Da Wu. June. The Imperial Palace.
Midsummer was approaching, and the air grew sweltering. A palace maid dressed in her formal attire had beads of sweat the size of soybeans forming on her forehead. Yet, she stood there, not daring to move a muscle.
The current emperor was a brutal man. The previous maid had been dragged away and executed simply because she had fanned him too slowly.
Inside the Imperial Study.
"How is the matter proceeding?"
A pair of deep, cold eyes stared fixedly at the young official kneeling on the ground.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, your servant has handled everything appropriately. This time, the Si family will certainly not escape Your Majesty’s grasp. Please set your mind at ease!"
"Good!"
"Very good!" The Emperor clapped his hands and laughed.
The newly appointed protégé of the Emperor kept his head bowed, a flicker of viciousness flashing in his eyes. The Si family had once mocked him, claiming his heart was crooked; yet now, he was the Emperor’s proudest student and the top scholar of the new imperial examinations, while the Si family was about to become prisoners.
He was the true winner.
Had the Fifth Young Miss Si not looked down on him and ridiculed him? This time, he would make everyone in the Si family kneel before him and beg for mercy, all in the name of justice.
The Emperor looked down at his Imperial Seal. The Si family’s military merit overshadowed his own; they truly could not be kept. Even though he knew they had contributed greatly to his reign, so what? He was the Emperor now.
He would not tolerate anyone being more powerful than himself.
"You go and prepare!"
"Confiscate the estate tomorrow. Remember, leave no trace."
"Yes, your servant takes his leave!"
...
The next morning, at dawn, Xia Yunfei led a vast, imposing crowd to the Si residence.
He looked up at the plaque of the Prime Minister's Mansion and sneered.
"Men, seize every member of the Si family. Especially the Fifth Young Miss Si—lock her away in solitary confinement first."
"Yes, my lord!"
"Let’s go!"
The leader of the Imperial Guard waved his hand, and a large group of guards, swords drawn, charged directly into the mansion. The doorman, terrified, shouted loudly, "What are you doing? What are you doing? This is the Prime Minister's Mansion!"
"Move aside! Kill anyone who blocks our way!"
The head guard kicked the doorman aside, and they stormed into the mansion.
Si Boyan and his family were in the study discussing matters. When he heard the commotion outside, his expression changed drastically. He knew the storm had truly arrived, and for a moment, he closed his eyes in agony.
He never imagined that after all the Si family’s loyal service to the country, they would end up in such a state.
His eldest son had died for the country. His second and third sons had been left disabled from years of fighting on the front lines. His fourth son was away at war, whereabouts unknown. Oh, Heavens, are you blind?
Why must you destroy my Si family!
He refused to accept this!
Old Madam Si leaned on her cane, looking at her son, then at her grandchildren. Her eyes were filled with endless grief before finally settling on her youngest granddaughter, Si Jiuyue.
She trembled, pressed her lips together, and spoke with great difficulty.
"Boyan, if we die, so be it. We are old relics; we’ve lived long enough. But Jiuyue is still young. The wives of my eldest, second, and third grandsons—if you can run, run now."
"Don't worry about us!"
As these words left her lips, everyone in the study felt a wave of despair.
"No. Since we married into the Si family, we are part of the Si family. I will live and die with them. It is only a pity that Che'er is only nine, and my husband passed away so early. Truly, heaven is unfair to us!"
Madam Fang, the wife of the eldest son, clutched her son, her tears flowing uncontrollably.
"Mother, I am not afraid. At worst, it is only death. I want to die with you!"
Si Yunche opened his large, grape-like eyes, his gaze as resolute as an adult’s.
"Good boy, you are indeed a good son to your mother!"
Madam Fang held her son, feeling both comforted and heartbroken. She turned to the youngest daughter of the Si family, her sister-in-law, and said, "Jiuyue, listen to Grandmother. Escape through the back door!"
"That's right, Jiuyue. Take the children with you; it will at least leave a root for our Si family."
It was the second daughter-in-law of the Si family who spoke. Her nose stung, but she had already made up her mind to face the end with her husband. If they could not live together, they would die together!
As long as she could be with her husband, what was there to fear in death?
The two Si sons were not home, and the house was filled with the old, the small, and the weak. There was no way to escape.
After a moment of internal struggle, Si Boyan gritted his teeth and said, "Jiuyue, hurry, hurry go. Take Che'er and the others with you. Leave through the back door immediately."
As he spoke, he pushed the two grandsons toward his youngest daughter, Si Jiuyue.
Si Jiuyue was seventeen this year and had yet to be betrothed. Seeing what her father and sisters-in-law were saying, her heart was in turmoil, and tears fell uncontrollably. She wiped her eyes and cried, "Father, if I leave, what will happen to you?"
"If the Emperor finds out I ran away, he will kill you all!"
"Let him kill us! What is there to fear?"
"As long as you can escape with Che'er and Jin'er, the Si family line will not be severed!"
Although Si Boyan feared death, he feared even more that the Si family would be destroyed on his watch. If the entire family were gone, he would have no face to meet his ancestors in the afterlife.
Si Jiuyue felt a pang of sorrow.
She had always obeyed her father.
"Yes, Father. Daughter will obey!"
"Che'er, Jin'er, hurry and come with your aunt!"
She took hold of each of her nephews with one hand. Just as she pushed the door open to leave, a cold, sharp voice rang out.
"Leaving? The Si family has committed treason and colluded with the enemy—where do you think you are going?"
Xia Yunfei stared at Si Jiuyue with a cold, sinister expression.
Looking at her face, beautiful as a rose, he curled his lips into a wicked smirk. It was a pity for such a beauty, but who told her to reject him? A woman who rejected him never met a good end.
"Xia Yunfei, what do you want?"
"What do you think I want?"
He laughed triumphantly.
"Naturally, I want you."
Si Yunche looked at the man in front of them in terror. Like a little adult, he spread his arms to block Si Jiuyue.
"Who are you? I won't let you hurt my aunt!"
"Little thing, you’re courting death!"
Xia Yunfei’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. With one hand, he grabbed young Si Yunche by the throat and twisted with force. A *crack* was heard.
Young Si Yunche’s head lolled to the side.
He let out a gasp.
Blood immediately welled up at the corner of his mouth.
His eyes were wide open.
The pupils were already dilated.
He was dead!
(A precognitive dream; he was not truly dead.)
Seeing this, Si Jiuyue’s mind went blank for several seconds before she finally reacted. She gritted her teeth and cursed in pain:
"Xia Yunfei, you are not human! Why did you kill him? You... you will not have a good death! Che'er! Che'er!!!"
Madam Fang, in the study, heard the screaming outside.
She ran out in a panic, only to see her son lying motionless in Jiuyue’s arms. She let out a shriek of "Che'er!" and rolled her eyes back, falling straight down. She struck a large, sharp stone, which pierced her head.
Fresh blood flowed all over the ground.
A blinding red.
Before she died, her hand reached out weakly toward her son.
Her eyes held one last trace of tenderness.
"Che... Che'er, Mother’s Che'er, Mother is going to the Yellow Springs to accompany you!"
...
"No... no!"
Si Jiuyue let out a scream and woke up from the nightmare.
For a moment, she felt as if she had been fished out of water; her entire body was soaked. Perhaps she had been reading too many novels about family confiscations lately, to the point that the plot had invaded her dreams.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead and was about to get out of bed when a line of glowing red text appeared on her bedroom wall.
"Beep. The countdown to transmigration has begun!"
"Beep. 71 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds!"
"Beep. 71 hours, 59 minutes, 58 seconds!"
"Beep. 71 hours, 59 minutes, 57 seconds!"