The most important thing in Shen Mingtang’s life was how to please her legitimate older sister.
Ever since she could remember, her concubine mother told her that a legitimate daughter was a cloud in the sky, while an illegitimate daughter was like mud on the ground—the two were worlds apart.
Her legitimate older sister ordered her around, and her concubine mother either beat or cursed her.
Even the imperial favor she received for sacrificing herself to save Prince Rui was tricked away by her concubine mother to be given to her legitimate older sister.
In her past life, her legitimate older sister used this reward to become a County Princess, stepping on her merits to marry into a high-ranking family.
She thought this would please her concubine mother and older sister, but she still died at their hands.
Only before her death did Shen Mingtang learn that she was not her concubine mother’s biological child at all.
She was the daughter of the legitimate wife! She was the legitimate one; her older sister was the illegitimate one.
…After her rebirth, Shen Mingtang chose to fight and seize what was hers.
This time, she would reclaim the destiny that originally belonged to her and protect her real mother and herself.
As an illegitimate daughter, she schemed step by step to get closer to her birth mother, expose the viciousness of her concubine mother and supposed legitimate sister, and even drive her scumbag father out of the house along with them.
Just as Shen Mingtang and her birth mother’s lives were becoming more and more comfortable, an imperial decree for marriage arrived at their door.
The man closed in on her, step by step. “You asked for my protection for three years, and now I can no longer live without you.”
