Phoenix's Requiem

Chapter 6: A Problem With the Birthmark

Yun Ruoyan exerted all her strength to drag the black-clad man into her own house.

The man half-sat on the bed, his eyes tightly closed, trying to suppress the drug ravaging his body to the best of his ability. Sweat beaded on his forehead and trailed down his face.

The interior of the room was bright, and it was only then did Yun Ruoyan finally see his appearance clearly. His features were well-defined and his eyes expressive; even by the standards of the capital, he would rank near the top in attractiveness.

Getting forcefully kissed by a man like him doesn’t seem to be so bad. As Yun Ruoyan thought this, she looked at his injury.

She wasn’t a doctor, and she didn’t really have the supplies for emergency treatment. When she saw the deep gash by the man’s chest, Yun Ruoyan shook in shock.

If the sword wound had been just a centimeter to the right, the man’s aorta would have been cut!

She snuck another glance at the man. His eyes were closed, but his scrunched-up forehead made his forbearance clear.

Was he unwilling to see a doctor even with an injury of this extent?

Yun Ruoyan carefully helped him bandage up his last wound. “I can only perform simple first-aid. You’ve suffered grievous internal injuries, and you definitely need more intensive treatment quickly.”

The black-clad man grunted, dressing himself before walking out the door.

Yun Ruoyan rinsed her bloody towel. She spoke without looking at him, her tone intent, “Don’t forget about your promise with me.”

The man stilled at the door. The corners of his lips curled up. “I keep my promises.”

The next day, Yun Ruoyan washed up and changed into an indigo gown early in the morning. She was right about to go to her maternal grandfather’s house and see her two cousins when, all of a sudden, she found someone making a fuss in her yard.

Yun Ruoyu was standing outside her rooms, her hands on her hips. “Yun Ruoyan, get out here! It’s all your fault that Yi Qianying’s been punished! You have to take responsibility!”

Yun Ruoyan was somewhat flummoxed—after all, Yun Ruoyu was present during the whole investigation, and she’d even been astonished that Yi Qianying was the thief. How had her behavior towards the entire affair changed so drastically in a single night?

Honestly, she really didn’t want to think too much about this. “What’s there for me to take responsibility for?”

“Qianying’s kneecaps are all red now because she had to kneel in the ancestral hall for the entire day! Meanwhile, you’re here dressing up as if nothing had happened!” Yun Ruoyu glared at Yun Ruoyan in rage.

Her words were so illogical that Yun Ruoyan almost wanted to laugh at the incongruity. What did Yi Qianying’s punishment have anything to do with her dressing up?

“Yun Ruoyu, you were there for the entire duration of the affair. When you saw Yi Qianying getting punished for stealing the jade ornament, didn’t you also feel happy inside? What’s this now? Who’re you trying to appease by yelling at me so early in the morning?”

Yun Ruoyu’s barbs and thorny words immediately became stuck in her throat. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times, gaping, her face turning red. She hadn’t expected that Yun Ruoyan, who’d always been meek and docile, would actually refute her. Somewhat guiltily, she responded, “That’s because I didn’t know you framed Yi Qianying!”

“But I was the one who was framed.”

In exasperation, Yun Ruoyu shoved Yun Ruoyan. “Stop lying! Qianying cried for the entire night! She said it was you who put it into her dressing box, and that she had no choice but to take the blame for the entire affair. Otherwise, how would you have known where the jade ornament was? Clearly, you’d intended to frame her from the beginning!”

Yun Ruoyan frowned. She finally understood what was going on. Clearly, after last night’s affair, Yi Qianying made use of her innocent appearance to put on an act. Because the Yun household had such a favorable impression of her to begin with, as soon as she cried and mentioned her woes, she easily twisted the truth against Yun Ruoyan. She rubbed her temples: her little sister was far too easily goaded.

Yun Ruoyu glared at Yun Ruoyan. “Yun Ruoyan! We’ve all treated you like a sister, but why did you have to frame Yi Qianying?”

“Treated me like a sister?” Hearing this, Yun Ruoyan wanted to laugh. “If you acknowledge me as your sister, then you should know that, as a concubine’s daughter, you have no right to refute me. Know your place in this household!”

“You!!” Yun Ruoyu’s cheeks flushed red. How dare a wretch as ugly as Yun Ruoyan speak to her like that? She was just fortunate enough to be born a few years earlier than she was!

A slap rang out, and long, thin fingernails grazed Yun Ruoyan’s cheek right on top of Yun Ruoyan’s birthmark. Dark red blood began seeping out of the wound, stupefying both girls for a moment.

Peony was the first to react, and she stepped forward to help support Yun Ruoyan.

Not willing to back down, Yun Ruoyan frowned and slapped Yun Ruoyu back.

Yun Ruoyu clutched her face and opened her eyes wide. She couldn’t believe it! Yun Ruoyan had actually slapped her?!

Yun Ruoyu raised her hand once more, about to slap her back, when Yun Ruoyan gripped her wrist tightly. “Yun Ruoyu, yesterday’s affair and the punishment meted out was set by our grandmother and Madam An, and everyone was present for it. If you’re dissatisfied with the punishment, let’s go find our grandmother now, shall we?”

Yun Ruoyu’s anger instantly dissipated. She’d clearly seen how protective her grandmother was of Yun Ruoyan yesterday! “No, I won’t! Yun Ruoyan, let go!”

Yun Ruoyan forcefully pushed her aside. With a sniff, Yun Ruoyu rubbed her wrist as she left with her attendants.

“Miss, look at this bracelet...” Peony’s gaze landed on the silver bracelet that Yun Ruoyan wore.

The blood that had seeped out of her birthmark had somehow landed on her bracelet, and the silver had blackened and tarnished where it had landed.

Poison!

Yun Ruoyan frowned as she looked at her bracelet. There had to be poison in her body, or her blood wouldn’t have stained the silver black! The black-clad man’s words weren’t wrong!

A thousand possibilities sprang to mind. Yun Ruoyan knew that she had to deal with the matter quickly; after instructing Peony not to speak a word of this to anyone, she quickly brought her out of the estate.

Yun Ruoyan’s maternal grandfather, Lin Zainan, was the best pillmaster in the Li kingdom, and he was sure to have an antidote for this poison!

Speaking of her maternal family, it was quite unusual that all the members of that family of her mother’s generation seemed to have either died or left home. In Yun Ruoyan’s memory, the only people living in the Lins’ place were her maternal grandfather and her two cousins.

In her previous life, because the Yuns didn’t like her interacting with the Lins, she’d always avoided her maternal family. Later, because her two cousins informed their grandfather that Pei Ziao and Yi Qianying seemed to have a dubious relationship, her grandfather had even become opposed to her being with Pei Ziao.

But by that time, she had been captured by the illusions of puppy love. In the end, she did something that she regretted to her dying day: breaking off all ties with the Lins.

In this life, she wouldn’t make the same mistake.

She would even willingly use the remainder of her life to make amends for her behavior, her rudeness towards her grandfather, and her lack of trust toward her cousins.

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