Chapter One: Saving Myself by Jumping into the River

Year Two of the Hongde Era, ninth day of the fifth month, Xie Village.

The sun had just risen, and the ancestral residence of the Xie family, usually quiet and serene, was suddenly disturbed by a burst of fierce yet brief quarrelling. Sixteen-year-old Lady Xie, the sixth daughter, Xie Guan’nian, glared intently at the woman seated across from her—a graceful figure sipping tea, dressed in a Daoist robe, her beauty preserved so well she appeared barely over twenty.

Her voice, clear and melodious with the timbre of youth, trembled with suppressed collapse and fury. “I’ve said it countless times—I refuse to acknowledge my ancestors! I won’t return to the family line!”

“I too have said it many times: you must acknowledge your ancestors.” The woman’s voice, steady yet tinged with coldness, spoke unhurriedly, revealing the unyielding resolve of its owner—Xie Guan’nian’s mother, Xie Jingchu.

“So you’re determined to send me to my death, is that it?” Tears streamed uncontrollably down Xie Guan’nian’s face, her voice breaking into sobs. “You can’t stand to see me living peacefully, can you?”

“Impudent!” With a sharp crack, the teacup was slammed to the ground, its shattered porcelain echoing outside the courtyard. The woman’s voice, laden with anger, followed, “Is this how you speak to your elders? Have all the manners you learned gone to waste?”

“Heh... hehehe... hehehe...” Xie Guan’nian’s laughter, half crying, half mocking, spilled into the courtyard, tinged with despair and madness.

Outside the Wind Lotus Pavilion, the round-faced maid Haitang, sent to stand guard, looked on with worry. After a moment of hesitation, she tiptoed toward the main house, thinking, This is too much—her mistress’s reaction is far from normal. She must fetch the master as a savior.

“Stop your nonsense!” Xie Jingchu’s angry voice resounded once more after Haitang had left. “You are my daughter. I say you must return to the family, so you will! Whether you cry or make a scene, in the end, it’s only your own reputation you’ll ruin.”

Her tone softened, adopting the demeanor of a concerned elder. “If you don’t wish to leave a bad impression on your father and grandmother—if you don’t want them to dislike you at first sight—then you’d best restrain these sentimental outbursts.”

With that, she rose gracefully and left the courtyard.

Finding no sign of Haitang at the door, Xie Jingchu frowned, thinking to herself that the Xie family had indeed fallen; even the servants lacked proper manners. She turned her steps and, following Haitang, headed to the main house.

Packing belongings was hardly something she needed to do herself; she could simply instruct her brother and sister-in-law to send over a few maids and matrons to assist.

Determined to force the issue, Xie Jingchu was unaware that as soon as she left, Xie Guan’nian, eyes red and silent tears streaming down her cheeks, stumbled out the door.

Her residence, the Wind Lotus Pavilion, lay in the northeast corner of the old Xie estate. Leaving the courtyard and following the corridor for about half a cup of tea’s time, she could reach the side gate of the house and sneak into the village where the Xie clan dwelled.

She had often done so in her past sixteen years, but today, her state was far too wretched to let the villagers see her like this.

Taking advantage of the fact that most households were eating breakfast and the village paths were nearly deserted, Xie Guan’nian slipped out of the village unnoticed.

Xie Village lay more than twenty li from Qingxu Mountain, nestled against hills and facing broad plains. After leaving the village and walking along the field embankments for about three quarters of an hour, she would reach the Tang River.

Previously, she and her friends would often run to this spot, cutting reeds, collecting duck eggs, and urging their cousins to catch wild ducks. These were precious memories of joy amid the chaos of war.

The recollections rose uncontrollably, and Xie Guan’nian’s tears fell even more fiercely. With tears streaming down her face, she ran to the riverbank, intending to find a dry stone to sit on and calm herself, hoping to devise a plan. But before she could settle, two figures who had stealthily followed her rushed forward.

Strange noises sounded from her left and right behind, and Xie Guan’nian instinctively turned, discovering two burly men brandishing daggers, approaching with vicious intent. Instantly, she realized their purpose was sinister.

Her right hand reached instinctively for the pouch in her left sleeve, only to find it empty. She remembered then that she hadn’t left the house prepared for an outing; she had fled in a fit of anger.

Her defensive powder was still lying in her dressing box!

Knowing only a little self-defense, Xie Guan’nian doubted she could handle two armed men without her powder. She made a split-second decision, gathered her skirts, and dashed toward the river.

Though born into the Xie clan, Xie Guan’nian was not the delicate genteel lady typical of her kin.

Always prioritizing survival, both in her previous life and this one, she paid close attention to physical training and mastering essential skills.

Her feet moved swiftly, surprising the two men as she raced to the riverbank and leapt into the water.

Though they doubted this daughter of the Xie family could swim well, their orders were clear: “Don’t let her see the sun tomorrow.” So they quickly split up—one chased along the riverbank, keeping an eye on her downstream, while the other ran to fetch their two horses hidden in the thicket.

The sound of hooves soon echoed along the bank. Hearing this, Xie Guan’nian, drifting with the current, felt a foreboding chill. Glancing sideways, she saw the two men, one behind the other, riding along the riverbank in pursuit.

She sighed inwardly, knowing now she had to conserve her strength as much as possible.

At the very least, she must endure until she reached a segment of the river where the terrain was complex enough to help her evade her pursuers. Otherwise, her fate was sealed.

Carefully drifting with the current, Xie Guan’nian inwardly cursed her father’s family. Oh, and her mother, too, who insisted on forcing her to acknowledge her ancestors against her will—she sent her some choice, though not vulgar, mental greetings.

The sound of hooves on the riverbank, muddled by distance and the rush of water, faded in and out, but Xie Guan’nian dared not relax for a moment.

Finally, reaching a stretch of riverbank thick with reeds and bordered by a sizeable grove of willows and poplars, she managed to evade the pursuers, who were forced to abandon their horses or take a detour.

Seizing a reed stem, she fashioned a breathing tube, keeping one end above water and the other in her mouth, holding it upright and steady. Submerging herself beneath the surface, she swiftly swam downstream, hidden below the water.