Outside the capital, Gu Qingqing had barely left the city when she came upon a lakeside with lush greenery and beautiful scenery.
She stopped the carriage, tied the horse to a sturdy tree, and led it to a patch of thick grass so it could graze its fill. Then she took the steamed buns and water from the carriage. While the buns were still warm, she ate two of them, drank a little water, and rested.
Just then, the sound of galloping hooves echoed in the distance.
Moments later, a carriage sped past her.
That was a carriage from Ding’an Marquis Manor.
She couldn’t possibly be mistaken. She had lived there for ten years in her previous life and knew the Marquis Manor’s insignia by heart.
Where are they headed?
Judging by the direction, they seemed to be making for the mass grave outside the city.
She knew that place well. In her previous life, she had helped her mistress dispose of more than a few maids and concubines there.
So who are they throwing away this time? Miss Mo hasn’t even married into the Marquis Manor yet… Could it be…
About the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, the Marquis Manor’s carriage came racing back.
As it passed Qingqing, the servants glanced briefly at the young woman tending her horse but didn’t stop. Instead, they urged the horses on toward the city gates.
Qingqing wasted no time.
She untied her horse, guided it onto the main road, and headed straight for the mass grave.
The horse galloped swiftly along the deserted road. It was still early in the morning, and there wasn’t another traveler in sight. Before long, she arrived.
The mass grave at dawn was shrouded in a veil of mist, as though hidden beneath an invisible curtain.
The sky had yet to brighten fully. Only a few pale rays of morning light filtered through the clouds, barely illuminating this desolate place.
The air was heavy with an indescribable sense of oppression, as though every inch of earth carried countless grievances and mournful cries.
A chilly breeze swept through, carrying with it the rustling of leaves in the distance. Against the silence, the sound seemed almost unnaturally loud.
Weathered gravestones stood scattered in every direction. Some had crumbled with age, their inscriptions worn beyond recognition. Others remained standing but were scarred by years of wind and rain.
From deep within the burial ground came the occasional cry of a bird or the bark of a distant dog, briefly disturbing the deathly silence before it swallowed the sounds once more.
Not far away, she spotted a dark figure lying motionless.
She tied the carriage to a nearby tree and walked over.
A man dressed in black lay sprawled among the graves.
His body was drenched in blood, his clothes torn to rags. Blood continued to seep from his wounds.
He had been beaten badly.
Qingqing crouched beside him and gently turned his face toward her.
“It really is him…”
It was the Heir’s bodyguard from Ding’an Marquis Manor.
Lin Heng.
She had seen him several times in her previous life before he had suddenly disappeared. Much later, she had heard the Heir say that the old Marquis had punished him to death with the cane.
So this is how he died in my previous life… abandoned here to bleed to death.
Looking at his miserable state, Qingqing couldn’t help but feel sympathy.
In many ways, they shared the same fate.
I’ll save him.
Who knows? Perhaps he’ll be useful someday.
Having made up her mind, she helped him sit up.
“Heavens… you’re heavy.”
Step by painstaking step, she supported him toward the carriage.
Then she frowned.
“…How am I supposed to get you inside?”
She paused, surprised.
He’s freezing.
His body was even colder than his expression.
“Hey. Wake up. Can you hear me?” she called, shaking him gently. “If you can hear me, use some strength and climb into the carriage yourself. I can’t lift you.”
Half-conscious, Lin Heng vaguely heard someone speaking.
Lift your leg…
So he lifted it.
Push harder…
He obeyed.
He wanted to open his eyes, but he couldn’t.
His limbs, his back—his entire body throbbed with unbearable pain, making every breath feel like torture.
Unable to fight it any longer, he slipped back into unconsciousness.
Qingqing sighed.
“You really are something. Just what did you grow up eating? You’re so heavy—and hard as a rock. My bones are going to break carrying you.”
Grumbling under her breath, she untied her bundle and took out a clean cotton shirt.
Tearing it into strips, she removed his ruined outer clothing and carefully cleaned the blood from his back with water and cloth.
The sight made her shudder.
His entire back was a horrifying mass of wounds.
He must have taken countless blows.
She handled him as gently as possible, sprinkled medicinal powder over the injuries to stop the bleeding, then wrapped them carefully with the cloth strips.
“Good thing Nanny Chen packed wound medicine and fever medicine for me. Looks like you’ll need both.”
She smiled faintly.
“You’re lucky you met me in this lifetime. Otherwise, this place would have been your grave.”
After bandaging him, she carefully laid him inside the carriage.
Since his back was injured, she had him lie face down with his head toward the front of the carriage, cushioning his neck with her bundle.
Then she climbed onto the driver’s seat and continued the journey.
Peach Blossom Village was over a thousand li away.
At their current pace, it would take three or four days by carriage.
And so, Qingqing traveled on, stopping and starting along the way, bringing the badly wounded Lin Heng with her toward the distant Peach Blossom Village.
…
By the evening of the second day, they passed through a lively market town.
After two days on the road, Qingqing was exhausted. She wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a proper night’s rest.
She guided the carriage to a small, secluded inn on the edge of town.
Over the past two days, Lin Heng’s fever had come and gone repeatedly. It had only broken that morning.
Qingqing called for an inn servant to help carry him into a room. She also asked for hot water and dinner to be prepared, then had the carriage taken to the stable in the rear courtyard with instructions to feed the black horse bean mash and fresh fodder.
The poor horse had worked hard these past two days.
After eating a simple meal herself, Qingqing fed Lin Heng some rice porridge.
Only then did she head into the adjoining washroom for a bath.
…
Night settled quietly over the inn.
Lin Heng slowly regained consciousness.
His mind was still hazy, as though everything around him were wrapped in a thin layer of mist.
Somewhere nearby came the soft, steady sound of splashing water.
It seemed distant one moment, close the next.
He struggled to open his eyes.
Gradually, the room came into focus.
It was unfamiliar, furnished simply yet tastefully.
Slowly turning his head, he searched for the source of the sound.
The splashing became clearer.
Like spring water striking smooth stones.
Like a gentle rain falling upon leaves.
Then, through the haze, he caught sight of a blurred figure.
A young woman.
Graceful in form, her long hair cascading down her back, she sat quietly in a wooden bathing tub.
Separated by a folding screen and veiled by drifting steam, she appeared dreamlike and mysterious.
Lin Heng’s breathing quickened.
His heartbeat grew faster.
He tried to steady his thoughts, but the sound of the water—and the image beyond the screen—lingered stubbornly in his mind like an irresistible spell.
Closing his eyes, he attempted to calm himself.
Yet the gentle splashing only seemed to tempt him further, drawing his attention back again and again.
His throat suddenly felt dry, as though warmed by the rising steam.
In the end, he could only open his eyes once more.
Letting out a quiet sigh, he tried to think of something else.
But his heart refused to settle.
The wounds across his back still throbbed faintly.
He raised his head ever so slightly and looked down at the unfamiliar bed beneath him.
Countless questions filled his mind.
Where am I?
Who saved me?
Could it have been… the woman behind that screen?
As those thoughts drifted through his mind, his eyelids grew heavier and heavier.
Before long, he slipped back into a deep sleep.