"Retreat! Retreat! Hurry up!"

In the dead of night, in the tropical rainforest, a group of special agents from Country A, clad in camouflage uniforms, were on a covert mission. Arriving at the rescue site, they had expected to save the hostages, only to be greeted by a hail of bullets. "Damn it! We've fallen into a trap!" As the team leader, Shang Ruoyi quickly ordered her teammates to withdraw.

"A Lan, you lead the brothers and retreat first, now!" Seeing that she didn't move, Shang Ruoyi furrowed her brows and said, "A Lan, what are you thinking?"

"Heh, Captain, this is where our paths diverge," A Lan sneered, her lips curving into a malicious smile. The muzzle of the gun, which should have been aimed at the enemy, was now pointed at Shang Ruoyi's chest. "In the underworld, don't blame me."

Just as she was about to pull the trigger, Shang Ruoyi's figure vanished like a ghost. In the next instant, she grabbed the gun barrel and, with a powerful jerk, disarmed A Lan.

Then, she kicked her to the ground.

"Captain! A Lan!" Hearing the commotion behind them, the teammates rushed back. "What's going on?"

"Why?" Shang Ruoyi's gaze was as sharp as a knife, her cold eyes fixed on A Lan. "We are comrades who share life and death."

"Comrades?" A Lan scoffed. "Who are you to me? If it weren't for your failure to save him in time, how could A Feng have sacrificed? We were about to get married! Your medical skills are among the best in the entire Country A. Why didn't you save him first before completing the mission? If you had saved him, A Feng would never have died."

Shang Ruoyi's brows knitted slightly. "A Feng sacrificed himself for the country. As special agents, the most important thing is to complete the mission first. Our lives belong to the country."

"Then I'll overthrow this country," a crazed look welled up in her eyes. "Now, you all will accompany him in death!"

With that, she took out a special ammunition with the fuse already pulled.

"Boom!"

The skyrocketing flames illuminated the night sky.

In the Tianshun Dynasty.

The Prime Minister's Mansion was filled with festivity. Lanterns were hung high, and the servants wore red silk ribbons around their waists. "Hurry! Hurry and wake up the Second Miss!"

"The Second Miss? Isn't it the First Miss?"

"What First Miss? How could our First Miss marry that lame man?" A maid lifted her chin haughtily. "Our First Miss is destined to marry the Crown Prince and become the empress in the future." Pointing at the tightly shut door in a remote courtyard, she shouted, "What are you standing there for? Go and call her out! If we miss the auspicious hour, don't blame the master for getting angry and making you pay the price!"

The maid rushed to knock on the door, but after pounding for a long time, there was no response from inside.

The maid who came to deliver the message furrowed her brows and snapped, "A lowly girl born to a concubine, putting on airs?" She directed the servant behind her, "What are you waiting for? Go and knock! Do you want the First Miss to punish you?"

Shang Ruoyi lay on the bed, the knocking outside making her frown.

"Crash!" The already shabby door couldn't withstand such pounding.

The two wooden doors fell flat on the ground.

Shang Ruoyi, who had her eyes tightly shut, suddenly opened them.

She leaped up from the bed, darted to the door, and with her right hand in a hook, firmly grasped a servant's throat.

With such great force, the servant immediately started rolling his eyes.

"Are you courting death?" Shang Ruoyi's cold eyes passed over the servant and landed on the maid behind him.

Meeting her gaze, the maid took a step back.

Perhaps feeling this action was a bit embarrassing, she took a deep breath and stepped forward. "Second Miss, the auspicious hour has arrived. The master orders you to get dressed and groomed quickly. The bridegroom will be here to fetch you soon."

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Shang Ruoyi snorted coldly. "Which meddlesome creature from the other courtyard dares to come here and act so presumptuously?"

"I'm Cai Pin from the First Miss's courtyard."

"Heh, Shang Yufu can't raise anything decent," Shang Ruoyi sneered. "What's wrong? Is Shang Yufu injured or disfigured? Can't find a husband? Rejected by her fiancé?"

"You... How dare you curse the First Miss!" Cai Pin pointed at Shang Ruoyi. The next second, a scream rang out in the courtyard. Cai Pin fell to the ground, clutching her limp finger and howling, "My hand! My hand!"

"I detest it when people point at me. This is just a small lesson for you. Next time, if you raise a hand, that hand will be useless for good."

The servants stood in the courtyard, looking at the unfamiliar Second Miss in horror.

No one dared to step forward.

Wasn't the former Second Miss extremely timid? Not only would she never hit anyone, but even the maids and servants in the mansion could bully her at will.

What was going on today?

Shang Ruoyi saw the doubt in their eyes.

A cold smile played on her lips.

Did they think she was still the timid and weak Shang Ruoyi of the past?

Under this body of Shang Ruoyi now was the soul of a top special agent from Country A.

When she transmigrated yesterday, she could hardly believe that the memories of the original owner were real.

As the Second Miss of the Prime Minister's Mansion in the Tianshun Dynasty, she had been starved to death.

Because she was born to a concubine, she had been suppressed by the main wife since childhood.

Originally, her mother was the daughter of a wealthy merchant. When she first entered the mansion, her despicable father doted on her mother, as her mother could provide him with a steady stream of money.

Later, when her maternal grandfather's family met with misfortune and could no longer supply money, her father revealed his true nature.

Not only did he move her and her mother to the most remote courtyard, but he also allowed the servants to bully them. Her mother passed away in depression when she was ten years old. She had lived alone and pitifully in this courtyard for six years, and finally, she starved to death.

Faced with this inevitable reality, she vowed to change Shang Ruoyi's fate.

The first step was to leave the Prime Minister's Mansion and establish her own household.

However, before she could implement her plan, her despicable father was going to marry her off?

Just then, the sound of rapid footsteps came from outside the courtyard. "Shang Ruoyi, what are you dawdling about?" Prime Minister Shang Nian strode in. Seeing the mess in the courtyard, he roared, "You unfilial daughter! Look at what you've done!"

Shang Ruoyi gave a cold laugh. "What? Are you going to interfere when I punish the disrespectful servants in my own courtyard, Father?"

Her sharp retort left Shang Nian stunned.

His second daughter had always been meek and submissive. How dare she contradict him today!

"Shang Ruoyi, how dare you question my words!"

She picked her ear and pouted. "What? Are your words like imperial edicts? I think you shouldn't be called Shang Nian. You should be called Shang Tian instead."

"You!"

Just as he was about to swing a slap, the First Lady rushed over and quickly stopped him. "Master, you can't hit her. The bride can't have a red mark on her face when she leaves the house. People will gossip about our Shang family."

Especially since she was going to marry the lame heir of the Dingguo Prince's Mansion on behalf of her daughter. There couldn't be any mistakes.