RWNEFE – Chapter 1 Reborn on the Wedding Night!

In the front courtyard of the Prince of Zhennan’s mansion, guests filled the halls.

Congratulations and laughter blended into a lively, bustling scene—one that stood in stark contrast to the silent, lifeless rear courtyard. It was as though someone had cleaved the mansion in two with a blade, the sense of separation painfully sharp.

Inside the Brocade Pavilion—

Shen Lanxi lowered her head and glanced at the wide sleeves of her wedding robe, where her clasped hands formed the embroidered motif of twin phoenixes playing with a pearl.

In the Great Zhou Dynasty, social hierarchy was strict. Only on the day of xiao dengke—the wedding night—were women exceptionally permitted to wear bridal garments adorned with phoenix patterns, an indulgence otherwise forbidden by rank.

She had returned to her wedding night.

In her previous life, on that very night, the groom Zhou Ruyuan never came back. She sat alone in the bridal chamber the entire night. The next morning, an arrogant old matron arrived and delivered two pieces of news.

The Shen family had been raided overnight, and everyone had been thrown into the imperial prison. Her husband Zhou Ruyuan had spent the night in his concubine’s quarters, calling for hot water three times.

She wanted to enter the palace to demand answers, but the moment she stood up, she began vomiting blood uncontrollably. From then on, she was like a bird with its wings cut off—confined to her sickbed, never able to rise again.

Ten days later, the verdict came down. Her entire family was exiled to Ningguta, condemned for eternity to serve armored soldiers as slaves. Upon hearing the news, she vomited blood again. During that time, she intermittently heard rumors from outside—clearly things people were deliberately saying for her to hear.

Only when her oil was finally spent and her lamp extinguished did she learn the truth: the one who had harmed her was Zhou Ruyuan’s concubine, the beloved woman he had brought back from the southwest.

Carrying monstrous resentment, she was reborn into the modern world. Along with her came her awakened personal space. From the mouth of the space spirit, she learned that she should have died on her wedding night. It was the power of the space that neutralized part of the poison in her body, and because of that, it fell into slumber. Only after she was reborn in the modern world, inhabiting a body free of poison, did it finally awaken.

Inside the space was a cultivation cave dwelling, along with three to four hundred mu of meticulously crafted miniature mountains and rivers. Within the cave lay two manuals: one the Qi-Nurturing Art, the other the Blade-Commanding Art. She had practiced both from a young age. After gaining access to the internet and realizing just how powerful the techniques in the space were, she consciously began stockpiling supplies.

She didn’t waste a single inch of the land inside the space either—every bit was planted with fruit, grain, and other crops. Having died so abruptly in her previous life, she deeply understood the meaning of “prepare for the unexpected.” She had thought she was preparing for an apocalypse—never did she expect to return to the Great Zhou Dynasty once again!

Her mother was Princess Minrou, the only daughter of Grand Princess Jialing. Grand Princess Jialing passed away early, and Princess Minrou was raised personally by the Empress Dowager, growing up under her care. Although the Great Zhou Emperor was not the Empress Dowager’s biological son, he was extremely filial to her. After Shen Lanxi was born, she was granted the title of County Princess, living a life even more carefree and indulgent than most imperial princesses.

Thanks to having an emperor as her uncle, those petty villains lurking in the shadows dared not reach out to her openly. Instead, they resorted to all kinds of schemes to provoke and anger her, hoping to drive her to death.

Those black-hearted people fed her plenty of information—including the exact timing of the imperial order to raid the Shen household.

Third quarter of yin hour.

Exceptionally precise.

It was currently hai hour—just past ten at night. There were five hours left until yin hour (a little past three). Subtracting travel time, she had less than four hours.

After steadying her emotions, Shen Lanxi gazed calmly at the doorway, her eyes as cold and deep as a hidden pool. In less than three breaths, footsteps sounded.

Just like in her previous life, the matchmaker delivering the ceremonial hejin wine arrived with several maids.

“Princess Consort, this servant seeks permission to enter!”

The door creaked open. The matchmaker led four maids holding cups and trays inside.

