Demoting my wife to a concubine? After being reborn, I turned around and married into the imperial f

"Gu family, listen to my command: Lady Chu is gentle, docile, and respectful, having suffered injustice for many years. She is hereby elevated to the position of principal wife and shall be buried with me after her death. Her son shall inherit the title of heir to the Marquis's mansion. As for Lady Chu Xunzhen, she is jealous, perverse, and morally corrupt. She is demoted to the position of concubine and shall not be buried in the Gu family's ancestral cemetery after her death."

The elderly Gu Changfeng coughed up blood and announced in a hoarse voice. As he finished speaking, his hand fell limply to his side.

Gu Changfeng—the first Grand General of the Ning Dynasty—has passed away.

"No!"

Chu Xunzhen coughed up a mouthful of blood.

This is not true.

Gu Changfeng, how could you treat her like this?

She was his original wife.

For more than 30 years, it has accompanied him all the way.

When he was down on his luck, she used the entire strength of her clan to support him.

For him, she devoted all her efforts to business and making money, giving away all her family fortune.

When he was being sought for revenge, she took a fatal blow for him.

He was poisoned, and without saying a word, she drank the poisoned wine for him.

Her father and brother both died tragically and became crippled in their attempts to help him.

They even had a daughter.

She had always thought that they would support each other through thick and thin, living a life of mutual respect and harmony, but now she realized that she had been taking things for granted.

How could he disregard all marital affection and issue such an order before his death?

"Someone come here! Deliver Chu Xunzhen's indenture to Chunxiang Pavilion. She's a bit old, but she was once the most beautiful woman in the capital. I imagine many patrons want to taste the general's wife."

The speaker was none other than Chu Wanrou.

She walked in from outside, dressed in Shu brocade, the kind only a matriarch of the household could wear. Her crimson, embroidered long skirt made her even more radiant.

Despite being the same age as Chu Xunzhen, she looked younger than Chu Xunzhen.

Gu Changfeng left a will that she would be his legal wife, while Chu Xunzhen, his ridiculous first wife, would be reduced to a concubine.

"Chu Wanrou, even if I am demoted to a concubine, I am not someone you can sell. The Ning Dynasty stipulates that noble concubines and virtuous concubines cannot be bought or sold."

Chu Wanrou glanced disdainfully at Chu Xunzhen's withered face, then smiled smugly: "That's right! That's how the court's laws are. But Chu Xunzhen, the general has demoted you to a lowly concubine, not a noble or respectable one."

"impossible."

Chu Xunzhen's expression changed, and he said directly.

She's old, not stupid.

"Today, I'll make sure you die knowing why," Chu Wanrou said with a smile, giving a wink to the old woman standing behind her.

The old woman immediately presented a sheet of Xuan paper.

"Chu Xunzhen, you are a lowly concubine, this is your indenture."

"Impossible! I have never signed any indenture. Even if the general left a dying wish, you cannot sell me."

"Hmph! You call yourself 'this lady' again?" Chu Wanrou, with good intentions, picked up the Xuan paper and showed it to everyone, scoffing, "Chu Xunzhen, look closely, what is this?"

A contract of servitude!

The three large characters on the rice paper are clearly visible.

Behind the words "lowly concubine" was Chu Xunzhen's own signature.

"How could that be? I didn't sign anything like that!"

How could she possibly sign her own indenture? Yet the handwriting on this rice paper is definitely hers. There's even her seal on it as proof.

Suddenly, a thought flashed through her mind. She remembered the last time Gu Changfeng got her drunk. In her dazed state, she heard him say he wanted to buy a shop. At that time, she was dizzy and signed the document without thinking, and even stamped it with her personal seal.

At the time, she seemed to hear him say something like, "I'm sorry, Wanrou has suffered for over twenty years, and she'll have to put up with this for a while longer." Later, when she sobered up, she couldn't tell if it was a dream or reality, so she asked Gu Changfeng.

