“What are all these white banners in the streets for? Oh, even the officials are wearing white sashes?”
“How long have you been inside? Don’t you know? The State Protector Princess has passed away! The whole nation is in mourning!”
“The State Protector Princess? Do you mean Princess Danyang? Isn’t her death a good thing? We should be celebrating with gongs and drums!”
“Shh… If the officials hear you say that, you could be thrown in jail.”
In the teahouse, people sat in small groups at tables, watching the paper money fluttering in the air outside, discussing fervently.
Speaking of Princess Danyang, she was a notorious figure who plagued the Northern Wei court for twelve years. She was a scourge that everyone in the court feared. Despite being a woman, she shamelessly kept dozens of lovers in her residence, enticed court officials, flirted with nobility, played political games, and framed the loyal and righteous!
Wherever she went, corpses littered the ground, and the people were left in misery. Her misdeeds were numerous and indescribable!
If someone were to write a biography of Princess Danyang, many officials would undoubtedly come forward to add their accounts, carefully choosing the harshest words to forever nail her to the pillar of shame in history, ensuring she would never find peace even in death!
However, good and evil eventually find their retribution. This long-arrogant princess finally met her end in the eighth year of the Daxing era. Imprisoned in Feiyun Palace for “plotting to murder a high official,” she “fell ill” and died in her residence on the very day the new emperor ascended the throne. Blood streamed from her seven orifices, and she died a gruesome death.
The government put on a formal mourning ceremony, but the common people secretly rejoiced. Evil met with retribution! She died well!
Amidst the cheers and the joy, the snow-white paper money fluttered down. Some were caught by the wind, swirling through the air, eventually landing in front of an official’s mansion by the roadside, passing over a red-lacquered plaque.
The Bai Mansion.
Inside a side room in the west courtyard of the mansion, someone turned over, accidentally knocking over a bowl of medicine by the bedside.
“Crash!”
With a sharp sound, Li Huaiyu was suddenly startled awake, her heart pounding like a drum. She opened her eyes, drenched in cold sweat. Propping herself up, she couldn’t help but gasp for breath, her eyelashes trembling violently. It took a while for her to regain her composure.
Where was this place?
The simple side room was filled with old and cheap furnishings. Light streamed through the weathered carved window, illuminating the dust floating in the air, making it look like a hazy fog.
Frowning at the dust for a while, Huaiyu felt a bit confused.
The door creaked open, and a maid carrying a basin of water stepped in. Seeing Li Huaiyu awake, she exclaimed with joy, “Miss, you’ve finally woken up!”
Miss? Li Huaiyu frowned at her, thinking, where did this ignorant palace maid come from? She had been addressed as “Your Highness” since birth, never “Miss.”
“You scared me this time, Miss. I almost thought you had stopped breathing!” the maid chattered on, sighing with relief.
Stopped breathing? Could it be that she wasn’t dead? Huaiyu froze for a moment, then took a deep breath—
She wasn’t dead!
She… hadn’t died?
A thrill ran through her body from head to toe. Excitedly, Li Huaiyu scrambled up, jumped off the bed, and rushed to the window, pushing the wooden frame open.
Sunlight streamed through her fingers and onto her face, warm and bright. Outside, clusters of wildflowers were in full bloom, swaying gently in the breeze.
She stood there, taking in the scene for a moment, breathing in the fresh air, and then a strange smile appeared on her face.
Heaven had eyes; she was still alive.
She, Princess Danyang, Li Huaiyu, was still alive!
Behind her, the young maid seemed startled by her actions. Eyes wide, she stammered, “M-Miss?”
Her smile paused. Huaiyu looked around, then turned back, pointing to her nose in confusion. “Are you talking to me?”
Lingxiu nodded, looking puzzled. “Of course, Miss. Who else would I be calling? Don’t you recognize me?”
Huaiyu thought seriously for a moment, then shook her head. “I have no memory of you.”
Her last memory was from that day in Feiyun Palace, March 27th. She had drunk the emperor’s bestowed poison, He Ding Hong, vomiting blood and collapsing onto a soft couch.
In front of her, a group of people knelt, eyes red, choking back sobs as they kowtowed, all crying out in unison, “Your Highness—”
Those two words echoed like a flute’s mournful tune, resonating through the hall, mingled with suppressed cries, making one’s heartache.
Then she had closed her eyes and sank into darkness.
By all logic, she should be dead. Even if she wasn’t, she should still be in Feiyun Palace. Why was she in this unfamiliar place?
Looking around in confusion, Huaiyu saw a dressing table and hurried over to it.
The person in the mirror was a stranger. She had delicate eyebrows and soft eyes, her skin so pale it seemed never to have seen the sun, contrasting sharply with her cloud-like dark hair. Her face was small, her earlobes petite, and her neck slender. She wore a set of dark-colored clothes, and her entire body looked frail as if a gust of wind could blow her away.
