When my father heard that I could get the Regent to marry me, he was suddenly overjoyed. This was the same man who had always claimed he never had a daughter as lowly as me.

I took advantage of Margaret’s wedding and met the Regent that very night. The Regent only shot me a glance before a flicker of interest sparked in his eyes.

“You really are special.” A rare smile appeared in the normally calm, unreadable eyes of the Regent.

I secretly let out a sneer. How could I not be special? My curves were fuller where they should be and finer compared to those of ordinary women.

Before I could say more, the Regent pushed me down onto the bed.

“You can be my concubine, but the position of the official wife can only go to the mother of my firstborn son,” he said.

As our breaths mingled, the terrifying memories of my past life came crashing over me like a tidal wave. I trembled, but a strange, captivating scent from the Regent cut through my fear, instantly calming me.

Boldly, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

“What if I tell you I can get pregnant within three months? Will you marry me?”

The Regent’s brows furrowed.

“Your Highness, why don’t we make a wager? Marry me, and if I’m not pregnant within three months, you’re free to leave me.”

I was confident.

“Leave you? If you fail to get pregnant in three months, I’ll have your whole family buried with you.” His gaze seemed to have the power to steal souls.

That same night, he proposed to me at Margaret’s wedding.

For a moment, my father was basking in unprecedented glory.

Two daughters—one a future empress, the other a future wife of the Regent. Even his colleagues who had once sneered at him suddenly changed their tune.

My father specially gave me Snowlit Garden because of this. It was the place my mother had lived previously.

After she died and Elizabeth came into the picture, I was pushed into the back rooms.

In my previous life, I stayed there until I died.

By court custom, after the empress’ wedding, palace matrons would come to instruct on court rituals.

A month later, the palace would hold the formal enfeoffment ceremony, with the timing adjusted as needed. Only then would the wedding be truly over.

Margaret was still living at home. Early that morning, she came to Snowlit Garden, eager to stir up trouble.

“What does the Regent see in you? Did you pull a dirty trick?” She circled me, putting on the full airs of an empress-to-be.

In my previous life, whenever she accused me of being promiscuous, I would rush to prove myself innocent. Every time I panicked and flailed, she would just smile lightly and tell me that was just how I was.

It made me even more anxious. I was afraid that any slip of the tongue would ruin me. In the end, I earned a reputation for being petty, weak, and incompetent.

Meanwhile, she, by comparison, was praised for her grace and poise.

When everyone was disappointed by me, they naturally sided with my high-performing sister.

Now, she wanted to drag me back into that whirlpool of proving myself.

Having been reborn, I was not that foolish anymore.

I smiled as I looked at the angry woman before me and ignored her jibes. “I remember there used to be a Vase of Endless Blessings in this room. I wonder where it's gone.”

Everything in this room had been part of my mother’s dowry.

When my mother was alive, my father had secretly given things to my sister and my stepmother. After my mother died, they took everything.

“I was originally supposed to marry the Emperor, and those items couldn’t be taken into the palace because they didn’t meet court regulations. But now that I’m marrying the Regent, it’s too late to prepare a new dowry. So, it’s only natural that my mother’s belongings should come with me.”

Margaret’s face turned ugly at the mention of a dowry.

Elizabeth came in and sneered, “Eleanor, how could you be so heartless? We have provided for you all these years. Do you think that it didn't cost money?”

Even a guest staying with a family would not be charged for room and board. How much could I possibly have cost them?

“So, from what you’ve told me, has the household been running on my mother’s dowry all these years? They say only utterly useless men would touch their wives' dowries. I don’t think my father is that useless.”

Elizabeth opened her mouth to retort, but I cut her off.

“My mother’s dowry list is with me. If the dowry isn't returned in three days, I’ll bring the list to the Regent’s place and let him check. Then, we’ll see if Father still dares to cover for you.”

“Don’t you forget that you’re still living here!”

I laughed as I watched them put on a show, all bluff and no bite. “If you kill me and the Regent comes to claim me, will you have your daughter marry two husbands?”

Both their faces drained at the thought of the Regent’s ruthlessness.

Elizabeth shot me a vicious glare. “Fine. I’ll gather the dowry for you.”

“That’s more like it.”

Three days flew by.

Only half of my mother’s dowry was returned.

My stepmother and sister had sold off most of the jewelry and could only scrape together one-tenth of its value.

In desperation, they shoved a lot of fakes into the pile.

A vase with celadon glaze that was supposed to be an antique looked like a modern copy at a glance. The glaze was uneven, and it was nothing like the piece my mother left behind.

Even the embroidered scrolls had been swapped. An embroidery that showed peacocks spreading their tails on all three sides had been swapped for a single-sided piece.

They must have forgotten that I was raised to be an empress. I could tell real from fake with one look.

Mixed in with the items were a few pieces from the palace itself, which proved that the Emperor truly favored Margaret.

“Hallie, go fetch the butler. He’ll recognize these things.”

Hallie was the woman I brought from the Regent’s place. She followed my orders without question.

Margaret's and Elizabeth’s faces went pale.

“What do you mean? Do you think I’d give you fakes?” Elizabeth’s expression turned grim.

It was too bad I no longer feared her. The little girl she used to whip with a thin bamboo rod had grown up.

“I’m taking these to the Regent’s place. My mother’s belongings are genuine. If I were to bring in fakes, who do you think the Regent would punish… Me, or the family?”

“These items are old. There could be some losses or damage over time…”

“It’s barely been eight years. How could they be considered old?” I stared at her with a faint, knowing smile playing on my lips.

When I refused to back down, Margaret straightened and put on her empress-to-be airs. “I am to be the Empress! Even the Regent cannot deny me a foothold!”

“Is that so? Hallie, send for the Regent!”

If it had been the previous dynasty’s emperor, I might have trembled.

However, the current Regent was the Emperor’s uncle, and the Emperor, still young and unsteady on his throne, had never dared to defy him.

…

“Eleanor was arranged to marry to the Emperor from birth, yet you, as the stepdaughter, had secretly met with him multiple times and stolen your sister’s marriage. And you! As the stepmother, you stole the dowry left by Eleanor’s mother. What are you thinking?”

The matter was brought before the Regent, and even my father, who usually turned a blind eye to the family affairs, had no choice but to stand up.

He looked stunned as though he had only just learned the truth. Disappointment washed over his face as he stared at Elizabeth.

“Look at the daughter you raised!”

Neither Margaret nor I could be challenged, so he had no choice but to vent his fury on Elizabeth.

Elizabeth dropped to her knees and was about to put on a show again. “Do you think I did it for myself? I did it for this family! Haven’t you benefited from it as well?"

“You… How could you say that? Is the monthly salary I earn not enough to keep this family running? Did I need you to stoop to such menial deeds?”

My father stepped forward. His fingers nearly touched Elizabeth’s lips in warning.

He must have known, deep down, that the household had been using my mother’s dowry all along. No one had mentioned it to him, so he simply acted as if he did not know about it.

Everyone assumed he loved Elizabeth more than he loved my mother, but in truth, he loved no one but himself and anyone who could benefit him.

After the Regent listened to the whole story, his hawk-like eyes grew icy cold.

“So, your family has been cooking the books? Others might not notice, but I know these things well. If my lady’s dowry is short, whoever runs the household will answer for it. Guards! Drag that old woman out and beat her!”

“Your Highness, please stand down!”

An eunuch yelled from outside. Margaret’s fiancé, the Emperor, had arrived.