Three ex-husbands and a marriage

The female lead arrives

"Xiao Wei sneered when the fake lotus finally decided that she had seen enough. Confident that she will die by nightfall, Bai Mingling walked out of the room with a spring in her steps and quietly closed the door. That night she will dream sweetly of becoming Hu Xuan's wife.

In her past life, Xiao Wei was severely weakened by the poison which affected her ability to have children. Even though she did not die, her life was no better than death. In order to make his daughter happy, Eldest Uncle used his power to force the Hu family to change the engagement agreement from Bai Xiao Wei to Bai Mingling.

Both surnamed Bai, but yet, because of their status, she was sacrificed for the precious daughter's happiness.

The Hu family was powerful in their own right and tried to resist, but they could not fight against the onslaught of internal politics while fighting to protect the empire's frontiers against invading armies. They slowly crumpled under the pressure and between repaying a life saving grace and saving the empire, they had to let her down.

Xiao Wei understood the seriousness of the matter while Mingling gloated in her victory. Even after Hu Xuan resisted his family's pressure and countered with threats of suicide, it was all for naught.

After collapsing from refusing food and water for over five days, Hu Xuan finally saw Xiao Wei's equally devastated figure. She knelt beside his bed and kowtowed to him.

"Please let me go, Hu Xuan, in this life we cannot be together but maybe the next life we can live a long life filled with happiness and peace. For now, our love and your promise cannot compare to the fate of millions of innocent people. I thank you for your love but we must cut this ill fated red string," she spoke softly as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Hu Xuan sighed and clutched his heart in pain. Afraid that the day is not long enough and when they part, it means parting for eternity, they each held their heavy hearts in silence. But all things must come to an end, the moment that Xiao Wei stepped out of the room filled with medicinal fragrance, the man on the bed coughed blood and fainted again.

The news reached Bai Mingling's ears and her evil heart hatched up an alternative scheme to get rid of her love rival. If Hu Xuan really died, then what was the point of winning the Emperor's favour?

She swallowed her pride and conceded to let the pair of ill fated lovebirds be together.

Bai Mingling was given the main wife position while Xiao Wei was allowed to become a part of the wife's dowery. Concubine born, it was her fate to become a concubine even though the engagement was originally hers.

Hu Xuan compensated for her grievances by completely doting on her. On the wedding night, the groom spent his time with his love.

This doting added fuel to fire, turning Mingling into a more vicious, petty and jealous shrew. Life in the Hu house became a living nightmare and something that Xiao Wei never want to experience again.

This time around, she will crush them with her smarts and superior ability. She will endure until she can make the Bai family will fall and crush the wimpy Hu family, wiping both prominent families from the history books.

Remembering the painful life that she lived, Xiao Wei clenched her fists and bit her lips until a drop of blood stained her teeth. Tasting the salty sweetness of her own blood gave Xiao the tactile reminder. She must be patient, her current situation is poor and even though she has that secret power, she is still human after all and cannot risk getting hurt. She must take one step at time, swallow her anger and use its powers to transform herself into a phoenix raising from the ashes.