“Madam, the young master shizi has brought the divorce papers.”
Duan Mingxi acted as if she hadn’t heard a word, keeping her gaze fixed on the person in the mirror.
Delicate brows, a straight nose, phoenix-like eyes, and crimson lips—her beauty was bold and dazzling, radiating an irresistible allure.
Duan Mingxi had been married to Gao Zhan, Duke Gao Shizi, for ten years. But who would believe that she was still a virgin even now?
She had followed all the rules, adhered to the three obediences and four virtues, served her husband with care, and respected and honored her parents-in-law.
Now that the Gao family had earned the merit of aiding the new emperor’s ascension, Gao Zhan’s first act was to petition for her dismissal under the pretext of disrespecting his parents-in-law and being childless. He requested the emperor’s permission to marry the woman he truly loved.
In the mirror, a tall and broad figure appeared. Through its reflection, Duan Mingxi met Gao Zhan’s gaze.
His deep, dark eyes were impossible to read, and his handsome face—capable of making the noblewomen of Wangjing swoon—was now taut with tension.
Duan Mingxi suddenly laughed.
Gao Zhan frowned. “What are you laughing at?”
“I’m laughing at how these ten years have been a joke.”
“Duan Mingxi…”
“Where’s the letter of divorce? Let me see it.”
Gao Zhan’s grip on the divorce letter tightened, but he eventually handed it over.
Duan Mingxi unfolded it and read, “Disrespectful to in-laws? Childless?”
Gao Zhan’s face flushed red, then purple, shifting through a spectrum of colors like a messy dye shop.
Duan Mingxi placed the letter on her dressing table and pulled out another document, pressing it on top. “Gao Zhan, others might not know why I can’t have children, but don’t you know?”
Gao Zhan remained silent, guilty.
Duan Mingxi didn’t look at him. She sighed softly. “I know you have someone in your heart. I only thought that after being married for so long, I could warm your heart. But now, it seems I was never meant to be so fortunate.”
“Duan Mingxi…”
“I won’t accept the divorce letter. I’ve done nothing wrong. I’ll only agree to an amicable separation. Here is the separation agreement—take a look. If there’s nothing wrong with it, sign your name, and from this moment on, we’ll go our separate ways.”
Gao Zhan’s furrowed brows relaxed slightly. He had never truly intended to divorce her; he had only used the divorce letter to frighten her into agreeing to separate.
“No need to look. If you’ve prepared it, I’ll follow your terms.”
“You should look. Let’s make it clear—after this, we’ll be strangers.”
Duan Mingxi stepped aside, making room for him in front of the mirror, and tilted her head slightly, smiling at Gao Zhan.
Gao Zhan pressed his lips together. Knowing he owed her, he decided to honor her final request. He stepped forward and bent down to pick up the separation agreement.
His back was completely exposed to Duan Mingxi, who had been hiding her intentions. Her right hand, concealed within her sleeve, suddenly raised. A flash of silver gleamed in the mirror.
Gao Zhan felt a chilling surge of killing intent. Startled, he tried to evade, but Duan Mingxi had long been prepared. She had feigned weakness, manipulating the last shred of guilt in his heart. She had been waiting for this moment.
There was no way she’d let him escape!
A sword pierced straight through his heart. The icy blade tore through Gao Zhan’s strong chest. Clutching the sword, his eyes filled with shock as he stared at Duan Mingxi. “You hate me that much?”
Duan Mingxi stared back coldly. “If I had married you for ten years without letting you touch me, loved another man in my heart, and kicked you aside to marry him while accusing you of disrespect, infertility, and incompetence, would you hate me?”
“Duan Mingxi…”
“Don’t say my name. Every word from your mouth makes me sick. You had someone you loved—so why marry me?
You married me but didn’t treat me well. Meanwhile, I bore all the responsibilities and burdens of being your wife. You coveted my dowry and intentionally made me subsidize your household’s expenses.
I worked myself to the bone for the Gao family, yet you and your family of pigs and dogs took it for granted.
For someone as selfish, heartless, deceitful, and vile as you, how could I not kill you to repay these ten years? How could I not kill you to quench the hatred in my heart?
You want to step on my reputation and bones to live happily ever after with your beloved? Dream on!”
