The first year of the Minghe era, Winter Solstice.
A sudden fire broke out at the Chengen Marquis Mansion. The wind was fierce that night, fanning the flames until the sky over half the capital was stained crimson.
By the time the crowd arrived, the fire towered toward the heavens, making it impossible for anyone to enter.
Strangely, however, only the sound of the wind and the roar of the flames emanated from the mansion. Not a single human cry of agony could be heard.
There was only a woman’s shrill, triumphant laughter piercing the long night.
It was enough to send chills down one’s spine.
The fire burned all night. Not a single person from the Chengen Marquis Mansion survived.
The incident caused an uproar throughout the city, and the commoners could not help but sigh in sorrow.
“I heard it was a vengeful ghost seeking lives.”
“Bah, what ghost? My uncle works at the yamen; he said it was done by that concubine in the Marquis Mansion. She even cut off the heads of the Marquis and his wife!”
“I know that one… the seductive-looking concubine, right? She was wicked and overbearing. Not only did she bully her sisters, but I heard she often dallied with other men outside! If she hadn’t threatened suicide to force her way into the mansion alongside her cousin, she wouldn’t have even been fit to be a concubine!”
“Exactly. That poor Chengen Marquis Mansion…”
…
Jiang Yu let out a low groan, her entire body burning with heat.
Was she not dead yet? Had the fire not finished burning?
It was so hot, yet it wasn’t the pain of flames licking her skin. Rather, it was a type of… restlessness deep within her body.
Something was wrong!
She snapped her eyes open.
The sight of a clean bed canopy met her gaze. The room was simple but tidy, and the faint, lingering scent of sandalwood drifted into her nose.
Where was this?
She forced herself up, but her body was weak and limp. Every movement made her dizzy, and the internal heat was unbearable.
This was… Lingquan Temple.
It was the place where she had been set up, drugged, and lost her virtue.
The door was pushed open, and a silk-clad scoundrel walked in. Their eyes met, and both were stunned.
The scoundrel took a step back, but his eyes stayed glued to the woman on the bed.
The woman’s long hair was loose, and she wore no makeup, yet her features were exquisite and her skin like porcelain. Just looking at her made his heart race.
What is there to fear? She’s already drugged. It’s not like she can run. It’s even better that she’s awake; it’ll be more flavorful.
Thinking this, he stepped inside again and pulled the door shut, locking it tight.
“Little lady… Big brother is here.”
This man… this was the son of the Vice Minister of War who had defiled her in her past life, the one she had later drowned in a pond with her own hands.
Xue Ji.
Had she… been reborn?
In her past life, she and Xue Ji were caught in bed together. The Old Madame of the Chengen Marquis Mansion had cursed her for being shameless and demanded that Gu Yanchuan break the engagement.
Amidst the chaos, Gu Yanchuan had firmly insisted he believed she wasn’t that kind of person. She had been deeply moved. Even when he later proposed making her a concubine, she had sympathized with his difficult position and agreed.
Little did she know, it was all a conspiracy.
She hadn’t learned the truth until she was dying of a heavy illness in her previous life. Her entire life had been nothing more than a joke!
In the end, she had risked everything to perish along with the Chengen Marquis Mansion.
To her surprise, she had opened her eyes and returned to this moment.
In this life, she would never follow the same path again!
She bit her tongue hard. The metallic taste of blood spread through her mouth, and the sharp pain cleared her mind significantly.
Xue Ji had already walked to the bedside, a lewd look on his face.
“Little lady, don’t be anxious, brother will dote on you…”
Xue Ji was a man of perverse temperament due to a hidden physical ailment; he took pleasure in torturing women.
Jiang Yu’s gaze turned fierce. Reaching behind her, her hand fumbled until she found a fallen hairpin.
As Xue Ji leaned over to reach for her, Jiang Yu lunged upward and drove the pin into his neck!
Xue Ji was caught completely off guard. His eyes widened instantly. He clutched at the wound, gasping for air as he tried to push Jiang Yu away to call for help.
Jiang Yu naturally wouldn’t give him the chance to react. She used all her strength to drive the hairpin even deeper.
Xue Ji let out two gurgling sounds and drew his last breath.
