The third watch at the hour of Yin pierced the thick clouds, shattering the deathly silence of the night. Shen Mingyue curled up in front of the carved wooden window, the confidential letter clenched in her hand soaked through with cold sweat. The cedar scent lingering on the edge of the paper was identical to the fragrance inside Noble Consort Shu’s bedchamber in her past life, making her temples throb relentlessly. The candle flickered in the draft, casting a shifting light upon the three characters "Shen Qingyao" on the letter, bearing an uncanny resemblance to the crimson mole trembling at the corner of her stepsister's eye. Chuntao knelt on the floor wiping the flagstones, her movements a third slower than usual; ever since she brought back the news from Zuixian Tower last night, the girl had been constantly dazed, utterly unaware even when she knocked over the bronze basin.
"Miss, the shadow guard has sent word." Three crisp taps sounded outside the window, a cryptographic rhythm that caused Shen Mingyue to spring to her feet. The moment she pushed open the carved wooden window, a biting wind mixed with sleet rushed against her face, stinging painfully. Beneath the eaves, a shadow guard knelt on one knee, the edges of his black cloak crusted with ice that gleamed coldly in the moonlight. "Tonight at the third quarter of the hour of Tzu, Second Miss Shen had a clandestine meeting with a man at the Ruined Temple in the West City. That man..." He paused, casting a vigilant glance around before lowering his voice, "had a token of the imperial shadow guards hanging from his waist, and his demeanor exuded an aura of murderous intent. Your subordinate risked getting close and overheard a few key conversations. The man said, 'The plan remains unchanged; once the coming-of-age ceremony is over, the items will be sent into the palace.' Second Miss Shen replied, 'Lady Cao has already arranged everything on her end, it's just that Shen Mingyue's sudden abnormal attitude toward the imperial selection requires further planning.'"
Shen Mingyue’s hand gripping the window frame tightened abruptly, and the harrowing scene of her mother’s tragic death from a difficult labor in her past life exploded in her mind. The midwife’s panicked screams, her father pacing back and forth outside the delivery room, and Lady Cao kneeling before the mourning hall, her handkerchief covering her face yet failing to conceal the faint, triumphant smile at the corners of her mouth. Back then, consumed by the grief of losing her mother, she had never stopped to ponder why her mother, who had always enjoyed robust health, would suddenly suffer a fatal hemorrhage. At this moment, the shadow guard’s words were like a sharp blade slicing open the scars deep within her memory.
"Go call Nanny Liu." As Shen Mingyue turned, the pearl tassel in her hair struck against itself with a crisp sound, startling the sleeping clepsydra. In the bronze mirror, her complexion was even paler than the moonlight outside, and her neck seemed to burn once again with the bloody scars left by a white silk cord in her past life. When Nanny Liu entered the room, she happened to catch the young miss fiercely thrusting a white jade hairpin into her vanity case. Amidst flying wooden splinters, the twin lotus flowers carved onto the head of the hairpin snapped in half, resembling her shattered past.
"This old servant is here." Nanny Liu caught sight of the unburned fragments of the confidential letter on the table, a flicker of panic flashing through her turbid eyes. Shen Mingyue repeated the shadow guard’s words, and at the end, she retrieved a bronze shard from the bottom of her vanity case. The cloud-and-thunder patterns along the edge of the fragment cast an enigmatic, eerie glow in the candlelight. "Does Nanny know that this matches the pattern on the imperial shadow guards' token down to the last detail? Furthermore, Shen Qingyao mentioned during their clandestine meeting that Lady Cao has already made arrangements. There must be a conspiracy behind all this." Nanny Liu leaned in to examine it closely, her hands suddenly trembling violently—that pattern was indeed identical to the shadow guard tokens she had seen while serving in the palace twenty years ago.
