Chapter 2: Nightmare

Wan still remembers how her mother died. When the city of Yuzhang was breached, she first pushed her younger siblings off the city wall, and then she herself leaped from the wall.

Trampled into a pulp by the thousands of soldiers and horses.

It must have been very painful, right? It must have been very painful.

Tears slowly welled up in Wan's eyes, dripping one by one from her eyes.

"Why are you crying again?" A delicate four or five-year-old girl climbed onto her bed, waving her soft, tender little hand to wipe away her tears, sighing with an air of maturity, "Don't cry, your tears are almost as much as the waters of the Ganges."

Wan's red eyes became even redder, her pale lips trembling, looking at the little girl in front of her with a bewildered expression.

It seemed that there was no girl of this age in the residence of the Marquis of Jing'an. Even if there was, she shouldn't be in her room. Swallowing the sob in her throat, she looked at the little girl in front of her with eager eyes, "Who are you?"

Seeing the child made her think of her own child, her own flesh and blood, the piece of flesh that had fallen from her body. She had nothing left, only her child.

With this thought, she quickly called for Li Mama, the stewardess of her courtyard. She should be here at this time.

But there was still no response. She remembered the absurd and bizarre dream she had before, feeling a little scared, but she couldn't care less about the child not answering her question. She struggled to sit up and get out of bed.

"Don't go!" The little girl grabbed her clothes, looking up at her with eyes full of fear and reluctance.

The little girl's eyes were surprisingly bright, as if all the stars in the sky had fallen into her eyes. Wan froze, bending down to touch the little girl's face, her voice softened, "No, I have to go see my child..."

But before she could take a step, the little girl had already run over and stood in front of her, "Don't go, my death is not a pretty sight, it will scare you."

Wan's footsteps froze, and a very familiar yet ethereal scene flashed through her mind—a small baby with bruises all over, eyes tightly closed, lips blue, soaking in a tub, lifeless.

She shuddered, feeling goosebumps all over her body, and stepped back in horror, clutching her head.

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid." The little girl came over and hugged her waist, "I look good now, don't be afraid...," her voice trembled, "Mother, hold me, you've never held me..."

Wan's whole body was covered in goosebumps. She finally remembered.

There was no child. Her child had died long ago, drowned in the tub just after birth.

The little girl buried her face in Wan's waist, hugging her tightly, "Mother, in the next life, don't marry father, he's a bad person... he threw me into the water..." Her voice trembled, "I'm so cold, it hurts..."

Wan remembered everything.

It was the ninth year since she had married Peng Caichen. After giving birth, she was weak and anemic, and had lost a lot of blood. She had not seen her child for over two days, and in her desperation, she stumbled to the side courtyard to see her child.

But she didn't see the child, only through the crack in the window, she saw Peng Caichen and Peng Lingwei, the siblings, standing in front of the tub, facing away from the window, facing the tub, their expressions unclear, but their tone cold and chilling.

"It's better not to live. What if the princess gives birth to a child?," Peng Lingwei said, "The princess said that her daughter should be the eldest legitimate daughter. Before she's even born, the emperor has already given her the title of a county princess..."

The tub was full of water, and the small baby with closed eyes and blue lips was too terrifying. Wan was so terrified that she couldn't make a sound.

"Being kind-hearted won't get you anywhere," Peng Lingwei sighed and grabbed Peng Caichen's hand as he reached out, "You've done so much before, the deaths of the members of the Wei family, Wei Jie and Lady Wei, the blood on your hands could form a river, and now you're making a show of it? If she lives, what will happen to the child born to the princess?"

Wan's gaze was unfocused, and she faintly heard Peng Lingwei continue to chatter, "Moreover, her elusive brother has risen in rebellion, saying that he wants to restore the reputation of the Wei family's fourth branch and avenge the Wei family. The emperor is afraid of spitting blood... Don't be confused..."

Her clothes were tugged, and she looked down to see the little girl looking up at her. She heard her say, "Mother, don't be afraid, my grandparents have taken good care of me, I don't feel any pain. And my uncles play with me... Mother, let's go together..."

Wan shivered, finally remembering.

This was the thirteenth year since she had married Peng Caichen. She hadn't died, and she wanted to see how Peng Caichen would die.

His hands were stained with the blood of her family.

He had reported her father for rebellion, causing the loyal defender of the city, Wei Yangqing, to be falsely accused of being a rebel, and he died in the hands of the court he had been trying to protect.

When the Prince of Linjiang's army besieged the city, Wei Yangqing personally went into battle and died on Lake Poyang.

Her mother led her young brother and sister to jump from the city wall.

Only she, from beginning to end, lived in Peng Caichen's lies, foolishly and shamelessly, watching Peng Caichen step by step climb the ladder of success, becoming a son-in-law, then a military officer, and finally holding real power.

Then she went from being the main wife to a concubine, and from a concubine to a lowly servant.

She endured it like grinding oil, gritting her teeth and living through each day immersed in one nightmare after another, living in a daze but cruelly awake.

But soon, she started counting the days. She wanted everyone in the princess's mansion to accompany the Wei family in death, to accompany her loved ones in death.

Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, after Mid-Autumn Festival comes the New Year...

The letters she wrote with Peng Caichen's seal should have reached her sworn brother by now. Her sworn brother would deliberately reveal these letters, and the suspicious Emperor Chenghua would never allow the Peng family to live on.

She waited to see how they would die.

In a daze, it seemed as if she could hear the sound of wailing and howling coming from the front courtyard. It was as if her own family had been filled with this kind of panicked crying since her brother's death, desperate and mournful.

Now, it was finally the Peng family's turn.

She smiled, slowly closed her eyes, and saw the little girl waving to her.

"Mother, come quickly."