The setting sun filtered through the dilapidated window lattice, casting a mottled shadow on the bronze mirror before Shen Ruorou. She stared at the haggard face reflected in the mirror—the dark circles beneath her eyes, her cheeks still bearing the marks of her own pinching the previous day, her lips cracked like autumn soil. Once, this mirror had reflected the "gentle and talented woman" envied by the noble ladies of the capital. But now, the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were etched with resentment.
"Miss, it's time for dinner..." The maid Xiaolian came in with a bowl of porridge with a hole missing from the rim.
Shen Ruorou turned abruptly, the only remaining wooden hairpin in her hair falling to the ground with a clang. She looked at Xiaolian's half-worn coarse cloth dress, then at the bowl of clear porridge on the table, so clear it reflected her reflection. Suddenly, she grabbed the rouge box from the dressing table and threw it at her, "Who wants to eat this pig food? Bring me my jade bowl!"
The rouge box shattered at Xiaolian's feet, and the low-quality rouge powder flew up, choking her and making her cough repeatedly: "Miss, the jade bowl... was pawned for rice a long time ago..."
"Pawned it?" Shen Ruorou stumbled back, bumping into the dressing table, shaking the bronze mirror. "How could it be pawned? Didn't my mother leave me a lot of jewelry?"
Xiaolian lowered her head and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito: "Those jewelry... a few days ago, Madam Liu sent someone to take them away. She said she wanted to use some connections to rescue her..."
"My mother..." Shen Ruorou murmured to herself, suddenly thinking of her mother in prison, thinking of the blood letter she asked someone to bring out, thinking of the scene where she was slapped in the face by Shen Weiwan again and again, her eyes instantly reddened, "It's Shen Weiwan! It's all Shen Weiwan's fault!"
She rushed to the mirror, looked at the face twisted with resentment, and suddenly screamed: "Why? Why doesn't anyone like me anymore?!"
The sound echoed in the empty room, startling the swallows on the beams. Xiaolian was so frightened that she fell to her knees: "Miss, please calm down..."
"Calm down?" Shen Ruorou turned around, her nails almost digging into Xiaolian's face. "Everyone used to praise me for my gentleness and courtesy, saying I was the most talented woman in the capital! But now? Now everyone treats me like a plague! Why?!"
She recalled how she had been kicked out of the flower viewing banquet at the Prime Minister's residence three days earlier, how Minister Li's daughter had called out, "The thief is coming," and how the street children had sung the jingle, "Second Miss Shen is truly capable. After stealing a bracelet, she copied a poem." Those voices were like countless needles, piercing her eardrums.
"It's Shen Weiwan! It must be her!" Shen Ruoruo grabbed Xiaolian's shoulders and shook her madly, "She's jealous of me! She's jealous that I'm prettier and more talented than her! She asked someone to make up a jingle and write on the blackboard just to destroy me!"
Xiaolian was dizzy from being shaken, but she didn't dare to refute: "It's...it's the eldest lady's fault..."
"She's not good?" Shen Ruorou suddenly let go of her hand and let out a shrill laugh, "Of course she's not good! That idiot, I used to treat her like a dog, now she dares to ride on my head!"
She slumped to the ground, looking at the scattered rouge, and suddenly recalled her glory as a young 15-year-old. Back then, she was the most favored second daughter of the general's mansion, dominating poetry gatherings. Noble ladies vied to befriend her, and even the Grand Tutor's wife praised her for having "the grace of a lady from a noble family." But now, the Grand Tutor's wife treated her like a dirty object, and the noble ladies all avoided her, fearing any contact with her bad luck.
"Why..." she muttered to herself, tears finally falling. "What did I do wrong? I just took her bracelet, copied a poem, and wanted to marry the Seventh Prince... Is that wrong?"
Xiaolian carefully handed over the handkerchief: "Miss, you are right... the world has changed..."
"The world has changed?" Shen Ruorou snatched the handkerchief and cried even harder, "It's Shen Weiwan who has changed! She used to be so stupid, so foolish, she believed everything I said, I asked her to marry Li Xiu for me, and she really went... Why has she changed now?"
She recalled the scene in her previous life when Shen Weiwan, after marrying Li Xiu for her, was falsely accused of adultery and eventually froze to death in the snow. At that time, she was wearing Shen Weiwan's wedding dress, marrying her ideal husband, and was dismissive of the news of that fool's death. But now, it was her turn to be abandoned by the whole world.
"Miss, don't think about it..." Xiaolian tried to comfort her.
"Don't want to?" Shen Ruoruo raised her head suddenly, a trace of resentment flashed in her eyes, "How can I not want to? Shen Weiwan makes my life difficult, I will make her live a life worse than death!"
She struggled to stand up, walked to the window, and looked at the bright lights in the direction of the general's mansion. Shen Weiwan must be enjoying the glory of being a legitimate daughter, with the Seventh Prince protecting her and servants waiting on her, while she could only hide in this dilapidated side courtyard, unable to even get a full bowl of rice.
"Xiao Lian," she suddenly said, her voice cold, "go and find out what Shen Weiwan has been up to lately."
Xiaolian hesitated and said, "Miss, let's not cause trouble..."
"Causing trouble?" Shen Ruorou sneered, "I have nothing now, what else is there to be afraid of?" She stroked the cracks on the bronze mirror, her eyes gradually becoming fierce, "Shen Weiwan, don't you like to laugh at me? Then I'll let you see that even a rabbit will bite when it's anxious!"
The night outside the window grew darker and darker, and Shen Ruoruo's figure looked particularly distorted in the dim light. She remembered the words in her mother's blood letter: "Use the beauty trap to seduce the Seventh Prince." She suddenly clenched her fists when she remembered the scene of her being humiliated by Xiao Yu.
"Seventh Prince..." she murmured to herself, a hint of madness flashing in her eyes, "Even if he doesn't like me, I will make sure that he and Shen Weiwan have no peace!"
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