The bronze mirror fell from his hand with a crisp thud.
He Yunze was panting heavily, his whole body trembling.
He never imagined that fate would be kind enough to give him another chance.
He Yunze lived a smooth and successful life. His only regret was marrying Song Xizhi and being a sweet couple with her for half a year.
That was the only stain on his perfect life, a thorn that would forever remain in his heart.
Because of Song Xizhi, he and Ruo'an lost the opportunity to grow old together legitimately, and thus they were burdened with a terrible reputation.
Their child, because of Song Xizhi's scheming, was condemned by the world as an adulterous offspring.
Even on her deathbed, Song Ruo'an was still filled with remorse. She knelt before him, her last words, spoken through tears, were: "In my entire life, the only person I've wronged the most is my sister..."
Now that he has been reborn, he will not repeat the mistakes of his past life, and he will never touch Song Xizhi again!
In this life, he will rely on his own strength to quickly ascend to the pinnacle of power, obtain a title, and make Ruo'an his only Lady of the Imperial Decree!
He also needs to be wary of the accident that could cost him his life when he turns fifty!
As He Yunze was thinking, he heard the sound of pearls and jade clashing in the distance.
He looked up and saw a woman dressed in a bright red wedding gown, with a red veil covering her face, gracefully walking into the inner bedroom, supported by her nanny.
The warm yellow candlelight flickered, obscuring the bride's face through the veil. He Yunze stared at "Song Xizhi" before him with a cold gaze, feeling a wave of nausea washing over him.
In her past life, Ruo'an had told him that she was the second young lady of the Song family and was originally supposed to marry him according to the agreement of her parents; while the eldest young lady of the Song family, Song Xizhi, was supposed to marry He Jingyan, the eldest son of the He family.
However, news came from the frontier that Song Xizhi disliked He Jingyan for becoming a living dead. Before exchanging betrothal gifts, she threatened Song's father with her life, demanding that he marry her. Fearing that she would commit suicide, Song's father had no choice but to agree.
So she successfully got Song Ruoan to jump into this fire pit for her.
In the end, how ridiculous it is that Song Xizhi, this despicable imposter, was granted the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady.
"The bride has arrived, and the groom must be stunned!"
The nanny helped the bride sit down by the bed, and then the matchmaker said happily, "Once the veil is lifted, you will see what a heavenly beauty she is!"
The matchmaker's voice interrupted He Yunze's chaotic thoughts. He slowly walked to the bride, but his face no longer showed the naivety and joy he had when he first entered the bridal chamber in his previous life.
He didn't take the scale offered by the matchmaker, but instead bent down slightly, staring at the bright red veil, his dark eyes swirling with emotion.
He Yunze looked at the bride in front of him and said viciously, "You switched your sister's marriage, stole her husband, pushed her into the fire pit, and made her a widow. You have such a cruel heart."
Upon hearing this, the originally joyous bridal chamber instantly turned cold.
The bride under the veil froze, her hands nervously gripping the hem of her skirt, her knuckles turning white from the force.
The matchmaker's breath hitched, and she looked somewhat guilty.
He Yunze took in the reactions of the bride and the matchmaker. He recalled his wedding night in his previous life, when he felt like a fool who had been kept in the dark!
He chuckled self-deprecatingly and turned to leave without hesitation.
Song Ruoan, under the veil, almost bit her lips until they bled.
The pain brought her voice back to her senses. Her hands trembled as she searched in front of her, trying to grasp a piece of the man's clothing: "Husband...husband, it's not like that at all! Listen to me..."
Before she could finish speaking, the old woman's voice trembled as she said, "The groom is gone! He left in a huff! What are we going to do, Miss!"
...
The Marquis's residence was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, with bright red lanterns hanging from the treetops, reflecting on He Yunce's indifferent face.
His personal servant, Shuangxing, was guarding the door of the bridal chamber when he unexpectedly saw his master's face turn ashen as he stormed out.
He hurried forward a few steps and followed beside He Yunze: "Master! Today is your joyous day! Where are you going?"
He Yunze stared at the familiar yet youthful face before him, momentarily stunned.
However, he quickly came to his senses and quickened his pace. "My bride has been switched. I need to go to Ximoxuan to get her back."
Since it was a marriage exchange, but he hadn't lifted the bride's veil, and his brother was a living dead man, making consummation impossible, he decided to reverse everything that was wrong at this moment and get back on track.
But Shuangxi stepped forward and anxiously stopped him: "Master! Those are your elder brother and sister-in-law!"
"I just heard that Xi Moxuan has already turned off the lights and gone to sleep! Even if they haven't consummated their marriage, they are already sleeping in the same bed. If you were to barge into my brother's bridal chamber now, and take his wife while he is unconscious, what would people outside think of us?"
The words "sister-in-law" pierced He Yunce's heart. The veins on his temples bulged, his hands clenched into fists, and he stood there, closing his eyes for a long time.
Yes, in this second life, he can no longer let Ruo'an bear the infamy of her past life!
He wanted to stop all of Song Xizhi's tricks and secretly work to make Song Ruoan his wife legitimately and innocently.
"Ruo'an... I'm sorry, I'm too late after all..."
He was met with complete silence.
All that could be heard was the faint sound of a woman crying and the shattering of a teacup coming from the bridal chamber not far away.
Shuangxi then advised, "Since they are two sisters, it makes no difference whether the marriage is arranged or not. You might as well accept it. Otherwise, when the second young mistress serves tea tomorrow, she will be reprimanded by the old lady."
When He Yunze opened his eyes again, his eyes had turned bloodshot.
Without hesitation, he walked towards his study, his voice growing even angrier:
“Since she chose the marriage exchange, she deserves to be ridiculed by her mother and grandmother tomorrow for not consummating the marriage.”
He Yunze clearly remembered that in his previous life, Song Ruoan was blamed by her mother and grandmother for not consummating their marriage with He Jingyan.
After he and Song Xizhi consummated their marriage, his grandmother was very happy and personally put the family heirloom bracelet on her wrist. His mother also handed over the power of managing the household to her.
Song Xizhi was not strict in managing his household, and the servants always liked to fawn over the powerful and bully the weak. As a result, Song Ruoan suffered a lot of cold treatment and ate leftovers for three months.
Now that he has been given a second chance at life, the suffering that Ruo'an endured in his previous life should now be borne by Song Xi.
He Yunze sat in his study all night, listening to the woman in the bridal chamber cry her heart out all night, but he remained unmoved.
As dawn broke, Shuangxi knocked on his study door: "Master, it's time to wash up and go serve tea with Madam!"
He Yunze sat upright in his chair and refused without hesitation: "Let her go alone. I am not her husband, I will not go."
Since Ruo'an married his elder brother, and his brother is in a coma and unable to accompany her to serve tea, then he should let Song Xizhi go alone.
We're all the same person; that's fair.
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