Chapter 1 Rebirth Aren’t you already dead?
Thirst...Mom, I want to drink some water...
"Ah...Mother..."
Shen Xingwan struggled to squeeze out a few unclear words, and his throat felt like it was being torn apart with pain.
After receiving no response for a long time, she felt as if her whole body was being crushed and she couldn't breathe. She could hear crying in her ears and the strong smell of blood made her retching.
Maybe she vomited too much, so she was forced to open her eyes, but she was almost face to face with a pair of empty eyes.
"ah!!!"
Shen Xingwan screamed and struggled to push away the person in front of her, but when she turned her head slightly, she was shocked to find that the owner of those eyes was actually her mother! At this moment, he was pressing down on her.
She was so frightened and heartbroken that she wanted to help her mother but found that her hands and feet were tied up and she couldn't move at all.
An arm slipped from the side of his body. Shen Xingwan glanced sideways and was shocked to see his brother's pale face leaning against his mother's shoulder. He was already dead, but his body was still in a protective posture.
"Brother..." A fishy-sweet taste surged up in his throat, blurring his vision.
The screams were endless, "Mother! Be scared! Be scared!" Shen Xingwan heard the crying and screaming of the young child. She turned her eyes with difficulty and saw an embroidered spring knife slashing into the back of a little girl not far away.
The small body fell beside the pile of corpses, and the bright red blood seeped into the white stone floor tiles. Shen Xingwan recognized that it was the youngest daughter of the cook in the mansion.
Memories came flooding back, and she suddenly remembered that her entire family had been executed.
Ha... She never dreamed that on her wedding day, the new emperor, whom she had personally helped to place on the throne, would massacre her entire family.
As the daughter of the prime minister, her father was extremely powerful. Many princes and nobles vied to marry her, the most noble lady in Wei State. But she chose the landlubber Third Prince who jumped into Yiyue Lake at all costs to save her.
For him, Shen Xingwan persuaded his father and brothers to use the whole family's strength to help him ascend to the throne, and even went to great lengths to remove the biggest obstacle for him, Regent Yan Jinghuan.
It seemed as if the prophecy of the Imperial Observatory was fulfilled: the legitimate daughter of the Shen family was the incarnation of the phoenix, and whoever obtained the legitimate daughter of the Shen family would obtain the world. The third prince finally cleared all obstacles and seized the throne.
She promised him a picturesque landscape, and he promised her an equal. It was originally a beautiful story, but no one expected that the guy would show his fangs impatiently just after seizing the imperial power.
The new emperor ascended the throne and married the prime minister's daughter as his queen on the same day, which should have been the greatest honor in the world.
But when she stepped into the Qitai Palace in the hope of happiness, wearing a bright red wedding dress and a feather fan, she suddenly saw a slender figure standing beside the new emperor, who was also wearing a bright red phoenix robe and a feather fan.
Shen Xingwan was filled with shock and doubt, but could not show any emotion due to the presence of many officials. He just looked towards the new emperor in the center of the hall.
Sensing her arrival, the woman in the phoenix robe slowly moved her feather fan aside, revealing a pair of sparkling beautiful eyes. She smiled and said coquettishly, "Sister, you are finally here. I have been waiting for you for a long time."
"presumptuous!"
Shen Xingwan was furious. "Who are you? How dare you overstep your authority?"
The woman was stunned for a moment, then raised her eyes to look at the new emperor beside her. The new emperor raised his hand and took the woman into his arms. The woman seemed to have found support and became more proud. She glanced at Shen Xingwan, "Sister, don't you recognize me?"
She slowly put down her feather fan and said with a hint of sarcasm: "Sister and I were crowned queen on the same day. Don't you know? You are the Queen of the East Palace, and I am also the Queen of the West Palace. We are equals. How can you say that I am usurping power?"
Tang Lin'er?
Shen Xingwan recognized the delicate and pretty face. It was the distant cousin whose parents had both passed away and was now in foster care in her home.
A few years ago, Tang Lin'er's family fell into poverty and both her parents died of illness. Her mother took pity on her and adopted her into the mansion. She seemed to understand that she was living under someone else's roof, so she had always been cautious and taciturn. How come she had inexplicably become the Queen of the Western Palace?
"What's your explanation?"
Shen Xingwan clenched his fists in his sleeves and stared at the new emperor.
The new emperor raised his head, his eyes calm, and said calmly: "I have appointed you as the Queen of the Eastern Palace, which is considered to be keeping my promise."
