The moon hung high, yet the master bedroom of Xuanmao Hall remained brightly lit by candles.
The flickering candlelight illuminated a face on the bed, one that slept restlessly—brows tightly furrowed, forehead damp with sweat.
“Living souls repay debts, wives pawned as slaves!”
“The General’s noble sacrifice, pawning his wife as a prostitute!”
“Young General Xiao! The three-year term is over—the person has been returned to you!!”
Howling winds swept snowflakes straight into people’s faces. Xiao Yunhe stood atop the city wall, watching her crawl inch by inch through the city gate.
In the General’s Mansion, he looked down at her from a position of authority, speaking with righteous conviction: “Su Mingyue, a father’s command is hard to defy, and I am the general guarding the city… Pawning my wife for three years in exchange for the lives of an entire city… I had no other choice.”
Later, shielding the tear-streaked Liu Ying, his words cut like knives:
“Su Mingyue, you are filthy and tainted beyond redemption. That the General’s Mansion is willing to offer you shelter is already an immense act of mercy!”
“Ying’er traveled thousands of miles with me to Jinzhou and endured so many years of hardship, yet she remains only the Second Wife of the General’s Mansion! She has already suffered enough—what more do you want?!”
Later still, his iron-like fingers clamped tightly around her throat, his eyes churning with overwhelming hatred as he gritted his teeth:
“Su Mingyue! You have no shame, serving the enemy with your body, tarnishing the General’s Mansion and turning this general into a laughingstock for all!”
“Why… didn’t you die in Northern Di?”
“Why didn’t you take your own life before the city gates back then? Since you left, why did you have to come back?”
“Su Mingyue! You deserve to die! You should have died long ago!!”
Hah…
They all wished for her death…
But what had she truly done wrong?
Why… must she die?
On the bed, Su Mingyue’s eyes remained tightly shut, her brows furrowing repeatedly as tears continued to stream down her face even in her unconscious state.
She seemed trapped in an endless nightmare, sobbing intermittently: “Why… why treat me like this…”
Xiao Lin, who had been standing quietly behind the screen, frowned upon hearing her cries and walked to the bedside.
“Little liar…”
“Weren’t you supposed to bring this marquis his evening meal? This marquis waited for so long, yet not only did you not come, you even started crying on your own…”
He sat on the edge of the bed, raising a hand to wipe away her tears, but Su Mingyue turned over, facing away from him.
“Hah…”
A faint smile flickered at the corner of Xiao Lin’s lips as he sat on the bedside, gently patting her arm in an attempt to soothe her unease.
“Xiao Yunhe… Xiao Yunhe…” You shouldn’t treat me like this! How could you treat me this way?
???
The smile on Xiao Lin’s face instantly vanished, replaced by a dark expression.
He raised his hand, his palm covering her slender, pale neck.
“Dreaming of him even in your sleep, is that it?”
“Ayue, you truly deserve to die…”
His fingertips trembled slightly as his fingers slowly tightened… yet he couldn’t bear to truly wake her.
He only cursed her inwardly as a heartless little thing!
…
No…
“Don’t!”
Su Mingyue’s eyes flew open as she abruptly sat up, both hands clutching her neck tightly.
The dream had felt too real—she thought she had almost been strangled to death by Xiao Yunhe.
Xiao He and Xiao Tao, who lived next door, rushed in upon hearing the commotion.
“Madam! Did you have another nightmare?” Xiao He asked with concern.
Xiao Tao once again suggested: “Madam, please allow this servant and Xiao He to take turns sleeping on the footrest to keep watch for you at night…”
Su Mingyue shook her head. “Not to mention how uncomfortable it is to sleep on the footrest, I don’t want you to suffer because of me. Besides, having someone share the room with me would only make me sleep even less soundly…”
“You needn’t worry, just stay in the room next to mine as before.”
She forced a faint smile.
Due to the painful memories from her previous life, she had been plagued by nightmares since her rebirth. She didn’t even dare to extinguish the lamps at night and always kept a sharpened dagger hidden beneath her pillow.
She feared that in her extreme tension, she might accidentally harm them.
“Madam, have some water.”
Su Mingyue took the warm water handed by Xiao Tao and drank it in small sips. Glancing at the sky, she hurriedly instructed, “Go and prepare. We’ll leave at the hour of Yin.”
“Remember, we’ll leave through the side gate. Don’t alert anyone.”
Leaving before dawn? And with such secrecy?
“Yes, Madam.” Though puzzled, Xiao He and Xiao Tao didn’t ask further.
Outside the window, Xiao Lin lowered his dark lashes, his fingertips lightly rubbing together.
The faint shadow beneath his eyes almost obscured the crimson teardrop mole.
She often had nightmares but didn’t want anyone to accompany her?
What had she endured in all these years away from him? What had he failed to uncover?
Xiao Lin frowned deeply.
Sneaking around like this… what was she planning to do?
Was there any danger?
If he insisted on sending someone to follow her… would the one in the palace notice?
…
Half an hour later, Su Mingyue slipped out of the Pingyang Marquisate with Xiao He and Xiao Tao, went straight to rent a carriage, and headed directly outside the city.
Inside the carriage, Xiao He couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer. “Madam, where are we going?”
Su Mingyue curled her lips slightly, her expression icy.
She was going to seize the first and greatest opportunity in Liu Ying’s fate!
In her previous life, the reason Liu Ying could break free from the constraints of the Liu family, reside long-term in Xiao Hongyi’s residence, even influence her own marriage, and follow Xiao Hongyi’s entire family to the borderlands was entirely because she had money.
