Chapter 1: Fire

It was the twenty-eighth night of the first month of the twenty-third year of Qingde, and the night was already deep.

A small mountain village outside Liangzhou City was pitch black, with every household closing their doors and extinguishing their lights. Only occasionally did moonlight pierce through the thick clouds and fall upon the ground…

Above a courtyard in the east of the village, a faint red glow flickered, casting a bloody hue on the thick clouds, creating a suffocating scene that caused the dogs in the village to bark incessantly.

A room in the corner of the courtyard was already engulfed in flames, the crackling sound of burning wood was incessant.

Crackle, crackle, crackle!

Urgent pounding on the door could be faintly heard from inside the room.

“Open the door! It’s on fire! Cough… Is anyone there? Help me!! Cough…”

Bai Jinxi was awakened by the thick smoke. When she opened her eyes, she found herself surrounded by fire. Tiandong, who should have been serving her by the bed, was nowhere to be seen.

She didn’t bother putting on her robe, jumped out of bed, and rushed towards the door, only to find in despair that the door had been locked…

“Help! Tiandong! Are you out there? Save me!”

She desperately pounded on the door, shaking it violently, making the copper lock on the door clang.

There were more than a dozen servants in the manor, but no one came to help put out the fire.

“Please, let me out! Cough, cough, cough!” The woman coughed incessantly, the thick smoke choking her, making it difficult to breathe.

The hand that pounded on the door gradually lost its strength. Bai Jinxi slumped to the ground, continuing to plead for help in despair and stubbornness.

The fire around her was getting closer, the scorching flames burned her hair, and the silk nightgown she was wearing while sleeping had melted and clung tightly to her skin. She could even hear the sizzling sound of her skin being burned…

“Ah!!!”

The excruciating pain caused Bai Jinxi to curl up on the ground, letting out a terrifying scream.

Some maidservants, unable to bear the sight, lowered their heads and stole glances at the beautiful woman standing in the middle of the courtyard.

She was a noblewoman, about thirty-five or six years old, well-preserved. She wore a black cloud fox fur cloak, revealing a pair of maroon sheepskin boots underneath. The flickering flames reflected on her face, her eyes were dark and unclear.

She looked at the house engulfed in flames with no expression, listening to the screams and pleas for help from within, a faint smile curled at the corner of her lips.

After a while, the screams from inside the house grew weaker and gradually ceased.

“Madam, it seems to be quiet now.”

A young maid walked up to her and said softly.

The noblewoman nodded slightly, signaling for the servants around her to start putting out the fire. After all, it was their own property, and it wouldn’t be good if the fire spread to the nearby houses.

Creak…

The charred wooden door was opened from the outside. A piece of charcoal was visible, with only a dark shadow curled up on the ground by the door.

The shadow was no longer human. Its hair had turned to ash, its entire body was scorched and charred, and it was impossible to tell whether it was skin or the remains of a nightgown.

Bai Jinxi heard the sound of the door opening, and a cool breeze blew in from above. She struggled to raise her head and saw the noblewoman, with a cold expression, holding a hand warmer outside the door…

“Ugh… ugh…” She forced out a gurgling sound from her throat.

The scorching smoke had almost burned her vocal cords, and she couldn’t speak even with all her might.

She wanted to ask why?!

Why would her aunt, who had always loved her, leave her to die?

“Oh, you’re not dead yet? You have a tough life, huh.”

As if noticing her gaze, Yun Moyi took two steps forward. Feeling a wave of heat rushing towards her, she stopped a meter away from the door with a look of disgust.

Seeing Bai Jinxi staring fixedly at her, Aunt Yun sneered and said, “You want to ask – why? Why did I kill you?”

“Ugh… ugh” Bai Jinxi squeezed out another sound from her throat, as if in response.

“Of course, it’s because your Bai family owes me, Yun Moyi!” The woman called Aunt Yun’s features twisted for a moment.

“Well, I wanted to let you go. After all, five years ago, your mother knelt down and begged me!”

“At that time, your father fought desperately to hold back the assassins, and your mother almost escaped back to the city. Thankfully, I was waiting on the official road, and I intercepted her.”

