Chapter 1

Yun Luan was half-asleep when someone suddenly threw a stone, hitting her wrist.

She groaned, rubbing her aching head as she woke up.

A soft and tender voice came from outside the room.

"Fourth Sister... Fourth Sister, wake up..."

Yun Luan's blurry vision gradually cleared in the darkness.

A faint candlelight allowed her to see the situation inside the room clearly.

She supported herself and shakily stood up, her head feeling as if it were about to explode.

Thinking of the voice that had just called her, a wave of pain surged in her heart.

She lifted her head and looked toward the door.

"Little Fifth?"

A small, cute face peeked through a hole in the paper window.

He looked at Yun Luan with worry: "Fourth Sister, no matter how I called you, you didn't respond. I was so scared. Prince Rui is a bad person; you shouldn't like him anymore, okay? Don't argue with Father for his sake. Mother said Father locked you in the woodshed for your own good. Are you okay?"

Yun Luan stared blankly at the small face in the paper hole, her mind a blank.

Is this my younger brother Yun Huai, who is only a few years old?

But didn't the messenger say that Little Fifth had died? He died of a cold, and Mother, overwhelmed with grief, jumped into the well in the courtyard with Little Fifth's body.

What's going on?

Why can I still see Little Fifth when I wake up?

Yun Luan thought she was dreaming. She rubbed her eyes hard, but when she opened them, Little Fifth was still standing outside the door.

She slapped herself a few times.

The intense pain spread from her cheeks.

Seeing Yun Luan hit herself, Little Fifth was terrified. He took a few steps back, his eyes full of panic.

"Oh no, Fourth Sister must have been beaten silly by Father..."

He turned and ran, shouting as he went.

"Mother, Mother, Fourth Sister is crazy; she's hitting her own face."

Yun Luan stood there in a daze, watching Yun Huai run away, shouting loudly.

She covered her aching cheek, her eyes welling up with tears.

She could feel the pain, and this real pain made her feel lost.

This isn't a dream; Little Fifth isn't just a figment of her imagination.

She covered her cheek, tears streaming down her face, as she gazed at the familiar woodshed—

The woodshed was surrounded by dry firewood, with a small stove in the middle.

The fire pit still had glowing embers.

After Father locked her in the woodshed, Mother secretly had someone add more firewood to keep her from getting cold and catching a cold.

Mother Liu had five children, three boys and two girls. The eldest and second sons were already married, and the third daughter was engaged to be married next year.

Yun Luan was the fourth, and she had a younger brother.

She was the most mischievous, willful, and spoiled among the five siblings.

So, she had been locked in this woodshed countless times since childhood.

After her second brother got married, his wife, who cared for Yun Luan, often hid a blanket under the firewood to keep her warm.

Yun Luan couldn't help but choke back a sob. She knelt on the ground and started digging through the firewood to find the hidden blanket.

When her hand finally grabbed the soft blanket, she fell to the ground, hugging it and sobbing softly.

She remembered what had happened before she was locked in the woodshed in her previous life.

Prince Rui invited her for tea, and she suddenly fainted. When she woke up, she was in an improper embrace with Prince Rui. Her father, enraged, slapped her and locked her in the woodshed.

Later, after being locked up for two days, she caught a severe cold and almost died.

Father thought she had committed suicide for Prince Rui. He was furious, scolded her, and the next day, went to the palace to ask the Emperor for permission to marry her to Prince Rui.

Coincidentally, the border was invaded by a foreign country.

The Emperor said that if Father could lead the Yun family army to repel the enemy, the day he returned victorious would be the day of her wedding to Prince Rui.

Father had no choice and accepted the imperial decree on the spot.

Ten days later, news came from the border that our army had been defeated, and 90,000 soldiers of the Yun family army had died in the Black Wind Valley.

Everyone said that Father's impatience had cost the lives of 90,000 soldiers.

Later, a letter of treason was found in Father's study, and the Yun family was almost exterminated. Prince Rui said he had begged the Emperor to spare the Yun family.

Later, she discovered that the person behind all this was not Father, but Xiao Xuanrui.

Thinking of this, Yun Luan's head buzzed.

Today was the third day she had been locked in the woodshed.

She couldn't beg for an imperial decree, and the General's Mansion must not be linked to the Prince Rui's Mansion. In her previous life, Prince Rui had used the name of the General's Mansion's son-in-law to approach the deputy generals and secretly turn them, promising them high positions and wealth, and诱导他们背叛父亲。

她决不能让历史重演，绝不能让父亲进宫，向皇上请旨让她嫁给睿王。

Yun Luan suddenly stood up,可能是因为起身太快，她眼前一阵眩晕。

她重重地跌坐在地上，脑袋昏沉。

她爬在地上，抬起头死死地盯着房门。

“母亲……”

她要告诉父亲，睿王这个人不可信，他就是一只蓄谋已久的，侵吞她云家的饿狼。

她奋力朝门口爬去。

突然，外面传来一阵脚步声，Yun Luan的眼睛一亮。

咔嚓一声，有人打开了门锁。

Yun Luan还没反应过来，整个身体就被揽入了一个温暖的怀抱。

“你父亲那个不知轻重的，一巴掌打得这么重，这张脸都肿了起来。呀，这额头怎么这么烫啊，莫不是感染了风寒？”

Yun Luan紧紧攥着母亲刘氏的袖子，眼睛通红地看着她。

她想开口说话，但眼前的意识越来越沉重。

她不能睡，她要见父亲，她要告诉她的家人们，她不要嫁给睿王了，她再也不喜欢那个男人了。

既然能重活一次，无论如何也不能让云家重蹈覆辙。

但无论她怎么努力，都无法再开口说一句话，眼皮沉重得像有千斤重。

母亲，母亲……

刘氏满眼心疼地捏着帕子，给Yun Luan擦拭眼角的泪水。

“不哭，不哭啊，娘带你出去，咱不禁足了。娘不听你父亲的，不关着你了。”

Yun Luan张了张嘴，泪眼朦胧。

她拼命地吸取着母亲身上的温度，不由得怔怔地想，她有多久没有感受到母亲温暖的怀抱了？

从小到大，母亲都不舍得打她，还记得最后一次相见，是父兄阵亡的消息传来，母亲狠狠地给了她一巴掌，与她断绝了母女关系，将她赶出了家门。

之后，三年，整整三年的时间，直到母亲抱着小五跳井，她都再没见过母亲。

她好想念母亲啊，想念得她心口绞痛。

气血翻涌，急血攻心，Yun Luan忍不住吐了一口血出来。