Yuan Ziyou opens her eyes after a three-day fever to find herself back in her twelve-year-old body, in her old room in the general’s mansion. The moment she sees her maids Qingying and Qingzhi alive, and her mother and grandmother rushing to her bedside, she understands: she has been reborn into the past, carrying every scar of her previous existence. In that former life, her cousin Yuan Zitong, who secretly adored Yuan Ziyou’s fiancé Huo Xifei, pushed her into the frozen lake, causing the very fever from which she now wakes. But that was only the beginning of the catastrophe. Her second uncle Yuan Qilei, jealous of her father’s military glory, later forged treason letters and hid them in her father’s study. The emperor’s edict destroyed the family: her father and two brothers were beheaded, her mother hanged herself in grief, and her grandmother died of shock. She herself was defiled by the brute Han Guanglei and sold into an official brothel. After escaping with her maids’ sacrifice, she personally killed her second uncle’s entire household to satisfy her need for vengeance. Then, to reach the Huainan Marquis who had benefited from her family’s ruin, she disfigured her own beautiful face and infiltrated his mansion as the lowest kitchen maid. For ten years she toiled in that disguise, and during that time Huo Xifei, her childhood betrothed who never married another, found her and secretly aided her. When at last her plan succeeded and the marquis was arrested for his own treason, she was standing in the kitchen, a smile on her disfigured face. But she had already consumed poison. She died in Huo Xifei’s arms, her blood dripping onto the jade bracelet he had kept for her since their engagement. He buried her with a tombstone that named her his wife. Now, reborn, Yuan Ziyou has the chance to change everything. She knows the exact timeline: the false accusation will occur in three years. She must separate her second uncle’s family from the household before then. She must also protect her grandmother from the shock that could kill her. She realizes that Yuan Zitong, her seemingly gentle cousin, is a venomous snake; she will keep a careful distance while pretending to be close. In addition, a strange green light appears in her dreams, drawing her into a hidden space: a circular patch of black soil surrounding a clear pond, enclosed by a bright blue canopy. She senses that this place is connected to her newly reborn self, and she intends to explore its mysteries. She hides her true knowledge behind an innocent demeanor, but her eyes watch everything. She rebuilds her relationship with her mother and grandmother, cherishing every moment. She also waits for Huo Xifei’s next visit, determined to respond to his love instead of rejecting him as she did before. Her plan is comprehensive: gather evidence against her second uncle, weaken his influence, and expose his corruption before he can frame her father. With her foreknowledge and the secret space, she begins her careful maneuvers, balancing revenge with redemption. This is the story of her second life, a journey to reverse the fate of the Yuan family and to finally unite with the man who waited for her across two lifetimes.
