Miss Wen, the reunion feels just like before.
The ashes of the paper scattered in the air fell like snow onto the girl's face. Wen Zhibai opened her eyes in a flash of white light. She looked down and stared at her hands in disbelief.
My fingertips touched my heart, and the wounds there disappeared...
How could she forget? How her father, Wen Lingchen, had deceived her with gentle words, leading her mother to the deadly land of Nansu, thousands of miles away. She chased after him like a madwoman, and the last thing she saw was her mother being strangled to death with a rope.
She, the legitimate daughter of the Wen family, was then subjected to a barrage of arrows by the arriving royal cavalry, who accused her of being a "remnant of a traitor."
The feeling of a sharp blade piercing flesh was so cold, and the withered graves in the mass grave were nothing compared to the fear in people's hearts.
As her soul dissipated, she finally understood—
Her and her mother's lives were nothing more than a trivial pledge of allegiance that her father offered to the powerful and his new lover.
She looked up and, in the dim candlelight, saw the memorial tablet engraved with her mother's surname standing prominently on the offering table.
Below that was the mother's coffin.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed, echoing through the sky. The lightning bolts pierced through the fluttering white veil and struck her pale profile.
A tear slid down her cheek, and before she could grieve for long, a muffled thud came from behind her.
"Whoosh!" The wooden door behind her suddenly swung open, letting in a cool breeze that lifted her sleeves and long hair.
Wen Zhibai turned around. In the inky night, Wen Lingchen stood at the front with a cold face, while the Qin family mother and her two children stood at the back in order.
There was a moment of silence in the air. Neither of them spoke, separated by the fluttering gauze curtains. The only sound was the raindrops falling on the stone slabs from the eaves.
She clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palms.
"She wasn't howling and acting crazy today," Qin Yanzhen said to Wen Lingchen, without lowering her voice.
Wen Zhibai's gaze swept over Qin Shi's attire. Her hair was adorned with jewels and jade hairpins, which shone brightly under the white candlelight. The mistress's token was hanging at her waist.
"People always have to look forward." Wen's father stepped forward and lifted the white veil in front of Wen Zhibai with one hand: "You should also find someone to rely on."
"Rely on?" She took a step forward, her eyes filled with terrifying bloodshot veins. "What does Father mean by this?"
Wen Lingchen looked away and waved to the people behind him.
After a few gongs and drums sounded, a dozen or so people stood outside the mourning hall, with wooden boxes full of jewelry behind them. Several servants with their heads down were holding roosters draped with red silk. Upon closer inspection, there were also two lambs, one black and one white, tightly tied with straw ropes.
"Although you are the second young lady of the Wen family, your mother has been gone for five days. While you are still young and beautiful, it would be good to choose a husband to rely on." Qin Yanzhen gently touched the hair bun by her ear, a hint of sarcasm on her face.
A man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like face spoke first, followed by a man carrying several boxes of silver: "Miss Wen, I am a servant of the Liu family. These are your betrothal gifts. Please accept them."
Then a portly man said, "I am the steward of the Qi family, and I have come here on the orders of the head of the family to propose marriage."
"..."
These lewd words reached Wen Zhibai's ears, and her chilling laughter suddenly echoed in the mourning hall: "Heh...hehe...heh..." She trembled and took a few steps back.
“Father, my father.” She slowly raised her head, her eyes filled with a chilling coldness as she looked at Wen Lingchen: “My mother’s coffin is right behind me, yet you are already so impatient to use feudal ethics and the Three Cardinal Guides and Five Constant Virtues to kill me, just like you killed her!”
Everyone saw her as prey, trying to squeeze every last drop of blood out of her.
The soul-suppressing bell on the coffin moved automatically without any wind.
Her back pressed against the cold coffin, facing the encirclement that strangled her, she could only be with her mother's remains.
Seeing that Wen Zhibai refused, Qin Yanzhen gave her son Wen Fushi behind her a look.
"Choose quickly!" Wen Fushi grabbed Wen Zhibai's arm, forcefully pinched her chin, his nails almost digging into her flesh, and roughly turned her face towards the lewd suitors.
"Let go of me!" Wen Zhibai stared intently at Wen Fushi. Wen Fushi was startled by the hatred in her eyes that was exactly the same as Jiang Xuwan's before she died. Then, she became angry and embarrassed and grabbed her hair: "Fine, if you won't choose, I'll choose for you!"
"Boom!"
A bolt of purple lightning struck down fiercely, causing the entire mourning hall to tremble. In the same instant, the paper window shattered. A short sword of black iron, carrying the force of wind and thunder, pierced through the air with perfect precision, penetrating Wen Fushi's palm.
"ah--!"
Before anyone could react, all the white candles in the mourning hall went out.
A clear, melodious male voice came from outside the hall: "Who dares?"
Lightning flashed, and the world turned white. A tall, pine-like figure stepped across the scattered paper money, and the chilling aura surrounding him made everything else retreat.
The swirling dust froze in mid-air, the expressions of terror on everyone's faces were frozen, and the screams instantly ceased.
Wen Zhibai collapsed to the ground, not yet understanding what had happened, when he felt a pair of cold, large hands encircle his waist.
The man appeared behind her without her noticing; his straight nose brushed against her neck, then to her ear, his warm breath tickling her: "Miss Wen, it feels just like before."
