Chapter 2: Kicked Out of the Estate

"Whoa!" The manservant pulled tight on the reins and lifted the curtain. "Eldest Miss, are you awake?"

"Where am I?" Ling Ruoxi asked timidly, her face full of terror and unease.

"Eldest Miss, the Master has given orders for this servant to escort you to the villa in your ancestral home. We should arrive in about three days," the manservant said, neither humble nor pushy. Gone was his former deference; after what had happened, he feared this Eldest Miss would never be able to turn her life around again.

"What!" Ling Ruoxi’s face turned deathly pale. "Then what about Mother?"

"The First Madam is still at the manor."

Was Mother not coming with her? A chill shot straight to her heart. Ling Ruoxi shook her head frantically. "No! I’m not going back. I want to see Mother."

She struggled to jump out of the carriage, ignoring the manservant’s attempts to stop her. Clutching her skirt, she stumbled toward the direction of the Imperial City. One of her embroidered shoes fell off as she ran, and her fair, jade-like feet were scraped bloody by the gravel. Her figure was a picture of misery.

At this moment, the Prime Minister’s manor was draped in mourning white. Monks from the Buddhist hall were performing rites in the front courtyard, while the women of the household, all clad in white robes, knelt in the main hall. A coffin sat in the center of the vast room, and the sound of weeping rose and fell.

Ling Keqing, overcome with grief and rage, had been helped to his room by the Old Madam to rest, leaving the three concubines to preside over the proceedings.

An hour ago, the First Madam, unable to bear the fate that had befallen her beloved daughter, had hanged herself in her room. In the rush, the funeral had to be kept simple.

Those kneeling in the hall lowered their heads in feigned sorrow, but only cries were heard, not tears. The First Madam had accompanied the Prime Minister since her youth, marrying him before he had even entered officialdom. For twenty years, she had enjoyed his undivided favor; even the three concubines who entered the manor later could not shake her position. Now that she was dead, had their opportunity not finally arrived?

The Second Concubine could hardly hide her triumph. Thinking of the days of boundless imperial favor to come, she was almost ready to laugh out loud. Suddenly, a commotion broke out outside the manor, and a manservant came running in hurriedly. "Second Madam, the Eldest Miss has returned."

"What?" That bitch dared to defy the Prime Minister’s orders and return to the manor on her own? The Second Concubine stood up from the floor in a flash, not a trace of sorrow left on her face.

"Mother, Father said she was never to set foot in the Imperial City again for the rest of her life. Now that the First Madam has hanged herself, she dares to cause a scene in the mourning hall. Such an unfilial and unrighteous woman should be beaten out with sticks!" The Second Miss, Ling Yuhan, leaned over to the Second Concubine and whispered, "Mother, you must not let her see Father."

Now that the First Madam was dead, there was no guarantee that Father wouldn't be swayed by old memories and allow Ling Ruoxi to make a comeback.

The Second Concubine thought this made sense and waved her hand. "Beat the Eldest Miss away with sticks. Do not let her cause a ruckus outside the manor."

"Yes!" More than a dozen manservants, wielding clubs, swarmed out from the opened gates. The thudding sounds of the beating were intermittent. The Second Concubine watched with venomous eyes as Ling Ruoxi screamed and wailed under the ruthless blows, a triumphant smile curling the corners of her lips.

"Ah! Don't hit me! Mother! Mother—" Ling Ruoxi rolled on the ground in agony, her clothes disheveled and her hair loose. Her once peerless, beautiful face was now covered in mud and blood.

How could the servants dare to hold back? As the saying goes, when the cunning rabbit dies, the hunting dog is cooked; when people leave, the tea goes cold. Now that the First Madam was dead and the Eldest Miss had lost favor, she was no longer the respected noblewoman she once was.

"Thud!" A club struck the back of Ling Ruoxi’s head mercilessly. Her pained cries for help stopped abruptly. After her limbs twitched a few times, she went still! A pool of warm liquid began to spread from beneath her. Her eyes were wide open, and they never blinked again.

The manservants’ hearts skipped a beat. They turned to look at each other, finally realizing the gravity of the situation. "This... the Eldest Miss, could she be... dead?"

As soon as the words were spoken, a ghostly wind whipped through the street. The white cloth hanging from the beams was blown into a swirl in the air, then fell with a rustle, landing just right to cover Ling Ruoxi’s body. A corner of the white cloth was stained red with blood. The chanting of the monks in the manor’s Buddhist hall now sounded like a soul-summoning banner from hell, chilling everyone to the bone.

"What is going on?" The Second Concubine walked over from the front courtyard with Ling Yuhan. As they approached, a thick, nauseating stench of blood hit them. A maid immediately handed her a handkerchief. She covered her nose, looking with disgust at Ling Ruoxi, who lay motionless in a pool of blood.

"Second Madam, the Eldest Miss, I fear she is already dead!" one of the manservants said, trembling with terror. His expression was panicked; no matter what, this was the legitimate Eldest Miss of the Prime Minister’s manor. If the Master were to find out...

The Second Concubine’s face changed drastically. She bent down and slowly reached a finger under Ling Ruoxi’s nose. There was not a breath to be felt.

Could this bitch really be dead?

"Mother, this matter cannot be made public, and Father must not know," Ling Yuhan was the first to regain her composure. Her eyes darted around. "There is a mass grave outside the city. Why don't we just throw the eldest sister there?"