Chapter 1 The Duchess Who Died in the Snow
Snow fell over the imperial capital of Great Xia.
Inside the imperial prison, a woman knelt on the cold stone floor.
Her clothes were stained with blood. Her wrists were bound in iron chains, and her once-beautiful hair hung loosely around her pale face.
Yet the deepest wound was not the one inflicted upon her body.
It was the news delivered by the prison guard.
"The Shen family has been stripped of its noble title. Your father died in exile, and your elder brother has been executed for treason."
Shen Yuelan lowered her head.
Her father.
Her brother.
Her family.
Everything had been taken from her.
"And my husband?" she asked quietly.
The guard laughed."Lord Pei will marry your younger sister, Shen Ruyue, in three days."
For a moment, Shen Yuelan did not move.
Then she laughed.
Five years.
For five years, she had been the perfect wife. She had used her family's fortune to support her husband's ambitions, sold her mother's jewelry to finance his political allies, and sacrificed her own reputation whenever his career was threatened.
She had believed that one day he would understand her sacrifices.
Instead, he had used her until nothing remained.
"Bring him here," she said.
"Who?"
"Pei Chenghao."
An hour later, her husband arrived.
He wore an elegant blue robe embroidered with gold thread. His face was as handsome as she remembered, but his eyes held none of the warmth that had once made her fall in love with him.
"Yuelan," he said impatiently. "You should not have forced me to come.
"She studied him.
"Do you love her?"
He frowned.
"Who?"
"Ruyue."
He was silent.
Then he answered, "Yes."
One word.That was all it took to destroy the last remnants of her hope.
"And what about me?" she asked.
"You are my wife. I never intended to hurt you."
"Really?"
Her voice trembled with bitter laughter.
"When you needed money, I gave it to you. When you needed political allies, I used my family's influence to help you. When Ruyue was accused of poisoning an imperial concubine, I took the blame to protect her."
She looked directly into his eyes.
"And when my father was accused of treason, you told me to remain silent because you did not want to offend the imperial court."
Pei Chenghao looked away.
"The political situation was complicated."
"Complicated?"
Her expression changed.
"So my sacrifices were love, but my family's suffering was merely politics?"
He did not answer.
Instead, he handed her a confession.
"Sign this. Admit that you used the Shen family's wealth to finance a rebellion. If you confess, your death may at least be more dignified.
"Shen Yuelan stared at the document.Then she looked at the man she had once loved more than her own life."Pei Chenghao."
"What?"
"If heaven ever grants me another life, I will make you regret the day you met me."
He scoffed and left.
He did not look back.
That night, Shen Yuelan was dragged to the execution grounds.
Snow covered the courtyard.
Her stepsister stood among the spectators, dressed in a beautiful red robe.
"Don't worry, Elder Sister," Shen Ruyue whispered. "I'll take good care of the Pei family."
Shen Yuelan raised her head.
"Have you ever felt guilty?"
"Why would I?"
Ruyue smiled.
"Everyone always chose you. Father loved you. Mother left everything to you.
Even Chenghao-gege used to say your name before we married.
"She leaned closer."
I simply took what should have been mine."
Shen Yuelan stared at her.
"No, Ruyue. The only thing that belongs to you is the hatred you will carry until your death."
Ruyue's smile disappeared.
The executioner raised his sword.
Shen Yuelan closed her eyes.
In the darkness, a man's face appeared in her memory.
A man dressed in black, with cold eyes and a voice she had once dismissed.
If you ever have nowhere left to go, come to me.
Xiao Jinyan.
The Third Prince.
The man whose offer of protection she had rejected because she loved Pei Chenghao too much.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
The sword fell.
The world went dark.
But just before her consciousness disappeared, she heard the thunder of horses and a man's furious voice.
"WHO DARED TO KILL HER?"
She never learned that Xiao Jinyan had arrived too late.
She never learned that he had held her lifeless body in the snow.
And she never learned that the man who had conquered countless battlefields would spend the rest of his life regretting the one battle he had lost.
Until fate granted them another chance.
"MISS! MISS, PLEASE WAKE UP!"
Shen Yuelan gasped.
Sunlight filtered through pink silk curtains.
The familiar scent of jasmine tea filled the room.
A young maid stared at her anxiously.
"Miss, are you feeling unwell?"
Yuelan looked around.Her room.
Her childhood bedroom in the Duke Shen residence.
She looked at her hands.
No chains.
No blood.
No wounds.
"Lingxi?"
"Yes, Miss.
It's me."
"What year is it?"
Lingxi looked confused.
"The third year of Emperor Xuande's reign."
Yuelan stopped breathing.
The third year.
Five years before her execution.
She had returned.
This time, her father was alive.
Her brother had not been accused of treason.
The Shen family had not yet fallen.
And her enemies had not yet revealed their true faces.
Yuelan slowly rose from the bed.
"Prepare my bath."
"Yes, Miss."
"Then bring me my finest clothes."
Lingxi smiled.
"Are you going to West Lake to meet Lord Pei?"
Yuelan looked at her reflection in the bronze mirror.
"No."
She smiled coldly.
"I'm going to meet someone far more important."
"Who, Miss?"
"The Third Prince, Xiao Jinyan."
This time, she would not chase the man who betrayed her.
She would approach the man who had once offered her protection.
Not because she needed a man to take revenge on her behalf.
But because she had learned that surviving among wolves required more than courage.
Sometimes, the best way to defeat them was to stand beside the wolf they feared most.
And Shen Yuelan intended to become the most feared woman in the empire.
