Luwen grunted with effort, her breathing becoming ragged. Her hair plastered to her face, her wet clothes weighing down on her. Her skin became soaked, and she felt cold.
The rain was relentless and torrential, as if the skies were grieving for the deceased. Even so, they couldn't stop their work. The bodies were waiting.
She refused to give up.
She needed to live up to her earlier promise, otherwise, they would see her as a laughingstock. They would think of her as a pampered princess who kept to her room and knew nothing. They would continue to think of her as a threat if she didn't prove herself otherwise.
She wanted to show them she was a human with feelings, just as they were.
Fifteen more graves to go.
Together with Dai Yichen, they work quickly. It was impossible for her to dig a grave alone in this rain, but he was there to quicken the pace and finish the rest before they moved on to the next grave.
Their proximity increased her awareness of him. With each step she took, he stayed close to her; their shoulders brushing past each other a few times. She could feel his gaze on her sometimes, as if he was trying to figure out her intentions.
They continued working diligently, but it was difficult. The soil was getting wet and clumpy, making each shovel heavier. Her arms and thighs ached in pain. Her lack of stamina in this body was clearly a disadvantage.
When this was over, she really needed to build muscles and strength.
When she caught Dai Yichen staring at her again, she blurted out quickly. "Is there something wrong?"
Raindrops trailed down his face, running along his sharp features and coating his dark lashes. With the way his clothes clung onto his body tightly, Luwen couldn't help but notice how it emphasized the muscles in his thick arms and broad shoulders.
She stared longer than she should have, realizing only when his tone came out flat. "You have weak stamina."
Her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. "Thank you for pointing that out," she mumbled. "I'm aware of that myself."
He watched her as she continued working, determined to work as long as she could before she passed out. "But," he remarked thoughtfully, losing the tough edge in his voice for the first time, "you got the right posture and technique. You do not seem like the princess that many described you to be."
Her breath stalled. "And how do they usually describe me?" Or rather the princess's.
"Someone who hated talking and kept herself in her room."
She froze suddenly, the end of her shovel dropping to the soil with a soft thud. Have I made a mistake in my act? Did I get caught?
A shiver ran through her from the chilly rain. She took a step away from him, but her foot sank into a muddy pit.
Fortunately, Dai Yichen was quick to grab her arm to pull her onto safe ground. "Be careful," he said sharply. "If you miss a step, you might fall into one of these graves and to your death."
She didn't know if she should laugh or flinch. "My death," she said dryly, "might be the best piece of news your clan would receive these days."
He frowned, his lips parting slightly as if he wanted to say something, but his hesitation stopped him.
A sigh escaped his lips. "Come." He ditched his shovel and reached out for hers to do the same. "We're leaving."
Luwen was confused. "Where are we going? What about the rest of the graves that we need to finish?"
"The rest of my men will finish the work."
He exchanged a knowing look with them, who bowed their heads respectively before resuming their task. "You're getting your wish. We shall head back to the manor."
He turned and walked off, forcing her to catch up to him.
She breathed a sigh of relief. One, she was glad that he was heading for shelter and getting some rest. Two, she was feeling extremely cold from being in the rain for a long period. She had just recovered from her fever, but she could feel it returning.
Luwen, who only fell sick once every two years in her own body, wasn't used to being ill this often.
She could only imagine what the princess's life was like before; filled with nothing but pain, helplessness, and loneliness. How neglected she must have been.
The matriarch had several husbands and birthed a son and a daughter. Clearly, she had already chosen her successor. She favored her son more than her daughter.
When the war came, she hid her son in a safe and unknown location. As for her daughter, she considered her insignificant when the healer proclaimed her weak since she was an infant.
Luwen felt more fortunate than the princess. She may have lost her parents, but she knew the taste of a parent's love.
Princess, if they had assigned me to serve you, I would have been your friend.
Trudging after Dai Yichen, they walked in silence as the rain poured around them. Not once did he turn to look back at her, but he knew she was following him closely.
A wave of dizziness hit her suddenly. Her body trembled. Her skin flushed hot, feeling her forehead and the back of her eye sockets burning. She forced herself to take steady breaths, willing herself to be strong enough to reach the manor.
However, Dai Yichen's form seemed to grow smaller. She couldn't keep up with his pace.
Her knees trembled. She slowed to a stop to catch her breath. As soon as she closed her eyes, she felt herself swaying on her feet.
Soon enough, she fell forward into a pit of darkness.
***
When Luwen regained consciousness, she was surprised to find herself in her room. In her warm and comfortable bed.
She laid a hand on her forehead, realizing that her fever had gone down. She couldn't remember how and when she returned to the manor, much less her own room.
Was it Dai Yichen who brought her back?
The doors to her room swung open, and there was a shuffle of footsteps entering. Her maid brought along a tray with a porcelain bowl of warm medicine. She served it to Luwen, who drank everything despite the intense bitterness.
She handed the empty bowl to her maid. "It's really bitter this time," she told her. "Who changed the prescription?"
The maid signed back her words. "The lord. He requested the healer for stronger medicine. Something better."
Her pulse quickened. "Was he the one who brought me back?"
"Yes."
Luwen gnawed on her bottom lip, surprised that he didn't abandon her. He even carried her back. "How long did I sleep?"
"A day."
Now that the lord was beginning to pay her attention and her well-being, Luwen knew her maid would tell the matriarch about her progress. The news would make the woman thrilled.
However, what brought about the sudden change in Dai Yichen's behavior? Had her words reached him that she wasn't anything like the matriarch? Or was he showing sympathy for her?
She shook her head to clear her thoughts. No, she was just as scheming as the matriarch.
After all, she was planning to kill the man.
Her own soul and life were at stake. There was no room in her heart to feel guilt towards him.
Luwen rested in her room for a week, taking regular strolls in the garden and doing an exercise routine every day to keep herself fit and healthy. Even though Dai Yichen didn't visit her once, he had asked the healer to brew medicine that would boost her immunity and health.
At the end of the week, she felt more vitalized than she ever was in this body. And right on time, her maid arrived to deliver an important message to her.
"My lady, the lord summons you for a banquet."
Luwen's stomach lurched in uneasiness. A banquet? Together with the rest of the clansmen who hated her to their very core?
The news gave her a sense of foreboding. Whatever this event was, it would not end well. Apart from Dai Yichen and her maid, she had never spoken to anybody else in this mansion. They wanted her dead, much more than the lord himself who could barely stand her presence.
As her maid pulled out several beautiful dresses from the wardrobe, Luwen chose one absentmindedly. Her maid brushed and pinned her hair with pretty accessories, and applied makeup that made her face radiant with beauty.
However, Luwen couldn't focus on her reflection in the mirror. Her nerves kept her on the edge.
All she could think of was the attention they would drown her in.
And she hated it.
As the banquet hour approached, her maid ushered her to the banquet hall, where she nervously searched for Dai Yichen. Regardless of how much he hated her, she needed him to be her pillar of support. The wall she could hide behind from hateful eyes.
But he was nowhere to be seen.
Left with little of a choice, she entered the banquet hall alone. Almost instantly, the crowd's lively ruckus fell to a deafening silence. Rows of heads snapped to where she stood, their gleaming murderous eyes had her frozen in her stance.
Oh heavens.
This was going to be a tough battle for her.