"Could the Miss be suspecting..." Nanny Liu’s voice quivered, her Adam's apple bobbing. Shen Mingyue let out a cold laugh, her fingertips gliding across the rouge box on her dressing table, gouging a crack into the exquisite peony pattern on the lid. "When Lady Cao married into the Shen Family all those years ago, Father said she was the daughter of a disgraced official. But if she were merely the daughter of an ordinary criminal, how could she be linked to the imperial shadow guards? Look at the 'items to be sent into the palace' that Shen Qingyao mentioned in their clandestine meeting, and combine that with what happened to our Shen Family after the imperial selection in my past life; I fear this entire setup was plotted by them long ago. Moreover, before the imperial selection in my past life, Lady Cao always loved sending me nourishing tonics to my room. The scent of those decoctions bore a striking resemblance to the faint cedar fragrance on Shen Qingyao. Thinking about it now, it sends chills down my spine."
Before dawn had broken, Shen Mingyue set out with Chuntao and Nanny Liu. The carriage wheels crunched across the frozen cobbled road, startling the jackdaws perched beneath the eaves. "Go to Jiren Hall in the East City." Shen Mingyue lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, gazing at the fish-belly white emerging on the horizon, her eyes resolute and unyielding. In her past life, just before her mother passed away, a doctor surnamed Chen had been urgently summoned to the estate, but by the next day, that doctor had vanished without a trace, as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth.
The old proprietor of Jiren Hall was wiping down the medicine cabinet when he saw Shen Mingyue and the others enter. The rag in his hand nearly dropped to the floor, and he hurriedly bowed in greeting. "Twenty years ago, was there a Doctor Chen practicing in your establishment?" Shen Mingyue cut straight to the point, pulling a ingot of silver from her sleeve and slamming it onto the counter. The silver ingot collided with the wooden counter with a crisp sound. A flicker of panic crossed the old proprietor's eyes, his gaze falling upon Nanny Liu behind her, and he hesitated before speaking, "This older sister looks rather familiar..."
"I once served in the Shen Estate." Nanny Liu stepped forward, the copper keys at her waist clinking with the movement. "When Madam Shen suffered a difficult labor back then, it was Doctor Chen who was summoned. If the proprietor is willing to speak the truth, the Shen Family will offer a generous reward. Moreover, this matter is of the utmost importance and may even involve imperial secrets." The old proprietor's throat bobbed, and after casting a glance left and right, he reached beneath the counter to retrieve a greasepaper parcel whose edges had already turned yellow and brittle. "Before Doctor Chen left, he entrusted me to hand this to someone from the Shen Estate. Yet I waited twenty years, and no one ever came to claim it. At the time, he looked flustered and repeatedly urged me, saying this medical record concerns human lives, and if anyone from the Shen Family ever came to ask, it must be handed over to them."
Shen Mingyue took the greasepaper parcel; inside was a yellowed medical record, the three characters "Madam Shen, née Zhang" on the title page stabbing painfully at her eyes. Opening the record, dense rows of handwriting documented her mother's prenatal symptoms—lethargy, edema, abnormal fetal movement—manifestations that at the time were attributed to signs of a difficult labor, but now, viewed in hindsight, clearly pointed to the signs of chronic poisoning. Even more alarming was the final page, where Doctor Chen had written in cinnabar ink: "I fear someone is administering poison, yet evidence is lacking; I hope the Shen Family investigates thoroughly. The poison suffered by Madam Shen bears an extreme resemblance to the symptoms of a certain imperial consort in the palace twenty years ago. The method of poisoning is vicious and must originate from the same hand." The handwriting was scrawled, as if written in great haste, yet every single word carried the weight of a thousand pounds.
"Where did Doctor Chen go afterward?" Shen Mingyue asked in an icy tone, her nails digging deep into her palms. The old proprietor shook his head, a look of terror crossing his face. "Ever since he returned from the Shen Estate that day, he packed his things and left, saying he was going to wander the world as a cloud-drifter. However..." He lowered his voice, leaning close to Shen Mingyue's ear, "I heard that after he left the capital, he encountered bandits on the imperial highway. Not even his corpse was found, and only his blood-stained medicine chest was discovered by the roadside. But this old servant finds it suspicious; Doctor Chen possessed superb medical skills and frequently traversed mountain paths to gather herbs—how could he so easily lose his life to bandits?"
