The Madam Fought Her Way Back From Decades Later, Driving the Entire Household Mad

Song Jinyao spent three years as a wandering soul after freezing to death in the snow, only to awaken kneeling in a mourning hall beside her husband’s coffin. She had been reborn to the day after Lu Xiuyuan’s reported death, the moment her second, third, and fourth sons were demanding the division of family property. In her previous life, she had yielded to their pressure, dividing the assets and eventually being abandoned by the very sons she had doted upon. Her husband had not died but had faked his death to elope with another woman, a secret her biological sons had conspired to keep to secure their father’s continued financial support from the outside. The pain of a burning joss paper spark confirmed her return to reality, and Song Jinyao resolved to change her fate.

Her sons, unaware that she remembered the past, pressed their demands for the family’s most profitable cloth manor. Song Jinyao, instead of complying, slapped each of them across the face, shocking the household. She refused to divide the estate, recognizing that their urgency stemmed from a need to fund their father’s new life. The eldest son, Lu Yuan, a stepson she had raised but who held a grudge against her, remained silent and offered to follow her decision. The three biological sons—Lu Xiao, Lu Yue, and Lu Chuan—were revealed to be cunning and ungrateful, having previously exploited her favoritism. Lu Yue, the scholar, had masterminded the father’s fake death scheme, while Lu Xiao had been involved in examination fraud and corruption. Song Jinyao’s youngest son, Lu Chen, had become simple-minded after an accident, and her daughters had been sacrificed for her sons’ benefit in her past life.

During the vigil, the three sons negligently allowed the eternal flame to extinguish, a grave omen in local belief. Song Jinyao used this incident to manipulate the clan elders and a Taoist priest, Xuanhe, into believing that an elaborate burial with all family wealth as grave goods was necessary to avert disaster upon the Lu clan. The elders, fearing for their family fortunes, agreed with Song Jinyao’s proposal, leaving the three sons with no choice but to accept. However, Song Jinyao had already secretly sold her assets through a brokerage, converting them into silver. She used part of the proceeds to create the illusion of burial goods while keeping the bulk of the wealth for herself.

As the funeral progressed, Song Jinyao enforced strict penance on her three sons, forcing them to keep vigil and guard the tomb for forty-nine days. She also publicly humiliated them, burning their father’s belongings and slapping her youngest son for disrespecting his stepbrother. Her second daughter, Lu Wenhui, proved to be an ally, displaying intelligence and loyalty that Song Jinyao had neglected in her previous life. The Taoist priest, Xuanhe, hinted that Song Jinyao’s true opportunity lay in Jing City, where her original family’s grievances could be redressed. He gifted her a bodhi bracelet and revealed that her past life’s suffering was not her destiny.

Song Jinyao’s actions marked a decisive break from her past self. She no longer sought to please her ungrateful sons or maintain the appearance of a devoted wife to a man who had betrayed her. Instead, she focused on securing her financial independence and preparing for a future in the capital. The clan elders, manipulated by her rhetoric, enforced the burial of the assets, ensuring her sons received nothing. The story concludes with Song Jinyao having successfully turned the tables on her family, using their greed and superstition against them while laying the groundwork for her own rebirth and redemption.