Jiang Yu stumbled off the bed. Grabbing the hairpin, she stabbed him several more times until her hands were covered in blood. Only after confirming that Xue Ji was dead did she breathe a sigh of relief, but the heat within her body surged again.
Her body felt weak and she staggered, yet a satisfied, triumphant smile played on her lips.
Soon, her “dear sister” would lead people here to catch her in the act.
In her past life, she had become the “shameless slut” who seduced men in a sacred Buddhist temple, the most notorious woman in the capital. Meanwhile, her cousin had used her as a stepping stone to build a virtuous reputation and marry into the Chengen Marquis Mansion in her place.
This time, they wouldn’t have such good luck!
She glanced once more at Xue Ji’s corpse on the bed, its eyes still open in death. She pulled the bed curtains to hide him and stumbled out the door.
Thanks to her sister’s careful arrangements, there was no one outside the meditation room.
Jiang Yu was dizzy, and her breath was scorching. She forced herself toward the bamboo forest of Lingquan Temple.
She had heard before that deep within the bamboo forest in the back courtyard of Lingquan Temple, there was a Pure Water Spring that was said to cure all toxins.
She had scoffed at the rumor before, but now, she would treat a dead horse as if it were alive and give it a try.
Even if it couldn’t neutralize the drug, soaking in the water would clear her head and help her endure the effects.
By the time she swayed her way to the edge of the Pure Water Spring, her body had reached its limit. She collapsed at the water’s edge.
Before her, the tranquil ripples shimmered under the moonlight, exuding a cold aura. There was no fishy smell of ordinary pond water; instead, there was a faint medicinal fragrance.
Jiang Yu exhaled a scorching breath. Impatiently shedding her outer robe, she dove headfirst into the spring.
She had lived in the south as a child and was an excellent swimmer. She moved through the water like a fish, heading toward the source of the spring.
However, before she could reach the spring’s eye, someone grabbed her ankle!
Jiang Yu was struck with horror. In this Buddhist sanctuary, could there be a water ghost?
Her drug-addled brain hadn’t quite processed the thought before she was suddenly pulled into a somewhat cold embrace.
Under her hand, she felt firm muscles.
Jiang Yu looked up. Under the moonlight, she saw the face of an incredibly beautiful man.
With his long hair flowing in the water, he looked like a seductive ghost.
Even though Jiang Yu didn’t believe in gods or ghosts, she was startled.
But she quickly realized this wasn’t a ghost; it was a person.
She could feel the erratic heartbeat beneath her palm.
The man’s body was ice-cold. His eyes were tightly shut, and a thin layer of frost hung from his long eyelashes. He didn’t seem to be conscious; he had likely grabbed her, a heat source, out of a subconscious reaction to the cold.
The heat that had briefly cooled surged back even more violently due to the man’s proximity. Jiang Yu struggled with her remaining sanity, but she couldn’t break free.
Instead, she felt a certain part of him pressing against her grow warm.
This man seemed senseless, yet his body had a reaction?
Was he a living corpse?
Jiang Yu gritted her teeth. Her consciousness was beginning to fade.
This man wasn’t ugly, and his physique was excellent. It wasn’t a loss!
This man falling from the sky must be a gift from the Buddha to save her. She would use him first and worry later!
Her consciousness surrendered completely. She turned and climbed onto him, pinning the man against the edge of the spring…
The ripples in the spring continued to sway for a full half-hour.
Jiang Yu had wanted to stop long ago, but to her surprise, the “living corpse” actually had some modicum of awareness. Every time she tried to pull away, she was dragged back…
Jiang Yu’s face heated up at the memory. With weak legs, she climbed out of the spring and put on her clothes, then looked back once.
Under the moonlight, the man was half-submerged in the water. The frost on his lashes had melted, and his face bore a faint flush. Even the cinnabar mole at the corner of his left eye seemed more vivid.
His features were as beautiful as a painting, his elegance breathtaking.
—What a handsome man.
However, their intersection ended here.
Jiang Yu calculated the time in her head. Pulling on her hood, she turned and left.
She didn’t notice the man’s eyelashes behind her trembling slightly, as if he were about to wake.