Chapter 5: On the River

The escape route was something she had begun formulating after she settled into the valley.

The peculiarity of her blood was not possessed by every member of the Wei clan, and although they were all women, not every girl born into the Wei family had this special blood.

Sometimes it skipped a generation; sometimes, even sisters born of the same mother did not both have it.

To have one such person appear in a generation was exceedingly rare, the probability infinitesimally low.

It was precisely for this reason that the Wei clan had received the royal family's generous patronage for generations. The women possessing this special blood were consequently cherished and doted upon by the clan.

Who asked the Qi royal family to be like a cursed lot? The more outstanding a royal male was at birth, the higher the probability he carried poison within his body.

Thus, the Wei clan and the Qi royal family seemed like a match made by heaven.

Whenever a child was born into the Wei clan, if it was a girl, the very first thing done after birth was a blood test to confirm whether she was "the one."

Wei Zijun had not known these things when she was very young. She had always thought the favor she enjoyed in the clan was due to her status as the legitimate daughter of the main branch. It wasn't until she was nine, during a dispute with her cousins from her second aunt's house, that the other party, speaking without restraint, blurted out the reason.

Loved by the clan from birth, receiving birthday gifts from the royal family every year, and destined to enter the palace as a consort after her coming-of-age ceremony.

It sounded like an enviable life, yet it turned out to be solely because of the special blood in her body.

Wei Zijun had met the Crown Prince once. That brief encounter alone sparked her resistance.

The Crown Prince was only twelve years old. Because a hand warmer prepared by his attendant maid had burned him slightly, he ordered men to pry out the burning coals and stuff them into the maid's collar. The maid's screams, the smoke rising from her collar, and the smell of searing flesh—Wei Zijun could not forget them to this day.

A twelve-year-old Crown Prince so cruel and cold-blooded; such a man ascending the throne as Emperor would undoubtedly be a tyrant.

A man like that should have his poison flare up and die early. Wei Zijun did not wish for such a person to live long, let alone become his bedmate.

So, from that time on, what Wei Zijun thought about every day was how to escape the so-called arrangement of fate.

She refused to be a consort to such a man, refused to use her blood to prolong that kind of person's life. She felt she would be an accomplice in his future harming of loyal subjects and common people.

She didn't know why, but despite never having studied medicine, she was proficient in it. At first, she feared being treated as a freak and dared not tell anyone; later, as she grew older, she simply didn't want to tell anyone.

And that self-taught culinary skill—she hadn't dared reveal a hint of it while in the clan either.

She worked hard to appear obedient and well-behaved, until one day, an opportunity arose, and she fled the Wei clan, fleeing the Yangli Kingdom.

She knew that whether it was the Wei clan or the Qi royal family, without seeing her corpse, they would never give up.

So, in Wei Zijun's heart, escape was the top priority.

Therefore, after settling in the valley, she immediately set about planning contingency escape routes.

She hadn't expected to actually use it. Although the reason for using it wasn't her own doing, for her, it made little difference. His people could find this place; then her own clansmen and the Qi royal family might also find their way here—it was merely a matter of time.

As she told it, when these people dragged the raft out from a cave opening on the shore, and there were several bundles on top of it, they all looked at her in astonishment.

However, at such a critical moment, no matter how curious they were, they had no chance to ask her.

This saved her the trouble of explaining. As for after the escape... she was even less worried, because it simply wouldn't happen.

The river current was swift. Once the raft was positioned and everyone boarded, a gentle push with a bamboo pole sent the raft drifting downstream.

"Is our Master really alright?" After laying the Master down, someone asked again.

"I am his wife; what reason would I have to harm him?" Wei Zijun looked at the man still in a deep sleep, her tone calm.

From the moment they left until now, she had not approached Lu Huai again. It wasn't that they stopped her.

She just watched him. He was her husband, but from now on, they might never meet again in this life.

From their acquaintance to their wedding, he didn't even know what this wife of his looked like.

"Look quickly, what is that?" Suddenly, someone pointed at things floating up on the river surface around the raft, crying out in terror.

"Don't panic. Stay calm. As long as no one falls into the water, and you don't provoke them, you'll be fine." Wei Zijun instructed them, her gaze still fixed on Lu Huai's face, as if wanting to etch his features deep into her heart.

