Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

"Madam, why don't you rest for a while?"

The maid Chun Tao choked back tears and tried to wipe the blood from the corner of her lips, but the girl dodged away.

Supported by her maid, Yun Shuyao climbed up the stairs, panting with each step.

A cool breeze swept across her temples, revealing the early gray hairs at her temples.

She was only thirty-eight years old, but she looked like an old woman with one foot in the grave, her back hunched and coughing so hard she couldn't straighten up.

As she moved, the jade bracelet on Yun Shuyao's wrist jingled.

Those were a pair of mutton-fat jade bracelets, named "One Step, One Sound," which Gu Jinghuai gave her before he went to war.

They had just gotten married and hadn't even had time to consummate their marriage when the Marquis's mansion received an imperial decree, forcing Gu Jinghuai to go to war in place of his father.

He put the jade bracelet on her wrist himself and said tenderly.

"From now on, with every step you take, it will make a sound; take it as me saying I miss you."

He guarded the border for five years, and when he returned, his manhood was damaged.

Upon hearing this, Yun Shuyao felt only heartache and silently kept the secret for him, bearing the infamy of having no offspring.

"Even if it kills me, I want to see it one last time."

Yun Shuyao's voice sounded like it had been sanded, hoarse beyond recognition.

She looked at the exquisite villa on the mountaintop, with its green tiles and white walls, which Gu Jinghuai had renovated at great expense under the guise of "quiet recuperation."

She only learned yesterday that this was Gu Jinghuai's other home, the place where he settled his cousin Su Yuyan.

Her husband, who lied about being impotent, actually had a fourteen-year-old son.

They lived a life of family reunion in this idyllic paradise.

The vermilion gate of the villa was ajar, and laughter drifted out from inside.

Yun Shuyao stopped in her tracks and peered through the crack in the door.

The peach blossoms in the courtyard are in full bloom. When the wind blows, the petals flutter down, creating a breathtaking scene.

Su Yuyan's profile was buried in Gu Jinghuai's shoulder, with a freshly picked peach blossom tucked behind her ear. The pink and white petals made her skin look like the finest mutton fat jade.

The woman's lips were always curved in a smile, and even the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were filled with laughter.

It was a feeling of being pampered and cherished, a comfort she had never experienced in the eighteen years since she married Gu Jinghuai.

Gu Jinghuai's arm was wrapped around her waist, the strength providing just the right amount of support, the meaning of which was self-evident.

The man tilted his head slightly, his gaze falling on the peach blossoms falling from the sky. His eyebrows were relaxed, and even the corners of his mouth, which were usually tightly pursed, had a slight curve at this moment.

Yun Shuyao felt a tightness in her chest; she had never seen Gu Jinghuai like this before.

At the Marquis's residence, he always had a stern face, and even when eating at the same table, he would keep a distance of three feet, maintaining a respectful and courteous demeanor.

But at this moment, his eyes were gentle, and his posture as he held Su Yuyan was comfortable; they were truly a perfect couple.

"Father!"

The boy was tall and slender, and his appearance was about 70% similar to Gu Jinghuai's.

"Please help my son with his studies."

With a smile, Gu Jinghuai reached out and took the article, carefully examining it.

After a short while, he affectionately ruffled the boy's hair and praised him with pride:

"The article is very good, and the handwriting has improved significantly."

The boy puffed out his chest, a wide smile playing on his lips.

"Can I compare to my father back then?"

Gu Jinghuai laughed loudly, even the corners of his eyes showed fine lines.

"In two more years, I will definitely catch up with you."

"Our future heir will naturally be extremely promising."

Su Yuyan chuckled and teased, "Your Excellency is praising A-Jin? Don't you even know who taught her?"

After saying that, she waved to Gu Yanjin and said, "Go play for a while, but don't go too far, or we won't be able to find you when it's time to eat."

After bowing respectfully, the boy ran off happily.

At this moment, Gu Jinghuai reached out and placed a jade plaque engraved with the words "Yongning Marquis's Residence" into Su Yuyan's palm.

That's... the steward's nameplate from the Marquis's mansion!

Yun Shuyao

His pupils suddenly contracted.

No wonder I couldn't find it even after searching Migration several times; it had been taken...

"Her health has been deteriorating lately, and I doubt she'll last much longer."

Gu Jinghuai's voice was indifferent, revealing no emotion.

"In a few days, we will bring you into the mansion so you can take charge of the household."

Once she's gone, I will petition the Emperor to elevate you to the position of Empress.

"Yu Yan, I have wronged you all these years."

Su Yuyan's voice was filled with shy joy.

"As long as I can stay by the Marquis's side, Yu Yan doesn't feel wronged."

She is wronged?

