Volume 1, Chapter 2: Make Them Pay in Blood

"Xie Shu, have you lost your mind!"

A drop of fresh blood fell as the blade struck Ning Rongsheng’s left shoulder. He let out a groan of pain, stumbling back two steps and nearly collapsing to the floor.

"Third Miss!" Wenying had not expected Xie Shu to move so quickly; she had failed to stop her!

After stabbing Ning Rongsheng, Xie Shu pulled out the dagger, intending to lunge again, but her body, weakened by a chill and burning with a high fever, had already exhausted its remaining strength in that single strike.

Seeing Xie Shu prepare to charge again, Wenying hurriedly wrapped her arms around her waist and pressed her back onto the bed. She quickly turned to explain to Ning Rongsheng, "Marquis, please do not misunderstand! The Third Miss was terrified last night and just suffered a nightmare; she likely mistook you for a demon from her dream. I hope you will forgive her."

The medicine bowl slipped from Ning Rongsheng’s hand, shattering into pieces. The bitter, pungent scent of herbs filled the room, stifling and unpleasant.

Before entering the room just now, Ning Rongsheng had indeed heard a piercing scream from within.

"What a pity, I brewed this medicine myself." Recalling Wenying’s words, Ning Rongsheng, who had been panicked and confused, instantly regained his composure. He had feared that Xie Shu might have discovered something.

*I was overthinking it,* he mused. *What could a naive, sheltered girl like Xie Shu possibly know? If she truly knew anything, she wouldn't have been foolish enough to strike the petition drum in the middle of the night. Provoking the Emperor at a time like this is the act of a fool!*

Ning Rongsheng sneered inwardly, yet his expression remained full of concern and worry. He extended his hand from his sleeve; the back of his hand was stained a vivid red.

"Shu'er, I carried you back last night. I even scalded my hand while brewing your medicine." Xie Shu had been spoiled by the Xie family since childhood and was known for her headstrong nature. Ning Rongsheng assumed she was simply throwing a tantrum because she couldn't save her family. After all, Xie Shu rarely paid him any mind; if not for his habit of using concern for Xie Ying as an excuse to brazenly visit the Xie residence, she wouldn't have even glanced at him.

"Third Miss, the Heir of the Marquis of Cheng'en carried you back himself last night!" Wenying was startled. Although her mistress had always disliked Ning Rongsheng, she had never seen her act in such a frenzied manner before.

With the General’s Mansion now on the brink of disaster and surrounded by the eyes of enemies, if Xie Shu were to be accused of assault during the morning court session, the Xie family’s situation would become even more precarious.

"Third Miss, the Heir of the Marquis of Cheng'en saved you! He saved you! Please, do not harm a benefactor." Seeing Xie Shu struggling to rise from the bed, Wenying pleaded with her.

Ning Rongsheng pressed against his wound. Fortunately, the blow had been weak, resulting only in a superficial injury. However, the smell of blood from his shoulder darkened his eyes. If it weren't for the fact that Xie Shu still had her uses, and that the First Prince had ordered him to put on a show last night, he would never have waded into this murky water.

*Hmph,* he thought to himself, his mind filled with calculations. *Once the Xie family is wiped out, I’ll see what she can do. I still need to use this to gain her trust.*

Suppressing his inner irritation, Ning Rongsheng feigned weakness and took a few steps forward, his voice filled with concern. "Shu'er, I know you blame me for taking the liberty of bringing you back to the Xie house. But last night, if I had let you keep kneeling, you would have lost your life. How then could you ever hope to save your father, brother, and sister?"

As Wenying took the dagger from her hand, Xie Shu leaned against her pillows. The tangled mess in her mind began to clear upon hearing Ning Rongsheng’s words.

Looking at the familiar arrangement of her chamber, at the living, breathing Wenying, and at the hypocritical Ning Rongsheng before her, Xie Shu realized: she had been reborn.

She had returned to the day after she had struck the petition drum.

*There is time. Everything can still be saved.*

Her father, her brother, her elder sister, and Wenying—they would all live. They must all live. As for Ning Rongsheng, she would ensure the Marquis of Cheng'en’s household paid for their crimes in blood.

Xie Shu suppressed the hatred in her heart. She looked at Ning Rongsheng as if he were a dead man, her tone as cold as winter frost. "Ning Rongsheng, have you ever seen a ghost?"

That gaze, like a soul-reaping specter, seemed to hook into his very spirit. Ning Rongsheng felt a chill run through his entire body. He twitched his lips and replied, "Those who have done no wrong have no fear of ghosts knocking at the door."

Xie Shu stared at him for a long time before she smiled.

