Chapter 1: Reborn Together

A sword pierced the chest and a hairpin entered the throat.

When discovered, General Lu Yunzheng, recently victorious and famed throughout the Sheng Dynasty, lay dead alongside his wife, Shen Jiasu, in a secluded courtyard west of the capital.

According to the Dali Temple investigation, the two perished in a mutual killing, a tragic end for both.

—

“Miss? Miss?”

As the voice reached her ears, Shen Jiasu was still recovering from the agonizing pain in her chest.

She lifted her head in a daze, a familiar face filling her vision.

“Bai Ji?” Shen Jiasu murmured.

The maid, Bai Ji, responded crisply, then a teasing look appeared on her face.  “Miss, are you spacing out again?”

“Spacing out?” Shen Jiasu instinctively asked.

Bai Ji’s smile widened, teasing, “Master Lu came to propose marriage today. He’s probably at Yong’an Hall right now. Weren’t you going to take a peek?”

“If you’re too shy, Miss, we can skip it. After all…”

Shen Jiasu couldn’t hear the rest of Bai Ji’s words.

A buzzing filled her head.  She looked around, her heart pounding with fear!

She… she had already perished with Lu Yunzheng.

Yet here she was, in her own home, standing on the familiar Qingfeng Corridor she had walked countless times.

“Miss?”

Seeing Shen Jiasu’s sudden paleness, Bai Ji was startled.

But the next moment, Shen Jiasu had already lifted her skirts and hurried towards Yong’an Hall.

Bai Ji was momentarily stunned, then shook her head with a smile.

“My Miss is certainly impatient,” she murmured.

But that Master Lu is indeed handsome and distinguished, a perfect match for Miss. They already have a betrothal agreement; it’s finally time for a happy union!

Bai Ji thought happily, quickening her pace to catch up.

They soon arrived at Yong’an Hall.  As Shen Jiasu stepped into the courtyard, a voice, intimately familiar, reached her ears:

“Uncle Shen, Aunt Shen, Yunzheng has come today to request your permission to marry your esteemed Miss Gu. I implore you to grant my request.”

The tone was determined, tinged with urgency—it was Lu Yunzheng.

Shen Jiasu stopped abruptly, her face filled with astonishment.

On this very day, in her past life, Lu Yunzheng had proposed to “her”.

Things were different now.

In a flash, a thought raced through Shen Jiasu’s mind.

Could it be that Lu Yunzheng, like her, had also…

“What did you say?”

At the head of the hall, General Shen Zhengsheng and his wife, Ji Wan, rose abruptly, their faces a mixture of disbelief and shock.

Lu Yunzheng straightened his back and repeated loudly, “I, your humble servant, am deeply charmed with Miss Gu Xizhi of your esteemed household and have come today to formally request—”

“Ah—”

At that moment, Bai Ji, having just caught up, heard those words and couldn’t help but gasp softly.

The three in the hall turned to look.  The moment Shen Zhengsheng and Ji Wan saw Shen Jiasu, their expressions changed drastically.

“Jiasu!”

Ji Wan, forgetting her anger at Lu Yunzheng, rushed forward.

Seeing Shen Jiasu’s pale face, Ji Wan’s heart ached. She quickly embraced her daughter.

Both the Shen and Lu families were prominent military households.  Lu Yongzhu, head of the Lu family, had once served as Shen Zhengsheng’s second-in-command, rising to become the Zhaoyong General, succeeding Shen Zhengsheng in his position.

When Shen Jiasu was ten years old, Lu Yongzhu had personally visited, earnestly proposing a marriage between his eldest son, Lu Yunzheng, and Shen Jiasu.

Shen Zhengsheng, seeing that the children were of similar age, that Lu Yunzheng was a promising young man, and that Lu Yongzhu was an old comrade-in-arms, readily agreed, the two families well acquainted with each other’s backgrounds.

Thus, Shen Jiasu would be well taken care of after her marriage, and the engagement was agreed upon.

The two children grew up together, training in martial arts and playing together, a perfect match.

Everyone believed it was a match made in heaven.