Gao Zhan, his face ashen and tinged with green, endured the searing pain as he reached out to grab Duan Mingxi, intending to drag her down with him.
But Duan Mingxi anticipated his move and stepped back. Tilting her head slightly, she smirked at him. “It’s not just you. Your dear parents, your darling brother and sister—the whole family won’t escape either.
You all consumed my flesh, drank my blood, tarnished my reputation, and broke my bones. I’ll drag all of you to the grave with me!”
Fear finally dawned in Gao Zhan’s eyes. “What else do you want? Isn’t my life enough to pay for yours?”
“Of course not! Are you truly unaware of the things your family has done?”
Gao Zhan’s complexion turned even paler. He knew.
Duan Mingxi chuckled softly. “I’ve lured them all to the ancestral hall. My trusted people will lock the doors, douse the place with tung oil, and *boom*—one fire will burn the entire Duke Gao’s estate to the ground. What do you think of that?”
“No, don’t! Let them go! I’ll agree to anything you say.”
“I don’t want anything. I only want your lives!”
Gao Zhan tried to speak again, but suddenly, shouts echoed from outside. “The ancestral hall is on fire! It’s on fire! Quick, put it out…”
Flames surged skyward in the direction of the ancestral hall. Duan Mingxi pushed open the window and turned her head to look at Gao Zhan, smiling with an extraordinary tenderness. “This fire is truly beautiful, don’t you think?”
“Duan Mingxi, you killed them! You won’t escape either!” Gao Zhan’s eyes were bloodshot, his fury so intense he wished he could tear her apart.
Duan Mingxi clicked her tongue. “Oh? You’re still not dead?”
With that, she lifted her foot and stomped hard on the hilt of the blade, driving it deeper. Gao Zhan collapsed heavily to the ground, his wide-open eyes filled with disbelief. She sneered. “I already told you, I’d take you all down with me.”
She never intended to survive.
The fire spread rapidly. Gao Zhan, barely clinging to life, watched the flames creep closer. He saw Duan Mingxi change into the clothes she had worn before her wedding, sit before the mirror, and braid her hair into the style of a young girl…
With his eyes wide open, he took his final breath as the scorching flames consumed him.
Before the fire reached her, Duan Mingxi calmly drank the poisoned wine she had prepared for herself.
There was nothing left in this world she cared about, nothing worth living for.
Her life had been a series of misfortunes and hardships. As a child, she was kidnapped and nearly sold into a brothel, trained to become a courtesan.
After being reunited with the Dingyuan Marquis household, her adoptive father was murdered by them, drowned in a staged shipwreck. Her adoptive mother, devastated, fell gravely ill and passed away. The family’s wealth was coveted, her younger brother was harmed by relatives and left mentally impaired.
And when she returned to the Marquis household, they arranged her marriage to Gao Zhan.
Gao Zhan had someone he loved, an outsider like her would not know, but how could the Duan family not know?
They simply used her marriage to the Gao family to secure their own benefits.
If she could do it all over again, she would refuse to reconnect with her birth family.
She would protect her adoptive parents and her younger brother.
And she would never marry Gao Zhan.
—
Duan Mingxi frowned, her lashes trembling violently. She abruptly opened her eyes, gasping for air. The searing pain of the poison spreading through her stomach was still vivid and unforgettable.
Hadn’t she died? How was she awake again?
“Miss! Miss, you’re finally awake!” Xiangxiang heard the commotion and rushed in, lifting the curtain. “You scared me to death. Qiancao, quickly, bring a glass of water—the miss is awake!”
Duan Mingxi looked at Xiangxiang, then turned her head to take in the surroundings. An unbelievable thought surfaced in her mind.
Was she really alive again?
Judging by the furnishings, this was the room she had stayed in when she was first reunited with the Dingyuan Marquis family? A trace of regret rose in her heart—how she wished she had gone back to the time before the reunion.
Still in a daze, Duan Mingxi had yet to recover her senses when Qiancao entered with a glass of water. She knelt by the bedside and brought it to her lips. “Miss, have some water to soothe your throat.”
After drinking the water, Duan Mingxi’s mind gradually cleared. She looked at the two maids and asked, “Where is the Madam?”
She had no intention of calling that woman “mother.” This time, she would reclaim everything the Marquis family owed her.