“Greetings to Princess Consort. Today is your grand wedding with His Highness. There are truly too many guests in the front courtyard—His Highness is still there and hasn’t returned yet.”

Returned? He wouldn’t be coming back at all. Zhou Ruyuan wouldn’t step into the bridal chamber for the entire night.

Shen Lanxi spoke calmly, “You may all withdraw for now. His Highness is a prince and the Great Zhou’s God of War—naturally many have come to offer congratulations. Go rest first. When His Highness returns, I’ll send someone to call you.”

The matchmaker bent repeatedly, flattering her. “Princess Consort is truly considerate of us servants. For our prince to marry someone as wonderful as you is truly a blessing for the entire Prince of Zhennan’s mansion.”

A blessing? I’ll give this ‘blessing’ to you—would you want it?

Shielded by the red bridal veil, Shen Lanxi let a mocking smile spread freely across her face.

“Go on. There will be rewards tomorrow.”

The matchmaker chattered auspicious phrases nonstop. By the time she left, her smile was practically frozen on her face.

Once the door closed, Shen Lanxi immediately tore off the red veil. In a few swift motions, she removed the heavy phoenix crown that had been crushing her neck and tossed it onto the bridal bed. With a casual wave of her hand, a set of black sportswear and a pair of black sneakers appeared on the bed.

There was no time to waste!

She quickly changed clothes and called out,

“Chunxue, Qiushuang—guard the door. Don’t let anyone in. I’m resting.”

Qiushuang replied, “Miss, what if His Highness wants to come in?”

“The same.”

“Understood, Miss!”

Chunxue and Qiushuang were her dowry maids, having grown up with her since childhood—utterly loyal. During the time she was trapped in the prince’s mansion, they stayed by her side without leaving, caring for her closely. When she was on the brink of death, the mansion accused them of negligence and beat both of them to death.

Now that she was back, the first thing she had to protect was the lives of her family and those around her. Only after that would she seek revenge against that pair of shameless lovers!

The fall of the Shen family had come far too quickly—any fool could see something was wrong. Even having lived two lives, she couldn’t see through the conspiracy behind it all. Fortunately, the sentence was only exile. She needed to prepare everything before anyone had time to react.

With a few bursts of inner energy and agile leaps, Shen Lanxi vanished from the Prince of Zhennan’s mansion like a hunting falcon.

Today, the prince’s mansion was celebrating a marriage—and so was the Shen family. Guests filled both households.

Taking advantage of the Shen family’s banquet and the emptiness of the rear courtyard, Shen Lanxi slipped into the treasury as if no one were there at all.

“Nu Bai, keep watch!”

The space spirit’s childish voice rang out.

“Got it~”

The Shen family’s ancestral home was in Jiangnan. Their ancestors had once produced a Salt Transport Commissioner, but the family later declined. It wasn’t until her father Shen Congwen placed third in the imperial examination and received a marriage bestowed by the Empress Dowager that the family moved to the capital. At most, the Shen family could be considered newly risen nobles, without deep foundations.

Everything in the treasury was divided into three parts: one from her grandmother Grand Princess Jialing’s dowry, one from her mother’s dowry, and the rest from imperial rewards—mostly from the Empress Dowager.

In just a few swift moves, Shen Lanxi opened the treasury locks and swept everything inside into her space. After leaving, she locked the door again and continued her sweep.

Aside from the treasury, she also knew that behind the Buddhist hall her mother had built for her grandmother was a hidden chamber, filled with rare treasures and large amounts of gold and silver. As a child, her mother had taken her inside once, saying it was also part of the dowry bestowed by the Empress Dowager.

After her younger brothers were born, her mother never took her there again.

She gently rotated the Buddha statue. The mechanism clicked open. Shen Lanxi went in and out swiftly, leaving the treasure chamber so clean that not even a single nail remained.

“Nu Bai, check if there are any other hidden caches?”

“Yes! With Nu Bai around, whether up in the heavens or down into the earth, nothing can hide from Nu Bai’s eyes!” The space spirit replied proudly.

“Master, Master! I detected lots of shiny things in your parents’ room—there’s also a treasure chest hidden under the bed!”