Chapter 3: This Unknown Person Must Be a Serial Killer.

Late at night, the Bai family hall was brightly lit, yet the atmosphere felt as desolate as an abandoned temple—deathly still and oppressive.

The elders paced back and forth in the hall, while the others sat restlessly, like grasshoppers freshly caught and trapped in a cage.

“Was that truly what the Prince Rui’s heir said?”

Lady Bai gently stroked her daughter Bai Shuxi’s silky hair, her heart aching as she rubbed the girl’s reddened eyes and tear-stained cheeks. With a worried frown, she asked.

Her uncle stood at the doorway with arms crossed, his face full of anger as he spoke:

“Who would believe that little prince’s words? I’ve seen plenty of his kind. They only think with their lower half. To satisfy their filthy desires, they’ll stop at nothing. Right now, he’s probably just waiting for you to completely break down before you throw yourself into his arms.”

Bai Shuxi’s heart twisted in pain. Recalling what Qian Junyou had said earlier, no matter how she thought about it, something felt off.

First, he had left her waiting in the hall for an entire day. Then he deliberately had the chair placed so far away. And finally, his reasons for refusing were so flimsy. Perhaps all of it was intentional mental torture he had planned.

The once-arrogant Bai Shuxi had always treated Qian Junyou with cold indifference, barely acknowledging him and sometimes even speaking with sarcasm. How could such a petty noble young master pass up such a perfect chance for revenge?

She had long heard that in this vast capital, she was the first person bold enough to treat the Prince Rui’s heir with such an attitude. Friends had repeatedly advised her to be more courteous toward the young prince, but she had never taken it seriously.

Thinking of this, she felt both deep hatred and disgust toward Qian Junyou, yet she was utterly helpless. She had already stepped into this muddy trap.

The Prince Rui’s residence held overwhelming power in the capital. What could she possibly use to fight him? In the end, she would still be toyed with in the palm of his hand.

Lady Bai’s lips trembled. She wanted to speak but hesitated. After a pause, she finally spoke slowly:

“Shuxi… news has come from the Ministry of Justice. Your father… in three days, he will be transferred to the ‘Heaven’ grade prison. After that, getting him out might become…”

Lady Bai’s face was haggard, her lips pale and bloodless, her eyes vacant. She understood that this time the Bai family was facing utter ruin.

The Heaven-grade prison was a death row facility with a two-hundred-year history. Most of those locked inside were serious criminals guilty of deceiving the emperor, rebellion, or colluding with demonic cultivators. Throughout history, no one had ever come out alive.

The young girl’s dazed gaze rested on the side of her mother’s face. Her already dried eyes once again welled up with tears.

“W… why? Father only failed in his duties. At worst, he could be charged with dereliction of duty. Why would he be thrown into the Heaven-grade prison? This isn’t fair!”

Bai Shuxi furrowed her brows tightly. Between her trembling lips, surprise and a hint of anger leaked through. Her emotions gradually grew agitated.

This news struck like a bolt from the blue. For someone already drowning in despair, it was salt on the wound. It was likely that her family’s usual rivals were taking advantage of the Bai family’s crisis to kick them while they were down, aiming to completely destroy them.

But her father was the Vice Minister of Works—one of the Six Ministries—and a court-appointed official. The Bai family also had deep connections in the court. The number of forces capable of sending a Vice Minister of Works into a death prison could be counted on one hand. The Prince Rui’s residence was one of them.

Lady Bai forced a withered smile onto her face, swallowing the words she had wanted to say. She comforted her daughter but dared not meet her eyes. With a bitter smile, she lowered her gaze to the ground and murmured softly:

“…This is just a rumor that leaked out. It hasn’t been confirmed yet.”

Her daughter had always been the number one genius in the capital, with boundless prospects, admired by all like stars surrounding the moon. Now, she was forced to go beg the person she hated most, lowering herself to plead for help. The thought made Lady Bai’s heart ache even more.

“I’ll go ask the young prince again tomorrow. As long as the prince is willing to help, he can definitely save Father!”

Perhaps to comfort her mother, Bai Shuxi suggested once more, her bright eyes filled with determination.

It was said that thirty years ago, the He family—one of the Five Great Families—had been implicated with rebel forces attempting to overthrow the court. They were supposed to be exterminated entirely, but because the He family’s eldest daughter married Prince Rui, in the end only the one person who had colluded with the rebels was executed.

That Miss He was none other than Qian Junyou’s mother. Even now, the He family, leveraging their ties to the Prince Rui’s residence, simultaneously controlled the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of War. Although both were relatively idle departments, their status was vastly different from before.

