace.

At the time, I naturally assumed that the person who had shared my bed was Yuan Heng.

But looking at it now…

I clenched my fists tightly. If he could be so depraved as to murder his own wife, why wouldn’t he be capable of such beastly conduct as handing his wife over to be humiliated by another!

As for the second secret…

I raised my hand, my fingertips lightly tracing the side of my face.

Killing me was as easy for them as crushing an ant, yet they had gone to the trouble of bringing me to Qiyun Temple, tricking me into drinking a sedative, and then flaying the skin from my face while I was still alive…

The specific reason was unknown, but what I did know was that they had a use for this face of mine!

“Madam, please drink the soup.”

Hongyu knelt half-way by the bed, holding the bowl in both hands. She smiled and urged me again, “This is a gift from above. If you don’t drink it, the Empress Dowager might be angry.”

I took the bowl, leaned in to take a light sniff, and smiled. “I’ll drink it. It’s a reward, so why wouldn’t I?”

During my previous deaths, I had always thought about running away to survive.

But I was already a trapped beast. Escaping would be difficult.

In fact, breaking the deadlock was quite simple. Since they wanted this face of mine, I would just destroy it.

I looked up and saw a gold hairpin tucked into Hongyu’s hair, crafted in the shape of a begonia flower.

That hairpin was a reward from Yuan Heng, and she wore it every day as if it were a treasure.

I feigned taking a sip of the soup and acted as if I had just remembered something. “Oh, that’s right. The Marquis gave me a pearl as large as a longan fruit before, but I suddenly can’t find it. See if it rolled under the bed.”

Hongyu’s brow furrowed slightly. “I will look for it after I have served you the soup.”

I let out a cold laugh. “My, it seems that as the Marquess’s Wife, I can no longer give orders to a senior maid from the palace like yourself. Fine, fine, I’ll look for it myself.”

Saying that, I set the soup bowl on the small table by the bed, threw back the covers, and made a move to get out of bed.

“Let this servant do it.”

Hongyu gave me a deep look, then reluctantly lay down on the floor, sliding half her body under the bed to search.

I took off my earring, gritted my teeth, and used the sharp post of the earring to slash hard across the side of my face.

*Hiss-*

It hurt so much.

Hongyu groped around on the floor. “It doesn’t seem to be here.”

I quickly put my earring back on, got out of bed, and stood beside Hongyu. “Look more carefully.”

Hongyu’s tone was helpless. “How about this servant goes to light a lamp and calls a couple of people in to help?”

I was incredibly nervous. “Fine. Get up first.”

The moment she stood up, I suddenly bent over.

*Thud-*

My face and her head happened to collide.

“Ow!”

I clutched the side of my face, stumbled back several steps, and fell because I couldn’t steady myself.

The incident was so sudden that Hongyu stood there dazed.

I sat paralyzed on the floor, crying out in rebuke, “Why did you stand up so suddenly? Are you in such a hurry to be reincarnated? And what is that thing on your head? It’s so hard, it hurts like death!”

Hongyu waved her hands frantically. “No, no, no, this servant didn’t do it on purpose.”

I opened my hand, showing a bit of blood on my palm, and shouted in anger, “What are you standing there like a block of wood for? Go get a doctor!”