First Move

"Forget it, let's not talk about this wet blanket."

Xiao Baoxin waved her hand and ordered the maidservants to leave. "I'll talk to Sister for a while to relieve my boredom. Wait outside and don't disturb us."

The maids and senior servants filed out.

Granny Sun had a bitter expression on her face: "Miss, remember to not let evil words come out of your mouth and anger to come from your body."

After everyone left, Xiao Jingai rubbed her belly with a smile. "Sister, why is your granny always like this? She's much more disciplined than our teachers. She's old-fashioned and stubborn. To think that you can stand her."

"So what if I can't stand it? She's an orphan and a single mother, and she's thin-skinned. If she's really chased out by me, how will she be able to support her family outside? I'll just treat it as cultivating my character by letting her stay by my side."

Xiao Baoxin was also speechless.

However, Granny Sun was a kind person and was loyal to the Xiao Family. Even if she loved to tell her what to do, it was for her own good. Although she also felt that she was restricted and could not do anything, she still knew what was good for her.

Being kind to others is akin to being kind to yourself.

"Sister, you have always been understanding and forgiving." Xiao Jingai's eyes curved into crescents. A small dimple appeared at the left corner of her mouth. Her smile was bright and friendly.

No one knew better than her what she meant.

As a person who had died and was reborn, she would no longer foolishly believe in kinship and love. It sounded more important than anything else, but under the influence of interests and desires, it was nothing.

This magnanimous person still had the heart to pity and be charitable when she was high and mighty. But once her days were better, Xiao Baoxin would no longer be the magnanimous person praised by others. No matter how ruthless the people in the world were, they were not comparable to her. She could use all means to force her to submit and even snatch her only son away.

Every time Xiao Jingai thought of this, her heart would hurt like a knife.

Could it be that as a widow who had lost her husband, she could no longer have the love of others and deserved to live a lonely life depending on the charity of others?!

She and her husband were truly in love.

A lady's admiration for a hero, a hero's desire for tenderness—

Which law stipulates that one man must only have one wife?

After her, Xiao Baoxin's husband had also taken in other women into the residence one after another. Yet he was only harsh to her and used unscrupulous means to suppress her.

This was the one back then…

Or perhaps, this cousin of hers who claimed to love her!

She had no choice but to accept her husband, and agreed to enter his residence but… Xiao Jingai regretted her decision countless times. She shouldn't have agreed to her request and brought her child to her.

She always thought that relying on that person's love, she would one day bring the child to her side. Even if her own flesh and blood was not with her at a young age, he would still be closer to his biological mother in the future.

However, she did not expect Xiao Baoxin to be so vicious. She raised her child such that he was not close to both parents, and only became close to her.

This kind of child was right in front of her, but she was more vicious and distant than anyone else. It hurt her heart even more.

This inhumane torture continued from the time the child was literate to the time she died.

Even when she died, she did not get the chance to have her son call her 'mother'. Instead, she saw with her own eyes him and Xiao Baoxin being filial and loving to each other every day. Only then did she truly realize how ruthless Xiao Baoxin was. She actually wanted to cut out her flesh and blood together with her heart, never to recover from it.

…

Since God had given her a chance to be reborn, she would not repeat the same mistake and marry someone else!

She would take back everything that she owed!

She had lived a lifetime longer than others. Putting everything else aside, she had the advantage of knowing the future.

Who would have thought that the days of prosperous and healthy life wouldn't last, and the change of dynasties would actually happen in the blink of an eye? And what was most unbelievable was that right in front of her eyes, a woman whose marriage was annulled because of her reputation was married to an unknown mid-ranking officer next to the Jiangxia King, almost becoming the laughingstock of Jiankang City.

Who would have thought that in the next decade or so, that unknown Central Scout Army would be able to call the wind and summon the rain, dominate the court and wilderness, and even force the young emperor to abdicate? With a humble background, he even replaced the dynasty and established a new country?

When she died, Xiao Baoxin's first son had already been made Crown Prince, and her own son was like a follower, following the Crown Prince's every order. His brotherly devotion made her nauseous.

Not only did she oppress her for the rest of her life, she even made her son oppress her son for the rest of his life!

No one oppresses others like this!

What right did Xiao Baoxin have to be the favored daughter of the heavens, blessed by the heavens, and held in the palm of her parents? Even if she married down, she would still be able to make others look up to her and receive the admiration of the people?

Why?!

Heaven allowed her to live a new life, and she would no longer allow Xiao Baoxin to live a life of luxury with a hypocritical face. What Xiao Baoxin owed her in her previous life, she wanted Xiao Baoxin to pay back ten times in this life!

"Jingai," Xiao Baoxin hesitated. "Do you have a toothache?"

Why did her face suddenly turn hideous, and her teeth were chattering?

Her cousin had always been gentle and weak, as though she would become water with a light squeeze. If not for her extreme sadness, she would not have put on such an ugly expression.

Xiao Jingai let out an 'ah', not realizing that there was a loophole in her expression management.

"No, I'm just thinking… Why does Sister hate the Young Master of the Yuan Family so much? He's your fiancé, and he's famous for his talents. I heard he's also very handsome."

She clearly remembered that it was the Yuan family who despised Xiao Baoxin and Yang Shao for having an ambiguous relationship and ruining their reputation, so they withdrew the engagement in a fit of anger.

And this engagement withdrawal had helped Xiao Baoxin achieve her goal of becoming the Mother of the nation.

As a result, Yang Shao took the throne and tried his best to suppress the Yuan family. He even rearranged his clan's ideals just to kick the Yuan family out of the aristocratic family.

Why was it that when it came to her, she would be filled with disdain every minute? That look of disgust was about to break through the sky. She couldn't even fake it?

This… How much did she miss in her previous life?

She had always thought that it was rare for Xiao Baoxin to get close to a descendant of an aristocratic family. Later on, when the marriage was annulled, she would often come over to comfort her. Xiao Baoxin was indeed not sad at all. At that time, she thought that she was forcing a smile, but now it seemed that it was exactly as she wished.

"He's good-looking, so am I. He's famous, and I've been educated and literate since I was a child—why can't I hate him?"

"…" She was speechless.

But who was it that gave Xiao Baoxin such a big face and talked about her looks as an accessory?

She hated Xiao Baoxin, who was overconfident in her beauty. His beauty was too flamboyant. No matter how she dressed up, she was elegant, intellectual, and cold. Anyone who stood beside Xiao Baoxin would appear plain and simple!