The heavy snowfall of the cold winter month has stopped, and the sun shines again through the gloomy clouds.

A thick fog descended on the docks of Shangjing early in the morning. Li Shiyue leaned against the window, holding a hand warmer, watching the lake surface covered with a thin layer of ice, and the boats slowly sailing on the cold lake.

There was a book on the table in front of me, and I lingered on that page for a long time.

The maid Chunling came over carrying a cloak: "Once we enter Shangjing County, it will only take half a day to reach the capital. It is not as warm as Yunzhong County. Miss, your cold is only just getting better, so please take good care of yourself."

Upon hearing this, Li Shiyue felt the weight on her body, put on her cloak, and looked away.

Chunling then noticed that Li Shiyue's small face was deathly pale from the cold wind, and couldn't help but worry: "Miss..."

Li Shiyue shook her head slightly, her gaze falling once again on the cold lake surface of the dock outside the window.

With the capital city so close at hand, Li Shiyue felt that everything was so unreal.

She was reborn, reborn at the age of sixteen—on her way from Yunzhong County to the Xu family of the Duke of Shangjing!

Li Shiyue is the eldest daughter of the current Earl of Yunyang and the only aunt of the Rongguo Duke's mansion, Madam Xu. However, Madam Xu passed away four years ago, and the Earl of Yunyang allowed Li Shiyue to be tormented by the concubines in the inner quarters.

Li Shiyue's biological grandmother, Old Madam Li, couldn't bear it and took her in, raising her until she was sixteen. But Old Madam Li also passed away, and the three-year mourning period was about to end.

In both her past and present lives, the Earl of Yunyang never remarried, and even allowed his concubine to control her marriage. Fortunately, before her death, Old Madam Li made preparations and wrote a letter to her in-laws in the capital—Old Madam Xu of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, who was also her maternal grandmother.

Explaining the reasons, with a three-year mourning period as the deadline, Madam Li, as an elder, arranged a marriage between Li Shiyue and the young master of the Rongguo Duke's Mansion. After Li Shiyue finished the mourning period, she went to the capital to get married.

After the end of the month, once her mourning period was over, her maternal grandmother, Madam Xu, worried that what Madam Li had said would come true. Unable to bear seeing her youngest daughter's offspring being bullied, she brought Li Shiyue to the capital.

As for the marriage, Old Madam Xu had already made arrangements. There were several cousins ​​in the Xu family of this generation, and surely one of them would be suitable. As long as Li Shiyue married into the capital, Old Madam Xu would naturally not let her suffer any grievances.

Thinking of this, Li Shiyue lowered her eyes, her hair falling beside her face. In her previous life, her maternal grandmother had indeed managed to keep her from being wronged; even on her deathbed, her grandmother held on to her last breath, trying to plan for her own future. But she herself was weak and easily deceived.

These past few days, whenever I close my eyes, I can recall how she was tortured in her past life, her body covered in wounds that were crawling with maggots!

She accepted the fact that she had been reborn, but she was preoccupied with something on her mind. She caught a cold and stayed there for half a month without getting better.

"Knock knock".

A figure appeared outside the bedroom door, and the man outside sounded slightly impatient: "Is Cousin Yue here?"

Li Shiyue leaned against the window, making no attempt to hide the look of disgust on her face.

Chunling knew that the young lady did not want to see the visitor, so she did not open the door. Instead, she walked to the door and said through the door, "Young Master Meng, the young lady has just taken her medicine and is resting."

The young man outside the gate was named Meng Zhuo, a cousin of Meng, the most favored concubine in the inner quarters of the Yunyang Earl's mansion. No one knows what methods Meng's concubine used, but she managed to intimidate the Yunyang Earl into agreeing to let Meng Zhuo accompany her to the capital, supposedly as an escort.

Meng Zhuo is already twenty years old, but he has little talent. He only managed to hold a minor seventh-rank official position in Yunzhong County for a few years thanks to the Earl of Yunyang. If he is treated as an honored guest by the Rongguo Duke's mansion during his trip to the capital, it will be extremely beneficial to his career.

The beads on the abacus were making a loud clattering sound.

Before Chunling could finish speaking, Meng Zhuo pushed open the door and walked in. Chunling tried to stop him, but he pushed her away.

