After Travelling Through Time, My Husband and I Were Reborn Together - Chapter 1
Beimo, the sixteenth year of Yongxi, autumn.
Front courtyard of the Xiao residence, home of the Imperial Secretary in the capital.
The masters seated in the main hall wore grim expressions. The matriarch was the first to speak, “What’s done is done. You should think about how to break the news to Ru’er and make her stop dwelling on the marriage alliance with the Huo family.”
Madame He, the wife of the eldest son, said sorrowfully, “Why is our Ru’er so unfortunate? Second Brother and his wife were truly heartless to cause trouble at such a critical moment. They’ve ruined our Ruer’s life.”
The matriarch snapped angrily, “Silence! If such words reach the ears of the Jin Prince’s household, do you mean to destroy the entire Xiao family?”
This sharp rebuke successfully shut Madame He up.
She knew she had misspoken and hurriedly apologized, “Mother, it was my fault. I spoke carelessly. But now that the Huo family has called off the engagement, how will Ru’er face the future?”
The patriarch spoke coldly, “Such shortsightedness! With Renjin’s act of saving the Jin Prince’s life, why worry about finding another good match for her?”
Upon hearing her father-in-law’s words, Madame He thought: Even with the Jin Prince’s household’s influence, Ruer’s reputation is ruined after being jilted. What respectable family would be willing to marry her now?
But since her father-in-law had spoken, she couldn’t openly contradict him. Though resentful, she rose and gave a slight curtsey, “You are right, Father.”
Yet in her heart, her hatred for the second branch of the family grew even stronger.
******
Youzhu Garden
Under the corridor, two young maids were anxiously waiting, “I wonder when the Third Young Miss will wake up?”
Someone standing nearby sighed, “Anyone would be crushed by such misfortune. May heaven bless the Third Young Miss and help her pull through. Otherwise, what will become of the Second Branch’s young masters?”
Inside the room, the young girl lying on the carved bed seemed trapped in a nightmare, her forehead beaded with fine sweat, tossing and turning restlessly. The scenes in her dream shifted like a rolling film.
After a long while, the person on the bed slowly opened her eyes. She knew—she had crossed over again.
Recalling the images from her dream, she smiled bitterly. For three lifetimes, she had been named Yunyi. The difference was that in this life, she had regained the surname from her modern life. The original host, Xiao Yunyi, was fourteen years old, the legitimate daughter of the family’s second branch.
The original host’s father had been a fifth-rank Deputy Commander of the Jin Prince’s guard. He died saving the Jin Prince, Mo Yuxuan. The original host’s mother, who had given birth at an advanced age just two months ago, had barely finished her month of confinement when she received the blow of losing her husband. Unable to bear the grief, she passed away barely ten days later.
After her mother’s funeral, already heartbroken, the original host heard rumors circulating within the household that the Second Branch’s newborn young master was an ill-fated star who brought death to his parents. Madame He of the Eldest Branch intended to have her under-hundred-days-old younger brother adopted by a distant married cousin who had been childless for years.
Unable to withstand the shock, the original host fell ill from fury and despair.
Madame He of the Eldest Branch had always held a grudge against the Second Branch, resentful that her brother-in-law’s official rank overshadowed her own husband’s. Previously, no matter what happened in the household, the Second Branch had always taken the priority.
Now that the Second Branch couple was gone, the Eldest Branch was in charge. If the Second Branch’s children were to follow their parents in death, then the Jin Prince’s household’s debt of gratitude would naturally fall upon the Eldest Branch.
To serve the Eldest Branch’s interests, Madame He secretly instructed the household physician to tamper with the original host’s medicine, ultimately causing her death and making way for this soul who had already lived two lifetimes to cross over once more.
Just as she had sorted out the situation, she heard voices from the courtyard paying respects, “This servant greets the Third Young Master.”
The newcomer asked softly, “Has my elder sister woken up at all?”
A maid curtseyed and replied, “Reporting to the Young Master, the Third Young Miss has not yet awakened.”