Past

As the fog dissipated, Gu Youan opened the door with her sleepy eyes, still feeling a bit scared from last night's dream.

She quietly entered the room and gently opened the door. Xie Wanqing was fast asleep on the bed, lost in a sweet dream. Looking at her delicate face, she wondered to herself, gently stroking her hair. Could it be that she had really been overthinking things last night and had a nightmare?

Gu Youan stared at her blankly. Xie Wanqing and Xie Daoqing did not resemble each other at all, and Xie Daoqing was very distant from her younger sister, Xie Wanqing.

She leaned down to look at Xie Wanqing, and suddenly her right hand pressed something, causing the bed to flip over and a hidden door to open. She rolled inside, hugging Xie Wanqing.

The corridor stretched as far as the eye could see. She shielded Xie Wanqing's head, and before she could think, her back slammed heavily against the stone pillar behind her.

A stone door opened with a "bang," and a person dressed in a dark blue robe walked out. This person bore a resemblance to Xie Daoqing.

Gu Youan's attention was focused on Xie Wanqing, and he didn't notice that someone had appeared beside him.

She hasn't woken up after falling from such a height. Could she have been drugged? She gently patted her face. "Wanqing, wake up!"

"I haven't seen anyone for many years."

Gu Youan looked up at him. The man had gray hair and an air of otherworldly wisdom. She frowned and asked, "Who are you?"

"And who are you? This is the Xie family's secret passage; very few people enter this place."

Gu Youan carried Xie Wanqing back a little, and Xie Wanqing fell into a coma. The whole place was strange.

She looked up at him, "I want to go out."

The man chuckled, "The Xie family only has Wanqing as a female member. Are you Daoqing's wife?"

"You are a member of the Xie family, why are you being locked up here?" Not knowing who it was, she dared not reveal her identity.

The man chuckled, "It's time for Daoqing to get married; it's good that he's still alive."

His dark eyes gleamed, shining brightly in the dim light. "What do you mean? You know about the Xie siblings being poisoned?"

The man lowered his head. "This is the mission of the Xie family siblings for generations, and it is also a deal between the Xie family and the royal family."

She frowned, her right hand stroking Xie Wanqing's pulse. She then checked her neck pulse, her right hand freezing in place. Suddenly, she remembered the dream from last night and was startled for a moment.

The man looked at her and said, "Separation and death are normal things; this is her fate."

Gu Youan suddenly looked up at him, a tear falling from her eye. "She is your junior, how can you be so heartless?"

The man looked at her and said, "The Xie family sacrificed their eldest branch to ensure the glory of the entire Xie family. However, the Xie family's collateral branches lacked strength. With Wanqing's death, she no longer needs to enter the palace as a concubine, nor does she need to bear the fate of the Xie family."

Gu Youan put Xie Wanqing aside. "I don't want to listen to your nonsense here. I want to take her out."

Gu Youan understood that this person wouldn't appear here without a reason. She drew her soft sword and said, "Please enlighten me!"

The man glanced at her and said, "This is not a place for fighting. Young people should not be hot-tempered and impetuous."

Gu You glanced at the stone door behind him. "I just want to get out. Wanqing needs medical attention."

Xie Wanqing was Xie Daoqing's only remaining relative. She recalled the way Xie Daoqing had begged her that day. If Xie Wanqing died, her return to the Emperor's Mansion would be a long way off. Her inner strength had only recovered halfway, and only a blessed land could allow her inner strength to fully recover.

Gu Youan drew his sword without backing down, "I've offended you."

She thrust forward quickly, but the man didn't dodge. When Gu Youan thrust forward, he pinched the blade between two fingers and with a gentle force, the sword broke.

Gu Youan was slightly surprised. She took out a dagger from her sleeve, but the man grabbed her wrist and pushed her heavily to the ground.

Gu Youan lay on the ground, "Do you want to lock me up?"

She glanced at Xie Wanqing. If Xie Wanqing were to die here, she closed her eyes. Such a thing cannot happen. She still has the Emperor's Name and still needs to find the Emperor's Sword.

"System, is there any way for me to get out?"

The man chuckled, and Gu Youan felt a chill run down her spine. "What are you laughing at?"

"You've locked me up here without telling me what you need. I really don't understand what you're trying to do. Don't you want to see me, but Xie Daoqing?"

The man simply said, "I would like to meet the future head of the Xie family."

Gu Youan chuckled lightly, as if mocking her ignorance, "Do you think you can see Xie Daoqing by holding me hostage? You overestimate me."

The man tilted his head and looked to her side, "Xie Daoqing will come to see me."

Gu Youan scrutinized him closely, then sighed, "Did you kill Wanqing?"

The man said with a stern face, "I'm not that depraved."

Gu Youan staggered to her feet. "Since you can come and go freely here, why don't you go see him yourself? Why keep us trapped here?"

