Reborn son-in-law: I Died at your Hands Once

The Courthouse Ambush

The courthouse looked exactly like I remembered—gray stone, cracked steps, crooked railing. Ten years ago, I’d held that rail with trembling hands, excited, naive, blind.

Now I gripped it again, cold and steady.

Lin Yue walked beside me, quiet since the taxi ride. She kept sneaking glances like she was trying to figure me out.

“Why are you so calm?” she asked.

“I’m not,” I said. “Just focused.”

“There’s my mother,” she murmured.

Tang Mei stood at the top of the stairs, pearls gleaming, posture perfect, face full of fake warmth. A lawyer waited beside her, and leaning against a black Mercedes was him—Chen Hao.

My stomach twisted. The man who’d ruined everything looked younger but already poisonous.

“Mom,” Lin Yue said carefully as we climbed. “I thought it’d just be us today.”

“Don’t be silly, dear.” Tang Mei smiled like a witch. “This is an important day. I brought Lawyer Wang for a small formality. You know how your father is about... complications.” Her gaze slid to me. “I’m sure you understand, Mr. Li. A man of your background must appreciate caution.”

There it was—the insult wrapped in politeness. My background. Poor. Orphan. Unworthy.

“Mrs. Tang,” I said, my voice calm. “What formality?”

“A prenuptial agreement,” she said smoothly. “Simple, really. Just to protect my daughter’s inheritance.”

Lin Yue’s hand tensed on my arm. “Mom, we talked about this—”

“Yue.” Her voice iced over. “We allowed this marriage. The least he can do is sign a document. Unless he’s hiding something?”

Lawyer Wang stepped forward with a practiced smile. “Quite standard, Mr. Li. Protects pre-marital assets. You don’t have much, so it barely affects you.”

I took the folder from his hand. “I’d like to read it first.”

The silence that followed was sharp enough to cut air.

Tang Mei blinked. “Excuse me?”

“I said, I’ll read it before signing.”

Chen Hao pushed off the car, his smirk faint. He was enjoying this.

“Li Feng,” Lin Yue whispered, “maybe we should just—”

“Read it,” I said. “We should.”

I sat right there on the courthouse steps and opened the folder. Tang Mei’s face tightened.

“This is highly inappropriate—”

“Then it’ll only take a moment,” I said, flipping pages.

Her expression hardened, but I didn’t look up. I scanned clause after clause. Every word screamed trap. They’d written the same poison in fine print ten years ago, and I’d signed it like a fool.

Lin Yue shifted nervously. “Feng…”

I held up a hand. “Page three—everything I build becomes your family’s property. Page eight—I waive all claims to marital assets. Page fifteen—no alimony, no compensation, no nothing. And page sixteen…” I looked up, fury slicing through my calm. “Clause twenty-six. ‘Party B agrees to provide labor services to Party A’s family business as needed.’ That’s not marriage, Mrs. Tang. That’s slavery.”

Her mask cracked. “How dare you—”

“I read it this time,” I said coldly, closing the folder. “And I’m not signing.”

The air froze.

“Excuse me?” she snapped.

“You heard me.”

Lin Yue looked between us, voice trembling. “Mom, please, maybe—”

“Stay out of this,” Tang Mei barked. “Li Feng, after everything my family’s done for you—accepting you despite your... deficiencies—you have the audacity to talk about slavery?”

“Mrs. Tang,” I said, standing slowly. “You’re not doing me a favor. You’re doing your daughter a disservice.”

Her eyes blazed. “You’ll regret this insolence. You think love feeds you? Clothes you? Yue, open your eyes. He’s after your money.”

I met her glare head-on. “I’m after respect. Something your money can’t buy.”

Lin Yue stepped forward. “Mom, that’s enough!”

“It’s not enough,” Tang Mei shot back. “If he refuses, there will be no wedding.”

Lin Yue’s face paled. “What?”

“You heard me,” her mother said. “Either he signs, or you walk away right now.”

Chen Hao took a few steps closer, pretending concern. “Mrs. Tang, maybe let them talk—”

“Stay out of this,” I said sharply.

His smirk deepened. “Just trying to help, Feng. No need to bite.”

I ignored him and looked at Lin Yue. “Do you want me to sign it?”

Her lips trembled. “I… I just don’t want to fight.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “I love you, Feng. But I can’t lose everything—”

“You already did when they decided who you should be,” I said quietly. “If I sign that, you lose me too.”

She stared at me for a long moment. Her breathing hitched. Then she turned toward her mother.

“No,” she said.

Tang Mei blinked. “What did you say?”

“I said no. We’re getting married today. With or without your blessing.”

“You’re making a mistake.”

“Maybe,” Lin Yue said, shaking but steady. “But it’s my mistake to make.”

Tang Mei’s mouth twisted. “You ungrateful child. You’d throw away everything for this—this man?”

“Yes,” Lin Yue whispered.

Tang Mei’s fury exploded. “Then you’re no daughter of mine. From this moment, you’re cut off. No inheritance. No trust fund. You’ll have nothing.”

Lin Yue’s chin trembled, but she reached for my hand. “Then we’ll start with nothing.”

Chen Hao’s voice cut through the tension, smooth and dangerous. “Lin Yue, please. Think carefully. I can talk to your parents—”

“Don’t,” I warned.

He smirked. “Protective, aren’t we? Let’s see how long that lasts.”

I stepped closer until we were eye to eye. “You should go.”

“Or what?” he murmured.

“Or I make you.”

The look in his eyes said he didn’t believe me—but he stepped back anyway.

Tang Mei turned sharply. “Come, Wang. We’re done here.” She stormed down the steps, heels striking hard. The lawyer scrambled after her.

Chen Hao lingered. “You’ve made powerful enemies today, Feng. Are you sure you can handle that?”

“I survived worse,” I said. “And this time, I’ll do more than survive.”

He chuckled. “We’ll see.”

The Mercedes door shut with a slam. Tires screeched, the car disappearing around the corner.

Lin Yue exhaled shakily. “What did we just do?”

I squeezed her hand. “Took back our future.”

She looked at me like she wasn’t sure if she should be proud or terrified. “They won’t forgive this.”

“I’m not asking for forgiveness,” I said.

Inside, my pulse was still hammering. My mind replayed every word, every look, every decision that had just rewritten a decade of suffering.

But when Lin Yue leaned her head on my shoulder, one thought pushed through the chaos.

If this was the first battle, what the hell was coming next?