The blazing sun shone on the ground. Perhaps knowing they had reached the end of their lives, the autumn cicadas in the surrounding trees cried out hoarsely, breaking the deathly silence here.

In a temporarily erected grass shed, that man sat upright, keeping watch over the corpse wrapped in white cloth before him.

Outside, people paced back and forth anxiously.

“This won’t do. Bodies that have been soaked in water can’t be kept. Let’s bury her quickly,” an elderly man said in a low voice.

The middle-aged man in official robes glared at him.

“You go tell him,” he said in a low growl, pointing to the footprints on his own clothes. He, a dignified prefect, had actually been kicked out by a minor military officer – it was simply a great humiliation. If not for the face of the Circuit Intendant, he would have walked away immediately. “I’m not going in there again.”

The elderly man sighed in difficulty and looked inside again.

“Should we bring more salted fish?” he said in a low voice.

By the riverside under the scorching sun, a wooden bucket was set down heavily, spilling soup and rice everywhere.

The two disciples and A’Hao lying on the ground remained motionless, as if they had already breathed their last.

“Everyone eat! Everyone get up and eat!” A’Ru shouted. “Everyone get up!”

A’Hao began crying again.

“Sister, let us die, let us die,” she wanted to say, but because she hadn’t taken water or food and hadn’t slept or rested, her lips only moved without making a sound.

“Everyone get up, no one is allowed to die!” A’Ru reached out to pull them up, then looked at the few soldiers who had followed behind.

These were people arranged by Jiang Hai to watch over them.

Seeing this woman with red eyes, cracked lips, and pale face looking over, the soldiers couldn’t bear to meet her gaze.

“Pull them all up and force-feed them!” A’Ru shouted.

The soldiers hesitated but still did as instructed.

“No one is allowed to die, none of you can die!” A’Ru personally scooped a bowl and forced A’Hao to drink it. “The lives she saved aren’t yours. They’re hers. No one should think of wasting them! No one is allowed to waste them! Everyone live for me! Everyone live well for me!”

Hearing the crying and shouting from this side, distant people couldn’t help but lower their heads and turn away.

“Sir, sir, we found this…”

Jiang Hai, who was walking unsteadily by the riverside, was called out to. A young soldier jumped down from his horse, holding a cloth bundle in his hands.

“This was dredged up from over there,” the soldier said, raising it up.

Jiang Hai stood by the grass shed, glanced at the man sitting rigidly inside, then looked down at the object in his hands before stepping inside.

Chang Yuncheng didn’t raise his head or move. He just sat there blankly, his hand reaching into the white cloth, tightly gripping that woman’s swollen, cold hand.

Just like that time when the woman had been beaten and lay sleeping like this, unable to wake up. He had held her hand like this, talked to her, and then she would wake up…

Yes, she would wake up…

“The house has been freshly painted and is already aired out. The furniture has been moved in too. See if it’s acceptable…”

“…You’d better get up quickly. Stop sleeping. The house, furniture, and wages are all waiting for you to pay. I don’t have any money…”

Watching the man’s murmuring before him, Jiang Hai felt his throat burn with pain.

“Sir,” he knelt down and grabbed Chang Yuncheng’s knee. “Sir, don’t be like this. Madam has already gone. Let her go in peace.”

“Get out,” Chang Yuncheng said.

Jiang Hai shook his head and held up the cloth bundle.

“This was found, Madam’s things…” he said chokingly.

The five words “Madam’s things” finally made Chang Yuncheng’s gaze move and turn over.

But even so, he still didn’t let go of her hand.

Jiang Hai opened the cloth bundle, revealing a surgical knife.

“It was caught on the cable rope. It should be that Madam was trying to cut the rope but…” Jiang Hai said in a low voice.

In the dark river water, the woman struggled to cut the rope entangled around her leg, once and again, once and again, until…

Chang Yuncheng suddenly stood up, withdrawing his hand to grab the surgical knife.

“Only this other thing couldn’t be found… only this…” Jiang Hai continued with his head lowered, then he saw blood dripping onto the ground in front of him, drop by drop, more and more.

“Sir!” Jiang Hai jumped up in fright, only then seeing that Chang Yuncheng had actually grabbed the blade directly with his hand. He gripped it tightly, tighter and tighter, blood flowing from his palm.

“Sir! What are you doing!” Jiang Hai rushed to grab his hand, trying to pry it open.

Chang Yuncheng’s hand gripped tightly, unmovable.

While they were struggling, chaotic footsteps came from outside, followed by a group of people surging in.

Jiang Hai was stunned, looking at these obviously unfamiliar people wearing Imperial Guard uniforms.

“Take her away,” the leading man said.

Were they taking away the master? Jiang Hai was startled and instinctively stood in front of Chang Yuncheng, but saw that those people didn’t even look at them, directly lifting up the corpse wrapped in white cloth.

“What are you doing?” Chang Yuncheng shouted and stepped forward to stop them.

“Lord Chang,” the leading man took out a scroll from his chest and unrolled it. “By imperial edict…”

Imperial edict?

Jiang Hai quickly knelt down, pulling Chang Yuncheng, who only knelt after grabbing the white cloth bundle.

“…posthumously confer upon Qi Yueniang the title of County Princess of Lu Ting, to be buried in the capital with honors,” the man read briefly. After reading, he rolled up the edict and without another word, turned and left.

