Chapter 1: A Life is Lost!
The wife of General Wude was frail and often ill, and lately she had caught a chill. The newly hired physician, Hua Lin, was summoned to the residence to treat her. In the grand household of the general, a physician was expected not only to prescribe remedies, but to personally prepare and decoct the medicines.
After several days of exhausting work, Hua Lin could not manage alone and requested permission to bring his female apprentice into the house to assist him.
Yuetang was this apprentice.
As dusk fell and she was tending to the medicine in the main courtyard, the eldest son of the family, He Xu, rushed home and caught sight of her in an instant.
He immediately forgot the urgent matter he was meant to discuss with his wife, Lady Zhang, paused to brush aside the fragrant branches obstructing his view, and asked, his eyes gleaming, “Who is that?”
“She’s the female physician Hua brought today. Her surname is Lin, given name Xiuying—a young widow,” replied a servant, unable to resist glancing at the woman in the courtyard.
He Xu strode into the courtyard, lifting Yuetang’s chin with his folded fan.
Yuetang’s gaze rose, lingering on the fierce scar nearly a foot long across his forearm. “Young Master.”
He Xu was surprised. “How did you know I am the eldest son?”
Yuetang’s lips curled slightly, her gaze moving upward. “The lady said the eldest son is quite imposing.”
He Xu was delighted, laughing heartily. “Such an astute little lady!” He scrutinized her face again, then asked, “At such a tender age, how did you become a widow?”
“Men are short-lived. Nothing can be done.”
“Tsk, tsk—” He Xu became even more brazen, moving his fan to the side of her face to turn it straight toward him. “Such delicate features—now that your husband is gone, don’t you find it lonely at night?”
Yuetang pinched the fan between two slender fingers, spun it gracefully, and gently waved it. “What of sleepless nights? Your wife is inside at this very moment—aren’t you afraid?”
Her movements were fluid and effortless, full of striking elegance despite her being a woman, lending her an air of uncommon distinction.
He Xu’s spirits surged. “Don’t mention that she-devil! The woman I desire—if she dares to object, I’ll send her straight back to her family!”
Yuetang’s lips curled as she glanced askance behind him, silent.
“He Xu!” Lady Zhang, the eldest daughter-in-law, was already trembling with rage under the covered walkway. Her fleshy face was twisted by anger. She rushed forward, grabbing He Xu by the collar. “Try sending me away if you dare!”
Caught off guard, He Xu was pulled down, flushing with shame and anger. “Have you gone mad?!”
He retaliated, landing a slap across Lady Zhang’s face, spinning her halfway around.
For years, Lady Zhang had ruled the household with unchecked authority, never expecting He Xu to assert himself so fiercely. She dared not use force, so she turned her wrath on Yuetang. “Shameless wench! How dare you seduce my husband before my eyes? I’ll tear you apart!”
Yuetang calmly folded her fan and stepped back.
He Xu intercepted Lady Zhang, grabbing her and dragging her toward the main wing. “Still causing a scene? Watch how I deal with you!”
Lady Zhang screamed and cursed all the way, her angry cries of “wretch” echoing behind them.
Yuetang dusted her sleeves and bent to add more firewood to the stove.
A maid, hearing the commotion, stepped out. “Madam asks what has happened to Lady Zhang?”
Yuetang entered the room, bowed to Madam He, who was reclining on the bed, and removed the silver needles from her head. “The eldest son instructed me just now to attend carefully to Madam’s medicine. I don’t know why Lady Zhang became angry. This is my fault; tomorrow, I will ask my master to send someone else.”
Madam He’s face darkened. “Pay her no mind! Always causing such trouble—she’s brought nothing but disgrace to the men of the family!”
She then looked at Yuetang. “After only a day, my headache is much improved. Clearly, Hua Lin’s words were true; you have indeed learned some real skill.
“Obey my instructions well. Pay no heed to anything else.”
Yuetang nodded, raising her brows. “Yes, Madam.”
…
Lady Zhang, having thrown caution to the wind, berated He Xu in the main wing.
“If my father hadn’t risked his life to save you, would you still be alive? If you dare harbor any wicked intentions, I’ll beat that Lin woman to death right before your eyes!”
“Enough!” He Xu slammed the table. “You always use that old matter to threaten me. Do you know why the heir summoned me just now?
“They have news of Wei Zhang. The heir has entrusted me with this task!
“If I kill Wei Zhang, the Marquis will surely reward me greatly. Then, not only will I beat you, but I’ll divorce you, and your family won’t dare utter a word!”
Lady Zhang was cowed, her angry face transforming into something strange.
“Wei…Wei Zhang? You mean the retainer of Princess Yongjia—the one who escaped, you’ve found him?”
