“You don’t need to know who I am,” Xin Long said calmly. “You only need to know that I have no intention of harming you.”
“The Grand Princess is already dead. Right now, our interests are aligned.”
From the wide sleeve of her robe, she took out an exquisitely carved imperial jade seal and placed it steadily into Xiao Jinghe’s hand as a gesture of goodwill.
The lustrous jade glowed softly in the dim room, yet to Xiao Jinghe it felt like a red-hot branding iron, scorching his palm.
“You’ve been looking for this, haven’t you?”
Staring at the jade seal that had destroyed his entire family in his previous life, Xiao Jinghe’s fingertips trembled and his pupils constricted.
It was this very seal that had caused the Xiao family to be exiled, reducing his once-proud household to ruin.
“Tomorrow, the chief eunuch Rui’an will arrive with men under the Emperor’s orders to search for the jade seal.”
Xin Long’s voice broke the heavy silence.
“Even if he doesn’t find it, the Emperor will still find another excuse to confiscate the Xiao family’s estate.”
“The entire Yonghui Dynasty no longer has room for your family.”
“This fake jade seal is nothing more than a pretext. Have you figured out what you’re going to do?”
Her words left Xiao Jinghe silent.
After being reborn, he had believed he could reverse his family’s fate.
Instead, he discovered he was still trapped in a hopeless situation.
Slowly, he lowered his sword. The sharp blade let out a crisp hum as it returned to its sheath.
He knew she was right.
The fake jade seal was merely an excuse.
Even without it, the Emperor would simply fabricate another crime.
Sooner or later, the Xiao family was destined for destruction.
Xiao Jinghe possessed refined, breathtakingly handsome features, elegant enough to resemble an immortal descended from the heavens. As the youngest son of the Xiao family, had his six older brothers not all fallen one after another on the battlefield, he should have spent his life like the carefree young nobles of the capital—idling away his days amid luxury and pleasure.
But after even the sixth brother who had doted on him the most died in battle the previous year, he abandoned his love of literature and painting and took up the burden his brothers had left behind, determined to fulfill his duty as a man of the Xiao family.
Now, he carefully studied the unfamiliar woman before him.
He could clearly sense that the woman standing here was nothing like the Grand Princess he had known.
She said Xin Long was dead?
Then… who was she?
A spirit possessing the Grand Princess’s body?
Or… a ghost?
Xiao Jinghe didn’t care.
If borrowing the power of a ghost could save the Xiao family from their tragic fate, then so be it.
“Why are you helping me?” he asked quietly.
“Can’t I simply pity you?”
Xin Long answered honestly.
She had been a left-behind child, raised by her grandmother. Whenever they had free time, her grandmother would tell her stories about Yue Fei.
In her eyes, every member of the Xiao family was a loyal patriot—a family of heroes who had defended their country and sacrificed everything for the people.
One could even say that the Yonghui Dynasty itself had been built upon the bones of the Xiao men.
To see such a heroic family discarded once they were no longer useful…
She couldn’t bear it.
Since she had the chance to help them, why shouldn’t she?
Hearing that, Xiao Jinghe gave a faint, bitter smile.
The mighty General Who Pacified the Nation…
…was actually being pitied by a wandering ghost.
Yet when he thought of everything that had happened in his previous life, he couldn’t laugh.
If only a single person had been willing to help his family back then…
None of them would have died without even leaving behind their bones.
Meeting her gaze, he asked solemnly, “How do you plan to help me? And how should I repay you?”
Xin Long replied, “Answer one question first. After the Xiao family was exiled in your previous life… what happened to me? Was I exiled with all of you?”
She had assumed the Emperor would exile the lovestruck Grand Princess alongside the Xiao family before arranging for her assassination on the road.
After all…
Dead people kept secrets best.
“No,” Xiao Jinghe answered.
Xin Long blinked.
“No?”
Could it be that the heartless Emperor had actually cared about his sister?
Xiao Jinghe spoke slowly.
“In my previous life, because you were implicated by the Xiao family, you were thrown into prison. Your title as Grand Princess was stripped away, reducing you to a commoner. Later, the Emperor bestowed you upon Rui’an… who tortured you to death.”
Rui’an?
That chief eunuch?
Xin Long froze in shock.
The Emperor had given his own sister to a eunuch…
…and allowed her to be abused to death?
That was even crueler than anything she had imagined.
She had originally planned to divorce Xiao Jinghe before the Xiao family was condemned and continue living comfortably as the Grand Princess.
Now it seemed…
The capital was no place she could remain.
Xin Long extended her slender, fair hand toward him, her fingertips smooth as polished jade.
“Give me the jade seal.”
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Jinghe handed the heavy fake imperial seal back to her.
The jade felt cool against her palm.
The instant it touched her hand, a strange glow blossomed from her palm.
Like ripples spreading across water, the light expanded before vanishing in an instant.
Xiao Jinghe’s pupils shrank.
He watched with his own eyes as the jade seal disappeared completely from her hand.
A heartbeat later, it reappeared in her palm, completely intact.
Xin Long smiled calmly.
“I can do that.”
Xiao Jinghe stared blankly at her, astonishment flashing across his deep eyes.
“Is… that your demon magic?”
“Demon magic?”
Xin Long arched an eyebrow.
So he’d mistaken her for some kind of demon.
Then again, from an ancient man’s perspective, someone whose soul had entered another person’s body being considered a spirit or demon was perfectly understandable.
She nodded with complete seriousness, deliberately adopting a mysterious tone.
“Yes. It’s one of my abilities.”
“I can store supplies inside my own space.”
“So before your family’s property is confiscated, I can help stockpile everything you’ll need—food, water, clothing, daily necessities. I’ll keep them all inside my space, so your family won’t have to suffer from hunger and deprivation during the exile.”
Ever since returning to the capital, Xiao Jinghe had been desperately searching for a way to break the deadlock.
In the end, he found only one option—
Flee with the Xiao family before disaster struck.
But the road of escape was filled with dangers, and the Emperor would inevitably brand them with fabricated crimes.
His young nephews and nieces would become undocumented fugitives before they were even old enough to understand the world, condemned to live as wandering outcasts forever.
Exile, at least…
Still left the possibility of one day clearing the family’s name.
His thoughts drifted back to the horrific scenes of his previous life.
One month later, the Yonghui Dynasty would be devastated by a catastrophic earthquake.
After that would come three relentless years of drought.
The land would crack open.
Countless refugees would roam the countryside.
In his previous life, he had watched helplessly as his nephews were torn apart alive by starving refugees driven mad by hunger.
His own legs and one of his arms had been hacked off by those people who had long since lost their humanity…
…and cooked as food to accompany their wine.
The candlelight flickered, casting a warm golden glow over Xiao Jinghe’s exquisitely handsome face while accentuating the tension in his jaw.
Countless emotions swirled within his deep eyes.
Xin Long’s ability…
…was undoubtedly the best solution available to him now.
Looking at her, his voice turned hoarse.
“What do you want?”
He had heard that spirits like her…
…were especially fond of eating human hearts.
If she truly could save his family…
Then offering her his own heart to eat would be a small price to pay.