Chapter 1

Chapter 1

The most exalted man in the realm was, naturally, the old emperor.

I pointed at Shen Qi and, in my sweetest voice, began twisting the truth, distorting the facts, hurling false accusations, and complaining at the top of my lungs.

“Imperial Uncle! That scoundrel is taking liberties with my sister!”

I remembered this place. It was an imperial retreat where my entire family had accompanied the emperor. Days of heavy rain had swollen the mountain streams, and my sister and I had accidentally fallen into the water. The accompanying guards had all jumped in after us, but the current was so violent that finding anyone was nearly impossible.

Shen Qi had recently earned the emperor’s favor and was part of the imperial entourage. The moment he saw what had happened, he dove in without hesitation.

In my previous life, the person he pulled out had been me.

From that day forward, I had loved him beyond all reason.

The Shen family had once been a powerful clan. They had backed the wrong side during the old emperor’s struggle for the throne, however, and had gradually declined into poverty. Their great stroke of fortune was Shen Qi. At a young age, he ranked first in the imperial examination. Once he entered officialdom, he rose rapidly through the ranks and restored his family. As the court’s brilliant new talent, his future seemed limitless.

As if that were not enough, he was exceptionally handsome. On the day he rode through the city after topping the examination, every girl and married woman in the capital had talked about his looks.

He was exactly the sort of man who could make a girl my age fall for him with ease—and he had saved my life besides.

At the age when my heart burned brightest and truest, I raised hell until my family agreed to let me marry him.

I could not understand why my elders hesitated over such an outstanding match. When they saw that I would not change my mind, they finally gave in and sent someone to sound out the Shen family.

Shen Qi promptly arranged for a matchmaker to bring a proposal.

On our wedding day, I could see no one but him. I was so nervous that I nearly moved the same hand and foot together. Then I stumbled, a branch snagged my veil, and I looked up to find Shen Qi standing ahead of me.

He did not look nervous at all. He was unnaturally calm as he gazed at me with tenderness.

Then he coughed a few times. That night, he claimed he had caught a chill and did not want to pass it to me, so he slept in the study.

Only later did I understand that gaze.

He had been looking through me at someone else.

No one knew that Shen Qi had long adored my elder sister.

When he was a child, the Shen family had already fallen on hard times, and he was constantly bullied at school. My sister studied there for several years. Pitying him, she chased his tormentors away more than once. Seeing how thin he was, she shared the food our family sent her. Once, when he fell ill, she took him to a clinic. She even lent him money to pay a debt collector hounding his family.

When she grew older, she stopped attending the outside school. Who could have guessed that Shen Qi never stopped thinking of her?

Shen Qi loved my elder sister.

And at the same time, he despised me.

From what he had observed, I needed my sister to take me outside or I would get lost. I made her demonstrate everything when I learned the zither or painting. If I found a pastry I liked, I wanted her to feed it to me. Whatever I did, I clung to her. In his eyes, I was affected, spoiled, and forever burdening her.

When we fell into the raging river, he pulled me out after mistaking me for her. By the time he went back, it was too late to save her. He never let go of that hatred.

He loathed me. He believed I had stolen my sister’s chance to live. If not for me, she would have survived. She would have become his wife.

He agreed to marry me partly because I resembled her and partly because he wanted revenge.

A rabid dog: mild and cultivated on the surface, twisted and obsessive underneath.

Just as he wished, I lived miserably in my last life and died an equally miserable death.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the day we fell into the river. As someone swam toward us, my sister pushed me upward, just as she had before, trying to make sure I was rescued first.

This time, I knew how to swim.

I avoided Shen Qi.

He did not mistake us this time. He struggled to bring my sister ashore while I swam out on my own.

The moment he reached the bank, Shen Qi froze. It was as if he had remembered something. He clasped my sister in his arms like a man regaining someone he had lost, then raised a trembling hand to touch her face.

My cry of “Scoundrel!” made him stiffen awkwardly. Everyone turned to look at him.

Both of them were drenched. The woman had already been saved, yet the man still refused to let her go. It did look rather improper.

At last, the maids and matrons returned with dry clothes and wrapped my sister and me in them. My father and the emperor were sworn friends who had survived death together. The emperor had watched my sister and me grow up, had always doted on us, and we were daughters of one of his most important ministers.

Shen Qi should have been richly rewarded for saving a life. In my previous life, the emperor had granted him a promotion, a higher title, and many gifts for rescuing me.

This time he had saved my sister, but my interruption made his actions appear less than innocent. Amid the awkwardness, even the weight of his life-saving deed seemed diminished.

There was no promotion and no elevation of rank. He received only verbal thanks and a collection of gifts.

The emperor knew perfectly well that I was exaggerating and accusing Shen Qi on purpose. He chose to indulge me anyway, scolding me with a laugh.

“You little menace.”

I could not help it. I had always been spoiled, arrogant, and utterly lawless.

Shen Qi thanked the emperor distractedly. His eyes remained fixed on my sister’s retreating figure.

He did not notice me until I stepped close.

“Would you like her to turn around and look at you?” I asked.

Before he could react, I pretended to stumble. My foot slipped, but my hand landed exactly where I intended—with a loud crack that left a brilliant red handprint on his face.

Holding up my own reddened palm, I called pitifully to my sister as she turned back.

“Sister, my hand hurts.”

“He attacked my palm with his face…”