At the mention of Princess Yongjia, He Xu’s bravado faltered, and he looked grimly at the long scar on his arm—
The scar was nearly a foot long, the wound once an inch deep, flesh turned inside out, and he had almost lost the arm. Though three years had passed and the wound had healed, the raised purple lump remained gruesome.
“You know, yet you ask!”
He swallowed, pulling down his sleeve to hide his lingering fear.
Lady Zhang said nothing.
The couple fell silent, both haunted by dread creeping through their hearts like venomous snakes.
Three years ago, when the late emperor’s illness worsened, the He family received a secret command, instructing them, along with the Zhang family, to lead a hundred assassins disguised as bandits, lying in wait in the woods outside the city at midnight.
Their target was Princess Yongjia, who, upon hearing of the emperor’s critical condition, was hastily returning to the capital.
That night, blood flowed through the forest, corpses lay scattered around the carriage, the scene ghastly as hell.
First to die were the palace matrons and maids, then the guards.
Later, even Princess Yongjia’s infant child, barely three months old.
The child, clutched in the princess’s arms as she fought desperately, was dropped when she was stabbed in the abdomen and back. The baby’s swaddling was caught on the saddle, then struck by a sword.
The half-dead child was carried from the woods by a terrified horse.
It was a wild and dense forest, and the fighting was punctuated by distant wolf howls.
A tender, bloody infant was a feast for the wolves.
Even after three years, the princess’s thunderous cries of anguish as her child fell to ruin still echoed in He Xu’s ears!
The child’s death drove Princess Yongjia, wielding the precious sword bestowed by the emperor, into a frenzy of vengeance. He Xu retreated, suffering as she slashed through his mask and stabbed him.
Her first strike pierced his shoulder.
The second, his arm.
Carrying boundless hatred, each move was cold and fierce, cruel and deadly! Every inch she advanced, she swore to tear them limb from limb!
He Xu had only heard of Princess Yongjia’s scholarly upbringing, her father’s efforts to secure the best tutors, yet never imagined that this sheltered noblewoman could be so ruthless and daring in battle.
Had Lady Zhang’s father not intervened in time, He Xu would have been a soul slain beneath her sword!
It was this intervention that had allowed Lady Zhang to wield such authority in the He household for the past three years.
“Young Master, Lady, dinner is served.”
The knock at the door startled both.
As the dishes were laid out, Lady Zhang closed the door, trembling as she poured He Xu a cup of wine and arranged the food, regaining some composure.
“We’ve tracked Wei for three years, and now that the heir has pointed out the route, it must be reliable. You should go soon—kill him quickly, so we can all sleep in peace!”
After the deed was done, both families received generous rewards. When Lady Zhang married, her father gave her a share of the silver, and secretly gifted her a chest of jewels plundered from the princess’s carriage.
The blood in the seams of the chest had not yet dried, but the jewels were so beautiful, so precious—the finest craftsmen of the capital had made them, studded with countless gems, pearls as large as pigeon eggs, many of which Lady Zhang did not even recognize. She could not bear to part with them.
Wei Zhang was fiercely loyal to the princess. If he truly lived, he would surely seek vengeance for her!
Only by killing Wei Zhang and eliminating all of Princess Yongjia’s people could they continue to live in peace and enjoy their fortune!
After several cups of wine, He Xu’s nerves eased.
That night, Princess Yongjia, gravely wounded and refusing to surrender, leapt from the cliff.
At the bottom, the beloved daughter of fortune smashed her face, broke every bone, and became a heap of broken flesh.
To avenge the sword wound, He Xu stabbed her eyes with his blade—he swore to the heavens, even if she became a ghost, she would never find her way back for revenge!
If only Wei Zhang was killed, purging the lingering anxiety for their superiors, He Xu could finally hold his head high in front of the Zhang family!
Thinking of this, He Xu grew even more cheerful, raising his neck for another drink.
Yet tonight, the wine seemed unusually potent. The earlier cups were manageable, but this one was hard to swallow.
His stomach churned; he gestured to Lady Zhang, asking her to fetch the spittoon.
But a metallic tang surged up first, erupting as a column of blood from his open mouth!
Crimson blood splattered across the floor!
Lady Zhang leapt up from the kang with a scream!
He Xu wiped his mouth, dazed, then toppled forward, spraying a second gush of blood as he rolled under the couch.
Lady Zhang shrieked, “Help!”
The servants rushed in, then froze in the doorway!
They were laborers, unaccustomed to such grisly scenes.
Their cries of alarm filled the house.
Two senior servants steadied themselves, nervously checked He Xu’s breath, then collapsed to the floor, scrambling in panic:
“There’s been a death!—The eldest son is dead!”