"Just as you all think, I am indeed the one who saved your Crown Prince when he was in trouble in Minchuan."

But I never do anything that doesn't benefit me. Since I saved him, he should naturally repay my kindness. After all, there's no such thing as a free lunch.

He wasn't as pampered and wealthy as he is now. Back then, he was worse than a pig or a dog. He owed me a lot of medical bills. Since he couldn't afford anything valuable to repay the debt, he offered himself to me.

I saw that he was good-looking, and thinking that in storybooks, life-saving graces were sometimes repaid in this way, I agreed to his request.

But today he wants to marry someone else. What kind of logic is that? Please help me judge this.

"With the Crown Prince's status, how could he possibly offer himself to a little girl like you? On the contrary, you are repaying kindness with kindness, which is not the behavior of a gentleman. You should go home quickly."

"A woman like you dares to obstruct a marriage alliance between two countries for the sake of a man? You have no shame, and you even spout such absurd logic!"

"Yes, yes, it is truly an insult to civility, crude and unreasonable."

"If you raise a child but don't teach him, it's the father's fault."

Some people spoke up to refute me, some said I was ill-mannered, and some remained silent, looking at the high and mighty king and queen with fear and unease.

I never knew the imperial court was like this. People here are made of iron, even harder than cold stone. They only care about their own interests. How foolish of me to place my hopes on such people.

Rumors are just rumors. The pens of scholars and writers have long lost their former pride. Over the years, they have consumed too much imperial favor and have become commonplace, no longer possessing their former grandeur.

A surge of anger rushed to my head, and I decided to curse everyone in the court, from top to bottom.

What talk of speaking up for the people, what talk of being pillars of the nation? They're nothing but a bunch of sycophants and accomplices of evildoers. I'm absolutely furious.

Unfortunately, just as I was venting my anger, Ji Ruchen seized the opportunity to cross over to me and take the hostage away.

When I lost my hostage, guards who were waiting in the shadows shot at me with hidden weapons. I couldn't dodge in time and injured my shoulder.

Seizing the opportunity, a large number of guards rushed towards me. They had received orders to capture me alive. I was unwilling to die unjustly and fought back desperately, but it was too late.

Seeing that I was about to be captured, I exerted my strength and rammed into Ji Ruchen. Since I couldn't ruin your reputation, I would rather die together with you.

But in the end, I softened and tilted to one side, bumping into the big red pillar next to him.

In the end, I still couldn't bear to part with this ungrateful person, and I only hoped that we would never meet again in the next life.

.............

To my surprise, I didn't die. I woke up in the place where I used to live, with gauze wrapped around my head and shoulders. My maid, Xiao Qing, was standing by the bed.

When Xiao Qing saw that I had woken up, she went out for a while and came back with the family doctor from the manor to take my pulse.

I tried to pull my hand back, but found myself powerless. I tried harder, but then I fainted again. When I woke up, I didn't know how many days had passed.

I saw that it was pitch black outside and there was a dark figure standing inside the house. I was a little scared. Could it be that he was already dead and that what happened before was just a brief moment of lucidity?

This person must be the Black Impermanence, the soul-reaping messenger who comes to take my soul back to the underworld.

I don't know why he's been standing there motionless. Could it be that he's waiting for me to wake up?

"You've come to take me back to the underworld, so let's hurry up and leave."

I'm eager to leave this place.

The dark figure moved slightly, its body trembling, its fists clenched, looking like it wanted to devour someone. Unfortunately, I am now just a wandering soul, and I'm afraid I can't do as it wishes.

Just as I was thinking about whether to offer up my corpse to appease him, he slowly moved closer to me, grabbed my chin, and immobilized me.

"Luo Qingyi, what more do you want?"

Only then did I get a clear look at the shadowy figure. It turned out to be that bastard Ji Ruchen, that persistent ghost, who wouldn't even let me go after I died.

"Ji Ruchen, it's you! Heaven has finally opened its eyes. Even though you refused to marry me when you were alive, now that I'm dead, you're still being buried with me. Tsk tsk tsk, so delicious."

Even though my chin was being pinched and my speech was a bit unclear, I was in such a good mood that I ended up rambling on and on.

I'm so happy, it feels so satisfying.

But he said, "Stop dreaming, Luo Qingyi. You want to die? It's not that easy. You want me to be buried with you? Where do you get your confidence?"

Indeed, he is the crown prince of a nation, what kind of woman wouldn't he want? Why would he die for me?

After he finished speaking, he left. Soon after, someone came in to light the lamp; it was Xiao Qing.

Xiao Qing said that I had been unconscious for the past few days, and Ji Ruchen had been staying by my bedside every day, without closing his eyes for several days and nights. Now that he had some free time, he went to rest and told me not to blame him.

I don't believe it. Three years ago, Xiao Qing was already his woman, and naturally she was on his side.

If that were truly the case, why would he have locked me up in this mansion for three years? Before, I at least had some hope, hoping that one day I could marry him in a magnificent wedding procession, adorned in a phoenix coronet and wedding gown.

I thought it was understandable that he was too busy with official duties to pay attention to me and neglect me. But now that he has married someone else, how could he suddenly change his mind? It's ridiculous.

Xiao Qing lit the lamp and said she was going to brew my medicine, then left.

It was still pitch black outside, so I sat up and tried to get out of bed and walk around.

But he found that his legs had lost sensation and were out of control.

When I lifted the covers, I saw the most terrifying thing in my life: my legs below the knees were completely bare.

I screamed in fright, and in a daze, I heard someone burst through the door, but I didn't know who it was. I fainted again.

When I woke up again, I was already sitting on the warm kang (heated brick bed) in my old home in Minchuan. It was warm and comfortable under me.

There was no one inside; I suppose they're just leaving me to fend for myself.

It's good. I've returned to my roots. At least I didn't die far from home. It's a satisfactory ending.

It was dusk, and the sky outside was ablaze with a beautiful, red glow.

I stared out the window for a long, long time, as if I wanted to see the whole of my life.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, and in no time, her pillow was completely soaked. Her head felt slightly cold.

The area outside the Great Wall is not like the Central Plains. At this time of year, the Central Plains are still a place of prosperity and splendor, but in the northwest, it is already the dead of winter. Even though there is a stove burning inside, the wind blowing in is still bitterly cold.