Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 25

The next morning, Haitang Courtyard was abuzz with excitement.

The Madam had personally come to visit the Sixth Young Miss.

“Mother, I’ve missed you so much!” Sheng Mingzhu threw herself into Sheng Minmin’s arms, cooing as usual.

Sheng Minmin stared at Sheng Mingzhu’s slender neck, barely suppressing the urge to reach out and snap it…

“Sixth Girl, do you truly miss me? If so, why haven’t you visited my courtyard?” Sheng Minmin replied flatly.

Facing Sheng Mingzhu, she couldn’t bring herself to spout endearments like “darling” or “precious” the way Huang Yaning used to. Even the thought of such sickeningly sweet words made her nauseous.

Sheng Mingzhu, ever sensitive, noticed the change in her mother’s demeanor and looked up suspiciously.

At first, Sheng Mingzhu had thought her mother no longer favored her. But later, her mother had sent her an exquisite set of hair ornaments. Qingtian explained that Madam had only punished the nanny out of jealousy because Sheng Mingzhu was too close to her.

Her eldest, third, and fifth brothers had said the same. Convinced, Sheng Mingzhu had resisted visiting her nanny these past days, hoping to appease her mother.

But now, seeing her mother’s coldness, she wondered if her brothers had been mistaken.

Her mother’s gaze, her expression—everything was different. Before, Sheng Mingzhu had felt free to cry or throw tantrums without fear of punishment. Now, she didn’t dare act out at all.

Carefully extricating herself from Sheng Minmin’s embrace, Sheng Mingzhu stammered, “N-no, Mother! I just thought you were too busy… I didn’t want to disturb you…”

“Enough, I was only teasing.” Sheng Minmin forced a doting smile, suppressing her disgust. “I heard Instructor Xue has returned. Aren’t you starting dance lessons today?”

Instructor Xue was the dance teacher Huang Yaning had hired for Sheng Mingzhu.

Once the daughter of a minor official, Instructor Xue’s family had fallen from grace after her father was stripped of his rank and barred from imperial examinations for three generations. They were now commoners with neither status nor scholarly honor.

Normally, noble families wouldn’t hire a woman from such a background as a tutor. But Instructor Xue was a skilled dancer with a well-cultivated reputation, so prominent households in the capital still engaged her.

Currently, aside from the Sheng family, Instructor Xue also taught the daughter of another official. She instructed Sheng Mingzhu in the mornings and the other young lady in the afternoons.

According to Instructor Xue, learning dance required gradual progress—no more than two hours a day, lest one risk injury. Moreover, she claimed she had to take on multiple students to support her family.

Others, moved by her “pure and virtuous” dedication, paid her generously and didn’t fault her for serving two households.

She had taken a half-month leave recently due to family matters and had only just resumed teaching.

In her past life, Sheng Minmin had seen Instructor Xue’s true colors.

This woman later seduced the eldest young master of a fifth-rank official’s family while teaching his sister. She even flaunted her pregnancy before the young master’s wife, causing the latter to miscarry and lose the ability to bear children.

Instructor Xue, however, secured the young master’s devotion and eventually bore him a son…

In short, her actions proved her utterly depraved and vicious.

So, Sheng Minmin felt no guilt about scheming against Sheng Mingzhu—and dragging Instructor Xue down with her.

After Sheng Mingzhu finished her meal, Sheng Minmin personally escorted her to the dance studio, where Instructor Xue was already waiting.

Exchanging a few pleasantries with the instructor, Sheng Minmin surveyed the room carefully before leaving.

She had a plan—one that would ensure Sheng Mingzhu suffered an “accident” and never danced again.

But it required meticulous execution. She couldn’t afford to let Sheng Yong catch even a whiff of suspicion.

Lost in thought, Sheng Minmin wandered aimlessly until she found herself near Huang Xianjing’s courtyard.

Pausing briefly, she headed straight for it, accompanied by Xiangxiang. At the gate, she spotted a petite figure waiting with an elderly matron and a maid.

“Xianjing, why are you standing out here in the cold?”**

As Huang Xianjing moved to curtsy, Sheng Minmin quickly caught her hand.

The child was only six, her small frame draped in a slightly worn coat, her pale cheeks gaunt. Her large eyes shimmered with unshed tears, as if afraid of displeasing anyone.

“Aunt…” Her voice was soft and sweet.

Sheng Minmin’s heart softened. Holding the girl’s tiny hand, she led her inside.

The servants, surprised to see the Madam visiting the young miss, bowed deeply.

Sheng Minmin glanced around—two maids, two elderly servants, plus the matron and maid behind Xianjing: Matron Du, the wet nurse of Xianjing’s late mother, and her granddaughter, a fifteen-year-old maid named Dujuan.

Despite the courtyard’s size and the sparse staff, it was impeccably tidy. Clearly, Matron Du was both capable and loyal.

Entering the bedroom, Sheng Minmin froze at the sight of the familiar furnishings. Fragmented memories surfaced—Huang Yaning had once doted on this niece, personally arranging this courtyard with the finest furniture.

But after Sheng Mingzhu threw jealous fits, Huang Xianjing gradually withdrew, becoming even more invisible than the family’s illegitimate sons.

Now, Sheng Minmin felt only pity. She kept hold of Xianjing’s hand—icy cold, she realized, once indoors.

“Xianjing, why are your hands so cold? Xiangxiang, summon the physician—”

“Aunt, it’s nothing… I’ve always been frail… Please don’t trouble the physician…”

Xianjing coughed anxiously. She was already overjoyed her aunt had visited; if Madam made a fuss over her, her cousin would surely take offense.

The child was only six, yet so timid. Sheng Minmin saw her own past self in her—except she had been even more helpless, even more insignificant…

A needle-like pang struck her heart. Gently patting Xianjing’s back, she ordered firmly:

“Xiangxiang, go. Now.”

Xiangxiang hurried off at once.