Chapter 1 Rebirth
Jiang Shiyao has been reborn.
One moment, the suffocating feeling of drowning overwhelmed her; the next, a soft, sweet voice entered her ears.
"Mother, Fu'er wants to eat chestnut pastry."
With a soft little hand holding her index finger and shaking it, Jiang Shiyao, her eyes brimming with tears, pulled her lively daughter into her arms.
Fortunately, God gave her a chance, and her daughter is still alive and well.
She was from Chuzhou. Her mother died early, and when she was fourteen, her father passed away, and her eldest brother fell seriously ill.
During her most difficult time, she sold herself into the Duke's mansion as a slave for ten taels of silver.
When she was eighteen, Prince Zhou Congxian made a mistake while drunk, and she became pregnant with Fu'er.
The prince arranged for her to have a courtyard and maids, and from then on she became the prince's only concubine.
Jiang Shiyao was well aware of her lowly status. Before Song Jiyun married into the Duke's mansion, she had prepared herself for not being well-liked.
On their first meeting, Song Jiyun brought Fu'er some snacks, and afterwards he often let Fu'er go to the main courtyard to play, and each time she would bring back new clothes and trinkets.
Later, the old lady suggested that the concubine's daughter should be raised by the main wife in order to have a good future.
Jiang Shiyao hesitated, but she knew she couldn't secure a good future for her daughter, so she compromised.
In just one year, my daughter's health deteriorated.
She pressed her daughter privately for answers, and while her daughter said that her stepmother treated her very well, she couldn't hide the fear in her eyes.
Jiang Shiyao wanted to bring her daughter back, but instead of the prince who was out, she was met by the mistress who led people to ransack her courtyard.
Letters of illicit affair and numerous "evidence" of her pregnancy with an illegitimate child were found in her bedroom.
"This lowly concubine, Jiang, has defiled the inner quarters and is pregnant with another man's illegitimate child, yet she dares to deceive everyone!"
Mingyu, who had been serving her all along, sobbed, "My lady, please don't blame me. I was discovered when I was getting the abortion medicine."
She didn't.
It's all slander.
But Song Jiyun didn't give her any chance to argue. Holding the prince's letter, he ordered her to be drowned in the pond!
Her frail, young daughter stumbled over and pleaded for her.
"Mother, please spare my mother!"
Song pinched her pointed chin, her eyes full of disgust. "Still calling me Mother? You're such an ungrateful wretch!"
"Very well, mother and daughter, let them go on their journey, they won't be lonely on the road to the underworld."
"Guards, drown him!"
"No!" Fu'er screamed, shaking off Song Shi's hand and clinging tightly to the pig cage. "Don't hurt Mother! Get away from me!"
The little girl, who was only five years old, was so thin that she was almost unrecognizable, but her small hands had an amazing strength. For a moment, neither of the two old women could pull her apart.
Jiang Shiyao understood everything. The mistress had been married for a year without conceiving, but she had Fu'er and was now pregnant with a boy.
There was no legitimate son, but there was a son born out of wedlock.
How could the mistress tolerate her?
She had no other way to survive, so she had to find a way for her daughter to live.
"Madam, I confess my guilt. I beg you, please spare her for the sake of Fu'er, who has served you for a year."
With tears streaming down her face, Jiang Shiyao curled up in the pig cage and kowtowed deeply on the ground.
"Let her go?" She stared at Jiang Shiyao's lower abdomen, her fingertips twisting tightly around the edge of the handkerchief. "I've been here for a whole year, and not a sound has been made, but you—"
She stopped abruptly, took a deep breath, and put on a dignified smile again. "Fine, considering your service to the Crown Prince, I'll allow you and your daughter to travel together."
Fu'er suddenly coughed violently, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Her eyes were wide open, as if they were about to pop out.
He was like a soulless shell, devoid of any life.
Jiang Shiyao watched her daughter stagger backward, a strange blush appearing on her little face.
Suddenly I remembered the "nourishing milk" that the main hospital sent every day. No wonder my daughter was so resistant to drinking milk. It turns out that she had already poisoned it.
"Fu'er!" Her screams were muffled by the pig cage.
Song Jiyun took a half step back in disgust, covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. "What are you all standing there for? Deal with him immediately!"
"Song Jiyun! You'll die a horrible death!!!"
The icy lake water rushed into her nostrils, and Jiang Shiyao struggled to lift her head, only to see Fu'er being violently pushed into the water by the old woman.
Her heart was breaking. The cold water choked her, making her feel increasingly weak. She watched helplessly as the lake water rose above her head and her daughter sank to the bottom.
"Mother, why are you crying?"
A pair of small hands stroked her cheeks, and gently wiped away her tears by pinching her sleeve.
Jiang Shiyao pulled herself out of her suffocating, heavy memories.
She looked at her daughter with trembling eyes; her small face was plump and fair, with a rosy complexion.
"Mother didn't cry, she was happy!"
"Madam, Miss Song has arrived." The maid Mingyu lifted the curtain and came in, seeing the mother and daughter hugging and crying together.
"Why are you and your wife crying?"