"Hey, you, come here. I have something to say to you." Lu Huai's female cousin, also frightened by the things on the river, spoke with a trembling voice.

Wei Zijun chuckled inwardly but had to admire this woman. Scared to this state, yet she still had the mind for other schemes—truly a ruthless character.

But then again, a young lady able to follow these retainers to this place had already proven she was no ordinary person.

"Cousin, whatever it is, wait until the Master wakes up to ask." A retainer looked worriedly at Wei Zijun and couldn't help but speak up.

From the expression on his face, Wei Zijun was sure he was worried for her, trying to help her.

Hmm, proof that good and evil coexist in the world; where there are villains, there are naturally good people.

The veiled female cousin responded to the retainer with a cold glare. Wei Zijun watched the retainer lower his head in conflicted helplessness, really wanting to say thank you.

Though his speaking up hadn't stopped anything, at least it let Wei Zijun feel kindness. That was enough for her.

Wei Zijun wanted to give the retainer a grateful smile, but the man didn't look up again.

Facing the female cousin's disdainful and loathing eyes, Wei Zijun walked over.

Wei Zijun's face was also covered by a veil, but the cousin's exposed eyes showed she was a beauty. As for Wei Zijun, to avoid trouble, her face not only bore scars from acne, but her skin was also dull.

"How did an ugly woman like you coax my brother into marriage?" The female cousin asked in a low, fiery voice.

Though it was low, the bamboo raft was only so big, and the few people on it were all martial artists with keen hearing; naturally, they all heard.

Wei Zijun listened, feeling neither anger nor embarrassment, but laughed lightly: "This young lady looks quite clever, yet how can she ask such a question? Didn't I answer you before? Because he is blind."

Her voice wasn't deliberately lowered like the cousin's, because she didn't see the necessity.

Lu Huai was unconscious and couldn't hear. What did it matter if the others heard or not?

Even if these people repeated her words to Lu Huai later, so what?

The female cousin clearly hadn't expected her to speak in such a tone face-to-face. She was stunned for a moment, then pointed at Wei Zijun in greater fury: "You woman are shameless to this extent! And you—how can you speak of my brother like that? Even if he cannot see, he is not someone you are worthy of. You aren't even fit to warm his bed at night."

"My lady, don't be so quick to anger. Whether I am a match for my husband is not for you to decide. Even if I'm not a match, so what? We have already bowed to heaven and earth as husband and wife. Do you think you are the one worthy of him? Alas, what use is your beauty? He cannot see, and he didn't marry you." Wei Zijun said with a calm smile, as if joking with a close friend.

"You, you, you... you're talking nonsense!" The female cousin, having grown up so large, had never suffered such humiliation. She short-circuited for a moment.

The people on the raft paid attention to the river and the path ahead while listening to the exchange. Someone worried for Wei Zijun—truly not smart. In this situation, she still wouldn't back down. Was she relying on the fact she had bowed to heaven and earth with the Master?

But the Master's status—whether that wedding counted was uncertain. The key was provoking the already furious female cousin; the consequences?

The retainer who had spoken up for Wei Zijun earlier raised his head, shaking it slightly and making eye signals, but she just wouldn't look at him.

Having spoken, Wei Zijun took another step forward, standing even closer to the cousin. This time, she lowered her voice: "You like him, right? Too bad—you're not worthy of him. Even if his eyes could see, he would absolutely never look at you."

Wei Zijun only knew, by a woman's intuition, that Lu Huai's cousin definitely adored him.

So she provoked her at every turn.

But she didn't know that this last sentence was truly pouring oil on fire, completely enraging the other party.

"Ugly woman, go die." The woman across from her, her voice changing with rage, raised her hand and shoved Wei Zijun.

She had liked her cousin since childhood. Back then, his eyes were fine, but he had always looked right through her.

"Don't!" A retainer shouted instinctively, rushing over trying to grab the person falling backward, but it was futile. They watched helplessly as she fell into the river, watched the things that had been floating on the surface, constantly trailing behind, instantly become frenzied, colliding and churning violently...

(End of Chapter)