Just after the Shangsi Festival, bright red lanterns were hung high inside and outside the Xie residence.

Today is the engagement day for the two eldest daughters of the family.

Before dawn, Yuanyuan, the maid on night duty in the young lady's boudoir, heard her mistress's faint cry of pain and immediately called out softly, "Miss?"

The lamps were lit, and the silk and gauze curtains were lifted.

Then they saw Xie Zhaozhao sitting there, dressed in a plain white undergarment, clutching her chest, her face pale, her eyes cold and lifeless.

"Miss, did you have a nightmare?" Yuanyuan quickly pulled the blanket over her and gently comforted her.

Xie Zhaozhao frowned slightly, staring at Yuanyuan's slightly childish face.

Then she looked at the pink gauze curtains and lifted the spotless pear blossom mirror on the dressing table under the window.

Was the fifteen years of being deceived and humiliated in the Pingyang Marquis's mansion a dream?

No, the excruciating pain before my death is so clear, so vivid, it's not a dream!

He let go of Yuanyuan's hand, lifted the gauze curtain, put on his clothes, and got out of bed.

The room was decorated in a simple and elegant manner. A silk screen with gold latticework, depicting spring rivers, flowers, and the moon, separated the inside from the outside. Against the wall was a gilded silver bamboo-shaped bronze incense burner, which was slowly emitting a faint fragrance.

This was her boudoir in the Xie family mansion for sixteen years.

He stretched out his slender, pale fingers and gently brushed them across the zither played by the Azure Phoenix, asking, "What day is it today?"

"The fourth day of the third month in the thirtieth year of Emperor Hui's reign was the auspicious day when Miss Pingyang and the heir of the Marquis of Pingyang exchanged their betrothal gifts!"

Exchanging birth charts?

She was reborn!

She returned to the age of sixteen, the day she was engaged to Gu Chengyan.

In her past life, she married into a noble family in a grand ceremony, with a ten-mile-long red bridal procession, a hundred shops, and thousands of acres of fertile land. The sheer size of her dowry caused a sensation.

Riding a tall horse, handsome and dashing, he solemnly promised his father and brothers: "I will never take a concubine in my life."

The father and brothers were deeply moved.

He gently held the red silk ribbon, carefully reminding her to watch her step. On their wedding night, he held her wrist, looked devoutly into her eyes, and drank the nuptial wine in one gulp.

But even as the candle burned out, he lingered, refusing to go to bed. Finally, he knelt down with a thud, his eyes reddening: "Years ago, during a spring hunt, I was bitten by wild dogs and injured my body. I can't..."

Her flushed face turned pale, but out of courtesy and gratitude for his honesty, she took his hand and helped him up.

Priceless treasures are easy to find, but a loving husband is hard to come by. She stayed and did not propose a divorce.

For fifteen long years, no matter how many times her mother-in-law made veiled accusations against her, and how she was unable to bear children, she endured it all alone, always mindful of his reputation in public and in private, and concealing his hidden illness.

Perhaps out of inferiority, he rarely came to her courtyard. Even when he did, he would sit for a while and talk gently about the big and small things happening outside. When his mother-in-law or other people in the household made things difficult for her, he would resolutely stand by her side.

She was always grateful to God for giving her such a loving man like Gu Lang.

He was a gifted writer, a shrewd businessman, incredibly wealthy, and rose rapidly through the ranks.

He was chaste and preferred to adopt children rather than take a concubine.

With unparalleled gentleness and intoxicating affection, who can say he isn't a perfect match?

She always protected him, allowed him to use his dowry as he pleased, and never hesitated to ask her father and brothers for anything.

Sadly, she only realized at the time of her death that all the tenderness and affection were just a ploy to devour her dowry and squander the Xie family's connections and resources to pave the way for her mistress.

It's not that he's incapable; he's very brave when it comes to his mistress.

He was indeed devoted to one person for life, but not her.

Heaven gave her another chance, but she was destined to be entangled with him for life, wasting her life on the wrong person.

No, impossible!

Gu Chengyan, you should know that Buddha has a thousand faces. Compassion is Buddha, dignity is Buddha, punishing evil and promoting good, and killing ghosts when encountering them are also Buddha.

The Xie family owed the Marquis's family a debt of gratitude, and before his death, the grandfather promised that the eldest daughter of the Xie family would marry into the Marquis of Pingyang's family.

In her previous life, she married as her elders commanded.

In this life, whoever wants to repay that kindness can do so.

The clock shows that it is now the Yin hour!

The old lady and the lady of the Marquis of Pingyang's mansion will arrive at 9:00 AM, which is less than three hours away.

Xie Zhaozhao frowned slightly, her eyes inadvertently falling on the string of agarwood beads on the dressing table, and she immediately had an idea.

"Yuanyuan, grind it."

He hastily wrote a letter and handed it to Yuanyuan along with the bracelet, instructing her: "The south gate has opened at 3:00 AM. Go to Huguo Temple quickly and give the letter and bracelet to Master Yuanji, asking him to come to the mansion at 9:00 AM."

“Yuanyuan, this matter is extremely urgent for me.”

Seeing that her eyes were slightly red and misty, Yuan Yuan didn't ask why. She immediately put away the bracelet and the letter and left the courtyard.

Huguo Temple is not far from the city, just halfway up the mountain outside the city. Yuanyuan has martial arts skills, so an hour on horseback is enough for her.

The morning sun shone warmly through the windowpane, illuminating her fair hands, while the sound of Yuan Yuan running quickly could be heard outside.

“Miss, Master Yuanji will be here soon,” Yuanyuan said excitedly.

She put down the scripture she was silently reading, took the bracelet, and carefully stroked it. A faint smile finally appeared on her tense little face.

Dressed in her finest attire, she left the courtyard to greet the Living Buddha Yuanji.

"Fate brings us together, destiny takes us apart; as you sow, so shall you reap..."

A mad monk, dressed in shabby robes and wearing straw sandals with exposed toes, barged into the Xie residence in the capital without a care in the world.

The mad monk Yuanji is a living Buddha, but he wanders around all day and his whereabouts are uncertain. Even His Majesty has to rely on fate to see him.

For aristocratic families, having a Living Buddha visit them is a blessing earned through countless lifetimes of good deeds.

The main gate of the Xie residence opened to welcome the Living Buddha.

Yuanji didn't stand on ceremony and shuffled into the Wutong Garden.

He went in, but didn't care whether he was a guest or not, and didn't greet anyone. When people offered him tea, he ignored them.

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