Chapter 1
My name was Shen Yunru, the second young lady of Count Zhongyong’s household, born to a concubine.
My father, Shen Zhizhang, came from an aristocratic family fallen on hard times. His brilliant verses at a Lantern Festival poetry gathering caught Princess Duanyang’s eye. He became her husband and was granted a count’s title, then spent the next decade or two in pampered comfort.
My mother, Lady Lin, had accompanied Princess Duanyang into marriage as her maid. They were as close as sisters, and the princess could not bear to send her away, so she made my mother a concubine.
Princess Duanyang was capable and commanding, and my mother had no desire to compete for Father’s favor. Everyone in the household knew their place, and we lived in harmony.
The princess thought she had Father firmly under control. Even when a sudden illness killed her, she never knew that he had a childhood sweetheart named Jiang Youwei from before their marriage. He had kept her in a separate house for over ten years. Their daughter was only a month younger than my eldest sister.
My father’s wife was barely dead, her mourning period nowhere near over, when he hurried his illegitimate daughter, Shen Yunzhi, through our gates.
In her previous life, my eldest sister, Shen Aoxue, had been kind and trusting. Shen Yunzhi wept so pitifully that she let both her and Father’s mistress into the household.
Who could have guessed that beneath their fragile, helpless appearances, that mother and daughter were vicious to the core?
They schemed to make my sister lose her chastity before marriage, ruining her match with the crown prince. She had no choice but to marry Shen Yunzhi’s fiancé, Prince An, Nangong Xun.
Shen Yunzhi took her place, marrying the crown prince and becoming crown princess.
Later, Nangong Xun rebelled, seized the throne, and became emperor. Yet it was Shen Yunzhi he wanted as his empress.
My sister was eight months pregnant when Nangong Xun cut her open and took her child, claiming he needed it as an ingredient in medicine for Shen Yunzhi. She died full of hatred.
He also slaughtered her mother’s entire family, more than a thousand people in all.
In this life, she had returned burning with vengeance. God or Buddha, anyone who stood in her way would fall. She swore to make those two bastards pay!
Oh, how did I know all that?
Because I had transmigrated here.
This was a novel I had read: a story of rebirth, revenge, turning the tables, and putting people in their place.
In the previous-life backstory, I was expendable. That mother and daughter killed me off pretty quickly.
In this life’s plot, I was a bystander, enjoying the drama, enjoying the drama, enjoying the drama…
At that shameless exchange between father and daughter, my sister rose with a sweep of her sleeve. Dressed in mourning clothes, with little white flowers pinned in her hair, she looked utterly formidable.
A whole troop of maids and servants swept along behind her. I hurried to join them.
She regarded Shen Yunzhi with icy arrogance and contempt. “Where did this ill-bred girl come from?
“My mother, Princess Duanyang, has just passed away. We are still in mourning, yet you dare wear those clothes into her funeral hall? Do you hold the dignity of the imperial family in contempt?”
Shen Yunzhi’s eyes reddened in fright. Clear tears rolled down like strings of pearls as she clutched our scumbag father’s arm, a picture of helpless beauty.
“Sister, I didn’t mean to. I only thought that, since this was my first time coming home, I should dress properly. I didn’t want to be rude…”
Before she could finish, my sister stepped forward and slapped her hard across the face.
“Silence! Who are you calling sister?
“What gutter did you crawl out of, you bastard? You think you have the right to call me that?”
Shen Yunzhi reeled, nearly falling to the ground before Father steadied her.
Father spluttered with rage. “You! How dare you!
“This is your younger sister! How could you hit her?”
I was secretly delighted. When I read the book, the villainous Shen Yunzhi was the character I hated most.
Watching her get slapped felt even better than doing it myself.
I took my sister’s hand. “Please don’t be angry, Sister. You’ll make yourself ill.”
Father’s pointing finger shook with fury. “Ru’er, you too…?”
I hastily shrank behind my sister.
I was supposed to be a timid, spineless concubine’s daughter. I couldn’t break character. That didn’t mean I couldn’t stir things up.
Sure enough, my sister looked pained for me.
She patted my hand soothingly. “Don’t be afraid, Ru’er. I’m here.”
Then she turned to Father. “Have you forgotten that you are a princess’s husband? Taking a concubine requires Mother’s consent and approval from the Imperial Clan Court.
“This girl is merely a mistress’s child, with no recognized place in this family. What right does she have to enter our home?”