Chapter 1: Sister
The 20th year of Yongde, winter.
It is snowing heavily.
The cold wind blew straight into the dilapidated woodshed.
Shen Tang, who was frozen stiff, looked even paler, with a mocking smile on his face.
Last autumn, Western Liang invaded the border and Prince Jingyang led his troops to fight, but unfortunately he died on the battlefield.
The day after Crown Prince Xie Guimo inherited the title, he asked for permission to go to the border. He was brave and invincible, and forced Xiliang to retreat step by step. The enemy surrendered and sought peace, but he won a great victory. On the way back to the capital, he suddenly died suddenly. As his widow, Chen Tang kept vigil for three days without taking off her clothes. After she fainted from grief, she was not helped back to the house, but thrown into a cold and damp woodshed.
She had been locked up all night.
She and Xie Guimo had been married for four years, but they had not gotten along and due to some misfortunes, they lost their children. He was in love with her eldest sister, never took a concubine, and had no children. Now that he was dead, the title had no one to inherit and had to fall into the hands of others.
The title was already in the pockets of those people, and she was no obstacle to them. Although her father was gone, the Pingyuan Marquisate was still there and would not sit idly by and watch her, a legitimate daughter, being bullied. Her elder sister was the empress who was the mother of the country and was enjoying the emperor's favor. Those people in the Jingyang Palace were so bold as to dare to treat her like this.
A wave of uneasiness surged in Shen Tang’s heart.
"Squeak."
The broken door of the woodshed was pushed open.
The biting cold wind swept in, like an ice knife scraping at the body. Chen Tang looked at the person who came, a little surprised, but more of a delight.
"Eldest sister, why are you here at Prince Jingyang's mansion?"
The person who came was dressed in an elegant phoenix gown. It was her elder twin sister, Chen Xian.
Chen Xian looked down at Chen Tang, her face no longer showing the deep sisterly affection she used to have. "Prince Jingyang had made outstanding military achievements and relieved the emperor from the border crisis, but he died before he could return to the capital to receive his reward. I couldn't bear it, so I asked for your permission to be buried with Prince Jingyang and accompany him on his journey. The emperor has granted your permission, and I am here to see you off for the last time."
The joy on Chen Tang's face froze, and he couldn't believe what he heard, "Let me be buried with you? Big sister, are you crazy? I am your biological sister!"
However, Shen Xi laughed as if she had heard a joke, "If you were really my biological sister, of course I would not want to let you go."
Chen Tang's face turned pale and his voice was hurried, "What do you mean by this?"
"Can't you understand such straightforward words?"
"Well, today is the day you die, and I will let you die knowingly."
Chen Xi's face was full of pride, "Back then, my mother... no, I should call her my aunt. She did give birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Unfortunately, no one believed her, and she died of depression in the end."
"Your second brother was buried alive right after he was born..."
"And your eldest brother who was lost at the Lantern Festival when he was only four years old was no accident, but he is lucky enough to still be alive."
Every word was like a knife, piercing Chen Tang's heart, and her eyes were red.
If these words came from someone else, she wouldn't believe a word of it.
But this was what her eldest sister said herself, so she had no choice but to believe it.
When her mother was pregnant with her, she suffered from severe morning sickness and could not even leave the house. It happened that a lantern festival was being held in Kyoto, and her eldest brother went to her maternal grandparents' house and went to the lantern festival with his cousins, but he got lost at the festival and has been missing ever since.
The mother could not bear such bad news. In grief, she almost had a miscarriage and stayed in bed for several months to protect the fetus. But after giving birth, she went crazy and tried to strangle her daughter, whom she had worked so hard to give birth to. She said that she had given birth to twins, a boy and a girl, and that her son was switched with someone.
But no one in the entire Pingyuan Marquis Mansion believed her. They all believed that her mother had gone insane due to grief over the loss of her eldest brother. Her father reluctantly locked her mother up and did not allow her to leave the room. As a result, her mother died of hatred when she was only two years old.
If Chen Xian hadn't said it herself, Chen Tang would never have believed that what his mother said was true. How could someone dare to replace a newborn child right under his father's nose? Even the disappearance of his eldest brother was their doing!
These people are so cruel and ruthless!
Chen Tang wanted to pounce on Chen Xi and bite her to death, but she tried her best to hold back and asked with a trembling voice, "My eldest brother is still alive? Who is he?!"
Chen Tang knew that he couldn't escape today.
But she still wanted to know the whereabouts of her elder brother.
It’s just that some people enjoy torturing others. The more Chen Tang wanted to know, the less Chen Xian would tell her. “You’re so anxious to know who your eldest brother is? You won’t guess who he is.”
"Don't worry, I will send him down to reunite with your family soon."
Chen Tang's eyes were red, and she yelled hysterically, "How many people have you killed?!"
Chen Xian looked at the newly painted nails with red nail polish, smiled charmingly, turned her hands over and said, "Too many people have died on my hands, let me think about who they are..."
She really looked like she was thinking seriously, but the words that came out of her mouth seemed to come from hell, "Father, grandfather, cousin, and your almost full-term child..."
Almost every time he read a word, Shen Tang's face turned three points paler.
Those people were her closest relatives.
Thinking of the child she had been pregnant with for eight months and who died because of a fall, Shen Tang's rationality was completely devoured by hatred. She rushed towards Shen Ying with all her might, wanting to avenge her father and child. Unfortunately, she was so weak that she couldn't even stand up and fell heavily to the ground.
With a sad smile, Chen Tang wiped away his tears and looked at Chen Xian, "What about King Jingyang? Did you kill him too?"
"He's deeply in love with you, and you have the heart to do that?!"
Chen Xian laughed when she heard this. She squatted down and grabbed Chen Tang's chin. "My dear sister, how can you see that King Jingyang loves me so deeply? But I really have to thank him, King Jingyang. If he hadn't pushed me to King Qi, I wouldn't be where I am today."
Chen Tang struggled, but was held tightly by Chen Xian. The hatred in her eyes turned into strength, almost crushing Chen Tang's jaw. "I tell you, it was not me who killed King Jingyang, but you."
"He was very careful, but he was not on guard against you. He never left the purse you gave him. Otherwise, he would not have been soaked in poison every day and died of poison on the way back to Beijing."
"When he died, he was still thinking about you in his heart. He dragged his poisoned body to give you a divorce letter, but you thought that the person in his heart was me. You are so stupid. What on earth does Prince Jingyang like about you?"
Jealousy made her well-dressed face look hideous.
Ever since receiving the news of King Jingyang's death, Chen Tang suspected that he was murdered by someone, but he never expected that he was killed in this way.
She and Xie Guimo were not on good terms, and they had a fight before he went to the battlefield at the beginning of the year.
Two months ago, Xie Guimo defeated the enemy on the battlefield and news of victory came one after another. The eldest sister knew that she and Xie Guimo had no correspondence. She said that he was a general and other generals wrote letters home, but he didn't say a single word, which damaged his prestige. If she really didn't know what to write, she would embroider a purse and send it to him.
Although she privately thought that Xie Guimo would not care about these things, she still listened to her elder sister and embroidered a purse.
Xie Guimo had never been nice to her, so why would he keep the purse she gave him...
She doesn't believe it!
This must be a lie to her!
She looked at Chen Xian, wanting to ask for clarification, but Chen Xian was unwilling to say another word.
"Send her on her way."
The two old women approached Chen Tang step by step with white silk in their hands.
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