She saw her own deathly pale face with its seven orifices sealed emerge from the pottery urn at the back gate of the Marquis Estate. Her second uncle and aunt were working together to load the urn onto a carriage.
Shen Qingwu felt enveloped by an icy suffocation. The scene abruptly changed, and the next moment she found herself in a stone chamber. The walls were covered with yellow talismans, the floor etched with strange formations, and at the formation eye stood five pottery urns.
Just as she tried to examine them closely, her second uncle’s sinister voice echoed in her ears—”You’re the only one missing!”
“Ah!”
The scream caught in her throat as Shen Qingwu jolted upright from her bed. Cold sweat had soaked through her undergarments, the chilled fabric clinging to her skin and sending shivers down her spine.
She pressed her fingers hard against her throbbing Taiyang acupoint, trying to recall the dream, but her mind remained blank. Only the lingering eeriness and chill of the nightmare wrapped around her like vines, making her entire body tremble.
“Young Mistress! Young Mistress?”
The calls from outside the door snapped her back to reality. Shen Qingwu suppressed the panic in her eyes, steadied herself, and rose to open the door.
Outside stood two maidservants.
“Greetings, Young Mistress.”
“This servant is Xia Chun.”
“This servant is Xia Zao.”
Though the two maidservants bowed upon seeing her, their faces clearly displayed reluctance.
In unison, they announced, “By Second Madam’s order, we have come to serve Young Mistress.”
“Ahem…” Shen Qingwu covered her lips with a light cough, her gaze sweeping over the cramped secluded courtyard. A barely perceptible coldness tinged her voice. “Serve me? Here… in this place?”
She remembered Shen Wushi telling the Grand Princess that due to her sudden return, she would temporarily receive medical treatment here, and a proper courtyard would be prepared before nightfall.
“That’s right.” Xia Chun curled her lip, unable to hide her irritation. “With just the three of us, this place is just right.”
So right that one more person wouldn’t fit.
Xia Zao, standing beside her, was slightly more composed, keeping her eyes downcast and remaining silent, though her tightly pressed lips also revealed discontent.
Shen Qingwu lowered her lashes, concealing the coldness in her eyes and revealing only a despondent expression as she nodded softly. “I see…”
She turned and walked back into the room. Picking up the tinder, she began lighting the candle stands throughout the room, one by one.
“Young Mistress, what are you doing?” Xia Chun thought she was not only sick in body but also in mind, unable to resist raising her voice. “If you waste them like this during the day, you’ll have none left for the night.”
“What wretched luck to be assigned to serve you! From now on, I’ll probably be looked down upon by all the other maidservants in the estate!” She grew angrier as she spoke, finally turning her back to vent her frustrations at a tree.
Xia Zao, standing at the doorway, also frowned, thinking Shen Qingwu utterly unreasonable.
But the next moment, Xia Zao’s pupils suddenly contracted as she screamed in shock, “Young Mistress! What are you doing?”
Xia Chun whirled around to see Shen Qingwu sweep her arm, knocking over all the lit candle stands!
Flames instantly licked at the dry bed curtains and tablecloths, spreading with alarming speed and leaping feet high!
She’s mad! She’s going to burn this place down!
“Young Mistress, how dare you set a fire in the estate? Do you have a death wish?” Xia Chun shouted in shock and anger. But when she saw Shen Qingwu standing motionless amid the flames, she panicked.
No matter how unwelcome she was, this was still the Marquis Estate’s Young Mistress. If she died here, Xia Chun wouldn’t survive either.
Xia Chun was on the verge of tears, her voice cracking with urgency. “Young Mistress! Get out of there, quickly!”
Xia Zao, being more composed than her, quickly grabbed Xia Chun: “Go report to Madam immediately, and call for help to put out the fire on your way! I’ll go pull the young mistress out!”
Xia Chun didn’t dare delay, immediately dashing outside; Xia Zao gritted her teeth, covered her nose and mouth, and charged inside…
Half an hour later, the fire was extinguished.
The secluded courtyard was already in complete disarray. Shen Qingwu remained completely unharmed, with only some soot staining the hem of her clothes.
She stood there quietly, while across from her, Shen Wencong and Shen Wushi were livid, nearly fainting from anger.
“Shen Qingwu, what exactly are you trying to do?!” Shen Wencong’s temples bulged with veins, his pointing hand trembling. “You set fire to yourself as soon as you returned to the estate! Now that you’ve climbed the high branch of the Grand Princess, are you deliberately trying to drag us all to our deaths?!”
Shen Wushi lamented tearfully: “We can’t be blamed for not recognizing you earlier. Wasn’t everything explained clearly before the Grand Princess? Why are you still causing trouble, child? Hasn’t my Xi’er suffered enough, beaten by you until she’s dizzy and nauseous?”
“We’ve worked tirelessly managing the Marquis Estate for three years—if not for merit, at least for our hard work.”
It was only then that Shen Qingwu spoke: “Then return the Marquis Estate to me.”
Instantly, silence fell around Shen Qingwu.
She slightly lowered her head, her figure so frail it seemed a gust of wind could knock her over. Her delicate, helpless appearance made one vaguely feel that her earlier words were merely a joke.
Yet Shen Wencong and Shen Wushi’s expressions instantly turned grim.
Those words had precisely struck their hearts.
After a long pause, Shen Wushi finally spoke with a sigh: “Though you’ve come of age, you’re still unmarried—how could you manage household affairs? Moreover, you’ve just rejected the Fourth Prince’s marriage proposal. Being so strong-willed, who would dare marry you in the future?”
“Qingwu,” Shen Wushi changed her tone from earlier complaints, “your aunt is only thinking of your well-being. Just focus on recuperating peacefully. See how well I’ve managed the Marquis Estate, haven’t I?”
A gentle smile appeared on her face as she reached to take Shen Qingwu’s hand, but unexpectedly, Shen Qingwu directly avoided it, making her secretly grit her teeth in embarrassment.
Shen Qingwu frowned, her pale face clearly displeased: “So well managed that I, the young mistress of the Marquis Estate, have to live in a small secluded courtyard? Are you, Uncle and Aunt, not afraid the Grand Princess will find out and punish you?” She paused slightly, emphasizing her tone, “Or are you trying to keep me confined here, waiting for me to die from illness?”
She lifted her gaze, her sharp stare making Shen Wushi tremble. This… this sickly girl actually guessed her thoughts?
Waiting for her to die from illness would take too long. She had originally planned to take some action, creating the illusion of her dying from illness. That way, even the Grand Princess wouldn’t be able to say anything.
But with her burning down the courtyard—a fire during daytime would surely attract outside attention—her plan became unworkable.
“You…” Shen Wushi felt guilty under her gaze, “How can you, child, speculate about your elders like this!”
Shen Wencong had now calmed down, his eyes full of scrutiny as he stared at Shen Qingwu. Having escaped from a Spirit Realm assassin and now burning down the courtyard… was his niece truly as weak as she appeared?
Noticing Shen Wencong’s scrutiny, Shen Qingwu suddenly covered her mouth with a handkerchief, coughing violently, her body trembling so much she could barely stand: “Cough… cough, cough—”