Chapter 1

Chapter 1

He frowned. “Why?”

I said with perfect seriousness, “The Beidi Army has already fought their way in. Even if we left, I wouldn’t be able to rest easy.”

The moment the words left my mouth, an urgent roar came through the wall. “The city gates are shut! Anyone who tries to force their way through dies-”

It scared me so badly I jerked, instinctively shrinking toward the corner.

Who would have thought that when this half-brother of mine-whose place in the family was never quite legitimate-saw me lose my nerve, he would burst out laughing, clutching his stomach? “Second Sister, and here you are still pretending to be brave.”

“Zhu Qingyun! Shut your mouth.”

I snapped at him.

But I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty.

I had lied just now.

But I truly had no idea how to explain this enormous misunderstanding.

Father and Mother hadn’t deliberately left me behind.

Most likely, when they fled in the night, they had been dazed with sleep. There had been so many people and so much chaos that this one oversight had slipped through all their careful planning.

I was the one they loved most.

Back when our family wasn’t well-off, if they could find even one white flour bun, it would always be saved for me.

Later, once Father went into business and we had enough money, the silks and jewelry I used were all the best. Even the maids in my courtyard numbered one more than my younger sister’s.

Zhu Qingyun, on the other hand, had always been the one neglected all these years.

His birth mother and my own mother had once been close friends before marriage.

In the end, she secretly conceived Father’s child and gave birth to Zhu Qingyun.

After Father brought him home, the household was in uproar for quite some time.

In the end, although everyone reluctantly accepted this illegitimate son, there was no affection for him in daily life. They merely ensured he had food and clothes, that he would not starve or freeze.

Later, they were even willing to let him attend school and learn a few things.

That was only because he had repeatedly trailed after Eldest Brother, pretending to be a book boy so he could sneak into the school. After he caught the teacher’s attention, Father finally sent him there properly.

But to say they had abandoned him on purpose? It shouldn’t have been the case.

Besides, I had been left behind too.

After thinking it through, I said to Zhu Qingyun, “Father and Mother must have had some other intention.”

He looked utterly disdainful. “What intention could there be? The imperial family has fled, the Beidi Army has broken in, and this place is finished. Anyone left behind can only wait to die.”

I glared at him, but I did not refute it.

Zhu Qingyun’s words were harsh, but they were true.

Several days earlier, rumors had already begun circulating among the common folk.

Rumors claimed Beidi would take Ying’an Prefecture within three days.

But Ying’an Prefecture was the imperial capital, and all those imperial clan members were still living safe and sound inside the city.

I had even turned to Father and said that I had seen the Grand Princess’s carriage on the street just the day before.

At the time, someone had tripped me, and I had fallen in front of the carriage. As the guards reprimanded me, it was the Grand Princess herself who leaned out and personally helped me up.

So there was no such thing as the imperial family evacuating.

Father listened seriously, and even chimed in with everyone else, saying the rumors were absurd.

But the moment he turned around, he went home and told the others he had bribed the city defense commander, and that we would leave the city late at night.

I didn’t understand, but I hurried back and packed my bundle all the same.

After that, I did not lie down on the bed to sleep. I sat by the door instead, waiting for someone to come call me.

But my eyelids closed and opened, and when I looked again, the sky was already bright.

Outside was chaos. The sound of horses trampling and blades clashing did not cease for a long while.

Only then did everyone realize that the imperial family had indeed vanished from Ying’an Prefecture.

The empress and princesses in the inner palace, the Crown Prince, princes, and important ministers of the outer court had all evacuated.

But not all of them had left.

For instance, the Grand Princess, whom I had seen with my own eyes.

And the Imperial Grandson, who was rumored to be greatly favored by His Majesty.

They were still in the royal capital.

When the Beidi Army threw down the corpse of our dynasty’s emperor, it was they who led men to retrieve it.

The common people had originally been boiling with rage, but when they saw His Majesty’s remains, one by one, they fell silent.

They charged at the city gates, only to become vengeful ghosts beneath the blade, one after another.

The bustling marketplace of ordinary days became, in an instant, a killing field strewn with the dead.

I had been one of those caught in the crowd as well. It was only when I saw the massacre begin up ahead that I used my small frame to squeeze my way out.

Only after returning home did I find Zhu Qingyun.

He strolled out at an unhurried pace and, while he was at it, gloated over my misfortune.

I had no time to argue with him. Clutching my bundle tight, I asked, “If we don’t think of something now, we really won’t be able to leave. Aren’t you anxious?”

“Once the city gates are locked, it’s a dead end. What is there for me to be anxious about?”