“Father, you knew all along that marrying the Prince of Yan would lead to exile, didn’t you?
You knew, and yet you still sent me to the Yanwangfu. Do you even deserve to be called a father?”
Before the gates of the Hubu Shilangfu, a young woman in married attire, though still carrying a girlish air, gazed up at her own father in despair, her heart aching beyond measure.
But the man she looked upon showed not a shred of pity. Instead, he snapped in fury, “How dare you!
Who taught you to speak to me like this? Do you still have any respect for me as your father?”
When he had married her off to a dying man, he hadn’t called himself her father. When she had returned to the mansion begging for help, he hadn’t called himself her father either. Only now, when scolding her and trying to throw his weight around, did he remember that he was her father.
Yun Jiuqing curled her lips in a bitter, mocking smile. “A father like you—having one is worse than having none.”
It was merely a spiteful remark born of desperation, but the young woman beside her covered her mouth in feigned shock. “Elder Sister, what are you saying?
There is no parent in this world who is not right. Even if you are angry with Father, you shouldn’t say such harsh words!
You are now the true Yanwangfei, registered in the Hwangga Pyeopje.
Father isn’t unwilling to save you—but to do so would be defying the imperial decree. Do you want Father to drag the entire family down with him for your sake?”
Yun Daowei, already at his wit’s end over Yun Jiuqing’s return, flew into a rage at those words.
“Fine. Truly a fine daughter raised by Xie Minghui! Since you look down on me as your father, I won’t force it.
From this day forth, I sever all ties between us, father and daughter. Whether you live or die, it has nothing to do with the Yun family anymore!”
Yun Jiuqing’s eyes widened in shock. It had only been a moment of anger—was her father truly going to sever their relationship?!
But on second thought, Yun Daowei had probably long wanted to do this.
Her words had merely given him an excuse to cut ties completely and avoid being dragged down by the Yanwangfu.
Realizing that her own father could be so heartless, Yun Jiuqing closed her eyes in despair. “Sever ties? Hah! Yun Daowei, don’t you dare think you can!
Even if I become a vengeful ghost, I will never let you all off!”
With that, she suddenly turned and lunged headfirst toward the stone lion at the gate.
With a dull thud, Yun Jiuqing crumpled to the ground, blood streaming from her head, yet her eyes remained fixed on Yun Daowei—venomous and utterly hopeless.
“Father, what do we do?”
The young woman beside Yun Daowei cowered behind him in fear. “She’s not really dead, is she?”
Yun Daowei’s face was cold with disgust. “If she’s dead, then she’s dead. She’s already a member of the Yanwangfu. Even in death, she has nothing to do with the Yun family.
Liu An, have someone send her back to the Yanwangfu. Don’t let her dirty the grounds of the Yun estate.”
The steward, Liu An, responded with a look of utter indifference. “Yes, Master.”
With a wave of his hand, two servants went to drag away Yun Jiuqing, who was drenched in blood.
Blood pooled across the ground, and everyone assumed Yun Jiuqing was dead. The servants grabbed her the way one would drag a corpse.
Yun Jiuqing felt her head splitting with pain. “Bai Feng, you idiot! You really screwed me over!”
Suddenly feeling a hand clamp down on her shoulder, she instinctively executed a shoulder throw—thud!—and both the servant and Yun Jiuqing crashed to the ground.
Yun Jiuqing shook her head. The sting of blood in her eyes felt oddly familiar. Before she could process it, her mouth moved faster than her mind, cursing, “Which little bastard dares sneak-attack your Ninth Master?”
It was at that moment that a flood of unfamiliar memories surged into her mind.
Yun Jiuqing realized she had transmigrated. The original body was also named Yun Jiuqing—the legitimate eldest daughter of Yun Daowei, the Hubu Shilang of Da Chu.
Not long ago, the great war god of Da Chu, Yanwang Xie Ciyuan, had suffered a crushing defeat. Not only had his entire army been wiped out, but he had also been gravely wounded and blinded in both eyes. Word had it he was severely disabled, unable to even care for himself.
To display his benevolence, the current emperor had issued a decree to arrange a marriage for Yanwang Xie Ciyuan.
But the Yanwang had fallen from grace, long past his former glory.
Yet as a prince of the court, his consort could not come from too humble a background. As a result, several days had passed since the decree, and still no official was willing to offer his daughter to the Yanwang.
Just as the emperor was at a loss, Yun Daowei, the Hubu Shilang, thought of his eldest daughter, who had been left to fend for herself in a remote courtyard. He decisively offered her up to curry favor with the emperor.
Who could have guessed that only three days after the wedding, the Minister of War would suddenly impeach the Yanwang for colluding with the enemy and plotting rebellion.
