Chapter 005: Memories Best Left Unspoken (1)

It was an evening at the turn of summer and autumn. The sky was growing dark, and Jiner, cold, hungry, and utterly disheveled, sat at a street corner, hugging her knees as she wept bitterly. Two streaks of tears traced clean lines through the grime on her small face.

Just moments earlier, her life-saving dinner had been snatched away by a vicious dog. After two days and nights without food, she could bear it no longer. Thinking back, even though she and her mother had always lived in the Cold Palace, enduring humble meals and sparse living, at least they had something to eat each day. Now, even a dog saw fit to bully her.

She remembered, just two days ago, witnessing her mother killed by the general with her own eyes. Yet the so-called emperor on his throne did not shed a single tear; he even tacitly consented when the general tried to strangle her—his own daughter, Shangguan Jiner—in front of everyone.

Though she was but an imposter, the outrage and grief still surged within her. Was the royal family truly so cold-blooded and heartless? Was his once-passionate devotion to her mother, all those solemn vows, so easily cast aside? To the point of killing his own child, begrudging even a tiny grave?

Had she not lived through it herself, she would have thought such things existed only in the pages of a novel. But reality proved far more cruel than anything the imagination could conjure.

Luckily, she had seen that lofty father only once in her life; in four years, he had never stepped foot in the Cold Palace. She felt nothing for him but deep hatred and contempt—certainly no pain or sorrow.

It was her mother’s death that lingered with her. In this world, her mother had cherished her for four years, bringing happiness and joy she had never known as an orphan. To watch her mother die before her eyes was agony too deep for words, a pain that stole her breath away.

She thought she would follow her mother in death, but unexpectedly woke up amidst the graves of the forsaken. Yet what difference did it make? If not strangled to death, she would simply starve. The former, at least, would be quicker; the latter was pure torment. She could not understand why fate tormented her so.

So, as she watched that vicious dog devour the half-dirty bun she had clung to, the injustice and grief overwhelmed her at last. She began to cry, her sobs wracking her thin body, so fierce she struggled to breathe.

“Are you hungry?” Suddenly, a deep, calm voice spoke, as the mouthwatering aroma of steamed meat buns wafted before her.

Startled, Jiner stifled her sobs and hesitantly looked up. Through her blurred vision, she saw two steaming meat buns offered before her.

A tidal wave of hunger crashed over her; she couldn’t help but swallow, yet dared not move a muscle. She simply stared at those symbols of hope, terrified the dream would vanish if she reached for them too hastily.

“Aren’t you hungry?” The voice, still cool and indifferent, was nonetheless the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.

It took a long moment for Jiner to come to herself. She slowly raised her head and saw a young man crouched before her. His features were hazy in her blurred sight.

She rubbed her eyes, and her vision cleared. The moment their gazes met, Jiner felt her breath catch.

In all her nineteen years—fifteen in her previous life and four in this one—she had never seen such a handsome man. Even the idol stars she’d admired on television paled instantly by comparison.

He seemed no older than twenty, with long black hair falling naturally about him. His face and features were so striking they defied description.

Yet his perfect face held a somberness and weariness that seemed beyond his years. She searched his eyes for warmth or a trace of a smile, but found only cold depths, as if she’d fallen into a frozen lake, leaving her feeling inexplicably chilled.