The lamp oil flickered like a bean.

Li Weiyang turned over in bed and suddenly became fully alert. She clearly heard conversation coming from outside.

Outside the room, Ma Shi said carefully: “Mother, should we find someone to examine Third Miss? After all, she’s someone the Li family sent here. If she really dies…”

Upon hearing her daughter-in-law’s words, Liu Shi maintained a cold, sallow face and replied indifferently: “This little wretch really thinks herself some remarkable young lady. I heard long ago that she’s merely a concubine-born daughter who crawled out of a foot-washing maid’s belly. Born in the second month too—an absolute disaster star. The Li clan is a great family and couldn’t very well kill her directly, so they threw her to distant Li family relatives in Pingcheng. But then the Li family’s old madam and lady fell ill one after another—isn’t it obvious she brought them misfortune? That’s why they hastily sent her to our countryside! Hmph, I see she’s not only a disaster star but also a lazy good-for-nothing. Every time I tell her to do something she plays dead, stinking girl!”

Hearing this conversation, Li Weiyang suddenly jolted alert. Instinctively, she looked around at her surroundings. This room had practically no furniture—only a square table, four long wooden benches, a cabinet for storing things, and finally just this wooden frame bed she was lying on.

Where is this—her mind went blank for a moment. The conversation outside continued to transmit clearly inside.

“When she was at the Li family, at least people waited on her. She’d never done rough work. Today she accidentally fell into an ice hole, which is why she’s sick. You can’t entirely blame her…” Now that the weather was cold, Liu Shi had made Weiyang, a child, go wash clothes on the ice. Ma Shi felt compassion in her heart, her tone becoming increasingly anxious.

Liu Shi snorted coldly: “Even a dead person’s belly still has a breath of hot air, but this precious young lady is something else—ask her to do the slightest thing and she resists at every turn, like dragging a ghost up a peach tree. As people say, she’s like a lazy donkey avoiding the millstone—won’t move without a beating. A road others walk in two steps, she has to take three steps. Watching her pretend to be sick infuriates me. If this continues, might as well just throw her out to freeze to death—that would be best!” Finishing, she stared at Ma Shi with a face cold as frost. “Don’t think I don’t know—you pity this wretch. If you pity her so much, you go wash those clothes for her yourself!”

Ma Shi hastily responded: “Yes, Mother is right. This daughter-in-law won’t dare speak carelessly again…”

Liu Shi rose angrily and slammed the door with a bang.

What’s going on? Wasn’t I dead? How could I be lying here? Li Weiyang wanted to move but felt powerless throughout her entire body, as if her bones had come apart. She struggled to see everything clearly in this place. Just then, the person outside suddenly lifted the curtain and came in.

Soon, Li Weiyang fell into someone’s embrace. This person had narrow shoulders, a soft bosom, and the fragrance of soap pods on her body.

“Drink a bowl of porridge. Break a sweat and your illness will pass!”

Heat rushed at her face, but Li Weiyang seemed to have seen a ghost, staring at the woman before her with an eerie expression—if she remembered correctly, this farm woman of about twenty years old was clearly Ma Shi, the eldest daughter-in-law of the farming family where she had once lodged. But how was this possible? She had clearly been executed with poisoned wine, yet in the blink of an eye, why would she see again someone she knew twenty-three years ago…

She was sixteen when she married Tuoba Zhen. Eight years later she ascended to the Empress position, then spent a full twelve years in the Cold Palace. When she died she was already thirty-six years old, yet Ma Shi still looked exactly as she had twenty-three years ago—utterly inconceivable! Instinctively, she looked at her own hand—thin, small, fingertips tinged with a faint crescent white.

This was not a thirty-six-year-old woman’s hand. This was a little girl’s hand! Thinking of this, Li Weiyang’s eyes held a trace of hidden fear.

Ma Shi said with concern: “What’s wrong? Are you still cold?”

Her voice was full of care. One could hear that she genuinely cared for her.

“We should find a physician to examine you, but Mother she… ah…”

Li Weiyang looked at the porridge in Ma Shi’s hands. She didn’t know what kind of rice it was cooked from—that scent was quite strange. But for some reason, her eyes slowly grew moist.

If this was a dream, she hoped it would never wake! Because she had a feeling—a feeling of still being alive!

Li Weiyang was just about to speak when suddenly she saw someone quickly lift the curtain from outside and walk in.

Ma Shi had been holding a bowl of porridge with one hand. Stealing a glance at Liu Shi’s expression, she couldn’t help trembling slightly.

“What are you doing! Bring that here!”

Ma Shi jumped in fright and hurriedly released Li Weiyang to stand up. Just as she was about to place the bowl on the table, because she was too flustered the bowl tilted, some broth spilling and splashing outward, scalding her fingers painfully, yet she endured it trying to set it down.

Seeing that she actually dared secretly bring Li Weiyang food, and even splashed the soup, Liu Shi’s anger flared. She casually picked up that bowl of porridge from the table and smashed it at Ma Shi’s face. With a crash, Ma Shi was drenched in broth. She jumped up pointing and cursing: “Little wretch! I said no one is permitted to bring her food. Can’t you hear this old lady’s words? If you don’t want to stay in this household anymore, get out right now. Your old lady can’t tolerate a grain of sand in her eyes—I won’t let you disgrace yourself before me!”

