Miss Zheng slowly opened her eyes.

The scenery before her swayed slightly. She carefully observed for a while before recognizing she was inside a carriage.

She was startled, and the scenes before fainting immediately flooded her mind… entering the Lei residence, hearing the conversation, being pulled into the room, then…

Memories of that part were agonizing as a knife, stabbing viciously into her heart. She closed her eyes and swallowed the blood that surged to her throat.

Skipping that section, her memories of later events were clear—that hateful Beauty Hall female manager, the person she had wholeheartedly wanted to save, still wasn’t satisfied after doing evil deeds and came to personally check, even wanting to stop her from committing suicide. She had pounced on her, strangling her, fiercely strangling this enemy whose flesh she wished to devour and whose skin she wished to tear…

She didn’t know where the strength came from—filled with grief and rage, she only wanted to strangle all shameless, despicable people in the world and burn them clean. That woman gradually weakened under her grip, then…

After that, she couldn’t remember—she seemed to have suddenly fainted…

Miss Zheng was suddenly alarmed and looked around at the carriage decorations. Coming from a prominent family, she could tell at a glance that the carriage was luxuriously decorated, which frightened her even more—she’d heard of places where people were kidnapped, violated, then sold to filthy establishments…

Thinking of this, her face went pale. She bit her teeth—the Zheng family would already be shamed because of her. How could she continue living ignobly and taint the Zheng family’s century-old reputation!

She suddenly stood up, pulled open the window, and prepared to jump out.

Even if it was a cliff outside, she would jump!

She wished it were a cliff outside!

The sound of opening the window alarmed someone. A person poked his head in and saw her gathering her skirts to jump from the window. Startled, he lunged forward to grab her hem, “Miss Zheng, don’t misunderstand! We are your rescuers, sending you home!”

Miss Zheng turned back in alarm, her face starkly white in the dark carriage.

“Prince Li was inspecting Puyang today,” the person quickly explained, “and inadvertently discovered Miss in… dangerous circumstances, so he intervened to rescue you and ordered us to escort Miss home.”

At this time, Miss Zheng saw they were indeed on the road home—the Zheng residence was visible in the distance. She collapsed weakly, staring blankly at the high blue flying eaves of the Zheng residence, tears silently streaming down her face.

That person was very courteous, sighed without asking or looking too much, and lowered the curtain. Soon after, Miss Zheng heard the sound of hoofbeats outside the window—clearly someone had been assigned to guard by the window to prevent her from jumping. The hoofbeats maintained some distance without getting too close, which somewhat comforted her. She felt such conduct was proper and courteous, unlike the reportedly eccentric Prince Li.

They soon reached the Zheng residence. Prince Li’s people were very tactful—they didn’t directly help her down but presented Prince Li’s calling card and requested to see the master of the Zheng household. The Zheng family patriarch and several masters hurriedly came out to receive them after getting the card. That courteous advisor of Prince Li stepped forward to pay respects with great ceremony, and during conversation subtly explained the general situation of Miss Zheng being “deceived and framed by a Beauty Hall manager.” The Zheng patriarch was greatly shocked and immediately ordered the inner courtyard steward to bring out a sedan chair, quietly carrying the young miss directly to the rear courtyard. Soon after, sounds of weeping arose from the inner quarters.

The Prince Li advisor in front didn’t leave but was invited by the Zheng patriarch to remain in the front hall for conversation. During their talk, what had happened to Miss Zheng was tactfully and diplomatically made clear. The Zheng family members became increasingly alarmed and angry as they listened, exchanging glances.

Suddenly there was great commotion from the rear courtyard. Soon a matron came stumbling forward. Master Zheng hurriedly stepped out to meet her, and after hearing a few words, his expression turned ugly. When he returned, he couldn’t even be bothered with pleasantries for the guest, whispering in the patriarch’s ear. A few words could be heard: “…suicide attempt… having people watch her closely…”

The Zheng patriarch’s face turned ashen as he closed his eyes and sighed deeply. Master Zheng whispered more words about what needed to be concealed, but the patriarch suddenly shook his head.

That eloquent Prince Li advisor suddenly stood up, bowing deeply to those above, and under the surprised gazes of the Zheng patriarch and masters, said with composed sincerity, “Please forgive my boldness. I delivered Miss home and lingered in your residence because my lord instructed me to seek Miss Zheng’s hand in marriage.”

Everyone in the hall was shocked. The Zheng patriarch was about to mention that his granddaughter was already betrothed when he suddenly thought of today’s events. This matter absolutely could not and should not be concealed. The Meng royal family branch had an illustrious background—how could they easily accept a daughter-in-law of tainted purity? This marriage was fundamentally impossible now.

