Rebirth

On a winter night, at the Yongning Earl’s Mansion.

Thick curtains hung down to the ground, unaffected by the chilling wind.

On the bed, the man’s veins bulged on his forehead as he looked at the plump woman beneath him, his eyes filled with disgust.

“Hua Qianqian, are you satisfied? You used despicable means to replace Shuyue and marry me, just for this kind of act, right? Fine, I’ll fulfill your wish!”

As he said, he began tearing at Hua Qianqian’s collar. Perhaps due to his rough actions, the person on the bed woke up in a daze.

Hua Qianqian groggily opened her eyes and, upon seeing the person in front of her, her face was filled with shock.

“Xiao Yan!?”

How could he be here?

Didn’t he become a monk!?

Hua Qianqian glanced around the room, feeling a sense of familiarity with the scene.

Suddenly, a wave of pain surged through her head, causing her to painfully bury her hands in her long, flowing hair.

It was then that she discovered her once dry white hair had turned into ink-black strands.

Xiao Yan, without any consideration for Hua Qianqian’s discomfort, roughly held her hands and pinned her to the bed.

The plump face of the woman before him lacked any trace of beauty, but her eyes bore some resemblance to the person he had yearned for day and night.

Xiao Yan felt his soul tremble as he leaned down, aiming for Hua Qianqian’s lips. However, before he could get close to her, his handsome face suddenly contorted, his already flushed face turning even more abnormal.

“Hua Qianqian, you…”

A sudden intense pain struck him, nearly causing Xiao Yan to shatter his teeth.

Seizing the opportunity, Hua Qianqian quickly lifted the curtain and retreated under the bed.

As she observed the room’s furnishings, Hua Qianqian stood frozen in place.

At this moment, she finally confirmed that she had been reborn!

In her previous life, she was the legitimate daughter of the first branch of the noble family.

Her grandfather was the current Chancellor, her father held a high-ranking position in Yunzhou, and she had four outstanding elder brothers. She was the youngest daughter of the family.

Ironically, despite her noble background, she was not favored in the noble family and lived a humble existence.

All the love and affection from her family had been bestowed upon her cousin, Hua Shuyue.

As for Hua Qianqian, she had spent over a decade in the noble family like air, unnoticed.

She thought that her life would change after marrying Xiao Yan.

However, it turned out to be the first step into the abyss.

The marriage between the Hua Mansion and the Yongning Earl’s Mansion had been arranged many years ago, but it was not her who was supposed to marry Xiao Yan, but her cousin, Hua Shuyue. However, when their wedding was approaching, Hua Shuyue fell seriously ill due to her melancholy. It was then that everyone discovered Hua Shuyue did not want to marry Xiao Yan.

To help Hua Shuyue recover, her grandmother and mother decided to have Hua Qianqian replace her, and she agreed to this marriage to make her family happy.

But she didn’t expect that Xiao Yan only wanted Hua Shuyue. Xiao Yan treated her with nothing but disdain and disgust.

He always believed that she shamelessly manipulated the marriage to replace Hua Shuyue. After their marriage, he never touched her.

When he heard the news of Hua Shuyue marrying His Royal Highness Zhao, he left the Earl's Mansion as if he had lost his soul and became a monk.

If that was all, her life wouldn’t be so miserable.

After Xiao Yan left, her mother-in-law wanted to seize her dowry and imprisoned her, forcing her to drink a potion that drove people insane.

Her hypocritical father-in-law tried to intrude into her room, attempting to do shameful things to her!

If she hadn’t fought back desperately, attracting the servants, her innocence would have been taken by the Earl of Yongning!

But after this incident became known, the Earl of Yongning claimed that she shamelessly used that potion to seduce him!

She became a despised and filthy object, beaten with a stick until her leg was broken, and overnight, her hair turned white.

And later, she died a tragic death at the hands of Hua Shuyue…

Recalling the events of her previous life, Hua Qianqian felt her breath stagnate, and her body involuntarily trembled!

Xiao Yan looked at the pained and helpless Hua Qianqian and suddenly burst into laughter, clutching his forehead.

“Hua Qianqian, are you trying to play the innocent victim again?”

At that moment, before Hua Qianqian could react, a long sword was already pressed against her neck, sending chills throughout her body.

She looked at Xiao Yan, who held the sword.

He wore a moon-white robe with a loosely tied silver belt around his waist. His thin face had an unnatural flush, and when he looked at her, his attractive peach-blossom eyes were filled with disgust.

“You want it so badly, don’t you? Now you’re putting on this act for whom? How can there be such a shameless and despicable woman like you in this world? You truly disgust me!”

No one could have imagined that the once gentle and refined Xiao Yan would utter such words to his wife!

A bitter smile appeared at the corner of Hua Qianqian’s mouth.

In her past life, she truly cherished this man deeply. Xiao Yan always carried a faint melancholy between his brows, and she longed to soothe his worries.

She exhausted all her efforts to treat him well: when he had a headache, she made incense for him; when he felt cold, she wove clothes for him; when he enjoyed tea, she stayed up late to collect dew for him…

She believed she could ignite his heart with warmth, but he only found her repulsive!

Hua Qianqian composed herself, raised her gaze to Xiao Yan, and spoke slowly and deliberately: “Since we have grown weary of each other, please, Lord, grant me a divorce letter. Let us sever our ties here and now!”

Hua Qianqian’s voice was soft, yet her tone carried the resolute weight of a thousand years of hardships.

Xiao Yan stared at Hua Qianqian in disbelief.

This woman had used every means to get close to him, gone to great lengths to replace Shuyue and marry him, and now she was declaring her need for a divorce!

He sneered, “Are you joking?”

As soon as Xiao Yan finished speaking, Hua Qianqian reached out and grasped the long sword hanging by her neck.

With a swift motion, she cut off a strand of her ink-black hair, leaving it in the palm of her hand. Tears welled up in her eyes as she looked at the severed lock of hair. In this lifetime, she would no longer be foolish!

“Lord, I swear upon this sacrifice of my hair, from this day forward, we shall be strangers, parting ways!” Hua Qianqian’s voice grew hoarse, and the wound in her palm continued to bleed, the real pain bringing her a newfound clarity.

“Lord, please write the divorce letter!” Her voice gained strength towards the end, causing Xiao Yan’s brows to furrow deeper.

“But this was your idea!” He had considered divorcing Hua Qianqian before, but the laws of the Great Feng Dynasty clearly stated that a wife could not be divorced without just cause.

Since Hua Qianqian had taken the initiative to propose a divorce, he had no reason to hesitate any longer.

While Xiao Yan still worried that Hua Qianqian was playing a game of cat and mouse, she had already brought paper and a pen, placing them in front of him.

As he signed his name on the paper, Hua Qianqian, without a second thought, pressed her bloodied handprint onto the divorce letter.

Swiftly, she picked up the divorce letter, treasuring it as if it were a precious gem.