You take on two husbands, I'll turn around and marry the tyrant and rule the world.

"My beauty, my brother has left you alone in your room. Let your older brother take good care of you!"

"My brother already has a new girlfriend, so let's pair up tonight."

The nauseating smell of alcohol mixed with foul language assaulted Chu Nianci's ears, causing her to cough violently awake...

A pockmarked, ugly face was right in front of me.

Her pupils contracted sharply, and the golden needles on her ring sprang out, plunging fiercely into the other person's Fengchi acupoint.

The pockmarked man collapsed without even uttering a sound.

Chu Nianci sat up, coughing violently. Tears streamed down her face as she coughed, and her chest ached with a suffocating pain...

After a long while, she calmed her breathing, wiped away her tears, and looked at her fair and delicate hands in disbelief...

These aren't my own calloused hands...

Just moments ago, she had been forced to drink a bowl of arsenic by her mother-in-law, Madam Xie, and was lying on her sickbed in the Chengen Earl's Mansion in the capital. Before she died, she heard an imperial edict bestowing upon her the title of First-Rank Imperial Lady.

Suddenly, she looked up and around. The mahogany furniture, the display cabinet filled with a dazzling array of items, and the plaque on the wall that read "Enrong Yutai"...

It was the Cheng'en Earl's Mansion, specifically the main courtyard, Wei Rui Xuan.

She had somehow traveled back ten years... to the moment when she was almost tricked and lost her virginity two days before her wedding...

Her gaze fell back on the unconscious man on the ground, and the hatred in her eyes burned so intensely it hurt her phoenix eyes.

Despite his tattered clothes, he is actually the eldest son of the family, Lin Jingfan.

A year ago, this fellow escaped from the border camp. His mother-in-law, Xie, made him disfigure his face and live as a stable boy in the backyard...

After six months of hard work managing the household, his mother-in-law, Xie, allowed him to sneak into her room, intending to ruin her reputation.

It was because she refused to give out a generous dowry.

Hatred spread through her heart, and every time she got angry, her whole body felt like it was on fire... It was that damned aphrodisiac taking effect!

In her past life, she had studied under a renowned physician. If she hadn't been caught off guard, how could she have been poisoned by this aphrodisiac and almost succumbed to its effects?

Chu Nianci gritted her teeth, switched to a gold needle, and quickly inserted it into several major acupoints.

The toxicity of the drug was suppressed.

She hastily threw on her padded jacket, her bare feet stepping onto the cold ground. The biting chill crept up from the soles of her feet, but she didn't care anymore. In a few dozen breaths, her husband, Lin Jingrui, would come to catch her in the act of adultery.

She staggered to the front of the Treasure Pavilion, and relying on her memories from her past life, she grasped the plum vase and gently turned it.

The mechanism turned, and the multi-treasure pavilion slowly slid open, revealing a secret chamber hidden behind it.

This is a secret room known only to her in the entire mansion.

They dragged Lin Jingfan into a secret room.

Just as I finished tidying up, I heard hurried footsteps at the door.

"Knock knock..." A dull knocking sound rang out.

"Open the door!" It was Lin Jingrui's voice, devoid of its gentleness, filled only with anger. "If you don't open it, I'll break it down!"

Chu Nianci took a deep breath, closed the hidden door, put on her embroidered shoes, and slowly opened the door.

Lin Jingrui burst in, enveloped in a chill. The candlelight flickered wildly in the wind, casting distorted shadows on the wall.

Chu Nianci caught a glimpse of his cold, handsome eyes filled with anger out of the corner of her eye.

Lin Jingrui's gaze swept across the room like a knife, his eyes filled with a chilling malice.

No corner was overlooked.

He strode to the bedside and yanked back the covers.

Looking at the empty bed, he was stunned for a moment before his tense shoulders relaxed slightly, as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing his behavior, Chu Nianci felt a surge of fear that quickly turned into hatred.

Just like in his previous life, he barged into the Wei Rui Xuan to catch the adulterer in the act.

In his past life, he saw the "staff" on top of her, and without asking any questions, he slapped her several times. Then, with a voice like an ice pick, he pierced through him: "If you're willing to debase yourself, then be a lowly concubine. Only Shunqing is worthy to be my wife."

After saying that, he turned and left.

If her mother hadn't heard the news and given the Marquis's mansion several hundred thousand taels of silver, she might not have even had the empty title of a lady of leisure.

"This is outrageous." Lin Jingrui sat down coldly with a stern face.

"What did I do to make you barge in and scold me in the middle of the night?" Chu Nianci's hands trembled, but she quickly suppressed her anger, regained her composure, and slowly walked to the table and sat down.

In this life, she didn't give Lin Jingrui any leverage over her.

She wanted to see what excuse this heartless man could come up with to properly settle his half-sister, Chu Shunqing.

Chu Nianci looked at the man coldly.

He was dressed in a dark blue casual suit, his jet-black hair was tightly bound with a red tassel crown, and his unruly starry eyes showed a hint of impatience. His handsome face, which had once captivated her, was filled with anger.

"What were you doing fooling around with your mother this afternoon?" he asked coldly, the red tassel on his forehead trembling slightly with excitement.

"During this epidemic in Nanzhao, I contracted the disease, and it was thanks to Shunqing's help that I was able to save me. She used ancient remedies to control the epidemic, and the Empress has already appointed her as the only female physician. Naturally, she cannot be subordinate to you. My brother has passed away, and I am taking a wife in his place to give Shunqing a proper title. What's wrong with that? Don't be so jealous."

Chu Nianci's hands were ice cold.

