Ruan Ningyu died as Empress Ningde, her demise celebrated by the nation. She lay on a zitan bed, clinging to life with the rarest medicinal herbs. In her past life, she was a beautiful but notorious empress, accused of colluding with sycophants and using her beauty to seize power. Among the countless crimes penned against her, eloping with Young Master Shen in her youth was a minor detail. She wakes up to find herself back on the day of that elopement, ten years ago. She is drenched with cold water by an old nurse, who presents her to the Xie family's eldest grandson, Xie Ling. He remains aloof, ordering her tied up. Ruan Ningyu realizes she has returned to the past, to the moment of her greatest disgrace.She remembers the past life vividly. As a humble cousin of the Xie Mansion, she eloped with Shen Jingyu, the younger son of Marquis Shen. Xie Ling caught her, brought her back, and personally administered a harsh family law punishment that left her unable to get out of bed for half a month. She hated him for that. Later, she became Empress of Murong Shen, and Xie Ling rose to Chief Minister, marrying Xu Qingyao, the epitome of a virtuous lady. Ruan Ningyu spent years as his political enemy, slandering him, killing his allies, forcing a bad marriage upon him as revenge. She saw him kneel on the palace path in heavy snow until he collapsed. She gloated over his suffering. But now, after her death, she sees the truth: her actions only solidified Xu Qingyao's support from Xie Ling, and she ruined her own life. Now she is reborn at the crucial moment.In the courtyard, she faces Xie Ling. He is still the untouchable eldest grandson, refined and elegant, not yet the ruthless Chief Minister. She sarcastically remarks that he stole glances at her, shocking everyone. He does not react much but continues to order her bound. She struggles, demanding to be untied, but he ignores her. Shen Jingyu is also captured. Ruan Ningyu is forced into a carriage with Xie Ling, while her hands remain bound. She feels humiliated, remembering how in her past life he would not even share a carriage. She faints from hunger and exhaustion, dreaming of past encounters: her first meeting with him when he became top scholar, her later confrontations as Empress, her malicious forcing of a wife upon him, and his silent endurance. She wakes in the carriage at night, to the sound of Xie Ling playing the guqin. The rain and thunder terrify her, and she remembers his later ruthlessness. She feels ashamed and afraid, but also determined.He questions her about female virtue. She retorts, arguing that societal standards are hypocritical, especially regarding men versus women. She acknowledges her wrongdoing in eloping but refuses to bow completely. Shen Jingyu tries to get into the carriage but is dragged away. Xie Ling continues his qin playing, seemingly unmoved. Ruan Ningyu, weak and hungry, forces herself to stay alert. She asks him to untie her, promising not to run. He watches her, but does nothing. She leans against the carriage wall, feeling the cold and fear, but also a resolve to change her fate this time. The story captures her rebirth into her former self, the immediate confrontation with the man who would become her greatest enemy and the source of her past destruction, and her realization that she must navigate this new life carefully to avoid the same tragic end.
