Volume One, Chapter One: Falling to Earth, Crushed to Dust

“Damn girl! Run! Why aren’t you running?”

The usually gentle-faced Aunt Liu now wore an expression twisted by anger. Her plump body trembled from the chase as she leaned against a tree, gasping for breath.

She glared fiercely at Shen Qingdai. “Your husband and master have graciously promised you to Lord Qian as a gift, and yet you dare to run away from the marriage!”

Shen Qingdai looked drowsily toward the speaker. Already gravely ill with a raging fever and having tumbled down the hillside, her mind was a foggy mess.

Is this how my life is going to end? she thought.

Aunt Liu turned to the servants nearby, casually pointing with her hand. “Hurry up and bring her back! If this damned girl runs away again, I’ll have all of you sold off!”

The servants quickly bound her hands and feet with coarse hemp ropes and lifted her onto a nearby carriage.

Shen Qingdai gave a bitter smile. With the medicine her stepmother had given her, she wouldn’t survive the year anyway. Why go through all this trouble?

This so-called stepmother hated her so deeply that even as her life waned, she sought to ruin her reputation utterly.

Slowly, the light in Shen Qingdai’s eyes faded away.

When she woke again, she was back in the mansion.

The servants, merciless in the bitter winter, had doused her with icy water mixed with snow to revive her.

She lay on the floor, utterly humiliated, bound hand and foot, water dripping steadily from her forehead.

Looking around at the familiar furnishings, a bitter smile crept across Shen Qingdai’s lips.

It was in this very room that she had once served her stepmother, Lady Liu, tending to her with soups and medicines without a moment’s rest…

Seeing that she had awakened, Lady Liu’s indifferent eyes flickered lazily as she reclined on her beauty couch. “Why douse her with that damn ice water? The room’s already freezing.”

Aunt Liu hurriedly chuckled. “This old servant was careless.” Then she turned to the maidservants. “You wretched girls! Why haven’t you added two more basins of charcoal fire for the lady? Watch your skin!”

Shen Qingdai shifted her elbow slightly and propped herself up, looking toward Lady Liu.

---

Seeing that Shen Qingdai still had strength to move, Lady Liu’s lips curled faintly. “Mother Liu, Qingdai has always been obedient. She would never do something as disgraceful as running away from her marriage. It must be that shameless birth mother of hers and that maid by her side who have been inciting her.”

She sighed with false solemnity, but her eyes held a venom that refused to fade. “Qingdai is kind-hearted and reluctant to punish, but since I am her stepmother, it falls to me to deal with it. That maid will be sold off to the brothels.”

Shen Qingdai trembled all over, staring at Lady Liu in disbelief. She ignored everything else and struggled with her bound limbs, placing herself in front of Ping Chun.

“No! She cannot go to such a place! No! If you have grievances, take them out on me! I am the one who tried to run away from the marriage. I don’t want to marry. No… no…”

Tears poured uncontrollably down her face as she clutched the hem of Ping Chun’s clothes tightly.

Ping Chun stared blankly at Shen Qingdai standing before her, her eyes reddening as she whispered, “Miss.”

Two servants found themselves momentarily powerless to move her aside.

Suddenly, Lady Liu snorted coldly and slammed a teacup heavily onto the table.

The sound struck Shen Qingdai’s heart with brutal force. She shuddered but remained resolute in shielding Ping Chun. In the past, her temperament had been weak, often relying on Ping Chun to stand up for her and negotiate with the stewardesses of the household. But this time, she would not yield.

Aunt Liu, seeing Lady Liu’s displeasure, cursed and growled, “Useless wretched girls! Why haven’t you pulled her away yet? Must I do it myself?!”

Hearing this, the nearby maids rushed forward to help, fearing that if they delayed, the next one to be sold off would be themselves.

Several maids scrambled to hold Shen Qingdai down, rendering her immobile. Though their voices whispered apologies, their grip did not loosen.

Shen Qingdai smiled bitterly. So this is how power works—deciding another's fate with such ease, with a mere word.

Helpless, she watched Ping Chun’s hem slip from her grasp.

Ping Chun forced a smile and looked at her, choking on her sobs as the old woman dragged her away. “Miss, it’s alright, please take care of yourself…”

Shen Qingdai opened her mouth but could not utter a single word.

Only the uncontrollable trembling of her body and the faint bitterness on her lips remained.

Lady Liu lifted her eyelids slightly, looking at her with a trace of mockery. “Now that maid is dealt with, it’s time for your shameful birth mother. Bring that wretched woman here.”

---

Shen Qingdai could only watch as Fang Qiuxin was shoved inside by two old women and forced to kneel before her.

Since her younger brother’s death, her mother had lost all vitality, responding to nothing but muttering her son’s name.

“After all, she did bear the lord’s child. To sell her off and disgrace the Shen family name, I will show mercy and grant her a whole body. Bring her out for the punishment!”

Lady Liu’s eyes gleamed with unrestrained satisfaction as she spoke. A lowly concubine like her had no right to compete for the lord’s favor for so many years! Soon, her precious daughter would join her mother and brothers below!

The old women, hearing Lady Liu’s order, dragged Fang Qiuxin out for the punishment. Yet she remained indifferent, as if none of it concerned her—truly as the doctor had said, no different from a madwoman.

Shen Qingdai stared at Lady Liu’s impassive face, wishing she could transform into Death itself and claim her life on the spot. Her eyes burned with rage as she shouted, “No! How dare you! My mother is the lord’s legitimate concubine, recorded in the family genealogy and honored by our ancestors. How can you let her be beaten and killed at will?”

Lady Liu sneered. “In the past, I wouldn’t dare be so blatant, but now her only son was poisoned by me long ago, and she’s become a madwoman, having lost the lord’s favor. What does it matter if I beat or kill her? I even dared to poison the eldest miss! What wouldn’t I dare do to her! Even the late lady herself must give way to my mother!”

She admitted that Mu Qing was poisoned by her…

Mu Qing was poisoned by her…

Shen Qingdai stood frozen, chills running through her whole body as those words echoed in her ears.

Only when the sound of the punishment rod striking came from outside did she regain clarity.

She suddenly abandoned everything, especially the pride she cherished most.

Now, she thought of nothing else but her mother’s life.

With great difficulty, she wriggled her bound limbs toward Lady Liu’s feet, grabbing the hem of her robe and shaking her head repeatedly. Tears welled in her eyes as she begged humbly, “Madam, she truly cannot endure the punishment. Please spare my aunt. I beg you… I am willing now. I will marry Lord Qian as a concubine. Please show mercy!”

If becoming a concubine could save her mother’s life, then she would accept it…