Without any excuse, he insisted on saying it.

It turns out that the plan failed.

He just lived off his wife.

Without any excuse, he even spoke with great conviction.

She clenched her fists, but unlike in her previous life, she didn't lash out in a furious accusation. However, she still couldn't control herself, her voice trembling with anger, "You really only want to give her a title, and you won't consummate the marriage?"

Lin Jingrui frowned, a hint of displeasure in his expression. "For the sake of my brother continuing the family line, of course I must comply..."

At this point, Lin Jingrui said coldly, "Although we share the same husband, you are still the Crown Prince's wife. We will live separately in the east and west courtyards, and keep to ourselves."

Chu Nianci almost let out a cold laugh.

"Sharing a husband?" Chu Nianci asked sarcastically. "When Chu Shunqing was still unmarried, he kept saying he wanted 'one man for life, one woman for one lifetime,' but now he's willing to share a husband with me?"

"Shunqing is reasonable and won't be jealous or nitpicky," Lin Jingrui said impatiently. "Our parents have already given their approval. I'm not here to discuss it, but simply to inform you."

Chu Nianci gently covered the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief, concealing the hint of mockery.

He didn't understand her "good sister" at all.

Yu Shunqing was extremely jealous.

Because of this "sharing of a husband" in her past life, Yu Shunqing hated her to the core.

He constantly sought to provoke her, finding various ways to openly and covertly compete with her.

"Do you still remember the promise you made to me?" she asked softly.

A year ago, when she was sixteen, he personally went to Yangzhou to propose marriage, vowing in public: "I am deeply in love with Nianci, and my only wish in this life is to grow old with her."

Six months ago, she traveled a long distance to marry into the Chengen Earl's Mansion with a dowry of one million yuan.

Before his official wedding, he was appointed as the Imperial Physician and ordered to go to Nanzhao to fight the epidemic. Before leaving, he left a handwritten letter: "Nianci, wait for me."

Her words were still ringing in her ears, yet now he wanted to marry her half-sister.

Lin Jingrui was taken aback. His dark amber eyes stared intently at her. After a moment, he said nonchalantly, "It was just a joke when I was young, but I have not wronged you. My feelings for you are real, and my love for Shunqing is also real. I promise you that I will only have you and her in this life, and I will never take a concubine. I hope you will grant my request."

Chu Nianci lowered her long eyelashes, concealing the sarcasm in her eyes.

Her feelings for me are genuine.

His love for his younger sister is genuine.

She believed those words back then and devoted herself to managing his household affairs.

Busy every day, worried about trivial matters every night.

People under thirty years old already have a full head of white hair.

But after he rose to the highest position in the court, one concubine after another was brought in. As they grew older and lost their beauty, they were discarded like worn-out shoes. In the end, his mother-in-law forced him to drink a bowl of arsenic, and he died.

Those girls' sincere feelings were ultimately wasted.

And Yu Shunqing actually believed him.

He always felt that he was a thorn in the side of the two of them.

She came to cause trouble for her every day, transforming from a beautiful young woman in love into a mean and vicious jealous woman.

In the end, because she had miscarried, he tried to kill her child.

Seeing that she lowered her head and remained silent, Lin Jingrui assumed that she had accepted the situation and softened his tone slightly: "Don't worry, I have been with Shunqing for several months and have always maintained proper etiquette. I will consummate our marriage with you the day after tomorrow. If you are capable and conceive the eldest son first, Shunqing will not be able to surpass you."

Adhering to etiquette?

Chu Nianci almost vomited from hearing it.

In my past life, I was deceived by these words, thinking that he loved me and that he was forced to marry in place of his brother.

It was only later that he learned that he had been secretly having an affair with Shunqing during the fight against the epidemic.

At this time, Shunqing should have been one month pregnant.

She suppressed the urge to spit in his face and calmly asked, "Where is Shunqing? He's been back for several days, why hasn't he come to see me?"

"Shunqing needs to take care of his parents' health and also needs to go to the palace to check the pulse of a noble lady. He doesn't have time to chat with you."

Need to improve my health? Should I have my pulse checked?

Chu Nianci sneered inwardly.

My parents-in-law both suffer from chronic illnesses.

My father-in-law suffered from severe rheumatism while in the military, and my mother-in-law suffered from headaches due to rheumatism during childbirth.

It was only through her meticulous prescriptions and treatments, and her constant care and attention, that the illness was barely suppressed.

Not to boast, but without her own wind-dispelling pills, Yu Shunqing would probably have difficulty even maintaining a stable condition.

The ancient remedy that brought her such success was actually stolen from her own.

Looking back now, I really regret it. Why did I listen to her sweet talk before I got married and bring her to the capital?

Chu Nianci obediently looked up, a smile playing on her lips: "I'd like to say a few words to her, is that alright?"

In the warm yellow candlelight, her slightly upturned phoenix eyes were tinged with rouge at the corners, her eyes were bright and lively, a beauty mark between her brows was vivid, her red lips were slightly pursed like a newly blooming peach blossom, and her snow-white and slender neck was like a begonia calyx, curving into an elegant and charming arc.

Lin Jingrui was so dazzled by the dazzling light that he involuntarily leaned forward slightly and reached out to embrace her slender waist.

Before I could even touch it, a sharp pain shot through my fingertips.

He involuntarily withdrew his hand and looked at Chu Nianci, only to see her cold and aloof dark eyes, which made him feel annoyed.

Just then, a sharp rebuke came from the doorway.

"Does my sister want to see me? I want to see my sister too."

Before the words were finished, a beautiful woman lifted the curtain and entered.