Today was the day Lu Yunzheng came to formally propose, and Ji Wan had carefully dressed Shen Jiasu in the morning.

Recalling her daughter’s shy expression in the mirror while getting ready, Ji Wan felt a pang of heartache.

Her daughter had genuine feelings for Lu Yunzheng… she must be heartbroken right now.

The moment Bai Ji spoke, Shen Jiasu quickly adjusted her expression. Her pale complexion and startled eyes were perfectly convincing.

Meeting Lu Yunzheng’s gaze, she didn’t miss the turmoil on his face—a mix of hatred and fear, tinged with a hint of regret and confusion.

Indeed, Lu Yunzheng had also been reborn!

“Damn it!”

At that moment, Shen Zhengsheng roared, smashing the nearby tea table with a single palm strike.

“Lu Yunzheng, you dare betray my Jiasu! Do you know that I only agreed to this marriage because your father practically begged me!”

Lu Yunzheng had also suspected that Shen Jiasu might have been reborn.

But at this moment, he saw no flaw in her demeanor.

He believed he knew Shen Jiasu well. With her bold, impulsive, and passionate nature, if she had truly returned, she would have drawn her sword by now.

Considering this, Lu Yunzheng slowly withdrew his gaze.

His priority was to marry Xizhi as soon as possible!

Thinking of Gu Xizhi, Lu Yunzheng felt a surge of warmth in his heart. She was his true love, the one who loved him most in the world!

Since he was destined to become a renowned general, why should he be timid and hesitant like in his past life, marrying Shen Jiasu out of fear of offending Shen Zhengsheng?

With newfound confidence, Lu Yunzheng’s voice grew firmer, “Uncle Shen, I have always regarded Jiasu as a sister. The woman I love is Miss Gu.”

“The previous engagement was merely my father’s wishful thinking. I was young then, unaware of love, and unable to make my own decisions.”

“Furthermore, Uncle has always treated Miss Gu as his own daughter. If I marry Miss Gu, it will still maintain the close ties between our families.”

Indeed, Shen Zhengsheng and his wife regarded Gu Xizhi as their own daughter.

During the great war between the Sheng Dynasty and the Northern Desert Kingdom, Shen Zhengsheng found himself in a fierce battle against the enemy.

During the retreat, Gu Changshen, serving as the right deputy general, sacrificed his life to cover Shen Zhengsheng.  Shen Zhengsheng himself lost his left arm in that conflict.

When the news returned to the border city, Madam Gu could not bear the blow and fell ill.  When Shen Zhengsheng went to visit her, Madam Gu entrusted her young daughter, Gu Xizhi, to him, before passing away.

Burdened with guilt and grateful for Deputy General Gu’s life-saving sacrifice, Shen Zhengsheng took Gu Xizhi back to the capital and raised her in his household, treating her as his own.

At that time, Gu Xizhi was eleven years old, while Shen Jiasu was fourteen.

At first, General’s wife, Ji Wan even suspected that Gu Xizhi was Shen Zhengsheng’s illegitimate daughter from his time at the border, leading to quite a stir.

However, upon learning the truth, Ji Wan felt a deep sense of debt towards Gu Xizhi. From then on, whatever Shen Jiasu had, Gu Xizhi would have a share as well.

Shen Jiasu, in turn, treated Gu Xizhi like a younger sister, always protecting her and taking her everywhere.

It was through this that Gu Xizhi naturally met Lu Yunzheng.

Gu Xizhi possessed an extremely gentle and understanding nature, beloved by all.

Therefore, Ji Wan didn’t believe Gu Xizhi would betray Shen Jiasu. Instead, she felt that Lu Yunzheng was not only faithless and dishonorable but had also set his sights on her other daughter.  Her anger erupted.

“You shameless, unprincipled young man from the Lu family!” she thundered.

“You claim to love Xizhi. Xizhi is gentle and well-behaved, deeply devoted to Jiasu as a sister. How could she possibly look at you?!”

“And if you only ever had sibling affection for Jiasu, why didn’t you propose breaking off the engagement sooner? Why wait until the day of the proposal?!”

“Have you even informed your father of this broken engagement? Have you even consulted your conscience?!”