With such immense power behind the Prince Rui’s residence, how could they possibly be unable to help? Qian Junyou’s refusal today was most likely revenge for her usual disrespect and coldness toward him. For a greedy and lustful person like him, the final goal was self-evident…

The Bai family elder looked at this foolish child and advised with a worried frown:

“Shuxi, your uncle is right. If you go to that brat now, you’ll be falling right into his trap. Do you think he will still marry you properly with full rites? The eldest daughter of the Bai family cannot possibly become his concubine, can she? I’m afraid he won’t even give you any proper status!”

Indeed, over the past month, Bai Shuxi knew very well what kind of person Qian Junyou was. But what else could she do? She couldn’t just watch her father be sent to the execution ground, could she?

Bai Shuxi gently held her mother’s trembling hand. Only then did the mother and daughter realize that each other’s hands had already turned ice-cold.

“Shuxi, don’t force yourself too much. I know you’re not interested in that young master. Your father has always doted on you and would hate to see you suffer such grievance.

The Bai family is probably doomed this time. See if there’s any young master you like. Mother will arrange for someone to propose marriage and use our connections in the court so it won’t drag you down later.”

Lady Bai knew what her daughter was thinking. At this point, even if they saved her husband, the Bai family had no hope of recovery. If so, it would be better to arrange things properly and let her daughter seek her own happiness.

Unfortunately, her mother’s love now felt far too luxurious for Bai Shuxi. She no longer had any other choice.

——————

“Huh? The charge is deliberately setting the fire? Which idiot decided that?”

In the study of Prince Rui’s residence, Qian Junyou sat with one leg crossed over the other, gnawing on a peach.

Although Prince Rui had long grown accustomed to his son’s behavior, he still felt that the boy had been a bit strange these past two days. It wasn’t his personality, but rather his words and actions felt somewhat unusual.

“This case isn’t that simple. The disaster relief grain that was supposed to be delivered to that village—every single grain disappeared. The entire granary was replaced with dry grass. How could the fire not be huge?”

Prince Rui continued writing with his head down while responding to his “naughty child.” Hoping his son would become a dragon was hopeless; he could only wish the boy would marry soon and give the Prince Rui’s residence more heirs.

“How did your conversation with Miss Bai go? That child Shuxi is intelligent and gifted. She was clever and mischievous as a child, but after growing up she became gentle and refined.”

Prince Rui’s thoughts drifted back to the Bai family’s daughter, then returned to the present.

If she could become his daughter-in-law, that would be ideal. He only feared the girl might not think much of Qian Junyou.

But perhaps this was an opportunity. Thinking of this, Prince Rui added:

“However, this case cannot be blamed entirely on the Bai family. Every ministry likely has issues. The key is to catch the person scheming behind the scenes.”

As he spoke, he looked up at his son, but the boy didn’t seem particularly interested in Miss Bai.

“Father, you absolutely must not help the Bai family. The water here might be quite deep!”

“Hmph, what do you know? Why? Did Miss Bai anger you? Or are you upset because she doesn’t fancy you?”

Prince Rui glared at him irritably. Qian Junyou tossed away the leftover peach, suddenly jumped up, and asked mysteriously:

“Father, let me ask you something—don’t get angry. Does this case have anything to do with you? It seems a few officials want to impeach you!”

“What could it have to do with me? If burning those eight hundred refugees could turn you, this local snake, into a soaring dragon, then I might actually consider it.”

Prince Rui felt his son’s brain must be malfunctioning. At this point in life, what else did he have to pursue besides raising his child?

“As for the impeachment, I’ll keep an eye on it. I’ve spent a lifetime in officialdom—I know how things work.”

Although he knew it might just be his son talking nonsense, the meticulous Prince Rui still took note.

“Father, have you ever felt that sometimes in our house there are strange sounds? Like the howling of vicious dogs?”

“Yes, isn’t that little beast right in front of me?”

After asking for trouble and getting nowhere, Qian Junyou slipped out of his father’s study and returned to his own building.

The young woman who came forward to greet him was the concubine Qian Junyou had taken on the day of the Hero Soul Festival—Nalan Xueya.

Taking a concubine before marriage—this reputation-damaging act that invited public scorn—was naturally something the villain Qian Junyou was famous for.

In the original story, the concubine had only entered the household that afternoon. That same night, Qian Junyou was invited by the “Second Prince” to visit the pleasure quarters—a classic case of “eating from the pot while still eyeing the bowl.”

On the way to the pleasure quarters, he encountered Miss Bai, which led to the scene where the protagonist stabbed him to death. Qian Junyou had transmigrated at the exact moment when the carriage was prepared and he was about to set off.

“Hey… Xueya, you’re still not asleep?”

“Xueya naturally has to wait for Young Master to return before sleeping.”