Poor Ma Shi, scalded by Liu Shi’s bowl of hot porridge until her face immediately swelled red. Holding back tears, she didn’t dare utter a word, only pinching her clothing hem, gently brushing at it, then bending down to pick up the broken porcelain pieces from the ground.

Liu Shi hadn’t changed one bit from memory—harsh and ungrateful toward people. Whether treating her or daughter-in-law Ma Shi, she drove them like oxen and horses. Li Weiyang stared at Liu Shi. Instinctively about to speak, Ma Shi hurriedly gave her a meaningful look, as if telling her not to open her mouth—opening it would only add to her crimes.

Ma Shi was a gentle and compliant daughter-in-law, but no matter what she did, this evil mother-in-law Liu Shi refused to spare her. Nitpicking all day long was one thing, but whenever she saw Ma Shi help Li Weiyang, she assumed Ma Shi was deliberately opposing her and became doubly harsh toward both of them. Li Weiyang gritted her teeth, her gaze fixed unblinkingly on Liu Shi.

Liu Shi instinctively glanced at Li Weiyang, but saw her cool gaze carried a trace of indescribable chill. Her heart immediately jumped, and she scolded sharply: “Have you gone mad? What kind of look are you giving this old lady!”

Li Weiyang had no time to contemplate why she had reverted to her thirteen-year-old appearance. Her thoughts turned, and she fumbled at her neck for a long moment, indeed finding a jade pendant. Her heart warmed—this was something her birth mother had hung around her neck since childhood. Prime Minister Li sent her to clan relatives of the Li family. The Li family raised her until age seven. At first they still found maids and nannies to wait on her, but later, discovering Prime Minister Li had no intention whatsoever of bringing her back to the capital, and not knowing whose instigation they received, they simply threw her to a farming household in the countryside to be raised, giving ten taels of silver monthly for living expenses. Half a year ago, for some unknown reason, they suddenly stopped even giving this living expense. Liu Shi shamelessly went to their door three times to demand it, but the Li family paid no heed. Because of this, Liu Shi increasingly loathed her, not only treating her like a maid but abusing her a thousand and hundred times over. Moreover, she wasn’t permitted to leave, and Liu Shi would often beat her bloody when others weren’t looking.

Liu Shi looked at Li Weiyang’s appearance and scolded with a frown: “What are you staring at, little wretch!”

This jade pendant was the only memento her birth mother left her. She had desperately hidden it everywhere, never daring to let Liu Shi know about it. But today… Li Weiyang raised her head to look at her. A trace of clear cold light flashed through her gaze, yet her face rapidly showed a flattering smile. “Zhou Shen, I’ve been here relying on your care. Having nothing to thank you with, I’ll give you this jade pendant.”

If she remembered correctly, this ordinary quality paired-fish jade pendant would be discovered and stolen by Liu Shi half a month later. Back then she had tried to demand it back but received a severe beating for her efforts. Later, when she became the Third Imperial Prince’s consort and sent people back to search for it, this village had suffered a plague years before—more than half the people had died, Liu Shi included, and the jade pendant’s whereabouts were lost forever.

Liu Shi hadn’t expected the jade pendant she’d always wanted to find, which this girl had hidden everywhere, to actually be taken out by Li Weiyang herself. Her expression immediately improved considerably. With a cold snort, she snatched the jade pendant from Weiyang’s hand and said: “That’s more like it!”

Ma Shi looked at Li Weiyang in shock, as if not recognizing her at all. In her impression, Weiyang had always fiercely protected this jade pendant, never willing to let anyone take it. How could she suddenly give it to Liu Shi…

Having obtained the jade pendant, Liu Shi’s mood immediately improved considerably. With a cold snort, she said: “Fine, you can lie in bed for one more day. But tomorrow you’d better get up and work!”

Li Weiyang’s smile became even more docile: “Of course, Aunt Liu. I’ll get up tomorrow!”

Liu Shi was astonished by Li Weiyang’s compliance. Just about to say a few more words, at that moment a tall man suddenly walked in from outside. Coming in and seeing this scene, as if accustomed to it, he glanced at Ma Shi with an annoyed look, seeming impatient, then said with forced cheerfulness: “Mother, why are you angry again? Come, today I bought a bolt of cloth for you at the market. When you wear it, you’ll look just like a lady from the county seat. Come quickly and look!” Speaking thus, he half-dragged, half-pulled Liu Shi out.

As Liu Shi walked, she turned back to look at Ma Shi and said: “If I see you bringing her food again, watch your skin!” She walked away muttering curses all the way.

Only when Liu Shi was no longer present did Ma Shi cover her face, tears falling like rain.

Li Weiyang looked at Ma Shi and gently shook her head. Weak yielding was useless. As for that jade pendant—naturally there were plenty of ways to get it back! And for dealing with a scoundrel like Liu Shi, she must be thoroughly dealt with until her skin was flayed three layers deep!