After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

Gan Cai'er raised her head, glanced again at the deep courtyard with its green bricks and blue tiles, and then dragged her feet away step by step.

After leaving the Duke of Wei's mansion, Gan Cai'er did not return to the south of the city along the way, but went to the east of the city.

The heavy snow had stopped, but the sky remained overcast, with dark clouds looming overhead in the distance, seemingly brewing an even bigger blizzard.

From the west to the east of the city, Gan Cai'er walked even slower and breathed even more heavily, as if ice shards were cutting her throat with each breath.

For a moment, she felt as if she would never reach the place she wanted to go.

Driven by a persistent determination, Gan Cai'er finally made her way to the residence of Lan Tingzhou, the Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy and the current Grand Tutor, at dusk.

She turned to the northeast corner of the Lan residence and knocked on the side gate.

With a creak, the door opened, revealing a weathered face.

"Madam, you are here."

“Uncle Zhang, please don’t call me that anymore. I’m no longer the lady of this place.” Gan Cai’er fidgeted with the hem of her dress, standing there awkwardly.

The old servant's address of "Madam" filled her with unbearable shame. Years ago, she had personally betrayed Lan Tingzhou, making him the laughingstock of the entire capital, utterly disgracing him, and nearly jeopardizing his career. She should have been too ashamed to return to the Lan residence, but...

"Madam, are you here to see Miss?"

Gan Cai'er nodded.

"Miss is building a snowman in the small garden. She said she wants to build a whole yard full of snowmen. She shouldn't have left yet."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

After thanking her, Gan Cai'er walked into the house as if she knew the way well.

The Lan residence wasn't large, and after walking for a short while, Gan Cai'er spotted the small figure in the garden. She was wearing a red brocade robe with fur trim, happily skipping and jumping around, very lively. Several maids hurriedly followed behind her, protecting her, afraid she might fall.

The girl with the smiling eyes was Gan Cai'er's daughter, Meng Fu.

Gan Cai'er hid behind the artificial hill, watching Meng Fu with almost greedy eyes, watching her shovel snow with a small shovel, watching her build a snowman, watching her have a snowball fight with the maids, watching her pout and act spoiled when she lost...

Gan Cai'er liked it more and more the more she looked at it, and couldn't let it go.

Then, a clear and melodious voice rang out.

"Fu'er, you've been playing in the snow all afternoon, it's time to rest."

Following the sound, a young woman slowly walked into the garden.

Her white fox fur cloak made her look both elegant and refined. Behind her followed a matron and two maids, who were humble and respectful and clearly well-mannered.

Upon seeing the person who arrived, Meng Fu dropped her little shovel and happily rushed over, pleading in a childish voice, "Mother~~~ Can I play a little longer~~~"

The woman knelt down, took out a handkerchief, and carefully wiped the sweat from Meng Fu's forehead, saying softly, "You've been playing for too long today, be careful not to catch a cold. If you haven't had enough fun, you can come again tomorrow."

"Oh~~~" Although Meng Fu was not very willing, she still nodded obediently.

Looking at the scene before her, Gan Cai'er felt a mix of bitterness and envy. Shen Yun was the epitome of a refined lady, exuding an innate grace, elegance, and poise that Gan Cai'er could never imitate in her lifetimes.

It would be best if she were to raise Fu'er; it would be a thousand times better than Fu'er following her, who has a terrible reputation.

Gan Cai'er wiped away her tears, suppressing her reluctance, and turned to walk towards the side gate. Before leaving, she took out a brand-new purse and handed it to Uncle Zhang.

"Uncle Zhang, could you please give this purse to Fu'er when you have the chance? Just don't tell her who gave it to her. And..."

“This old servant understands. The fact that Madam has come will not be known to anyone,” Uncle Zhang replied knowingly.

Gan Cai'er looked at Uncle Zhang gratefully. She was able to sneak a peek at her daughter entirely thanks to this former servant who had made things convenient for her and covered for her.

She then took something out of her bosom and handed it to Uncle Zhang—a pair of cotton knee pads.

"I'm not good at needlework, and my stitches are ugly, but these knee pads are sturdy and warm. I hope you won't mind."

"This, this, how can this be allowed~~~"

Before Zhang Bo could refuse, Gan Cai'er stuffed the knee pads into his arms, then turned and left through the side gate.

The sky was already darkening, not just the darkness of approaching night, but the oppressive darkness of dark clouds looming over the city.

Gan Cai'er came out of the Lan residence and stood at the street corner, looking at the lights shining from every household and listening to the lively laughter of each family. Suddenly, she didn't know where to go.

Today is Lunar New Year's Eve, a day for family reunions. But where is her home?

It seemed that there was no place in the world that truly belonged to her, and no home waiting for her to return to.

Gan Cai'er walked dejectedly and wearily toward the south of the city.

Not long after Gan Cai'er stepped out of the side gate, a tall figure walked up to Uncle Zhang.

"she left?"

"Reporting to you, sir, the lady left after greeting the young lady."

"Ah."

Lan Tingzhou responded faintly, but remained standing there without leaving.

Uncle Zhang gave him a strange look, only to see the latter's gaze fixed on his hands. Uncle Zhang looked down and saw that he was holding a purse and a pair of knee pads.

So he held up two items to his master and said with a smile, "The purse was a gift from Madam to Miss, and the knee pads were given to me to keep me warm because she cares about me. Madam is so thoughtful."

"Ha, with such rough workmanship, you dare to give it away as a gift." Lan Tingzhou said coldly.

After saying that, he took off the jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Uncle Zhang.

"Take the jade pendant to Fu'er. As for the knee pads, go to the accounting office and get some silver to buy a good set yourself."

Then, Uncle Zhang watched helplessly as his master took away the young lady's purse and his knee pads.

Uncle Zhang held the jade pendant, speechless.

"It's cold this year, so have someone send over more charcoal and cotton-padded clothes."

From afar, Lan Tingzhou's clear, cold voice could be heard.

On the other side, just as Gan Cai'er was about to reach the south of the city, a loud "BOOM!" suddenly rang out, and thunder roared in the sky!

Gan Cai'er was so shocked that she fell to the ground. A sharp pain shot through her ankle, and she could no longer move.

As thunder roared, the sky seemed to be torn open, and a fierce wind, carrying snowflakes, swept across the entire capital. In an instant, snow filled the sky and earth, the howling wind whipped up layers of snow waves...

A blizzard is coming.

Braving the onslaught of wind and snow, Gan Cai'er moved forward with great difficulty. But after only a short while, she was so frozen that she lost all feeling and could no longer muster any strength.

She collapsed in the snow, slightly opening her eyes, staring blankly at the dark sky, speechless. Slowly, her hands and feet grew cold, and her gaze faded.

Before her last vestige of consciousness faded, Gan Cai'er thought that she was dying here without even a grave. She wished it were just a desolate grave.

Looking back on her life, it was truly laughable, pathetic, a failure, and absurd.

Meanwhile, amidst the lively and warm atmosphere of singing and dancing, the imperial palace received an urgent report with news that shook the entire capital: the Duke of Wei, who had died on the battlefield and had been buried for four years, had risen from the dead!

"Announce it! Announce it quickly!" Emperor Jinghe exclaimed excitedly.

At the same time, Gan Cai'er finally breathed her last.

A fierce wind blew, and a blizzard completely buried her.

All that remained was a vast expanse of white, so clean.

Gan Cai'er died on New Year's Eve in the twentieth year of Jinghe.

On this day, Meng Yu finally completed his mission of faking his death to lure the enemy and came back to life.