Chapter 1
Chapter 1
Shen Yin opened her eyes to find herself lying in a large tub filled with water. She coughed a few times, feeling a little disoriented. She remembered jumping into the lake in the back garden of the Duke's Mansion, so how could she have ascended to heaven? She tried hard to recall what had just happened.
She was unwilling to marry the 37-year-old Prince who had a bad temper and had even abused his former wife. She planned to threaten her father with death in order to make him change his mind. She had arranged for people to be by the lake to save her, hoping to use a desperate measure to appeal to her father's conscience. She didn't expect to really die.
Shen Yin was unclear about where she was. The water in the white tub was cool. She dragged her heavy body up with difficulty and stood up. A few images instantly flashed through her mind - a woman with a graceful figure and delicate features lying in a white tub, slowly submerging her head in the water. Her face was full of anguish and some bubbles emerged from the water. Soon, the water surface became still and the woman was completely immersed in the water without moving.
Shen Yin was a little shocked. This woman was clearly drowning herself. This was the same tub she had just been lying in. She was puzzled again, unsure of where she was and whether there was any danger. She walked forward a few steps and saw a mirror that was brighter and clearer than the copper one in her bedroom.
The woman in the mirror had delicate features and skin as smooth as cream. She was clearly the woman Shen Yin had just seen in her mind. Shen Yin touched her own face and the woman in the mirror made the same movement. She thought she must be dreaming and pinched her arm, feeling obvious pain. It took her a long time to realize that her spirit had possessed this woman's body, just like in the stories.
It took Shen Yin a very long time to force herself to calm down and accept this fact.
She vaguely heard a knock on the door. Shen Yin fumbled to put on the white bathrobe next to her and went to open the door. Just like when she opened the bathroom door, she tried pushing the door handle down but still couldn't open it. After studying it for a while, she saw a button below the handle. She turned it for a long time before the door finally opened.
"Mistress, I called you so many times this afternoon but you didn't open the door. You haven't eaten anything all day. Please come down and eat something," said the woman in her forties at the door, dressed neatly with her hair pinned strictly at the back.
Having lived 16 complicated years in the Duke's Mansion, Shen Yin still had some judgement. She nodded and closed the door. Looking around, the room was very messy with bedding and pillows scattered on the floor. Turning her head, she saw another door beside the bathroom. Driven by curiosity, she went over and opened it. The closet was filled with clothes and some strange bags at the bottom. But she didn't recognize any of these things. Everything here was unfamiliar to her. The life here was completely different than her own.
Recalling what the woman at the door was wearing, Shen Yin took out a long dress from the closet and put it on. It exposed her arms and legs and the bulge across her chest was too pronounced for her, a young unmarried girl, to accept.
She then found a white overcoat in the closet and put it on before feeling satisfied to go out.
The house was huge. Shen Yin walked down the stairs to the living room and saw people talking in a large black frame. Shen Yin was afraid; she didn't know how they had gotten in there. She stood stiffly by the sofa to appear calm.
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"Mistress, I have the TV remote control here. Let me know if you want to watch something different and I'll change the channel," Aunt Song handed her the remote control. Shen Yin took it but didn't change the channel.
Reasons: She didn't know how to use it and didn't dare to act rashly. Besides, Shen Yin was very curious about how those people had managed to enter the large black box called a television.
"Mistress, let's eat. I'll go upstairs to bring the young master down," Aunt Song said before heading upstairs.
The kitchen auntie brought dinner of four dishes and one soup to the dining table.
Sitting at the dining table, Shen Yin was trying to adapt to this new environment. She sat with a dignified posture and graceful manners.
Although she was not favored by her stepmother, Shen Yin received all the etiquette and treatment due to a young lady in a duke's household as fitting to her mother's noble family background. Her uncle had been framed by villains two years ago, leading her grandfather to decide that the entire family would resign from government service and return to their hometown. Otherwise, how could her stepmother Xu Zhen dare to target her?
When Aunt Song carried the 2-year-old Xu Yunzheng down the stairs, she saw Shen Yin sitting at the dining table as if waiting to eat together.
Aunt Song felt this was strange since Shen Yin would never wait for people to eat. Shen Yin always gave a haughty impression with a gloomy expression, ignoring her servants and unwilling to dine with the young master. Whenever Aunt Song called her for a meal, Shen Yin either didn't come or left immediately after eating. Shen Yin rarely even spoke to her husband Xu Xiuhe. Except for having a child, the married couple basically had no connection.
However, Aunt Song knew one thing: Shen Yin greatly disliked Yunzheng, one could even say she hated him.
Xu Xiuhe had attempted to make Shen Yin assume some maternal responsibility, but it seemed to have had the opposite effect.
Aunt Song placed Yunzheng in the highchair beside the dining table. Shen Yin curiously looked at him and their eyes met, prompting Shen Yin to give a slight smile which scared Aunt Song immensely.
For some unknown reason, the 2-year-old milk baby suddenly burst into loud cries. Her cries were so distressing that Aunt Song hurriedly picked Yunzheng up from the chair to soothe him.
It was difficult to endure the meal. Shen Yin ate a few bites and then returned to the sofa to watch television. Aunt Song carried Yunzheng upstairs to his nursery and didn't come out.
