Chapter 1
"Lady Meng Po, I pray for my parents and elder sister's safety and well-being..."
"If I could, I would also ask that Jiang Qi's love for me be unrequited, and that he and Su Meier be despised by everyone!"
The woman in tattered clothes knelt on the ground, her voice filled with endless regret!
She looked at the woman sitting at the tea table, holding a teapot and filling a cup halfway with tea.
The woman wore a white dress, her white hair cascaded down, her skin was as white as snow, and beneath her long eyelashes were a pair of gentle eyes.
Her gentle smile revealed a beauty that transcended the ordinary.
The woman gently placed her delicate hand on the teacup and gracefully invited her to sit down.
"Please." The woman in the white dress spoke softly.
She was stunned for a moment, never having seen such beauty before. But upon considering her identity, she felt more understanding than surprise.
Rumors from the mortal world misled her.
Lingwu was not in a hurry. She picked up her teacup and took a sip, then opened the bamboo scroll on the side containing information about the woman's life.
In just a moment, her entire life story was in her hands.
"Your request has been granted."
"Thank you so much."
Ling Wu chuckled, "No need for thanks, everything requires payment."
She closed the bamboo scroll, then smiled gently.
Even the woman in tattered clothes blushed. "I... I still want to thank you. After all... even if I were to live another life, I couldn't do this."
"Then you just wait and see." Ling Wu put down her teacup, her smile fading, her eyes clear and calm.
"Let me make it clear beforehand: whoever enters the mortal realm will have their body's name changed to my name."
"You may wish to defy fate, or you may beg others to extend your lifespan, but your own lifespan is fixed on the day you die."
"And once the contract is signed, from the day I return, your soul will belong to me, and you will cease to exist in this world."
Lingwu's eyes grew even gentler.
So gentle that the woman in tattered clothes couldn't muster the slightest desire to change her mind.
"I am willing. I only ask that my parents and elder sister live a peaceful life."
Her eyes held a faint glimmer, but a bitter smile touched her lips.
The underworld also gave her one chance.
To be precise, the underworld gave all those who did not die a good death a chance to start over.
Very, very few people succeed.
Most others, like her, simply watch helplessly as they repeat the same mistakes, experiencing a different kind of pain.
Without hesitation, she nodded, stood up, and put down her pen.
Ling Wu then offered her a cup of tea, and watched as she murmured softly, "So sweet."
Having endured such hardship, offering some sweetness is not considered favoritism.
The moment the teacup was set down, the woman in tattered clothes drifted off into a deep sleep.
Lingwu waved her hand, and the tea on the tea table dissipated. She also got up and stepped forward to catch the woman's falling body.
The white hair slipped down, gleaming with a silky sheen.
Lingwu gently lifted the woman horizontally and placed her in front of the dressing mirror.
"Rest well, and all the troubles of the world will come to an end here." Lingwu combed her messy hair.
There was no rouge or powder in front of the dressing mirror, only Meng Po's companion artifact.
A miraculous pen that can change one's appearance, grant rebirth against all odds, and allow one to know the past and the future!
The brushstrokes depict the bones but not the skin, so the changed appearance is to create another kind of ultimate beauty without changing the body.
"A touch of red smile, a second depiction of green mountains, a third painting of spring river mist and rain, a fourth affix of gold foil phoenix hairpins..." Lingwu murmured softly, her voice carrying a gentleness that could soothe everything.
Her hand holding the pen had distinct knuckles, and her jade-like fingers gleamed with a slightly reddish luster.
Until the women he wrote about became breathtakingly beautiful.
“The time has come.” Ling Wu stood up, and the Jinghong Brush in her hand disappeared in an instant.
Lingwu bent down, picked up the woman in tattered clothes, and placed her on the couch.
More than half a month has passed since my last visit to the Little World.
According to legend in the mortal realm, there is an old woman living beside the Three Lives Stone at the foot of the River of Oblivion and under the Bridge of Helplessness.
The soup she brews can make mortals forget all love, hate, grudges, and entanglements, and then allow them to re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.
The old woman was named Meng Po, and the soup was called Meng Po Soup. She was Meng Po, but Meng Po was not an old woman.
Moreover, this Meng Po feeds on souls.
They feed on the pure souls of those who died unjustly.
However, the underworld deities are orthodox gods, and they must fulfill the long-cherished wishes of these resentful souls before they can act.
"Lady Meng Po," said the pale-skinned underworld official in white robes in a gentle voice.
Lingwu nodded, her watery eyes softening. "Thank you for your hard work guiding the souls, Lord Bai Wuchang."
"This is my duty. If we're talking about hardship, Lady Meng Po is the one who's most exhausted in the underworld." He shook his head, a hidden emotion stirring deep within his eyes.
Ling Wu smiled and did not refuse him. "Hand over the document to me. When I return in half a day, the soul will be given to me."
A journey through the mortal realm is but half a day in the underworld.
"Of course." Bai Chang handed over a piece of paper that had been inked.
