She had always thought that death would be a momentary pang of pain, followed by an endless slumber.
But Shen Li never expected that she would still be able to feel the coldness of the blade and the dull ache in her head.
Even more, she could hear the noisy chatter ringing in her ears...
"Has the eldest young lady woken up yet?"
"Not yet. She risked her life just to make the Fourth Prince smile. No wonder she's from a family of reckless warriors!"
"She has no manners of her own and has shamed our mansion. Yet she still has the nerve to come back. I think it's a good thing she had such a bad fall. She might as well just sleep herself to death!"
...
Who was talking?
The conversation was strange yet familiar.
The eldest young lady? The Fourth Prince? What on earth was going on?
"If you have nothing better to do, go check if the medicine is boiled. Don't disturb the eldest young lady's rest here!"
Shen Li couldn't recognize the other voices, but this one she knew all too well!
It was Jiaoyue, the maid who had grown up with her!
It seemed that she was truly dead, for only then could she see her old acquaintance again.
After all, Jiaoyue had been framed and beaten to death while protecting her before she married Xiao Hanzhi.
Her head throbbed painfully, her ears rang, and her eyelids felt like lead.
Shen Li summoned all her strength to open her eyes.
"Miss! You're finally awake!"
Before Shen Li could regain her senses, she saw a fifteen - or sixteen - year - old maid rushing up to her. Her face was a mix of worry and joy.
"Judging from the eldest young lady's expression, she can't even recognize her personal maid. Did the eldest young lady hit her head so hard while trying to amuse the Fourth Prince that she's gone stupid?"
Shen Li's mind was a blank. She turned to look at the speaker.
The room and the ornaments were familiar, and the two maids standing by the door, their faces full of mockery, were so familiar...
Both were about sixteen or seventeen years old. Their clothes and appearance didn't look like that of ordinary maids at all. When they noticed her gaze, they showed no sign of restraint.
One of them even walked up with a smile and said, "The eldest young lady is awake. Chunju and I will take our leave first, so as not to disturb the eldest young lady's peace."
The blatant mockery under her eyes was clearly written on her rather plain face.
Wait!
Chunju?
Linghua!
A slight pain shot through her head, and suddenly it was as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. All her memories came flooding back.
She had thought she was in the underworld, which was why she saw the fifteen - or sixteen - year - old Jiaoyue.
But Linghua and Chunju were originally the maids sent by Shen Miao to keep an eye on Shen Li. When she "died", these two had just been promoted to senior nannies. They were at the height of their popularity and living a carefree life!
Thinking back carefully on their words, it was now the year when she was sixteen. In order to win Xiao Hanzhi's favor, she had listened to Shen Miao's advice and gone to the center of the lake to perform sword - dancing for Xiao Hanzhi. Before she could even start, she had slipped and fallen into the lake.
After that, the reputation of the eldest young lady of the Shen family as a love - struck and brainless girl had spread far and wide, and the entire Night Shade Division had been ridiculed for a long time.
Had the words she uttered before her death in her previous life really come true?
The heavens had finally opened their eyes, and she had really been reborn!
Xiao Hanzhi, Shen Miao, it seems we don't have to wait for the next life.
The debts of the previous life will be settled in this life!
Linghua said she was here to take her leave, but she barely even bent her back.
After all, Shen Li was the easiest master to bully in the mansion.
Although she was highly skilled in martial arts, because she had always hated being labeled as someone from the rather ruthless Night Shade Division since childhood, she had always preferred to live with her second uncle's family and refused to go back.
In her second uncle's house, although she was called the eldest young lady, in fact, she was deeply insecure inside, always afraid of being looked down upon.
Therefore, even if the servants were impolite to her, she didn't really care.
Seeing that Shen Li didn't respond to her for a long time, Linghua lost her patience. She simply stood up straight and said impatiently, "It seems the eldest young lady hasn't rested enough. In that case, we won't disturb you. Jiaoyue, take good care of the young lady."
After saying that, without waiting for Shen Li's response, she turned around and was about to leave the room.
"You..." Jiaoyue was filled with indignation, but she quickly bit her tongue. If even her mistress Shen Li didn't dare to control them, how could she, a mere maid, do so?
"Stop."
The voice was soft, cold, and emotionless, but it carried a kind of authority that made people unable to move their feet.
Hearing these two words, Jiaoyue was startled. She looked up in disbelief. "Eldest young lady?"
Shen Li's face was still a bit pale, but she had already propped herself up and was sitting against the head of the bed.
Her eyes were calm, no longer showing the slightest trace of inferiority. Now they were like a deep, cold pool, making people afraid to look directly at them.
She patted Jiaoyue's hand and tried to make her voice gentle. "Jiaoyue, you've been taking care of me these days. You've worked hard. Go back and rest first."
"Miss, I'm not tired. If I leave, who will take care of you?"
Since coming to the second master's mansion, Shen Li had been alienated from her due to the instigation of others. Now that Shen Li needed someone by her side, how could she leave?
Shen Li patted the back of Jiaoyue's hand. When she looked at Chunju and Linghua again, her eyes were as cold as the biting wind on the Jingzhe Tower.
"Aren't there others here to take care of me?"
Shen Li's sudden command to stop made the two maids, who had already turned around, freeze in their tracks.
Living under someone else's roof and being insecure, Shen Li had always been afraid of bothering others.
Everyone thought Shen Li had a soft personality, so they always ignored her words.
Linghua turned around and shouted at Shen Li impatiently, "Eldest young lady, you've just woken up. Do you have any other orders?"
Shen Li sat up straight, and Jiaoyue quickly reached out to support her.
Although she still looked like a sixteen - year - old girl and the bed she was sitting on was a bit shabby, the nobility and powerful sense of oppression emanating from her quickly rushed towards the two maids!
She slightly raised her beautiful eyes. Her gaze was sharp and cold, like cold needles. Her eyes slowly slid across Linghua and Chunju's faces.
Just one glance made the two of them shiver.
"Did I give you permission to leave?"
Her voice was still a bit childish. After her words fell, the atmosphere in the room became a bit strange.
Linghua looked mocking and impatient. "Then please tell us quickly. We have a lot of chores to do. You embarrassed yourself in front of the Fourth Prince today. Don't drag us down and delay our business."
In the past, if anyone showed the slightest bit of impatience, Shen Li would have thought she had done something wrong.
But now, the person inside Shen Li's body was no longer the coward from before.
Now that she had been reborn, she had already experienced the changes in the Night Shade Division, the fight for the throne, and the suppression of the rebellion...
"What are you talking nonsense about!"
Jiaoyue was so angry that her face turned red. But as soon as she opened her mouth to scold, Shen Li stopped her.
She looked at Linghua and Chunju, completely ignoring their talk of "embarrassment". "Oh? Since you're so busy, then go and get on with your work."
"Eldest young lady!"
"Heheh..."
Jiaoyue's unwillingness and the two maids' mocking laughter mixed together. It was really ear - piercing.
The strange expressions on Chunju and Linghua's faces disappeared. They let out a sneer.
Sure enough, she was a coward. She got scared when they raised their voices to her.