“I’m your betrothed wife!”
“Fire! Hurry and save Master!”
Thick smoke obscured the shadows of flowers in the courtyard, while flames writhed like serpents, tearing through the long night. The study had already become a sea of fire.
Servants scrambled to carry water over, throwing basin after basin onto the flames, but it was little more than a drop in the ocean.
In an instant, Jiang Weiyao’s ears were filled with screams, hurried footsteps, and the crashing sounds of collapsing structures.
Lowering her head, Jiang Weiyao blended into the servants rushing in and out.
After disguising herself, no one could possibly guess that beneath this aged, stooped appearance was the supposedly delicate and helpless maid the master had recently brought into the household.
All she needed to do was find some secluded corner and slip out of the residence. Then her assassination mission would be successfully completed.
Even if the authorities arrived, Master Liu would already have been burned to a charred corpse.
Once she vanished into the vast world, there would be no telling where she had gone.
“…Lord Pei, the residence is in complete chaos tonight. Madam has even fainted. I-I’m afraid it may be rather inconvenient…”
Spring had returned after the end of winter, and the pear blossoms were in full bloom.
Only after stepping out of the courtyard did Jiang Weiyao realize that the bright moon had emerged. Tree shadows swayed in the breeze, while a carpet of white pear blossoms covered the ground.
Gathering up his sleeves to wipe the sweat from his brow, the steward led the way with a deferential bow, his replies consistently cautious and respectful.
*Lord Pei?*
*Had Master Liu invited some distinguished guest tonight?*
A faint crease appeared between Jiang Weiyao’s brows as she discreetly glanced over.
The breeze was warm and damp, rippling through the spring night. Under the soft, hazy moonlight, the tall, imposing figure of the man was clearly visible.
Though it was already spring, the man wore a fox-fur cloak. His broad sleeves fit neatly around his wrists without a single wrinkle. Following the golden crane patterns woven into his robes upward, the first thing that caught the eye was the string of shimmering cap beads hanging before his long neck.
The large hat cast his deep-set features in shadow. The beads swayed lightly along his sharp, chiseled jaw, brushing against his prominent Adam’s apple and making the thin lips beneath his high-bridged nose appear even redder.
Jiang Weiyao instinctively held her breath.
An ominous feeling rose in her heart.
The steward rose onto his toes and whispered something to the man. His footsteps halted.
Slowly, he raised his head.
Beneath the black brim of his hat, the man had prominent brows, sharply angled sword brows, and a face as fair as jade. His lips were strikingly red and his teeth white; if not for the cold severity between his brows that subdued his scholarly elegance, he might have looked like an ordinary scholar forever spouting classical phrases.
At that moment, his sharp black-and-white eyes were fixed on the raging fire in the courtyard ahead, as though deep in thought. His jaw tightened, and his hand had already moved quietly toward his waist, where the embroidered spring saber beneath his cloak was faintly visible.
Her worst suspicion had come true.
Jiang Weiyao’s heart plummeted straight off a cliff.
She was utterly, completely doomed.
That familiar face was one she could never forget, not even in death—
Pei Yunheng, Commander of the Imperial Guard.
He was infamous throughout the land: cold, arrogant, ruthless, and merciless. Anyone who fell under his scrutiny was guaranteed to meet a terrible end.
Jiang Weiyao’s vision darkened, and she silently cursed him in her heart.
She had already changed assassination assignments. How could Pei Yunheng still have targeted her and tracked her down?
Half a year ago, she had been carrying out an assassination mission in the capital when an accident exposed her whereabouts. Pei Yunheng had set his sights on her afterward.
She had hidden from him throughout the capital and had even been thrown into the Imperial Prison. If she hadn’t been extraordinarily lucky, she would have died long ago.
After finally escaping, she had remained incognito and kept a low profile for so long.
And now, in Wuming County, a thousand *li* from the capital, she had actually run into Pei Yunheng again!
It was simply outrageous!
