The beloved is reborn as a substitute, and the tyrant begs for forgiveness every night.

"Hey, female ghost, do you want to live? I'll give you my body, you can live on in my place, as a way of repaying the kindness you showed me back then."

A girl covered in wounds lay prostrate before a lonely grave.

Blood kept gushing from her mouth and nose. Her eyebrows were deeply furrowed in pain, and tears mixed with blood rolled onto the ground.

Xu Leyao squatted on the tombstone, looking at her without any emotion: "Are you willing to die like this?"

Ghosts are filled with resentment and hatred.

There are no other emotions.

"Ha, what's this about being willing or unwilling? Nobody wants me to live. I myself find living so tiring and painful. I might as well seek a way out."

The girl struggled to get up.

Gasping for breath, she used her blood-stained hands to grab the talismans on the tombstone and tear them off.

"These are Soul-Stabbing Talismans. There are eighteen of them. I don't know who you offended to make them hate you so much and trap you here in such a vicious way."

Xu Leyao said quietly, "Your aunt."

The girl was taken aback: "What?"

“I said it was your aunt who trapped me here.”

Xu Leyao's bloodshot eyes were filled with resentment as thick as ink, and tears rolled down her cheeks, turning into black smoke and dissipating.

"The first thing I'll do after I come back to life is to devour your aunt's flesh and blood, and then wipe out your entire Jiang family. Even then, you'll still save me?"

"That's great."

The girl smiled weakly and tore off the last talisman without hesitation: "Then kill them all for me."

The talisman was placed by the Jiang family.

It was dismantled by the Jiang family at the cost of their lives.

As the girl breathed her last, a suction force pulled Xu Leyao into her lifeless body on the ground, leaving her no choice but to resist.

The next moment.

The corpse suddenly opened its eyes.

Her beautiful eyes, stained with blood and tears, were cold and sharp.

The moment Xu Leyao regained consciousness, intense pain swept through her entire body; there wasn't a single part of her body that wasn't in pain.

But the pain made her laugh.

"The pain I haven't felt in so long feels so good. Little girl of the Jiang family, I'll accept your body and grant your wish."

Three months ago, this young girl from the Jiang family passed through this place and "saw" the wandering ghosts. Out of kindness, she burned some paper money for them.

She doesn't like owing others.

She then casually scared the old woman who was bullying her.

The young girl revealed her identity when she thanked her.

She was a young lady from the Jiang family who had been abandoned and mistakenly adopted in the countryside for thirteen years. This trip was arranged by the Jiang family to bring her back to the capital.

Xu Leyao was very curious.

What exactly did the Jiang family do to this little girl? She was full of hope back then, so why did she suddenly want to die after only three months?

"Tsk, but given the nature of those beasts in the Jiang family, it's not surprising that they'd do anything."

"girl!"

A piercing cry interrupted Xu Leyao's mockery.

Xu Leyao frowned and turned around, only to see a round figure rushing towards her, grabbing her hand and bursting into tears.

"My silly girl, no matter what grievances you have, you shouldn't have jumped off a cliff to die! Only by living can you clear your name!"

This is the maidservant of the little girl from the Jiang family.

She had seen it.

The maid was crying her eyes out.

Xu Leyao pushed her away with a look of disgust: "Okay, stop crying, I'm still alive."

She sat down on the ground.

He leisurely tore off his outer garment to bandage his wound.

Even though her whole body ached, she didn't even flinch.

"I might have damaged my brain from the fall. There are many things I can't remember. Tell me about my story, starting from when I returned to Beijing."

The maid was stunned. Her eyes were red as she felt sorry for her mistress, but then she thought that this way the mistress wouldn't try to kill herself, and she became happy again.

She wiped her nose.

He then recounted the story of the young girl from the Jiang family.

Things turned out pretty much as Xu Leyao had expected.

When the Jiang family discovered that the blood and bones had been lost, they naturally wanted to retrieve them, but they were dissatisfied that Jiang Yuwei was not presentable.

Even her biological parents disliked and abandoned her, but instead adopted the girl who was switched at birth as their daughter and continued to love and cherish her.

The family affection I longed for did not come.

She was also bullied at every turn by the person who had taken over her life for thirteen years.

No one stood up for Jiang Yuwei, and no one was willing to listen to her.

A few days ago, she was falsely accused by the adopted daughter of the Jiang family of stealing her token of love, and was stripped naked and searched by the Third Prince in public.

The Jiang family watched coldly, even offering advice. Jiang Yuwei, unable to bear the humiliation, struck a pillar with her hand, resulting in her being sent to the estate to "cultivate her character."

It turned out to be the case.

She clapped her hands and stood up: "Alright, let's go back."

The maidservant got up and helped the limping Xu Leyao, saying, "It's good to be on the estate. At least you won't be bullied anymore. After all, you are of the Jiang family bloodline. The Jiang family won't abandon you."

"It's worthless."

Xu Leyao said calmly, "Why not go back? How can you get revenge if you don't go back? If you've been bullied, you should repay the favor a thousandfold, and then others will naturally not dare to bully you again."

The little maid, Zhu'er, was stunned.

My daughter's personality seems to have changed. She used to be so gentle and sweet. When did she ever say such murderous things?

Then, with a worried look on his face, he said, "Even if we wanted to go back, we couldn't. How could we go back? We'd probably be dragged back as soon as we got to the gate of the mansion."

Let alone revenge.

Xu Leyao ignored her.

Why can't we go back when we have hands and feet?

However, before going back, she had something to do first.

She asked casually, "What time is it today?"

Pearl: "September 6th, in ten days it will be your birthday, Miss."

September 6th.

In a few days, that scoundrel will be arriving.

A wicked smile curved her lips: "Pearl, go and prepare a thick riding crop for me, and also some traps."

"Girl, you want to go hunting? You can't even ride a horse, and besides, you can't take such a strenuous activity."

Pearl offered her earnest and dutiful advice.

Xu Leyao glanced at her and said, "Just go when I tell you to."

Although his tone was indifferent, his sharp gaze sent a chill down Zhu'er's spine, making her entire back tense. She involuntarily lowered her head.

"Yes, the servant knows."

Oops.

The girl has changed so much! That look in her eyes just now was so powerful! More powerful than the old lady of the Jiang family!

The master and servant walked towards the village, their steps uneven.

"Miss, whose grave was that unmarked tomb just now? I saw you paying your respects at it. Do you recognize it?"

"Yes. That's the grave of an old friend."

"Old friend? Who is it?"

"Xu Leyao".

Zhu'er hummed in agreement: "Xu Leyao, that name sounds familiar."

Xu Leyao slowly said with a deep look in her eyes, "Xu Leyao, the eldest daughter of the Xu family in Zhangzhou."

Her voice was both soft and cold.

It was as if it had floated out of hell.

"The Xu family of Zhangzhou... Hiss! The late Empress... that wicked Empress Xu Leyao?"

Pearl screamed, her legs buckling and nearly collapsing to the ground: "My lady, don't scare me! How could that be the tomb of the Demon Queen? Wasn't she said to have been torn apart by five horses? Who would dare bury her body here?"