Shen Qingzhu had only just finished merging the memories. Her mind still felt like the wreckage left behind after a tsunami.
“Why panic?” she said calmly. “The sky hasn’t fallen yet.”
The servant was stunned by her strangely steady composure. Trembling, he pointed outside, stuttering as he spoke, “It… it’s the Old Madam! She woke up and said… said Madam brought misfortune to her husband—that she’s a jinx! She… she wants to punish Madam according to the family rules!”
A faint crease appeared between Shen Qingzhu’s brows.
Family rules?
With death looming overhead, they were still playing house politics? Did they think they weren’t going to die fast enough?
Shen Qingzhu glanced at her weak legs and didn’t hesitate. Her consciousness instantly sank into her space.
[Adrenaline injection: one dose.]
[Military high-energy nutrient solution: one dose.]
With a thought, the two products of modern medicine appeared inside her sleeve. Turning her back, she swiftly pulled up her sleeve and pushed the syringe into the vein in her arm.
The cold liquid flowed into her bloodstream. A powerful heat instantly surged through her limbs and bones. The weakness retreated like the tide, replaced by explosive strength and razor-sharp focus.
Without saying a word, she threw off the blanket, got out of bed, grabbed her outer robe, and strode out.
Above the Shen residence hung the heavy aura of death like dark clouds pressing down.
Servants were wailing, some packing valuables to flee, others kneeling and kowtowing in panic. The entire household was in chaos.
Shen Qingzhu ignored it all and headed straight toward the main hall where the cries were the loudest.
“I’ll beat you to death, you jinx! You killed my son! If you hadn’t made him go out, he wouldn’t have died! The Shen family is finished, and you’re going to accompany my son in death!”
A shrill roar rang out, accompanied by the whoosh of something swinging through the air.
The moment Shen Qingzhu stepped into the main hall, she saw her “respected” grandmother, eyes bloodshot and looking like a madwoman, holding a thick wooden door bar as wide as an arm. She raised it high and brought it down with all her strength toward the head of a plainly dressed woman kneeling on the ground.
In that split second, everyone believed blood would splatter across the floor.
But Shen Qingzhu didn’t shout.
Shouting was for the weak.
She moved.
Her figure flashed like a ghost. Just as the bar was less than three inches from Lin Shi’s head, a pale yet terrifyingly strong hand caught the other end of the bar.
Buzz—!
The heavy hardwood bar was abruptly stopped in midair by a powerful force, producing a dull thud.
The hall fell into dead silence.
All the crying, begging, and cursing stopped at once.
“Zhu… Zhu’er?”
The Old Madam’s raised arms froze midair as her cloudy tear-filled eyes stared at her grandson.
“Zhu’er! My good grandson! You’re awake!”
Lin Shi also lifted her head suddenly. Tears blurred her eyes as she looked at her “son.” Her lips trembled, but no words came out. Yet the despair in her gaze finally showed a glimmer of light.
Shen Qingzhu ignored their excitement and twisted her wrist lightly.
Crack!
The Old Madam felt an irresistible force twist the bar. Pain shot through her hand, and the bar she had lifted with all her strength was effortlessly taken away.
Shen Qingzhu didn’t even look at it. She tossed it aside with a flick.
Clang!
The bar crashed onto the ground and bounced half a foot high, making several maids scream and stumble back.
“Grandmother,” she said calmly, looking at the Old Madam, “Father’s body isn’t even cold yet, and you’re making such a scene. Do you want outsiders to laugh at the Shen family?”
The Old Madam choked on her words. Her face turned red. “I… I didn’t… It’s this woman! She—”
“She is my mother,” Shen Qingzhu cut her off. Her tone wasn’t heavy, but every word was clear. “And your daughter-in-law. The Shen family hasn’t even collapsed yet, and you’re already throwing it into chaos?”
Without another word, Shen Qingzhu turned and grabbed Lin Shi from the floor.
Not “helped”—grabbed.
Her body felt icy cold and trembled violently.
Leaning against her, Lin Shi was about to cry out, but when she met Shen Qingzhu’s emotionless eyes, she froze.
