Could it be that Qi Yurou's "Portable Space" had been seen by her?
Just now, when Qi Yurou took out the dagger, she had shouted "out." Xie Suisui tentatively shouted "out" at a small box on the shelf.
Her hand grew heavy, and an exquisite sandalwood box appeared in her palm.
Her hand was still injured, and she nearly dropped the box.
Xie Suisui: …
The footsteps outside were getting closer, and it seemed more than one person was coming.
What should she do? Holding this box in her arms, she would surely be framed for theft again!
In a panic, she muttered randomly, "In, in, in, go, go, go, return…"
She didn't know which word worked, but the box disappeared. She glanced at it, and the box had returned to that strange place.
Blinking, she looked at the rope around Qi Yurou's neck and tentatively said "in." It didn't work.
"Return!"
The well rope also went into that unfamiliar place.
So "return" and "out" were the commands controlling items entering and leaving the Portable Space. Qi Yurou's "Portable Space" now obeyed her commands—it was hers!
She wept with joy.
Qi Yurou, in this life, let's see how you frame me for theft!
In the previous life, Xie Suisui had been betrothed to Yu Tang, the second legitimate son of Shengyang Manor, and Qi Yurou had called Xie Suisui over to talk.
Just after the birth-date slips had been exchanged, Qi Yurou, in front of both families, sobbed, "I kindly called my sister over to chat, and she actually stole the bracelet the Emperor bestowed upon me."
Xie Suisui argued her case, saying she had never even entered Qi Yurou's room.
But then, a jade bracelet of excellent quality "clattered" out of her sleeve—and, of all things, it cracked when it fell.
This was a crime of deceiving the Emperor!
She was dragged to the ancestral hall, subjected to family discipline, beaten so badly she nearly died, and couldn't get out of bed for a month.
After a severe illness and house arrest, by the time she could leave the manor, she learned that her foster father had died, and his entire family had been confiscated and exiled, having left the capital over half a month ago.
Her stepmother hypocritically took her to the Eldest Princess's Treasure Viewing Party, but unexpectedly, a priceless jade bowl with an openwork gold base and gold lid mysteriously went missing.
The Eldest Princess flew into a rage and ordered a search.
As a result, the bowl was found in her carriage, and on her person was also found the phoenix hairpin that the late consort had given the Eldest Princess as a token of love.
She was branded a "thief," with a hundred mouths unable to defend herself!
When all the women of the household attended a banquet at Marquis Xuanping's residence, out of nowhere, the main hall of the Marquis's residence caught fire. She had no idea how it happened, but a just-burned fire-starter fell from her sleeve in public.
The entire circle of nobles in the capital blacklisted her, saying she was of vile character, a cursed bad seed from heaven.
Her own father, in a rage, threw her into a manor, where the manor head and his wife watched her closely.
Strange things happened again—she had done nothing at all, yet the ripe wheat inexplicably vanished into thin air!
Rumors spread throughout the capital, all saying she, a coffin-child, was a plague god descended upon the world.
The Prime Minister's residence wanted to burn her to death, so she simply set fire to the manor and fled.
Heading south all the way, she went to chase after her exiled foster mother's family.
With the frontier losing her foster father's protection, the Northern Yan army drove straight in, iron cavalry sweeping south. The Emperor and his officials fled south in panic.
How could her two feet outpace a carriage? The Prime Minister's people encountered her halfway.
Qi Yurou stepped on her face, performing a grand trick—piles of grain, batches of weapons, all conjured with a flip of Qi Yurou's hand.
Seeing Xie Suisui's shock, Qi Yurou laughed triumphantly.
"All those things lost from the manors, I stored them in my space."
"So what if I framed you for theft? You're just a coffin-child despised by your father!"
