Chapter 1: The Eldest Young Lady of the Marquis of Northern Pacification’s Residence
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The Zhu Luo Kingdom, Year Eighteen of Yongfeng.
The capital was unusually lively today. The Northern Pacifying Marquis’s residence was distributing porridge and performing charity, and the marquis’s eldest daughter had emerged from her chambers.
Yun Qing stood before the marquis’s residence. She wore a blue-violet high-waisted ruqun, while her symmetrical coiffure lent her an appealing liveliness. Her dark, almond-shaped eyes shimmered like water, though a closer look revealed a trace of ferocity hidden in their depths.
Gazing at the black miasma and baleful aura churning above the estate, she could not help giving a cold laugh inwardly.
“Sister Fairy, is that wicked woman the one who replaced you as the legitimate eldest daughter of the Northern Pacifying Marquis’s household?”
The young girl beside Yun Qing, Su Lan, lightly pointed toward the woman in pink who was ladling out porridge.
The woman was strikingly beautiful, wearing a light application of makeup and an ornate hairpiece. Her robe, made from a bolt of brocade worth a thousand pieces of gold, was especially eye-catching. She wore a gentle smile, and every movement displayed the elegant composure of a refined lady.
She was Sheng Jintang, the legitimate eldest daughter of the marquis’s residence, known throughout the capital.
Yun Qing parted her lips and spoke leisurely. “Replace me? She can forget it.”
On closer inspection, Yun Qing and the noble young lady of the marquis’s residence looked astonishingly alike. They might easily have been sisters born of the same mother.
Su Lan gave an unwilling snort and cast Sheng Jintang a sidelong glance. “She is nowhere near as good as you! You are clearly the legitimate eldest daughter of the Sheng family, Sister Fairy!”
In her heart, Yun Qing was the very best—and her beloved Sister Fairy.
Yun Qing patted Su Lan reassuringly, then turned her gaze toward Sheng Jintang, the young lady of the marquis’s residence. That had once been her name.
From childhood, she had been the Sheng family’s treasured pearl, adored by her parents and everyone in the household.
By nature playful, she disliked being cooped up in her chambers and often slipped out with a purse of money to wander the streets.
When she was eight years old, she encountered a little beggar in the street. Looking closely, she discovered that the child bore an extraordinary resemblance to her.
Moved by the little beggar’s pitiable appearance, she brought her back to the estate, took her in as a maidservant, and bestowed upon her the name Splendid.
From then on, she and Splendid appeared together everywhere, inseparable as shadow and form.
Later, while secretly sneaking out of the household, the two of them accidentally became separated.
In the midst of her panic, she encountered an old man with an otherworldly air. Stroking his white beard, he said to her, “Little one, this poor Daoist can see that your destiny is extraordinary and that you possess the genius of heaven. Unfortunately, your glabella is darkened and baleful energy coils around you. I fear a calamity involving blood is soon to befall you. Allow this poor Daoist to protect you through it.”
Before she could say a word, the old Daoist affixed a talisman to her body.
She fainted soon afterward.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a secluded mountain temple, cut off from the rest of the world.
She wept and protested, demanding to return home, but the old Daoist told her that every member of the National Guardian Marquis’s household had died mysteriously, without a single survivor.
The old Daoist altered her destiny to prevent the baleful energy from following her, gave her a longevity lock, and changed her name to Yun Qing.
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Eight years passed. The girl mastered her teacher’s true teachings. In divination and physiognomy, she was a cut above the ordinary.
Later, news that Sheng Jintang, the marquis’s daughter, was discussing an engagement with Prince Ye somehow reached the mountain temple.
Yun Qing wept and demanded to descend the mountain.
She had to discover what had truly happened at the marquis’s residence that day.
What kind of grudge did they bear against the Sheng family to summon such a powerful vengeful spirit—one capable of slaughtering more than a hundred people throughout the entire household?
After her father, Sheng Yuting, died, her uncle Sheng Yukun, who had been stationed far away on the frontier, was summoned back to the capital by the emperor and inherited his title.
She also had to discover who this so-called “marquis’s daughter” truly was.
The old Daoist knew perfectly well that he could no longer stop her this time.
All he could do was weep bitterly and sob, “My precious disciple, you must remember me after you leave!”
