Chapter One: Returned to Eleven Years Old

Qin Wanru felt as though she had awoken from an utterly absurd dream.

In that dream, her life ended in tragedy. She was nothing but an onlooker, watching herself be led step by step into the depths of a nightmare. The final act was her cruel execution—her body severed at the waist, cut in two, lying stiff and contorted beneath the blood-soaked golden palace.

She became the first woman in the history of Dongcang to suffer such a gruesome punishment.

A familiar, mocking laughter echoed faintly at her ear, drifting in and out. Every scene was vivid, the bloodlust and despair hauntingly real…

“Miss, Miss, please wake up! Did you have another nightmare?”

A voice pierced the sunlight-bathed vision of the ninety-nine-tiered golden palace drenched in blood, shattering the image like a bubble. Qin Wanru’s eyes flew open. Her hands clenched tightly, nails digging sharply into her flesh, sending pain shooting up her arms. Her heart pounded violently as she stared, eyes bloodshot and cold, at the canopy above her, her whole body shrouded in icy dread.

“Miss, don’t be afraid. It was only a dream. None of it is real!” Footsteps hurried across the floor, accompanied by a clear, anxious voice. The bed curtains were drawn high, and the youthful face of Qingyue, her maid of twelve or thirteen, came into view.

It was the same lively, spirited Qingyue—not the broken and bloody Qingyue of her previous life, who died in the woodshed protecting her.

This was already the second day since she’d awoken. Last night, her sleep had replayed the memories before her rebirth like a nightmare. Though some recollections remained fractured, they made her realize with greater clarity: she had been given a second life.

She was still in this body, but now it was that of her eleven-year-old self.

Her slender wrist, so fragile it might snap with a touch, lay pale and veined before her eyes. She lifted her head, surveying the room—her bedchamber at age eleven.

Only when blood and tears had merged into the bleakest scene had she truly understood who had pushed her into the abyss…

“Miss, are you alright?” Qingyue, seeing her silent and dazed, lay a worried hand on her fair forehead.

“I’m fine. How is Nurse Yu’s health?” Qin Wanru grasped Qingyue’s hand and sat up slowly, her voice hoarse.

Nurse Yu was her wet nurse. Just days before, swayed by the malicious gossip of Stewardess Fang, she had sent Nurse Yu to the laundry house. When she’d awoken to her new life, she found Nurse Yu already weakened by harsh labor.

Yesterday, she’d summoned a physician for Nurse Yu, and the first thing upon waking was to remember this.

“Miss, please have some water first. Don’t worry, Nurse Yu is much better. I went to check on her just now—she slept soundly last night and will recover as long as she rests.” Qingyue supported her, deftly pouring a cup of warm water and handing it over.

“How did the arrangements from yesterday go?” Sitting upright, Qin Wanru sipped the water. The gentle warmth reminded her once more—she was alive again.

After handing the cup back to Qingyue, her gaze drifted to the window. Outside, brilliant red wedding silk was draped high, folded into ornate flowers along the windows and eaves. It was a sign that a marriage was to take place—a wedding in which the younger sister would wed in her elder sister’s place.

It was this very union, so desperately sought yet never truly hers, that had led her down a path to destruction.

And at that time, she herself was only eleven years old.

What young man would willingly marry an eleven-year-old girl?

Qin Yuru was the legitimate eldest daughter of General Qin Huaiyong of Ningyuan, while she was his second legitimate daughter. Qi Tianyu was the eldest son of the Prefect of Jiangzhou.

Qin Huaiyong held real military power in Jiangzhou, and the Qi family, as the highest local civil authority, was closely allied with the Qin family. Prefect Qi had long set his sights on Qin Yuru as a match for his son, whose age was close to hers.

Prefect Qi had hinted at a union many times, but Qin Huaiyong always deferred, saying his eldest daughter was still young and wished to delay the marriage. The matter was postponed again and again until, a month prior, Qi Tianyu passed the provincial examination and the General’s mansion finally agreed.

The marriage was arranged hastily, for Qi Tianyu would soon go to the capital for the imperial exams. The intention was for him to wed, then travel to the capital with Qin Yuru, who could care for him during the examination.

The Qi family joyfully prepared to welcome Qin Yuru, but then a letter arrived from Lady Di’s family in the capital, requesting Qin Yuru’s hand in marriage.

Lady Di grew anxious.

Qi Tianyu was no match for her family’s nephew, the heir to the Marquis of Yongkang, Di Yan. She had delayed accepting Prefect Qi’s proposal, hoping Di Yan would marry Qin Yuru instead.

But no matter how she tried to hint, the Marchioness of Yongkang refused to agree. With Qin Yuru growing older and Qi Tianyu newly distinguished as a scholar, Lady Di finally relented. Yet, scarcely had the wedding date been set with the Qi family when good news arrived from the capital.

The two proposals were barely twenty days apart. Lady Di was unwilling to let go.

The marriage preparations were nearly complete—too late for withdrawal. Lady Di and Qin Yuru devised a vicious scheme: they sent Stewardess Fang to coax the naive Qin Wanru, telling her that Qi Tianyu had originally proposed to her, but the marriage had been stolen by Qin Yuru. Nursing a fresh quarrel with Qin Yuru, the young Qin Wanru could not bear the slight and ran to the old matron, insisting she wished to marry Qi Tianyu.

Before the old matron could make sense of it, Qin Yuru appeared, declaring her willingness to sacrifice her own happiness for sisterly affection and let her sister have the marriage.

Seeing one sister eager to give up the match and the other desperate to have it, the old matron relented, reasoning that the families were close and it would do no harm.

Today was meant to be Qin Yuru’s wedding day. But owing to Lady Di’s machinations, it would be Qin Wanru who entered the bridal sedan, the substitution to be kept secret until the wedding night—a “surprise” for Qi Tianyu.

A surprise indeed. In this life, she would be sure to give them all a surprise they would never forget.

“Miss, don’t worry, everything has been arranged just as you instructed!” Qingyue replied quickly.

The matters had already been set in motion yesterday—each step planned and interlinked, awaiting the moment to break this trap.

“Has Grandmother sent anyone to hurry us?” After her tea, Qin Wanru’s voice regained the clarity and sweetness of a young girl, though her eyes shone with a chill at odds with her tender features.