In the early spring, the snow - covered northern land had not yet awakened from winter. The bright moon hung high in the sky, and all was silent. However, the gates of Pinglong Nunnery on the highest mountain in Xiaoguo Village, Shanyang Town, were wide open. A rustling sound came from outside the door of the west - connected side room.
Wuming, wrapped in a quilt on the bed, turned over and leaned towards where Pan Yueqing was. She whispered, "Second Miss, there seems to be some movement at the door."
Pan Yueqing responded casually. She reached out and touched the sewing basket beside the bed, grasped the scissors in her hand, closed her eyes, and quietly waited for the next move of the person outside. She was all too familiar with this situation. No matter how many times she relived it, it was engraved in her memory.
As the legitimate daughter of Prime Minister Pan, her biological mother was Su Lan, the only daughter of Marquis Dingyuan. Although her mother died when she was young, with the love of her grandmother, Pan Yueqing, who was raised in Marquis Dingyuan's mansion since childhood, was originally one of the top noble ladies in the capital.
After returning to the Pan Mansion, Pan Yueqing hardly fit in. Her grandmother's disgust, the hypocritical step - mother who was in charge of the family, and the hostility among her half - sisters... Danshen, which appeared out of nowhere in a bowl of chicken soup, was used to accuse her of attempting to harm an unborn child. As a result, she was sent to a family temple in the countryside to practice Buddhism with her hair still on her head, far away from the capital, and she missed the age for the coming - of - age ceremony and marriage proposals.
In her previous life, she was well - behaved, diligent, and cautious. She thought that as long as she endured until her father returned to the capital, someone would surely stand up for her. However, she never expected that those who wanted to harm her would never let her live until her father came back! It was because Wuhui, a nun in Pinglong Nunnery, colluded with bandits, allowing them to break into the nunnery and smear her reputation.
The incident alarmed the villagers. In the bright firelight, her embarrassing situation was clearly seen by everyone.
Although she was not violated, she couldn't withstand the gossip. Therefore, she decided to go all out, set fire to Pinglong Nunnery, and fled for her life. On the way, she met the Second Prince Qi Sicheng, who was on his way to supervise the Changyan Army. This marked the beginning of her four - year life of disguising herself as a man, hiding her identity, and living in the dark. It also set off a ten - year war for the throne in the Qi Kingdom and the beginning of her doomed relationship with Qi Sicheng.
She used to be Qi Sicheng's best military advisor and most intimate confidant, and she should have become the empress who stood side by side with Qi Sicheng. Her unwavering loyalty and the scars on her body on the battlefield only earned her a cup of poisoned wine from Qi Sicheng in the end.
The man she once loved deeply said to her, "Although you are good, you are not a suitable match."
And the starting point of this nightmare was this clumsy break - in by bandits. When she thought about it, she found it ridiculous that such a simple trick could leave her completely defenseless. After all, she was once hailed as the "Divine Strategist of Northern Qi".
"Miss..." Wuming said worriedly, not knowing what to do.
"Be quiet and pretend to be asleep," Pan Yueqing whispered.
The old door creaked open. The hand with which Wuming was holding Pan Yueqing's left hand tightened suddenly. The sound of even breathing came from Pan Yueqing's nose. Wuming's heart skipped a beat. The miss really looked like she was asleep!
The firelight shone on Wuming's face. They heard a rough voice smacking its lips and saying, "She looks poor. She doesn't seem to be a young lady from a wealthy family." The man took a step towards Pan Yueqing. When he saw her clearly, his lust was immediately aroused. He blew out the flame of the torch, rubbed his hands, and said, "This is the one. Little beauty, here comes your uncle!"
Pan Yueqing kept her eyes closed. She felt a body about to press down on her. Suppressing her disgust, when the bandit was about to pounce on her, Pan Yueqing suddenly turned her head, reached out, and pressed the man's head onto the pillow. She whispered in the bandit's ear, "You shouldn't have come."
The bandit was covered in flour from the pillow and couldn't see clearly in the dark. He only felt a force pinning him to the pillow. He struggled with his hands and grabbed Pan Yueqing's face.
Pan Yueqing winced in pain and stabbed the scissors towards the bandit's neck.
The bandit let out a loud cry, broke free from Pan Yueqing's hand, covered the shallow wound on his neck, pointed at Pan Yueqing, and suddenly became murderous. "You little bitch, you're courting death!" As he said this, he reached out in the moonlight and grabbed Pan Yueqing's slender neck.
Wuming turned over, lit the lamp cover, picked up the red - hot fire tongs on the stove, and hit the bandit on the back. The bandit kicked Wuming in the waist in pain. Wuming took three steps back and stumbled into the wall. The fire tongs fell to the ground. The bandit lifted Pan Yueqing off the bed, bent down to pick up the still - warm fire tongs, and stabbed Wuming in the waist. The sound of burning flesh and Wuming's screams reached Pan Yueqing's ears.
Pan Yueqing pulled out the white jade hairpin inlaid with gold from her head, kicked the bandit between the legs. The moment the bandit was in pain and lost his strength, she leaped onto his back from behind, wrapped her left hand around his neck, and with her right hand, she stabbed the hairpin hard towards the bandit's temple.
The tip of the hairpin was inlaid with gold. With great force, it sank half an inch into the bandit's head. The bandit let out a wild scream and threw her off. Then he grabbed the short knife from his waist and raised it high, about to slash down at Pan Yueqing's face. Unexpectedly, Wuming stood in front of Pan Yueqing and shouted, "Miss, run!"
"Die!" Pan Yueqing grabbed the firewood knife that Wuming used for chopping wood, pushed Wuming's body aside, ducked to avoid the bandit's short knife, and stabbed the knife upwards through the bandit's chest. The bandit's eyes widened in disbelief and he fell down. Pan Yueqing kicked the bandit's body away, held the knife, and pushed open the door. She saw Wuhui, the little nun who had been watching the scene outside and was about to call for help.
Pan Yueqing's eyes narrowed slightly. In her previous life, all her misfortunes originated from this little nun and the old nun. They had colluded with bandits for a little money to smear her reputation. If it weren't for their conspiracy, she wouldn't have been rejected by the noble families in the capital as unclean after returning to the Pan Mansion. "Help! Murder!" Wuhui saw the situation and turned to run.
"As a disciple of Buddhism, you have broken the precept of lust, Senior - sister Wuhui!" Pan Yueqing grabbed Wuhui's sleeve, pulled her towards herself, and stabbed the firewood knife into Wuhui's body. "Go and have a tryst with your lover in the underworld!"
Pan Yueqing saw the candlelight lit in the meditation room of Pinglong Nunnery and the shadows reflected on the window paper. She hid by the door with the knife in her hand. When the abbess of Pinglong Nunnery pushed the door open to see what was going on, Pan Yueqing slit her throat, ending her life.
"Miss, what should we do?" Wuming covered her wound. Seeing the abbess fall, there was no surprise in her eyes. Instead, there was a hint of relief. Leaning against the door frame, she asked Pan Yueqing worriedly, "Now that people are dead, we can't hide it. How can we explain it to the government?"
"Let's go all the way. Burn this Pinglong Nunnery!" Pan Yueqing supported Wuming's body, roughly tore off a piece of clothing, and tied it around Wuming's waist wound. First, she found all the sesame oil stored beside the west - connected side room and poured it on the three corpses. Then she piled up firewood and set fire to each room in turn. Finally, she threw the torch on the corpses.
Pan Yueqing helped Wuming up, put a wet quilt over both of them, opened the door, and looked back at the approaching fire. She smiled and said, "Let's go. We're going back to the capital."