On the return journey in the carriage, Shen Mingyue held the medical record tightly to her chest, as if holding her mother's life. Chuntao looked at the pale knuckles of the young miss and whispered, "Miss, please don't be too sad..." Before she could finish, Shen Mingyue suddenly threw aside the curtain and called out to the coachman, "Detour to the Ruined Temple in the West City. I want to go see for myself what secrets are hidden within that ruined temple; perhaps I can find even more evidence of Shen Qingyao's collusion."
Icicles hung from the eaves of the ruined temple, chiming in the wind like the whispers of the dead. Shen Mingyue stepped across the snow-covered ground into the temple gates, the snow crunching beneath her feet. The air was filled with the burnt stench of incense mixed with a damp, moldy odor that was nauseating. The candle flame on the altar suddenly flickered violently, illuminating a portrait of a beauty on the wall—the woman's brows and eyes bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Lady Cao, save for an extra crimson mole at the corner of her eye and a bizarre, enigmatic smile upon her lips.
"Miss, this portrait..." Chuntao covered her mouth, her eyes filled with horror, her voice entirely altered. Shen Mingyue stared at the portrait, suddenly recalling how Lady Cao always loved to dab a dot of rouge at the corner of her eye when applying her makeup, claiming it was to conceal a scar. Yet looking at the crimson mole on the woman in the painting now, a terrifying suspicion welled up in her heart—could Shen Qingyao's crimson mole have been inherited from Lady Cao? Just how many unknown secrets existed between them?
Just then, a gust of eerie wind blew past, extinguishing the candle flame on the altar and plunging the surroundings into pitch darkness. Shen Mingyue gripped the short blade at her waist with vigilance as a cold laugh rang out from the dark. "Eldest Miss Shen, coming here in the dead of night—what treasure are you looking for?" A hoarse male voice sounded, followed by several dark figures leaping down from the roof beams, surrounding Shen Mingyue and the others completely.
"Who are you people?" Shen Mingyue asked in an icy voice, her gaze sweeping across the surroundings. The leader of the men in black pulled off his mask, revealing a ferocious scar across his face. "Eldest Miss Shen has a poor memory for important people; weren't you having your people watch my master at Zuixian Tower last night? Since you've come, you might as well stay." With that, he waved his hand, and the men in black drew their blades and charged forward.
Shen Mingyue, Nanny Liu, and Chuntao pressed back-to-back, fighting desperately. Amidst the fray, Shen Mingyue caught sight of the portrait on the wall being slashed open by a sword, revealing a hidden compartment behind it. A thought flashed through her mind, and she seized an opening, charging toward the hidden compartment and pulling out a roll of sheepskin parchment. Before she could make out the contents, she was struck in the back by a man in black and nearly tumbled to the ground. At the critical juncture, the Shen Estate's shadow guards arrived in the nick of time, beating back the men in black.
Enduring the sharp pain, Shen Mingyue unfurled the sheepskin parchment to reveal a topographical map of the Shen Estate, along with strange symbols and characters. Inspecting it closely, she found words like "secret passage" and "medicine storehouse," alongside a line of fine print: "When the time is ripe, we shall coordinate from within and without to seize control of the Shen Family." Combined with the conversation from Shen Qingyao's clandestine meeting, it was crystal clear to Shen Mingyue that this was a conspiracy orchestrated by Lady Cao and Shen Qingyao to take over the Shen Family and subsequently seize even greater benefits.
On the way back to the estate, Shen Mingyue pondered incessantly. Lady Cao was connected to the imperial shadow guards, and Shen Qingyao was in league with Noble Consort Shu—what sort of ties bound all of this together? And was her mother's death also related to forces within the palace? She stroked the cover of the medical record, a plan already taking shape in her mind. Tomorrow, in the family ancestral hall and before everyone present, she would tear away this secret sealed away for twenty years. Yet she also knew well that this would inevitably be a bitter battle; Lady Cao and Shen Qingyao would never simply surrender without a fight.
