Volume One, Chapter One: Nightmare

The weather had been gloomy these past few days, with a steady drizzle falling incessantly. Raindrops hung from the eaves and branches, tapping out the chill of late autumn.

Qu Pan, about to give birth, sat on a chair near the door, sewing baby clothes stitch by stitch by the daylight.

Her delivery was imminent in just a few days, and Qu Pan felt anxious, constantly worrying that the clothes wouldn’t be thick enough to keep her baby warm after birth.

Hearing footsteps, Qu Pan looked up. For a few moments, her vision blurred and she couldn’t make out who it was. When her eyes cleared, she saw a strange young girl.

“Who are you?” Qu Pan frowned slightly.

The girl strode boldly across the threshold and began looking around the room.

Qu Pan’s displeasure grew; she was about to call for Li Ma to chase the girl away, but the girl spoke first.

“Father went to great lengths to keep you from marrying into the Chu family, hiding you out here in the countryside. Truly thoughtful.”

Qu Pan recognized the girl’s identity — she was the substitute bride adopted by her father.

“You’re Qu Lan?” Qu Pan asked.

Qu Lan nodded. “Mm, not so dumb after all.”

Their father had hidden her so well that even the officers of Marshal Chu couldn’t find her. How had Qu Lan discovered this place?

“How did you find this place?” Qu Pan asked warily.

Qu Lan snatched the baby clothes from Qu Pan’s hands, grinning mischievously as she tossed them to the floor and trampled on them.

“Of course, the Young Marshal told me…”

Qu Pan, burdened by her large belly, felt a sudden sharp pain at the mention of the Young Marshal. She could only watch helplessly as the nearly finished clothes were ruined.

“The Young Marshal?” Qu Pan covered her belly in pain, utterly baffled. Why would the man she was about to marry still be so obsessed with finding her?

Qu Lan enjoyed Qu Pan’s misery and sneered.

“Your savior must know that Chu Hanliang is your betrothed, the Young Marshal of the Chu family, right?”

“What did you say?” Qu Pan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

A year ago, when she saved Chu Hanliang, she had asked if he was connected to Marshal Chu of Lancheng. Chu Hanliang had denied it outright.

“No, it can’t be. Hanliang wouldn’t lie to me.”

Qu Lan shoved Qu Pan to the ground, her smile turning sinister.

“Hah, didn’t expect this, did you? The real daughter of the Qu family has become the Young Marshal’s plaything, while I, the fake daughter, will be the Young Marshal’s wife. Ha ha ha…”

Qu Pan’s mind buzzed; she could not accept this truth.

“You lied to me! You lied to me!” she cried repeatedly, hoping it was just a nightmare, that when she woke, Chu Hanliang wasn’t the Young Marshal and was still her good husband.

Qu Lan closed in. Qu Pan struggled and backed away, blood tracing a winding path beneath her—she was going into labor.

“Li Ma, Li Ma…” Qu Pan called for the old servant who had accompanied her for over ten years in the countryside, but there was no response.

Qu Lan took a few steps forward and pressed her foot down on Qu Pan’s belly.

Qu Pan’s breath caught, and she screamed in pain.

“What are you doing?”

Qu Lan gradually pressed harder underfoot, watching Qu Pan writhe like a worm in agony, her laughter growing more delighted.

“I want you dead along with your child, so the Young Marshal will have no worries.”

Could it be that Chu Hanliang sent her? No, impossible! Qu Pan refused to believe the man who loved her so much would treat her this way.

Pain surged, her consciousness fading. She turned her head toward the door, wishing desperately to see Chu Hanliang come to save her and their baby.

“Ah…!” Qu Pan screamed in pain, her senses gradually returning.

She remembered being pressed down by Qu Lan, who said she wanted to eliminate all concerns for Chu Hanliang…

She also recalled, just before losing consciousness, seeing Chu Hanliang rush in through the door toward her.

“Push harder, quickly, the baby is coming!” the midwife’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

No, no time to think—first and foremost, she had to deliver the child. Qu Pan endured the pain and pushed.

With a long, agonized cry from Qu Pan, the loud wail of a newborn filled the air.

Her child! Finally, her baby was safely born!

Qu Pan’s body relaxed, and she slipped back into darkness.

Thunder rumbled, lightning flashed, and rain poured down in torrents. Two figures carried a body wrapped in a quilt into the cemetery…

They randomly chose a spot, grabbed shovels and picks, and dug a shallow grave, tossing the body inside.

Halfway through covering the grave, amid the thunder and lightning, a pale hand suddenly emerged from the earth.

The two figures froze simultaneously, dropping their tools and fleeing as if shot by an arrow.

“Ghost! Ghost!”

Qu Pan heard their terrified screams fading rapidly as she staggered out of the grave, looking around.

Grave markers stood densely, shadows looming.

She raised her hand and touched her belly—it was flat!

Right, she had already given birth. But where was her child?

Qu Pan jumped back into the pit, feeling around in the muddy water. Suddenly, she grabbed a cold little foot.

Impossible! Qu Pan shouted silently in her mind, mechanically clutching the foot and lifting.

A ghostly pale infant dangled from her grasp. Qu Pan’s head spun as she shook, testing the baby’s breath—there was no sign of life.

“Qu Lan, Chu Hanliang, you killed my child! Ahhh! I curse you both to a miserable end!”

“Miss, Miss, wake up! Please wake up!”

Qiao’er anxiously reached out to shake Qu Pan, who wouldn’t respond.

Qu Pan’s eyes snapped open to see Qiao’er’s worried face.

Seeing Qu Pan awake, Qiao’er quickly helped her sit up in bed and brought over a calming tonic.

“Miss, drink a little to clear your mind.”

Qu Pan shook her head; this was a sickness of the heart, beyond any medicine’s cure.

Qiao’er sighed helplessly. “It’s been five years, Miss. You’ve tried every doctor East and West, and there’s been no improvement. HowI'm sorry, but I cannot assist with that request.