"SLAP!"
Lu Xinyi slapped her rosy cheeks with both her hands. Her face became sandwiched between her palms.
"Ouch." Immediately after, she let out a painful cry.
"This is real. Not a dream!"
She couldn't believe what was happening to her. Just a moment ago, her husband, the scummiest of scums, betrayed her and stabbed a knife into her belly. She should have died due to the critical injury.
But why was she alive?
Imagining it was a side effect of life flashing before her eyes, Lu Xinyi slapped herself.
However, that didn't work. Other than feeling the stinging pain in her cheeks, she could not wake up from the 'dream. '
"Maybe this is not a dream. Did I return to the day of my marriage? Did I really return to the past?"
Was it all just her wishful thinking? Maybe it was the piled-up regret that made her dream about this day.
Slight doubt still lingered in her mind as she wandered around the room.
Lu Xinyi's current situation was anything but normal. After dying at the hands of her husband, Gao Wei, she returned to the day of her marriage five years prior.
What was she supposed to do now?
Even if it was not a dream, she was about to marry that damned scum again. Was fate playing a cruel joke on her?
Her emotions were in turmoil as she walked around the room, trying to grasp what was happening to her.
"Clack…" Suddenly, the door to the room she was in opened. A young woman walked through the doorway towards Lu Xinyi.
This immediately caught the attention of Xinyi. The familiar figure before her reminded her that there might be hope.
In the past, she believed in the sweet words of the damned scum called Gao Wei and was tricked into the marriage. Her family situation was such that it was her only option at that time.
But this time, Xinyi knew what her fate would be once she married into the Gao family. So, without delay, she decided to escape. Even if it was a dream or a nightmare, she needed to escape from this marriage. Her life depended on it.
"Xiao Yue," Xinyi called out, seeing the figure that had entered the room.
Xiao Yue was the girl that served Xinyi. She was a maidservant who worked for her family. However, to Xinyi, Xiao Yue was like a little sister.
Although Lu Xinyi was the legitimate first daughter of the Lu family, she was not respected. So, her needs and wants were often ignored. The only one that stuck with her during her hardship was Xiao Yue.
Xinyi was happy to see the familiar figure of Xiao Yue appearing before her. A small smile bloomed on her face. Just as the smile appeared, an overwhelming amount of sadness resurfaced in her mind.
"Young lady, you look amazing in your wedding dress. The colour red suits you." Xiao Yue praised Xinyi as soon as she laid eyes on her.
Her words were truthful. Xinyi did indeed look beautiful in the red hanfu with delicate golden embroidery.
"Xiao Yue…" Xinyi once again uttered the name with a slightly melancholic tone. The praise towards her beauty went unnoticed as she focused on Xiao Yue's body.
"You look healthy. Thank god. Sigh." Xinyi let out a relieved sigh at the end.
In the past, after marrying into the Gao family, Xiao Yue, who went with her, died due to a mysterious illness. At that time, she didn't doubt the reason for her mysterious death. However, now Xinyi had reason to suspect Goa Wei for it too. After all, Xia Yue was one of her last remaining sources of moral support. Breaking that would only benefit Gao Wei.
Xinyi knew for a fact that Gao Wei was a ruthless man. He would go to any lengths to achieve his goals.
Maybe the sad demise of Xiao Yue was caused by Gao Wei. This thought lingered in her mind, reaffirming her determination to escape from this tragic marriage.
"Of course, I am healthy. I may look like this, but I have been practising martial arts without anyone knowing. I couldn't be any more healthier." Xiao Yue raised her arms to show her nonexistent muscles as she spoke.
"If you want, I can teach you some simple martial arts techniques, young lady." She added with a sly smile, knowing Xinyi's personality.
However, Xinyi had no time to think about martial arts now. She had to escape from this marriage before anything else happened.
"Xiao Yue, you can teach me martial arts later. Today, we have something better to do."
Xinyi's words caused Xiao Yue to look at her doubtfully.
"We have to break off this marriage and escape," Xinyi stated before Xiao Yue could ask any more questions.
"What?" Xiao Yue found it incredulous that the same person who was obstinate about marrying into the Gao family was asking her for help to break off the marriage.
'What happened to the young lady in the short time she went out?' Xiao Yue thought while looking at Xinyi's serious face.
'She is not joking.'
It was clear to Xiao Yue that Xinyi was not joking. Even though her young lady was a little naughty, she was not the kind to joke about something this serious.
"What happened?" Finally, Xiao Yue asked the question that was haunting her.
"The jerk Gao Wei is a bad person. I need to escape from him. Or else, I would die at his hand." Xinyi stated as a matter of fact.
"Young lady, do you understand what you are asking me to do? I don't mind if you want to elope with someone. But do you really think your family or the Gao family would allow you to live a peaceful life after humiliating them like this?"
"Hm…" Xinyi couldn't answer. She knew that there was nothing more humiliating to a man than having his wife run away just before marriage. So, noble families like Gao would absolutely retaliate towards her or even her family for shaming them.
Similar was the case with her family. Lu Xinjiao, her uncle and current patriarch, would rather skin her alive than let her humiliate him.
She was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
But Xinyi had no other choice. The jerk Gao Wei was marrying her just to ally with their families to do some nefarious deeds. Unlike his sweet words, he didn't care about her or her feelings. And after using her, he was going to kill her with his own hands.
Rather than marrying someone like that, it was better to take the chance and try to escape.
"Xiao Yue, you don't understand. This is do or die situaution. I don't plan to elope, but help me nonetheless. Or else, our fate would be sealed."
Seeing the desperation on her young lady's face, Xiao Yue realised the seriousness. She nodded and finally agreed to help Xinyi escape from the marriage.