Shen Qingwan sits before the bronze mirror as morning light slips quietly into the room.
For a long moment, she does not move.
In her previous life, this mirror had been nothing more than decoration. She was not allowed to leave the mansion, not allowed to see the streets, not allowed to breathe freely beneath the sky. Permission was a luxury she never received. The world outside those walls became something distant, something imagined.
But now
She is back.
Ten years earlier.
She is still the youngest daughter of the Shen family, still sheltered, still protected, still free.
Her fingers tighten slightly in her lap as the realization settles again. Today, she is going out. Not as a caged wife, not as a silent ornament but as Lady Shen.
Maid Su moves carefully around her, helping her dress. Layers of silk are placed gently over her shoulders, soft and light. The colors are fresh, youthful nothing like the dull, restrained shades she wore in her married life. As Su ties her sash, Shen Qingwan lifts her hands, watching them move.
They are steady.
Not trembling with fear.
She lifts her gaze to the mirror. Her face is young, unscarred by sorrow, eyes still clear. Yet behind that clarity lies something deeper now memory.
A faint knock sounds at the door.
"Shi Mei?"
The voice is soft. Sweet.
Shen Qingwan's reflection stiffens.
"Come in," she replies calmly.
The door opens, and Shen Yu steps inside.
She is the daughter of Concubine Shu beautiful in a delicate, harmless way. Her eyes are gentle, her smile shy, her posture obedient. To anyone watching, she is innocence itself.
But Shen Qingwan knows better.
In her past life, Shen Yu had worn that same expression while quietly climbing higher and higher until she stood beside a prince as his wife.
The prince.....
Shen Qingwan's fingers curl slightly.
After Shen Qingwan was married off to the son of the Grand Secretary, trapped in a living nightmare, Shen Yu had risen effortlessly. A marriage to royalty. Favor. Power.
And not once had Shen Qingwan understood how.
She had been too busy surviving.
Shen Yu glances at the clothing laid out and smiles softly. "Fourth Sister is going out today? How rare. You look beautiful."
The words are gentle. Perfect.
Shen Qingwan meets her gaze in the mirror, studying the reflection of Shen Yu's eyes that once hid daggers behind smiles.
"Do I?" Shen Qingwan answers lightly. "It's been a long time since I've stepped outside. I nearly forgot what it feels like."
Shen Yu's smile flickers just for a moment.
"That's because Fourth Sister is always so quiet," she says sweetly. "Unlike me, I wouldn't dare go out so freely."
Shen Qingwan almost laughs.
In her past life, Shen Yu had gone wherever she pleased.
She turns slightly, facing her half sister fully now. "Second Sister seems to know many things I do not. I hope one day you'll teach me."
Shen Yu lowers her gaze modestly. "How could I? I'm clumsy with such matters."
Lies wrapped in silk.
Shen QIngwan watches her carefully, committing every movement to memory.
This time, she thinks. I will watch everything.
Including how Shen Yu managed to step into the prince's world.
Including how fate was twisted behind the scenes.
Maid Su finishes adjusting the jade hairpin and steps back. "Fourth Lady is ready."
Shen Qingwan rises.
As she walks past Shen Yu, her steps are calm, her posture relaxed but her eyes are sharp.
Shen Qingwan steps through the main gates of the Shen Mansion.
The doors open wide, and the world outside greets her with noise and color. The streets are already alive vendors calling out their goods, the scent of steamed buns and fresh tea drifting through the air, silk banners fluttering gently above shopfronts. It is an ordinary day in the capital.
Yet to her, it feels unreal.
Maid Su walks closely at her side, her expression alert, while two guards follow several steps behind. Their presence is routine for a lady of the Shen family nothing out of the ordinary. In her past life, she had walked with far heavier protection, watched like a prisoner rather than guarded like a daughter.
Still, unease coils in her chest.
Shen Qingwan keeps her gaze forward, fingers hidden within her sleeves slowly tightening. The sound of footsteps, the murmur of strangers, the occasional laughter each noise sharpens her awareness.
She does not want to see him.
The son of the Grand Secretary, the one who made her life hell....!