Chapter 3

　　Duke Arthur Mu once ordered people to plant 300 cold plum trees in this huge garden. Since then, it’s been known as the Plum Garden. In the mid-winter season, a hundred flowers would blossom, and the fragrance would float in the air surrounding the garden. 　　It was known all over the kingdom that the Duchess loved winter plums. Only Elizabeth knew that the Duke’s wife neither knew about winter plums, nor cared about them. 　　A weak voice called out. "Is my sister here?" 　　Elizabeth just stepped into the plum garden, and a soft voice rang out in the room. She went in through the maid's door. The floor was warm. 　　The Duchess was admired by thousands of people. She was sitting on the couch, sipping tea from a cup, her little finger raised daintily. Her face was exactly the same as that of Elizabeth. But Elizabeth's smudged red makeup, messy long hair and bloody clothes contrasted with Duchess’s calm and clean appearance. 　　Elizabeth stared at her. As soon as the maid left, she spoke gently. "If the Duchess is fine with it, I will leave." 　　"Sister." The fragile voice stopped her in her tracks. 　　Jessica Mo stood up, surprisingly fast for a sickly woman. She grabbed Elizabeth’s hand. "It's rare for my sister and I to meet each other. Is my sister really not going to talk about the past with me?" 　　"I'm afraid the Duchess is mistaken. My sister Jessica Mo had frozen to death on the barren mountain a year ago." 　　Elizabeth dared not touch the hand that grabbed her. The long nails were exquisitely painted in red. Slowly, she turned around. 　　That face! Jessica resented it. How can Elizabeth always be so proud? Even though her appearance was dishevelled, still she held her head high. Madam Xian suddenly smiled again. "Is my sister really not curious why the entire Mo family is dead, but I’m alive and well?" 　　Realization dawned on her. "It was you!" This woman looked exactly like Elizabeth, and yet she was smiling. 　　The Mo family had fallen. The only reason Jessica Mo was still standing was because she was the one who had betrayed them! 　　"Why?" Elizabeth shook her head in disbelief, holding Jessica Mo's skirt in her hands, and her pupils trembled uncontrollably. "You got what you wanted, haven't you? Why are you so cruel? They were also your family, your mother and father!” 　　"I have no family. I never had one." 　　Now that everyone was dead, her secrets were safe. 　　Elizabeth was in disbelief. "So what if he finds out? He’s in love with you! What does he care about the past?" 　　Jessica Mo shook her head. "No, you don't understand. You don't understand at all..." Jessica Mo laughed wildly, and her whole body trembled. She glared at Jessica Mo with wide open eyes, as if struggling, in deathly silence. Suddenly, she seemed to think of something and said, "Sister, I remember your maidservant’s face. Camille Ah, isn’t that her name? She was also there, so she knows the secret, right?" 　　Elizabeth firmly squeezed Jessica Mo's shoulders. "You have killed so many people. Camille can't threaten you at all. Leave her alone." 　　"Sister, you know how to keep your mouth shut, but your maid..." Jessica Mo trailed off. She gently removed her sister’s dirty hands from her shoulders. “She’s a talker. Just like the rest of them." With that she pushed her sister down. “Know your place, or you’ll join our family in the afterlife. You and your beloved maid.” 　　Elizabeth tottered and bumped into the dresser. She fell down, along with the gold and silver jewelry on the dresser. A silver hairpin just fell in front of her. Under Jessica Mo's gaze, she slowly grasped the silver hairpin and aimed the sharp side at her cheek.