After being sentenced to death, she came to her senses.

The window was blown open by the wind and snow, and a blast of cold air rushed in, making people shiver.

"Qinglan, quickly close the window, be careful not to blow out the charcoal fire. The girl is still sick, don't let her catch a cold."

Ziju hurriedly got up and gently tucked the blanket around the person on the bed. Just as she was about to pull her hand away, it was suddenly grabbed by the person who was still asleep. Startled, she quickly checked on her, "Miss?"

"Qinglan..."

Hearing the girl call her name, Qinglan hurriedly rushed to the bedside after closing the window, tightly grasping the pale, cold hand in both of hers, "This servant is here."

"You..." Fang Xiaoran, who was in a deep sleep, suddenly opened her eyes, sat up, and grabbed Qinglan's neck fiercely, using so much force that Qinglan knelt down.

“Miss…” Qinglan called out, her eyes filled with terror and helplessness. She couldn’t understand why the usually gentle and frail girl would suddenly become so terrifying, even wanting to strangle her.

Ziju, who was standing nearby, was also frightened. After regaining her senses, she immediately grabbed Fang Xiaoran's sleeve and pleaded, "Miss, this is Qinglan. Please wake up."

The voice was familiar; she hadn't heard it in a long time.

Fang Xiaoran turned her head in surprise, her gaze falling on Ziju. "Ziju?"

Wasn't Ziju killed while trying to save me? Why is she still alive? And Qinglan, whom I killed with my own hands, how is she still alive?

Where is this? The wound, that's right, her wound. Fang Xiaoran released Qinglan and touched her neck with trembling fingers. There was no wound, and it didn't hurt. Could it be that she didn't die?

Seeing that Fang Xiaoran's expression was off, Ziju asked in a low voice, "Miss?"

After a moment of stunned silence, Fang Xiaoran tried her best to calm herself down. She first looked around and then fell into deep thought.

The familiar layout, the still-young maid, and her frail body suggested that she had been reborn, returning to ten years ago.

At that time, she had just returned to the Fang family from Lingnan, only to find that the Fang family already had a "Fang Xiaoran". No matter how she explained, her father, Fang Zhengyong, would not believe her. In addition, due to the instigation of the concubine, she was kicked out of the Fang family and suffered a lot.

After ending up on the streets, she was bullied by a group of beggars. It was Zhao Jin who rescued her and tried his best to send her back to the Fang family. Only after she took out the jade bracelet left to her by her mother and a key did the Fang family reluctantly acknowledge her.

Ironically, the imposter "Fang Xiaoran" was not severely punished. Instead, she was adopted by Fang Zhengyong, renamed Fang Xiaoqi, and kept in the Fang family.

Now that I think about it carefully, perhaps my father didn't distrust her, but rather didn't want to acknowledge her. It was only because Zhao Jin vouched for her and had the key to the Bai family's warehouse that my father felt she had some use and thus relented.

As for Zhao Jin, wasn't he also scheming against her step by step?

However, she never expected that she would be so calculating so early, and even their first encounter was not accidental.

After returning to the Fang family, her life did not improve. Instead, she was ostracized and harassed everywhere. Even her adopted daughter could ride roughshod over her. Fang Xiaoqi had been raised by Fang Zhengyong for many years, and their relationship was naturally far superior to that of Fang Xiaoran, who had just returned home.

Moreover, Fang Xiaoqi had been around Concubine Wang Zhiyu for many years and had already learned most of her skills in playing along and being two-faced.

Back then, Fang Xiaoran was straightforward and was always manipulated by Fang Xiaoqi, who constantly stirred up trouble between her and the Fang family, causing her father to become increasingly dissatisfied with her.

She woke up from her sickbed because Fang Xiaoqi had tricked her into falling into the water. Instead of blaming Fang Xiaoqi, Fang Zhengyong scolded her for not knowing how to get along with the people around her and put her under house arrest under the pretext of recuperating.

However, after being confined for more than half a month, her health not only failed to recover, but worsened.

Even until her death, she didn't understand why her health had deteriorated so much in the Fang family. She would be out of breath even when she went out, taking three steps and then resting two, and was even criticized for faking illness to gain sympathy.

