My Life Was Stolen by My Cousin, So I Was Reborn

Yuan Xiu spent her first forty-five years in a rural village, dedicating her life to caring for her elderly grandparents after her parents died. She lived a life of hard labor, wearing hand-me-downs and sacrificing her own future to support her family. Her younger uncle, Yuan Xinmin, and his daughter, Yuan Juan, lived in comfort in town, benefiting from the resources Yuan Xiu sent them. The family praised Yuan Xiu’s filial piety while secretly exploiting her labor. The dynamic shifted when Yuan Juan returned from a distant marriage, dressed in luxury and displaying condescending superiority. Overhearing her family’s conversation, Yuan Xiu discovered the truth: her uncle had intercepted a marriage proposal letter intended for her, allowing Yuan Juan to impersonate her and marry a high-ranking military officer named Jiang Zhou. The family had stolen her life, leaving her to toil in obscurity while Yuan Juan enjoyed the privileges that were rightfully hers.

Upon this revelation, Yuan Xiu experienced a rebirth, returning to the year 1976 when she was eighteen years old. At this critical juncture, she was waiting for the reply to the marriage proposal letter. Remembering the betrayal from her previous life, she refused to wait passively. Instead of accepting her family’s manipulative narrative that she should stay in the village, she packed her belongings and left home. She sought out Wu Dajun, the commune director and a close friend of her father. Yuan Xiu requested a Letter of Introduction to find her fiancé, Jiang Zhou, and exposed her uncle’s scheme. Wu Dajun, outraged by Yuan Xinmin’s actions, helped her verify the situation and provided the necessary documentation. Yuan Xiu also secured the legal deed to her house, ensuring her property would not fall into her grandparents’ hands, and arranged for her rooms to be used by educated youth to settle any claims.

Meanwhile, Yuan Juan had already arrived at the military base, posing as Yuan Xiu. She had meticulously copied Yuan Xiu’s appearance and mannerisms to deceive Jiang Zhou. She waited at the guesthouse, anticipating a life of comfort and status as the wife of a battalion commander. Jiang Zhou, however, had grown suspicious after seeing her in person, noting a lack of connection compared to the photograph he had kept. When the political commissar confirmed that the woman at the guesthouse was an imposter, Jiang Zhou prepared to send her away. He was unaware that the real Yuan Xiu was already traveling to the base.

Yuan Xiu arrived at the military compound on the same day. She presented her Letter of Introduction to the guard, who recognized the discrepancy with the earlier visitor. As Yuan Xiu entered the base, she encountered Yuan Juan, who was shopping with Sister Chunmei, the wife of Jiang Zhou’s comrade. The confrontation was immediate and public. Yuan Juan attempted to claim she was the real Yuan Xiu, but Yuan Xiu exposed the fraud, detailing how her uncle had intercepted the letters and how Yuan Juan had stolen her identity. The military wives, initially friendly toward Yuan Juan, turned against her upon learning the truth. Jiang Zhou arrived and confirmed Yuan Xiu’s identity, ordering Yuan Juan to be escorted back to her hometown. He demanded the return of the gifts and money he had sent to the imposter. The story concludes with Yuan Xiu reclaiming her life, her fiancé, and her dignity, while her exploitative family faces the consequences of their deceit.