Early the next morning, the Shen Estate was still bustling as maids and matrons hurried back and forth in preparation for the coming-of-age ceremony. Dressed in plain attire, Shen Mingyue led Nanny Liu and Chuntao straight toward the ancestral hall. Amidst curling wisps of sandalwood smoke, the ancestral tablets cast a cold gleam in the morning light, as if watching over everything about to transpire. She placed the medical record upon the incense table and gazed at her mother's name on the tablet, her eyes stinging with moisture as twenty years of yearning and hatred welled up within her at once.
"What is Big Sister's meaning here?" Shen Qingyao's voice echoed from behind, carrying a trace of vigilance. Shen Mingyue turned around to see her stepsister dressed in a light pink ruqun, the crimson mole at the corner of her eye dazzling and vivid, followed closely by Lady Cao herself. Lady Cao was still clad in that deep purple gown, the rouge at the corners of her eyes dotted to perfection. A hypocritical smile hung upon her face, yet her eyes betrayed a hint of unease.
"Second Sister has arrived just in time." Shen Mingyue offered a faint smile, though it did not reach her eyes. "Yesterday at Jiren Hall, I found some interesting things." She picked up the medical record and opened it before everyone's eyes, every movement seeming to drain the last of her strength. "Twenty years ago, Mother died of a difficult labor, but in truth, she was murdered by poison. These medical records meticulously document the symptoms of Mother's poisoning, which bear an identical resemblance to the symptoms of a certain imperial consort poisoned in the palace twenty years ago."
Lady Cao remained entirely composed, though a flicker of panic flashed through her eyes as she forced a calm demeanor. "Eldest Miss, mind your words. I know not where this medical record was procured; how can it serve as evidence? With baseless words, how can you casually slander others? Perhaps someone forged it intentionally to drive a wedge between our mother-daughter relationship and the Shen Family." Her voice was steady, yet it struggled to conceal a trembling tail-end.
"Is that so?" Shen Mingyue let out a cold laugh, pulling the bronze fragment and the sheepskin parchment from her sleeve. The fragment glinted coldly in the sunlight. "Then how do you explain this? Shen Qingyao colluding with the imperial shadow guards, and you..." Her gaze shifted to Lady Cao, her eyes sharp as blades, "...bearing such a striking resemblance to the woman in the portrait—is that merely a coincidence? Furthermore, this cedar scent—both you and Shen Qingyao carry it. How do you account for that? And this sheepskin parchment, depicting the topographical map of the Shen Estate along with the words 'coordinate from within and without to seize control of the Shen Family'—how do you explain this?"
Lady Cao's expression finally shifted, her lips trembling slightly as she still attempted to quibble. "T-these are all far-fetched connections... Someone must be framing us!" Shen Qingyao dropped to her knees with a thud, tears bursting from her eyes. "Sister, I know I was wrong, I beg you to spare me... Everything was orchestrated by Mother, and I had no choice!" She wept bitterly, looking utterly pitiful. Yet Shen Mingyue felt not a single ripple in her heart; she had seen too many of these tears in her past life, every drop a hypocritical poison.
"Father is arriving shortly." Shen Mingyue watched the panicked pair, a surge of fierce satisfaction welling up within her. "Today, I will make everyone in the Shen Family know how Mother truly died. And the two of you..." Her gaze swept over Lady Cao and Shen Qingyao with the chilling sharpness of a blade, "...must pay the price for your own deeds." Footsteps echoed from outside the ancestral hall, drawing closer and closer, and Shen Mingyue took a deep breath. The prelude to revenge had begun, and this was only the start. She gazed up at her mother's tablet and spoke silently in her heart: Mother, your daughter can finally avenge you. The bloody storm of this family had only just commenced, and Shen Mingyue was already fully prepared to welcome every challenge yet to come.