Shen Xingwan sneered: "Keeping your promise?" She looked at his arms holding Tang Lin'er, "When did you two become promiscuous?"
The new emperor frowned, and Tang Lin'er spoke first: "Sister, please don't slander me. Your Majesty and I have known each other since childhood, and we have long made an alliance. Your Majesty saved you that time, and you said that you were in love with Your Majesty. I am an orphan, how could I dare to compete with you, sister? I just gave in sadly."
"Give in sadly?!" Shen Xingwan looked at the new emperor: "Already made an alliance? Then why did you provoke me?!"
The new emperor still remained silent.
Shen Xingwan smiled bitterly, he understood what was going on. Why would he provoke her?
The imperial family is the most ruthless. What else can he, an ambitious prince, want?
He approached her only because of the power behind her and the supreme throne.
Shen Xingwan threw away the feather fan, raised her hand to lift the kingfisher phoenix crown, let the precious pearls roll down the jade steps, then turned and left.
"Shen Xingwan!" The new emperor shouted, "Where are you going before the ceremony is over?"
Shen Xingwan didn't even turn his head, smiled contemptuously, and continued to walk out.
"Stop her!" the new emperor gave the order, and the guards in the palace immediately stepped forward to block Shen Xingwan's way.
"Let's see who dares!"
Shen Xingwan glared at the guards fiercely. The guards hesitated for a moment, but no one stepped forward to stop her. Shen Xingwan retracted her gaze and walked out resolutely.
"We can't let her go!"
With a delicate cry, Tang Lin'er hugged the new emperor's arm and shouted: "Your Majesty! If you let the tiger go back to the mountains today, the consequences will be disastrous! Her father is powerful in the court, and her brother has military power. If you let her go, she will definitely rebel, Your Majesty!"
Shen Xingwan turned back in shock and anger and looked at the new emperor. She didn't believe that the new emperor really had no true feelings for her and would embarrass her because of a few slanderous words.
But the hesitation in the new emperor's eyes was like a rusty sharp blade that pierced into her heart.
Shen Xingwan laughed in pain and asked him softly, "Do you believe I will rebel?"
The new emperor also looked at her for a long time, and after a while he said, "Come here, don't miss the auspicious time."
My heart grew colder little by little.
The friendship we have built over the years was ultimately wasted.
Shen Xingwan turned around, no longer reluctant to leave, lifted her skirt and walked out resolutely.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty's throne was not easy to come by, you must not be soft-hearted!" Tang Lin'er cried and begged: "Whoever gets the legitimate daughter of the Shen family will get the world. Water can carry a boat, but it can also overturn it. You must believe it. Your Majesty has just ascended the throne. If the Prime Minister's faction rebels, if... if they join forces with Yan Jinghuan to support other princes..."
"Someone come!"
Before Tang Lin'er could finish her words, the new emperor seemed to have been offended, his eyes turned bloodshot, "Capture Shen Xingwan!"
"Wei Zilin! Are you really going to treat me like this?!"
Shen Xingwan was grabbed by the arm by the imperial guards and forced to kneel on the steps.
"Your Majesty, don't be soft-hearted." Tang Lin'er looked down at Shen Xingwan, "To be kind to the enemy is to be cruel to yourself. Your Majesty is the true dragon emperor. You must not let some false phoenix threaten your throne. You must cut off the roots."
"Your Majesty." Tang Lin'er leaned close to the new emperor's ear and whispered seductively, "She has been humiliated like this, her father and brother will definitely avenge her. Now it's too late to reverse the situation. We might as well take this opportunity to eliminate the threat. She is getting married today, her parents and relatives are all gathered in the prime minister's residence, and even her brother who was guarding the border has returned. Why not just..."
The new emperor pursed his lips, his eyes gradually turned cold, "Shen has committed treason and has the intention of treason, I have ordered you to do so..."
Shen Xingwan's heart suddenly shrank when she heard him give the cold order: "Exterminate all nine clans."
“Wei…”
Shen Xingwan couldn't believe it. Before he could say anything, he was gagged, tied up and dragged out of the hall by the imperial guards. The movements were so swift that all the officials present were terrified.
The new emperor had just experienced a bloody battle for the throne, and the personal guards around him were all skilled killers. It was easy for them to eliminate dissidents, confiscate their property and exterminate their families.
Poor Prime Minister's Mansion, the whole family was covered in blood in an instant, the Imperial Guards surrounded and killed everyone in the Mansion, even the musician who was playing joyful music the moment before had his head chopped off the next moment.
