An Xiuqing was utterly distraught, terrified that Ji Fengmei might recover and repeat the abusive words she had hurled at her. If that happened, it would mean eternal damnation—her rebirth would have been for nothing.  

“Auntie, what should I do? I’m so scared.”  

Du Qiuyi had complete confidence in her medicine and told her not to worry. “She took so much of the drug—Ji Fengmei won’t recover. She wasn’t even supposed to make it past New Year’s. Now that she’s been sent to the hospital, she might cling to life for a few more days, but she’ll never speak again. Don’t be afraid. Keep tending to her as usual—act the same way you did before. You can’t let anyone notice a sudden change.”  

An Xiuqing was at a loss, already regretting her actions. “But Dr. Qi won’t let me into the ward anymore. He won’t even eat the food I bring.”  

“Just go every day like before. You don’t need to say anything. Leave the food, stand there for a moment, and then leave. Once his mother dies, things will settle down after some time.”  

An Xiuqing’s hatred for Jiang Zhen grew stronger. “Auntie, will the hospital punish Jiang Zhen for climbing onto the roof to spy?”  

Du Qiuyi shook her head. “Jiang Zhen has her reasons—she said she was afraid Ji Fengmei was being abused to death, so she went up to check. After discussing it, the hospital hasn’t decided to take any action against her. Let your eldest sister make a scene first and see what happens.”  

“Auntie, there’s something I need to tell you.”  

“What is it?”  

An Xiuqing mustered her courage. “Auntie… I’m actually reborn. And I suspect Jiang Zhen might be too…”  

…

An Qihui had just confronted the hospital, demanding severe punishment for Jiang Zhen’s personal misconduct. She had gotten into a heated argument with Jiang Zhen—and lost.  

The hospital only gave Jiang Zhen a verbal reprimand, with no real consequences. An Qihui’s mental state was already fragile.  

Still fixated on her inability to conceive, she continued giving Yan Jiawen medication. Unexpectedly, Yan Jiawen lashed out at her: “I’ve told you—either you have a problem or I do. You refuse to get checked, so are you just insane?”  

After a fierce argument, Yan Jiawen had a complete meltdown, showing symptoms of a mental breakdown. In his frenzy, he blurted out all their private marital issues.  

The psychiatric staff looked at An Qihui with pitying disdain, as if she were the one with mental illness. The proud An Qihui couldn’t bear it—she snapped and was immediately admitted for treatment.  

Yan Jiawen’s mental instability was drug-induced and would fade once the medication wore off. But An Qihui’s breakdown was entirely unexpected.  

…

Du Qiuyi had just finished comforting An Xiuqing when she learned An Qihui had lost her mind. She rushed to the psychiatric ward, cradling An Qihui and demanding answers from the staff. “How could this happen?”  

The way they looked at Qihui—full of contempt—infuriated her. Poor Qihui. Du Qiuyi decided to take her abroad. It would be the perfect opportunity to bring Xiuqing and Dr. Qi along.  

Her eyes landed on Jiang Zhen in the crowd. Xiuqing had said that in her past life, Jiang Zhen was definitely killed. Since she was still alive now, she must know Du Qiuyi had hired someone to kill her—and now Jiang Zhen was taking revenge!  

Qi Junshan was already dead, Ji Fengmei was half-dead, and now it was Xiuqing and Qihui’s turn. Next would be her, right?  

Du Qiuyi quickly assessed the situation. Since she had decided to leave the country, she needed to start preparing immediately. But before she left, she wouldn’t let Jiang Zhen off easy.

……

The sheer ruthlessness in Du Qiuyi’s gaze made Jiang Zhen grateful that Yan Jiawen had “gone mad” first—otherwise, she would have been Du Qiuyi’s first target for revenge.  

Soon, Li Chongling sought out Jiang Zhen again. He had new developments on his end and hoped to quickly establish trust with her to uncover the truth about her twin sister.  

“Du Qiuyi wants me to go abroad. I pretended to agree, and she was thrilled. But I noticed she’s been contacting people she’s never dealt with before. You should be careful.”  

