The General's Regret

I died on the day the general returned victorious.

He held his beloved princess in his arms as he passed by my coffin.

Everything I left behind, he burned to ashes.

One piece after another—the sachet I sewed for him with my own hands, the shoes I wove for him, the sutras I copied in my own blood...

Later, he clutched one of my embroidered slippers and wept until his heart shattered.

He finally understood that the person he swore to protect was me.

Damian Warrington, I told you long ago.

But back then, you risked your life to rescue the princess from the enemy.

You had no time for me at all.

1.

When Damian passed my coffin, he suddenly reined in his horse, a flicker of shock crossing his face.

The princess, veiled in sheer silk, lounged in his arms like a lazy cat.

"Yinniang."

She read the name on the coffin lid, her tone laced with displeasure.

"Sounds like a woman. Do you know her?"

Damian kissed her hair tenderly—I had never seen him so gentle.

A faint smile curled at the corner of his mouth. "No one important," he said lightly.

I thought I misheard. I slapped my ears.

For the past three years, I was the only woman by Damian's side.

Between a man and a woman, we had shared every romantic moment, done everything we should and shouldn't have.

On every spring night drenched in passion, we were tangled together, sweat mingling.

Every whispered moan, he breathed my name.

Before he left for battle, he clearly said he would marry me upon his return.

I had my eyes closed then; Damian probably thought I was asleep.

But I heard it, and I held onto that hope.

Even in death, I blamed myself for being so weak.

Why couldn't I wait just a little longer—wait for him to come back, to see him one more time, to kiss him once more?

But he said I was no one important.

"Damian, explain yourself... Damian!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs, tears streaming down in torrents, my heart twisting in agony.

I reached out to grab his sleeve, but I could no longer touch him.

I clenched my fists and pounded my chest, feeling suffocated, like I was about to explode.

Damian rode away without looking back.

I chased after him, unwilling to give up, stirring a breeze that lifted the princess's veil.

...She had a face almost identical to mine.

It felt like a slap across my face, a burning pain searing through my heart, leaving me stunned for a long time.

2.

In a daze, I followed Damian.

The emperor led the entire court to welcome him back. He sat with a few friends, laughing and chatting animatedly.

Damian, I'm already dead.

How can you laugh so freely?

There was a long, ugly scar on Damian's neck. I heard it was from when he stormed the enemy camp alone to rescue the princess.

"It was on October eighteenth. I'll remember the day we reunited forever."

The princess raised her glass, her eyes full of affection.

Damian replied, "It was worth it."

He looked at her with such tenderness and focus, then suddenly seemed lost in thought.

Someone teased him, "The mighty general, so brilliant in all things, yet he turns foolish at the sight of the princess."

"October eighteenth..." Damian murmured, then turned to join the laughter. "I just feel like I'm forgetting something."

Damian, I wrote to you. How could you forget?

On October eighteenth last year, you were at the border, charging into the enemy camp for the princess, and finally bringing her back.

That same day, I gave birth to your child.

Damian, the wound you suffered then must have hurt so much.

But you don't know that the pain of childbirth is ten thousand times worse.

You always said I was as thin as a reed, but you never knew how much blood my body could lose.

That day, I bled almost dry, and it wouldn't stop.

The midwife asked me, "Save the mother or the child?"

Terrified she might mishear, I screamed, "The child! Save the child!"

Because he was my child, and yours too.

But you were busy bleeding and sweating for another woman.

You probably didn't even read my letter carefully, did you?

3.

At the third watch, Damian stumbled back to the mansion, drunk.

In his room, a low bed was pushed against the wall.

He collapsed onto it, exhausted.

"Yinniang, my head hurts. Massage it for me."

He used to spend every night with me on that bed, rocking it until the whole room creaked.

But afterward, Damian always returned to his own bed, sleeping apart from me.

He said that since he'd been at war for years, he had nightmares every night and was afraid he'd hurt me in his sleep.

How naive I was. I believed everything he said.

I stayed in the Warrington mansion for three years and didn't even have a proper courtyard.

Damian treated me like a cheap bed servant, keeping me confined to that bed, at his beck and call, ready to serve at any moment.

But this time, Damian got no response.

He tried again. "Yinniang? I want some of your calming tea..."

I stood by the head of the bed, biting my lip so hard it hurt, my eyes burning with pain.

Damian, why are you calling me? Why are you calling a substitute?

Your beloved is back. If you're hurting, go to her!

Oh, right. The princess is too delicate. You wouldn't let her wait on you like a servant.

Why didn't you tell me from the start that you just needed an outlet?

Why did you pretend to love me and steal my heart?

You might as well... have died out there and never come back!

The old butler answered from outside the door, his voice calm.

"General, Yinniang is gone."

Damian didn't speak. His lashes fluttered, and he slowly opened his eyes, his gaze cold and sober.

He muttered to himself, "Gone? Really gone..."

He pushed himself up, hung his head, and let out a laugh.

"Mm. I see."

"Burn everything she left behind."

4.

The whole kingdom buzzed with the tale of Damian's heroic rescue of the princess.

I thought he'd soon ask the emperor for permission to marry her.

