The Cultivation Patriarch Became the Marquis's Wife - Chapter 1

Red candles hung high, yet the bridal chamber was cold and deserted.

Xiaomei, my maid, lowered her voice and whispered in my ear.

“Miss, didn’t you elope with that penniless scholar? Why did you come back? And why were you struck by lightning like that? You nearly frightened me to death!”

I was not her young mistress.

That young woman had presumably eloped successfully. I merely happened to look like her.

Xiaomei continued to grumble.

“The Pingyang Marquis Estate has gone too far! They coveted the Shen family’s enormous fortune and traveled all the way to Jiangnan to ask for your hand.

“But the moment the marriage was secured, they turned on us. Today, they brought a concubine through the gates at the same time as you. They even let her enter through the main gate and sent you through the side gate. Never have I seen a man favor a concubine and slight his wife so shamelessly. The entire capital is laughing at us!”

I waved a hand. “It doesn’t matter. They’re nothing but farts in the wind.”

Cultivation had declined over the last thousand years, and talk of ghosts and gods might frighten the girl, so I could not be bothered to explain.

What puzzled me was this: with my strength and all the merit I had accumulated, ascending to immortality should have been easy. How had I failed to withstand even the first bolt of lightning?

Worse, it had torn through time itself and dropped me among mortals a thousand years later.

Cause and consequence governed all things.

I was about to calculate the profound intentions of the Heavenly Dao in sending me here when the door crashed open and a tall figure staggered inside.

I immediately covered my nose.

“What reeks so badly?”

On closer inspection, the newcomer was dressed in crimson wedding robes. He had swordlike brows, bright eyes, and an imposing bearing.

I nodded in understanding.

“Ah. A man.”

The indignant Xiaomei instantly fell silent and bowed her head.

“My lord.”

Xiao Jingyao had clearly heard her complaints. He shot her a frigid glare and barked, “Get out. Do not come in without my permission.”

Xiaomei gave me a worried look, then retreated in fear.

Xiao Jingyao stepped forward and seized my chin, narrowing his eyes.

“Listen carefully, Shen Qianhe. Sirou and I grew up together. Our bond runs deep. As long as I am here, no one will ever bully her.

“If your Shen family had not taken advantage of my household’s decline and forced its way into this marriage, I would never have looked twice at a merchant’s daughter like you.

“Marrying you is already a blessing greater than you deserve. Do not push your luck and start imagining yourself the mistress of this estate!”

I frowned, caught his wrist in a backhanded grip, and squeezed until his bones crackled.

“Who gave you the courage to lay hands on this venerable one?”

Xiao Jingyao doubled over in pain, teeth clenched.

“You vicious woman! Let go!”

I had not even used a fraction of my strength, and he was already crumbling. Mortals truly were fragile.

I released him and wiped the place he had touched with a handkerchief.

“In the future, breathe in more essence from the sun and moon. Refine your qi diligently. Your body is so feeble that I might accidentally crush you to death.”

Xiao Jingyao clutched his wrist and hopped in fury.

“Shen Qianhe, what lunacy are you spouting?

“I went to war before I was even twenty. I have fought more battles than I can count! Even His Majesty has praised my valor, and you—you—you dare say that I…”

I pinched his sleeve between two fingers, tugged once, and tossed him onto the bed. Then I pinned him down with one knee.

“Weakling. Was I wrong?”

The last of the wine drained from Xiao Jingyao’s head. Humiliated and furious, he instinctively pushed at my knee.

“Where do you think you’re pressing? You’re the daughter of the wealthiest man in Jiangnan. How can you behave so wantonly?”

Confused, I looked down.

Xiao Jingyao grew even angrier. He curled in on himself, his expression chaste and unyielding.

“Shen Qianhe, brute strength does not give you the right to do as you please! Even if you possess my body, you will never possess my heart!”

I did not understand why his face was red.

But I did object to what he had said.

I slid a hand into his robes. With a touch of magic, my fingers sank through his chest and closed around a warm, vigorously beating mortal heart.

“Who says I cannot possess it?”

Xiao Jingyao’s eyes flew wide.

“You…”

His gaze sharpened, and he gripped my wrist.

“Are you the fiend who killed my father?”