Never dealt with before? Then why would they obey her? Could it be that their children had been swapped, and now they were being blackmailed into cooperating?  

Jiang Zhen harbored these suspicions. She knew what Li Chongling wanted from her, but for now, she truly couldn’t help him.  

“Thank you,” Jiang Zhen said. “I don’t know how much I can do for you.”  

Li Chongling quickly replied, “You don’t need to do anything. One day, if you feel you can tell Gu Liancheng about our interactions, that’ll be enough for me.”  

Jiang Zhen: “…”  

He could deduce so much just from speculation. He already knew who held the key—she didn’t have to struggle with it anymore.  

…

Jiang Zhen wanted to verify her concerns, so she discussed them with Gu Liancheng. “Find an excuse to stay at the military camp for a few nights. Then, see if the hospital schedules me for night shifts. If I can’t swap shifts, we’ll need to be extra cautious.”  

Gu Liancheng thought of their four children at home, his chest tightening. “Du Qiuyi wouldn’t be so deranged as to harm the kids, would she?”  

Jiang Zhen: “I think she would.”  

Soon, Gu Liancheng spent two consecutive nights away from home. Neighbors learned from the children that he wouldn’t be back for a few days.  

The next day, Jiang Zhen was assigned a night shift—one she couldn’t swap out.  

She and Gu Liancheng had already agreed: if she was on night duty, he would secretly return home to stand guard.  

Coincidentally, Ji Fengmei had undergone several days of treatment. Tonight’s shift would give Jiang Zhen the chance to induce a final lucid moment in Ji Fengmei—enough for her to reveal the truth.  

…

In the dead of night, when exhaustion weighed heaviest, the laxative in Dr. Qi’s water took effect, sending him rushing to the restroom. Jiang Zhen seized the opportunity.  

Gu Jiaoxia, assisting for the first time, was nervous. “Dr. Qi is worried about his mother. Even with diarrhea, he’ll hurry back. Xiao Jiang, you’d better finish within five minutes. I’ll keep watch outside.”  

Inside the ward, Ji Fengmei glared at Jiang Zhen with venomous hatred. She despised An Xiuqing and Du Qiuyi, but she loathed Jiang Zhen just as much.  

Jiang Zhen said calmly, “No need to look at me like that. You’ve been drugged too much—there’s no saving you. But I have a medicine that can give you one last moment of clarity. You can say your final words to Dr. Qi. However, once the sun rises, you’ll die. Blink twice if you want it, three times if you don’t.”  

Ji Fengmei only blinked once—a reflexive, unwilling response.  

Jiang Zhen shrugged. “Fine. I’ll find another way to deal with An Xiuqing and Du Qiuyi. But Dr. Qi will be deceived to the very end. You know all those dirty secrets were kept from him. What a pity—your ‘clean’ son will be left to An Xiuqing. If she could drug you, she’ll drug him too if he ever disobeys.”  

After two or three minutes of silence, Ji Fengmei finally blinked twice.  

…

In less than five minutes, Jiang Zhen emerged from the ward. Gu Jiaoxia, who had been sweating nervously like a thief, finally relaxed. “Xiao Jiang, will your medicine really work?”  

Jiang Zhen nodded. “It’ll take effect within an hour. Sister, I’ll leave first. You go in more often and pretend it’s a miracle.”  

“But what if Ji Fengmei tells them it was you?”  

“She won’t say anything—she’s afraid I’ll harm Dr. Qi.” Besides, Jiang Zhen had taken extra precautions—Ji Fengmei had also swallowed a secret pill.  

Soon, Dr. Qi returned, repeatedly thanking Gu Jiaoxia for helping with the night shifts and care over the past few days.  

Gu Jiaoxia waited anxiously. What kind of medicine could be so potent that it could make Ji Fengmei speak within an hour?  

She lingered in Ji Fengmei’s ward, deliberately stalling. Ji Fengmei’s eyes were terrifyingly venomous—even in this state, was hatred all she had left?  

