The sedan chair rhythmically swayed gently, accompanied by the sounds of joy, laughter, and lively chatter from the bridal procession. Mrs. Xi's smooth and auspicious words rang in Sang Wan's ears as she gently lifted her red veil and saw the bright red surroundings. She finally confirmed that she was indeed in a red bridal sedan chair on her way to get married.
She gently raised her hands and observed them, the skin was fair and delicate, the nails full and lustrous, her fingers slender and long, and the palms small and exquisite. These were the hands she once had.
She was reborn.
Her initial panic gradually subsided, and at this moment, she had completely calmed down and accepted this fact.
Reborn, would she have to go through that withered, desperate life again? Sang Wan couldn't help but shiver, her nails digging into her palms subconsciously, feeling an icy chill!
No, she didn't want to relive that bleak, desperate, and unbearable life.
Sang Wan clenched her fists tightly, holding back the urge to lift the sedan curtain.
She knew that just beyond the thin curtain, there was a handsome man dressed in a red wedding outfit, adorned with red silk flowers, and riding a tall horse alongside the bridal sedan chair. He was her husband, Shi Fengju, the eldest legitimate son of the Shi family, the richest family in Qingzhou. They had never met in this life but had been together for four years in her past life.
Thinking of her husband, Sang Wan's heart grew colder, and an indescribable feeling of sorrow gradually spread from the bottom of her heart, gripping her reason tightly. She could hardly breathe.
Once, she had stepped into the Shi family with sweet dreams and longing, but what welcomed her were a series of strikes and blows, forcing her to the brink of despair.
Her parents had died early, and her family was in decline. Marrying into the richest family in Qingzhou, she felt nervous besides the longing.
She was truly afraid! Afraid of being looked down upon by her mother-in-law, husband, and sister-in-law, despised by the family servants, ridiculed for her lack of experience, and more.
Everything unknown and to be faced in the Shi family terrified her!
The only hope born out of her anxiety was her husband. If he respected and protected her, perhaps her life would be much better. To her, he was like a life-saving straw, her only reliance!
However, reality was cruel!
He had a beloved cousin, Gu Fangzi, whom he had grown up with. In less than two months after her marriage, Gu Fangzi became Aunt Gu! Then, all her worries and fears came true! Her mother-in-law didn't like her, her husband was indifferent, the servants despised her, and they spread rumors mocking her small-mindedness behind her back.
Gradually, she became invisible in the family, forgotten in a remote corner, where her heart slowly withered away, and her body followed suit.
The life of total neglect and isolation was more painful than any torture in the world, enough to drive any normal person mad. She didn't want this, but no one had given her a chance, not a single person!
Sang Wan smiled mockingly at the corners of her mouth. She had numbed and despaired once before, unwilling to think too deeply. Now, as fragments of her past replayed in her mind, she was shocked to realize that Gu Fangzi, this woman, had pretended to "help" her under the guise of friendship only to cause her troubles with her mother-in-law and husband again and again.
That sweet smile, that kind laughter, that friendly attitude, how could it be fake? Yet, it was fake!
She had reached out to her, and she had been so surprised, grateful, and trusting, accepting her without the slightest doubt, only to reap a miserable and gloomy life like a living dead!
"The bride will step out of the sedan chair now—"
Mrs. Xi's sharp and jubilant voice interrupted Sang Wan's thoughts. The sound of drumming and music outside grew louder, and the laughter and chatter from the crowd became even more boisterous.
It sounded like a good day, a festive day!
She was back! She entered the Shi family once more, becoming their daughter-in-law!
Sang Wan's head was a little dizzy, and she felt her heart pounding fast and hard, as if it were about to jump out of her throat! She took a deep breath, suppressing her racing heart, and extended her slender hand to hold Mrs. Xi's. She let Mrs. Xi support her as she stepped out of the sedan chair and took one end of the red silk cloth handed to her.