Reborn in Each Other’s Bodies: A Mother and Daughter’s Deadly Revenge - Chapter 67

“Girl, you’re not putting your heart into it.”

“You have to be thorough when washing me, or my son will beat you again…”

Old Man Zhang’s tone sounded gentle, but his eyes held a disgusting, lecherous gleam.

Sheng Minmin’s body trembled, her voice shaking.

“Uncle Zhang, I’ve already cleaned the rest… You can… handle that part yourself…”

Though paralyzed, Old Man Zhang still had one functional hand and could clean his private areas on his own.

Sheng Minmin simply couldn’t muster the courage—nor the stomach—to touch him there.

The mere thought of washing Old Man Zhang’s body made her nauseous, filling her with the urge to flee…

She wrung out the cloth and handed it to him, but Old Man Zhang suddenly seized her wrist.

His repulsive eyes locked onto her like a greedy beast eyeing its prey.

“Girl, if you don’t behave, my son will beat you for sure…”

At the mention of Zhang Yazi’s fists, Sheng Minmin froze in terror.

Every day in the Zhang household, she was the first to rise—sweeping, cooking, feeding the bedridden couple, washing clothes, toiling in the fields.

Returning from the fields at night, she had to cook again, feed them, clean, and wash Old Man and Madam Zhang’s bodies.

She barely got four hours of rest, and her life was even harder than it had been in the Feng family.

Yet Zhang Yazi still beat and kicked her whenever he pleased…

But the worst was Old Man Zhang’s lecherous stares and the unspeakable things he demanded of her.

“Useless brat! Worthless wench! You’re our child bride—you’re supposed to serve us!”

From the other end of the bed, Madam Zhang began shrieking.

“Son! You’re back! This wretched girl is refusing to listen—”

The moment Zhang Yazi stepped inside and heard this, he stormed toward Sheng Minmin in a rage.

Though not a tall man, to the 12-year-old Sheng Minmin, he loomed like a mountain—unstoppable, immovable.

By the time Zhang Yazi’s vicious face appeared before her, Sheng Minmin jolted awake, bolting upright in bed.

She had dreamed of her past life again—of those days when she slaved away in the Zhang household.

Uncle Zhao had told her the Zhang family was dead, having burned themselves alive in a fire.

But Sheng Minmin didn’t believe it. She knew how cowardly and desperate for survival they were.

The Zhangs had been murdered—and the one who killed them was Huang Yaning!

She was certain of it.

Maybe Huang Yaning had suffered some humiliation during her single day with the Zhangs, or perhaps there was another reason.

Originally, Sheng Minmin had planned to send Huang Yaning to the Zhangs, letting her experience firsthand the torment Sheng Minmin had endured before finally killing them off.

But now, the Zhangs were already gone.

Well, good riddance—fewer enemies to deal with.

Lately, everything had been going her way.

A few days ago, Sheng Mingzhu had tried to stage a grand spectacle at her birthday banquet, only for Sheng Minmin to seize the opportunity and humiliate her publicly.

Now, rumors were spreading like wildfire—Sheng Mingzhu was being called unfilial, vain, hypocritical…

Just thinking about it made Sheng Minmin want to laugh hysterically.

Though she longed to turn Sheng Mingzhu into a human pig, she was still, on paper, Sheng Mingzhu’s mother. If she acted too openly cruel, it would raise suspicions.

So she had to take a different approach—destroying Sheng Mingzhu’s reputation.

For a young noblewoman like Sheng Mingzhu, reputation was everything.

Without it, she could forget about climbing the social ladder.

And Sheng Mingzhu knew it too. Rumor had it she’d been refusing food, crying nonstop, her eyes swollen as big as walnuts.

How satisfying!

“Madam, are you alright?”

Qingchi, who had been resting on the daybed outside, rushed in barefoot, not even bothering with her outer robe.

Since Sheng Minmin had been having frequent nightmares, several lamps were kept lit at night.

The moment Qingchi entered, she saw her mistress sitting up in bed—smiling.

A radiant, almost eerie smile.

“Qingchi, let’s go for a walk. Go put on something warm…”

Qingchi obediently slipped behind the screen to dress, while Sheng Minmin threw on an outer robe, wrapped herself in a thick cloak, and tied her hair back loosely with a ribbon.

In today’s letter, Uncle Zhao mentioned that Huang Yaning wanted to come to the capital.

With the Feng family no longer harassing her and the Zhangs dead, Huang Yaning was practically delivering herself into Sheng Minmin’s hands.

She needed to think carefully about how to… arrange things for her.

The moment they opened the door, Qingchi suddenly pointed at the wall and shrieked:

“Madam! There’s a man in black!”

Sheng Minmin’s gaze snapped toward the figure—a black-clad man standing on the wall, a person slung over his shoulder.

Her first thought: He’s here for me.

Who is he?

Is he here to kill me?

Her blood ran cold, freezing her in place.

The black-clothed man noticed them and stiffened for a split second.

“Guards! Thief—catch the thief—!”

Qingchi was already shouting at the top of her lungs.

Seeing the situation turn against him, the man abruptly dropped the person from his shoulder and fled.

Qingchi, bold as ever, took off running after him—

But she soon returned. The man seemed familiar with the estate’s layout, taking the quickest route to escape.

By now, the entire Peony Courtyard was awake, lanterns blazing as everyone crowded around the figure left behind.

Sheng Minmin stepped forward and saw clearly—a ragged, feverish-looking beggar, clearly drugged.

Her vision burned red.

It’s Taoniang.

In her past life, after she became pregnant, Steward Qi had treated her much better.

She thought her suffering was finally over—until Matron Wang died suddenly in an accident.

Devastated, she spent her days weeping in her room.

Then one morning, she woke to find a drugged beggar in her chamber—just as Steward Qi “happened” to catch them.

Branded as “unchaste,” she was divorced and exiled to a rural estate.

Later, Taoniang had smugly admitted to orchestrating the entire scheme.

Taoniang had once saved a rogue cultivator, who promised to repay her with three favors.

The first favor had been swapping Sheng Minmin out of the Sheng household as a baby.

The second was planting the beggar in her room—a death sentence in disguise.

By the time Sheng Minmin died, Taoniang still had one favor left.

Who knew what evil she’d use it for?

Now, in this life, Taoniang was trying the same trick again.

A bloodthirsty rage surged in Sheng Minmin’s chest.

Taoniang…

She wanted to skin her alive.

Taking deep, shuddering breaths, she forced herself to stay calm.

Right now, she had to think clearly.

Today, she had luckily escaped Taoniang’s scheme—but you couldn’t stay on guard forever.

Rather than live in fear, she would turn this into a public scandal!

Once exposed, Taoniang and that black-clothed man would think twice before targeting her again.

So—she would report this to the authorities!