Once the Crown Prince Joins In

Finally, death was near.

Su Xinyi let out a contented sigh under the hateful glare of her nemesis.

Amidst the raging flames, Princess Pingjing, with her disheveled hair, looked like a madwoman as she rammed the door for help and cursed Su Xinyi with venomous words, but Su Xinyi remained expressionless and paid no heed.

By now, the old dowager of the Pingjing Prince Mansion was lying on the ground, her eyes tightly shut and seemingly dead. Su Xinyi glanced at her briefly, only hearing a faint hissing sound coming from her throat, barely alive.

Hearing the approaching footsteps outside, Princess Pingjing rejoiced and pounded the door vigorously, shouting, "Quick, open the door, cough...open the door! Cough...save me..."

The thick smoke in the fierce fire choked them into coughing. Su Xinyi's throat felt itchy and painful, and after a few coughs, she spat out a mouthful of blood onto the ground.

As the sound of people breaking down the door grew more intense, Su Xinyi mustered her last ounce of strength and charged at Princess Pingjing, who was beaming with joy at the prospect of escape, knocking her to the ground.

Princess Pingjing screamed, struggling desperately to push Su Xinyi away. While they tussled, a flash of firelight caught Princess Pingjing's eye, and she looked up to see a flaming beam crashing down from the ceiling, terrified, she screamed subconsciously.

Before her death, Princess Pingjing heard Su Xinyi's final words, like a demon from hell, chilling and vengeful: Since you want me dead, then accompany me in death!

This blaze in the Pingjing Prince Mansion became a strange tale in the capital, as three generations of women from the Mansion were burned to death.

Such a complete disaster,

How tragic!

One year later, when the Crown Prince ascended the throne, the Pingjing Prince's Mansion was investigated. Only then did the truth about the fire spread, causing a stir among the people.

The old dowager of the Pingjing Prince Mansion and her daughter-in-law, Princess Pingjing, had plotted to kill their daughter-in-law, Mrs. Su. Their intentions were to make their grandson, Shang Junyan, remarry Yan Qiongsi, the cousin of Prince Rong, in order to hide their collusion with Prince Rong and their intention to form a faction. Unexpectedly, during the murder attempt, they accidentally locked themselves in with Mrs. Su, and all three perished in the flames.

Whether the truth was as mentioned was no longer relevant; what mattered was that it was the official announcement - thus, it was true.

Mrs. Su's death eventually became merely a sigh of grief in people's conversations and was unrelated to any plight.

Only Su Xinyi, who had personally experienced such desperation and anguish, knew that even death could not erase her grievances and fury.

If there is a next life...if there is a next life...

*****

With a "splash," Su Xinyi felt cold all over, and continued to hear frantic shouts and chaotic footsteps in her ears. The noisy and harsh sounds made her head dizzy and heavy.

"Quick, save her! Someone's fallen into the water!"

"Which noble lady has fallen into the water? Oh my, her reputation will be ruined now that so many gentlemen are present."

"It's Eldest Missy Xu Yurong from Duke An Mansion, and that Sixth Missy from the fourth room of the Qi Country Duke's Mansion, Su Xinyi, who was just brought back from the countryside. Is that her name?"

"Yes, how did she fall into the water with Miss Xu? Could it be that she did something she shouldn't have?"

"Who knows? She's from the countryside, quite unruly."

"Miss Xu has always been knowledgeable, virtuous, and kind to others, but as for someone from an obscure background, it's hard to say."

As Su Xinyi, who had fallen into the water, heard this, her heart skipped a beat. Countless chaotic memories exploded in her mind, quickly picking up several keywords. In a daze, she choked on some water before resurfacing to catch her breath. When she saw someone jump into the water to save her, she instinctively struggled to submerge herself and dive deeper.

She remembered that she had sent away her stepmother and buried her with her father before returning to her husband's family and setting fire to Pingjing Prince Mansion.

Her beloved husband Shang Junyan was away on duty and had not yet returned to the capital. Yet his mother and grandmother forced her to die, wanting her to give up her position as the Crown Princess Consort for Princess Runyi Yan Qiongsi from the Guangping Prince's Mansion.

She also knew that the Shang family was going to support the seventh prince to become the Crown Prince and work with him to kill the current Crown Prince. Yan Qiongsi was the niece of the Empress, and the Princess of Guangping was the Empress's sister.

She was being forced to die, but she wouldn't let her persecutors get away with it. She had secretly obtained the letter from the seventh prince to the Shang family and slipped it to the Crown Prince.

Thinking of the Crown Prince, Su Xinyi's expression softened slightly. He was a good person; while the Pingjing Prince Mansion was colluding with the seventh prince, when Princess Pingjing brought her into the palace, the mother of the seventh prince, the Emperor's stepmother, had repeatedly made things difficult for her.

