Struggling to fall asleep until late at night, Ye Xiren drifted in and out of nightmares, her rest uneasy. With her eyes tightly shut, fine beads of sweat dotted her forehead, as if her hands and feet were bound, leaving her struggling desperately yet unable to break free or wake up.
Ye Xiren jolted awake, sitting up abruptly in bed. In the darkness, her breathing was rapid and labored.
Hearing the commotion, Xue Chan hurried in, lifting the gauzy curtain with a worried expression. "Miss?"
Ye Xiren stared stiffly at her, swallowed, and cautiously asked, "Xue Chan, what is the date today?" Her voice trembled, filled with caution.
Xue Chan paused briefly before replying, "It’s the second day of the third month. Did you have another nightmare, miss? Should we call a physician?"
She sat down beside the bed, tucking the quilt around Ye Xiren, her face clouded with concern.
"You haven’t slept well these past two days, miss. Let the physician take a look. The young master was injured yesterday, and the physician is staying in the residence. It would be easy to prescribe some medicine…"
Xue Chan rambled on, her face etched with worry.
Yet, as she spoke, Ye Xiren’s face broke into a radiant smile, her dark eyes brimming with the joy of having survived a calamity.
Wonderful!
It was truly past the first day of the third month!
With this confirmation, Ye Xiren finally relaxed, the tension in her nerves easing. She had finally "escaped" the first day of the third month, sparing the Ye family from the fate of execution of the entire family. They would no longer be dragged to Caishikou to have their heads severed.
"Miss?" Xue Chan asked, puzzled.
"It’s nothing. I just had a nightmare, but it’s over now. I’ll sleep a little longer!"
Closing her eyes, she finally drifted into a deep, peaceful slumber.
Xue Chan scratched her head, looking bewildered, but seeing her mistress asleep, she gently pulled the quilt up, careful not to cover her mouth and nose. Then, she tiptoed out, lowering her voice to instruct:
"Miss hasn’t slept well for two days and wants to rest a little longer. Go inform the madam. Also, all of you keep your voices down and don’t disturb her…"
The Ye household wasn’t particularly strict with rules, and everyone doted on the young lady. Sleeping in a little longer was hardly a significant matter.
Even in her sleep, Ye Xiren wore a smile on her lips, resting soundly until well past the hour of Chen before rising.
It was still the second day of the third month.
It wasn’t a dream. She had survived the ordeal and was still alive.
As Xue Chan combed her hair, she remarked with a smile, "You seem to be in such a good mood, miss. You’ve been smiling all along."
"Yes, being alive is reason enough to be happy," Ye Xiren replied cheerfully, picking up her favorite gold hairpin. The last time she was taken away by the Imperial City Department, she had given this hairpin to a guard. After her execution, everything had reset.
Whether she had encountered an immortal or a ghost, she couldn’t tell.
Handing the hairpin to Xue Chan, she let her fasten it in place and then asked, "By the way, did anything happen with the Spring Examination yesterday? I asked someone to keep an eye on it."
Xue Chan shook her head. "Nothing happened. Everything was normal. The gates of the examination hall haven’t opened yet."
The first session of the Spring Examination lasted three days, and it wasn’t yet time for the gates to open.
The examination fraud was targeted at Ye Changming.
Without Ye Changming entering, there would be no examination fraud.
Ye Xiren was relieved she hadn’t let him enter yesterday. The fraud was aimed solely at him. Once he stepped inside, disaster was inevitable. Only by cutting off the source could it be resolved.
But who wanted to harm him?
And what means had they used to do so?
Ye Xiren furrowed her brow, her expression turning grave as she sank deep into thought.
"Right," Xue Chan finished combing her hair and placed the peachwood comb back into the case. As if remembering something, she added, "Last night, Miss mentioned wanting to go pray to Buddha. This morning, when the Old Madam heard about it, she thought the household had been unsettled lately, so she asked everyone to go to the Buddha hall today and pray together."
Ye Xiren nodded. "Alright."
She had risen a bit late today. Madam Liao had already finished her meal, so Ye Xiren ate in her own courtyard before heading to Changshou Tang.
Grandmother Zhao Shi came from a military family. In her youth, she was said to have dared to go into battle and kill enemies. She was personally conferred the title of Lady of the Imperial Mandate by Emperor Liangwen. Now that she was older, she had grown somewhat devout, often observing vegetarian fasts and reciting Buddhist scriptures, rarely leaving Changshou Tang.
When Ye Xiren arrived at Changshou Tang, she heard her mother sighing inside:
"I don't know what's wrong with this household. Changming had his hand broken, and Xue Chan says Xixi hasn't slept well for two days, as if she's been having nightmares…"
Ye Changming immediately chimed in, "My sister is just worried about me!"
"Who are you calling 'old man'?" Zhao Shi asked with a smile.
Madam Liao glared fiercely at her son.
Ye Changming immediately cowered, huddling beside the soft couch and shrinking his neck. "I'm just too angry! The person who did this hasn't been caught yet. Now everyone else is at the Spring Examination, while I'm stuck here recovering from injuries. It's so frustrating!"
He hugged his right hand, looking pitiful.
"Second Miss." The maid Liu Xu at the door saw her and hurriedly bowed, lifting the door curtain. "Old Madam, Second Miss is here."
Ye Xiren quickly entered. "Grandmother."
She bowed respectfully. Zhao Shi nearly stood up, eagerly beckoning her.
Ye Xiren straightened up and went over. Zhao Shi took her hand and sat her on the soft couch. The old woman's warm hands tightly clasped her slightly cool fingers. Feeling the chill, she covered them with both hands, the warmth gradually spreading, bringing comfort to the heart.
"Are you having nightmares? Have a doctor take a look later." Zhao Shi smoothed her hair for her.
