Chapter 1: Mother and daughter settle all scores, returning every grudge with interest!

Chapter 1: Mother and daughter, settling old scores and avenging grievances!

The thirty-fifth year of Yongqing, early autumn.

The wind had picked up last night, sweeping away the lingering heat of late summer. The morning clouds hung low and gloomy, looking as if rain were imminent.

A carriage entered the capital through the South Gate, moving at a steady, unhurried pace toward the Inner City.

The carriage curtain was lifted at one corner, revealing half the face of the person inside.

After watching the street scene in silence for a while, Lu Nian withdrew her hand, leaned against the carriage wall, and spoke: "It’s the same place, yet it feels completely different from my memories. Well, I suppose that’s natural; I’ve been gone for nearly twenty years, so everything is bound to look unfamiliar. What about you, A-Wei? How long has it been since you left the capital? Do you remember any of the scenery?"

Hearing this, the young girl sitting opposite Lu Nian looked up.

She had a fair complexion, almond-shaped eyes that were dark and bright, and features that had just begun to mature, shedding their youthful awkwardness. She was a budding beauty, and when she smiled, faint dimples appeared, adding a touch of playfulness.

"Mother," the girl said with a light laugh, "what are you saying? I was born in Shu and raised in Shu; when have I ever been to the capital before?"

Lu Nian was stunned for a moment, then burst into a fit of giggles. "Look at this, Nanny Wen. There are only the three of us in this carriage, yet A-Wei is still A-Wei—not a single leak in her story."

Nanny Wen lowered her eyes, her posture respectful even while seated. "Madam, this servant is also unfamiliar with the prosperity of the capital."

Lu Nian laughed even more happily, clapping her hands repeatedly. "Once we enter the Inner City, we follow the main street to the entrance of Swallow Alley, turn west, and go a little further until we reach that tallest, largest ginkgo tree. That will be our Dingxi Marquis Mansion."

At this, Lu Nian’s smile vanished instantly. She reached out and gripped A-Wei’s hand, a flash of hatred in her eyes. "From this day forward, we, mother and daughter, will settle our old scores and avenge our grievances!"

A-Wei gripped back, her fingertips pressing so hard that her nail beds turned red.

She had, of course, been to the capital before—or rather, she was born here. Her original surname was Jin.

Her grandfather had been a Grand Tutor for three reigns and once held power that shook the court. There were many children in the family, but she, the youngest granddaughter, had been the most doted upon.

It was not unusual; ordinary families always protected and pampered their eldest grandsons and youngest children. As the daughter of the youngest son, with only three cousins seven or eight years her senior ahead of her, she had been the pearl of the family from the moment she was born.

When she was four, her father was sent to serve as an official in Zhongzhou. A-Wei, carrying the reluctance and concern of her elders, accompanied her mother to join her father at his post.

The tragedy struck when she was six.

The Crown Prince was embroiled in a witchcraft scandal, and her grandfather was implicated. There was no way for the Jin family to escape.

The capital was in a state of terror, and the Grand Tutor’s mansion was surrounded. Only her aunt, who had been married for many years, managed to have a trusted nanny smuggle her out.

Nanny Hua traveled day and night, racing against the officials to deliver the news to Zhongzhou before they could make arrests.

After receiving the news, her father made many arrangements, but her mother, who was heavily pregnant, suffered a miscarriage from the shock. Amidst the chaos, Nanny Hua was ordered to take A-Wei and continue fleeing south.

The two of them had disguised themselves as grandmother and granddaughter, worked as cooks, and never dared to let anyone know that a young granddaughter of the Jin family had survived—until they heard news of Lu Nian.

Lu Nian was the legitimate eldest daughter of the Dingxi Marquis Mansion and a close friend of A-Wei’s mother. She had married into the Yu family, a prominent clan in Shu, many years ago. A-Wei had met Lu Nian once in her childhood and remembered the young lady from the Yu family who was six months older than her and also named A-Wei.

The events at the Yu family were rumored to be sinister in the Shu region.

Over two or three years, members of the Yu family died one after another—some from illness, some from accidents, and others from the elderly collapsing under the weight of the grief. They had sought out high monks and invited Taoist priests, but nothing worked. Yu Ruwei had previously gone to a villa to recuperate, and although news of her death hadn't spread yet, the situation was likely dire.

