Chapter 1: Divorce

Today was the day Shen Feng, the heir of the Marquis of Jinyang, was to marry a secondary wife.

The marquis’s residence was adorned with festive decorations, and a grand banquet was being held. Amidst the lively and joyous atmosphere, only the Zhufeng Courtyard, where the heir’s principal wife, Madam Wei, resided, stood out in stark contrast—silent and desolate.

A few old servant women, having just received their share of wedding silver, passed by the entrance of Zhufeng Courtyard.

“If you ask me, our heir’s wife truly has a miserable fate.”

“Her own father has been thrown into prison, her husband is taking another wife, and she doesn’t even have a child to rely on. The days ahead… tsk, tsk!”

“Keep your voice down. Madam Wei has always treated us well…”

“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like she’ll be in charge of this household for much longer.” Though spoken boldly, the voice still dropped to a whisper.

Inside the tightly shut gates not far away, several maids stood grim-faced. As the sound of footsteps gradually faded, they exchanged worried glances before turning their eyes toward the main chamber.

Ever since her father had been thrown into prison by imperial decree seven days ago, Madam Wei had pleaded with the marquis and marchioness for help, only to return and shut herself in her room.

Not only had the heir never come to see her—not even once—but at such a critical moment, he was bringing another wife into the household.

Madam Wei must have cried herself dry behind those closed doors. Who knew how much pain and bitterness she was enduring?

…

Outside the courtyard, red silk banners fluttered, and the sound of gongs and drums filled the air.

Inside the silent main chamber of Zhufeng Courtyard, Wei Yunlan was not, as her maids feared, drowning in sorrow and tears. Instead, her eyes were filled with elation and excitement.

She was back!

She had returned to eleven years ago—this very day, when Shen Feng was marrying Xue Linglong as his secondary wife!

Although her father had been implicated in an old case from five years prior and imprisoned by imperial decree, the order for their estate to be confiscated and their family exiled had yet to be issued. At this moment, her family was still in the Capital, not yet forced onto the road to Beiguan.

Her younger brother had not yet been lost amidst the fleeing refugees. Her father had not yet been struck by a falling boulder, and her mother had not yet succumbed to illness, crushed by the weight of these relentless misfortunes.

In her past life, she had agreed to let Shen Feng take Xue Linglong as a secondary wife in exchange for the marquis’s family promising to pull strings and secure her father’s release from prison.

The Marquis had taken her ten thousand taels of silver but had merely paid lip service to her pleas. Meanwhile, the Marchioness seized the opportunity—while Wei Yunlan had sent away her trusted attendants to assist her natal family—to cut off all information from reaching Zhufeng Courtyard.

As for Shen Feng, the heir himself, he had spared no effort in preparing a grand wedding feast, eagerly awaiting the arrival of the woman he had always cherished above all else.

By the time Wei Yunlan realized something was amiss, the decree for her family’s confiscation and exile had already spread through the Capital. Her family had been taken away, bound for Beiguan.

When she rushed to demand an explanation, she was forcibly confined within Zhufeng Courtyard.

Over the following year, news of her natal family’s deaths trickled back one after another, while her own health steadily deteriorated.

On the final day of her life, as she lay gravely ill, the long-absent members of the marquis’s household took turns visiting her sickbed.

The Marquis said, “Rest in peace. With so many of your family members awaiting you on the road to the underworld, you won’t be lonely.”

The Marchioness said, “It’s true that the marquisate was preserved thanks to the Wei family back then. But now that your family has fallen, the fact that we never cast you aside should be enough to repay that debt.”

Shen Feng said, “Fate was unkind to us, but I never minded keeping a quiet place for you in this household, providing for you until old age. It’s just a shame that your health was too frail—there’s no one to blame for that but yourself.”

Finally, Xue Linglong, heavily pregnant, approached her bedside and said, “The Wei family stood in the way of the Second Prince—so they were destroyed. And you… you stood in mine. As long as you occupied the position of the heir’s wife, my child could never be born as the rightful heir. So, I’m afraid… you had to go.”

She took her final breath before Xue Linglong’s eyes. But instead of entering the cycle of reincarnation, she became a wandering spirit, drifting through the Marquis of Jinyang’s residence.

For ten long years, she watched.

She watched as Xue Linglong bore Shen Feng two sons and a daughter, securing her place as the rightful heir’s wife.

She watched as Xue Linglong introduced innovations that took the Capital by storm—hotpot, milk tea, and luxuries like scented soaps and perfumes that became beloved by noble madams and young ladies alike.

She watched as the Marquis of Jinyang’s household grew ever wealthier, rising to unmatched prominence in the Capital.

And she watched as they greedily took possession of the dowry she had left behind in the residence—only to uncover within it an ancient jade of unfathomable power.

Xue Linglong called it a space. With it, she and Shen Feng aligned themselves with the Second Prince—the most promising contender for the throne—secretly transporting military supplies across the empire on his behalf.

