Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 23

In Huang Yaning’s memories, the fourth year after marrying into the Sheng household—shortly after giving birth to her—her father, brother, and two nephews were tragically killed by bandits while traveling.

That very night, Huang Yaning’s sister-in-law, Madam Lin, hanged herself upon hearing the news, leaving behind only her infant daughter—Huang Xianjing.

The Huang family had no close relatives, and Huang Yaning herself had collapsed from grief, falling seriously ill.

It was Sheng Yong who handled the funeral arrangements at the Huang residence and brought the swaddled Huang Xianjing back to the Sheng household.

Sheng Minmin suddenly found it strange. Huang Xianjing’s birth mother, Madam Lin, also came from a merchant family—the Lin family, which seemed to have many members. So why had no one from the Lin family come to take Huang Xianjing in?

In fact, over all these years, not a single person from the Lin family had visited Huang Xianjing. They only sent a yearly letter and New Year’s gifts, which seemed perfunctory at best.

The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she became. Perhaps the Lin family didn’t stay away by choice—but because they dared not.

An unmarried daughter had inheritance rights, meaning Huang Xianjing was the sole heir to the Huang family’s wealth…

The Lin family, being mere merchants, wouldn’t dare to fight Sheng Yong—a man of real power—for Huang Xianjing, or rather, for the Huang family’s fortune.

At this realization, Sheng Minmin sucked in a sharp breath.

In her memories, Sheng Yong had once promised Huang Yaning that when Huang Xianjing married, the Huang family’s assets would be returned in full.

But in her past life, Huang Xianjing had never left the Sheng residence. In fact, due to her poor health, she rarely appeared in public. After her coming-of-age ceremony, she was married off to Sheng Mingli and died not long after—without even leaving behind a child.

Thinking of the lavish weddings Sheng Mingjian and his brothers had enjoyed…

It was likely that from the moment Huang Xianjing entered the Sheng household, Sheng Yong had never intended to let her leave.

Devoured completely, bones picked clean—how ruthless!

A chill ran down Sheng Minmin’s spine, her scalp prickling with horror.

After enduring so much evil and darkness in her past life, Sheng Minmin no longer assumed the best in people.

Facing her enemies from that life, she couldn’t help but imagine the worst of them.

So, in the most extreme scenario… those bandits who slaughtered the Huang family might have been Sheng Yong’s men.

Or perhaps even earlier—had Sheng Yong married Huang Yaning with the intent to seize the Huang family’s wealth from the start?

Her heart pounded violently. At this moment, she became acutely aware of her own precarious situation.

If Sheng Yong realized she wasn’t the real “Huang Yaning”—if he discovered her deep-seated hatred for the Sheng family—she would be dead for sure.

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears. Pressing a hand to her chest, she tried to muffle the sound, as if that could somehow hide her panic.

At the same time, she resolved to act more cautiously from now on and to cultivate her own power.

Given the current circumstances, Sheng Yong would never suspect that she wasn’t Huang Yaning—nor that she harbored a blood feud against his family.

For now, she was the hidden blade in the dark, while her enemies stood exposed. She held the advantage.

As she sorted through her thoughts, her pulse gradually steadied.

Pouring herself a cup of hot tea, she drank it slowly, feeling the warmth spread through her body, finally dispelling some of the fear.

After two more cups, the icy dread in her heart faded.

No matter how powerful the enemy, she would never waver in her resolve for revenge!

Still, Sheng Minmin tapped her temple lightly. Ever since her rebirth and body swap, she often forgot important details or failed to recall them in time.

For instance, it wasn’t until recently that she remembered to wonder: Where had Huang Yaning’s soul gone?

And the matter of Huang Xianjing and the Huang family—had she not been reviewing the account books, she might never have recalled it.

Huang Xianjing had entered the Sheng residence as an infant. Now, she was the same age as Sheng Mingzhu, yet she lived like a ghost, only appearing during festivals. Even the original Huang Yaning had likely nearly forgotten her niece’s existence.

Thinking of her own miserable treatment after being brought back to the Sheng family in her past life, Sheng Minmin felt a pang of kinship with the girl.

Maybe I should visit Huang Xianjing when I have time. If the girl had a decent character, perhaps she could try to change her tragic fate from the previous life.

At the same time, Sheng Minmin decided to reduce the extravagant living expenses of Sheng Mingzhu and the others—without arousing Sheng Yong’s suspicion. She would also revoke Sheng Yong’s privilege to withdraw money freely from the shops.

She already had a plan: she would claim it was to save for the children’s future dowries and bride prices.

Sheng Yong knew full well that her accounts were empty. If she brought it up at the right moment, he would have no reason to refuse.

With that settled, Sheng Minmin turned her attention to the embezzlement issue.

She discovered something odd: the account books for Huang Yaning’s ten shops were clean—the managers hadn’t stolen a single coin.

But the estates all had discrepancies, large and small. These estates were managed either by Huang Yaning’s dowry servants or by stewards assigned by the Sheng family.

For the first three years after Huang Yaning’s marriage, the stewards had been honest. But once they realized how easily she could be fooled, they grew bolder.

A rough calculation showed that starting from the fourth year, the embezzlement ranged from 100 taels to 2,000 taels annually per estate, increasing year by year.

Over the years, the total stolen amounted to at least 50,000 taels—and she was confident in her calculations.

In her past life, she hadn’t learned to read until she was twelve, after being taken back to the Sheng family. It wasn’t until she married Qi De that she began studying account books, taught by her mother-in-law, Madam Wang.

Madam Wang had seemed cold and unapproachable at first, but over time, Sheng Minmin realized that her stern exterior was just a shield—her heart was soft.

Sheng Minmin had grown close to her, treating her with filial piety, and Madam Wang, in turn, had come to cherish her like a daughter, painstakingly teaching her how to manage accounts and detect fraud.

She had audited the Qi household’s ledgers and even uncovered several near-perfect discrepancies in outside shops.

Of course, the Qi family never knew—Qi De took all the credit.

But thanks to that experience, Sheng Minmin was exceptionally confident in her ability to spot financial irregularities.

Madam Wang had also taught her principles of leadership: “Trust those you employ, but never blindly. Establish clear rules and conduct regular audits.”

In truth, Madam Wang was the only person who had ever truly loved her.

Yet just when Sheng Minmin thought her life was improving—shortly after she became pregnant—Madam Wang fell from a rockery and died.

Days later, a half-naked beggar was found in Sheng Minmin’s room…

In her past life, she had believed herself cursed, unworthy of love, kindness, or good fortune—dooming anyone who cared for her.

But before her death, she finally understood: There were no gods, no fate, no inherent curses.

There were only the strong and the weak, the players and the pawns, the butchers and the slaughtered.

Sheng Mingzhu hadn’t wanted her to live comfortably—that was why Madam Wang had to die.

Had Madam Wang treated her cruelly, she might have survived…

The thought brought a stinging bitterness to her nose, her vision blurring with tears. Not wanting Qingying to notice, Sheng Minmin closed her eyes, forcing the tears back.

Sheng. Ming. Zhu.

How will you atone for your sins?

She had heard that the dance instructor, Madam Xue, had returned to the Sheng residence.

In her past life, Sheng Mingzhu had been accomplished in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting—but what truly made her famous was a dance at the Princess’s estate.

“One dance to captivate the capital!” That was also when she caught the eye of Prince Qi, wasn’t it?

Well then…

A cruel smile curled Sheng Minmin’s lips.

I’ll just have to carefully, discreetly—ruin those legs of hers.