As the hour mark approached, Ji Fengmei suddenly began thrashing violently on the bed, calling out, “Junhai—my son! Go get people, as many as you can! I have something to say!”  

Gu Jiaoxia stared in shock as Ji Fengmei struggled to sit up and speak. Jiang Zhen’s medicine had worked…  

An Xiuqing was probably still asleep, basking in her delusions. But once the sun rose, everything would be settled.  

…

At home, An Xiuqing was too excited to sleep. Her aunt had said they would take her and Dr. Qi abroad. If Dr. Qi refused to cooperate, they’d make him “fall ill” and then take him overseas for “treatment.”  

Her aunt had also told her that no matter what noises she heard at home tonight, she mustn’t make a sound—pretend she heard nothing. There would be a “surprise” in the morning.  

Now, there were indeed noises—at least four people had climbed over the courtyard wall. An Xiuqing wasn’t scared at all. This had to be her aunt’s doing. They were just passing through her yard to get to Jiang Zhen’s house.  

Gu Liancheng wasn’t home, Jiang Zhen was on night duty, and only the four children were left. Once something happened to those kids by morning, let’s see if the Gu family would ever forgive Jiang Zhen.  

But why were those men creeping toward her door? Had her aunt instructed them to make the act more convincing—to steal a few things from her to divert suspicion?  

An Xiuqing pretended to sleep. But instead of stealing and leaving, the intruders crept toward her bed. Before she could scream, a pillow was shoved over her face.  

…

Early in the morning, Du Qiuyi arrived half an hour earlier than usual—just enough time to witness the Gu family’s humiliation. Gu Jiaoxia still didn’t know that by now, the twins from Gu Liancheng’s elder brother’s family had already been taken far from Fancheng.  

And as for Jiang Zhen—not only would her own two children be dead, but she would also be responsible for losing the twins of Gu Liancheng’s eldest brother.  

Gu Liancheng spent most of his military allowance supporting her family, yet she chose to work a night shift. This time, Jiang Zhen would face utter ruin.  

Du Qiuyi smiled. She hadn’t undergone some dramatic “darkening”—she had always been this way.  

When she was very young, she envied the wealthy family her sister worked for as a maid—so wealthy they could send their children abroad. So, she made sure her brother-in-law died, forcing her sister to become the family’s concubine.  

From childhood, she understood the cruel truth: if you wanted something, you had to take it yourself.  

“Why are you all looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?”

As Du Qiuyi entered the inpatient ward, she noticed several nurses whispering among themselves. The moment they saw her, they fell silent.  

The nurses quickly shook their heads and scattered with excuses.  

Suspicious, Du Qiuyi walked toward Ji Fengmei’s room—only to find no one guarding the door. How was that possible? Instantly alert, she didn’t bother figuring out why. She turned to leave.  

…

At the stairwell, Gu Jiaoxia blocked her path. “Dr. Du, your niece is Ji Fengmei’s daughter-in-law. Since you’re already here, why not visit?”

Du Qiuyi steadied herself and smiled. “Xiuqing said she’d bring breakfast. I was just going to meet her at the entrance. Oh, by the way—Jiang Zhen was on night shift, right? With four little children left alone at home… is that really safe? Since you care about me, I’ll care about your family too. Shouldn’t Jiang Zhen go home early to check on them?”

Just then, Jiang Zhen and Gu Liancheng arrived—one child in their arms, another holding their hand.  

Jiang Zhen said coolly, “Thank you for your concern, Dr. Du. The children are just fine. We just took them to the cafeteria for breakfast. But Liancheng couldn’t eat. I told him, someone else’s death has nothing to do with our family—I still have an appetite.”

Gu Jiaoxia, initially worried about the children, relaxed when she saw them safe—but then tensed again. “What do you mean ‘someone died’? Who died?”

Jiang Zhen stared straight at Du Qiuyi, whose expression was crumbling, and delivered the blow:  

“An Xiuqing. Last night, burglars broke into her home… and smothered her to death with a pillow.”