“How pitiful.” An elderly woman sighed as she tore up paper money and tossed it into the fire.

Getting down from the carriage, Shen Guiyan looked around and crouched beside the woman to ask, “Excuse me, whose funeral is this?”

The woman turned to look at her attire and her expression changed. Frightened, she immediately dropped the paper money and ran. The surrounding people also looked over, and seeing her silk and brocade clothing, they reacted as if they had seen a ghost, backing away while some discussed amongst themselves.

“It’s her, isn’t it? She was here yesterday too.”

“Isn’t that right? Sixi always said she was a good person.”

“Good intentions leading to bad outcomes…”

Shen Guiyan listened in confusion. She stepped forward wanting to ask, but those people scattered as quickly as receding tide.

Left with no choice, Shen Guiyan could only take Baoshan to find Sixi’s home.

The further they walked, the more paper money there was. An ominous premonition grew in her heart. When she reached Sixi’s doorway, that premonition became reality.

Three corpses lay at the entrance of the house, covered with white cloth—two adults and one child.

Shen Guiyan’s eyes widened sharply.

Her breathing stopped for quite a while before she dared to carefully step forward and reach out to lift the shortest white cloth.

The little girl with horn-shaped buns had no color in her face. Blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, her face covered in wounds, already cold. Her once rosy cheeks were now purple and blue, her clear eyes already closed.

Lifting the cloth a bit more, her small body was covered entirely in injuries. Her clothing had been slashed by something, flesh mangled and bloody.

Unable even to draw breath, Shen Guiyan stared blankly at Sixi’s corpse, completely losing the ability to think.

“How could this happen?” Baoshan cried out in disbelief.

The people in this village were all harmonious, all refugees from one place who had come seeking shelter together. With this family of three all dead, the village chief personally handled the funeral arrangements nearby. He had been watching from the moment this master and servant entered. Only after Shen Guiyan finished looking at Sixi’s body did he walk over and say:

“Fourth Young Madam Gu.”

Shen Guiyan stared at Sixi, still unable to come back to her senses.

The village chief sighed. “You are our great benefactor. Back then, without you distributing congee, half our village wouldn’t have survived. On behalf of everyone, I thank you, Madam.”

As he spoke, he knelt down before Shen Guiyan.

Her eyes moved slightly. Shen Guiyan turned her head to look at him in a daze.

“But if I may speak frankly,” the village chief said, kneeling on the ground. “When Madam frequently comes to places like ours, it does us no good, even if you mean well. You’ve seen it yourself—Sixi’s family of three, not one left.”

“…Why?” After a long time, Shen Guiyan finally opened her mouth to ask. “How did they die?”

The village chief closed his eyes. “This morning several officials came with large sabers. They entered the house and started hacking wildly. Sixi’s father tried to protect the mother and daughter and was the first to be cut down. Sixi’s mother also had her throat slashed with one stroke. Poor little Sixi, usually so clever and adorable, was hacked by the official’s saber over twenty times. We watched but not one of us could go in to save her.”

It was as if fresh blood splattered before her eyes. Shen Guiyan opened her mouth and bit down on the back of her hand.

Baoshan’s eyes also reddened behind her. Among all the children at the school, Sixi had been the most lively and adorable. She was still just a child—why would she die so miserably?

“What color were the official robes?”

The village chief was helped up by someone beside him. After thinking, he said, “Blue trim, dark gray base, with an iron ring in the middle of the official’s hat.”

“I understand.” Shen Guiyan looked down at Sixi. Something warm from her eyes fell with a plop onto the small face.

Bending down and reaching out, Shen Guiyan directly lifted Sixi’s body into her arms.

“Madam!” The village chief was startled. “What are you doing? Quickly put her down. Sixi is already…”

“If not for me, she wouldn’t have died.” Shen Guiyan said in a low voice. “I must seek justice for her.”

“What use is seeking justice? The dead are dead.” The village chief sighed. “If you make more trouble, you’ll only keep them from resting peacefully even in death.”

“No.” Shen Guiyan shook her head, struggling to carry Sixi as she walked outside. “If I don’t seek justice, then they won’t rest peacefully!”

And she herself would never have peace of mind for the rest of her life.

Blue trim with dark gray base official robes, with an iron ring in the middle of the hat—those belonged to the Yuwen household. How could she have been so foolish to truly believe the Empress would just let it go and not retaliate?

She had overestimated Wen Xiuli.

Her whole body gradually began to tremble. Her ears rang and she couldn’t hear anything. Shen Guiyan carried Sixi’s body onto the carriage, startling the coachman. “Young Madam, this…”

“Go to General Yuwen’s residence.”

The coachman paused, looked at Shen Guiyan’s expression, and nodded.

The child in her arms was heavy and cold. Shen Guiyan’s throat felt blocked by something, and tears kept falling.

“Being clever is a good thing, but being too obvious about it is dangerous. Do you understand?”

“Today, This Palace merely wanted to teach you how to know your place. I won’t do anything else.”

She had harmed Sixi. She shouldn’t have had Sixi speak to the Emperor, shouldn’t have taught her those folk songs, and even more, shouldn’t have forgotten to protect them. A family of three lost their lives because of her. Sixi had said she wanted to continue playing eagle catches chickens with the children at school…

It was all her fault.

Her eyes bloodshot, Shen Guiyan clutched Sixi’s body tightly. As soon as they arrived at the Yuwen residence, she rushed down and charged inside.

“What business does Madam have?” The gatekeeper came to stop her. Shen Guiyan took a deep breath. “Fourth Young Madam of the Gu family, requesting to see General Yuwen.”

Yuwen Changqing nearly fell off the roof. Hearing the servant’s report, he asked again, “Fourth Young Madam Gu?”

“Exactly.” The servant said. “It’s just that she…”

Just that she what? Yuwen Changqing quickly ran toward the gate. When he was almost there, he stopped, straightened his clothing, and walked out slowly.

“Fourth Young Madam Gu…”

Before he could finish his greeting, he was met with a pair of bloodshot eyes.

Yuwen Changqing was startled, then saw what was in her arms.

It was actually a corpse.

What was this about? Yuwen Changqing frowned, restraining his expression as he stepped forward to look at the body in Shen Guiyan’s arms. “Why has Young Madam brought this to my residence?”

Shen Guiyan looked straight at him. Whether from waiting too long or because the body was too heavy, her entire body had stiffened, and her voice was somewhat hoarse. “A life for a life!”

Yuwen Changqing was baffled. “Who killed this little girl?”

“Sixi’s family of three were killed this morning by your residence’s guards.” Shen Guiyan laughed lightly. “General Yuwen dared to do it—why won’t you acknowledge it?”

Yuwen Changqing was very confused. Seeing Shen Guiyan’s trembling state, he thought she must be mad with anger and hurriedly explained, “I have not yet left the residence today. There must be some misunderstanding. Young Madam, why not come inside first and put down the deceased before we talk? How about that?”

Baoshan stepped forward to help Shen Guiyan carry Sixi inside. She followed behind in a daze, passing through the magnificent front courtyard of the Yuwen residence and entering the main hall. Her stiffened body was pressed into a chair, and a cup of hot tea was placed in her hands.