As the footsteps outside grew closer and the curtains were lifted, Jiang Yao couldn't help but think of her previous life.

In her previous life, she was disliked by Madam Pei and suffered all kinds of torment from Madam Wen. Not to mention her master, even the servants in the Marquis's mansion trampled on her all the time. Her family was also unhelpful. She lived a miserable life in that life.

So when this poor orphan girl came to seek refuge with her, she actually felt pity for her.

As fellow sufferers in the same boat, seeing her lonely and helpless, he felt a sense of sympathy for her.

I feel that everyone is pitiful, so we should try to get along well.

She never harbored any hostility towards her, and took care of her in every way, even lending her her clothes.

Unexpectedly, Liu Yunyan harbored ill intentions from the very beginning, scheming from the moment she entered the house. Later, she even became a concubine in the Marquis's mansion, leaving Liu Yunyan with no status whatsoever.

You bitch!

Green tea bitch!

You lied to me, you'll die a horrible death!

My chest was churning with intense anger.

Jiang Yao's eyes were bloodshot with hatred.

You bitch!

Liu Yunyan, you bitch!

You'll die a horrible death!

With bloodshot eyes, Jiang Yao stared at the white mourning clothes that stepped in through the drawn curtain. For a moment, she even wanted to rush over and slap the woman twice, exposing the true face of that bitch to the public.

However, when she caught a glimpse of Jiang Shuwan beside her out of the corner of her eye, she managed to suppress the impulse.

He gripped the armrests tightly with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, and his fingernails scratched the pear wood chair.

She endured the pain in her fingers and suppressed her anger.

I felt extreme hatred, extreme pain, and at the same time, a great sense of pleasure.

Liu Yunyan.

You're not the best at pretending to be weak and innocent. In my past life, you put on an act and completely fooled me.

This time, I'll see how you deal with Jiang Shuwan.

In my past life, you wronged me so badly; in this life, I'll watch you fight with Jiang Shuwan.

I don't care if you fight to the death; I'll just sit back and watch the show.

Thinking of these things, Jiang Yao's stiff back immediately relaxed.

But his eyes were filled with a frenzied madness.

She stared intently at the drawn curtain, her eyes never wavering, drawing Jiang Shuwan's curious glances several times.

When Jiang Yao was sick last time, she heard Jiang Yao curse Liu Yunyan quite a bit. In this life, as soon as Liu Yunyan appeared, Jiang Yao curled up like a cat in a state of stress.

I can see that.

Her younger sister had suffered greatly at the hands of Liu Yunyan.

Tsk tsk tsk.

Thinking about it this way, her impression of this Miss Liu wasn't so bad after all.

As the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

If this Miss Liu only wanted to be the concubine of a minor official, and he didn't bother her and let her live a peaceful life, she wouldn't really care.

Anyway, she has money, a career, and the power to manage the household; she lacks nothing.

Everyone works for the boss and has their own job.

Why make things difficult for other working people?

Let's see how things go later. Maybe we should just confront this cousin. She's finally finished with things on Donglai Street and just wants to relax. She really doesn't want to get into a fight with a woman over a man.

Even though this man was Pei Yanzhi, the young boss she greatly admired...

I just don't know what Liu Yunyan is thinking.

Liu Yunyan probably won't refuse...

Of course, you still need to find out what kind of person the other party is first.

Thinking about it, a glint flashed in Jiang Shuwan's eyes, and she stared at the doorway.

A figure in pure white finally appeared behind the lifted bamboo curtain.

Plain white clothes?

Did they come dressed in mourning clothes?

What happened?

Hasn't the mourning period already ended?

Could it be that she remembered it wrong?

Just as Jiang Shuwan frowned, a soft and boneless beauty walked over.

The beauty was about the same age as Jiang Shuwan, but she was extremely thin. Perhaps it was because she was wearing mourning clothes, but her figure was so slender that she seemed to be too weak to bear the weight of the clothes, like the mist in the Jiangnan water towns. This made people feel a sense of pity for her and thought she was weak and pitiful.

With willow-leaf eyebrows, an oval face, and a refined and elegant appearance, she was an exceptionally beautiful woman. No wonder rumors about her stunning looks had already spread throughout the entire household even before she arrived.

She was born beautiful, and her thinness gave her a sickly beauty.

This was the first time Jiang Shuwan had ever seen this type of beauty, and so had everyone else in the room. They were all staring wide-eyed, and Qingxing was especially amazed.

"Miss, this Miss Liu is truly beautiful."

"Of course she's good-looking. Didn't you notice that Jiang Yao's eyes were practically spitting fire with jealousy and resentment?"

He glanced at Jiang Yao, who was now in a semi-mad state. Her eyes were spitting fire, her fists were clenched, and her fingers were digging into her flesh without her even realizing it.

I can see that.

She hated Liu Yunyan to the core.

Looking at the young minister, the young minister's gaze also fell on Liu Yunyan, who had just walked in, but from her angle, she couldn't see the expression on his face.

They should be happy...

After all, she had been taken as a concubine in her previous life.

Cousin, childhood sweetheart—the buffs are stacked up to the max, aren't they...?

Jiang Shuwan thought to herself in a good mood that she still didn't have much hostility towards Liu Yunyan at this moment.

On the other side, the third and fourth wives in the house had already stepped forward to welcome Liu Yunyan in.

"Look at this beauty, no wonder she is our family's cousin. You can't find many with such looks in the entire capital."

"He was a good kid, and now that he's grown up, he's even more amazing."

“Miss Liu, do you still remember us? Back when you were taking classes at the Marquis’s family school, we even gave you candy.”

"I remember that Yunyan was still very young at the time and relied entirely on her aunt and the old lady for care."

Liu Yunyan's voice was also gentle and soft, and her delicate figure made the two wives feel very sorry for her.

Not to mention that the old lady had watched her grow up since she was a child, and she was the only blood relative left in the world from her childhood best friend, so she wished she could love her to the core.

"Yun girl, how did you get so thin?"

"My poor child, you have suffered!"

Madam Pei grabbed Liu Yunyan's hand, and the two of them burst into tears instantly, and no one could console them.

Jiang Shuwan stood to one side and listened to them talk for a long time, such as how Liu Yunyan played and went to school in the Marquis's mansion when she was a child, and how she later went to Luoyang with her parents.

Later, when the head of the Liu family and his wife passed away, Old Madam Pei was extremely anxious and wished she could bring her to the Marquis's mansion.

However, the two families are not related by blood, so they can only wait until she finishes her mourning period before finding an opportunity to bring her over.

"..."

so.

Was Liu Yunyan in mourning?

Upon hearing these words, Jiang Shuwan's gaze fell on Liu Yunyan again, especially on the small white flower in her hair.

Liu Yunyan was dressed in white, a sign of mourning. Her waist-length black hair was completely unadorned, except for a small white silk flower tucked into her temple.

A woman should be pretty, and also show some filial piety.

Oh, this.

You didn't dress up like that just for looks, did you?