Lingering Fragrance (Reborn Twice)

On the night the flames of war reached the city walls, Meng Shuyi was surrounded by thousands of soldiers.

She had helped her own young son ascend the throne and become empress dowager at twenty-six.

But her position was precarious, and rebellion was brewing. That same night, her own death arrived.

Beneath the city walls engulfed in flames, Ye Ling, her political rival of a lifetime and the younger brother of her love rival, stood in a black robe with a sword in hand, leaning against the dragon throne behind her. He smiled and said, "Your Highness, you've lost. There are now two paths before you, "

He pointed to the three-foot length of white silk on the palace servant's lacquer tray. "One path is to take your own life and preserve your dignity. The other is to abdicate of your own accord and marry Prince Pingxuan."

Prince Pingxuan was a cripple over fifty with a broken leg.

At the end of her rope, Meng Shuyi's expression remained calm. She sneered and shook her head, then threw herself against Ye Ling's sword, ending her life at the age of twenty-six.

*

When she opened her eyes, Meng Shuyi had returned ten years into the past.

Back then, she had not yet entered the palace. She was still a young woman waiting to be married.

Taking the outcome of her previous life into account, Meng Shuyi decided she would never repeat the same mistakes. She would make sure to get rid of the Ye siblings early.

However, the night before she planned to enter the palace, news arrived from home: the Ye siblings' parents had brought a matchmaker to their home on their son's behalf, hoping to ask for her hand in marriage.

Meng Shuyi didn't remember anything like this happening in her previous life.

She hated the Ye family and immediately told her parents to refuse the proposal.

Until, Ye Ling came to her himself and cornered her. The young man, brimming with confidence, looked steadily at her and smiled. "The betrothal gifts are three hundred thousand taels of silver, plus a thousand pieces of jade, silk, and ancient paintings. You can ask for more if there's anything else you want."

In her previous life, Ye Ling had risen to the highest position a subject could attain, calculating every step as he helped his elder sister and nephew reach the pinnacle of power. On the night the army breached the city, he threatened the empress dowager, trying to force her to marry Prince Pingxuan.

The original Prince Pingxuan had already died without an heir. Ye Ling had long planned to inherit his title himself.

He had also believed that someone like Meng Shuyi, who was so calculating and refused to admit defeat, would understand the need to "leave yourself an opening and live to fight another day."

But he never expected Meng Shuyi to slash her own neck against his sword.

The blood of the woman he loved dripped onto the back of his hand.

His calculations had never gone wrong in this life. This was the one and only time Ye Ling miscalculated.

[Reader's Guide]

1. The groveling-chasing-your-wife trope, at the highest level.

2. Same as 1.

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