Dongqin Dynasty, 28th Year of Tianhe Reign, Early Spring
Winter's corpse lay unburied. Though the Spring Equinox had crept past, a blizzard two days prior drowned the capital in two feet of snow—a shroud of ice that stole the breath from men's lungs. Frost gnawed at bone; the wind sliced like Valyrian steel.
Bai Heran awoke to needles stabbing her spine. A corpse dragged back from summer's grave? She remembered the gunshot tearing through her heart in July's swelter, yet now winter's kiss flayed her cheeks. Knees sunk in snow-drifts, arms twisted behind her back like a criminal's, she heard voices cut through the gale—two maids hissing like vipers in silk:
"Dream of stealing the trueborn lady's glory? Eight winters the pox spared you—today ends your luck."
"Blame not us, Second Miss. Blame your dead mother's ghost haunting your title."
Thirteen embroidery needles pricked anew. She strained to turn, but limbs lay frozen as the grave. Before thought could cohere, a shove hurled her into the abyss. Halfway down, life surged through her veins—and with it came memories not her own.
*
Memory's Deluge**
Fourteen years past: Duke Wen Bai Xingyan wed Princess Chunyu Lan of Fan Kingdom in eight-carried splendor . A daughter born—Bai Heran. Then her uncle's failed coup, her mother's exile... A toddler abandoned at vermillion gates. A widow's skull cracking on pillars.
The visions dissolved. Transmigration? The cliff's maw yawned below—but instead of stone teeth, she struck water. Sulfur steam veiled the pool as she surfaced, gasping. Not at the miracle of survival, but at the bare-chested man clutching her. Their collision sent them both under, his grip failing as she sank like an anvil.
Poison on the needles— her mind diagnosed, —the very venom that killed this body's soul. Yet her own blood, heir to a Venomous Lineage , neutralized the toxin. What burned now was indignity: flailing in the water, her hand brushed against...
Gods be good—I've seized his crown jewels