It was only by chance that she learned that in her previous life, because her marriage to Xiao Yunhe had been settled, Liu Ying was heartbroken. On this very day, she left the city to visit Fahua Temple, hoping to pray for a favorable outcome regarding her relationship with Xiao Yunhe.
When the carriage stopped at the foot of the mountain, she happened to encounter a young man selling himself to save his mother, named Yan Zhixian.
“Saving a mother” was different from “burying a mother”—it was a bottomless pit!
Moreover, a small kindness could breed great resentment… no one wanted to risk inviting trouble upon themselves!
Thus, even though Yan Zhixian was young and had excellent bone structure… aside from those who sought to avoid misfortune, many feared encountering a scammer or looked down on him for begging at such a young age. No one paid him any attention.
But Liu Ying, seeing him pitiful, felt her gloomy mood instantly lift. She casually tossed him a silver ingot.
That ingot saved half of Madam Yan’s life, allowing her to survive the long winter. Yan Zhixian was immensely grateful and went to great lengths to find Liu Ying. As repayment, he gave her his deed of indenture.
He was a business prodigy. With just the few hundred taels of silver Liu Ying entrusted to him, he slowly amassed a mountain of gold for her!
Later, he became Liu Ying’s most loyal supporter, devoting himself entirely to her cause.
Su Mingyue often wondered: if Liu Ying hadn’t met Yan Zhixian, would her own fate have been different?
After all, it was entirely Liu Ying’s scheme that she was sent to the Northern Di!
As for this life…
Su Mingyue’s lips curved slightly.
She would no longer give Liu Ying any chance to harm her.
Relying on others is not as good as relying on oneself.
She wanted to build her own power, and for that, she needed a loyal hound.
She would make Yan Zhixian serve her, build a commercial empire for her, and become her most capable arm and most solid support!
Su Mingyue let out a soft sigh, lifting her gaze to the two maidservants as she spoke in an extremely gentle tone: “Lately, everything has been going wrong. Let us go to the temple to pray.”
The two young maids nodded in relief. “Then the first incense offering today will surely be ours!”
…
When the carriage reached the foot of the mountain, Su Mingyue indeed saw a man in tattered clothes kneeling by the roadside, begging.
His frail body was visibly trembling, as if on the verge of collapse.
The hour was still early, and there were few people nearby. As soon as he saw the carriage, he bowed his head and kowtowed, pressing his forehead tightly against the ground.
Whenever someone lifted the curtain to look at him, he kowtowed even more urgently…
Xiao He followed Su Mingyue’s line of sight. “Madam, shall we help him?”
Su Mingyue lowered her gaze, her slender fingers gently releasing the curtain as it slowly fell back into place.
Yan Zhixian watched the swaying curtain, his heart sinking once again as bitterness rose in his throat.
If not for his father’s gambling addiction—which not only squandered the family fortune but also cost him his life… his mother would not have toiled day and night to raise him and his sister, now bedridden with a serious illness and unable to afford treatment!
Could it be that Heaven… truly intended for him to watch his mother die before his very eyes?
Yet she was only in her thirties this year! She was still so young…
Yan Zhixian dared not think further, his nails digging deeply into his palms.
Just as he was drowning in despair and self-blame, the carriage, which had already moved several yards away, came to a slow halt with a soft “Whoa—”.
The curtain stirred gently as a woman in green robes descended from the carriage and cautiously approached him, holding out a silver ingot:
“My mistress says you may have encountered some hardship… May you overcome your difficulties soon and find peace and prosperity hereafter.”
Yan Zhixian looked up dazedly, his gaze involuntarily drifting toward the carriage window…
Just then, the benevolent soul inside lifted a corner of the curtain, revealing a face of breathtaking beauty!
He trembled all over, his pupils contracting violently. Instead of accepting the silver, he stumbled toward the carriage and fell to his knees with a thud:
“I beg Divine Physician Su to show mercy and save my mother!”
He kowtowed again and again, blood soon seeping from his forehead.
“…?” Inside the carriage, Xiao He stared wide-eyed in shock, immediately leaning her head out. “You actually recognize my mistress?”
Heavens… even a roadside beggar knew her mistress!?
Noble families had always disliked women appearing in public… No wonder, ever since her mistress married into the Pingyang Marquisate, Tai Furen had explicitly forbidden her from going out casually, especially to treat patients!
“You recognize me?” Su Mingyue’s voice was soft, her brow slightly raised as she appeared approachable.
She looked at Yan Zhixian and said, “A Daoist priest once told me that I might face many calamities in my remaining years, and insisted that I must go to the temple today to offer the first incense if I wish for smooth sailing and good fortune hereafter.”
“That silver ingot is enough for you to hire the best physician in the capital. I will give you my carriage. Go quickly, and do not delay!”
In her past life, Yan Zhixian’s mother had survived the winter but died on the spring equinox of the following year. She must have been gravely ill.
She intended to heap favors upon him, layer upon layer, until the debt became so heavy he could never repay it!
Not only did she want him to feel deeper gratitude toward her, but she also wanted him to feel guilt… Only then would he become even more devoted and willingly serve her purposes.
As Su Mingyue spoke, she stepped down from the carriage, but Yan Zhixian, heedless of propriety, grabbed a corner of her skirt.
“How dare you!” Xiao He, fiercely protective of her mistress and relying on her modest martial skills, kicked Yan Zhixian away with a sudden force.
Su Mingyue glanced at Xiao He, then looked at Xiao Tao, who had quickly stepped in front of her and was so frightened that even the tips of her ears had turned red. She couldn’t help but rub her temples: If only these two girls’ temperaments could be blended together, how wonderful that would be!
Yan Zhixian clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood with a “pfft.” Xiao He instinctively looked at Su Mingyue, her face turning deathly pale.