Yan Du felt as if his lies were laid bare. He lowered his head and coughed lightly, pretending to be calm as he averted his gaze.
San Qi was genuinely puzzled.
Although it is often said: A drop of kindness should be repaid with a spring.
But Yan Du wasn’t just a spring—he had risked his life.
He had forged an imperial decree! If not for his military achievements and the trust and favor of the Emperor and Empress, anyone else would have had their entire clan executed!
Yan Du… why on earth did he do it?
The key point was, she hadn’t done him any favors, had she?
San Qi was filled with confusion, but now wasn’t the right time to ask. Yan Du’s backside… well, it was better for him to lie down.
Yan Du’s expression had now returned to its usual cold, jade-like composure.
“It’s getting late. Commandery Princess, you should return to your room and rest.”
Seeing this, San Qi had no choice but to agree.
As she turned away, Yan Du looked at her again and couldn’t help but speak up: “Commandery Prin… San Qi.”
“Hmm? Does the Young General have something else to say?”
Yan Du remained silent for a long while, his hands clasped behind his back. He unconsciously rubbed the red string tied around his right wrist. The string was old and faded, looking as if it might snap at any moment, a clear sign it had been with him for a long time.
Faintly visible within the red string were a few strands of withered, yellow hair.
“It’s nothing. Sweet dreams.”
San Qi nodded hesitantly, feeling that Yan Du had something left unsaid.
She would have to find time to ask him clearly. This matter was just too strange—not only was Yan Du acting oddly, but his personal guards were also behaving strangely. For example, Nan Xun was overly enthusiastic, overly kind, and accepted her too quickly.
And her “return from the dead”—had this group just accepted it so easily?
…
The courtyard Yan Du had arranged for San Qi was called “Nian Shi Zhai.” San Qi thought the name was rather peculiar.
The furnishings inside the room were quite ordinary. After washing up, she lay down on the bed. Today had been eventful enough with dying and coming back to life, but San Qi didn’t feel sleepy. Earlier, when Nan Xun had brought her food, she had found it tasteless and hadn’t even felt full. Instead, a sense of hunger persisted.
San Qi couldn’t quite tell whether her current state was that of a living person slightly dead or a dead person slightly alive.
Lost in thought, she eventually closed her eyes without realizing when.
She dreamed. In the dream, a thick fog enveloped everything. Beneath her feet was a broken road, surrounded by collapsed palaces and shattered statues. It felt as if someone was holding her hand, walking behind her.
That person seemed to be calling her:
—Xiao Shi.
—Little Sister Xiao Shi.
San Qi thought vaguely: Who is Xiao Shi? That’s not my name.
She turned around, trying to see who was holding her hand, but the thick fog obscured the figure. All she saw was a hand, and on that hand was tied a red string.
Suddenly, San Qi’s footing gave way, and a clear sense of weightlessness washed over her.
She opened her eyes in bed. Outside, the sky was already bright.
San Qi blinked, rubbed her temples, and sat up, staring at her hand.
“When did I fall asleep?”
She vaguely remembered having a dream, but the more she tried to recall it, the fuzzier the details became. San Qi simply gave up trying.
She tossed the straw doll she had made the previous night into the bedding. The doll transformed into a puppet identical to her, sleeping peacefully. San Qi headed straight out the door, moving silently. As she passed the night guards, they didn’t notice her, as if their eyes had been veiled by a ghost.
There were still some things left behind at Yu Mansion that San Qi needed to retrieve.
Along the way, she would also visit her dearest, most beloved family members.
The roosters have already crowed, how can they still be sleeping? She had to go watch them suffer, and while at it, figure out why she had become a blind, foolish weakling ever since returning from Huangquan Cun to the Yu Family!
“Ah—” A scream pierced the sky above Yu Mansion.
“Ants! So many ants!!”
“Why are there so many rats, ah, a rat bit my toe!”
“Snakes!! Snakes!!”
In the dead of winter, Yu Mansion was overrun with snakes, insects, rats, and ants, plunging the entire household into chaos.
Yu Minwen, with dark circles under his eyes, hurried into the room in a panic, only to see the servants scrambling about. His mother, Liu Shi, had fainted nearby, while his father lay on the bed, howling like a slaughtered pig. His exposed, festering buttocks were crawling with dense clusters of ants.
“My buttocks!! The ants are eating my buttocks! Son—Minwen!! Save your father!! Get these ants off me, quick!”
Yu Minwen felt as if his Tian Ling Gai were about to explode, but how could he dare to touch them himself? He could only urge the servants.
“What are you all standing around for? Get the ants off him! Now!”
The servants hesitated, too afraid to act. Yu Minwu arrived just then and, seeing the scene, cursed loudly: “A bunch of cowards, let me do it!”
