Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Gold hairpins are too soft; they don’t offer the same leverage as silver ones.

This time, the point of impact was off, and it only sliced through the flesh.

A pity, I thought to myself.

The concubine had already begun to scream shrilly.

“Sister, you’ve truly gone mad! Do you honestly think bringing some wild girl from the mountains will let you lord it over everyone in this manor? Just wait until the General returns-he’ll make you pay!”

She shrieked as she clutched her neck and scrambled away.

She looked like a frenzied, wounded pheasant.

I moved to chase after her and finish the job.

Wen Yunqiao urgently called out to stop me. “Don’t, Ah Fu!”

She rose to intercept me, nearly tumbling from the edge of the bed in the process.

“Her words were harsh, but she doesn’t deserve to die for them.”

I turned back to support her, saying flatly, “I heard everything on my way here. Your third child died by her hand.”

“A life for a life. That’s only fair.”

Wen Yunqiao gave a bitter smile. “…It doesn’t work that way.”

“If we’re assigning blame for that matter, most of it lies with Xie Yan.”

Xie Yan was her husband.

Relying on his military achievements, he had risen to the rank of a second-grade official and was about to be granted a peerage.

Currently, his reputation in the Capital was unmatched.

I considered this for a moment. “Killing them both would be difficult. I’ll do my best.”

Wen Yunqiao couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

“I know you want to vent your frustrations for me, but my time is short. There’s no need to waste it on her.”

“Though Xie Yan’s affections have shifted, I’ve benefited from his status over the years and managed to save quite a lot.”

“Aside from the dowry I’ve set aside for my daughter, I’ve left two shops, ten acres of fertile land, and several hundred taels of silver.”

“Ah Fu, I’m leaving it all to you. You must live a good life…”

Her health was already in a terrible state.

Every sentence was followed by a fit of heart-wrenching coughing.

By the time she reached the last few words, her breath was as thin as silk.

The blood she coughed up splattered onto the hem of my skirt.

It was a piercing sight.

I fell silent for a moment, then wiped the blood from her lips. “I don’t want those things.”

“…Ah Fu.”

Wen Yunqiao looked at me blankly. “Are you still blaming me? Do you think my things are dirty?”

I shook my head. “Wen Yunqiao, I came to the Capital today to stand up for you.”