This wasn’t her.
Everyone knew that Princess Danyang was arrogant and domineering, relying partly on her royal status and partly on her unparalleled martial skills. She had trained in martial arts for years, her body as strong as steel. How could she resemble this fragile twig of a person?
But when she moved, the person in the mirror moved too. When she made a face, the delicate face in the mirror wrinkled up as well.
A sinking feeling gripped her heart. Li Huaiyu turned and asked, “What is today’s date?”
Lingxiu stared at her in confusion and replied, “Today is April 4th, in the eighth year of Daxing…”
April 4th? Huaiyu’s lips turned pale in an instant. “Has Princess Danyang passed away?”
Lingxiu nodded. “Yes, she passed away. Today is exactly the seventh day since her death, and the officials are holding the funeral.”
Li Huaiyu: “…”
Princess Danyang’s funeral was happening.
So who was she?
Instinctively shaking her head, she felt the situation was too bizarre, so strange that her lips trembled. She turned around twice on the spot and said, “I’m hungry.”
“Ah.” Lingxiu nodded, dazed. “I’ll get you something to eat right away!”
Huaiyu nodded, watching the young maid run out. Once she was out of sight, Huaiyu took a deep breath, lifted her skirt, and dashed outside!
Her body was being buried, yet she could still talk and move as another person. This kind of situation… if she hadn’t experienced it herself, she wouldn’t believe it even if it killed her!
Rushing out of the room, Huaiyu found herself in a large courtyard. With no time to take in her surroundings, she dodged people as she ran through moon gates and along covered walkways, heading straight for the outer courtyard wall. After checking to make sure no one was around, she climbed up using some piled-up miscellaneous items.
She wasn’t skilled in embroidery or sewing, but when it came to climbing walls and hunting birds, she was unmatched. Despite the high courtyard wall, Huaiyu nimbly scaled the eaves and leaped over-—
And then crashed to the ground with a loud “thud!”
“Ah!” she cried out in pain, unable to get up for a long time.
She had miscalculated. In the past, climbing walls was a trivial task, but her current body was weak and unresponsive, causing her to fall embarrassingly.
However, she was fortunate that the spot she landed on was softer than stone pavement, so she didn’t suffer any major injuries. She did bite her lip, tasting the metallic tang of blood as she probed the wound with her tongue.
“Ugh—” It hurt!
Before she could get up, a flash of cold steel and a surge of killing intent appeared beside her. “Who goes there?”
Startled, Huaiyu looked up to see a guard dressed in black, glaring at her with furrowed brows, his blade gleaming menacingly.
Was this necessary? She had just climbed over a wall, not attempted an assassination. Why was he so worked up?
The soft ground beneath her shifted slightly.
Sensing something amiss, Li Huaiyu blinked and slowly looked down.
Beneath her lay a person dressed in a greenish-blue silk robe. Despite being pinned under her, his jade crown remained perfectly in place, and his expression was calm and composed. His ink-black eyes glanced at her, resembling a dragon cutting through waves. His slightly pale lips were stained with a vivid red, like flowers blooming on snow.
At first glance, Huaiyu was taken aback by his striking appearance. He was truly a rare beauty in this world, with both excellent features and a graceful demeanor.
However, upon a second look, Huaiyu recognized the face.
This… this person…
“Are you going to get up?” he asked coldly.
Hearing this familiar voice, Huaiyu’s expression shifted from shock to anger. Instead of getting off him, she felt an urge to press down harder.
It was truly a case of narrow escapes and grudges meeting. Jiang Xuanjin!
As the paper money fluttered down around them, Huaiyu grabbed a piece, glaring at the man beneath her with seething hatred.
People said Princess Danyang had been blamed and perished due to “plotting the murder of a high official” by the new emperor. However, Li Huaiyu knew exactly how she had died.
She had been murdered by Prince Ziyang, Jiang Xuanjin!
On March 27th of the eighth year of Daxing, a fitting day for mourning, Jiang Xuanjin calmly presented her with He Ding Hong, his gaze serene as if surrounded by incense.
“Farewell, Your Highness,” he said.
Huaiyu, adorned in her beloved Yaochi Mudan Palace attire, sat upright on the auspicious marriage bed and gracefully accepted the poison, drinking it all in one go.
“May His Highness live a long life,” she smiled.
This was the last thing she ever said to him—not with tenderness, but with a determination to return as a vengeful spirit. Each word squeezed out through clenched teeth. As she spoke, she swore in her heart that given the chance, she would make Jiang Xuanjin suffer beyond words, whether he begged for life or death!
And now, unbelievably, they had met again.