Chapter 1: A Tragic Death

Tianyuan Continent, Changjing Kingdom, Year 209 On the sixth day of June, Valentine's Day, the capital city was bustling with activity. Colorful lanterns were hanging in the night sky, and pedestrians were talking and laughing. Young girls and boys were gathering in crowds and groups as they recited poems, and there was a competition of Qi Art on the stage. Cheerful voices and laughter floated in the evening breeze. In a quiet and elegant courtyard on the outskirts of the capital city, a piercing scream rent the inky night sky. "AH! Zhou Zhicheng... You wicked man… One day, you will be struck by lightning! May you die sonless! " In a corner of the courtyard, a woman covered in blood crawled out of the woodshed. Her face had been destroyed and her eyes had been hollowed out. Her disfigured face looked terrible. Two old servants came out and kicked her on the head. "Shameless bitch, stop shouting! Don't get our master's ears dirty!" Rong Qiyue felt a knife-like pain in her entire body, and her last bit of strength was drained away. She gasped violently, unable to crawl another inch. Her hands had left a long trail of blood on the jade white floor. Rong Qiyue couldn’t see the pair of colorful shoes with an embroidered cloud pattern that appeared in front of her. A woman's delicate laughter rang out, bringing with it a piercing chill, causing her to feel as if she had fallen into a thousand-year-old ice cellar. Rong Qiyue's entire body trembled as she cried in a miserable voice, "Princess Huizhen... you are… so cruel! Adulterers will come to no good end!" She had run out of strength, and her voice was pitifully quiet. An intense hatred reflected in the eyes of the woman in front of her. The embroidered shoe moved slightly and stepped heavily on Rong Qiyue's bloody hand. It grinded her fingers hard, causing her shivering like a sieve. "No good end? Hehe, Rong Qiyue… you took possession of Zhicheng, and now you will disappear from the world. I’m Mrs. Zhou now! " Princess Huizhen laughed coldly. Her smile was beautiful, but her eyes were ice-cold. Rong Qiyue’s mind raced. She thought about the past eight years – she had worked so hard to run the restaurant for her husband's family. The business had flourished, and their son was cute and bright. She thought her husband would be grateful, and that they were deeply in love with each other. She didn't expect it to be a cruel deception! Zhou Zhicheng had cheated on her with Princess Huizhen, and was having Rong Qiyue killed so he could marry her. Rong Qiyue had no more tears. Blood seeped from her eye sockets, dying her white clothes red. The deep pain made her twitch a few times before her hand finally fell. "By the way, Zhicheng told me to keep your son alive. I won’t cut him into pieces until your husband comes back. It's a pity, Rong Qiyue, that you can't see him die. Just imagine that your son will call me mother, and he will die in my hands… What a heartbreaking scene it is…" Rong Qiyue immediately looked up and stared at Princess Huizhen with her hollow eye sockets. Huizhen was shocked. She had thought the woman was dying, with no strength left. Seeing the blood on Rong Qiyue’s face, her heart trembled with fear! "Princess Huizhen! Zhou Zhicheng! Please spare his life! Tianci is innocent! If you dare to hurt him, I won't let you go. If there is an afterlife, I will make you pay with your blood!" Rong Qiyue’s voice was broken, and her entire body was shivering. She knew she was dying, but they might kill her son. How could she die in peace? "Hahaha? Spare his life? " Princess Huizhen laughed arrogantly, "Did you know that on the night you married Zhou Zhicheng, the person in the bedroom… wasn't him! He was surrounded by his colleagues that night. When he returned to the bridal chamber, he found that the servants had been knocked out. He was shocked and wanted to escape, but he didn't expect someone to hit him from behind and knock him out as well. When he woke up and went back to your room, you were naked. He put up with all this just to let you take care of the family's business! Do you really think that bastard is his son?" Princess Huizhen's words made Rong Qiyue feel as if she was struck by lightning. Her breath was getting weaker and weaker. Scenes of the past rose before her eyes. No wonder Zhou Zhicheng had been cold to her after their wedding. Rong Qiyue had naively thought that it was because she was pregnant, and he was busy. And after Tianci was born, this man only looked at him strangely. He never said a word of comfort to the child, never had any joy on his face. Zhou Zhicheng became more and more unwilling to step into her courtyard. He began to flirt with the servants openly. She’d thought that he just needed a few concubines. She had been kept in the dark this whole time! On their wedding night, she was exhausted and fell to sleep before her husband came back. After all, the Zhou family was rich. There were several servants and maids guarding the door. How could someone enter the mansion unnoticed? "And oh... Some burglars broke into your parents' house last night. They died tragically.” The words were like an invisible sharp sword that cut her heart into a thousand pieces. A dull pain surged from her chest. She raised her head and used her last breath to scream at the cruel woman who was looking down at her from above, "Princess Huizhen … Zhou Zhicheng! I, Rong Qiyue, will remember you! Even if I were born a wicked woman and died an evil ghost, I want you to die a violent death!" Her fingers slowly drooped down, and her head fell to the ground soundlessly. The curse still echoed in Huizhen’s ears. The two old servants’ faces were deathly pale. Looking at the tragic scene before them, they couldn't help but fear the princess' viciousness. Huizhen's face became incomparably pale. One of the servants said, "Princess, you’d better leave here immediately. This kind of filthy place is blasphemous for Princess's eyes!" Princess Huizhen felt cold sweat trickling down her body. She glared hatefully at Rong Qiyue on the ground. Her curse was like a magic sound, forever echoing in her ears. Huizhen staggered a bit, and with the help of a servant, she left in a hurry. A crescent moon floated in the night sky. The bright stars were getting dimmer as the moon gradually turned blood-red. The wind growled and dark clouds slowly gathered as darkness fell.