The wailing from the Marquis's mansion grew weaker and weaker. The sky, previously rendered blood-red by the sunset, was now deepening in intensity.
In the "Sunset Court" of Marquis Qingyan's mansion, what was supposed to be paved with blue stones was now covered in a large expanse of bloodstains.
Even the cracks between the stones were dyed red...
In the center of this blood pool lay a frail young girl.
She was sprawled motionless on the ground, seemingly devoid of any signs of life.
"Don't stop, keep hitting her!"
A girl dressed in a light pink outfit pointed at the frail girl lying in the pool of blood and shouted, "Beat her to death!"
Her tone was malicious as if she yearned for nothing less than to tear the other girl apart.
"Miss, I beg you, spare Li'er! It really wasn't intentional!" A woman dressed in ragged clothes was protecting the girl on the ground. Hearing this, she immediately kneeled next to the girl in the pink dress, grabbing the hem of her dress as she pleaded bitterly.
"What do you think you are?" the daughter of the mansion sneered. "Merely from a ruined household, you still take yourself for a miss of the Marquis's mansion? I don't know how you seduced my father into bed and gave birth to this bastard. You and your daughter are both sluts!"
With that, she kicked the pleading woman aside, saying spitefully, "Beat her, beat her hard!"
She was extremely beautiful, her features bright and lively. However, her harsh words and expression detracted greatly from her appearance.
The woman she kicked in the chest fell backward and immediately coughed up blood.
The maid watching this scene was frightened, fearing their actions would anger the Marquis. She hurriedly tried to pacify the young miss. "Young miss, if things escalate to the point of death, the Marquis will blame us!"
"Slap..." Before she could finish, the young miss slapped her across the face, reprimanding bitterly, "I'll bear whatever happens. She dared to sabotage me during the test, causing my spiritual source to plummet. Even if my father finds out, he wouldn’t spare them either."
As soon as she finished speaking, the executioners seemed to have received direct orders, lifting up the plank, ready to beat her without mercy.
The pain...it's unbearable...
Ruan Li had just regained consciousness, and she immediately felt the sharp pain from all over her body.
What the hell is happening?
Just a moment ago, she drank that deadly poison. Was she brought back to life?
But why does my body hurt so much?
As soon as she opened her eyes, trying to make sense of her situation, she heard a whooshing sound overhead, coming right towards her!
Without thinking, her body moved half a step before her mind gave the order.
The blood-stained plank flew down with the wind!
With a loud smack, it fell on the ground, hitting a puddle of blood, splashing a bloom of blood.
The pink-dressed young lady known as the miss was instantly startled. She thought the servants were messing with her and became furious. "Do you not want to live? Can't even hold down a waste of space. What use are you?"
Thinking of the miss's countless schemes and punishments, the executioners shivered and hurriedly stepped forward to pin Ruan Li down.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Ruan Li, who had been huddled to the side, finally managed to open her eyes...
But the scenery around her left her dumbfounded.
This classic courtyard was not at all like her luxurious villa teeming with extravagance. And from the looks of people's clothing around her, they looked unmistakably like the attire worn by people in ancient times, as seen on TV dramas!
What's going on? I was supposed to be dead from poison, so how could I be here?
As Ruan Li thought of her cause of death, a trace of cruelty crossed her face involuntarily.
Being distraught by anger boiling within her with no way to vent, she saw two recklessly brave servants approaching to catch her.
Seeking death!
Swiftly, she reached towards her waist. She planned to retaliate fiercely, giving them a painful lesson.
But to her surprise, instead of grabbing a weapon, she grabbed a massive, blood-soaked skirt.
This was not her tool belt to which she had always kept her tools.
She was taken aback instantly.
It's important to know, from the time she could remember until her death, that small, leather tool bag had never left her side. It was her ultimate protection in the face of life and death, but now it was nowhere to be found...
Ruan Li hurriedly checked herself, only to realize that not only were her clothes not her own, but her body had shrunken down!
And, just as she made this discovery, the two servants had already reached her...