After the meal, Shen Yin seemed to have a clearer grasp of her own identity—she was married with a child; but it was obvious that she wasn't well-liked in this family. Shen Yin could clearly feel Aunt Song's dislike of her, yet she had to pretend all was normal.
She believed that this thing called television could provide more knowledge for her to better understand this world, so Shen Yin planned to make up for her lack of knowledge.
At two o'clock in the morning, having watched television dramas, advertisements and so on for six or seven hours, Shen Yin had gained much more understanding about this era. She learned that what she lived in previously—the Dasheng Dynasty—was termed "ancient" for them, while this modern era had far more advanced things like the television and mobile phones on television.
Shen Yin now knew how to use the remote control to switch channels one by one. Just then the front door was opened by someone outside and a man dressed in black came in.
The man seemed surprised to see Shen Yin and gave no greeting before heading upstairs.
Upstairs had many rooms. The huge master bedroom had an ensuite bathroom, walk-in closets, a dressing room, and direct access into the nursery, which also had an outer door. After the incident two months ago, Xu Xiuhe had someone block off the outer nursery door so that the only way to enter the baby's room was through the master bedroom.
When Xu Xiuhe entered the master bedroom, he saw that the open door led to the nursery and Aunt Song immediately came out after hearing his door open.
"Aunt Song, why aren't you sleeping this late? What is going on with my wife sitting in the living room so late?"
"Sir, you're back! Today the mistress was acting a bit strange. She smiled at the young master again. Last time she did that she then abused the young master. His pinch marks had just disappeared. Don't tell me new ones are going to be added!" Aunt Song anxiously replied.
Xu Xiuhe let Aunt Song return to rest and pondered for a moment. His marriage to Shen Yin was a commercial arrangement. When his company was just starting out, Shen Yin's family proposed a mutually beneficial marriage alliance which Xu Xiuhe accepted.
Shen Yin had an older brother. In Xu Xiuhe's view, it was tragic that a woman had to marry a stranger for her family's benefit. Just after their wedding, he had thought that aside from lacking love, Shen Yin would have everything a wife should have. But now, he had to reconsider divorcing her.
Xu Xiuhe dialed his phone, "Hello Dad, I think you should bring Shen Yin to see a psychologist again tomorrow."
"Xiuhe, why are you calling so late? Did Shen Yin make trouble again?" Shen's Father asked without a trace of sleepiness and a tinge of wariness.
"Not yet, but no guarantee nothing will happen later."
Xu Xiuhe walked into Xu Yunzheng's room. The little milk baby was sleeping soundly on the bed. Yunzheng's nose looked a lot like Shen Yin's, straight and refined. His eyebrows and eyes were all in his image. Xu Xiuhe squatted down and stroked Yunzheng's forehead.
The little milk baby whimpered twice, pursed his lips, then quietly went back to sleep. The two-year-old darling had just learned to walk by himself recently. He could say some simple words, call out "daddy", say that he wanted to eat, ask to be held, but he had never called out "mommy" before.
Xu Xiuhe felt a little distressed for Yunzheng. His company was no longer what it used to be. Others only saw that his company had surpassed many large enterprises and conglomerates in three years, but they did not know that he often worked overtime until one or two o'clock in the morning before going home, and naturally did not spend much time accompanying Yunzheng.
Ever since giving birth to Yunzheng, Shen Yin had depression and never cared about or asked about the child. She even felt disgusted by her own son. So from his birth until now, only Aunt Song had been taking care of Yunzheng. Xu Xiuhe kissed the baby's forehead and quietly left the room without closing the door.
Shen Yin was clever to begin with. After watching TV all night, she also had some understanding of this era. Around 6 am, Shen Yin really could not stay awake any longer and wanted to go back to the room to sleep. When she went upstairs, she saw Aunt Song coming out of the room.
"Madam, have you been up all night? Do you want something to eat?" Although reluctant, Aunt Song still asked.
"No need, thanks." Shen Yin replied.
Now it was Aunt Song's turn to be surprised. It was the first time in three years that the madam had said "thank you" to her.
Aunt Song was still stunned when Xu Xiuhe came downstairs and asked what had happened.
Aunt Song told Xu Xiuhe about what had just occurred.
Xu Xiuhe thought for a moment: “Aunt Song, pay more attention. This afternoon, her father should come to pick up the madam to see the doctor."
"Yes, sir." Aunt Song responded.
"Are you having breakfast at home, sir? Health is important. Drink less coffee, or you'll ruin your health." Aunt Song nagged.
Thinking of the two-year-old little milk baby, Xu Xiuhe decided to have breakfast with him at home this morning.
In the dining room, Yunzheng sat in a baby chair, babbling sounds from his mouth “Daddy, daddy, want meat, no veggies." The little darling shook his head while his eyes looked at the meat on the plate.
Hearing the little milk voice, Aunt Song's heart almost melted. Xu Xiuhe also shed his usual coldness and used chopsticks to put a shrimp ball into Yunzheng’s small bowl.
Seeing this, Aunt Song sighed to herself again. If only the madam did not dislike the young master.