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

A few days later, Yun Shuyao's period had just ended.

That evening, she was sitting under the lamp sketching flower patterns.

Xiao Fang reached out from behind and suddenly touched her lower abdomen.

"Does it stop hurting?"

He asked, his voice devoid of emotion.

Yun Shuyao's heart skipped a beat. She was about to say "Much better" when he picked her up by the waist and strode toward the bed.

"Hey! What are you doing?"

She clutched Xiao Fang's clothes, a little flustered.

"Pay back the debt."

Without even looking up, he threw her onto the couch, leaned over and pressed down on her, the small flame in his eyes finally burning into a raging inferno.

"Have you forgotten how you flirted with me the other day?"

The man's kiss was urgent and fierce, carrying a hint of punishment.

But when she frowned, she subconsciously slowed down a bit.

Yun Shuyao was breathless from the kiss and reached out to push him away, but he grabbed her hand and pressed it above her head.

"Now you know fear?"

Xiao Fang bit her lip, his voice hoarse.

"Weren't you pretty capable when you bit my Adam's apple?"

Yun Shuyao blushed at his words and turned her head away, not daring to look at him.

But he grabbed her chin and turned her back.

"Look at me."

He said it with a distinctly domineering tone.

"Do you still dare to take advantage of the chaos?"

Yun Shuyao, having exhausted all her efforts, could only whisper.

"I won't do it again..."

"Um?"

Xiao Fang raised an eyebrow, deliberately slowing down his movements, and gently caressed her waist with his fingertips.

"I didn't hear you clearly."

"I won't do it again! I'll never do it again!"

Yun Shuyao glared at him angrily, but her eyes were glistening with tears, carrying a hint of spoiled coquettishness.

Xiao Fang chuckled softly, finally stopping teasing her, and simply lowered his head to kiss her, a deep and lingering kiss.

The curtains fluttered in the wind, as if providing accompaniment for this belated "revenge".

His movements carried a youthful eagerness, yet he remained mindful of her discomfort from the past few days and dared not act recklessly.

All the longing I had accumulated over the past few days was poured into this kiss.

Finally, he lay on her neck, his breath still slightly ragged, but he didn't forget to bite her ear and say some harsh words.

"I'll remember this. If you dare flirt and run away again..."

"So what?"

Yun Shuyao was fearless and had nothing to fear.

Xiao Fang lowered his head and bit a shallow mark on her collarbone, laughing like a hungry wolf that could never get enough to eat.

"You'll be punished... not allowed to get out of bed for three days."

Moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating their intertwined figures, making even their harsh words sound sweet.

The next day.

Yun Shuyao sat on the veranda, holding a freshly peeled lotus seed in her hand, but her eyes were somewhat dazed.

When Xiao Fang returned from outside, he saw her like this.

With a slight frown, he stared absently at the newly blooming chrysanthemums in the corner of the courtyard, the lotus seed between his fingers remaining untouched in his mouth for a long time.

"What are you thinking about?"

He walked over and sat down naturally next to Yun Shuyao, taking the lotus pod from her hand.

"Didn't the physician say you were in excellent health? Why do you look so worried?"

Yun Shuyao snapped out of her daze and smiled.

"It's nothing, I just suddenly remembered some old things."

She's been feeling uneasy these past few days.

Xiao Fang was right. The physician examined her pulse and said that she was full of energy and blood and much healthier than the average woman.

But in her previous life, she was clearly thirty-eight when she was already exhausted and dying.

At the time, I thought it was just because I was too tired from managing the Marquis's mansion, but now that I think about it, something feels off.

"Are you still thinking about your past life?"

Xiao Fang held her hand and noticed that her fingertips were a little cold.

"How about I go with you to see him again? I heard there's an old doctor surnamed Qin in the south of the city who specializes in treating women's illnesses. Shall I take you to see him?"

Yun Shuyao nodded.

She also wanted to understand what had caused her to have such a short lifespan in her previous life.

Doctor Qin's medicine shop was hidden in a quiet alley.

A bamboo rack stood in the courtyard, covered with drying medicinal herbs, filling the air with a rich aroma.

The old doctor, with his white hair and beard, was drying a pile of dark brown medicinal slices in the courtyard.

Hearing the noise, he looked up and his eyes were very clear.

"Young Master Xiao, who is this gentleman?"

"My wife has been feeling rather uneasy lately, and I would like to ask Doctor Qin to take a look."

Xiao Fang cupped his hands in greeting.

Just as Yun Shuyao was about to step forward, a familiar medicinal scent suddenly wafted into her nose.

The scent was extremely faint, mixed with the fragrance of herbs throughout the courtyard, yet it pierced her heart like a needle.

She paused, her gaze falling on the pile of dark brown medicinal slices beside Doctor Qin.

