In her sleep, Mu Yunjin suddenly felt a sensation of suffocation. She opened her eyes with a start, and in the vast coldness of night, she saw a pair of hands ruthlessly choking her neck.

Almost by instinct, Mu Yunjin immediately grabbed the hands that were choking her. Then with a quick twist, there came the sound of breaking bones…

“Ah—”

A scream of agony pierced the silent night.

Mu Yunjin sat up in bed, and through the intruder’s breathing, she locked her gaze firmly on a particular spot and spoke coldly, “So fragile. Who sent you?”

As she finished speaking, another set of light footsteps sounded outside the door. Then the door was pushed open, bringing flickering flames that finally illuminated the dark room.

“Young Miss, are you alright?”

Mu Yunjin did not answer the newcomer. Instead, with the help of the light, she surveyed her surroundings.

Her brows furrowed as she raised her eyelids and saw before her a young girl holding a lantern and an elderly woman clutching her wrist, grimacing in pain.

…

…

And they were all dressed in ancient clothing.

Lost in thought, Mu Yunjin was secretly perplexed. She remembered accepting a mission, and on the way there, she had encountered a plane crash and explosion. She should have died without a doubt.

Yet why…

“Oh? Aunt Su, why are you here?” The little maid holding the lantern suddenly spoke, looking at the old woman with surprise.

Hearing the little maid speak, Mu Yunjin silently gathered her thoughts and fixed her gaze once more on the old woman.

Unexpectedly, the old woman, being watched by both Mu Yunjin and the little maid, showed no fear. Instead, she spoke through clenched teeth, “The Third Young Miss committed violence in the dead of night and twisted my wrist. I must report this to the master immediately.”

With those words, the old woman struggled to her feet.

Mu Yunjin, who had still been somewhat dazed, suddenly had countless images flashing through her mind when she heard the old woman mention “Third Young Miss.” The pain made her clutch her head.

Mu Yunjin, the Third Young Miss of Minister Mu’s household, the number one beauty in the Western Yuan Kingdom. Yet because she lacked scholarship and was timid by nature, she was despised by her father and confined to this Shihua Pavilion all day, forbidden to go out.

And this old woman before her was the wet nurse of her younger sister by the same mother, Mu Lingzhu—Aunt Su.

Thinking of all this, Mu Yunjin gave a cold smile and met the gaze of Aunt Su, who was looking at her triumphantly. “Such a small matter, Aunt Su. There’s no need to report to Father.”

Aunt Su looked at Mu Yunjin, thinking she was afraid, and became even more emboldened. She simply sat down on a nearby chair, ignoring the pain in her wrist, her eyes gleaming. “Then how does the Third Young Miss plan to resolve the injury to my hand today?”

“Aunt Su, isn’t there some misunderstanding? How could the Young Miss harm your hand without reason?” The maid Zixiang couldn’t help but speak up. She wanted to ask Aunt Su what she was doing in the Young Miss’s room in the middle of the night, but after some thought, she dared not ask.

“Shut up! I am speaking with the Third Young Miss. When did it become your turn to talk?” Aunt Su glared at Zixiang, instinctively wanting to slap her, but her hand was too painful to move.

Seeing this, Zixiang backed away in fear and dared not speak again.

By now, Mu Yunjin had fully processed the fact that her soul had transmigrated to another world. Thinking of the scene when she first woke up, she rubbed her neck where it had been painfully choked.

After a moment, Mu Yunjin’s lips curled into a bloodthirsty smile. She blinked and said, “Zixiang, dawn is approaching. Let me take the trouble today to feed those koi in the lotus pond.”

……

“Splash—”

The quiet lotus pond suddenly rippled with disturbance, accompanied by the sound of splashing water, which seemed particularly noisy in the night.

Mu Yunjin stood at the edge of the lotus pond with her arms crossed. Her gaze fell on the struggling figure in the pond, and the corner of her mouth lifted in a contemptuous smile.

Fortunately, when throwing Aunt Su into the lotus pond, she had gagged her mouth. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be so amusing now.

Beside her, Zixiang watched the scene with a face pale with fear. She turned her head to look at Mu Yunjin and saw that she was smiling. In that instant, Zixiang felt that the person before her was not the Mu Yunjin she had known.

“Young Miss, while Aunt Su still has breath, shall we pull her out?” Zixiang asked hesitantly, glancing at Mu Yunjin.

Mu Yunjin chuckled lightly, her gaze still fixed on Aunt Su. “Pull her out? So she can go report us? Then perhaps it would be us thrown into the lotus pond next.”

Mu Yunjin’s words startled Zixiang again, who was completely surprised that such words would come from Mu Yunjin’s mouth.

It seemed she didn’t know her Young Miss as well as she thought.

Mu Yunjin glanced at Zixiang from the corner of her eye. This maid had grown up with her since childhood. Whenever the real Mu Yunjin was bullied, Zixiang often rushed to the front to protect her. She should be trustworthy.

“Let’s go. We can return now.”

“Young Miss, what if the Fourth Young Miss comes looking for us tomorrow?” Zixiang asked worriedly.

“Hmph, I’m afraid she won’t come.”

After walking a few steps, suddenly there was a crisp “clang” sound. Mu Yunjin felt something fall from inside her clothing.

Hearing the sound, Mu Yunjin crouched down and picked up a moon-white jade pendant from the ground. It radiated a white jade glow, bringing a hint of light to the quiet darkness.

Through the white jade light, one could faintly make out the characters “Yun Jin” carved on the pendant.

Mu Yunjin examined the jade pendant. It was of transparent quality, meticulously polished, and appeared to be of superior craftsmanship.

“I never imagined I would have such a valuable treasure on me,” Mu Yunjin smiled self-mockingly.