The man approached Gu Youan and grabbed her arm. "You are a healer, but you can't cure Wanqing's poison either. Wanqing has no wounds. I was forbidden from leaving the house for life because I violated the family rules. But I want to see my junior, Xie Daoqing."

Gu Youan tilted her head slightly and said, "You can't see him anymore. His leg is broken, and he can't come here alone."

The man stared at him in disbelief, his pale face covered with wrinkles, like ripples spreading across a lake in a gentle breeze.

"What are you talking about? How could she be disabled?"

Gu Youan composed herself. "You can go see him yourself. Why argue with me here? Wanqing and I are not your bargaining chips. She wants help."

Gu Youan took out a needle and stuck it into the top of the man's head. The man stared at him in shock, "How could you do this?"

She shoved the person in front of her aside, turned around, and walked out with Xie Wanqing on her back.

She wasn't a young girl raised with strict family rules; she was an assassin who had emerged from a land of corpses and bloodshed, and she wasn't bound by any rules.

This place was like a maze. She led Xie Wanqing to find the exit, but after half an hour they returned to the same spot. Unable to bear it any longer, You'an took out all the needles. She turned the man on the ground over and stuck the needles into the back of his neck. The man woke up in pain.

He lay stiffly on the ground. "What do you want to do?"

Gu Youan took out the saltpeter and looked at him casually, "If you don't tell the truth, I'll blow this place up."

The man looked at her in shock, "How dare you be a wife of the Xie family?"

She slapped him across the face. "Enough nonsense. How are you getting out? I don't have the patience. If you don't tell the truth, I'll blow this place up."

She pointed at Gu Youan and said, "You poisonous woman, how could my Xie family have such a poisonous woman as you? If I kill you, Daoqing will definitely not let you into the house."

She slapped him across the face. "I don't care about the Xie family's gate. If I can't get out, I'll blow this place up." As she spoke, she was about to light the gunpowder.

“No…no…I’ll say it,” he said, pointing tremblingly to a brick beside him, “turn that brick, and you can get out.”

Gu Youan stuffed a cloth into his mouth, then quickly ran over to move the bricks. Suddenly, the heavy door opened, and light from the outside gradually shone in.

She led Xie Wanqing outside.

The full moon hung high in the sky, and blisters formed on the soles of my feet; a whole night had already passed.

He and Xie Daoqing lived so close to each other, yet Xie Daoqing was completely unaware. Looking at the bloodstains on her hands, she realized that the Xie family had never been a peaceful place.

Her pale blue satin dress was now stained with blood. She was going to ask Xie Daoqing what had happened.

She rushed into the study, and Xie Daoqing looked at her with a surprised expression, "What happened?"

"What did you do yesterday? Wanqing is dead!" Xie Daoqing leaned forward, his hands gripping the desk tightly. "Wanqing is dead?"

He then smiled and said, "It's better that he's dead."

Gu Youan frowned. What's wrong with this person?

She shook his arm. "Do you know who I am? Do you know who died? It was your sister, Xie Wanqing."

"Xie Daoqing, you're having a fit of hysteria. Do you know that someone wants to kill me? Your Xie family elders want to kill me."

Xie Daoqing stared at her blankly. Gu Youan sighed, turned her head and closed her eyes, then looked at him again. "Xie Daoqing, I want to know everything about the Xie family. The Xie family is in great danger. I can't die here without knowing why."

Xie Daoqing lay back in his chair, staring at Gu Youan without moving. "The person you met is Xie Yu, my uncle. Every generation of the Xie family has been a substitute for the royal family. Many years ago, Xie Yu disobeyed the family's ancestral teachings and fled the Xie family. He was then imprisoned in a dark room by the elders of the Xie family."

He stood up and gently stroked her face. In the moonlight, he looked sinister. The cold touch on his hand made Gu Youan turn her head slightly. "Xie Wanqing is dead. I can't cure her poison."

Gu Youan searched through all the medical books but could not save her. Xie Daoqing gently held her head and said, "Gu Youan, there is no turning back now."

Gu Youan brushed his hand away, saying, "We're not on the same boat. We already agreed that I would leave the Gu family after you recovered."

Xie Daoqing suddenly grabbed her chin, forcing her to raise her head. "Since the day you and I fell into the pond, there has been no turning back."

Gu Youan frowned, looked up at him, and said, "Calm down today, I'll come see you tomorrow."

Xie Wanqing suddenly passed away, Xie Daoqing went mad, and a chilling atmosphere permeated the Xie family. She felt a chill creeping through her.

She sat in the study watching over Xie Daoqing, who alternated between crying and laughing. After some time, his emotions gradually calmed down.

His eyes were slightly red and filled with tears. He gazed at the full moon outside the window, enveloped in a sorrowful mood.

She sat down at the table and handed him a cup of tea. "I want to hear the story of the Xie family."

Xie Daoqing sighed deeply, his thoughts drifting far away. Gu Youan listened quietly to everything he said, and didn't sleep a wink all night.