At the time, he denied saying those words, saying she was dreaming.

In a flash, Chu Xunzhen realized that she had been deceived that day.

"Gu Changfeng, how cruel you are!"

Chu Xunzhen coughed up a mouthful of blood, his old ailment flared up again, and in the next instant, he collapsed to the ground, lifeless.

The general's mansion was thrown into chaos.

"Oh dear, haha... Concubine Chu has gone."

Chu Wanrou's triumphant shouts echoed in Chu Xunzhen's ears.

She lost consciousness and didn't know how much time had passed. As soon as she opened her eyes, she felt a pushing force coming from behind her.

thump!

She was pushed into the water.

"Who?"

Who harmed her?

She tried desperately to swim upwards, but there was always a hand on the surface of the water pressing down on her head and pushing her back into the water.

"Chu Xunzhen, why did you come back? If you hadn't come back, none of this would have happened. Why did you come back to steal my position? You deserve to die!" A familiar female voice rang out.

Chu Xunzhen looked closely and realized it was Chu Wanrou.

How can she be so young?

Chu Xunzhen remembered.

The scene before her eyes was exactly what had happened to her when she was sixteen.

She would never forget this important day, even if it meant her death.

She returned to the manor three years ago and remained kind and gentle to everyone.

That day, Chu Wanrou pushed her into the water, intending to kill her, but unexpectedly, she was able to swim away.

Chu Wanrou stood on the shore, desperately holding her down to prevent her from swimming up.

No!

This can't go on. Otherwise, she'll repeat the same mistake she made in her past life: she'll be exhausted from struggling for too long and end up being rescued by Gu Changfeng.

Chu Xunzhen gave a cold laugh, suddenly grabbed Chu Wanrou's hands, and pulled her into the lake.

Plop!

Chu Wanrou's expression changed drastically.

She also fell into the water.

"Oh no, I'm out of energy."

Chu Xunzhen lost his strength.

This body is too weak; after struggling for so long, it has no strength left.

It seems she has no choice but to leave it to fate.

A figure in white walked from a distance and their eyes met those of Chu Xunzhen, who was about to disappear into the water.

The man had a handsome face and a refined, elegant demeanor.

Looking at Chu Xunzhen in the pond, a look of surprise appeared in his eyes.

"Help me!"

Chu Xunzhen mouthed the words, and the next moment, the lake water submerged her lips.

Ninth Prince – Nangong Yue.

This is the Ninth Prince, who is rumored to be somewhat mentally challenged and unable to have sexual relations.

In her past life, she drank poisoned wine for Gu Changfeng, and he saved her life when the poison took effect.

Later, she developed a high fever and forgot what the other person looked like. She only vaguely remembered that a man in white saved her.

She always believed that Gu Changfeng was the one who saved him, so she treated him with complete sincerity.

When he was on the verge of death and was stimulated, he finally remembered the face of the person who saved his life.

The hateful Gu Changfeng was misunderstood by her, but he deliberately didn't explain, taking her kindness for granted.

In this life, she will set things right and return his beloved Chu Wanrou to him, so that he will no longer have to wrong his Wanrou.

Without saying a word, Nangong Yue jumped into the lake.

However, at this moment, they were still some distance from Chu Xunzhen.

Just then, footsteps were heard.

Gu Changfeng was talking with Lord Chu nearby. From afar, the two of them heard the commotion.

The two men, along with their servants, strode towards this side.

"Rou'er!"

Before the two even arrived, Gu Changfeng's exclamation rang out.

He could clearly see the situation in the lake.

How did Rou'er fall into the lake too?

In the previous life, wasn't it only Chu Xunzhen who fell into the lake?

Chu Wanrou struggled in the water, crying out, "Help! Brother Changfeng, save me!"

Gu Changfeng's eyes narrowed as he glanced at Chu Xunzhen, who was sinking, and then, without hesitation, he rushed towards Chu Wanrou...