However, Prince Li’s reputation… also seemed less than ideal.

The advisor, observing his expression, spoke even more earnestly, “My lord’s rescue of Miss today was merely a small effort. Unexpectedly, after being saved, Miss immediately tried to dash her head against a pillar. Witnessing this, my lord was deeply moved by Miss’s chastity and virtue and wishes to formally propose marriage to make her his principal consort.”

Seeing the Zheng family’s conflicted expressions, he stepped forward and said quietly, “Given the current situation, the betrothal between the Zheng and Meng families can hardly proceed. With the Zheng family’s principles and integrity, you certainly won’t make things difficult for the Meng family. But this leaves Miss Zheng with only suicide or joining a convent as viable paths. Such beauty withering away before ancient Buddha and green lamps—my lord cannot bear to see Miss fall to such circumstances. Now he sincerely and genuinely seeks to marry Miss, unwilling to see such a woman of orchid heart and pure quality innocently devoured by this turbid world. This represents my lord’s compassionate and protective heart. With such consideration from His Lordship, he certainly won’t make things difficult for Miss Zheng in the future. Miss will have lifelong security while avoiding a lifetime of misery—wouldn’t this be good? Patriarch, she is after all the granddaughter you’ve cherished and raised like the apple of your eye…”

That final sentence finally seemed to move the Zheng patriarch. His deeply furrowed wrinkles tightened again, then suddenly relaxed as he sighed deeply and waved his hand to his sons.

The Prince Li advisor’s face lit up with joy. “Then I shall take my leave to report this good news to our lord, so he can prepare gifts and seek matchmakers to formally propose.”

The Prince Li advisor hurried away, leaving the Zheng hall atmosphere tense. After a while, the eldest master of the Zheng family—Miss Zheng’s father—said uneasily, “Father, how do we explain this matter? The wedding is imminent—how do we explain to the Meng family? Moreover, this Prince Li, though today’s advisor was proper and respectful, his usual reputation is truly… inappropriate…”

“How could I not know?” the Zheng patriarch sighed. “But now the betrothal with young Master Meng Hu cannot proceed. If we conceal it and marry her over, when the Meng family discovers later, it will be a catastrophic disaster. If we don’t conceal it, Seventh Girl faces certain death, and the Meng family absolutely won’t marry her. More troubling is that Prince Li insists on marrying Seventh Girl. With words spoken to this extent, if we truly refuse, given his temperament, our Zheng residence would still face catastrophic disaster. In the past, our Zheng family could rely on our scholarly standing and reputation among the pure streams to fearlessly face powerful persecution, but now he is Seventh Girl’s benefactor. To be unreasonable would, when the situation erupts, leave our Zheng family losing both reputation and support—we might not survive…”

Everyone’s expressions grew solemn. The Zheng patriarch sighed deeply, “Go prepare generous gifts and secretly inform the Meng family of this matter in full detail. Break off the engagement!”

Everyone dispersed with sighs. The matron listening below hurriedly turned and rushed into the rear courtyard, informing the women of the men’s decision.

The women didn’t know whether to be happy or troubled—it was salvation from a desperate situation, but there was something unsettling about it. After hearing this, Miss Zheng’s face remained pale, but she said nothing, and her crying gradually ceased.

The women assumed she had come around, thinking that having life was better than having no life. An ordinary woman encountering such matters would face a dead end, but now things had turned around—one could even say blessing came from disaster. Presumably Miss Zheng wouldn’t seek death anymore. They instructed the matron to care for her well and dispersed.

Miss Zheng sat by the window in a daze for a while, then said she was extremely tired and wanted to sleep. The maids and matrons served her, making the bed and watching Miss lie down fully clothed. They lowered the bed curtains and withdrew.

After a while, the courtyard gradually quieted. Miss Zheng slowly sat up on the bed.

The room was filled with golden light from the setting sun. She appeared slender and bright in the light, yet white as plaster—beautiful but lifeless.

She slowly got off the bed, put on soft-soled shoes. Half-lifted bed curtains revealed a bulging bundle of bedding that still appeared to have someone sleeping inside.

Then she quietly stepped outside. Her timing was precise—at this moment, the senior maids were usually in other rooms doing needlework, while the matrons should be fetching dinner from the main kitchen. Most servants were eating in the front, leaving not a soul in the courtyard.

She quietly left the courtyard, choosing secluded paths, circumventing her family’s frequently used garden, walking until she reached what appeared to be a somewhat gloomy bamboo grove on the west side of the compound.

