“Ah, stop! Stop! Don’t kill them!”
“Shen Mingxiu, I beg you, spare their lives!”
“Please, please, don’t—!”
Ye Qingyu struggled desperately, her eyes burning red with fury and despair. She was pinned down, forced to watch as her beloved grandfather’s throat was cut, blood spraying forth. The courtyard was littered with corpses of her kin, crimson blood flooding the ground. She screamed and thrashed, her cries hoarse and broken. Released at last, she collapsed to her knees, crawling frantically toward her family’s lifeless bodies, her pale hands smeared with sticky blood.
“Grandfather, wake up…”
“Second Uncle, Second Aunt…”
“Third Uncle, Third Aunt, please wake up…”
Clutching her grandfather’s cold body, she sobbed until her voice broke, her grief unbearable.
Suddenly, she lifted her head, her blood-red eyes blazing with hatred at the man before her. “Why! Why did you kill them!”
The man, dressed in moon-white robes, his handsome face cold and merciless, held a sword still dripping blood.
“Treason and rebellion. The entire clan must be executed.” His voice was icy, terrifying in its indifference.
Ye Qingyu laughed madly. “Ha! What a joke! Treason? The Duke’s household helped you become Crown Prince, helped you ascend the throne. How could they rebel? My grandfather gave you all military power—our family held no soldiers at all. With what could he rebel!”
“Shen Mingxiu, you slaughtered loyal ministers and destroyed a clan of heroes. Even before ascending the throne, you are this ruthless. Aren’t you afraid your reign will crumble?”
Someone shouted to silence her. “Enough! Ye Qingyu, you should be grateful His Highness merely divorced you and spared your life to bury these traitors!”
Her father, Lord Ye, stepped forward arrogantly. “You have been struck from the family registry. You are no longer a daughter of the Ye household.”
Ye Qingyu’s laughter turned shrill and deranged. “Father! You truly are my good father!”
Her family treated her like refuse, eager to sacrifice her to prove their loyalty.
Her half-sister Ye Qianqian, dressed in phoenix robes, approached proudly, clinging to Shen Mingxiu’s arm. “You should be thankful. Mingxiu never loved you—he always loved me.”
“You filthy pair! May you die miserably!”
Now she understood: her divorce was to make room for Ye Qianqian.
“Insulting His Highness—do you want to die?”
“Ha! Death? Who’s afraid!” Ye Qingyu gripped a dagger and lunged at Ye Qianqian.
Ye Qianqian screamed, “Brother Mingxiu, save me!”
With a sickening thrust, Shen Mingxiu’s sword pierced Ye Qingyu’s heart. Her eyes widened in disbelief. This was the man she had sacrificed everything for, dragging her clan into ruin to pave his path—only to be slain by his own hand. He even tore off his bloodstained robe in disgust.
Falling weakly, Ye Qingyu clutched her belly—inside was the child she carried, three months along. Child, forgive me. I cannot bring you into this world. In her fading vision, she saw Prince Chu in armor, striding toward her. He sighed, “Gather the Duke’s family’s bodies. Bury them properly.”
Her life was nothing. If only there were another chance…
Faintly, voices reached her ears. “Miss, miss, what’s wrong? Wake up!”
The anxious, youthful voice was familiar yet strange. Was someone saving her?
“Shen Mingxiu! Ye Qianqian! May you die miserably!” she cried in despair.
Suddenly, a violent jolt. Ye Qingyu’s eyes flew open, tears streaming, her gaze filled with endless sorrow.
“Miss, you’re awake! Was it a nightmare?” A girl’s round face, with baby fat and pure almond eyes, looked at her with concern. It was Nian Chun, her maid, yet younger than she remembered. Nian Chun had died years ago, dragged down by Ye Qingyu’s misfortune.
“Nian Chun… are you here to take me away?” she whispered, thinking of the road to the underworld.
Nian Chun shook her head, worried. “Miss, you must be confused. I’ve always been here. You just had a nightmare.”
The soft cloth wiped her tears. The touch was real.
Ye Qingyu realized she was in a carriage, gently rocking. She lifted the curtain: green trees, birdsong, sunlight warming her pale hand. She laughed through tears. She had returned. She had been reborn!
Perhaps even Heaven had pitied her foolishness and sent her back—for revenge.
Nian Chun grew more worried seeing her cry and laugh. “Miss, please don’t scare me!”
Ye Qingyu smiled faintly. “I’m fine. Where are we now?”
Nian Chun replied, “We just left Nanhua Temple, heading back to the Marquis’s estate. The carriage broke down, so we fell behind.”
Ye Qingyu’s eyes darkened. She remembered—this was where her tragedy began. In her past life, the carriage broke down, the driver took a side road, and she was nearly kidnapped. She was saved by Ye Shuwen, a distant relative, who was later adopted into her family as her “brother.” That was the start of all her misfortune.
Everything began today!