A-Wei, hiding her identity, sought out Lu Nian. The exhausted, muddled Lu Nian, as if struck by a flash of insight, recognized A-Wei immediately.

The two wept bitterly, sharing their experiences over the years.

It was then that A-Wei learned the deaths of the Yu family were not caused by evil magic, but by Lu Nian’s revenge.

During the internal strife of the Yu family, Lu Nian had been poisoned while pregnant, which was why Yu Ruwei had been sickly from birth.

Lu Nian had taken her revenge, but she could not save her increasingly frail daughter. The day after A-Wei arrived, the Yu family’s Ruwei breathed her last, extinguishing the fire in Lu Nian’s heart.

It was A-Wei who stirred Lu Nian, pulling her back from the brink of despair and madness.

"Sister Ruwei’s revenge is settled, but what about your own?"

"Who used unscrupulous means to cause you to lose your own mother?"

"Who occupied the magpie’s nest, causing you to become estranged from your father and brother?"

"Who ruined your reputation in the capital, forcing you to marry far away to Shu?"

"Are you content to let her continue to act with impunity in the capital?"

How could Lu Nian be content? She was already a Rakshasa with blood on her hands; how could she sit by and watch her enemies remain at large?

They stayed at the villa for nearly two more years.

Lu Nian recovered her health, A-Wei became Yu Ruwei, and Nanny Hua became Nanny Wen. Once everything was prepared, the three of them set off for the capital.

Anticipating the hardships of the journey and leaving plenty of time, they specifically chose to enter the capital on this day.

This day was the thirtieth anniversary of the death of the Dingxi Marquis’s first wife—Lu Nian’s biological mother.

The carriage stopped outside the Marquis Mansion.

A-Wei stepped down onto the footstool, glanced at the stone lions outside the mansion, and then turned her head to look toward the east.

That was the direction of the Grand Tutor’s mansion—her true home.

Her grandfather would never have engaged in witchcraft; the entire Jin family was innocent.

A-Wei tightened her grip on her hand hidden in her sleeve once more.

Lu Nian would give her a legitimate identity, and she would help Lu Nian deal with the stepmother. Then, she would have her own revenge.

To clear her grandfather’s name and vindicate the Jin family!

The Dingxi Marquis Mansion was holding a family memorial, and many familiar families had come to offer incense and gifts, so the mansion gates were wide open, with several stewards and gatekeepers respectfully welcoming guests.

The new carriage did not look like that of a prominent guest. When the three mistress and servants stepped down without presenting a calling card or gift list and walked straight inside, the steward blocked their path.

"I don't know which noble family's guests have arrived..."

Before he could finish, Lu Nian shot him a sharp, icy glare. "Guests? Am I a guest? Ha! I suppose so. A married daughter is like spilled water; I have to prepare a calling card just to come back and offer incense!"

The words turned the steward’s face pale. Then, looking closely at the woman’s face, his complexion shifted from white to green.

The features matched his memory, and the tone was even more biting than it had been years ago. Who else could it be but the eldest daughter who had married far away so many years ago?

"Quick, quick..." the steward urged his subordinates with a grim face. "Go inside and report this. The eldest miss—no, wait, the aunt..."

The mansion hadn't had such a figure in so long that the steward was too nervous to get the title right, finally blurting out "Aunt Madam" to address her.

The servant didn't dare say more; he turned and ran, charging headlong into the courtyard where the mourning hall had been set up.

The place was crowded. Monks were striking wooden fish and chanting scriptures, and the Dingxi Marquis sat to the side, watching his descendants offer incense. Everything was orderly.

Suddenly, a servant burst in, gasping for air, disrupting the solemn atmosphere. Almost everyone looked over.

"What is the meaning of this?" the Marchioness asked, frowning.

"The Aunt Madam has returned."

"Who?"

It wasn't just the Marchioness who was caught off guard; everyone present looked at each other in confusion. There was no such person as an "Aunt Madam" in this family...

The Dingxi Marquis was the first to recover. "Is it A-Nian who has returned?"

The name "A-Nian" immediately brought the voice and appearance of the woman who had married away years ago back into everyone’s minds. For a moment, expressions varied.

Lu Nian had actually returned directly from Shu without a word?

The new book has started.

I hope my readers will support it. Happy reading, everyone~

(End of chapter)