“If you want to live, shut up.”
Lin Shi’s sobs died instantly in her throat.
Shen Qingzhu held her up like a weightless rag doll and faced the completely stunned Old Madam again.
“Now is not the time to assign blame. Crying, cursing, and looking for a scapegoat will only waste the energy we need to escape.”
The Old Madam was stunned by her calm, almost ruthless words.
Was this really the grandson who used to be timid and frightened, hiding under blankets even during thunder?
How… how had he become like this?
Those eyes, that tone, that commanding aura—she, who had ruled the Shen household for decades, suddenly felt an inexplicable pressure.
“Then… then what should we do?” the Old Madam asked shakily. “The sky has fallen! Prince An rebelled—this is a crime that wipes out nine generations! We can’t escape!”
Before she finished speaking, she suddenly seemed to grasp the last straw of hope. She lunged forward and grabbed Shen Qingzhu.
“That’s right! You must leave! Zhu’er, you have to go! I’ve had Shen Zhong prepare a horse. There’s a secret passage at the back gate leading to the mass grave! I’ll burn the mansion and say you died! You’re the only bloodline left in the Shen family—you must live!”
Lin Shi screamed, “No! If we go, we go together!”
“Shut up!” the Old Madam shrieked. “If he brings you two burdens along, how far can he run?!”
“Both of you shut up!”
Shen Qingzhu roared, her voice like thunder, instantly silencing the arguing women.
She shook their hands off impatiently and curled her lips into a mocking smile.
“What a clever shell game. Grandmother, do you think the imperial guards and the brocade-clad guards in this city are NPCs who just follow fixed patrol routes?”
NPC? The Old Madam didn’t understand the term, but she could clearly hear the sarcasm.
“The four city gates are locked. Land and water routes are sealed. A carriage, a young man, crawling out of a mass grave in the middle of the night? Are you trying to die faster by handing them an easy arrest?”
“And setting fire to the mansion?” Shen Qingzhu looked around at the trembling servants and laughed. “Such a huge commotion—are you trying to hang a neon sign in the sky saying ‘Something’s wrong at the Shen residence—come arrest us’? The moment the fire starts, this place will be surrounded within fifteen minutes. By then no one will escape—we’ll just die more neatly together.”
Her words were like a bucket of ice water poured over their heads.
The Old Madam’s feverish hope slowly faded, leaving only bleak despair.
The color drained from her face as she collapsed back into her chair, eyes hollow.
“It’s over… everything is over… We can only wait to die…”
Despair spread through the hall like a plague.
Everyone’s faces turned ashen as they waited for the executioner’s blade.
Shen Qingzhu looked around, taking in every expression.
She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled.
“No.”
She looked at her despairing grandmother and mother and spoke slowly, word by word.
Her voice wasn’t loud, but it carried absolute confidence.
“Who said we’re waiting to die?”
Lin Shi and the Old Madam lifted their heads abruptly.
Shen Qingzhu curled her lips into a faint smile, one strangely compelling.
“Pack your things. We’re preparing to run.”
“Because,” she paused, a sharp gleam flashing in her eyes, “I have a way to get all of you out of here alive.”
The moment she finished speaking, the Old Madam’s lifeless eyes did not fill with hope.
Instead, they filled with unprecedented terror.
She stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar “grandson” before her—the commanding aura, the penetrating gaze, the overwhelming control.
A chill shot up her spine.
Suddenly she raised her hand and pointed at the surrounding servants. Her voice was hoarse but firm.
“You… all of you, leave.”
“Close the door.”
“Without my order, no one is allowed to come in!”
The servants exchanged uneasy glances but dared not disobey. They bowed and filed out. The stewardess who left last carefully shut the heavy wooden door.
The hall instantly grew dim.
Only Shen Qingzhu, Lin Shi, and the Old Madam remained.
Lin Shi looked confused and nervous, glancing between the Old Madam and her “son.”
But the Old Madam didn’t look at her.
Slowly, she rose from her chair.
After a long silence, she finally spoke with certainty.
“You… who exactly are you?!”