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  Update: Hi guys, ter you will encounter -cough- male lead - cough- Zhou Weizhao who is the Crown Prince's son, not grandson. If you see me writing it as grandson, it means I haven't fixed it yet so please ignore it for now. :)

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  In the 36th year of the Jianzhang of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Song Chuyi died in the middle of a py.

  It was early spring, and after a drizzling rain, the spring sun shone brightly on the Duke of Ying's residence. The garden was filled with delicate orchids, creating a sea of light blue that complemented the budding crabapple flowers, making it look like a fairynd.

  The Duke of Ying's birthday was celebrated with the most popur opera troupe in the capital, making the atmosphere lively and joyful.

  Song Chuyi y curled up on the bed, motionless.

  The room was sparsely furnished, with only a carved bed and a few chairs, nothing like her original preferences, nor did it reflect the dignity of the legitimate daughter of the Song family.

  Luyi returned with this month's allowance and saw her listening intently to the noise outside. She felt a pang of sadness, walked to the bed, and tucked her in, coaxing, "It's only been sunny for a few days, and there's still a chill in the air. Be careful not to catch a cold, madam. Shall I close the window?"

  Outside, the noise was overwhelming, with ughter ringing like wind chimes, making it impossible to stay calm.

  Song Chuyi's expression was a mix of joy and sorrow, and she suddenly started coughing violently.

  Luyi hurriedly patted her back, feeling her emaciated body, and couldn't help but tear up. "Madam, don't think about it. The Duke, he was just momentarily bewitched..."

  How could it be a momentary pse? He had always been clear-headed. If anyone was bewitched, it could only be Song Chuyi herself. Her face finally showed some emotion, and she pouted as if about to cry, extending her hand to Luyi like a child.

  She had been coughing up blood for many days, and her condition had worsened over the past six months.

  Luyi looked at the blood in her palm, feeling dizzy and weak, and knelt on the ground, crying.

  By now, there was no one else in the Duke's residence who would cry for her except Luyi. Song Chuyi weakly patted her head with her other hand. "Don't cry."

  Everyone dies eventually, and she feels she has lived long enough.

  Outside, the sun was bright, and butterflies fluttered, reminding her of her youth. The scene was so familiar that it seemed like if she just opened her eyes, she would be back in the family school, with her teacher and sisters inside and her family's garden outside.

  And she would still be the vibrant sixth young dy of the Song family, not this disgraced and nominally titled Duchess.

  A gust of wind brought the ughter of the maids, pulling Song Chuyi back to reality.

  "The second madam gave everyone an extra month's allowance."

  "I heard the opera troupe today is from Jiangnan, famous for their Huangmei tunes. The Duke invited them especially for the second madam."

  They chattered like sparrows, annoying and relentless.

  Luyi's eyes were filled with anger, and she bit her lip hard, wishing she could sew their mouths shut. She turned to Song Chuyi, pleading, "Madam, don't listen. Don't listen... they're all talking nonsense."

  How could it be nonsense? Song Chuyi mustered her strength to pat Luyi's hand, her gaze drifting far away.

  The second madam they mentioned was Shen Qingrang's concubine—her own stepsister, the eighth young dy of the Song family, Song Chuning, who was the true love of Shen Qingrang.

  Shen Qingrang loved her so much that he couldn't wait for Song Chuyi to die before having everyone in the residence call her the second madam, just waiting for the first madam to die so he could elevate her.

  Song Chuyi wasn't sad about this.

  Before she got married, she had a good retionship with her stepmother and stepsister. Three years ago, when Shen Qingrang saved Song Chuning from drowning, forcing her to marry him as a concubine, she didn't suspect anything.

  What saddened her was that she and Song Chuning were sisters, yet she ended up alone and betrayed, while Song Chuning had everything.

  But why did all this happen?!

  She clutched her clothes, almost unable to breathe, biting her lip in anger. If she had made mistakes, been foolish and reckless, she would accept her fate.

  But it wasn't.

  She remembered three days ago when Song Chuning came to see her, smiling as always, but her words were piercing.

  "Song Chuyi, how can you be so stupid when we share the same father?"

  Her opening words left Song Chuyi stunned.