"Still want to find your foster mother? I tricked them into thinking the Northern Yan army captured you, so those foolish foster brothers rushed to Northern Yan to save you. The Northern Yan army had long set their net! Your foster mother and second brother were shot full of arrows like pincushions, and your most beloved third brother was castrated…"
"From start to finish, you've been a jinx!"
Qi Yurou bound her hand and foot, and urged her father to hand her over to the Northern Yan invaders as a plaything, euphemistically calling it letting her, the plague god, plague the enemy.
She was short and agile, and managed to cling to the underside of a carriage to escape the Northern Yan army.
During her escape, a Northern Yan scout spotted her. At the critical moment, several plum blossom branches flew in, killing the scout, and she managed to get away.
From then on, Xie Suisui embarked on a path of solitary refuge. Having learned martial arts since childhood from her foster father's brothers, she organized the able-bodied among the refugees and gradually built up a force.
She encountered Yu Tang, who had also gathered a force of his own.
Yu Tang showed her great care, and since the two were betrothed, Yu Tang wanted to merge their forces. Xie Suisui's only condition: kill Qi Yurou's entire family!
Yu Tang promised to slaughter everyone in the Prime Minister's residence. Then he proclaimed himself king, and she became his vanguard.
…
The past was unbearable to recall, so she wouldn't recall it!
All the tragedy originated from this space—no, from Qi Yurou controlling this space.
Yu Tang, reborn, had eagerly sought out Qi Yurou, surely knowing she had a miraculous space that could help him stockpile rebellion supplies in advance.
He wanted to prepare a "union of the strong" ahead of time, to stand at the pinnacle of power?
Go eat dirt!
Your living father is back!
Qi Yurou had hoarded a mountain of supplies for over a decade—and now, all of it, every last bit, belonged to her!
"Xie—Sui—sui!"
Three furious young men charged into the back courtyard, murderous intent radiating off them.
These were her three fine elder brothers.
Two of them, supposedly, shared her very womb.
Today was the spring banquet, and the front courtyard was packed. Qi Hui and his wife certainly wouldn't want anyone to learn that Qi Yurou had tried to kill her legitimate younger sister.
So they'd sent these three scumbags to handle things properly.
"Such hot tempers? Care for some loofah soup?" Xie Suisui's hands trembled with pain, but that didn't stop her from snatching up the dagger and putting on a show.
One arm locked around Qi Yurou's neck, the other pressing the dagger against it.
"Put down the dagger! Don't you dare hurt Yurou!"
"You little wretch, you jinx! If you harm a single hair on Yurou's head, I'll cut you into eight pieces!"
"If you kill my sister, I'll fight you to the death!"
The newcomers were livid, eyes nearly splitting with rage, as if they shared an irreconcilable blood feud with Xie Suisui.
The one in the middle had just returned from court, wearing a crimson official robe—handsome, dignified, and proper. He was Xie Suisui's full-blooded eldest brother, Qi Ziheng, a secretary in the Ministry of Revenue.
The one on the left, in blue brocade, was her full-blooded second brother, Qi Ziyu. At just sixteen, he was already a notorious gambler in the capital.
The one on the right was Qi Hui's eldest son by his second wife, Qi Yurou's full brother, Qi Zirui. He bore his father's elegant bearing, excelled at poetry and arithmetic, and every time he made a move, it shook the capital.
Light and shadow shifted, and she seemed to see again the chaotic riverbank—before she'd fallen dead, beneath the blood-red sky, her full-blooded elder brother's hands still frozen in the pose of clutching a great stone…
Only after living through it did you understand: what hurts you isn't the other person's cruelty, but your own stubborn hope.
Rather than blame yourself for not seeing clearly, bury the others and please yourself!
This life? Blood brothers? All of you, get the hell out of my way and die!
"You fools," Xie Suisui said coldly, "stop right there, one zhang away! Or I'll slit her throat."