The emperor flew into a rage and decreed that the Yanwang and his maternal family be exiled.
Coinciding with Yun Jiuqing’s third-day return visit to her natal home, she seized the opportunity to come back and beg for help.
But clearly, Yun Daowei had no intention of saving her.
…
“Father, look at her—she doesn’t have the guts to actually die, yet she puts on this suicidal act. She’s clearly trying to threaten you into bowing to her!”
As Yun Daowei’s most beloved daughter, Yun Wanqing knew exactly where her father’s weakness lay.
She knew that in his early years, he had risen through the ranks thanks to Minghui Gunju, and had rarely been able to act on his own will. Now that he had made it big, he hated nothing more than others trying to manipulate him. So she deliberately fed his resentment.
Sure enough, Yun Daowei’s expression darkened even further.
“So crude and uncouth! What a disgrace!”
Since you’re not dead, get yourself back to Prince Yan’s Residence on your own. If anyone tracks you to the Yun family, I’ll make you wish you were dead!”
It was precisely while this father-daughter pair was squabbling that Yun Jiuqing rapidly absorbed the original body’s memories.
Hearing this, she didn’t hesitate to flip Yun Daowei off with her middle finger. “No need for you to chase me out—I’m leaving on my own!
We agreed to sever the father-daughter bond, so don’t go back on your word. Give me the severance document, and I promise I’ll run out of this trash heap of yours!”
This arrogant demeanor and words caught both Yun Daowei and Yun Wanqing completely off guard.
Was this the timid, submissive Yun Jiuqing of ordinary days speaking?
But Yun Wanqing quickly recovered. “Father, Prince Yan’s Residence is about to be exiled. What if someone brings her up again in the future…”
As long as Yun Jiuqing formally severed ties with Yun Daowei, she would become the eldest daughter of the Yun family.
With that old wretch Commandery Princess Minghui and that little wretch Yun Jiuqing out of the way, wouldn’t becoming the legitimate daughter be as simple as a word from Father?
Thinking of the legitimate daughter position within her grasp, Yun Wanqing decisively dripped poison into Yun Daowei’s ears.
This was exactly what Yun Daowei feared. Hearing this, he immediately said, “Bring me brush and ink, along with my official seal. I’ll sever all ties with this wicked daughter this very instant!”
Yun Jiuqing sneered inwardly. He wouldn’t even go back inside to write the severance document—how afraid was he that she’d refuse to leave the Yun family?
Watching him dash off strokes with his brush, she suddenly jolted.
Wait, this situation—why did it feel so familiar?
Prince Yan—wasn’t that her mother’s ancestor, famous throughout history for youth and beauty?
House arrest!
Exile!
That meant being stripped bare and banished to some godforsaken place where even birds wouldn’t shit!
In her last life, Ninth Master had lived with her blade licking blood, but she’d never once tasted what poverty meant!
No way, no way—exile was fine, she’d treat it like a trip, but she couldn’t be broke. Ninth Master would never travel poor in this life!
Besides, her mother had managed to fund her rise to become the head of Jiuzhou Kingdom as a commoner—that wealth must have been passed down through generations.
The Prince Yan’s Residence estate she saved today might well become her mother’s private fortune tomorrow!
The more she thought, the more excited she grew. Yun Jiuqing’s mind was already frantically recalling the layout of the Yun residence. She was Princess Consort Yan, and the fortune amassed right now all belonged to Prince Yan.
What belonged to Prince Yan was as good as her mother’s, and rounding up, it would be hers in the future.
A Vice Minister of Revenue—should be pretty loaded.
Her mother Commandery Princess Minghui’s dowry wasn’t small either…
“Take it. From today onward, you, Yun Jiuqing, have no connection whatsoever to the Yun family. Get out now!”
Severance document in hand, Yun Jiuqing took it and left, but a woman chased out from the gates of the Vice Minister’s residence.
“Hold on. Since this is a severance document, how can it bear only my husband’s name? Anyone hearing of this might think my husband is the heartless one!
Severing ties was your own proposal. If you don’t sign and don’t press your fingerprint, don’t tell me you’re planning to make something more of this?”
Yun Jiuqing narrowed her eyes and recognized the newcomer.
Yun Daowei’s second wife, Wang Shi, came from the Grand Tutor’s household. She had no other merits, but her background was impeccable—she styled herself as coming from a family of pure scholars.
In ordinary days, she looked down on the Prince Su’s Residence for its royal origins and merchant fame, and even more so on Commandery Princess Minghui, who came from that same household.
It was precisely for this reason that she had become Yun Daowei’s successor wife and enjoyed considerable favor.
Glancing at the hairpin on her head that had originally belonged to Commandery Princess Minghui, Yun Jiuqing rolled her eyes dramatically and turned to walk away.