The Crown Prince had encountered her twice, and both times he had helped her out of her predicaments. She remembered his kindness. After her natural mother's death, her days at Prince Pingjing's Mansion seemed endless. In the Duke Qi's Mansion, with her mother gone, there would be no one to support her, and she would be trapped in a quagmire. Thus, she would drag down the people who harmed her to hell with her.

Although she didn't want to live anymore, she had to repay kindness and settle scores. That letter was her gift of thanks to the Crown Prince.

How could she let such a good man be stepped on by Prince Rong?

In her lifetime, she had only done such a willful thing once, but the moment she opened her eyes, she was back to when she had fallen into the water.

The impetus for her marriage back then was her being pushed into the water by Xu Yurong today, and then being rescued by Shang Junyan. In order to protect her reputation, her stepmother asked her grandmother to personally visit Prince Pingjing's Mansion and finalize their marriage.

However, this marriage had always been a thorn in Shang Junyan's side. He always believed that she had calculated and deliberately fallen into the water to wait for him to save her, and then took the opportunity to cling to him.

Thinking of the heart-wrenching past, Su Xinyi wished she could pick up a knife and dismember Shang Junyan to vent her hatred. So now she would never let Shang Junyan save her!

Although she didn't know why she had returned to the time before her marriage, she had learned to swim in her past life due to her grief and indignation. She didn't need him to save her. She could save herself!

One of the two people who had fallen into the water was still struggling desperately, with only half their head exposed, while the other had already disappeared. At this moment, hearing the commotion, a male guest finally arrived and jumped into the water to save someone.

Shang Junyan, who had been walking slowly behind, stared at the lake with a cold expression, his dark eyes indifferent and distant. He would never forget the fire he had seen when he returned home. He hadn't expected Su Xinyi to be so ruthless, setting Prince Pingjing's Mansion ablaze.

So many people in his family were trapped in the inferno, and his grandmother and mother couldn't escape. When he rushed in, he found that the doors of his grandmother's main house had been locked from the inside. Inside were three corpses: his grandmother, his mother, and the poisonous woman Su Xinyi!

He never expected that Su Xinyi, who had killed his grandmother and mother, would not stop there, but also try to drag the entire Pingjing Prince's Mansion to hell, stealing the Crown Prince's letter to his father and secretly sending it to the Crown Prince.

In addition to that fire, he faced the Crown Prince's personal army that had come to arrest his father and his guards.

He didn't know when his father had joined forces with the seventh prince, nor did he know what kind of deals they had made privately. However, he knew that the letter was unusual, otherwise why would the Crown Prince personally come to arrest people?

His last memory was of that raging fire and the sight of the Crown Prince leading his troops amidst the flaming backdrop!

Although he didn't understand why he had suddenly returned to the banquet where he had saved her, since he had come back, he would never make the same mistake again.

Even if Su Xinyi drowned, he would not save her!

At that moment, someone jumped into the water not far away, making a "splash" sound, which immediately caught the attention of everyone.

"Oh, it's Young Master Jiang from the Imperial Secretary's Mansion who has jumped in."

Upon hearing the name, Shang Junyan stiffened involuntarily. Jiang Zhongqing?

That's right, Jiang Zhongqing had always liked Su Xinyi. It wasn't surprising that he would jump in to save her when he found out that she had fallen into the water.

Shang Junyan subconsciously walked a few steps towards the shore, watching Jiang Zhongqing jump into the water. It seemed that he hadn't noticed the paddling of Xu Yurong, swimming towards the spot where Su Xinyi had disappeared. His lips pursed slightly.

Several surprised voices came from around them. Clearly, no one had expected Jiang Zhongqing to bypass Xu Yurong.

Shang Junyan eyed the lake's surface where Su Xinyi had not yet reappeared. His eyes narrowed, and he subconsciously took a step forward. But then his expression froze. What was he doing?

Su Xinyi, that poisonous woman, if she drowned now, wouldn't that be better? It would spare others from her misfortune.

His entire family had been destroyed by Su Xinyi. He and she would never reconcile, neither in their previous life nor in this one.

Soon, Xu Yurong was saved and brought ashore. Princess Dongli, the hostess of the banquet, immediately ordered a prepared shawl to be draped around her.

As the eldest Missy of Duke An's Mansion, Xu Yurong's rescue gave Princess Dongli a sigh of relief. As for Su Xinyi, who was still in the water, she was not so concerned. After all, Su Xinyi was just a village girl who had recently been brought back to Duke Qi's Mansion.

Princess Dongli regretted it in her heart. If she had known this would happen, she wouldn't have invited Forth Mrs. Su and troublemaker Su Xinyi in the first place.

At that moment, someone suddenly exclaimed. Princess Dongli looked over and found her facial expression tightened.

Not only Princess Dongli, but many of the ladies and young girls present were all surprised to see the person emerging from the water on the shore. Although their appearance was disheveled, their eyes were filled with intense coldness, making people feel an inexplicable chill in their hearts.