Chapter 1 Returning to Age Eleven

Qin Wanru watched the nightmare unfold in front of her like an onlooker to a tragic play. It was a strange dream. She watched her own horrible death. They dragged her down into a nightmarish abyss, slowly tortured to death, then cut in half at her waist. She looked down at her body, stiff and twisted, laying in puddle of blood at the foot of the golden gates.

In all of history, the Kingdom of Dongcang had never had a woman put to death in such a horrible way. She could hear the crowd still mocking her, the scoffing she knew all too well.

It felt so real. She could taste blood in her mouth, feel the hopelessness…

“Miss, wake up. Are you having a nightmare again?”

The voice beside her tore through the scene. Sun flooded through the ninety-nine golden gates that framed the path behind her corpse, burning the horrible scene to nothing. Qin Wanru opened her eyes in surprise. Her fists were clenched tightly, nails digging into her palm and sending shooting pains up her hand. Her heart was racing, and her bloodshot eyes were locked on the seam of the tent above her. Her sheets were soaked in cold sweat.

“It’s alright, Miss. It was just a dream,” the girl said gently. Qin Wanru heard light footsteps, and the bedcurtain lifted. Qing Yue, a maid of twelve or thirteen, looked over her.

In this life, Qing Yue was still lively and witty. In her previous life, Qing Yue had tried to protect her. For that, the girl had been beaten horrifically and left in the firewood shed to die.

Qin Wanru had woken up from these dreams two nights in a row. Every time she tried to sleep, horrific memories of another life played in her head. They were messy and fragmented, but they were too real to deny. She had been reborn.

It was still her body, but somehow, she had died and returned to when she was eleven.

She reached out with a weak and skinny wrist, so pale the veins showed beneath her skin, then propped herself up to look around. This was her bedroom. She could remember sleeping here as a child.

In her head, she was still weaving together the tragic and bloody scenes of her past. Looking through them, she could begin to see who had pushed her into the depths of hell.

“Are you alright, Miss?” Qing Yue asked.

When Qin Wanru continued to stare forward listlessly, Qing Yue reached out to check her temperature.

“I’m alright,” Qin Wanru managed, voice hoarse. She took Qing Yue’s hand and slowly sat up. “Is Nanny Yu doing better?”

Nanny Yu had nursed her as an infant. Yesterday, Stewardess Fang had criticized Nanny Yu harshly. Nanny Yu had forced herself to the laundry rooms and worked herself sick. When Qin Wanru woke up, Nanny Yu’s condition was already quite serious.

She had asked for a physician to diagnose her, and it was the first thing on her mind as she woke.

“Why don’t you have a sip of water for your throat first, Miss?” Qing Yue said, supporting Qin Wanru with one hand as she nimbly picked up the warm water from the bedside table the with other. “Nanny Yu is doing much better. I went to check a while ago. She said she slept well last night. As long as she takes care of herself, she’ll be fine.”

“How about the arrangements we made yesterday? Is everything ready?” Qin Wanru asked. She sat up and took a few sips, enjoying the warmth of the water spreading through her. It reminded her that she truly was alive again.

After handing the cup back to Qing Yue, she glanced out the window. She could see the bright red ribbon flowers that hung along the corridors. Everything was prepared for a wedding, a wedding where the bride’s little sister would replace the bride.

In her previous life, she had longed for this marriage, but it was the same marriage that would push her down the path to her death.

She had been a child, only eleven years old. What young man would want a wife who was only eleven?

Their father, Qin Huaiyong, was the general of Ninyuan. Qin Wanru was his second daughter, but Qin Yuru was his eldest. The groom, Qi Tianyu, was the eldest son of the magistrate of Jiangzhou.

As a general of Jiangzhou, their father was on good terms with Qi Tianyu’s father, so the families got along as well. Magistrate Qi had long ago set his sights on Qin Yuru, hoping she would marry his eldest son. Qi Tianyu and Qin Yuru were around the same age.

Time and time again, Magistrate Qi had hinted at the match, but Qin Huaiyong turned his offers down. Qin Yuru, he said, was still too young. He wanted to wait until she was a bit older for her marriage and so any formal agreement was put off. The month before, when Qi Tianyu passed the first round of the imperial examinations, the general finally agreed to the marriage.

Qi Tianyu would go to the capital for the second round of examinations soon. After the wedding, Qin Yuru would accompany Qi Tianyu to the capital city to take care of him while he took the exams.

While the Qi family merrily prepared to welcome Qin Yuru into their family, General Qin Huaiyong received a letter. His wife’s family, the Di family, sent a letter asking for Qin Yuru’s hand as well.

As soon as the letter came, Madam Di became apprehensive.

This had been the real reason the Qin family had delayed accepting the proposal. Qi Tianyu was the son of a magistrate. Di Yan, Madam Di’s nephew, was the son of the Count of Yongkang. The two young men couldn’t even be compared. Madam Di had delayed accepting the proposal specifically in hopes of matching Qin Yuru with Di Yan, and now the offer came just after she’d been promised to another husband.

Madam Di had given up on the match with Di Yan. She had spent years hinting at the idea to her sister-in-law and had begun to worry that, if she continued to wait, Qin Yuru would lose her chance at a good marriage. When Qi Tianyu had passed the exams, she had been relieved and happily agreed. Only days after the two families set the date, the Qin family received the Count’s letter.

With only twenty days before the wedding, Madam Di became greedy.

The Qi’s and Qin’s had already completed most of the preparations. It would be difficult to withdraw now, so Madam Di and Qin Yuru resorted to a plot. Nanny Fang would persuade Qin Yuru’s naive sister, Qin Wanru, to take her place and marry Qi Tianyu.

Qin Wanru was told that Qi Tianyu had asked for her hand in marriage, but that Qin Yuru had forcibly stolen her suitor. Qin Wanru, humiliated, had thrown a tantrum in front of their grandmother. She insisted she be allowed to marry Qi Tianyu.

Before her grandmother could clarify what had really happened, Qin Yuru had come to her. Qin Yuru told her she was willing to allow Qi Tianyu to marry Qin Wanru for the sake of salvaging her relationship with her sister.

The old grandmother thought that one sister desperately wanted to marry Qi Tianyu while the other was kindly conceding. The marriage was a good way to strengthen the ties between the Qi and Qin family, so she agreed to the change.

Today, Qi Tianyu would come to marry Qin Yuru. Rather than telling him of the change, they would send Qin Wanru in the wedding sedan instead. The veil would hide her face, and nobody would know of the switch until the ceremony was finished. Even Qin Huaiyong didn’t know of the change. When the truth was revealed, they would claim they had been bewitched into swapping the brides.

Well, while they schemed to surprise Qi Tianyu, Qin Wanru planned her own surprise.

“Don’t worry Miss! I made all the necessary arrangements yesterday,” Qing Yue replied.

Everything was carefully laid out. Now they were just waiting for the right moment to set everything motion.

“Did grandmother send anyone to tell us to hurry?” Qin Wanru asked, taking another sip. Her voice was clear and gentle, but she’d lost her usual innocent look. There was a coldness in her eyes that had never been there before.