A tall, slender figure emerged from the doorway, dressed in a bright red wedding gown that Xiao Qingyin recognized all too well, and holding a long, dripping sword.

A small group of bandits rushed over and pounced on the man, but in the blink of an eye, they were beheaded as easily as chopping melons and vegetables, and fell to the ground in disarray.

His handsome face was splattered with blood, and under the bright moonlight, it appeared exceptionally alluring and bewitching, like a demon from hell.

His narrow, phoenix-shaped eyes remained unmoved as he calmly stepped over the corpses on the ground and walked towards the banquet.

Xiao Qingyin huddled in the shadows of the corner, barely daring to breathe.

Once the other person disappeared from sight, she turned around and ran away as fast as she could.

My goodness, what kind of strange creature is this? Its skills are too amazing. She couldn't beat ten of them, and she's actually worried about it!

To make matters worse, she flirted with the person and then beat them up. This person is so vengeful; they'll probably turn her into a human pig later.

Run! Run now! We must escape before he wipes out the bandit stronghold!

Xiao Qingyin quickly caught up with the carriage, whipped her horse, broke through the checkpoint, and sped away from Fengling Pass.

...

After this ordeal, Granny He and her husband dared not even stay overnight at the post station. They traveled through the night and arrived at the south gate just as dawn was breaking.

While queuing to enter the city, Xiao Qingyin instructed the two: "Those bandits in Guandao are quite powerful. Don't mention what happened last night to anyone."

Grandma He and Grandpa He nodded hurriedly, "Don't worry, we know what's important and we will never tell anyone."

Xiao Qingyin removed her makeup and the strips of cloth wrapped around her body, restoring her original beautiful appearance. Even though she was still wearing the same clothes, she was completely different from before.

It took an hour to walk from the city gate to the Minister's residence. Xiao Qingyin was not surprised at all when she saw the side gate opened after Old Man He negotiated with the gatekeeper.

Yao knew nothing about her, so it would be strange if she didn't try to test her with some underhanded tactics.

When the original owner was two years old, his mother died in childbirth. Less than a month after her death, Xiao Shengyuan married Yao.

After Yao entered the house, she experienced various physical ailments. The old lady invited a Taoist priest to take a look. The priest said that the original owner's birth chart had a lot of evil energy, so the original owner was sent back to her hometown in the countryside.

For the first two years, the mansion would send some money back, but after the original owner turned four, the mansion cut off all contact. The family relied entirely on the wet nurse to support them by doing embroidery. The wet nurse was also in poor health. After ten years, she finally couldn't hold on any longer and passed away.

The original owner of this body cried herself to death at her wet nurse's funeral. Before she died, she had only one wish: to ask her father for some of the dowry left by her mother so that she could get a better coffin for her wet nurse.

This was probably the most humble last wish Xiao Qingyin had ever seen.

"Young Miss..." Granny He stammered, unsure how to ask Xiao Qingyin to enter the mansion through the side gate.

"Uncle He, go to the palace gate," Xiao Qingyin said calmly. "My father should be finishing his morning court session soon, I'll go meet him."

Old Man He hesitated for a moment, then tugged at the reins, turning the carriage toward the palace.

The gatekeeper was immediately alarmed and quickly sent someone to deliver a message. The carriage had traveled less than ten meters when the main gate creaked open.

"Old He, where are you heading? You've been away for a month or two and you don't even recognize the Minister's residence anymore?"

A woman wearing a lake-blue short jacket with dark patterns and a brocaded silk skirt with gold flowers, a gold and jade openwork double phoenix and peony headdress, willow-leaf eyebrows, an oval face, and a slightly plump figure walked out of the door quickly.

Closely following behind her was a young girl with rosy cheeks and a scarlet plum blossom patterned long coat.

Old Man He immediately reined in his horse and stopped the carriage, bowing and saying, "Greetings, Madam, greetings, Second Miss."

Urged by Granny He, Xiao Qingyin got out of the carriage, her gaze sharp as she looked at the woman. "Are you my stepmother?"

Yao had expected to see a dark-skinned, thin, and timid country girl, but to her surprise, the girl had skin as smooth as cream, a face as white as jade, and a graceful demeanor. Apart from her clothes, she had nothing to do with the word "country".

Her temperament was even better than that of her carefully raised daughter, and her features still faintly revealed the charm of her deceased friend.

Madam Yao pinched her palm hard, a kind smile appearing on her face. "Yes, I am your mother, and this is your younger sister, Qingrong. Your younger brother is studying at the academy and only returns home on his days off."

"I've finally met my sister!"

Xiao Qingrong stepped forward, familiarly taking Xiao Qingyin's arm with a beaming smile.

“I’ve heard since I was little that I have an older sister who is recuperating in the countryside. I’ve always hoped that she would come back soon. Now my wish has finally come true.”

Her voice was gentle and soft, with a hint of surprise, but Xiao Qingyin could tell at a glance that she was speaking in a pinched voice, and the sound did not come from her chest.

"Really? I didn't know I had a younger sister. I thought the Xiao family had all died out and I was the only one left."

Xiao Qingyin pulled her hand away.

"Otherwise, why would they have ignored us for more than a decade, leaving my wet nurse and me to fend for ourselves?"

Xiao Qingrong paused, as if she had been stung by her sharp words.

Madam Yao immediately understood that Xiao Qingyin was not easy to deal with. She sighed and said bitterly, "It's understandable that you have grievances. It's just that our bodies are too weak to withstand the impact of evil energy. Even bringing you some things makes us sick for ten days or half a year..."

"If you're so afraid of being struck by evil energy, why did you have someone bring me back?" Xiao Qingyin sneered. "Do you have a death wish?"

“Sister, how can you talk like that?” Xiao Qingrong pouted. “Mother is always thinking about you and has been trying to find you a good marriage. When she heard that the Emperor was going to bestow a marriage upon his most beloved nephew, she immediately recommended you.”

"His Majesty has already issued an imperial decree to grant you the marriage, and the reason we brought you back is to prepare for the wedding," Yao Shi replied.

How could she possibly have such a good opportunity?

Xiao Qingyin strongly suspected that this emperor's nephew was either of poor character and extremely ugly, or had a hidden illness or an unknown fetish.

She looked at Granny He. Throughout the journey, Granny He and her husband had not mentioned a single word about the arranged marriage to her.

Granny He immediately lowered her head, avoiding her gaze; clearly, she was deliberately keeping it from her. Needless to say, it must have been Yao's order.

Xiao Qingyin wasn't too surprised. Although she had saved Granny He's life when she was on the verge of death due to acclimatization issues and cured Old Man He's chronic illness, these two were ultimately people from the manor and couldn't possibly be of one mind with her.

“I did not receive the imperial edict,” Xiao Qingyin said calmly. “Does this mean that imperial edicts are no longer issued in person?”

“You weren’t in the manor at the time, and we felt bad making the eunuch who was delivering the imperial decree travel all the way back to his hometown, so we had your sister receive it for you.”

Yao explained that she hadn't expected Xiao Qingyin to think of this. It seemed that although her stepdaughter grew up in the countryside, she was not ignorant.

Xiao Qingyin had read at least eight hundred, if not a thousand, online novels in modern times, so she knew immediately what kind of drama this was.

This marriage was absolutely betrothed to Xiao Qingrong, but the mother and daughter were unhappy about it and wanted her to take Xiao Qingrong's place.

"Where is the imperial edict?" Xiao Qingyin asked. "Since it's an imperial edict for me, I should at least be able to see it."