The pungent smell of the knockout drug instantly rushed into Xia Jianxi’s nostrils. Before she could even process it, she was already growing faint.
Almost in that same instant, fury burned within Xia Jianxi. He Lanci’s words were vivid in her mind, and hatred ravaged her heart. For a moment, rage triumphed over despair.
She struggled to pull out the golden hairpin from her hair, then, with all her might, stabbed it into the hand that was covering her mouth.
“Shit!”
The man cried out in pain and instinctively pulled his hand back, swinging a slap at her in retaliation.
The groggy Xia Jianxi failed to dodge the slap. She was sent sprawling to the ground, but before she could get a clear look at her surroundings, the man grabbed her by the hair. “You bitch, how dare you hurt me!”
The pain made everything feel real. Xia Jianxi grabbed at the hair he was pulling with one hand, while her other hand tightly clutched the golden hairpin.
The cold moonlight spilled over their heads. She stared at the man’s savage face, momentarily stunned, but only for an instant. The next moment, the golden hairpin in her hand plunged into the man’s neck.
The man’s eyes were filled with disbelief.
As the man stared in horror, Xia Jianxi pulled the golden hairpin out and stabbed it into his neck again and again.
Gushing blood sprayed onto her face—foul-smelling, sticky, and nauseating.
The tall man collapsed with a thud. Under the cold moonlight, only Xia Jianxi, drenched in blood, remained standing.
She stood there, the hand clutching the golden hairpin trembling uncontrollably. A drop of blood from the corner of her eye trickled down, blurring her vision.
After her rage subsided, Xia Jianxi looked at the man lying in a pool of blood. As her consciousness slowly returned, terror instantly flooded her entire being. She shivered uncontrollably until the golden hairpin clattered from her hand.
She looked down at her blood-soaked hands and tried desperately to wipe them clean, only to spread the blood even more.
Just as she was about to break down, a brilliant firework suddenly exploded above her head.
Xia Jianxi instinctively looked up and then heard cheer after cheer from not far away.
She clenched her fists and cautiously made her way out, where she saw the streets filled with splendid flower lanterns and, standing in the crowd, Xia Yuruo, shouting that she had gone missing.
Only then could she be certain. She had returned to the day she was abducted!
Xia Yuruo seemed to sense her gaze and suddenly turned to look in her direction. Xia Jianxi immediately ducked aside to hide.
“Where is she? Why isn’t she here yet?”
“What if something happened? Hurry up and check!”
Voices came from the depths of the alley. Xia Jianxi felt the hair on her neck stand on end. She knew with absolute clarity that she had to escape this place immediately.
Without a shred of hesitation, she quickly turned and ran. Soon, the men behind her discovered the body and immediately gave chase.
Xia Jianxi fled for her life. Although she didn’t know why she, who had died in a cellar, had been reborn, she knew that if she were caught, only death awaited her.
But the footsteps behind her grew closer and closer, and the suffocating feeling of being strangled grew heavier. To make matters worse, she had run into a dead end.
Just as she was about to fall into this inescapable trap once more, she heard a sharp cry: “Assassins!”
Xia Jianxi suddenly remembered that on the Flower Festival of that year, besides her being abducted, a person of high status had also met their end.
That noble person was Song Taifei, the birth mother of the powerful court official, the Prince Regent Yi Zichuan.
Song Taifei had spent years in spiritual cultivation at Wan’an Temple. On a rare trip down the mountain, she was attacked by assassins in the most bustling market of the capital. On that day, Xia Jianxi was abducted by ruffians and her reputation was ruined, while Song Taifei was killed by an assassin’s sword, her life cut short.
It was said that on that day, the Prince Regent had just returned from the south. He had barely set foot in the city when he heard that Song Taifei had been assassinated. But by the time he arrived, Song Taifei had already breathed her last, passing away without leaving him a single word.
Xia Jianxi still remembered that on her wedding day, which coincided with Song Taifei’s funeral procession, one family was in white for mourning, the other in red for celebration. Her bridal sedan had stopped on the road for a moment as Song Taifei’s coffin passed by her.
With Song Taifei’s death, the already powerful Prince Regent was left with no weaknesses. He became like a frenzied beast, slaughtering indiscriminately at court.
It wasn’t until much later that Xia Jianxi learned that Song Taifei’s death was tied to a major corruption case. The case had vast implications, involving more than half of the officials at court. The Marquis Yongchang Estate was also implicated.
But at that time, she had naively believed He Lanci’s lies, thinking they had truly been dragged down by others. She had willingly used her own dowry to cover the Marquis’ Mansion’s deficit. Thinking back now, she had been utterly foolish. It was a scam she could have seen through with the slightest investigation, yet she had believed it without a doubt.
Xia Jianxi looked up at the fork in the road before her. On one side was the ambushed noble, on the other were the ruffians chasing her. Rather than being manipulated by He Lanci into a life worse than death, she might as well take a gamble.
With almost no hesitation, Xia Jianxi immediately dashed toward the side where the cry for help had come from.
The moment she rushed over, the footsteps behind her came to an abrupt halt.
“Stop chasing!”
“Are we just going to let her run away?”
“She won’t survive if she goes over there! If we get dragged into that, we’ll be done for too!”
“But…”
“Let’s go! Now!”
From that short exchange, Xia Jianxi could discern that the group of assassins outside was likely connected to He Lanci. Although she had long suspected it, the confirmation still sent a shock through her heart.
He Lanci was a truly vicious man. If she did not die today, she would flay him alive to repay heaven’s grace.
Xia Jianxi ran into the other dead-end alley. From a distance, she saw two groups of people fighting. It was clear the assassins had come prepared. A few of them tied up the guards, leaving one to rush toward Song Taifei, who had escaped from her carriage.
Xia Jianxi watched as the longsword was about to pierce Song Taifei’s throat. She gritted her teeth and charged forward like a madwoman, knocking Song Taifei to the ground.
But the next moment, she heard the “squelch” of a sharp blade piercing flesh and a shrill scream. She subconsciously looked down and saw the longsword protruding from her own chest.
However, before she could even feel the pain, the blade was yanked out and thrust toward Song Taifei once more.
Almost on instinct, Xia Jianxi threw herself forward, pinning Song Taifei tightly beneath her, trying again to shield her with her own body.
The assassin raised his sword high, his eyes ruthless, and stabbed straight down.
Just as Xia Jianxi thought she was about to die, another longsword appeared in time to block the blow.
“Get the Taifei out of here!” a cold voice rang out abruptly.