Yun Moyi looked crazy, laughing so hard that she couldn’t catch her breath.

“She actually begged me to let you go, haha, what face did that bitch have to beg me?! So, I slashed her face, slice by slice. You don’t know, she died in excruciating pain, haha…”

Bai Jinxi heard that her parents’ deaths were orchestrated by Yun Moyi, her eyes widened instantly. The charred and scabbed eye sockets suddenly cracked, and a drop of red liquid slid down from the corner of her eye, dripping onto the ground, it was unclear whether it was blood or tears.

“All these years, I raised you into a complete fool, you became a concubine for An’er, and even lost the Bai family’s property to me. We should be even now.”

“Unfortunately, the County Princess can’t tolerate you. There’s no other way, I can only wrong you, Sister Xi. You’re so understanding, you should understand Aunt Yun, right?”

Yun Moyi looked at Bai Jinxi with a smug smile, “Well, I’m a kind person. You’re about to die, let me tell you some good news. Tiandong!”

“Yes, Madam, I’m warming the rock sugar snow pear for you. Do you want some now?” A young woman quickly stepped forward, bowing low, with a fawning smile on her face.

“Come and tell your young lady some good news. After all, she loves you the most, and it will give her peace of mind on her way.” Yun Moyi waved her hand nonchalantly.

“Yes… I… Miss Bai, the young master is going to take me as his concubine. I thank Miss Bai for her past kindness.” The woman named Tiandong faced Bai Jinxi, speaking softly, but her gaze kept dodging, not daring to meet her eyes.

“You Bai family are all fools, only Tiandong is smart, she knows how to choose a good tree to perch on.” Yun Moyi sneered, waved her hand, and let Tiandong retreat.

“That half-summer, she found out that An’er embezzled your mother’s dowry to give to the County Princess as a love token. She actually wanted to tell you, thankfully, Tiandong was quick-witted and immediately informed An’er, so they dealt with that bitch in time.”

Bai Jinxi felt her head buzzing, and she saw flashes of half-summer’s smiling round face and her death, with a purplish face and her eyes wide open.

Bai Jinxi’s crimson eyes stared fixedly at Tiandong’s back…

Yes, she was so stupid!

After Yun Moyi moved into the Bai manor, many things happened that were suspicious.

Half-summer had repeatedly reminded her, but she thought she was deliberately trying to sow discord and distanced herself from her.

Tiandong, with her silver tongue, was able to get along well in the manor, gaining her complete trust and affection…

Now, she had betrayed her and climbed higher, was this her retribution…

“Ugh… why…” Perhaps the pain in her heart had overwhelmed the physical pain, Bai Jinxi vaguely uttered a few sounds.

Why? What kind of deep hatred made Yun Moyi’s hatred so profound and bone-deep. At this moment, she just wanted to know why all of this happened.

Why was her parents’ hatred so deep, they never mentioned it to her, otherwise, she wouldn’t have mistaken the wolf for her mother, harming herself and those around her.

“Why?! Of course, that bitch Lin Rong wouldn’t tell you about her shameful past, hmph, go down and ask her yourself!”

Yun Moyi turned around impatiently and walked out of the door.

“Tomorrow is the day my An’er marries the County Princess. You guys throw that unlucky thing to the mass grave!”

“Yes, Madam!” Several servants stepped forward, tied Bai Jinxi’s limbs with hemp rope, and carried her to the mass grave…

Bai Jinxi lay on the mass grave, surrounded by bodies of those who died from the plague and were left unburied. She felt her body temperature dropping, her eyes became heavy, and gradually lost focus.

Today, Yun Moyi’s son married the County Princess, she must be very happy!

She, however, was like a livestock, casually discarded among a pile of corpses, waiting for death alone…

It hurts, it really hurts! My body hurts, and my heart hurts even more!

If there is a next life, I, Bai Jinxi, will do everything in my power to protect everything the Bai family has. I will make Yun Moyi pay for her blood debts!

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“They’re all pitiful people. Take a piece of extra linen and cover them, it’s a way to preserve their dignity as human beings…”

“Yes, Master.”

In the last moments before losing consciousness, Bai Jinxi heard the last words of her life. A clean piece of linen was placed over her…