He strode over and slapped Yu Jing’s festering buttocks. The blow nearly cost Yu Jing his life, and Yu Minwu’s hand trembled. “Father! Father, don’t scare me like that!”
Yu Jing choked, half a breath caught in his throat. Weakly raising a hand, he pointed at Yu Minwu: “Go… you, get away…”
Drag this brute away quickly…
He hadn’t died from the beating, but he almost lost his life to this brute!
By the time Yu Tang arrived, the ants on Yu Jing’s festering buttocks had been dealt with, but the wounds, after being crawled over and gnawed by ants, had become even more swollen and pus-filled. The barefoot doctor shook his head and sighed: “The flesh is rotting. The decayed parts must be scraped away, or it won’t heal.”
Hearing this, Yu Jing could no longer hold on. The seven-foot-tall old man burst into tears.
As he cried, Liu Shi, who had regained consciousness, also began to weep, only to faint again. Exhausted, Yu Tang supported Liu Shi and looked pleadingly at her two brothers, only to find that they were too preoccupied to pay her any attention. Yu Tang felt like crying too.
In the past, she had been pampered by the whole family. Even losing a single strand of hair would prompt someone to fuss over her.
But she hadn’t slept well last night either. This morning, she had been awakened by rats gnawing at her feet, nearly scaring her out of her mind.
She felt so wronged, so sad. Why was no one concerned about her?
“It’s all Third Sister’s fault. If it weren’t for her, how could our perfectly fine family have ended up like this…” Yu Tang sobbed tearfully. “Father is gravely injured, Mother has fallen ill, yet she’s become a Commandery Princess. Heaven truly has no eyes…”
Yu Minwu slammed his fist heavily on the ground, rising with a fierce, menacing air. “Is she even fit to be a Commandery Princess? Just wait! Today, His Majesty will surely strip her of her title. Soon, she’ll come crawling back in disgrace, begging for mercy!”
Yu Minwen pursed his lips, remaining silent. He neither agreed nor disagreed.
“I’m going out now to have someone gather news. When she crawls back home begging for mercy, I’ll break her legs for sure!” Yu Minwu strode out with large, determined steps.
At the doorway.
A young girl stood quietly, in stark contrast to the Yu Family’s chaos. She appeared serene yet eerie, invisible to everyone around her.
Dressed in white robes resembling mourning clothes, they enveloped her slender, delicate frame. Her eyes, distinctively black and white, held an unusually profound and captivating depth.
As Yu Minwu stormed past her, the Gui Qi beneath San Qi’s feet extended tendrils, lashing out like a whip and striking Yu Minwu’s leg with a sharp swish.
“Ah!!” Yu Minwu fell to his knees with a thud, clutching his leg and wailing in agony. The sudden pain reminded him of the torment he had endured when he fell from a horse and broke his leg.
No! This was even more excruciating than before! Yu Minwu felt as though his entire right leg was being trampled repeatedly by a crazed horse.
San Qi watched him with a mocking gaze. Was this all he could endure?
Back when Yu Minwu had broken his leg and was writhing in unbearable pain, it was she who had intervened, transferring the agony onto herself. Now, she was merely returning a fraction of that pain to him.
Yu Minwu pounded the ground in agony, but the pain came and went as quickly as it had arrived.
After howling a couple of times, he fell silent, panting heavily as he lay sprawled on the floor, bewildered and uneasy. The commotion startled Yu Tang and Yu Minwen, who rushed out to see what had happened.
“Second Brother, are you alright?”
“N-no, I’m fine,” Yu Minwu muttered sheepishly as he scrambled to his feet. “I just tripped and fell.”
Yu Minwen frowned disapprovingly. “You’re a martial artist. How could a mere fall make you cry out like that? What if you frightened Father and Mother?”
Yu Minwu flushed with embarrassment, nodding awkwardly in agreement. He stared at his leg, a strange sense of dread creeping over him.
That pain had been far too bizarre!
Just then, a maid from Yu Tang’s side hurried over to deliver a message, her face beaming with joy. “Miss, Young Master Chu has brought a physician to visit.”
The three siblings of the Yu Family perked up, their expressions brightening with delight.
“True friendship is revealed in times of adversity. Young Master Chu truly values loyalty!”
Chu Yuebai, the heir of Boyuan Houfu, was also San Qi’s nominal fiancé.
Hearing of his arrival, a knowing glint flashed in San Qi’s eyes. Chu Yuebai’s visit at this time was likely not merely an act of “offering help in times of need”—he was probably here for that thing as well…
She glanced at Yu Tang’s face, which was flushed with the infatuation of a young maiden, and smiled playfully.
Well, wasn’t the show about to begin?