Now, as Yun Qing studied her carefully, the cold smile at the corner of her lips deepened.
So it really was that little beggar from all those years ago.
Splendid. Passing off a counterfeit as the real thing—what audacity.
Yun Qing gazed at the filthy black aura clinging to her, invisible to ordinary eyes.
That girl had gained the identity of the marquis’s legitimate daughter and still refused to behave. She even carried human lives on her conscience.
Her eyes narrowed slightly. Secretly, she traced a talisman with her fingertip and gave Sheng Jintang a small nod. The talisman flew toward her.
Out of the corner of her eye, Sheng Jintang caught sight of the girl in blue-violet robes and was instantly captivated by her breathtaking beauty.
The girl wore no makeup, yet her skin was fine and fair. Her lips, curved in a faint smile, were three times more beautiful than Sheng Jintang’s own.
Though the two looked similar, Yun Qing possessed a naturally ethereal air, making her appear brighter and far more enchanting.
The instant Sheng Jintang saw that face, her heart gave a violent jolt.
Could it be her?
After completing the talisman, Yun Qing met Sheng Jintang’s gaze for a fleeting moment. She revealed an unreadable smile and said, “Su Lan, let’s go.”
“Yes, Sister Fairy!”
Su Lan cast Sheng Jintang a disdainful look, then swept her sleeve aside and followed Yun Qing away.
Sheng Jintang watched their departing figures, as well as that strange smile Yun Qing had worn.
Her heart remained unsettled for a long time.
They looked so alike!
Could it be... that she was still alive?
While Sheng Jintang stood dazed, a foul stench suddenly rushed over her.
“What is that smell?”
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“It reeks!”
The people waiting in line erupted in confusion. Their appetites vanished instantly, and the hands holding their empty bowls timidly dropped to their sides.
Frowning, Sheng Jintang lowered her voice and said to the maid beside her, “How did you manage this? Hurry and find where that smell is coming from! Prince Ye will be arriving soon. Are you trying to ruin this marriage arrangement?”
The maid glanced left and right, looking at Sheng Jintang as though she wanted to speak but did not dare.
Growing impatient beneath her gaze, Sheng Jintang snapped, “What are you staring at? Surely you don’t mean that smell is coming from me?”
The maid lowered her head, too frightened to answer.
“It seems to be coming from the eldest Miss Sheng...”
“I smell it too. The stench is strongest over here by the eldest Miss Sheng...”
“The eldest Miss Sheng actually has such terrible body odor...”
Whispers had already begun to spread through the crowd, and the looks directed at her had become strange.
Some people with especially sensitive noses could no longer hold back and vomited.
Sheng Jintang’s face flushed crimson. Daring not to lift her sleeve and smell herself, she hurried away with her hands clasped before her.
Only after entering the residence did she smell her own hand. The stench made her retch violently, tears streaming from her eyes, and her legs gave way beneath her.
The maids and servants nearby tried to help her up, but the odor was so overpowering that they did not dare approach. Covering their noses, they retreated.
“Prepare water! Prepare water! I want a bath!” Sheng Jintang screamed through her tears. “And find Star Garden for me! Quickly!”
“Yes.”
The servants scattered in all directions. The two maids who had received the order hurried away as well.
The Hall of Three Lives was a medical clinic located in the capital.
A faint, distinctive medicinal fragrance lingered throughout the clinic.
Yun Qing finished writing a prescription and handed it to the elderly woman before her, smiling warmly. “Grandmother, take the medicine according to the prescription. You will recover within three days.”
The old woman gratefully accepted the prescription and thanked her repeatedly. “Miss Yun Qing, your healing hands are miraculous. My old man is nearly recovered too.”
Before the woman left, Yun Qing handed her a sachet. “I made this sachet myself, Grandmother. Hang it beside your bed—it will calm the spirit.”
The old woman accepted it with a smile. “Miss Yun Qing is truly beautiful and kindhearted. Then this old woman will gladly take it.”
Yun Qing had said that backward. The reason the woman’s family suffered so many illnesses and misfortunes was that evil spirits were at work. The herbal medicine merely soothed the nerves. What truly took effect was the yellow talisman hidden inside the sachet.
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