"It's nothing." Jiang Shiyao paused in wiping her tears. "Miss Song?"
The image of Song Jiyun flashed through her mind, her long nails digging deep into her palms, before she forced herself to calm down just before losing control.
"Wife, what's wrong?" Mingyu asked, puzzled.
When she looked up again, Jiang Shiyao had already concealed the overwhelming hatred in her eyes.
"Please invite Miss Song in and take Fu'er inside to practice calligraphy."
Song Jiyun entered with his maid Zisu carrying a food basket, his eyes gleaming with disdain, glancing briefly at the room.
She casually fanned herself with her handkerchief; the room was so small that it couldn't even fit her clothes.
The maid Zisu handed over the food basket, saying, "Madam Jiang, our young lady came to visit the old lady and made a special detour to Dexinglou to bring some snacks for Fu'er."
"My lady doesn't go out often, so she probably doesn't know that the pastries at Dexinglou aren't something you can just buy with money!"
Jiang Shiyao sneered, revealing a heart of a viper beneath the mask of hypocrisy, who thought he could gain a good reputation with just a few lousy pastries.
"It's actually pastries from Dexinglou. Thank you, Miss Song, for thinking of Fu'er."
Jiang Shiyao did not take the basket, but instead raised her hand and lifted the lid.
"Hey!—" Zisu's expression changed, and she tried to stop him, but it was too late.
Few of the pastries in the food box were intact.
Jiang Shiyao exclaimed, "How did it all break!"
Zisu was surprised by her rudeness; she didn't even accept the gift before lifting the lid.
She glanced quickly at her young mistress's face and immediately preemptively said, "It was fine when I arrived. It must have been broken by Jiang Niangzi herself when she lifted the lid!"
Jiang Shiyao smiled and said, "Miss Zisu is really interesting. I just said I was a little heartbroken, but I didn't mean to blame you."
"Whether it's good or bad, it's all Miss Song's good intention for Fu'er. Pastries are fragile, and Miss Zisu seems eager to find fault with them for me."
Song Jiyun slightly lowered her head. She didn't care much about Jiang Shiyao; she was just a plaything for men to amuse themselves, not worthy of being discussed in public.
She paused for a moment, then looked up and scolded, "Zisu, have you forgotten the rules as soon as you step outside?"
Zisu caught sight of the tall figure walking in from outside the door and immediately knelt down.
"Miss is kind-hearted; this servant is only indignant on behalf of you!"
Zhou Congxian looked at Zisu kneeling on the ground and asked, "What happened?"
Jiang Shiyao immediately replied, "Your Highness, please don't be offended. It was Miss Song who specially brought the pastries to Fu'er. It's just that the pastries were broken, and Miss Zisu mistakenly thought that I was going to blame her. It was just a slip of the tongue."
In her previous life, she was caught off guard, and Zisu handed the pastries directly to Fu'er, who was only three years old and couldn't lift them.
The snacks were scattered all over the floor. She hurriedly comforted her daughter. She didn't see the prince, but Zisu apologized, saying that she hadn't held them properly and that Fu'er hadn't dropped them on purpose.
The dessert was made with milk, but Fu'er didn't like milk and immediately burst into tears, saying she didn't want to eat it.
Zhou Congxian said coldly that her spoiled daughter had no manners and wasted other people's good intentions.
Thinking of this, Jiang Shiyao's gaze fell on Mingyu. Both Mingyu and the wet nurse, who served Fu'er closely, knew that Fu'er did not like cow's milk.
Zhou Congxian didn't look at the basket of broken pastries, but nodded to Song Jiyun and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Song. The pastries are fragile, it's alright."
Is it alright?
Jiang Shiyao suddenly looked up at him.
In the previous life, even though it was not Fu'er's fault, she was scolded for being unruly. Even if it was Fu'er's fault, why couldn't you just say "it's okay" to a three-year-old child?
Song Jiyun slightly raised his chin and smiled. She was just a lowly concubine. Why would she make a special trip for her? Mother was just overthinking things.
Thinking of this, she couldn't be bothered to look at Jiang Shiyao again.
"Yun'er is going to keep her great-aunt company now."
Watching Song Jiyun's departing figure, Jiang Shiyao almost gritted her teeth to powder. It turned out that there had been signs all along.
Zhou Congxian: "Where's Fu'er?"
"Your Highness, Fu'er is writing in her room."
Zhou Congxian nodded and went into the inner room. When Jiang Shiyao turned around, she caught a glimpse of infatuation in Mingyu's eyes.
Looking again, Mingyu had already lowered her head.
Jiang Shiyao narrowed her eyes slightly.
Mingyu, you betrayed your master so early.
Inside the room, Xiao Fu'er remembered her mother's instructions and diligently wrote.
Her chubby little hands held a large calligraphy brush that seemed disproportionate to her size, and she was drawing horizontal lines on the ground with great care, as if she wasn't afraid of the monotony at all.
Zhou Congxian hugged his daughter from behind, holding her small hand and pen in his large hand.
