2 Rebirth

When she opened her eyes, the candlelight in the room was very weak. An Jin looked at the embroidery rack in front of her blankly. Didn't she just reincarnate to pay back the debt from her previous life? Why was ehe not in the woman's delivery room, but sitting in front of the embroidery stand? The embroidery rack, the room, and the clothes all flew towards the copper mirror.

The 28 year old woman in the mirror had a face full of fear. However, her face was like a hibiscus, having a superior appearance.

An Jin stroked her face again and again. The embroidery needle in her hand pierced her hand to pieces. Fresh blood dripped down, dyeing her face red. In the end, the embroidery needle stabbed deeply into the gaps between An Jin's fingers. Only after the heart-wrenching pain had engulfed her entire body, did she finally confirm that she was not daydreaming on the Road to River Styx. She had truly come back, and before she had even married Shangguan Yong.

An Jin didn't know how long she cried in front of the bronze mirror. The candles on the candlestick were extinguished, and the sky lit up. After the night passed, her eyes turned red from crying, as if she was about to start over again.

"Second Miss, what happened to you?!" A surprised voice sounded from behind her, causing her to stop crying. She slowly turned around and saw that it was her personal servant, Zi Yuan.

She had never seen the usually proud and arrogant second young mistress of the An clan shed tears before. The personal servantwas two years younger than An Jinxiu, and when she saw An Jinxiu's red eyes and tear-stained face, she was dumbfounded. She stood there, not daring to move.

"It's fine." An Jinxiu wiped her face with the back of her hand. "Don't be afraid."

Zi Yuan carefully walked in front of An Jin and asked, "Miss An Jin, what happened to you?"

"I wanted to cry all of a sudden, so I cried for a bit." As An Jinxiu spoke, she looked at the bronze mirror before her and suddenly smiled. Wouldn't this be better than paying her debts in the next life? She would be An Jinxiu for her whole life, no longer making mistakes, no longer letting greed enchant her heart, and would only be Shangguan Yong's wife.

"Miss," Zi Yuan said in a low voice, "Are you not satisfied that the Master has arranged your marriage?"

"What day is it today?" An Jin asked.

"Huh?" Zi Yuan thought for a moment and said, "Today isn't a big day."

"I'm talking about the year," An Jinxiu said, her nails pinching the palm of her hand, but she didn't feel any pain. It turned out that her marriage with Shangguan Yong had already been decided.

"What happened to you, Miss?"

The wedding was on the ninth day of the seventh month of the seventh year. An Jinxiu thought back to her previous life. There was still a month before she would be married to Shangguan Yong. Her feelings of guilt towards this man made her want to see Shangguan Yong right away, but she had no choice but to wait for this month.

"Miss, your hand?!" At this time, Zi Yuan noticed An Jin's injured hand and cried out in alarm.

"It's alright." An Jinxiu lowered her head to look at her bloody right hand and covered it with her sleeve. "I was stitching last night."

"I'll go find the head steward and have him call the doctor." Zi Yuan turned around to run out.

"No need," An Jinxiu called out to Zi Yuan, "I'll just wrap myself up."

"Miss, you're willing to marry that Shangguan fool?"

"What Shangguan fool?" An Jinxiu's face sank. "He's also a general. Don't spout nonsense."

"That's what the Eldest Young Master and the rest call him." Zi Yuan walked in front of An Jin. "Yesterday, Miss was also like that," Zi Yuan looked at An Jin and said, "Miss, don't you think you should call her that as well?"

An Jin stood up and said in a forked tone, "Go and pay respects to Madam. Help me change my clothes."

"Is Miss's hand really okay?" Zi Yuan followed behind An Jin and asked. Second Miss An whom she had been serving since she was young seemed to be different in some way. However, Zi Yuan couldn't tell what exactly it was.

When she had heard in his previous life that his father was going to marry her to Shangguan Yong, that year, An Jinxiu had knelt in the main courtyard and begged him for half a day, saying all sorts of things about not wanting to marry her. An Jinxiu smiled bitterly. It looked like she had done the same thing in her life. When these words entered Shangguan Yong's ears, he would be hurt by her again.

Zi Yuan waited on An Jinxiu to wash her face, put on makeup and clothes, but she didn't dare to talk to An Jinxiu about the marriage that was set for a month from now.

"I've already thought about this marriage." Just as they were about to leave, An Jinxiu looked at Zi Yuan with a cautious gaze and said, "There's nothing bad about marrying an upright general."

After hearing An Jinxiu's words, the servant face was filled with disbelief. She mumbled, "It's great that Miss can think like that."

Zi Yuan was a good person. In her previous life, she had followed her to the Shangguan Mansion and advised her many times that Zi Yuan had taken care of her and her daughter when she was young. Zi Yuan was her benefactor. When she thought of this, An Jin turned around. For the first time in her life, she held onto Zi Yuan's hand and softly said, "Little girl Zi Li, in the future, I will find you a good man that you can rely on for your entire life."

Zi Yuan's face turned red. Growing up with An Jinxiu, she was no different from any other common servant girl in the house. Immediately, the little girl stomped her feet and said, "Miss, don't joke with Zi Yuan. Zi Yuan will serve you for the rest of his life. What man is he?"

An Jin smiled and turned her head to look at the autumn laurel in the yard. It was the middle of summer in July, and the leaves of the osmanthus tree were green and dense. Another month later, the osmanthus flower bloomed.

"When the osmanthus blossoms, the young miss will be married off," the Zi Yuan said by An Jin's side.

"En," An Jinxiu responded. It was the golden autumn season, and her wedding day just so happened to be a good time to leave the family.

"Miss," Zi Yuan said, looking at An Jinxiu's face, "you can still tell that Miss has been crying even with makeup on."

"Who forbade me to cry?" As An Jinxiu spoke, she walked towards the entrance of the small courtyard.

Along the way, the servants and maidservants of the mansion would occasionally see An Jin. As they all avoided her, they would secretly glance at her with expressions of sympathy. An Jin didn't pay attention to any of these gazes. She simply straightened her back and walked on her own path.

In the main room, all the masters of the An clan were present, with the exception of An Jin.

"Master, Madam, Second Miss has come to pay her respects." When the main butler saw An Jinxiu enter the courtyard through the side door, he rushed inside to report to her.

"Let her in," Grand Preceptor's wife, Nee Qin, ordered.

"Second Miss." The Chief Steward rushed to his side and greeted her with a bow.

An Jinxiu gave the head steward a polite smile and walked into the main room.

"Second sister, you cried?" The third young miss of the estate, An Jinge, said a few words when she saw An Jin's face.

"I've cried," An Jinxiu admitted generously.

"Your marriage has already been set," Grand Preceptor An said after waiting for An Jin to pay his respects to his wife. "Your crying is useless."

An Jinxiu lowered her head and said, "I was the one who made a mistake that day. Father, your daughter is willing to marry."

As soon as the words came out of An Jin's mouth, all the Masters of the Residence were stunned.

"Are you willing to marry?" Née Qin asked An Jinxiu, "Ah Jin, you don't have to feel wronged in front of your family."

"That's right, second sister." Third miss An Jinge also said, "If you had thought it through, why would you cry until your eyes were red? That Shangguan Yong guy, I heard he … "

"Shut up!" At this moment, Grand Preceptor An spoke up to his third daughter. "Where are your manners?!"