A cold wind suddenly blew, and the bone-chilling cold twisted Shen Xingwan's limbs. The surroundings gradually became quiet. She was pressed under the pile of corpses, unable to breathe.
Suddenly, streams of liquid with a pungent smell splashed onto the pile of corpses and flowed down the layers of limbs to her body. It was the smell of kerosene, and she knew that everything was almost over.
But this regret will never see the light of day again. She hates the relatives and family members who were implicated by her, the scum who was lifted to the throne by her, and the slut who repaid kindness with enmity. She hates them so much, but there is nothing she can do.
She hated this feeling of powerlessness.
The torches fell and flames shot up into the sky, as if a tremendous resentment was burning everything.
Pain was her last feeling. Shen Xingwan’s eyes went dark and she lost consciousness.
***
"Miss, wake up quickly, we are almost at Chengyuan, we have to get ready to get off."
His arm was gently shaken, Shen Xingwan groaned, and opened his eyes with difficulty.
"Miss, you just said you wanted to take a rest, but why are you sleeping so deeply? Your hairpins and rings are all crooked. I will straighten them for you..."
"Feiyun?"
Shen Xingwan grabbed the wrist that the person in front of her extended and stared at her in disbelief: "Aren't you dead?"
Feiyun was stunned for a moment, then laughed, and gently adjusted the hairpin beside Shen Xingwan's temples: "Miss, are you having a nightmare? I am fine now."
Shen Xingwan was silent for a while, looked around, and found himself sitting in one of his favorite carriages.
She reached out and slightly opened the curtain to look out the window. The carriage was speeding along the busy street.
Looking at the familiar street scene of Bianjing, Shen Xingwan felt a little confused.
Many buildings destroyed on the day of the coup d'etat are now standing there intact, just as they were before.
"You just said, where are we almost there?" Shen Xingwan muttered to himself.
Feiyun was tidying up Shen Xingwan's skirt. Hearing this, she looked up and asked in confusion, "Miss, are you asleep? Let's go to Cheng Garden. Today, the Queen Mother invited all the noble ladies in the capital to come to the palace to appreciate the flowers. Have you forgotten?"
Shen Xingwan's heart tightened, and his chest was beating like a drum. He pulled Feiyun's hand and asked anxiously, "What year is it now?"
Feiyun was somewhat puzzled by her question, but seeing how anxious she was, she had to answer honestly: "To answer Miss, today is the sixth day of the third month of the twenty-seventh year of Chengyuan."
"Chengyuan?"
Shen Xingwan's mind raced, and he guessed that he was probably reborn.
She had indeed attended a flower-viewing banquet invited by the empress dowager in the 27th year of Chengyuan. The empress dowager said it was a flower-viewing banquet, but in fact it was for the princes to look for noble ladies in the capital for marriage.
She would always remember that it was at that banquet that the Third Prince risked his own life to save her when she fell into the water, leading her to the path of no return where her entire family would be executed.
Shen Xingwan pursed her lips, her fingertips unconsciously clenched into fists, her shiny nails embedded in her palms.
God has mercy on her and allowed her to live again. Since this is the case, she must not make the same mistake again.
All that is owed to her must be repaid a thousandfold!
As he was thinking about it, the carriage gradually slowed down and stopped steadily in front of the gate of Chengyuan.
The maid outside opened the door, Feiyun helped Shen Xingwan to stand up, and walked out of the carriage calmly.
A maid from the palace had already stood outside the carriage with her head bowed to greet her. When she saw Shen Xingwan, she immediately bowed and greeted her: "Miss Shen, all is well. Please come this way."
Shen Xingwan nodded and was about to move forward, but she heard a series of footsteps behind her.
"Sister, sister, wait for me."
Shen Xingwan looked back and saw a small carriage following behind his own sedan chair. A woman in pink got out of the carriage in a hurry and trotted towards him.
The woman had a pretty face with rosy cheeks and was dressed up carefully. She looked very pretty with her bright eyes.
She smiled brightly and reached out to hold Shen Xingwan's arm: "Sister, why are you walking so fast? Let's go together."
Shen Xingwan slightly turned sideways, avoiding her hand unnoticeably, and looked up at her with a half-smile.
"The Queen Mother is going to enjoy the flowers, and the ladies in the capital are invited."
"Yes...yes."
The pink-dressed lady's hand hit nothing and she asked awkwardly, "What's wrong?"
"Come with me..."
Shen Xingwan sneered: "I am the only daughter of a first-rank prime minister."
"What is your identity, Tang Lin'er?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