  "Do you really think the Duke despised you because you failed to protect the young master from drowning? He never liked you. From childhood to now, he always liked me! I was his childhood sweetheart! If you hadn't insisted on marrying him, I wouldn't have ended up as a concubine! No matter how nice it sounds, I'm still not the main wife, always having to bow to you!" Song Chuning grabbed her hair and dragged her off the bed, her face twisted in anger, unlike her usual gentle demeanor.

  The once gentle and elegant stepsister, whom she considered a real sister, now approached her step by step, shattering her soul with a few words.

  "I... I didn't know..." she stammered, sitting on the ground, tears streaming down her face, unable to comprehend.

  Song Chuning reached out her well-maintained hand and squeezed her neck, smirking with a mix of resentment and mockery. "You didn't know what?"

  She didn't know that her own sister had the same deep feelings for Shen Qingrang... If she had known... If she had known... Song Chuyi felt a pang of bitterness, her face pale.

  She stammered, clinging to Song Chuning's luxurious dress, almost pleading, "If I had known, I wouldn't have fought with you..."

  To marry Shen Qingrang, she used every means possible, even alienating her grandmother and father, who had always loved her. Over the years, the only close family she had left was Song Chuning. She was terrified of ending up alone, with no one in the world caring if she lived or died.

  Song Chuning ughed out loud, ughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.

  "Song Chuyi, how can there be someone as stupid as you in this world?! Did you even listen to what I just said?! I'm not here to tell you how much I've suffered; I'm here to tell you how foolish you are!" She threw Song Chuyi aside as if discarding a dead dog.

  "Do you even know why your son died?!"

  Song Chuyi clenched her fists, her face pale, her pupils diting.

  "Because Shen Qingrang didn't want to keep pretending to be a loving husband. Because you had already made your grandmother and father so tired of you that they didn't even want to see you. So, as long as your son died, he could rightfully despise you for it and make room for me. Do you understand?!"

  She really wished she had gone deaf at that moment.

  But she hadn't.

  So many things she hadn't thought about before now had reasonable expnations.

  Why had her son's wet nurse, who had never had any issues, conveniently disappeared that day? Why had the doctor been so slow, arriving only after her child's breathing had stopped?

  Song Chuyi clutched her clothes tightly, veins bulging on her forehead, but all she got in return was Song Chuning's increasingly loud cold ughter.

  "Song Chuyi, you are hopelessly stupid! You threatened your grandmother and father with your life to get this marriage, but look at the result!"

  "The result is that the marriage turned into enmity. Where is Shen Qingrang's love for you? He even had the heart to harm his own son, showing how much he despised you!"

  "Your mother was foolish, but you are even more so! If I hadn't been so angry, wanting you to die miserably, you would have died a fool!"

  Recalling these words gave Song Chuyi a splitting headache, making her want to roll on the floor in pain.

  Seeing her gasping for breath, Luyi panicked, her face covered in tears and snot, desperately trying to help her breathe while crying out for help.

  But who was there to help?

  She was no longer the beloved sixth young dy of the Marquis's residence, but a discarded, dying woman whom Shen Qingrang despised and didn't even want to look at.

  Song Chuyi's eyes were bloodshot, her face flushed, struggling to breathe.

  She had been foolish all her life, but at the moment of death, she was painfully clear-headed.

  She had a responsibility in this marriage; it was her fault for insisting on marrying Shen Qingrang.

  But from the beginning, Shen Qingrang had never shown any dissatisfaction with the marriage.

  On the contrary, he had been very attentive, sending kites and bracelets as tokens of affection.

  When she was no longer useful, she became a shameless fool in his eyes, discarded, and even her own son was not spared.

  She had been blind, blind to fall for someone as heartless as Shen Qingrang!

  As the pain hit her, her consciousness began to fade, and the heavy drowsiness made it hard to keep her eyes open.

  But she still used all her strength to keep her eyes wide open.

  She was filled with hatred! Hatred that wouldn't let her die in peace. She hated herself for being so foolish, for listening to her stepmother and stepsister, and for alienating her grandmother and father for a heartless man, ending up dead and alone.

  As her consciousness faded and her vision blurred, the hatred in her heart almost burst out. Song Chuyi's eyes bled as she unwillingly took her st breath.

  Outside, the breeze was gentle, the music pleasant, and the opera singer on stage sang mournfully.

  "I thought my wealth was set for life, But who knew fate would change in an instant. I once acted spoiled and willful, But now, I can't help but believe in past lives."