Chapter 5: The Scheme

Looking at the bloody corpse lying on the ground, Lin Pianran’s face remained indifferent.

She was faced with a dilemma: how to dispose of the body? In the end, she decided to toss it into the pit to reunite the siblings. Once that was done, she covered the opening. Although a thick scent of blood permeated the area, she expected it to dissipate quickly. She then buried the bloodstains on the ground with soil. Only after erasing all traces of the killing did she collapse onto the ground, her limbs feeling limp and sore.

As she relaxed, important memories began to surface. After her rebirth, a fall had triggered the return of her memories from before the age of six. She was originally a modern person from the 24th century; an accidental car crash had caused her to be reborn into the womb of the Han family, the protectors of the state. As a child, she had been pampered by her biological parents, but at age six, she was knocked unconscious, abducted, and abandoned. Because she was so young and had suffered a severe head injury, all her previous memories had been lost. After being abandoned, she was taken in by an old beggar for a month before eventually being adopted by her foster mother, Su Qingfeng, which led to her entering the Lin household.

In the 24th century, she had been skilled in business, as well as Taekwondo and Sanda. In her previous life, even without her early childhood memories, her innate business talent had allowed her to thrive in the marketplace, effortlessly amassing great wealth. However, she had forgotten the existence of her interdimensional storage space—until now, when she finally unearthed it from the depths of her mind.

Lin Pianran scanned the space with her spiritual sense. It was filled with everything she had brought from the modern world: food, medicine, cold weapons, firearms, books, and daily necessities. There were even toys, snacks, jewelry, and gold and silver that she had stored away before the age of six. The quantity was surprisingly substantial.

"Perfect! Now I have even more confidence to take my revenge and crush the scum," Lin Pianran thought, ecstatic.

Inside the space was a small courtyard with a clear, sweet-tasting spring. There was also a ten-meter-square patch of black soil where she had only planted some ginseng. Thanks to the spiritual spring water, the space also contained a wide variety of potted plants: peonies, roses, gardenias, lavender, water lilies, and lucky bamboo.

Lin Pianran filled a cup with the spiritual spring water and drank two large glasses. Immediately, she felt the pain in her body subside, and the fatigue vanished, replaced by a surge of vitality. As expected, the spring water was just as effective as it had been in the modern era, possessing miraculous properties for healing, fitness, and beauty.

She quickly grabbed some gauze and medical supplies to carefully bandage her wounds and took a painkiller. Almost instantly, she felt filled with strength, as if reborn. She quickly moved the weapons belonging to Lin Chuge and Lin Chusheng into her storage space, along with Lin Chuge’s water skin. With all the evidence of her deeds hidden away, Lin Pianran felt much more at ease; she no longer feared leaving any incriminating traces. Finally, she went a step further and moved the corpses of Lin Chuge and Lin Chusheng into the space as well. Now, it was impossible for anyone to discover that she had killed them. With no further worries, she realized her storage space was the perfect tool for hiding evidence.

Once everything was finished, Lin Pianran finally let out a long breath. All her anxiety and hesitation evaporated, leaving her feeling light and refreshed. The air seemed cleaner, and the sky a deeper blue.

Only then did she begin to carefully recall the events of this day in her previous life. In that timeline, after Lin Chusheng had broken her leg and she was being carried back to camp, she had encountered a large group of people on the open ground—many of them were children of the nobility, and many were wounded. Because there were so many casualties, the imperial physicians and doctors were preoccupied, leaving her unable to find medical help for a full day. She remembered this clearly.

It was said that this group had been attacked by a pack of wolves while hunting. Several noble sons and daughters had been mauled or bitten, and two ladies and one gentleman had been killed on the spot. Dozens of guards and maids had also perished. However, some had profited from the tragedy—namely Lin Chuxuan, the eldest son of the Lin family’s second branch. Originally an obscure soldier in the Imperial Guard, he had fought the wolves heroically and, while saving the favored Eldest Princess, Huo Yaoshi, had suffered a deep, bone-exposing bite on his left arm. This earned him the high praise of Emperor Qinwu, who promoted him several ranks, catapulting him from a lowly soldier to a seventh-rank commandant with the reputation of a "valiant little hero." From then on, his career path had been smooth sailing, as if blessed by the divine.

Meanwhile, in her previous life, the girl who had taken her place as the daughter of the Duke’s house, her "third sister" Lin Chuyan, had been a companion to Princess Huai’an, Huo Yaoyu. When the wolves attacked, she had bravely stood her ground to protect the princess, earning generous rewards from Emperor Qinwu and Consort De, and cementing a reputation for nobility and grace among the ladies of the capital.

Consort De was the youngest daughter of the Old Matriarch of the Lin family and the family’s greatest backer. She had two daughters: Huo Yaoyu, sixteen, titled Princess Huai’an, and Huo Yaohua, fifteen, titled Princess Minghua—both were deeply favored by the Emperor.

Reflecting on this, Lin Pianran decided to intervene. She would seize the opportunity to ruin the Lin family’s stroke of luck, destroy their ladder to power, and take the chance to trample Lin Chuyan and Lin Chuxuan, dragging them into the mire from which they could never escape. This would only serve her revenge better.

Excited by this thought, she set off, heading north along a small path. If she remembered correctly, that was the direction they were in.

After half an hour of rapid travel, she spotted the hunting party. There were over twenty men and women, all dressed in fine, extravagant robes, clearly of high status. Among them, the two princesses were the most distinguished.

Eldest Princess Huo Yaoshi stood out the most. As the eldest daughter of Empress Wei, she was stunningly beautiful with porcelain-white skin and an elegant, dignified bearing. Being taller than the average woman, she was a striking figure among the crowd, like a crane in a flock of chickens. At about eighteen or nineteen, she was in the prime of her youth, breathtakingly lovely.

"She truly is a woman of exceptional temperament and beauty," Lin Pianran thought. In her previous life, she hadn't known the princess well, but the public held her in high regard. It was said she inherited the virtues of Empress Wei—gentle, virtuous, kind, and polite, with a voice so soft and pleasant that it was easy to like her. However, she had one major flaw: she was naively sheltered and easily deceived.

Princess Huai’an, also in the crowd, seemed much more mundane in comparison. Surrounding the princesses were several other noblewomen of high standing, among whom was Lin Chuyan. She stayed close to Princess Huai’an, the two of them laughing and talking as if they were very close. Lin Chuyan was skilled at reading the room and knew exactly how to keep the princess entertained.

Lin Pianran did not approach them. She preferred to hide in the shadows, like a ferocious beast waiting for the right moment to strike. Whenever an opportunity arose, she would strike her enemies without mercy. She would not hesitate.