Chapter 1

At my daughter's betrothal banquet, her cousin Lu Yufu deliberately fell into the water.

My daughter's fiancé, Huo Jingxiu, carried her ashore in front of everyone. She was soaked, her disordered clothes exposing her body.

Lu Yufu knelt and knocked her forehead against the ground, weeping pitifully.

"Aunt, my reputation is ruined! Please let me have the marriage to General Huo!"

In my previous life, I'd been so furious I spat blood. I'd rather have forced her to take the tonsure and enter a convent than surrender the betrothal.

I had believed that the celebrated general who promised to take "only one wife in this lifetime" would surely keep my daughter safe.

Less than two years after marrying him and leaving for the frontier, she was buried in its sands.

Now, looking at the pair of seemingly ill-fated lovers before me, I felt no anger at all.

I took out the betrothal document, not yet exchanged between the families, and tore it apart in full view of the guests.

"Very well."

At her stunned expression, I smiled.

"If marrying him at the frontier matters more to you than your life, I'll grant your wish."

01

Scraps of the document fluttered across the hall. My actions had stunned everyone into silence.

Lu Yufu knelt on the floor, unable to hide her wild delight beneath her pretense of fragile misery. The combination was sickening.

Huo Jingxiu's arms stiffened around her. His gaze settled on me.

"Madam Lu, I acted out of urgency to save a life. If I've offended you in any way, please forgive me."

"A betrothal concerns both families. Surely it isn't proper for you to cancel it alone."

He spoke with perfect righteousness. In his arms, Lu Yufu nestled closer at precisely the right moment, like a frightened fledgling.

I ignored him and beckoned my trusted matron.

"Fetch the young lady's birth-data card and return it to the Huo family."

His face darkened.

"Think carefully, Madam Lu. It was your family that sought this marriage."

"Yes. And today, our family no longer wants it."

"You've been most thorough in saving her, General. The whole capital will praise your benevolence. If we cling shamelessly to the betrothal, people will only say we don't know when to step aside."

I paused and looked at the drenched woman in his arms.

"It's just that your rescue was hardly discreet. With so many matrons and servants in the courtyard, you called none of them and insisted on entering the water yourself."

"Those who know the truth will call you a chivalrous man eager to save a life. Those who don't might think you arranged this little performance with my niece from the second branch."

His expression changed sharply. He stared at me.

Lu Yufu had been crying since I arrived. Now she cried harder. Struggling out of his arms, she crawled two steps toward me on her knees.

"Aunt, think what you like of me, but you mustn't insult the general's honor!"

"I lost my footing. He saved me out of kindness. Blame me if you must. He knew nothing!"

I looked down at her, my tone level.

"How could I blame you? You've wagered your life on a man. With such sincerity, I ought to add something to your dowry."

She froze, tears suspended on her lashes.

My sister-in-law from the second branch hurried forward to smooth things over.

"Sister, the document's torn now. We can discuss this later."

"Yufu was thoughtless and disturbed our guests. I'll take her back to change."

Unhurriedly, I turned toward the Old Madam in her high seat. Her expression kept shifting.

"Mother, you saw what happened. The senior branch has canceled the betrothal. If General Huo wishes to propose, he may approach the second branch."

"The daughters of the Lu family are precious. He cannot simply hold one in his arms and leave it at that."

The Old Madam struck her cane against the floor, her chest heaving.

"You are mistress of a marquis's household! How dare you make a public spectacle of a matter as important as marriage!"

I gave a quiet laugh.

"It wasn't Shu'er he was holding. I decide the senior branch's betrothal."

I turned and went straight to the rear hall without another glance at them.

Behind me came Lu Yufu's soft sobs and Huo Jingxiu's tightly controlled anger.

"If Lu Shuqing insists on going this far, then so be it. There's no need for this marriage."

I didn't look back.

In my previous life, I'd trembled with rage too, wanting to tear Lu Yufu apart.

But I'd thought of the marquisate's good name, of my daughter's reputation.

I'd endured it.

And what had that bought us?

My daughter had died at the frontier, forced to drink poison. Before her death, she hadn't even been allowed to send a letter home.

She lay in the yellow sands without so much as a gravestone.

Meanwhile, Lu Yufu lived comfortably there as "the woman in the general's heart."

Given another life, I would leave that humiliation to whoever wanted it.

When I returned to my daughter's courtyard, Shu'er was sitting up, staring out the window.

I went to her and gently smoothed her tangled hair.

"Mother, I heard the commotion out front."

She bit her lip.

"Has General Huo gone?"

"Yes."

My voice was light.

"I've had the birth-data card returned to his family."

She was silent for a long time. Then she asked, "Mother, do you already know something?"

My hand stopped.

"Last night, I had a very long dream. I dreamed I married him and went to the frontier. Huo Jingxiu forced me to draw maps and improve his crossbows. Then he made me drink a bowl of medicine."

"I dreamed I died in a terribly cold room. Outside, yellow sand filled the air. There wasn't a soul in sight."

My heart clenched.

A dream.

Memories of her previous life had entered her mind as a dream.

I took her hand. My palm was icy.

"Then Heaven is warning you. This marriage is a pit of fire."

Her lips trembled. Tears rolled down her face.

"Mother, will that really happen?"

I said nothing, only drew her into my arms and gently patted her back.

"With me here, it will never happen in this lifetime."

02

The canceled betrothal caused a greater stir than I'd expected.

Within half a day, the whole capital was saying the senior branch of the Lu family had gone mad. We'd rejected a magnificent, celebrated general, torn up the document before everyone, and handed that fine match to the second branch.

Some even spread deliberate lies: Lu Shuqing had behaved improperly before marriage. General Huo must have discovered something, making her family scramble to withdraw.

I had it investigated. As expected, the rumors came from the second branch.

My sister-in-law's senior maid, Chunxing, had gone to a cosmetics shop early that morning and spent half the day gossiping with maids who shopped for other households.

With the household ledgers in hand, I summoned her to a side hall.

She knelt, still stubborn.

"Madam, I only bought a box of rouge and chatted a little. I truly didn't say anything!"

"Three shops for one box of rouge? And four hours? Since when did the second branch's shopping become so complicated?"

She tried to argue. I had no patience for it and glanced at the matron beside me.

"Take her to the back courtyard. Question her properly."

Two sturdy women dragged her away.

Before long, she'd confessed everything.

My sister-in-law had ordered her to spread gossip about Shu'er, insinuating that the broken Huo betrothal was entirely my daughter's fault.

I smiled coldly.