Ling Wu glanced at the extradition document, a smile appearing in her eyes. "You are allowed to enter Yiyou Tower for one day. The peach blossom wine is on the table. Go and get it yourself."
She stopped waiting after speaking and walked straight towards the River of Oblivion.
Bai Chang stood there, watching her departing figure. As his eyelashes drooped, he saw his fingers trembling slightly.
He had just touched her fingertips.
——
The Jiang family was a renowned noble family in Shengjing, but unfortunately, the direct line of the Jiang family was thin, with only Jiang Qi as their legitimate son.
Because of his talent and good looks, and his clear and bright appearance, he was known as the "Bright Moon Gentleman" by the people of Shengjing.
Jiang Qi was destined from birth to possess things that countless people desired but could not obtain.
For example, boundless genius, or overwhelming power.
For example, there was his filthy affair with his cousin Su Meier, who had become an orphan at a young age and joined the Jiang family.
"Miss," Qinglu called softly.
"Hmm." Ling Wu replied casually, yet her tone was gentle.
Qinglu paused slightly, looking at the woman in the mirror, dressed in a sunset-red dress, her face as beautiful as the full moon in the sky, and she was stunned for a long time.
Miss Mingming still has the same appearance, but why has she suddenly become so beautiful and dazzling, transcending ordinary people?
She seems like a celestial being, or the moon in the sky.
Even she couldn't help but wonder why she wasn't born a man.
“Miss…” she murmured.
"Hmm?" Ling Wu turned to look at her.
Qinglu blushed and quickly replied, "No, nothing, it's just that I feel like you've become a different person today, Miss."
Lingwu twirled the hairpin in her hand, waiting for her next words.
After hesitating for a while, Qinglu lowered her eyes and asked, "Today is the fifteenth, Miss. Would you like to go out and admire the lanterns?"
Her fingers trembled slightly, but Ling Wu pretended not to notice and even curled her lips slightly, "Since you said so, then I can't be lazy anymore."
But if you regret it later, you'll never have another chance.
Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants are the lowest in social standing.
The Bai family was a prominent merchant family, but due to their wealth and the fact that their eldest daughter entered the palace and gradually became a virtuous concubine.
Only then did Master Bai obtain a sinecure, and the Bai family finally gained a foothold in Shengjing.
The most beloved younger sister of Consort Xian, Bai Lingwu, was exceptionally beautiful. Yet, her nature was the most gentle and kind, even bordering on naive.
Jiang Qi was attracted by the wealth of the Bai family, which the Jiang family lacked but the Bai family possessed.
Bai Lingwu's gentle and innocent nature was the key to his success in winning her heart.
She poured out her heart and deepest feelings, and in the end, Bai Lingwu truly only wanted to marry him.
If it weren't for the fact that Bai Lingwu became pregnant in the third year after marrying into the Jiang family, and was subsequently informed by the smug Su Meier:
Her husband, who was supposed to be her only husband, had long been having an affair with her, his cousin. Even the child in her womb wasn't Jiang Qi's, but rather the child of an unknown servant from the outside world!
Su Meier and Jiang Qi even let her witness the scene of the two of them entwined on the bed.
The people of the Jiang family also confined her to the backyard of the Jiang family, where she was not allowed to leave, even if she died. After several twists and turns, the child in her womb was also strangled to death.
If it weren't for all these things, she would still naively believe that she was the luckiest person in the world.
Overnight, Bai Lingwu went from being the most pampered young lady of the Bai family and the most envied Madam Jiang to a complete madwoman.
Even until her death, her parents and elder sister believed that it was only because she had lost her beloved son that she had suddenly become so insane.
However, they still managed to investigate because of her statement after she went mad: "My cousin has been having an affair for a long time." Unfortunately, Jiang Qi was then the prime minister, so even if they found out, they couldn't say anything.
The common people didn't believe it either, after all, this so-called Young Master Jiaoyue had remained unmarried for the rest of his life after the death of that madwoman, and their devotion and infatuation made them admire him.
But what the world didn't know was that Bai Lingwu's coffin was empty, and her body was abandoned in the wilderness behind the mountain.
After Bai Lingwu died, she harbored deep resentment and her soul became trapped in Su Meier's body.
She watched as Su Meier was taken by one man after another, eventually even seducing the emperor to abolish the harem for her. Her elder sister was also sent home as a laughing stock, and died with a white silk ribbon.
Twice, the elderly couple outlived their children; both passed away within half a month of each other.
From then on, the Bai family became the laughingstock and source of sighs for the common people.
Bai Lingwu knew nothing of what happened afterward.
After the passing of the Bai family elders, she also left Su Meier's side.
Even after entering the underworld, they remained under the Bridge of Helplessness, unwilling to drink the Meng Po soup and enter the cycle of reincarnation.
After starting over, she spent her days in tears, yet obediently wept alone.
Annoyed by the constant nagging of the underworld officials, Lingwu filed a petition, which is how she learned of Lingwu's existence and thus obtained her life story.
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