Fang Xiaoran's gaze fell on the incense burner, and now she understood.

At that time, she did not know medicine, so she could not detect the tricks Wang had played on her. However, after her rebirth, she did not forget the medicine-making and poison-controlling techniques she learned from her mother's manual, and thus saw through Wang's wickedness.

The incense contains a slow-acting poison that is colorless, odorless, and difficult to detect. Over time, it will gradually cause her to develop chronic illnesses that are incurable by medicine.

This is why she later struggled to break through in her martial arts realm; it turns out this was the reason waiting for her.

"Ziju, please take away the incense. The smell is too strong for me." Fang Xiaoran gently waved her hand and made a gesture of covering her nose. Upon hearing this, Ziju quickly got up to remove it.

Qinglan, having just recovered from her shock, quickly reminded Ziju as she was about to remove the incense, "Miss, this is a 'Spring Tidings in Snow' incense brought by the concubine from her hometown of Yueyang. It's said to be top-quality incense, and it's said to have a soothing and restorative effect on your body. She specially brought it for you, so would you mind not using it...?"

Seeing Qinglan stop her, Fang Xiaoran's eyes darkened, and she said, word by word, "I said we're leaving."

Seeing Fang Xiaoran angry for the first time, Qinglan was startled. The scene of her being choked just now was still vivid in her mind. She didn't dare to think too much and quickly shut her mouth.

Due to her emotional state, Fang Xiaoran's chest heaved and she coughed several times. Qinglan reached out to help her, but Fang Xiaoran pushed her away, saying, "Go and get some hot water."

"Yes." Qinglan bowed and left, but she had doubts in her heart. She felt that the girl was different from Congtian after she woke up this time. She was unfamiliar and frightening, and she was very wary of her.

Fang Xiaoran certainly had to be wary of her; that phrase "follow the will of Heaven" was truly unforgettable.

The most important thing right now is to recover her health. The doctors hired by the mansion are untrustworthy; most of them are dependent on Concubine Wang. They'd be lucky if they didn't misdiagnose her and say she wasn't sick, let alone treat her illness.

Besides, these doctors are hard to find; most of them would decline with various excuses. Fang Xiaoran was used to this kind of thing in her previous life, so of course she wouldn't look for them.

So she wrote down a prescription herself and handed it to Ziju. When Ziju took the prescription, she was a little surprised, "Miss, this is..."

"There are folk remedies from Lingnan that can nourish the body and regulate qi and blood. Go to the pharmacy and get three doses of this medicine according to the prescription."

"Yes, slave, go right away."

No sooner had Ziju stepped out the door than Wang Shi arrived at Fang Xiaoran's northern residence with her personal mother, Qian Shi.

Wang's legs were weak, and she needed Qian Mama's help to enter the house. It is said that she injured her legs when she was young to save Fang Zhengyong, and the injury has never healed. Fang Zhengyong felt guilty and made an exception to marry her, who came from a humble background, and treated her as a concubine.

Now that Fang Xiaoran's mother, Bai Qiqi, has left the Fang family, and the old lady is getting old, the affairs of the Fang family are being managed by Wang, a concubine.

Upon seeing her enter, Fang Xiaoran pretended to get up, but Madam Wang quickly stopped her, saying, "Sit down quickly, don't worry about those formalities, you're not feeling well, you need to rest more."

"Huh, didn't you light a 'Spring Tidings in the Snow'?" Madam Wang's gaze fell on the table. The air still held a lingering fragrance, but there was no incense burner in sight, which surprised her.

When she mentioned incense, Fang Xiaoran tried her best to suppress her anger, but smiled and said, "I've been burning it for a while, and the scent is a bit strong."

"Really? Then I'll have someone send you something lighter next time."

"Thank you, Auntie," Fang Xiaoran said, feigning politeness.

Seeing how well-behaved she was, Madam Wang thought her method had worked, so she gently took Fang Xiaoran's hand and said with a smile, "Silly child, we're all family, why thank me?"

What a family! Fang Xiaoran sneered inwardly. If it weren't for Wang Shi, her mother wouldn't have been accused of persecuting her mother-in-law and driven out of the Fang family.