In the blink of an eye, another year had passed. During this year, although she and Li Baozhu had become engaged, their interactions had not been frequent. The main reason was to avoid suspicion. Occasionally, Li Baozhu would bring her some fish he caught from the river, or when the two happened to meet in the mountains, he would give her a bundle of firewood.
She did not want to be criticized, nor did she want to earn a reputation for being a young girl unable to endure loneliness, throwing herself at men before marriage.
She valued her reputation carefully. There were always people who loved to gossip and ruin others’ names. Even if most people did not believe it, it did not stop rumors from spreading.
Such people might not necessarily be evil; rather, they were often those whose own lives were not going well and who could not stand seeing others doing well. Human nature often resented the happiness of others, as though their own suffering became lighter that way.
Whenever she met Li Baozhu in the village, Zhou Qingling could tell that he liked her. A person’s eyes never lied.
Li Baozhu, like a shy young man, would scratch his head whenever he saw her, not knowing what to say.
Zhou Qingling found him somewhat endearing. Although she had long passed the age of naive romantic confusion, she could not help but admit that youthful feelings were the purest.
In June, the heat was unbearable, and waves of scorching air rolled through the atmosphere.
The fire starter in her storage space had been used up, and the eggs were gone as well. In a few days, the crops would need harvesting again, and by then she would have to endure another round of hardship.
After going to town to buy supplies, Zhou Qingling also bought two chickens, planning to stew them later when she had time to restore her strength.
On the way back to the village, seeing that no one was around, she slipped into a field and placed her purchases into her storage space. It was a pity that the storage space could not hold living creatures; otherwise, raising poultry inside would have been perfect.
But then she thought again—one should not be greedy. She already possessed a treasure that countless people could only dream of. She should be content.
She changed back into her patched clothing and then exited the storage space.
It was now the shichen of Wei, around two o’clock in the afternoon. The sun was scorching. She did not want to be outside at this time, but only at this hour did she have the chance.
Zhou Qingling was drenched in heat, almost as if she were melting. The road ahead was empty, and with only about a li left before reaching the village entrance, she quickened her pace.
She did not realize that danger was slowly approaching.
A carriage came from a distance. The person inside was the Second Master of the Ding Family, Ding Yaoren.
Ding Yaoren had just come out of a restaurant, smelling strongly of alcohol, but he was in good spirits because he had just closed a business deal—one that involved his personal assets.
Once this deal was completed, a considerable income would be secured.
The Ding Family patriarch had many children. Ding Yaoren, being born of a concubine rather than the main wife, was a concubine-born son, and thus most of the family fortune did not belong to him.
Because of this, he secretly invested in private ventures outside. Although he behaved recklessly in private life, with countless concubines, maidservants, and attendants, he was quite skilled in business—perhaps inheriting his father’s talent. Over the years, he had accumulated considerable wealth, otherwise he would not have been able to support so many women.
When Zhou Qingling heard the sound of carriage wheels behind her, she immediately stepped aside to give way.
At that time, carriages and sedan chairs bore family insignia so they could be identified, much like license plates today.
When she saw the character “Ding” on the carriage, her heart sank. She remembered that in the original novel, the household that killed the original owner also had the surname Ding. Could it really be such a coincidence? Her heart began to pound violently.
The wind lifted the carriage curtain, and Ding Yaoren happened to meet Zhou Qingling’s bright, deer-like eyes. He did not expect such a delicate young girl to exist in a rural place.
He was in a very good mood today. He planned to stay at an estate tonight and was just worrying about the lack of female company—yet here was one delivered to him.
He immediately ordered the carriage to stop. A servant lifted the curtain, and at a glance from Ding Yaoren, the servant understood and jumped down.
Seeing the carriage stop, Zhou Qingling felt a strong sense of unease.
A thin, monkey-like man walked toward her, his eyes filled with lechery.
Was fate’s wheel turning ahead of time? Was she still unable to escape this calamity?
There was no one around in front or behind her. Even if she cried for help, no one would hear her. She could not outrun the man. Zhou Qingling immediately ran into the field, hoping for even a sliver of survival.
But she had underestimated the man’s speed and agility.
Just as she reached the edge of the field ridge, she was grabbed.