Yet in the end, they did not live to see the Second Prince ascend, nor did they reap the rewards of backing a future emperor.

Instead, what awaited them… was the invasion of the northern barbarians.

At that time, the Crown Prince had passed away, the Emperor was gravely ill, and the Second Prince had temporarily taken over court affairs. When the barbarian army stormed into the Capital, the Marquis of Jinyang’s residence—having been a staunch supporter of the Second Prince—became the first target, suffering a brutal massacre.

As Xue Linglong and Shen Feng fell beneath the blades of the barbarians, the long-lost ancient jade slipped from Xue Linglong’s body.

A golden light burst forth, and in an instant, the blood-soaked scene vanished.

Her soul was once again pulled back to eleven years ago—on the very day Shen Feng was to wed Xue Linglong.

Later, she had learned from Shen Feng’s complaints that the decree for the Wei Family’s confiscation and exile had arrived at the exact moment he and Xue Linglong were bowing to each other in the wedding ceremony.

Wei Yunlan listened intently. Outside, the suona horns were still playing the tune welcoming the bridal sedan. The ceremony had yet to reach the formal bowing rites.

In noble households, wedding ceremonies were intricate and time-consuming. She still had at least the duration of one incense stick.

There was still time!

Having made up her mind, Wei Yunlan strode straight to the small chamber behind the bed and retrieved a box from the cabinet. The box was inlaid with jade and carved with an intricate design of pine trees, cranes, and the arrival of spring.

Inside lay a pair of jade bangles of exceptional clarity, but the real treasure was not the bracelets themselves—it was the ancient jade hidden within the false bottom of the box, carved with an image of Guanyin seated on a lotus pedestal.

In her past life, Xue Linglong had accidentally dropped the box, revealing the jade.

Wei Yunlan had initially planned to replicate that moment, but the instant she held the box in her hands, a strange sensation arose within her. As if guided by instinct, she lightly pressed her fingernail against the bottom, applying just the right amount of force.

A soft “click” echoed as the hidden compartment slid open, and the ancient jade slipped into her palm.

A sharp pain pricked between her brows, and as she instinctively closed her eyes, a vision of mist-covered land emerged in her mind.

This was the mysterious space!

The space was vast—completely empty yet astonishingly expansive, nearly the size of three Marquis of Jinyang’s residences combined.

When she opened her eyes again, the ancient jade had vanished from her hand, replaced by a faint lotus-shaped imprint, no larger than a fingernail, resting in the center of her palm.

Though she did not know why, in her past life, Xue Linglong had only obtained this opportunity after a shard of the broken jade accidentally cut her finger, allowing her blood to drip onto it. Yet in this life, before she even had to act, the ancient jade had already recognized her as its master…

But this was ultimately a good thing. Now that the jade space had acknowledged her, it meant that Xue Linglong and Shen Feng would have nothing to do with it in this life!

Calming herself, Wei Yunlan stepped to the desk and swiftly put brush to paper.

A moment later, she called out toward the courtyard, “Ningshuang, Tingxue.”

“We are here.” The two senior maids standing outside hurried in, worry still clouding their faces.

To them, what the Marquis of Jinyang’s residence had done today was nothing short of humiliating the rightful heir’s wife.

Now that the Wei family had fallen from grace, while Xue Linglong’s elder brother had gained the emperor’s favor, who knew how the Shen family, ever adept at currying favor, would torment their mistress in the future?

“All right, enough. If you frown any harder, you’ll be able to crush a mosquito between your brows,” Wei Yunlan said lightly.

Wei Yunlan let out a soft sigh. “Oh, come now!”

Tingxue stomped her foot anxiously. “How can you still have the mood to tease us at a time like this?”

Both Tingxue and Ningshuang were her personal maids, brought along as part of her dowry. Tingxue was lively and quick-witted, while Ningshuang was meticulous and steady.

In her past life, when Wei Yunlan lay on her deathbed, she had returned their indenture contracts, setting them free. Yet, neither of them had been willing to leave.

After Wei Yunlan fell gravely ill, Tingxue had risked everything to sneak out of the residence and seek a physician. However, the Shen family accused her of attempting to escape and captured her, beating her to death with wooden rods.

As for Ningshuang, after Wei Yunlan breathed her last, she had pointed at Shen Feng and Xue Linglong, cursing them as venomous-hearted scorpions and swearing they would meet a terrible end. Then, she had slammed her head against the gates of the Shen residence, hoping that her death would expose the household’s cruelty in murdering their rightful legal wife.

Even now, the memory of that bright red stain on the grand gates of the Marquis’s residence remained vivid in Wei Yunlan’s mind.

But now, as she looked at the two women standing before her—alive and well—her tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed just a little.

She stepped aside, revealing the table she had been blocking. Her gaze, steady and resolute, fell upon the freshly written words on the parchment, the ink not yet fully dried.

“I will divorce the Heir,” she declared. “Today, I leave the Marquis of Jinyang’s residence.”