Qi Yurou opened her eyes and burst into tears: "Brother…"
Xie Suisui pressed the blade against her neck, the cold gleam menacing. Qi Yurou was too terrified to cry anymore, pressing her head desperately against Xie Suisui: "Don't, don't kill me…"
Qi Zirui wished he could slice Xie Suisui to ribbons.
Qi Ziheng swallowed the curses he wanted to hurl and said, "Suisui, you're being far too reckless! Let Yurou go now, admit your mistake properly, and I'll plead with Father to spare your life."
"Are you blind? She tried to kill me—cracked my skull open, then tried to throw me down a well!" Xie Suisui shook her blood-soaked head and hands. "Is this how you do your job at court?"
"Bastard! How dare you accuse our eldest brother? Who do you think you are?" Second brother Qi Ziyu immediately lunged to kick her.
Not wanting to argue with an idiot, Xie Suisui applied slight pressure with the dagger on Qi Yurou's neck.
Qi Yurou winced in pain, her voice twisting with fear as she cried, "Second brother, shut up!"
Qi Ziheng hastily urged, "Third sister, today is your betrothal ceremony. There are many guests. You can't possibly want people to know you're at odds with your own sisters, can you?"
"Qi Ziheng, you'll likely never get your hands on the Qi family fortune, so drop the eldest legitimate son act in front of me!"
"What exactly do you want?"
"First, money. Second, let me leave the Prime Minister's estate. Third, cancel my betrothal to Yu Tang. I don't want secondhand goods!"
"What nonsense are you talking… Lord Shengyang saved Father's life, and they've already agreed to unite the two families."
"Then let him marry Qi Yurou—they're already sleeping together anyway!"
"Xie Suisui, you're a Qi. Ruining Yurou's reputation does you no good whatsoever."
Whether or not Yurou had actually cuckolded someone, that couldn't be shouted in the front courtyard. Otherwise, mud in your pants—not shit, but you'd still be covered in it.
Yurou's name would be destroyed, and the entire Prime Minister's estate with it.
Best to silence Xie Suisui for good!
But today, Xie Suisui's foster mother, Luo Sheng, had also come.
If she didn't see Xie Suisui soon, that hot-tempered Luo Sheng might just storm the banquet without a care.
First, stabilize Xie Suisui. In the estate, there would be plenty of chances to deal with her later.
"Let Yurou go and see a physician first. I'll give you the silver!"
Qi Ziheng pulled a hundred-tael banknote from his sleeve and offered it to Xie Suisui: "Here, a hundred taels."
"…" Xie Suisui didn't move.
Qi Ziheng pulled out two more and shoved them at her.
Xie Suisui said, "Pay whatever Qi Yurou is worth!"
Qi Zirui drew a thousand-tael banknote from his chest and slapped it on the ground before her.
Xie Suisui let out an "oh-ho" and said, "Qi Ziheng, you're not doing so well, are you? Look—you scraped together three times for just three hundred taels, while Young Master Qi here drops a thousand in one go."
Xie Suisui released her grip but kept the dagger warily in hand.
Qi Zirui immediately took Qi Yurou away to find a physician.
Qi Ziheng needed to attend to guests in the front courtyard. He pulled Qi Ziyu aside, whispered some instructions, and left as well.
Qi Ziyu said viciously, "Xie Suisui, if you want to be written into the Qi family registry, you'd better behave."
"For instance?"
“You must take all the blame for today’s incident. Say you were jealous of Yurou and tried to strangle her.”
“And how do I explain the wound on my head?”
“Just say you accidentally ran into a tree.”
“Oh, and what about the wounds on my hands?”
Qi Ziyu looked at her bloody, mangled hands and said irritably, “Just say you were playing with a knife and cut yourself.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Today, you’ll agree whether you want to or not. Yurou is a lucky star, while you—you’re nothing but a despised Coffin-child. No matter what you say, your father and mother won’t believe you, and they won’t punish Yurou…”
Xie Suisui let out a cold laugh and thrust her bloody hands forward. “Pay up!”
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