The backyard of Longyue Nunnery, outskirts of the capital.
The howling cold wind seeped through the window cracks, chilling one to the bone.
Su Leyun knelt on a prayer cushion in plain gray robes, her fingers gently turning prayer beads as she silently recited scriptures.
Since being expelled by her husband’s family, she had spent half a year in self-reflection at Longyue Nunnery. Gone was the hysteria of her early days; her heart had now settled into a state of calm.
All that had happened was fate, and she could not blame others.
Only toward her mother, elder brother, and maternal grandfather did she harbor deep regret.
When her mother fell gravely ill, she was already married and confined within the narrow confines of the Li family, unable to attend to her mother’s bedside or even see her one last time.
Her grandfather, Sun Shao, had been framed by others and, despite his advanced age, was sent to the battlefield, where he and her brother fought and died. Their bodies had yet to be recovered…
In this world, those who truly cared for her were all gone.
The door creaked open from the outside.
A haughty woman’s voice accompanied the sound of light footsteps.
“A noble daughter of a marquis’ household reduced to the countryside, having her splendid birthright snatched away by me for fourteen years. And now, fallen to such a state, at the mercy of others. How laughable…”
Su Leyun’s fingers paused slightly on the prayer beads.
Su Wan’er raised her hand, signaling the guards to bring the people forward.
“Let go of me! Let go!”
Two maids, also dressed in plain gray robes, struggled as the guards tightly gripped their arms and forced them into the room.
“Lianxin! Cuiliu.”
Su Leyun’s eyes trembled with shock. “If you have any grievances, direct them at me. There’s no need to trouble these two maids.”
Su Wan’er pinched her chin, her gaze venomously fixed on Su Leyun’s face, which, despite being free of makeup, remained strikingly beautiful. A sinister smile curled at the corners of her lips as she coldly ordered the guards.
“Kill them!”
As her words fell, a long sword pierced through Cuiliu’s chest. Blood dripped from the grayish-white coarse cloth of her robe onto the ground, quickly pooling into a small puddle. Cuiliu lost her vitality in an instant.
Su Leyun, powerless to resist, had her hands twisted behind her back by the guards and was forced down beside Lianxin.
Her eyes were filled with sorrow, yet also a fierce determination to fight to the end.
“Su Wan’er, though I was expelled by the Li family to Longyue Nunnery, Li Rui has not divorced me. I am still the wife of a Hanlin Academy scholar. For what you have done today, I will make sure you pay the price.”
Su Wan’er laughed heartily, her gaze filled with disdain.
“The wife of a scholar? Do you think the Li family will stand up for you?”
“Do you know why Rui-gege suddenly agreed to marry you? Because I complained to him, telling him how you, relying on your status as the legitimate daughter, bullied me day after day at home. He married you into the Li residence to make my life easier.”
Su Leyun was stunned. So that was the reason. No wonder, ever since their marriage, he had refused to touch her and had fabricated false charges to expel her from the Li residence.
Seeing Su Leyun’s devastated expression, Su Wan’er’s smile grew even more triumphant. She drew a dagger from her sleeve and slowly drove it into Lianxin.
“Mmm…”
Lianxin clenched her teeth, refusing to cry out in pain.
Su Leyun’s eyes widened in fury, but she was held firmly in place by the guards.
“Don’t worry, dear sister. It will be your turn soon.”
Su Wan’er pulled out the dagger, and the cold blade pressed against Su Leyun’s face, tracing a fine line. Blood trickled down her fair skin, yet Su Leyun seemed not to feel the pain, her gaze fixed intently on Su Wan’er.
“You are the last of the Sun family. Only with your death can we rest easy.”
Su Leyun forced herself to remain calm, her mind racing.
Her grandfather, Sun Shao, was a dignified general who protected the nation, upright and loyal, dedicating his heart and soul to his duty. How could he have been framed without reason?
My elder brother was a righteous and straightforward man, well-versed in military strategy since childhood. At thirteen, he followed our grandfather to the borderlands to gain experience. With such rich experience, how could he have been so reckless for personal glory, leading to the annihilation of the entire army?
Now that I think about it, the deaths of my grandfather and brother are shrouded in strangeness…
“Did you have something to do with Grandfather’s death?”
Su Leyun’s gaze turned icy as she questioned Su Wan’er.
“I don’t have that much power. He only has himself to blame for siding with the wrong faction and meddling in matters he shouldn’t have.”
Su Wan’er gave a venomous smile, speaking with pride.
“Hah, since you’re about to die, I might as well say a little more. Although Sun Shao’s matter had nothing to do with me, your mother’s death was my doing.”
“Pitiful her, lingering on her sickbed, still waiting to see you one last time.”
“Su Wan’er, she was still your mother! How could you do it!”
Su Leyun’s eyes widened with fury, bloodstains crisscrossing her face, making her look utterly terrifying.
“Who told her she only had eyes for you! This isn’t my fault. Blame yourself for coming back—you should have rotted away in Li Family Village!”
Gnashing her teeth, Su Wan’er turned the dagger around and plunged it fiercely into Su Leyun’s chest.
An intense pain erupted. Su Leyun was thrown to the ground like a ragged cloth by the guards, her eyes filled with seething hatred as she stared in the direction Su Wan’er had left.
She hated! She hated!
As blood drained away and her body grew cold, Su Leyun’s consciousness blurred. In her final moments, her gaze fell upon the Buddha statue on the table.
…………
Jingzhou City, an inn, Room Tianzi No. 1.
“Cold, so cold.”
The candlelight flickered, and the bathwater, scattered with rose petals, had turned icy. A pale, frail girl, naked and leaning against the tub, hugged her shoulders tightly, shivering with her eyes closed.
Su Leyun trembled dazedly, faintly hearing two female voices deliberately lowered.
“The legitimate daughter has returned. What will happen to the one at home now?”
“The old madam said everything remains as before. We’ll just treat her as the second young miss.”
“She’s the trueborn legitimate daughter, yet now she has to rank behind the adopted daughter as the second young miss. The old madam is truly biased.”
“It’s not that the old madam is biased. Just look at the one inside—her speech and appearance aren’t even as refined as us high-born maids, let alone compared to Miss Wan’er!”
Long lashes fluttered like butterfly wings as her eyes slowly opened, shifting from confusion to clarity.
Surveying the simple furnishings of the inn around her, Su Leyun curled her lips into a cold smile.
Heaven has shown mercy, granting her a chance to start anew!