“Please place the entire residence under lockdown. Have the household guards keep a strict watch and leave no corner unchecked. Then gather everyone in the residence here and bring me the household register.”
After surveying the layout of the estate, Pei Yunheng took out the gold-inscribed command token of the Imperial Guard. His voice was cold, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority.
Clutching the token, the steward’s heart pounded violently as he dropped to his knees, too frightened to utter a word.
Master had ordered him last night to receive an honored guest who would be staying at the residence today and to treat him with the utmost courtesy. The steward had assumed the guest was merely the son of some prominent family.
He had never imagined it would be an Imperial Guard.
The steward did not even dare verify the token. He immediately returned it with both hands and, realizing the gravity of the matter, asked no further questions. He hurried off to make the arrangements, but stopped before leaving and called out to Jiang Weiyao.
The steward looked her up and down before lowering his voice and scolding her.
“Your legs aren’t in good shape, so don’t make things worse by getting in the way of the fire brigade. Go see whether Madam has awakened. If she hasn’t, ask Eldest Miss to come over.”
With that, he hurried away.
Jiang Weiyao was left alone, lowering her head and obediently answering, “Yes.”
She wanted to curse him, but stopped herself.
My legs are too inconvenient for putting out a fire, but not for carrying messages?
With so many perfectly healthy servants at his disposal, he had to send a crippled old woman instead. By the time she delivered the message, the day would be over.
Never mind.
Before the residence was completely locked down, she had better find a way out as quickly as possible.
Feeling Pei Yunheng’s cold gaze linger on her for a moment, seemingly assessing her, Jiang Weiyao politely curtsied and limped toward the inner courtyard.
If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have pretended my legs were crippled.
“Wait.”
She had taken only seven steps when Pei Yunheng’s unhurried voice came from behind her.
Jiang Weiyao stopped, then slowly turned around. In a respectful, timid voice, she asked, “May I ask what Your Lordship requires?”
Rubbing the Buddhist prayer beads around his wrist, Pei Yunheng asked, “Where did the fire start?”
Jiang Weiyao answered, “The master’s study.”
“Is the eldest young master in the residence?”
Jiang Weiyao looked puzzled.
“Why would Your Lordship ask that? The eldest young master has been dead for many years.”
Clouds gathered overhead. The flames gradually died down, but thick smoke continued to spread in every direction, stinging people’s eyes until they could barely keep them open.
The wind grew increasingly boisterous.
Yet Jiang Weiyao could hear her own heartbeat with perfect clarity.
After a brief silence, Pei Yunheng casually shook his wrist.
“Go. Oh, by the way, does this residence have a warm chamber where I can change?”
“There’s one not far across the lake. I’ll send someone to lead Your Lordship there.”
Jiang Weiyao called over the maid holding a lantern nearby and gave her instructions.
Yet Pei Yunheng still did not speak.
The night wind began to rise, stirring the lush branches until thousands upon thousands of twigs swayed and stumbled beneath its force. Pear blossoms tumbled steadily to the ground.
Jiang Weiyao’s heart sank little by little.
She lowered her hands and slowly sighed, her gaze gradually lifting.
His sword brows drew downward. His dark eyes were sharp as a hawk’s, carrying a piercing insight that seemed to see through everything.
Pei Yunheng’s thin lips curved faintly upward as he looked down at her from above.
His gaze was cold and composed, as though he were looking at prey struggling in its final moments.
He gave a soft laugh, brief and contemptuous.
His eyes clearly said:
“Got you.”
Jiang Weiyao quickly ran through everything in her mind, yet still couldn’t figure out where she had slipped up.
But at this point, she had no time to dwell on such trivial details.
Meeting Pei Yunheng’s overwhelmingly intimidating gaze, Jiang Weiyao gave a cold laugh.
“Lord Pei, you really are impossible to shake.”
The instant the words left her mouth, she swiftly stripped off the cumbersome outer robe and hurled it, along with the packet of medicinal powder in her hand, at Pei Yunheng.