Her smile made Ning Rongsheng’s skin crawl. Just as he was about to speak, he heard her coldly utter, "Wenying, show him out."

"Shu'er, I have already discussed the matter of the General's Mansion with the First Prince..." The First Prince had specifically instructed him to bring Xie Shu into their camp.

However, before he could finish, he heard Xie Shu snap, "Are you going to leave on your own, or do I need to have my guards throw you out?"

Hearing him mention the First Prince, Xie Shu suddenly understood. In her past life, the First Prince had treated her with extreme courtesy and spoken up for the Xie family in court, but in reality, they were nothing more than empty, pretty words.

A few honeyed phrases had been enough to make her feel deeply indebted to him; they had truly gotten off cheaply. She blamed only herself for her poor judgment.

But at this moment, Xie Shu understood one thing: no matter what she did to Ning Rongsheng today, the Marquis’s estate would not dare to trouble her.

She possessed something they desperately wanted. In her previous life, it was precisely because of this item that she had managed to hang onto her life. As for the object they craved, Xie Shu’s fingertips brushed against her bodice.

"How unappreciative." After muttering this to himself, Ning Rongsheng forced a smile and said warmly, "Rest well. I will come to see you again in a couple of days."

"Marquis..." Wenying was about to see him out, but Xie Shu grabbed her wrist. Helpless, Wenying apologized to him, "The Third Miss is likely still in shock and cannot bear to be left alone. I will not be able to see you out today, My Lord."

Ning Rongsheng nodded. Whether she saw him out or not was merely a formality, as there would be other servants to guide him. He smiled, "It is no matter. You should stay and look after Shu'er."

Only when the sound of footsteps had completely faded did Xie Shu loosen her grip on her bodice.

The room was left with only her and Wenying.

"Wenying, go save my sister! Now, go immediately!" Drawing a snake-shaped jade pendant from her inner garment, Xie Shu pressed it into Wenying’s hand.

Wenying’s eyes widened. The "Red Python Command" was truly in the Third Miss's hands!

But the next moment, Wenying tried to push it back. "The General has given no order; this subordinate cannot mobilize troops on my own authority."

This token could command the death squads of the Xie family. Having been tempered by Xie Ying’s hand, these men were battle-hardened warriors; their strength was likely even greater than that of the Imperial Jade Unicorn Guard. In the capital, there were too many who wanted the Xie family dead. The royal family’s decision to keep Xie Shu in the capital was merely to hold a hostage. Xie Shu might not have realized this, but everyone in the capital knew it well.

Wenying knew that since Xie Ying had given this token to Xie Shu, it was meant to be her most important life-saving talisman, never to be used unless it was a matter of life and death.

"Besides," Wenying sighed deeply, "the winds in the capital are about to shift."

Xie Shu understood the implication, but she firmly pushed the token back into Wenying’s hand. "Wenying, this token cannot save me. Only my father, brother, and sister can."

Wenying was twenty-five, and looking at the seventeen-year-old Xie Shu before her, she realized with a start that the little girl she had protected every day had grown into an adult—one who saw things more clearly than she did.

After a moment of contemplation, Wenying finally accepted the token and asked, "But if I leave, there will be no one to protect you in the capital. What will you do?"

Xie Shu gazed in the direction Ning Rongsheng had departed, the cold light in her eyes intensifying. "Ha, what will I do? I shall tie my fate to theirs, and we shall all be grasshoppers on the same string."

"Third Miss, you mean..." Wenying asked hesitantly.

Seeing Wenying’s confusion, Xie Shu explained bluntly, "The Third Prince is colluding with the Marquis of Dingyuan. Assassins are already lying in wait on the road back to the capital. Without reinforcements, my father, brother, and sister will surely die."

Her firm, decisive words made Wenying frown. "But last night, the Heir of the Marquis of Dingyuan defied his own house to carry you back to the Xie mansion... how could he be involved?"

"A feigned injury," Xie Shu said. She went to her vanity, used her long nails to pry up the base of the second wooden drawer, and pulled out a travel permit stamped with an official seal. She handed it to Wenying. "When I was young, I used to joke about becoming a swordswoman in the jianghu. It was a childish whim, yet only my second brother remembered. He gave me this permit."

"Take it and leave the capital now." Xie Shu changed into simple, plain clothes, which made her pale face look even more fragile and pitiful.

"Very well, I will leave at once." Seeing that Xie Shu had considered everything, Wenying no longer doubted her.

"Third Miss, what about you..."

Before Wenying could finish, Xie Shu cut her off. Looking at the spilled medicine dregs on the floor, she said coldly, "I am going to enter the Marquis's estate and stir it into a chaotic mess, leaving them no peace in their own home."