Nalan Xueya was originally the daughter of Great General Nalan Renwu. At the age of seven, when Nalan Renwu rebelled against the court, Prince Rui was ordered to exterminate the entire Nalan clan. Nalan Xueya was brought back to the residence as a maidservant, though her status was equivalent to that of an adopted daughter.

None of that mattered, however. The most fatal point was that she was the protagonist’s biological elder sister in the original novel!

That’s right—the Qian family was the mortal enemy who had wiped out the protagonist’s entire clan. The villain’s death flag was planted straight into the ancestral grave… Although there were other reasons behind Prince Rui’s actions against the Nalan family back then, getting the protagonist to believe that would be extremely difficult.

Nalan Xueya stepped forward and saluted. She wore a thin, plain robe. Her slender figure was no less impressive than Bai Shuxi’s, yet carried an additional air of maturity.

A pair of beautiful red pupils, like cherries glistening with water. Silver-white hair as soft as clouds spun into delicate threads. Skin as white as jade with a faint rosy tint. A straight, elegant nose and a delicate, exquisite face—she was undoubtedly a masterpiece meticulously crafted by the goddess Nuwa.

Bai Shuxi being known as the number one beauty in the capital was partly because many people had never seen Nalan Xueya…

Looking at the great beauty waiting for him at the door, Qian Junyou didn’t know whether he should feel happy. He could only force a grin and say:

“Xueya, it’s cold outside. You don’t have to wait for me next time. Go sleep first!”

“Does Young Master not need Xueya to serve you?”

Xueya’s eyes were half-closed as she tilted her head to look at Qian Junyou. Her three thousand strands of silver hair cascaded like a waterfall over her shoulders, swaying with her head movements like weeping willows dancing in the wind.

Serve? Forget it. In the original story, she was a ruthless character. In the early stages she was a villain—cold, merciless, and bloodthirsty. To hunt the protagonist, she had slaughtered who knows how many villages.

Later she was forcibly whitewashed and joined the protagonist’s group, but she remained ice-cold, her killing intent overwhelming. The slightest disagreement and she would want to chop off the protagonist’s right hand.

Qian Junyou was certain that in Xueya’s heart, he was the kind of person who deserved death a thousand times! Forced to become the concubine of such a scumbag, and on the very night she entered the household, he was still thinking of going out to indulge in debauchery. The fact that she hadn’t killed him over all these years was already an act of loyalty and righteousness!

“Let’s skip it tonight. I’m a bit tired… ha… haha.”

Ever since he had transmigrated, Qian Junyou had never dared to touch even a single finger of Nalan Xueya, fearing that whichever finger moved would be the one that disappeared.

“Really not needed? Young Master’s blood qi seems a bit chaotic. Xueya… can help you regulate it.”

Xueya furrowed her willow-like brows, leaning closer with a worried expression.

Her fair cheeks looked like white porcelain rinsed with clear water. A warm, fragrant scent carrying her body temperature rushed toward him, instantly enveloping Qian Junyou and filling his nostrils and mind.

“Really! Really no need! I’m quite tired today. I want to rest alone for a bit!”

“Alright… then Xueya will withdraw first.”

A flash of disappointment and loneliness crossed Xueya’s face. She then returned to her room. Qian Junyou watched her departing figure and couldn’t help breaking into a cold sweat. He sighed inwardly:

‘Although she is loyal to the Prince Rui’s residence, from those icy eyes I can still see how deeply she despises me! With her special physique and strength, killing me and then escaping would be effortless…

Her words were calm on the surface, yet they hid killing intent… Every sentence was a probe. She could even see through the restlessness in my heart! If I ever have improper thoughts, I’m afraid my head would roll…’

Such a lofty flower, even if it bloomed right beside him, still kept people at arm’s length! However, after arriving in this world, he had discovered that Nalan Xueya seemed a bit “three-nothing.”

Speech without any emotion, a face without any expression—like a lonely glacier. She never revealed her inner thoughts to anyone, and no one could see through what lay in her heart.

If Bai Shuxi was the publicly acknowledged genius of the capital, then Xueya was the hidden boss behind the scenes. As the daughter of a general and the protagonist’s biological sister, Nalan Xueya possessed extraordinary talent.

At sixteen she had already completed Foundation Establishment and begun connecting star veins. Now twenty-two and the same age as Qian Junyou, she was already a great expert at Core Formation stage—shocking and terrifying…

Moreover, she had the rare “Spirit Concealment” physique. Even a Great Ascension stage cultivator would need to get very close to roughly sense her cultivation level.

After a whole day of anxiety, Qian Junyou finally lay down on the soft big bed in his room.

He slept straight through until dawn. He originally thought he could sleep longer, but he was awakened by Nalan Xueya’s soft whisper beside his ear—

“Young Master, Miss Bai has come again…”