Pang Er's carriage was moving fast. When I hurriedly arrived home, all my family members were present.

My father sat at the upper hall, my mother half-sat at the lower end, and across from them were my second sister and several aunts from the mansion. Fortunately, my brothers were not at home, so the spacious main hall didn't appear too crowded.

As I stepped through the front gate, I immediately knelt down with a loud thud.

Everyone was startled, but before they could ask anything, I urgently spoke up.

"Father, Mother, Second Sister cannot marry!"

I deeply lowered my head.

My father's face turned dark, and the teacup in his hand fell on the table.

The hall instantly fell silent, no one dared to speak, and no one dared to let me rise.

Pain came from my knees, but I barely felt it. I raised my head and looked at Second Sister, who had quietly stood up.

Second Sister wore a water-green embroidered red bean dress, with willow eyes and peach cheeks, gentle and serene, truly the demeanor of a young lady.

This beautiful face that should have been pleasing to the eye gradually overlapped in my eyes with the half-blue and purple face from that night.

It was the night of the Qixi Festival last year when Second Sister and I bought lanterns together and planned to go to the riverside to pray.

The streets were crowded, and we happened to encounter street performers. The crowd separated us.

I held an unlit lantern and searched around, and somehow I ended up at the back door of the Wang mansion.

The lacquered red wooden door opened a small crack.

Two little servants came out stealthily, carrying something wrapped in a hemp sack.

The servant in front suddenly slipped, and the thing in his hand bumped, causing a hole in the sack.

A half-pale face horrifyingly slipped out.

The moonlight cast its reflection on that half face, with bluish-gray skin and patches of purple, clearly dead for a long time.

I was frightened and almost fell to the ground.

I tightly covered my mouth and waited for the footsteps of the two servants to disappear before slowly crouching against the wall.

That woman was none other than Caiyun, the favorite concubine of the eldest son of the Wang family.