Volume One, Chapter 13: A Destiny That Brings Misfortune to Wives

“Princess, you must not do this!” The maid Kingfisher desperately tried to stop her mistress from taking her own life.

Su Zhizhi had never imagined that Jing Chuwei’s love for Prince Jin was so profound that she would be willing to sacrifice her life for him.

She dismissed Kingfisher coldly and said, “If your lady wants to die, then let her. The prince and the princess of the Jin Mansion are dead; surely the poisoner must be overjoyed now.”

“What? Poisoned?” Princess Huayang clutched her chest and stopped. “You, you jinx, what nonsense are you spouting? Are you saying Brother Xiao was poisoned? Not that you brought about his death by your curse?”

“I’m about to be buried alive—do you think I would lie?” No sooner had she spoken when a fierce wind swept through, causing the white candles around the mourning hall to suddenly extinguish.

The person in the coffin abruptly rose, hair covering their face so that their features were completely hidden.

He wore burial clothes—could it be...

The Prince!

Madam Wang pressed her hands together, swaying from side to side, repeatedly bowing her head. Even when her forehead was bruised and bleeding, she felt no pain. Had the prince truly risen?

She cried out in disbelief, “The prince has shown his spirit! The prince has shown his spirit!”

“Brother Xiao... is it really you?” Princess Huayang’s pupils constricted as she stared incredulously at the figure standing in the coffin.

“Which one of you sought to poison me?” The voice came from the coffin, as if a restless spirit had truly emerged from this man’s body.

All the servants of the mansion kowtowed repeatedly.

The Prince of Jin had treated them well; how could they have poisoned him?

At that moment, the young attendant Wei Duan brought a wooden basin filled with water.

Then, from the coffin came a chilling voice:

“Whosoever who caused my harm steps barefoot into this basin, the water shall turn blood-red...”

“Brother Xiao—that’s Brother Xiao’s voice!” Princess Huayang tightly grasped Kingfisher’s arm and shook her.

Su Zhizhi had not deceived her.

Her Brother Xiao had indeed died a tragic death.

Tonight, she would uncover the one who harmed him.

“I’ll do it!” Princess Huayang lifted her skirt, removed her soft-soled pearl-embroidered shoes, and stepped directly into the basin.

The water was clear, showing no trace of blood.

“Watch carefully. No one is allowed to leave this mourning hall. The one who poisoned Brother Xiao will surely attempt to escape and spread word. Your shoe soles are stained with guilt. Each of you must verify whether you are the murderer!”

Though the Jin Mansion had fallen from its former glory, there were still some sixty or seventy servants and guards.

They lined up, removed their boots and socks, and stepped barefoot into the water.

It was the dead of winter; the water was as cold as ice.

A chill ran through their bodies; the maids and attendants shivered in the cold.

More than half the servants had stepped into the water, yet no blood appeared.

Suddenly, Su Zhizhi noticed a sword-bearing guard whose eyes darted nervously, hesitating to step forward.

His intuition told him this guard was suspicious.

When it was almost this guard’s turn, he suddenly feigned stomach pain and asked to go to the latrine.

Su Zhizhi ordered the young attendant to bring the furtive man back.

“Who are you?”

“I am Defu, Your Highness. I have served the prince faithfully for ten years and have no ill intentions.”

Su Zhizhi circled the guard who kept insisting on his loyalty.

“Don’t tremble—I never said you were disloyal.”

Both the young attendant and Defu had been sent to the mansion as children, around seven or eight years old. Defu lived up to his name—round and plump, evidently blessed with good fortune.

“Your Highness, Defu cannot be the culprit. He once took a knife wound for the prince!”

Su Zhizhi’s gaze sharpened. “Is that so? Taking a knife wound doesn’t mean one cannot harm others.”

“Someone, remove his shoes.”

Defu’s eyes flickered nervously, and his words faltered.

“I... I... I’ll take them off myself.”

The moment Defu stepped barefoot into the basin,

Su Zhizhi approached the water’s edge.

