"Liu, Chen Ruorou," she whispered to herself, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the smooth grape skins, a cold arc at the corner of her mouth, "This is just the beginning. I will take back everything you owe me, with interest, one by one."
As the night deepened, Shen Weiwan rose and returned to her room. Passing the storeroom, she saw the old housekeeper and several stewards counting the treasures inside. The storeroom, once mostly emptied by Liu, had now regained its former splendor. Coral trees, jade ruyi, and boxes of silks and furs were neatly stacked on shelves, gleaming with a warm luster under the light of palace lanterns.
"Miss," the old housekeeper said as she entered, quickly putting down the account book in his hand and bowing respectfully, "I have finished the inventory. Everything your father left behind is intact and in good order."
Shen Weiwan nodded, her eyes sweeping over the dazzling array of treasures: "Thank you for your hard work, Steward Wang. By the way, tomorrow have the servants pack up the jewels on the third shelf on the east side of the storeroom and send them to the palace, saying they are gifts prepared by the General's Mansion for the Queen Mother's birthday."
The old housekeeper was stunned for a moment, somewhat puzzled: "Miss, those are the dowry left by your biological mother, and also your future..."
"That's all right." Shen Weiwan interrupted him, her tone relaxed, but with a hint of unquestionable determination in her eyes, "Compared to these external things, I would rather see some people unable to live or die."
The old butler looked at the young lady before him. The setting sun's afterglow outlined her slender yet upright figure. Her still childish face now held a calmness and sharpness that belied her age. He recalled the little girl who had followed his wife many years ago, timidly calling him "Uncle Wang," and couldn't help but sigh inwardly—time and hardship had, after all, sculpted that innocent young lady into the sharp-edged figure she was today.
In the sky prison, Liu curled up on the cold straw mat, listening to the snoring and mumbling from the cell next door. Turbid tears silently slid down, soaking the dirty straw. She finally understood that Shen Weiwan's revenge on them had never been a momentary rage, but a carefully planned reckoning. The greed and viciousness she had thought she could hide from the world, the humiliation and harm she had inflicted on Shen Weiwan, now came back to bite her and her daughter with a weight a hundredfold and a thousandfold heavier.
"Chen Weiwan...you win..." She murmured in an almost inaudible voice, her eyes staring blankly at the narrow skylight above her head, "But even if I become a ghost...I won't let you go..."
At that moment, a muffled "bang" suddenly came from the cell next door, followed by the clatter of chains dragging on the ground and the rude curses of the jailer: "Damn it! Someone hanged themselves again! This lousy cell is really fucked up, there's no peace and quiet!"
Liu shuddered, her eyes abruptly shut, and she buried her face in her arms. Cold tears dripped down her elbows, hitting the musty straw mat. She knew that this long night had only just begun for her.
At this moment, in the Lanyue Pavilion of the General's Mansion, Shen Weiwan was drawing her eyebrows in front of the diamond-shaped bronze mirror on the dressing table. Chuntao walked in with a bowl of steaming bird's nest porridge, and the bowl also contained an exquisite brocade box.
"Miss, this was sent by His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince. He said it was new rouge imported from the Western Regions. May I open it and take a look at it for you?" Chun Tao placed the brocade box on the dressing table and opened the lid. Inside was a piece of brightly colored rouge, emitting a faint rose scent.
Chen Weiwan paused while holding Luo Zidai's hand, then looked up at herself in the mirror with a lazy smile between her eyebrows: "No need. Tomorrow I have to go to the palace to thank the Queen Mother, so it would be more appropriate to wear something simple."
Chun Tao put the bird's nest porridge aside and couldn't help but whisper, "Miss, you were so cruel to the Liu mother and daughter this time. Aren't you afraid that His Royal Highness the Seventh Prince will think you're... a little too hard-hearted?"
Shen Weiwan put down her eyebrow pencil, turned around, looked at her loyal maid, and suddenly smiled. That smile was bright and flamboyant, with a hint of cunning and confidence: "Chun Tao, remember, in this cannibalistic world, being soft-hearted is like handing the knife to others to stab you. Besides..." She blinked, a sly glint in her eyes, "If the Seventh Prince can't even tolerate this little 'scene', how can he join me in stirring up the muddy waters of this capital in the future?"
Chun Tao was amused by her and chuckled softly, "Miss, you are right. I was overthinking it. Then I will go to the front yard and tell them to prepare the carriage tomorrow morning."
Chen Weiwan watched Chuntao's retreating figure, then turned back to the bronze mirror. The girl in the mirror had delicate features, skin whiter than snow, and a confident, calm smile on her lips. She was no longer the foolish, manipulated daughter of a previous life, nor was she the resentful, vengeful seeker of her early rebirth. Now, armed with the memories of her past and the wisdom of this life, she was living her life to her fullest potential, step by step, according to her own will.
Outside the window, a bright moon crested the sky, its light filtering through the lattice into the room, adding a touch of quiet tenderness to a night filled with calculation and revenge. Shen Weiwan rose, opened the window, and let the cool night breeze ruffle her hair. She knew her time had only just begun. And those who had hurt her would eventually, under her "meticulous care," experience a pain worse than death.
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