Behind him, the Imperial Guards lifted the corpse again and followed.

“Don’t take her away!” Chang Yuncheng shouted, gripping tightly.

“Chang Yuncheng, do you dare defy the imperial edict?” the Imperial Guard leader shouted sternly.

Chang Yuncheng couldn’t hear or see. He only held the white cloth-wrapped corpse tightly against his chest.

“Sir, sir, let go, you can’t defy the imperial edict…” Jiang Hai shouted, hugging Chang Yuncheng’s legs.

Chang Yuncheng kicked him away – not just him, but anyone who approached was kicked away.

Seeing that a group of people couldn’t take away a single corpse, the Imperial Guard leader was greatly annoyed.

“Are you all dead? Do you all want to defy the edict?” he shouted sternly.

The Bingzhou Prefect was the first to react, waving his hand to direct his subordinate officers, and all the city’s soldiers surged forward.

Shouting and calling, pulling and dragging, hugging and pressing…

Chang Yuncheng watched as the corpse in his arms was carried away and loaded onto a cart…

He desperately reached out but to no avail…

“It’s been more than a day since we last met – that’s like three autumns,” that woman had said, blinking pitifully.

“But Chang Yuncheng, you are the only one, unique, irreplaceable. If I lost you, I would have nothing left.”

Nothing left…

Nothing left…

Chang Yuncheng buried his face in the flying dust, his body curled up, holding only that surgical knife in his bloody hands.

Early September. Yongqing Prefecture. Chang Yunqi had just stepped out of his room when a group of servants bowed to him.

“Congratulations to Third Young Master for achieving fifteenth place in the provincial examination, sub-yuan, with his name appearing on the imperial announcement,” everyone shouted in unison.

Chang Yunqi smiled and raised his hand.

“Reward them,” he said.

The two young maids following behind him immediately took out red envelopes that had been prepared, and the servants laughed and scrambled for them.

“Thank you for the reward, Third Young Master…” everyone said in confusion.

“Ah, in a few days, we can’t call you Third Young Master anymore,” the young maids said with barely concealed pride.

The servants cheered again.

“Thank you for the reward, Young Master.”

Marquis Dingxi had already applied to the court again to designate the heir, and it would be decided in just a few days.

Chang Yunqi only smiled slightly.

“If you thank me again, there won’t be any more rewards. I don’t have much money,” he laughed.

This caused another burst of laughter. Chang Yunqi turned his head, the smile on his face shallow and quickly disappeared.

“Young Master, the Marquis said he has already instructed the kitchen to prepare a celebration feast. If Young Master wants anything else, just say so. Because he’s not feeling well, he’s staying at the West Mountain estate and won’t come back,” a steward hurried in to report.

Chang Yunqi nodded and smiled, saying he understood, watching as the steward withdrew. He looked back at this vast mansion.

The mansion was still the same mansion, but it felt…

“Young Master, should we go out to eat?” a servant following Chang Yunqi out asked.

Chang Yunqi nodded.

“Where should we go? This servant will go reserve a place first,” the servant said happily. “Now that Young Master is also a heir, whatever you want to eat, we can book an entire floor…”

Chang Yunqi glanced at the servant.

“Not all heirs like that. I am me, he is him. Even if I become an heir, I’m not him,” he said indifferently.

This talk of “he” and “I” confused the servant, but he stuck out his tongue and didn’t dare say more.

Chang Yunqi walked slowly while the street bustled with activity.

Yes, he wasn’t him. Even though he was no longer an heir, what he had, he still didn’t have.

Suddenly there was commotion on the street as a group of people rushed through, pushing the people on the street into chaos.

Chang Yunqi also stepped aside with the crowd, watching a group of men run past crying loudly.

A group of men running and crying like this in the street made everyone both amused and curious.

“What’s wrong with them?”

“Did their father die?”

“But they can’t all have the same father die.”

“Don’t talk nonsense, those are disciples from Qianjin Hall…”

Qianjin Hall?

Chang Yunqi looked up at the group of people who had run past. Behind them came another commotion. This time no one was running, but two disciples were supporting an elderly man as he walked unsteadily.

“Physician Liu!” People on the street all recognized him and greeted him.

Liu Pucheng, who was usually kind and polite to people, paid no attention to the greetings from the street. His face was sorrowful, his steps hurried but unsteady. Looking at the two disciples, they also had expressions of grief with undried tear stains on their faces.

“What happened?”

People on the street discussed among themselves.

“I heard, I just heard that all the people from Qianjin Hall are going to the capital, saying that Miss Qi is gone…”

Soon news came from the side. This announcement immediately caused the street to explode.

“Impossible!”

“What kind of joke is this!”

“It’s not a joke, no one’s lying. The body has already been transported to the capital! The Emperor even posthumously conferred a county princess title! Go look, Qianjin Hall has already hung mourning cloth! If something hadn’t happened to Miss Qi, how could they all be wearing mourning!”

With a clatter, Chang Yunqi, who had walked a few steps out of the crowd, dropped his folding fan to the ground.

He turned to look at the loudly shouting crowd, his face full of shock and undisguised terror.

What kind of joke is this!

What kind of joke is this!

How could she die! How could she die!