Meng Zhuo's burning, greedy gaze fell on Li Shiyue by the window. Underneath the cloak, her silver-white patterned short jacket and high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) outlined her slender and graceful figure. The plain-colored sash around her waist was so delicate that it could be easily grasped, and a surge of heat rushed down to her body from her slender waist.

Li Shiyue's willow-leaf eyebrows furrowed slightly as she wrapped her cloak around herself, blocking out the disgusting gaze.

Meng Zhuo sat down on the round stool and rubbed his hands together. "Is Cousin Yue's cold still not better? I saw Steward Wang lead the horse out."

Li Shiyue didn't even bother to glance at Meng Zhuo, and said distantly, "Men and women should be different, and besides, this is already the territory of the capital, not Yunzhong County."

“If Young Master Meng continues his dissolute ways, I fear there will be no concubine to cover for you.”

Meng Zhuo seemed not to understand the sarcasm in Li Shiyue's words, and looked pleasantly surprised: "Cousin Yue, are you worried about me?"

"I knew it! How could my cousin Yue not have any feelings for me? I've been living in the Earl's Mansion with my aunt for almost ten years now, and my cousin and I are childhood sweethearts."

"Alas, if it weren't for the people from the Rongguo Duke's Mansion, my uncle would have agreed to our marriage. But it doesn't matter. Once we're married into the Duke's Mansion, as long as my cousin makes it clear to the Xu family that it's just a verbal agreement, it doesn't count."

"Old Madam Xu dotes on you, and will add to your dowry, along with the sixty-four dowry chests prepared by your uncle. Once everything is settled, we will be married, and you will enjoy wealth and honor, with a beautiful woman in your arms—how wonderful that would be!"

"As for this trip, consider it as me accompanying my cousin on a trip. In the future, the Xu family may help me out because of my cousin. When I become prime minister, my cousin will be the prime minister's wife."

"Smack!"

The teacup beside Li Shiyue shattered on the ground, and the cooled tea, along with tea leaves, splashed onto Li Shiyue's skirt.

"Young Master Meng, be careful with your words!"

Unable to hide her anger, Li Shiyue, being a young lady from a sheltered family, turned red when she got angry, which looked quite frightening.

"Who do you think you are, my cousin? The young lady's cousin is the young master of the Xu family in the Rongguo Duke's mansion. He is the young lady's true cousin."

"You, a mere nephew of a concubine, dare to claim to be the cousin of the eldest daughter of the Earl's family, and even dare to covet what doesn't belong to you? What wishful thinking!"

"Our young lady respects her husband to the utmost, how can he take advantage of her kindness!"

Chunling hurriedly shielded Li Shiyue behind her, her round face full of anger as she stared intently at Meng Zhuo.

Li Shiyue felt relieved, but then she saw that Meng Zhuo's eyes were bloodshot, he had already stood up, his face was gloomy, and he looked terrifying.

"Ha! So what? Today I will take you. Even if the Xu family values ​​you, they will never let you into their household. Then you will obediently become my wife. As for you, you little girl, learn to serve me well, and I will give you the title of concubine!"

After saying that, Meng Zhuo stretched out his hands and rushed straight towards Li Shiyue, as if he wanted to tear her apart.

Chunling pretended to offer herself up, using her body to perfectly shield Li Shiyue behind her.

Li Shiyue looked up and saw Meng Zhuo's hand about to touch Chunling's chest. Almost instantly, Li Shiyue pulled out the silver hairpin from her hair and slashed across Meng Zhuo's palm.

As Meng Zhuo screamed in pain, blood dripped from his left hand onto the ground.

However, Meng Zhuo was already blinded by lust and pushed Chunling aside without regard for anything else. Chunling's head hit the cabinet directly, her body went limp, and she lost consciousness.

Before Li Shiyue could even check Chunling's injuries, Meng Zhuo had already reached out to snatch the silver hairpin, certain that she wouldn't dare to hurt anyone. He even grabbed Li Shiyue's wrists with both hands.

Forget about the differences between men and women, just looking at him is disgusting. Li Shiyue struggled fiercely, but was no match for the man's strength, and her back slammed against the wall.