"Doctor, what kind of medicine are you preparing?"

Doctor Qin picked up a piece and smiled.

"This is 'dried leaf grass,' which is slightly bitter and cool in nature, and has a slight toxicity. It is an excellent medicine for treating malignant sores."

However, the dosage is very important; too much can harm the spleen and stomach.

dead leaves...

Yun Shuyao's face turned pale instantly.

She hadn't heard of the name before, but the taste was all too familiar to her.

In her past life in the Marquis's mansion, the Marquis's wife always said that she was overworking and would stew "nourishing soup" for her every day. That soup had this faint bitter taste.

She thought it tasted like normal medicinal herbs and drank it for ten years.

"That……"

Her voice trembled slightly, and her fingertips gripped the handkerchief tightly.

What if a healthy person accidentally ingests it?

Doctor Qin was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head.

"It's fine for a healthy person to drink one or two doses; at most, they might feel a little dizzy and weak."

But if you drink it year-round…

He paused, his gaze darkening.

"This medicine is yin in nature and will slowly deplete the vital energy of the internal organs."

At first, no one notices it, but over ten or eight years, the internal organs gradually fail.

It's like...like a perfectly healthy tree whose roots have been hollowed out by insects; it won't live long.

"What about ten years?"

Yun Shuyao pressed for an answer, her voice trembling violently.

"ten years……"

Doctor Qin sighed.

"A body that could have lived to sixty or seventy years old will probably not even make it past forty."

It's hard to even get past forty...

In her previous life, she died at the age of thirty-eight.

Yun Shuyao felt her blood run cold and her vision blurred.

Xiao Fang quickly helped her up and noticed that her palms were covered in cold sweat.

"Shu Yao? What's wrong?"

She gazed at the pile of withered leaves and grass, and images from her past life flooded back like a tide—

Lady Hou's confidante, Granny Li, held a bowl of soup and smiled as she urged her on.

"Madam, this is a nourishing soup that the old lady specially made for you. Please drink it while it's hot."

At that time, she only felt that her mother-in-law sometimes cared about her, but she didn't know that those bowls of medicine contained deadly arsenic.

Why would she want to harm herself?

She wanted Su Yuyan to replace her.

Or was it that the Su family had long disliked her, resenting her inability to bear children and thus blocking Su Yuyan's path?

What about Gu Jinghuai? Does he know?

Were they kept in the dark, or... did they tacitly approve of it all?

The moment the thought popped into her head, it was like a venomous snake, coiling around her and making it hard for her to breathe.

"Shu Yao!"

Seeing that her face was as pale as paper, Xiao Fang quickly pulled her into his arms.

"Don't rush, let's go back and talk first!"

Yun Shuyao leaned against him, smelling the familiar scent of cypress on his body, but she couldn't calm down.

That faint scent of withered leaves and grass, like a maggot clinging to her bone, had haunted her for two lifetimes, and finally, today, it revealed its fangs.

So she didn't die from overwork.

She was poisoned to death little by little.

This hatred was far deeper than she had imagined.

Hundred Flowers Pavilion.

Xiao Fang stood in front of the greasy wooden door of the Jiaofangsi, his fingertips clutching a heavy money bag. The clanging of metal was particularly jarring amidst the noisy music.

The madam swayed her hips as she approached, a fawning smile plastered on her face.

"Oh my, Young Master Xiao, what brings you here? Which young lady have you taken a fancy to?"

Or... which girl do you want to redeem?

Xiao Fang didn't look at her; his voice was as cold as ice.

"Here's five hundred taels of silver. Here you go."

The madam's eyes lit up, and she was about to answer when she heard him add a sentence.

"I'm asking you to take care of someone. There's a slave here named Su Yuyan. Take good care of her."

Xiao Fang raised his eyes, and the fierce look in them sent a chill down the back of the madam's neck.

"Leave all of you, the dirtiest and most perverted guests, to her."

Don't let her rest. Whether it's a porter charging twenty coins a day or a drunkard reeking of alcohol, make her entertain customers from morning till night.

The madam's smile froze on her face.

"Your Highness... this..."

"If you can do it, the money is yours. If you can't..."

Xiao Fang tapped the money pouch lightly with his fingertips.

"I have plenty of ways to shut down your brothel!"

The madam shuddered and nodded hastily.

"It can be done! It can be done! I will definitely take good care of Miss Su!"

Xiao Fang didn't say anything more, and turned to leave.

From inside the door came the brothel madam's shrill voice calling for people.

"Bring Su Yuyan here! Tell her to serve customers immediately!"

Xiao Fang didn't stop walking; he had only one thought in his mind—this is far from enough!

Everyone who harmed his wife must repay the suffering Yun Shuyao endured in her previous life.

Next up is the Yong'an Marquis's residence!