TDLTD 01

Chapter 1

Wei Ruo felt that she must be dreaming. Otherwise, how could she possibly see her daughters, Run Jie’er and Cheng Jie’er?

When Run Jie’er and Cheng Jie’er saw that their mother had awakened, they were overjoyed. The two of them called out in unison, “Mother!”

But Wei Ruo only stared blankly at the jeweled butterfly hairpin on Run Jie’er’s head, as if she hadn’t yet processed what was happening.

Seeing that their mother had woken up but was just sitting there silently without speaking to them, the two girls’ lips trembled, and they burst into tears.

Wei Ruo’s personal maid, Chunlan, had originally gone to pour her some water upon seeing her awake. Hearing the children crying, she hurriedly set the teapot down on the octagonal table and rushed to Wei Ruo’s side.

“Madam, please have a sip of water to moisten your throat,” Chunlan said, holding out a teacup.

Out of habit, Wei Ruo took the cup.

Only after the warm tea entered her mouth did she finally feel a sense of reality.

She handed the cup back to Chunlan and lowered her head to look at her two daughters.

The two little girls were gazing at their mother with hopeful eyes.

They hadn’t disturbed her earlier because she was drinking water, but now that she looked at them, they could no longer hold back.

“Mother,” they called again, stretching out their arms, wanting her to hold them.

Seeing her children reaching out to her, Wei Ruo could no longer restrain herself. She turned slightly and pulled them both into her embrace.

After being unconscious for two days, their mother had not only awakened but also held them close. The two girls began crying again.

Wei Ruo understood that they were feeling wronged. She didn’t try to stop them, only gently patted their backs, soothing them.

Under their mother’s comfort, the children gradually calmed down and stopped sobbing.

Taking advantage of this moment, Chunlan instructed Qiuyun to summon the imperial physician. Before he arrived, she directed the maids to lower the curtains, move stools, and coax the young ladies aside.

The imperial physician entered without daring to raise his head. After checking Wei Ruo’s pulse, he said she was no longer in danger and only needed proper rest. Then he took his leave.

The Noble Consort was waiting in the palace for news of Wei Ruo; he needed to return to report.

After instructing Qiuyun to escort the physician out, Wei Ruo asked Chunlan, “Did Third Sister come by?”

“Third Miss came to visit once, but you were still unconscious at the time. She sat for a while and then left,” Chunlan replied softly.

As soon as Wei Ruo heard this, she understood what time it was—and her heart jolted.

“How is Mother now?” Thinking of her mother, a sharp pain filled her heart.

She had transmigrated here from another world. When she first arrived, the original body had only been two or three years old.

At first, being in a strange place terrified her. Fortunately, her father had been kind, and her mother gentle, helping her through that initial period of confusion.

Although her life changed drastically after her father passed away and her mother entered the palace, she had still lived relatively smoothly under her mother’s protection.

But she had caused her mother trouble.

In her previous life, at this time, news reached the capital that the Duke and her two sons had gone missing at the border. Upon hearing the news, she fainted from the shock.

Although she later woke up, she couldn’t accept that her sons—only eight years old—had met with disaster on the battlefield.

For a long time, she lay in bed like a lifeless shell, unresponsive to everything around her.

Her mother, who was already pregnant, rushed to the Duke’s residence despite the Emperor’s objections after hearing that Wei Ruo refused to eat or drink and that her two daughters had no one to care for them.

At that time, the Duke’s household was in despair. The Old Duke was already ill, and both the Old Madam and the Dowager Lady had also fallen sick after hearing the news.

After arriving, seeing that Wei Ruo wouldn’t recover anytime soon, her mother took the two girls into the palace to care for them.

The Emperor, who deeply favored her mother, naturally agreed.

Thus, the two daughters entered the palace for a temporary stay.

But this stay would become Wei Ruo’s lifelong regret.

Because her mother was pregnant, her energy was limited. Besides caring for the two girls, she also had to look after Wei Ruo’s younger sister, Princess Pingning.

Although her mother did her best, she couldn’t keep the children by her side at all times.

Just as Wei Ruo was gradually regaining awareness and was about to bring her daughters back from the palace—

News came from the palace.

Both daughters had accidentally fallen into the water and drowned.

When the news reached the Duke’s residence, Wei Ruo vomited blood and fainted.

Her mother, unable to bear the shock, miscarried a fully formed baby boy. The midwife said that when the child was born, he had even cried twice.

In a short time, losing four grandchildren and a son dealt her mother a devastating blow. And because the two granddaughters died in the palace, her mother felt deeply guilty toward Wei Ruo.

When she heard that Wei Ruo had fainted after vomiting blood, she too collapsed.

Wei Ruo eventually woke up.

But her mother never did.

Overnight, aside from her younger sister Princess Pingning, Wei Ruo lost all her family.

The Emperor, deeply in love with her mother, could not accept her death. From then on, he neglected state affairs and turned to seeking immortality, hoping to bring her back.

Because Princess Pingning resembled their mother so much, the Emperor avoided seeing her—not out of dislike, but because he couldn’t bear it.

Every time he saw her, he was reminded of his lost love.

Even when the young princess cried to see her father, he refused.

This attitude gave those in the palace an opportunity.

Not long after their mother’s death, the young princess fell ill with a cold—and soon passed away.

The palace claimed she had caught a chill.

But Wei Ruo knew it couldn’t be that simple.

She knew too well how carefully palace servants cared for children.

There must have been foul play.

After attending her sister’s funeral, she returned home only to receive confirmation from the front lines: the Duke and her sons had died in battle, and their bodies had been found.

Having lost everyone, Wei Ruo became strangely calm.

Her husband and sons had died in battle—that was fate.

But her daughters, mother, and sister could not die in vain.

She would avenge them.

However, before she could gather evidence, the Emperor died from grief.

Because his death was so sudden, no successor had been designated.

Chaos erupted in the court. The older princes and their maternal families fought fiercely for the throne.

The Duke’s household, a long-standing military family, had always remained loyal only to the Emperor and never aligned with any prince.

To seize control of the army under the Duke’s command, the princes led their forces to attack the Duke’s residence.

Though the guards fought bravely, they were ultimately outnumbered.

The Third Prince broke in first. He had the female family members brought before the bedridden Old Duke and threatened to slaughter them unless he handed over the military seal.

The Old Duke refused.

Wei Ruo watched helplessly as the prince’s blade fell upon her sisters-in-law—until it reached her.

The executioner hesitated only briefly before striking.

Just before she closed her eyes, she heard shouting outside.

“The Duke has returned!”

The Duke?

Her husband?

She never found out.

Darkness took her.

And when she opened her eyes again—

She had returned to the moment when news of the Duke’s disappearance had just arrived.

At this time, her mother had not yet left the palace to see her.

“Chunlan, help me get dressed,” Wei Ruo said urgently, thinking of her pregnant mother. She threw off the covers and tried to get out of bed.