She remembered there was a well in the bamboo grove. Many years ago, a maid had thrown herself into this well. Since then, no one came to this bamboo grove or its vicinity. Being near the back wall, it was very secluded.

She entered the bamboo grove and indeed saw the lonely, moss-covered wellhead, emanating cold air in the dim fragments of sunset light.

The bamboo grove had grown dense from long neglect. Squeezing through narrow gaps between bamboo stalks, cold bamboo leaves scraped across her cheek—their edges sharp, causing slight pain.

But she felt nothing and cared not at all. When life itself didn’t matter, what did appearance count for?

She numbly walked to the wellhead. She vaguely seemed to hear some commotion beyond the wall but didn’t want to pay attention. Like a wandering soul, she sat on the well platform and carefully looked down the well. There was water—deep and profound as an abyss, reflecting her face in broken fragments.

She gazed quietly toward the rear courtyard for a while, then suddenly turned back, feeling as if eyes were focused on her from behind. But behind her were only quiet bamboo shadows, bamboo leaves cutting the remaining sunlight into fragments.

After watching for a while, she silently turned to face another direction and leaned forward toward the well—

“Swish.”

Something flew over with a sharp sound, snapping several bamboo poles with crackling sounds. Her shoulder went numb and suddenly she couldn’t move.

Her body continued tilting forward. Just as she was about to fall stiffly into the well, wind passed overhead. Someone leaped over from beyond the wall, quickly breaking bamboo and wood underfoot, reaching out to support her.

That person helped her down from the well platform and seated her with her back to it, then patted her shoulder to release the pressure point, frowning as he asked, “What’s wrong with you, girl? Why are you trying to kill yourself for no reason?”

As he spoke, his gaze swept up and down, and his brow furrowed again.

Miss Zheng’s gaze slowly returned, and she saw the man before her—around thirty years old, rather thin and dark, with weathered features, but sharp eyes that looked her up and down without lewdness, showing some confusion.

Unable to complete her suicide and instead encountering a strange man in this desolate place—the last thing she wanted to encounter right now was a strange man. She said nothing, stood up, turned, and walked away.

The man also stood but didn’t grab her. Watching her walk a few steps, he suddenly said, “Miss, do you know Miss Zheng?”

Miss Zheng’s body shuddered. Without turning back, her steps quickened.

The man stared at her retreating figure, his gaze falling on the green jade ornament at her waist, saying, “I’ve heard the Zheng family is a scholarly household where misses wear ancient seal script green jade ornaments like the young masters. You must be Miss Zheng’s sister. I am Meng Hu, passing through here, carrying some small gifts from Beauty Hall in the Imperial Capital that I’d like Miss to pass to Miss Zheng.”

As Meng Hu spoke, his dark face reddened somewhat. He knew this request was rather abrupt. Returning to Meng Kingdom and passing the Zheng residence, he had impulsively climbed the wall wanting to glimpse his fiancée. But once atop the wall, he regretted it—such rashness with a family known for strict household management and scholarly traditions might make them look down on such improper behavior. He was about to leave when he encountered someone attempting suicide—how could he not intervene? But explaining this now was inevitably embarrassing, so he rubbed his hands awkwardly, “I know I shouldn’t visit the Zheng residence at this time, but I wanted to see the Zheng residence with my own eyes. Besides, this Beauty Hall incense needs to be used soon—if I wait to return to Meng City to send it over, it might lose its fragrance, so…” He stepped forward earnestly, “I don’t know what troubles Miss has, but in any case, you should open your heart…”

When he announced his name, Miss Zheng had already turned around sharply, biting her lower lip as she looked at him. After hearing his long rambling speech and his twice mentioning Beauty Hall, her face changed drastically. She suddenly interrupted him, saying in a trembling voice, “…Young Master Meng, I am Zheng Xuan.”

“…Know that throughout history, only death has been difficult…” Meng Hu continued his rambling persuasion. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but pause, thought about it, then realized—his fiancée’s name was indeed just the single character “Xuan”!

Then he realized—his fiancée had just been trying to throw herself into the well!

What had happened?

He stood there stunned and bewildered. Before him, bamboo green and verdant, across from him a woman pure as the moon—but it was also a pale, tragic moon without any reunion joy, a thin crescent illuminating desolation and separation.

“Why…” he murmured, his heart filled with bitterness. Did Miss Zheng look down so much on a rough man like him?

He admired scholarly women. That glimpse just now had vaguely felt like moonlight falling on his heart, so when he heard the name Zheng Xuan, his first reaction was wild joy. But upon further reflection came infinite hurt.

The woman across from him said quietly, “Want to know why I tried to kill myself… then first help me kill her…”