Chapter 4: Truly Tired of Living

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“Zhixing! What should I do? Prince Ye is about to arrive, how can I face anyone like this!” Sheng Jintang cried out in distress, “And the allure charm on him… If I hadn’t run into him by chance, some other woman would’ve taken advantage of him! Boohoo…”

Zhixing frowned and immediately noticed the invisible talisman hovering above her head. Forming hand seals, she chanted an incantation, then gently pointed her finger and whispered, “Break!”

In an instant, the talisman shattered, and the foul stench dispersed, replaced by a pungent, intoxicating floral fragrance filling the room.

Sheng Jintang breathed a sigh of relief at the scent’s disappearance, then, eyes still red, urgently asked Zhixing, “Quick, please tell me, what’s become of Meiling? Has Prince Ye’s mansion arrived yet?”

Zhixing extended her hand, her thumb tapping her fingertip as she calculated, her expression tightening. “Meiling is dead. Prince Ye will not come.”

“Meiling is dead?!” Sheng Jintang’s eyes widened in disbelief, instantly filling with tears that spilled over.

She bit her lip in frustration. “With Meiling dead, my reputation’s ruined. Prince Ye won’t want to see me anymore… Who exactly wants to make life so difficult for me, Sheng Jintang?”

Zhixing knit her brows. Whoever could kill Meiling must possess profound mastery—clearly a formidable adversary. That invisible talisman that was on Sheng Jintang earlier was barely a minor warning.

She looked up at the sobbing Sheng Jintang and asked, “Young Mistress, have you perhaps crossed paths with someone you shouldn’t have?”

Sheng Jintang shook her head frantically. No, she hadn’t. Now that she held the status of the Marquis’ legitimate daughter, she had always been cautious, gentle, and modest.

Many daughters of noble families were close to her, and everyone in the Marquis’ household hoped she would marry Prince Ye to bring honor to the family.

After pondering, a familiar figure suddenly flashed in her mind, causing her heart to tighten and her lips to tremble. “Could it… really be her?”

That day, she had gotten separated from the young lady outside, unable to find her in the vast crowd. When she returned home, fear drove her to hide inside the rice container in the kitchen, where she fell asleep.

Awakened by distant, pitiful cries, she quietly lifted the rice container’s lid to peek out, only to witness a horrifying scene drenched in blood.

The master and mistress of the Sheng family, as well as the young master and young ladies, were all mysteriously marked with wounds and had died tragically within the mansion. Yet a few servants and maids managed to flee.

After waiting a long while with no movement in the mansion and no sign of her young lady, General Sheng Yukun, recently returned from the border, mistook her for his niece Sheng Jintang, whom he had last seen three years ago.

She never denied it, harboring guilt and unease as she assumed the title of the Marquis’ eldest daughter.

Over the years, she silenced every servant who had escaped from the Marquis’ mansion, ensuring no one would discover her true identity—except…

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Zhixing watched Sheng Jintang’s face grow paler by the inch and narrowed her eyes slightly. “Who?”

Swallowing nervously, Sheng Jintang’s voice trembled uncontrollably. “The real Sheng Jintang… Didn’t you say she died eight years ago?”

A flash of surprise crossed Zhixing’s eyes. That shouldn’t be possible—the true heiress’s fate was supposed to have ended eight years ago.

She calculated carefully once more, growing alarmed as she whispered, “It really is her…”

The real heiress not only survived but has returned quietly!

Seeing Zhixing’s reaction, Sheng Jintang gasped. She’s back, and she’ll reclaim everything that belongs to her. Does that mean all my efforts over these eight years were for nothing?

“No!” she shouted desperately. “I want her dead. Zhixing, that woman must die!”

Night fell, with insects softly chirping and stars scattered across the dark sky.

Inside Sansheng Hall, the laughter of a young girl echoed repeatedly. Su Lan patted her thigh, nearly laughing herself into breathlessness.

Yun Qing lay back in a rocking chair, flipping through a book, searching for a way to dispel the malevolent energy trapped in the jade pendant. She sighed softly. “Su Lan, you’ve been laughing all night.”

“Fairy Sister, you don’t know. I’ve been gathering information all over the Marquis’ mansion. Everyone despises the impostor now, saying all sorts of ugly things. Especially the old madam—when she found out the impostor did something so shameful, her face turned green with anger.”

Hearing this, Yun Qing smiled with satisfaction. “Have you found out anything about Zhixing, who’s close to the impostor?”

“That Zhixing met the impostor five years ago. No one knows her master or where she came from. She’s very mysterious and seems to have some arcane skills, but surely not as powerful as Fairy Sister!”

Yun Qing’s eyes flickered. Perhaps Zhixing is connected to the massacre at the Marquis’ mansion all those years ago.

With that thought, she closed the book and set it aside. “Without knowing the enemy’s true nature, they must not be underestimated.”

“Oh,” Su Lan nodded obediently.

After a moment, Su Lan went out to boil water, closing the door tightly behind her.

Yun Qing sat up, holding her left arm with her right hand, then pointed two fingers at the jade pendant enveloped in dark energy within the formation. She focused intently, chanting an exorcism spell: “By decree, by decree, the sun rises in the east, I grant this talisman to cleanse all evil!”

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The dark energy writhed like frightened worms, struggling within the jade pendant.

Seeing the pendant shake violently in midair, Yun Qing furrowed her brows and quickly formed hand seals. A powerful spiritual force surged from within her body toward the pendant.

“Evil spirit, depart at once!”

Before long, beads of sweat formed on Yun Qing’s forehead. The malevolent spirit struggled several times before finally breaking free from the pendant and fleeing toward the ceiling beam.

She caught the falling pendant, affixing a talisman to prevent the evil from coming near. Then she looked coldly at the ceiling beam and snorted. Without the pendant, she had nothing left to fear.

Picking up a cinnabar brush, she inscribed a sigil on a yellow talisman floating in the air. A gust of palm wind struck the dark energy, which glimmered gold before fading completely.

Yun Qing exhaled deeply and knelt weakly, having expended much energy to subdue the evil spirit.

Looking at the jade pendant, she grunted, “Ye Jincheng, you owe me a huge favor!”

Suddenly, the sound of weapons clashing came from outside. Frowning, Yun Qing opened the door to find Su Lan in the courtyard holding a sword, having strangled a figure clad in night clothes, blood splattering everywhere.

Hearing the noise, Su Lan turned her head and frowned. “Fairy Sister, there’s an assassin.”

Yun Qing arched a brow. “Handled?”

Su Lan nodded. “Left one alive to report back.”

“That wretched woman dares send killers! She really wants to die!” Yun Qing ground her teeth and waved her hand through the air.

At the Marquis of the North’s residence, inside Sheng Jintang’s room.

“Smack!” The clear, sharp slap echoed through the chamber.

“Ah!” Sheng Jintang cried out in shock, a burning pain spreading across her face. Sitting at her dressing table, she stared into the bronze mirror, seeing a vivid red handprint blooming on her once fair cheek.