Chapter One: Rebirth

"Su Zhinen! Are you going to tell me or not—where is Xixi?"

Her throat was gripped in a merciless hold, the air in her lungs being squeezed out bit by bit.

The suffocating pressure forced her to struggle instinctively.

Su Zhinen’s eyes flew open, meeting a pair of bloodshot, murderous eyes.

When she finally made out the person before her, she forced three words through clenched teeth.

"Gu Shijin!"

This man who had slaughtered her entire family—how dare he show his face before her?

Had she not dragged him to perish alongside her?

In that instant, a searing hatred erupted from her very core, startling Gu Shijin so much that he released her without thinking.

A heartbeat later—

A resounding slap cracked through the room.

A maid, clutching the wall for support, staggered to her feet, covering her mouth in shock at the scene before her.

Madam had actually slapped the general.

Gu Shijin was left stunned by the blow. Not until the taste of iron filled his mouth and he pressed his numb cheek did he realize it had truly happened.

"Su Zhinen, are you courting death?"

He should have known—this woman always wore a cold, aloof mask.

But in reality, she was vicious and ruthless!

Now that enemies met, the hatred was palpable.

Su Zhinen’s face was twisted with ferocity, her eyes brimming with boundless malice.

She seized a firewood stick nearby and, disregarding everything, began to rain blows upon Gu Shijin.

As if venting all her hatred and rage.

"Su Zhinen, have you gone mad?"

This time, Gu Shijin was prepared and dodged aside.

Seeing Su Zhinen in such a frenzied state, he couldn’t hide the disgust that flashed in his eyes.

"Lunatic!"

He spat the word with icy contempt, and with a sweep of his arm sent the already weakened Shen Zhinen sprawling to the ground.

She crashed down hard, pain stabbing from the spot he’d struck, sharp enough to draw tears.

She gasped for breath, her face as pale as paper, sweat beading on her brow.

"General, please, stop!"

Yushu threw herself between them, tears streaming down her face.

But Gu Shijin only grew more enraged. He shook off his sleeve with force, not even deigning to glance at them, and strode away coldly.

"If Madam refuses to confess for a single day, she shall neither eat nor drink for a single day!"

Before leaving, Gu Shijin barked this order at the servants guarding the woodshed.

This woman had driven Xixi away, and now dared strike him!

If she wasn’t taught a lesson, she’d think herself invincible.

"Yes, General."

Once Gu Shijin was gone, Yushu wept uncontrollably.

"Madam, how can the general treat you like this?"

"How can he so openly favor a concubine? Isn’t he afraid of incurring the emperor’s wrath?"

"It was he who pleaded to marry you, and now, after earning war merit, he treats you so cruelly. It’s truly unforgivable!"

Su Zhinen felt as if every bone in her body were about to shatter from pain. She clutched Yushu’s hand, heart trembling violently.

Her hand was warm—yet hadn’t Yushu died a year ago?

For a long moment, she could only speak hoarsely.

"Yushu, what year is it now?"

"Madam, it’s the third year of Jingrui. The general was far too harsh—did you hurt your head?"

Yushu wept so bitterly it was heartbreaking. Their young lady had suffered so much: three years widowed the moment she married into the general’s household.

Then, when the general finally returned, he brought back another young woman. No one knew what madness had possessed him.

He wanted to demote their lady to concubine and raise that woman as his wife.

When their lady refused, the woman left behind a letter and disappeared, leaving their lady to suffer under the general’s cruel hand.

Hearing Yushu’s words, Su Zhinen’s grip on her arm tightened suddenly.

She had been reborn!

Returned to the very day after the transmigrator Ren Xixi had faked her death and vanished.

In her previous life, she had stubbornly refused to yield her place to Ren Xixi, who then left behind a letter and disappeared—taking with her the emperor’s favorite consort, Lady Wan.

The tyrant emperor, enraged, laid all blame at her, Shen Zhinen’s, feet.

He not only ordered the extermination of her entire family, but sentenced her to death by a thousand cuts—the cruelest punishment of all!

His aim was to make an example of her, so that Ren Xixi would know Su Zhinen’s fate and feel safe to return with Lady Wan. And the executioner was none other than her husband of three years, Gu Shijin!

Only as her flesh was flayed from her bones did she realize that it had all been a performance by those two—just to prove her insignificance to Gu Shijin, so he could win his wife back in a grand show of remorse.

How pitiful, that her entire family’s destruction was nothing but a farce!

Heaven had shown mercy and given her another chance!

Thank goodness—this time, there was still time.

In this new life, she would make them all pay.

Su Zhinen clenched her fists at her sides, lifting her gaze to the sky outside.

At this moment, Ren Xixi was scheming to smuggle the fake death potion into the palace for Lady Wan’s escape.

Her eyes grew cold. This time, none of them would get away unscathed.

"Yushu, go tell the general—I know where Ren Xixi is."

Yushu froze, her anxiety plain.

"Madam, how can you say such a thing? The general already suspects you hid her. If you say this, won’t it confirm his suspicions?"

At Yushu’s anxious expression, Su Zhinen’s eyes softened. She gently patted the maid’s hand in reassurance.

"Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing."

Last time, it was on this very day that Gu Shijin cut off her food and water. Injured and on the verge of death, it was Yushu who risked her life to fetch a doctor for her.

But when Gu Shijin found out, he took advantage of her unconsciousness and had Yushu beaten to death.

This time, she would never let Yushu suffer that fate again!

No—

In this life, she would protect her parents, protect everyone she cared for!

"Very well," Yushu replied, anxiety still clouding her face, but unable to do otherwise.

She glanced worriedly at her mistress’s face.

There was something different about her today—she couldn’t say what, but it was there.

That slap she’d given the general was enough to linger in memory for a long time.

Su Zhinen lay weakly on the floor, amid straw and firewood, the vivid bruises on her neck a shocking sight.

Gu Shijin, his face thunderous, kicked open the door. The scene that met his eyes gave him pause.

Harsh sunlight spilled through the doorway, illuminating a frail, slender woman, pallid and ethereal, collapsed on the ground—a beauty like delicate jade, looking utterly pitiful.

For a moment, Gu Shijin felt disoriented, his mind wandering.

"Have you seen enough, General?"

Su Zhinen’s voice, cold as ice, snapped him back to himself.

He had actually been dazed by this venomous woman—Xixi had been right, that face of hers was always her greatest weapon!

Gu Shijin’s face darkened at once, his voice cold.

"You viper! Speak—where have you hidden Xixi?"