At that moment, she truly understood how terrifying the difference in strength between men and women was.
Although the man looked thin, his strength was immense. She had no ability to resist as he seized her arm and dragged her toward the carriage.
Zhou Qingling had never felt such helpless fear in her life. She wished her storage space’s spring could increase her strength. At that moment, she longed desperately for martial skills, so she would not be at the mercy of others.
She knew that in ancient times there was no true equality before the law. Class divisions were severe, and people like them were no more than ants in the eyes of the powerful. The saying that “even princes break the law like commoners” was nothing more than a lie used to placate the masses.
But she never imagined such people would openly abduct someone in broad daylight. In their eyes, imperial law seemed no different from waste paper.
Relying on the Zhou Family to seek justice was impossible. Against the powerful, they would likely be silenced with a bit of silver.
Her instinct drove her to call for help, but suddenly a heavy blow struck the back of her neck, and she lost consciousness.
When she woke again, it was already dark. Candles were lit inside the room.
She immediately checked her body—there were no abnormalities, and she was still wearing her tattered clothes. Before she could breathe in relief, her heart leapt into her throat as she instinctively backed away.
A man was undressing, casually hanging his robe on a wooden rack. When he noticed movement on the bed, he turned to look but said nothing.
In his eyes, she was like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
As he approached, Zhou Qingling quickly jumped off the bed and hid in a corner of the room.
Her body pressed rigidly against a tall table holding porcelain vases, trembling uncontrollably.
“Don’t come any closer.” Zhou Qingling said sharply, though her voice shook violently.
The man sneered, clearly unconcerned. Instead, he said with interest: “Oh? Quite a fiery temper. I like that. You won’t be so fierce once you’re on the bed.”
He lunged at her.
Zhou Qingling grabbed an object and threw it at him. The man dodged slightly, and the porcelain vase crashed to the ground.
“Damn it, you ungrateful little bitch.” the man cursed, his expression turning vicious.
The room was small. After only a few evasions, he caught her, struck her face hard, and dragged her toward the bed. Her cheek burned with pain, and she could see his lips moving, though she could not hear any sound.
In the next moment, he forced her onto the bed.
Only one thought remained in her mind—she had to escape.
Somehow, she pulled a kitchen knife from her storage space and swung it with all her strength toward his neck, as if chopping firewood.
The man had no time to react. He had not expected a blade to appear suddenly in her hand.
Blood sprayed across her face and clothes.
The man widened his eyes in shock, unable to understand what had happened.
Half his neck was severed, his head hanging at a grotesque angle. He tried to point at her, but no sound came out.
Zhou Qingling stood trembling, both hands gripping the knife, breathing heavily, staring at him.
Only when he collapsed to the ground did he begin to crawl toward the door, though he could not move at all. After struggling for a while, he finally stopped breathing, his eyes still fixed on the exit.
It was unknown how much time passed before Zhou Qingling, as if drained of her soul, collapsed onto the ground.
Even now, she could still feel the sensation of the blade cutting through flesh. She would never forget it.
She had killed someone. She had actually killed someone.
Blood covered the floor, still spreading. She could not stop herself from retching.
She pulled the bedding from the bed and covered the body, then entered her storage space.
She curled into a tight ball, hugging her knees, burying her head, as if trying to hide herself from the world.
After an unknown amount of time—perhaps an hour, perhaps two, or longer—she finally calmed down.
Her legs were numb and without feeling. She staggered to the spiritual spring and drank two large mouthfuls, thinking about what to do next.
Even if she had to hide in the storage space forever, she would not go to prison or face execution. Escape was her worst option, but still an option.
However, she knew that unless she hid deep in the mountains forever, she would eventually be discovered. Without household registration papers in this era, she would be treated as a vagrant and severely punished if caught.
Thus, she needed a plan—and she needed to return to Yangliu Village quickly.
First, she had to create an alibi.
Second, she had to deal with anyone who had seen her.
Third, she had to leave this place safely.
For someone unarmed like her, each step was extremely difficult—but it had to be done.
The corpse was easy to handle—she could simply place it in the storage space. But a missing living person would still trigger an investigation, so she needed a complete solution.