Chapter 1: Rebirth and the Wedding Night!
The front courtyard of the Prince of Zhennan's mansion was bustling with guests, their cries of congratulations and laughter creating a lively atmosphere. This starkly contrasted with the silent back courtyard, as if someone had cleaved the front and back courtyards in two with a knife, creating a profound sense of division.
Inside the Brocade Pavilion
Shen Lanxi looked down at the cuffs of her wide sleeves, where the two phoenixes playing with a pearl were formed by the clasped hands.
The Great Zhou Dynasty had a strict social hierarchy, and only on the day of the minor imperial examination was a woman allowed to wear a wedding dress with a phoenix pattern, which was an exception to the rules.
She returned to her wedding night!
On her wedding night in her past life, the groom, Zhou Ruyuan, did not return home all night. She sat alone in the bridal chamber all night. The next day, an arrogant old woman came and told her two pieces of news.
The Shen family's property was confiscated overnight, and the entire family was imprisoned in the imperial jail. Her husband, Zhou Ruyuan, stayed in his concubine's room and called for water three times that night.
She wanted to go to the palace to find out the truth, but as soon as she got up, she vomited blood continuously. From then on, she was like a bird with clipped wings, bedridden and unable to get up again.
Ten days later, the family's verdict came down: the entire family was exiled to Ningguta, to be enslaved by the armored soldiers for all eternity. Upon hearing the news, she vomited blood again. During this time, she intermittently heard news from outside, all deliberately told to her by others.
Only when she was on her deathbed did she realize that the person who had harmed her was Zhou Ruyuan's concubine, the beloved woman he had brought back from the southwest.
Filled with boundless resentment, she was reborn in the modern world, along with her awakened personal space. From the spirit within the space, she learned that she was supposed to die on her wedding night, but the space's power neutralized some of the poison, causing it to fall into a deep sleep until she was reborn into a body free of toxins, at which point it was able to awaken.
Inside the space was a cave dwelling and a miniature landscape of mountains and rivers spanning three to four hundred acres. Inside the cave dwelling were two books: one was the Qi Cultivation Technique, and the other was the Sword Control Technique. She had practiced these two manuals since childhood. Because of her exposure to the internet and knowing the power of these two manuals within the space, she consciously stockpiled resources.
She didn't waste any of the land in the space, planting it all with fruits, grains, and other crops. Having learned from her sudden death in her previous life, she understood the importance of being prepared. She never expected that instead of the apocalypse, she would return to the Great Zhou Dynasty!
Her mother was Princess Minrou, the only daughter of Princess Jialing. Princess Jialing died early, and Princess Minrou was raised by the Empress Dowager, enjoying her favor from a young age. Although the Emperor of the Great Zhou was not born to the Empress Dowager, he was very filial to her. After her birth, she was granted the title of County Princess, living a more carefree and comfortable life than most princesses.
Thanks to having an emperor uncle, the villains hiding in the shadows dared not openly reach out to her, but could only try to provoke and anger her, hoping to drive her to her death.
Those unscrupulous people sent her a lot of information, including the time when the Shen family issued an order to investigate and confiscate the property.
The exact time was 3:45 AM (寅时三刻).
It's currently Hai Shi (9-11 PM), which is a little past 10 AM. There are still five hours until Yin Shi (3-1 AM). Subtracting the travel time, there are less than four hours left.
After calming herself down, Shen Lanxi stared at the doorway with eyes as calm as a deep pool. Less than three breaths later, the sound of footsteps could be heard.
Just like in the previous life, the matchmaker who delivered the nuptial wine came with her maids.
"Your Highness, we've come in!"
The door creaked open, and then the matchmaker entered with four maids carrying cups and saucers.
"Greetings to Your Highness, today is your wedding day with the Prince. There are so many guests in the front courtyard that the Prince is still not back yet!"
Coming back? He's not coming back. Zhou Ruyuan won't step into the new house all night!
Shen Lanxi calmly instructed, "You may all leave now. As a prince and the God of War of the Great Zhou, it's normal that many people have come to offer their congratulations. You may all go and rest. I will send someone to fetch you when the prince returns!"
The matchmaker bowed repeatedly, trying to please her: "The princess is so considerate of us servants. It's such a blessing for our entire Zhennan Prince's Mansion that our prince was able to marry such a wonderful person as the princess."
Good fortune? Here's some good fortune for you, do you want it?
With her face covered by a red veil, Shen Lanxi unabashedly raised a mocking smile.
"Go down, and you will be rewarded tomorrow!"
The matchmaker kept saying auspicious words, and when she left, her face was practically cramping from smiling.
As soon as the door closed, Shen Lanxi immediately tore off the red veil, quickly removed the phoenix crown that was pressing on her neck and threw it on the wedding bed. With a wave of her hand, a set of black sportswear and a pair of black sneakers appeared on the bed!
We need to hurry!
He quickly changed his clothes and called out to the outside.
"Spring Snow and Autumn Frost, you guard the door and don't let anyone in. I need to rest!"
Qiu Shuang: "Miss, is the Prince going in?"
"Same!"
"Yes, Miss!"
Chunxue and Qiushuang were her dowry maids who had grown up with her since childhood and were extremely loyal. During the time she was trapped in the Prince's mansion, they never left her side and took care of her closely. When she was about to die, the Prince's mansion had them beaten to death on the grounds that they had not taken good care of her.
Now that she's back, her first priority is to protect the lives of her family and those around her, and then she'll find that despicable couple to avenge her!
The Shen family fell from power too quickly; even a fool could see something was wrong. Even though she had lived two lives, she couldn't see through the conspiracy behind it. Fortunately, the Shen family was only sentenced to exile. She needed to make preparations for the exile before everyone could react!
With a few leaps, Shen Lanxi disappeared into the Zhennan Prince's Mansion like a falcon.
Today, the Prince's Mansion is welcoming a concubine, and the Shen family is also marrying off their daughter; both families have guests.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Shen family was holding a banquet and the backyard was empty, Shen Lanxi entered the Shen family's storeroom where they kept their treasures as if it were deserted.
"Nu Bai, keep watch!"
A childlike voice rang out from the space spirit.
"Okay~"
The Shen family's ancestral home was in Jiangnan. Their ancestors had once served as salt transport commissioners, but the family gradually declined until her father, Shen Cong, achieved the third-highest rank in the civil service examination and was betrothed by the Empress Dowager. Only then did the entire family move to the capital. Therefore, the Shen family was at most a newly rich family with no real foundation.
Everything in the storeroom consisted partly of her maternal grandmother, Princess Jialing's, dowry, partly of her mother's, and the rest were gifts from the palace, mostly from the Empress Dowager.
Shen Lanxi quickly unlocked the warehouse and stored everything inside into her spatial storage. After leaving the warehouse and locking the door, she continued her raid.
Besides the storeroom, she also knew that there was a secret room behind the Buddhist hall her mother built for her maternal grandmother, which was full of rare treasures and a large amount of gold and silver. When she was a child, her mother had taken her inside. According to her mother, it was also part of the dowry given by the Empress Dowager.
After her younger brothers were born, her mother never took her inside again.
With a gentle rotation of the Buddha's body, the mechanism opened, and Shen Lanxi went in and out. The treasure room was so clean that not even a nail was left behind.
"Nu Bai, check if there are any other places where treasure is hidden?"
"Yes, with Nu Bai around, no matter where you hide, you can't escape Nu Bai's eyes!" Nu Bai's proud and boastful voice rang out one after another.
"Master, master, we found a lot of sparkly things in your parents' room, and there's a treasure chest under the bed!"
(End of this chapter)
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