She tried to ask, but found that something was blocking her throat, and she couldn't say a word.
"Shh—be good, I'll take you away." He held up his index finger to her lips.
The boy picked her up and carried her outside. He then gently beckoned with his finger, and the surrounding white candles lit up again.
Wen Lingchen stepped forward, pointed at the boy, and shouted, "You audacious assassin! I am a high-ranking official of the court. You have broken into my residence. Do you know that this is a capital offense?"
"Father, Father! My hand... my hand!" Wen Fushi's forehead was covered in cold sweat. He covered his bleeding right hand and moved closer to Wen Lingchen. Qin and her daughter cried and ran towards Wen Fushi, standing by helplessly.
Qin Yanzhen pointed at Wen Zhibai in the boy's arms and cried out, "Wen Zhibai! Even if you have hatred in your heart, you shouldn't collude with outsiders to hurt your own family!"
"Given Lord Wen's status, it's normal that he can't see me," the young man replied coldly.
“You…” Wen Lingchen’s eyes darted around; the voice sounded extremely familiar.
Just then, the sound of orderly footsteps came from outside the mansion, powerful and resounding, as if they were about to break down the gates of the Wen mansion.
Then a man holding the Crown Prince's token walked up to the boy and said respectfully, "Lord Pei, the carriage to pick up Miss Wen is already waiting outside the courtyard."
“You are—” Wen Lingchen seemed to suddenly realize something, his eyes widening in horror.
Pei Qinzhou, a staff member of the Crown Prince of Daxia.
The current emperor is old and frail. To put it nicely, the crown prince is truly second only to the emperor, and everyone in the Eastern Palace naturally has to show him respect.
Pei Qinzhou looked at the person in his arms with eyes as clear as water. Her cheeks were covered with dust, and her reddened eyes revealed a faint gray-blue tinge.
“You’ve lost weight…” He frowned slightly. The hand around her waist tightened a little more.
She was momentarily dazed, but the blurry face in her memory was now clearly reflected in her eyes.
But he had done so much for me in my past life, and in this life, I must not let him fall into hatred with me again.
Wen Zhibai suppressed her tears and forced back a sob in her throat: "...Who are you?"
His figure paused almost imperceptibly, and a thousand words ultimately turned into a fleeting, suppressed crimson glint in his eyes. He didn't answer Wen Zhibai's question, but addressed the people in the hall directly: "Lord Wen, in marrying off your daughter, have you chosen these ugly and deformed people?"
Qin's daughter, Wen Xian, was afraid of death and cried as she added, "It's because Wen Zhibai is weak and her mother died that Father had no choice but to find several young men for her as a backup plan."
Pei Qinzhou raised an eyebrow, his expression turning even uglier: "We need to find a backer for Miss Wen."
He lowered his eyes, his gaze filled with spring, and looked at Wen Zhibai in his arms: "For example, me, and it can only be me."
"Thank you, An."
"Yes." Xie An was about fifteen or sixteen years old. He whistled, and there was a commotion outside the door. People carried in dozens of sandalwood boxes one after another.
Everyone was amazed, having never seen such a grand spectacle before.
Pei Qinzhou asked Wen Zhibai with a smile, "Do you like it?"
Her puzzled look made it seem as if she was calling him crazy.
He wasn't angry; after all, he had gone mad during the days he couldn't find her.
After entrusting the remaining matters to Xie An, Pei Qinzhou carried Wen Zhibai into the carriage.
Half an hour later
Only a single, warm yellow candle flickered in the large room.
Wen Zhibai moved his fingers and, finding that he could move freely, quickly got out of bed.
Footsteps could be heard outside the door.
The maidservant curtsied and said, "Lord Pei."
She quickly found a short sword on the rosewood cabinet, blew out the candle, and hid behind the door.
Pei Qinzhou placed his finger outside the door and said to the maids, "You may all leave."
"Sigh—"
The light from the lanterns poured down from outside the door as Pei Qinzhou stepped forward.
Suddenly, something sharp pressed against his waist.
"Don't move."
He smiled helplessly, "I wouldn't dare."
"Who are you? Why did you marry me?"
"You're so wonderful, why wouldn't I marry you?"
Pei Qinzhou turned around and grabbed her wrist, which was holding the sharp blade, pointing it at his heart.
He half-covered his face, suppressing the stinging pain in his eyes: "Do you want to kill me?"
"Let me go."
"I can't do it."
He leaned down slightly and stroked her cheek with his fingers.
"I don't know who you are!"
"Then come and get to know me."
"I don't want to marry you either!"
"I wouldn't mind being forced into marriage."
She dodged his touch, her attitude resolute: "Believe it or not, I'll kill you."
He guided her hand and held the sharp dagger firmly against his heart.
"Do you want to kill me?" He had half his face hidden in shadow, his tone as gentle as a lover's whisper. "Go ahead. For me, to die by your hand is... a blessing."
"you--"
Before he could finish speaking, Wen Zhibai saw a blur before his eyes and the short sword had already changed hands.
He tossed the blade aside with a backhand motion, and with a clear metallic clang as it hit the ground, he seized her limp wrist, gently twisted it, and turned her around, pressing her between himself and the door with his chest.
All the struggles are confined to a small space.
He then buried his face in her neck and said, "...I missed you."
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