Then she lightly touched the ground with her toes and sprang onto a pear tree.
The sleeve arrow strapped to her wrist whistled through the falling blossoms, shooting straight toward Pei Yunheng’s vital point.
The surrounding servants were terrified and broke into screams.
One torch after another flared to life as the steward came rushing over with the household guards.
Jiang Weiyao didn’t dare linger. She leaped onto the roof and fled.
**Boom!**
A dull rumble of thunder exploded atop the distant mountains.
Before long, raindrops as large as beans came crashing down.
Riding a horse she had stolen, Jiang Weiyao was drenched through by the torrential rain. She lashed the horse with her whip, and the fine steed raced through the downpour like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Yet that accursed figure was still following closely behind her.
Another rumble of thunder drowned out Jiang Weiyao’s furious curses.
The night was as dark as ink, and rain poured from the heavens. The farther she ran into the mountains, the thicker the fog became.
Two figures galloped wildly through the darkness, one chasing the other.
Neither noticed the tumbling rocks or the trees and earth trembling around them until—
**Crack!**
A towering ancient tree suddenly came crashing down.
The thunderous impact drowned out the sound of the storm and sent several startled birds flying into the air.
The two horses suddenly reared with piercing cries before coming to an abrupt stop, nearly throwing their riders from the saddles.
Before either of them could react, the earth and heavens seemed to shake.
Boulders, towering trees, wildflowers…
Loose soil swept everything along with it as it thundered downhill.
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
*Drip.*
When Jiang Weiyao opened her eyes again, an ant was crawling across her eyelid.
Her entire body was covered in injuries.
She lay in a pool of blood, and the pain from her wounds was so intense that she could barely endure even the raindrops falling against her body.
She frowned and murmured something under her breath before losing consciousness once more.
She drifted between sleep and waking, waking and sleep, for she knew not how long.
Only after the torrential rain finally stopped and the rising sun broke over the horizon did she fully regain consciousness.
Using a withered tree stump for support, she panted heavily and forced herself to endure the agony.
It took her a full hour merely to sit up.
Everything she had been carrying was gone. Even the short blade she had hidden inside her shoe had disappeared.
Naturally, the man in front of her wasn’t doing any better.
Pei Yunheng lay in the muddy water.
His jade crown was shattered, and several cuts marred his handsome, pale face. His once-luxurious robes were so filthy that their original color was no longer recognizable.
Even the embroidered spring saber at his waist was nowhere to be found.
“…Finally, you’ve fallen into my hands.”
Clutching her continuously bleeding abdomen, Jiang Weiyao slowly exhaled and murmured under her breath.
She struggled to her feet, picked up a relatively sharp stone beside her, and staggered forward toward the culprit responsible for bringing her to this miserable state.
But she had underestimated the severity of her injuries.
After only two steps, her legs gave way beneath her.
The severe blood loss sent the world spinning, and she collapsed to her knees.
She coughed twice, the pain tearing through her chest.
Before she could even wait for the dizziness to subside, she suddenly felt a rush of cold air in front of her.
The next instant, a lithe figure pounced at her like a leopard.
A pair of blood-covered hands clamped brutally around her neck.
Viscous blood dripped onto her face, while the weight pressing down upon her felt as heavy as a thousand *jun*.
Jiang Weiyao’s head slammed against the ground, and she immediately spat out a mouthful of congealed blood.
The dizziness from before had not even faded, yet the intense suffocation already left her unable to speak.
“Don’t move!”
The veins in Pei Yunheng’s neck stood out. His black hair hung loose, his voice hoarse and difficult to make out, his eyes blood-red.
Sensing Jiang Weiyao struggling, he tightened his grip, his voice icy as he warned her:
“Move again, and I’ll snap your neck.”
*He chased me like a rabid dog hunting its prey just to snap my neck, and now he’s putting on airs?*
*If you want to strangle me, then hurry up and do it!*
Jiang Weiyao’s vision had already begun to blur.