"Fu'er, writing requires a beginning and an end, so that the characters will have shape. Don't underestimate this horizontal stroke. Your father practiced this horizontal stroke for two years when he was a child."
Fu'er turned around and saw her father. "Father! But what is power?"
Zhou Congxian guided his daughter's little hand to write characters stroke by stroke, explaining as he went.
Looking at her daughter's smiling face, Jiang Shiyao's fingers clenched into fists inside her sleeves, her safety for both mother and daughter uncertain.
Song Jiyun will definitely marry into the family, and she and Fu'er will also follow the path of death from their previous lives.
Her gaze fell on the food basket on the table.
A moment later, she gestured for Mingyu to come in.
Jiang Shiyao took out a jingling little box from the dressing table, and Fu'er, a child, was immediately attracted to it.
Zhou Congxian patted his daughter's head and said, "Concentrate on writing."
Looking up again, she saw Jiang Shiyao take out a pitiful amount of silver from the box and hand it to Mingyu, saying, "Go to Dexinglou and buy some chestnut pastries, but don't buy the milk ones, Fu'er doesn't like them."
Zhou Congxian spoke up, "With so little money, you shouldn't go to Dexinglou."
Jiang Shiyao looked at him awkwardly, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Your Highness. I have no way to make money, and this is all I have saved up."
Zhou Congxian picked up his daughter from behind the table and said, "Tell Daddy what Fu'er likes to eat."
The little girl immediately hugged her father's neck, her eyes crinkling with laughter, "Chestnut pastry!"
She paused, then added, "No milk!"
Zhou Congxian smiled, "Okay, no milk."
Fu'er leaned closer to her father's ear and said, "Mother loves sweet tofu pudding the most."
Zhou Congxian raised his hand and tapped the little girl's nose. "Little devil."
"Come on, Father will take Fu'er to Dexinglou to reward her for her diligent calligraphy practice today."
As the three of them were leaving, they happened to run into Zhou Wanqing, the third daughter of the Zhou family, and Song Jiyun.
Zhou Wanqing: "Hey, big brother, where are you going?"
Jiang Shiyao followed behind and bowed discreetly.
Zhou Congxian gently patted his daughter's back. "Fu'er, greet someone."
Fu'er sat in her father's arms, her two chubby little hands clasped together in front of her belly as a gesture of respect.
"Fu'er greets Third Aunt."
Song Jiyun smiled and said, "Why didn't Xiao Fu'er call me?"
Fu'er pursed her lips tightly, hesitated for a moment, but still didn't speak.
A hint of displeasure flashed in Song Jiyun's eyes, but she quickly smiled gently.
"Today is the Shangsi Festival. Did Brother Xian take Lady Jiang and Fu'er to the Feng River to see the iron flower display?"
Zhou Wanqing said, "We'll go too! Big brother, why don't you come with us?"
Then she looked at Jiang Shiyao and said, "There are so many people by the Feng River today. It must be so inconvenient for you to bring your child. And the iron flower fireworks aren't just for the Shangsi Festival. In a few days, it will be the Empress Dowager's birthday. There will be fireworks all the way. You can watch them without even leaving home!"
Jiang Shiyao readily accepted her daughter's hand. "Third Miss is right. Young Master, please go with the two young ladies. I will take Fu'er to Dexing Tower myself."
Zhou Congxian glanced at her and then hummed in agreement.
Jiang Shiyao carried her daughter onto the carriage.
Only after she had walked out of Zhuque Street and could no longer see the Duke's mansion did she pat the carriage wall.
"Go to the West City Horse Market."
She was going to the horse market to inquire about black market travel permits.
The capital city was not completely sealed off; wherever there were people, there was business. Every household had runaway slaves and rebellious young masters and ladies.
Issuing travel permits for leaving the city is a business; it can be done not only by the government but also on the black market.
This time, even if it costs her entire fortune to get two forged travel permits, she will help Fu'er escape from this cannibalistic mansion.
It wasn't that she didn't want to stay and seek revenge, but rather that she simply didn't have the means to do so; she had no foothold in the Duke's mansion.
When she was drowned in the pond in her previous life, he didn't even show his face, and she didn't even have a chance to defend herself.
After Song Jiyun entered the house, his first step was to take Fu'er away under the pretext that "a concubine's daughter needs to be raised by the mistress".
She watched her daughter transform from a lively, cheerful child into a sickly, timid girl with a cough—the "milk" delivered daily had long been laced with poisons that damaged her heart and lungs.
She looked down at her daughter's chubby little hands and recalled the tragic scene of her drowning in the pond in her previous life.
Revenge can wait, but my daughter's life cannot.
According to the trajectory of the previous life, Song Jiyun had three months left before entering the family. If they could not escape the capital before then, they might not even have a place to be buried!
As for those disloyal maids and servants, she will make them pay the price!
"What are you going to the horse market for?" Zhou Congxian's question interrupted Jiang Shiyao's thoughts.
The man who had just left returned and pushed open the car door, climbing inside.
His long, narrow, and aloof eyes swept over the mother and daughter.
"You, how did you get back!" Jiang Shiyao blurted out.
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