He rolled up his sleeves and was about to rush in.
Bang, bang, bang——
The bell of Tomb Guard City happened to ring!
"In the twenty-eighth year of Tianque, the twentieth batch from Tomb Guard City, only one person survived..."
Along with the bells, a city official shouted the news of this guard rotation loudly.
Only one person survived?
Pei Yuncheng's steps froze on the spot, momentarily unable to move forward or backward.
Pei Yunqing's eyes flashed with pain as he said with immense heartache, "Zhaozhao, my dear sister, how many hardships did you endure in Tomb Guard City? It was elder brother who found you, yet failed to protect you. It was my mistake. I shouldn't have sent you to Tomb Guard City back then."
"Then would you send Pei Yunzhi in?"
Yu Nianzhao looked at him coldly and asked a question that struck straight at the heart.
Pei Yunqing's breath caught, and he fell silent.
Even lying and saying yes could make Zhaozhao happy, but just thinking about Pei Yunzhi's tearful face, he was unable to speak.
The answer was self-evident.
Yu Nianzhao mocked, "If that's the case, then why bother with empty words here? If it weren't for the fact that the Pei Family just happened to need to offer a sacrifice this time, perhaps you wouldn't have thought to find me at all!"
"Zhaozhao, how can you say this? After discovering Yunzhi was not our biological daughter, we immediately sent people to search for you, and it was not until six years ago that we located you. Why do you doubt this?"
Ms Lien cried, her eyes swollen and red, pounding her chest as if she wished to show her heart to her.
"Because I can't imagine why a mother would send her own daughter into the man-eating Tomb Guard City?"
Yu Nianzhao countered, "Do you know what the survival rate of those sent to Tomb Guard City was in the past?"
Everyone in the Pei Family fell silent.
Yu Nianzhao gave a self-mocking smile, "Seems like you all know. Fifty were sent to Tomb Guard City, and the highest record was three survivors. So, you also expected that I might die inside. You merely didn't want Pei Yunzhi to die."
Pei Yuncheng felt numb, and upon hearing Pei Yunzhi's sobbing, his guilt lightened somewhat, "Yunzhi has also shown you five years of filial piety, how can you put all the blame on her?"
Yu Nianzhao looked at him and said word by word, "Yes, not just five years. She clearly enjoyed the affection and everything that should have belonged to me, living a life of luxury for sixteen years, a full sixteen years!"
Her tone was void of sorrow or joy, merely stating a fact.
"Wuwuwu..."
Pei Yunzhi couldn't hold back anymore and fell into Pei Yuncheng's arms, crying incessantly.
Seeing his younger sister, whom he had cherished since childhood, cry like this, Pei Yuncheng felt deep heartache and grew resentful towards Yu Nianzhao, "Yunzhi is also innocent. It was the midwife who swapped you at birth. At that time, Yunzhi was just a baby too. She didn't wish for this, could you stop blaming her? Her guilt has shadowed her for six years already, isn't that enough?"
Yu Nianzhao merely survived in the man-eating Tomb Guard City for five years, whereas Pei Yunzhi's guilt has lingered for six whole years!
Ha-ha, truly admirable!
"Zhaozhao, Yunzhi really didn't do it on purpose. We are all family, can't you let go of your prejudices? Wouldn't it be good to give us a chance to make amends? We can return to the Marquis's Manor, and for the rest of our lives, no one can separate our family again,"
Pei Yunqing flashed a fawning smile, just like when he found her back then and extended his hand to her.
Yu Nianzhao looked at that hand, feeling her old wounds begin to throb faintly.
"I said, there's no need!"
She rasped, "Your Zhaozhao has already died in Tomb Guard City. She no longer needs this illusory familial affection, Pei Yunqing. You can just keep your precious Yunzhi from now on. No need to balance two bowls of water anymore, since...you never managed to balance them from the start."
The doll she once treasured was merely the ugliest one left by Pei Yunzhi.
When Pei Yunqing gave it to her, she was overjoyed, hugging the doll to sleep every night.
Later, in Pei Yunzhi's room, she saw dolls several times more beautiful than hers, five neatly placed in Pei Yunzhi's cabinet.
That's when she knew, in Pei Yunqing's heart, his most beloved sister was always Pei Yunzhi.
Hearing her address him by name without even calling him "Elder Brother" softly, Pei Yunqing's eyes reddened, and he gave a bitter smile, "Zhaozhao, it's elder brother who has wronged you!"
He was the one who gave her a hopeful beginning and a painful end.
Pei Yuncheng angrily said, "Yu Nianzhao, be satisfied with what you have. If elder brother hadn't found you, you'd still be a pitiful, wandering orphan out there!"
Yu Nianzhao said coldly, "It would have been better to never have had it in the first place, than to end up like this."
Ms Lien and Pei Yunqing were heartbroken by her indifferent attitude.
Pei Yuanzheng furrowed his brows tightly and said sternly, "Even if you are unwilling to forgive us in your heart, you are still the child of my Marquis's Manor. If you don't come back with us, where can you go? There is no place for you in the world anymore, so just apologize to your mother, and we will all return to the Marquis's Manor together."
Hiss...
Yu Nianzhao clutched her chest, her illness creeping in like silk, her life force continuously ebbing away from this body.
Terrible, truly terrible!
It was utter disaster!
She had just come into the world, her body's strength not yet restored, the body itself had already died once. If she didn't replenish her strength, this body wouldn't last long and would slip back into death.
"Dad is talking to you, Yu Nianzhao, what's with the pretense? What? Do we need to beg you to come back?"
Seeing Yu Nianzhao's pained look, Pei Yuncheng thought she was putting on an act to gain attention and push aside Yunzhi. He couldn't stand her in this state and couldn't help but push her a bit.
That very motion made Yu Nianzhao stagger and almost fall to the ground.
When Yu Nianzhao turned around, blood began flowing rapidly between her fingers, and her face turned ghostly pale.
"Oh my god! Zhaozhao, what's wrong? Are you injured? Where are you hurt? So much blood? What should we do? Quickly, find a doctor!"
Ms Lien was startled, anxiously looking at her chest. When her hand moved slightly, she finally saw the deep, bone-revealing wound. Her pupils contracted, her body swayed, and she almost fainted from the sharp pain.
Pei Yunqing's face turned very grim, and he gritted his teeth, asking, "Zhaozhao, who inflicted such severe wounds on you!"
"Does it matter? After all, just now, none of you even noticed my wound."
Yu Nianzhao avoided Pei Yunqing's attempt to support her. Due to excessive blood loss, she was beginning to feel dizzy.
Suddenly, she caught a whiff of a delightfully sweet scent...
Pei Yunqing said sternly, "Zhaozhao, stop fooling around. Your injuries are too serious. Come with me to the carriage, and I will take you to see a doctor immediately."
Yu Nianzhao replied coldly, "My surname is Yu, not Pei! After five years in Tomb Guard City, the favor has been repaid. From now on, we have no more ties!"
Having said that, she staggered toward the carriage from which the scent emanated, so quickly that the guards could only watch as she rushed into it!