She couldn’t speak, but she bent her leg and suddenly drove her knee toward Pei Yunheng’s lower body, making her message perfectly clear through action:
*She was going to move.*
Pei Yunheng clearly hadn’t expected Jiang Weiyao to do such a thing.
Caught completely off guard, he took the blow head-on and let out a heavy groan. The strength in his grip loosened slightly.
But Jiang Weiyao had little strength left to begin with.
Before she could take advantage of the opening, he seized her again with brutal force. A moment later, even her legs were firmly restrained.
The pressure around her neck tightened inch by inch, leaving not even the slightest gap through which she could breathe.
Jiang Weiyao’s face turned blue.
Her gaze became unfocused.
Her struggling hands gradually fell limp, and with them, her consciousness began to fade away.
*So I’m finally going to die.*
*Just like this?*
Two conflicting emotions tangled endlessly inside her mind.
Powerless, Jiang Weiyao closed her eyes.
Yet the next instant, the pressure on her neck suddenly disappeared.
Air flooded into her lungs like a rising tide.
Jiang Weiyao coughed violently.
“I ask, you answer. Otherwise, I’ll kill you!”
Pei Yunheng’s voice was low and threatening.
“…”
Her silence was clearly not what Pei Yunheng wanted.
He tightened his grip again.
“……”
“…For heaven’s sake, ask the damn question already!” Jiang Weiyao finally roared, unable to take it anymore.
What could Pei Yunheng possibly want to ask?
Nothing more than secrets concerning the assassin organization **Yidianhong, One Red Dot**, to which she belonged.
If he wanted to know something, he should just ask.
Why torture her?
It wasn’t as though she were particularly loyal.
His grip froze.
Only belatedly did he loosen it.
Pei Yunheng turned his head and coughed softly before moving closer.
The damp, cold scent of blood rushed into her nose.
His bloodstained black eyes stared coldly at her.
Pei Yunheng spoke one word at a time.
“You. Who are you?”
*Who are you?*
What did he mean?
*Was Pei Yunheng playing some kind of role-playing game with her now that she was on the verge of death?*
Jiang Weiyao was so stunned that she forgot to remain angry.
She looked at Pei Yunheng.
Birds flew back to their nests behind him as the rising sun broke over the horizon. Countless threads of golden light pierced through the thick fog, illuminating everything without exception—the ants crawling across the ground, the rainwater clinging to the leaves, and even the confusion hidden in Pei Yunheng’s eyes.
“…”
“…Ha.”
Just as Pei Yunheng was beginning to lose patience, the person beneath him suddenly began to tremble.
As though deeply wounded by those words, the corners of her lips slowly curved into a smile that looked even more miserable than tears.
Soon, strings of tears slid from the corners of her eyes.
The scalding tears fell onto the back of Pei Yunheng’s hand, making him frown in confusion.
“You… actually asked who I am?”
Her face filled with a despair that seemed to say there was no greater sorrow than a heart that had already died.
Her voice was mournful and aggrieved.
“…Who am I?”
Suddenly, she opened her eyes.
Jiang Weiyao’s voice could no longer conceal her fury.
“I broke with my family for you, and today you ask me who I am? Who am I? I’m your betrothed wife!”
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha!”
When she saw the utter shock and disbelief crack across Pei Yunheng’s face, Jiang Weiyao couldn’t help laughing aloud.
And with that laugh, she woke up.
…
So the fall from the cliff had happened a month ago.
Jiang Weiyao stared drowsily at the bed curtains. After taking a moment to collect herself, she slowly sat up.
Just then, there was a knock at the door.
A moment later, a man’s cool, detached voice came from outside.
“Are you awake?”
Her eyes flickered.
Jiang Weiyao answered slowly.
“Yes.”
“I’m killing a chicken today. Do you want it braised or stewed?”
Pei Yunheng asked.