Upon hearing this, Yun Shuyao clutched her chest, a wave of excruciating pain washing over her.

She wanted to laugh, but tears fell first.

She lived as a widow for eighteen years, even giving away her dowry to manage his declining mansion and care for her ailing parents-in-law, working herself to the bone.

In the end, it was Su Yuyan who was wronged?

Yun Shuyao's vision began to go black, a metallic taste exploded in her throat, and she vomited a mouthful of black blood, followed by a dizzying sensation.

"lady!"

Chun Tao's cries sounded distant and indistinct.

He then fell heavily backward, hitting the back of his head on the bluestone.

"Help! Someone, please save the lady!"

Chun Tao was still crying out, but her body was gradually stiffening.

Yun Shuyao wanted to capture Chun Tao, force her to take the seal, and sell off all her assets, leaving not a single penny for that despicable couple.

But her fingertips only grasped at empty air, and no sound came out of her throat.

Not long after, she heard footsteps and Yun Shuyao desperately opened her eyes.

At first, everything in my vision was blood red, but after slowly focusing, I could finally see the person in front of me.

Gu Jinghuai stood in front of her, his expression as indifferent as ever, as if he were not looking at his dying wife.

Su Yuyan hid behind him, half of her face hidden, only her frightened eyes showing, like a startled rabbit.

But Yun Shuyao saw clearly that beneath that panic, there was a barely perceptible hint of secret joy.

"How did you end up here?"

Gu Jinghuai's voice showed no concern whatsoever, only impatience at being disturbed, as if he were questioning a stranger who had trespassed on his private property.

Yun Shuyao opened her mouth, and blood foam gushed from the corner of her mouth.

Looking at her husband, she suddenly felt that her life was a joke.

"My lord! Quickly, summon a doctor! My lady is dying..."

Chuntao knelt on the ground, crying her heart out.

Gu Jinghuai didn't move, his gaze fixed on the blood-soaked collar, his voice eerily calm.

"No need."

Yun Shuyao's vision began to blur, but she insisted on staring intently at Gu Jinghuai. She struggled to raise her arm, trying to grab the hem of the man's robe.

She wanted to question, to scream, but only a hoarse, gasping sound came from her throat.

With a soft "ding-dong," the jade bracelet jingled on her wrist, as if recounting the vows of childhood sweethearts.

With her last bit of strength, Yun Shuyao slammed the jade bracelet on her wrist against the bluestone beside her.

"Snapped!"

The crisp sound of shattering broke the silence.

Gu Jinghuai frowned slightly and turned to signal Su Yuyan to leave first.

After Su Yuyan left, he squatted down, grabbed Yun Shuyao's wrist which had been cut by the broken jade, and spoke in an eerily gentle tone.

"Shu Yao, in this life, it is I who have wronged you."

Gu Jinghuai paused, his gaze falling on her gradually unfocused eyes, just as he had tenderly promised her when they parted years ago.

"If there is an afterlife... I will never fail you."

Not failing?

A self-deprecating smile appeared on Yun Shuyao's withered face, and blood foam once again gushed from the corner of her mouth.

She was unwilling to accept it!

These two scoundrels will continue to enjoy the wealth she painstakingly earned.

My internal organs felt like they were about to be crushed.

On what grounds?

She gave everything, yet she ended up like this?

On what grounds?

How could their stolen lives be so peaceful and comfortable?

Resentment, like a poisonous vine, clung tightly to her heart.

Just before her vision completely sank into darkness, she seemed to hear the crisp, clattering sound of each step.

Just like back then, when he smiled and said to her under the peach tree, "Wait for me to come back."

She suffered so much from being deceived...

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

"Hmm!"

Yun Shuyao suddenly sat up in bed, her chest heaving violently and her forehead covered in cold sweat.

There was no metallic taste in my throat, no dull pain in my chest, only a slight shiver from rapid breathing.

Her fists clenched unconsciously; the touch was smooth and delicate.

These hands...

Yun Shuyao's heart pounded wildly. She immediately threw off the covers and rushed barefoot to the dressing table.

The brass mirror was somewhat blurry, yet it clearly reflected a young face.

With her arched eyebrows and clear almond eyes, she looked flustered and shaken, but her fair skin was wrinkle-free, radiating the vibrant energy of a twenty-year-old.

She raised her hand tremblingly and touched her cheek, her fingertips brushing against her own warm skin.

This is not a dream.

She actually... came back to life?

I've gone back to when I was twenty, before anything even started.

She hadn't yet donned her wedding dress, nor had she stepped into that cannibalistic mansion.

Gu Jinghuai! Su Yuyan!

She wants to see.

In this life, without her private property to support the impoverished Marquis's mansion, what will you use to express your affections?