Spring’s Return: I Can No Longer Uphold a Virtuous Wife’s Conduct

Zhou Yunruo, the matriarch of the Yan family, lies dying in a cold, dilapidated room at the age of eighty. Betrayed by a husband who despised her and abandoned by an unfilial son who resented her strict upbringing, she passes away in misery and regret. Upon opening her eyes, she finds herself restored to her twenty-three-year-old body, standing before a bronze mirror in her prime. She realizes she has been reborn fifteen years into the past, just after moving to the capital with her husband, Yan Heng. In her previous life, she devoted herself entirely to her family, only to be exploited and discarded. Now, with the wisdom of eighty years of suffering, she resolves to live for herself and dismantle the toxic dynamics that destroyed her.

Yan Heng, a military officer who has risen to a low-ranking captain in the Imperial Guard, enters her chamber with intentions of intimacy. Zhou Yunruo, filled with revulsion for his past infidelities and cruelty, feigns illness to avoid him. Her coldness unsettles him, but before the conflict escalates, a commotion at the gate draws him away. A beautiful woman, the widow of a subordinate, has come to the residence seeking help. Yan Heng attempts to handle the situation discreetly, but Zhou Yunruo, remembering the woman who would later become his hidden concubine and cause her immense suffering, decides to confront the situation publicly. She follows Yan Heng to the side residence, where she discovers him with the woman, who is pregnant.

Instead of collapsing in tears as she did in her past life, Zhou Yunruo slaps Yan Heng and accuses him of keeping a secret mistress. When he denies it, she forces Yan Erlang, his younger half-brother, to take the blame. The confrontation draws the attention of the entire household, including Yan Heng’s mother and sister-in-law. Zhou Yunruo exposes the financial strain of their move to the capital, revealing that her dowry has been depleted supporting the family. She refuses to pay the woman off, forcing the Yan family to deal with the consequences of their own actions. The situation spirals when Second Mistress Yan, jealous and fearful of losing her husband’s favor, attacks the pregnant woman, causing a miscarriage. The woman dies from her injuries, and Yan Heng is left furious and humiliated.

The death of the concubine brings no satisfaction to Yan Heng, but Zhou Yunruo feels a cold sense of justice. She reflects on her past life, where this same woman’s child caused her to lose her own ability to bear children. Now, she has turned the tables, letting karma take its course. After the incident, she visits her natal Zhou family, reuniting with her elder sister and uncle. She encounters Su Yu, the top scholar and the man she once loved in her youth, who now holds a high official position. Their interaction is tense and cold, highlighting the distance between their worlds and her past regrets.

Determined to build a new life independent of the Yan family’s control, Zhou Yunruo visits a slave market. She purchases Shi Xia, a loyal servant from her past life who died tragically, and Shuangfu, a strong and humorous woman who was being abused. With her new retainers by her side, Zhou Yunruo begins to assert her authority. She takes Shi Xia and Shuangfu to a high-end restaurant, where she handles a discriminatory waiter with swift physical action, demonstrating that she is no longer the submissive wife she once was. The chapter ends with her establishing a foundation of loyalty and strength, setting the stage for her future independence and revenge against those who wronged her.