Ye Xiren didn't refuse her grandmother's kindness and nodded.
Beside them, Ye Changming muttered, "Everyone pampers Second Sister. Why doesn't anyone care about injured me?"
After saying this, he tried to stand up and move around a bit, but his foot was also injured. The movement was too abrupt, and he grimaced in pain, his expression twisting. "Don't worry about me, just sleep well. The injury isn't actually serious—it's just that I can't take part in the Spring Examination."
Thinking Ye Xiren couldn't sleep because she was worried about him, he endured the pain to comfort her.
Ye Xiren's heart softened.
Ye Changming added, "It's all because of that wretched scoundrel!"
Ye Xiren: "…"
The "wretched scoundrel" cleared her throat and changed the subject. "Brother, have you offended anyone? I mean, someone who would go so far as to ruin your Spring Examination?"
"Who could I have offended?" Ye Changming instinctively retorted, then, under the gaze of three pairs of eyes, gradually grew uneasy. "Probably… not, right?"
Ye Xiren was speechless.
Madam Liao sighed. "To interfere on the way to the Spring Examination—this is deliberately trying to stop you from taking the imperial exams. What kind of grudge could it be to go to such lengths?"
Ye Changming counted on his fingers the people he didn't get along with.
But no matter how he counted, none seemed like the type to hire thugs to stop him from taking the Spring Examination. After all, if such an act were discovered, it would be an irreconcilable, life-or-death feud.
Ye Xiren lowered her head, as if casually remarking:
"Yes, they must have wanted to ruin Brother's Spring Examination. If they were even more ruthless, they could have tampered inside the examination hall and framed Brother for examination fraud. That would be the grave crime of Execution of the entire family."
Hearing this, the three people in the room laughed simultaneously.
Ye Changming shook his head. "Who would dare tamper with the examination, and who even has the capability?"
Zhao Shi gently patted Ye Xiren's hand, her tone affectionate. "The Spring Examination is a serious matter. Those who dare commit fraud face severe consequences, and those who attempt to deceive risk implicating their entire families in grave crimes. Moreover, the examination is held right under the emperor's watchful eye, with exceptionally strict oversight. No one would dare meddle."
Ye Xiren lowered her gaze.
Yet, tampering had occurred—three times she entered the examination hall, and three times it ended with the execution of her entire family.
"It's about time. Let's go to the prayer hall," Zhao Shi said, rising to her feet.
Ye Xiren reached out to support her, while Ye Changming also moved to assist but was elbowed aside by Madam Liao's glare. "With your hand injured like that, what are you trying to do? A bone injury takes a hundred days to heal properly. You must rest well…"
Madam Liao continued muttering.
Ye Changming awkwardly rubbed his nose and limped after them. Noticing the beautiful tassels on the hairpin Ye Xiren wore that day, he reached out to fiddle with them, accidentally tugging her hair. Ye Xiren turned back with a helpless glare, and Ye Changming raised an eyebrow in response.
The group gradually moved away, their shadows stretching and swaying gently in the breeze. Wind chimes tinkled in the corridor, painting a picture of tranquil days.
Inside the prayer hall.
Zhao Shi held prayer beads, kneeling devoutly at the front as she recited sutras and moved the beads through her fingers. Behind her, Liao Changying led her two children in quiet prayer, wishing for their health, safety, and enduring blessings.
Ye Xiren clasped her hands together, gazing at the Guanyin Statue.
Though she had often accompanied her grandmother in worship before, as a youth she had never fully believed in gods or spirits. She would often kneel absentmindedly, never having looked so intently at this statue of Guanyin.
The white jade Bodhisattva bore a gentle and compassionate expression. Her grandmother had draped a red cloth over the statue, leaving only the front visible—Guanyin holding a flower with a smile, as if gazing mercifully upon the world, offering salvation to all.
As Ye Xiren looked at Guanyin, she felt as though Guanyin was looking back at her.
[Was it the Bodhisattva's protection yesterday? Granting me rebirth again and again, until I could avert the disaster that befell the Ye family and preserve all our lives…]
Beheading was painful, especially knowing the agony yet having to face it.
But compared to the lives of her family, it meant little. Ye Xiren had once feared ghosts and the elusive nature of gods and Buddhas, but now she felt immense gratitude to the heavens for giving her the chance to protect her family.
Ye Xiren bowed her head reverently.
Beside her, Ye Changming knelt with one arm in a sling, looking rather bored. Seeing Ye Xiren's intense devotion, he nudged her arm lightly, but she ignored him.
Resigned, Ye Changming turned his gaze to Guanyin:
"Bodhisattva, if you have any power in the heavens, please help me quickly find the one who harmed me and make that person suffer misfortune immediately, with no good end!"
Ye Xiren: "…"
She lifted her head speechlessly, about to speak.
Outside, the main gate was kicked open with a crash. A group of people stormed in from the front courtyard, conducting a search with heavy, rapid footsteps. The thudding sounds grew closer and closer.
The commotion was too loud—maids and servants outside cried out in alarm but were quickly subdued, like urgent birdcalls muffled abruptly into silence. The eerie stillness, punctuated by the heavy footsteps, felt even more unsettling.
Thud, thud, thud.
The footsteps drew nearer until they reached the entrance of the prayer hall. Those inside turned in confusion.
Ye Xiren froze—the sounds felt all too familiar.
The next moment, before she could even stand up, an even more familiar group of people burst in, surrounding them completely.
The leader still wore a black gauze cap, his crimson robe as red as blood, his gaze sharp as a blade, clutching a scroll of yellow hemp paper bearing an imperial decree. The scene overlapped perfectly with the previous ones, only the location had shifted from the front courtyard to the Buddha hall.
Ye Xiren: "??"