While no one was looking, she kicked a hidden switch beneath the basin.

“Blood! It’s blood!” The assembly in the Jin Mansion gasped.

“Defu is the murderer who killed the prince!”

No one could believe it.

At Su Zhizhi’s order, Defu was surrounded by guards.

The young attendant rushed forward and pressed Defu to the ground.

“His Highness treated you so well—how could you harm him?”

Hearing this, Defu laughed bitterly, throwing his head back.

“Hahaha, treated me well? Would that make me watch my parents die at this mansion? Prince Jin’s power threatened the throne and scorned all others—did that mean my parents deserved to die?”

Voices of accusation echoed through the mourning hall.

“That’s nonsense! Your parents were spies who were killed; what does the Jin Mansion have to do with it?” the young attendant retorted indignantly.

“Silence!”

All heads turned toward the source of the loud voice.

It came from inside the coffin.

Wei Guxiao adjusted his funeral crown and stepped out of the golden coffin.

Su Zhizhi brought over a grand chair and gestured for him to sit.

Prince Jin lifted his burial gown and sat upright, statuesque and resolute.

Indeed, Defu’s parents had been scapegoats.

Years ago, spies from the southern border infiltrated the Jin Mansion but were discovered. The spies threatened the safety of Defu’s parents, who were sweeping the courtyard, to secure their own safe passage out of the mansion.

Prince Jin would not allow enemy spies to leave alive; he was no soft-hearted man.

Thus, Defu’s parents were cruelly slain by enemy blades.

“Your parents’ deaths were indeed connected to me,” the prince said.

Who was speaking?

Everyone cautiously looked at the man in burial clothes.

“The prince! It’s the prince! He’s no ghost!” The crowd fell prostrate on the ground.

“Of course, I am not a ghost,” Wei Guxiao said, his cold eyes fixed on Defu.

“Prince, you’re not dead?” Defu’s pupils shrank, and he collapsed to the floor.

“The Heart-Eating Poison didn’t kill you.”

“Defu, if you tell me who sent you to kill me, I might spare your life.”

A faint mist rose in Wei Guxiao’s eyes. In the battle at Mount Shu, Defu had taken a knife for him.

That life debt could now be repaid.

“And the Jin Mansion’s eight princesses—all died of poisoning, didn’t they? And you were the one who poisoned them?”

Su Zhizhi’s words were sharp and accusatory.

Defu’s whole body went limp; he sneered, “The deaths of the eight princesses were due to Prince Jin’s own curse that doomed his wives. What does that have to do with me?”

“You...” Wei Guxiao’s anger flared.

How shameless! Even if true, such matters should not be revealed before everyone, nor should they tarnish the dignity of a prince.

“If you refuse to speak, don’t blame me for being merciless!”

Defu laughed loudly, “Jin Wang, you will never know the truth!”

Before he could finish, his expression twisted horrifically, and with a thud, he collapsed, motionless.

The young attendant immediately checked him.

“Your Highness, Defu has bitten his tongue and taken his own life.”

“What?”

Wei Guxiao then ordered his men to bury Defu.

Today was, after all, a wedding day; having a dead body present was most inauspicious.

But who was truly behind this?

He suspected the crown prince.

Wei Guxiao’s expression darkened.

Now that he had come back to life, he would no longer hide like a coward.

No matter how sinister and cruel the crown prince was, he would face him head-on.

Princess Huayang had been kept in the dark for a while but now realized that the voice she heard was not a ghost’s.

It was her Brother Xiao—he was alive!

Overjoyed, she ran to Prince Jin’s side.

“Brother Xiao, you really are alive! I always said good people have heaven’s favor.”

Princess Huayang chattered excitedly like a parrot freed from its cage.

“You’ve been through so much lately.”

“It’s nothing,” she said, her heart blooming with joy.

“Brother Xiao, you don’t know—while you were unconscious, that fake noble lady even had someone carry you to marry her.”