But two months passed, and he hadn't even mentioned it.

Some friends invited him for drinks. Midway through, Landon Chen, the second son of the imperial censor, asked him, "You risked your life for the princess, but now that you've brought her back, why aren't you rushing to marry her?"

The princess sat behind a screen, clutching her handkerchief, shy and nervous as she waited for Damian's answer.

Damian swirled his cup in silence.

Landon slung an arm around his shoulder, grinning. "You're not still thinking about that woman in your mansion, are you?"

The princess's eyes flickered, and her face darkened.

Both of us—one alive, one dead—waited for what Damian would say.

"Impossible." Damian tipped back his drink.

Yeah, impossible.

I laughed bitterly at myself.

Landon, drunk, leaned on Damian's shoulder and said smugly, "I knew it. How could you ever fancy some gutter rat from a brothel?"

"She only got lucky because she looked like the princess. Thought she was a phoenix, but when I just touched her, she kicked me into the Moon Lake..."

Damian's head snapped up, and he glared at Landon with murderous intent.

That winter, Landon had tried to grope me, and I kicked him into the Moon Lake.

Furious, he twisted the story, claiming I seduced him and pushed him in.

I begged to explain, but no one believed me.

Damian made me kneel publicly and apologize to Landon.

I grew up in a nunnery, used to kneeling. One more time wouldn't have mattered.

But when my knees hit the ground that day, I felt like I'd never be able to hold my head up again.

Damian's expression terrified Landon. Before anyone could react, Damian punched him in the face.

He went berserk, kicking and beating Landon until it took several men to pull him off.

He stomped on Landon's wrist, his face eerily calm despite his rage.

"She was my woman. How dare you touch her."

I watched this farce quietly, finding it bitterly amusing.

I didn't get protection when I was alive, and I don't want it now that I'm dead.

Someone pleaded for Landon. "Damian, calm down. Landon was out of line. How about we ask Miss Yinniang to come out, and Landon can apologize to her in person..."

Damian shoved the man's hand away. For the first time in so long, I saw his eyes turn red.

"She's dead! She's dead! Who can apologize to her now..."

His roar was cut off by the clatter of the screen falling over.

The princess stared at Damian in silence, her shoulders trembling, crying in a way that broke hearts.

5.

Damian froze, then said softly, "Anya..."

He reached out to wipe her tears, but the princess flew into a rage. "Don't touch me!"

She turned to run, but Damian caught up in two strides, threw her over his shoulder, and ignored her kicks and screams as he tossed her into the Warrington carriage.

"Liar! You liar! You said she wasn't important! You love her—you love someone else!"

Damian held her tight in his arms. "I kept her around only because she looked like you, nothing more! Otherwise, how could I have survived three years without you?"

"So she was just a toy to pass the time?"

The princess looked at him, her nose red. His eyes darkened, and after a moment, he nodded. "Yes."

"And you don't want to marry me because of her?"

"Of course not. I just thought you might want to spend more time with your father now that you're back..."

The princess shook her head violently. "No! I don't want to wait! Go tell Father right now that you want to marry me. Go! Now!"

Her flushed face was adorable. Damian liked women like that.

Back when I occasionally threw tantrums, he'd always shut me up with a kiss.

Now, his gaze lingered on her face.

Then he gave her a long, passionate kiss, hot enough to melt every barrier between them.

6.

Damian drafted his marriage petition to the princess as fast as he could.

From then on, he spent every day with her, playing music, painting, and traveling.

As if to make up for the tears she'd shed for him that day.

He took her to the Four Joys Teahouse, sat in my usual spot, and watched the little bridge, flowing water, and ancient streets.

The princess complained.

"It's so dirty."

"Let's invite people to the summer palace. If anyone finds out I came to such a shabby place, they'll laugh at me."

She loved crowds and being the center of attention.

But Damian didn't.

When he was young and entered the court, every day was filled with scheming and betrayal.

In his downtime, he just wanted a quiet place to drink tea and chat with his beloved, lazing the days away.

The Four Joys Teahouse was Damian's favorite spot.

Every day he was away, I'd come here.

I even carved words into the railing beside me, over and over, devoutly missing him.

The princess saw it, snorted, and read aloud, "Yinniang awaits, Yulang returns."

Damian, did you know? After you left, I never had a single restful night.

Every time I closed my eyes, I'd see you covered in blood. I was terrified it was yours. I was so scared...

I copied the Peace Sutra word by word with my own blood.

I thought, if only you could be safe, I'd trade my life for yours.

Now my wish has come true, but I regret it.

Damian took a sip of tea, his expression unreadable.

The princess grew angry at his calmness and started again.

"You brought me to a place she used to come to? What does that mean? I'm afraid even sitting where she sat will dirty my clothes!"

Damian coaxed her patiently. "I never brought her here. If she wanted to come, I couldn't stop her."

"Anya, stop fussing over her. She was just a passerby."

Not just a passerby—a dead woman.

Only a woman truly understands another woman's heart. We both know the living can never compete with the dead.

Anya wouldn't let it go. "She must have been desperate for a man. Clearly not a decent girl. Shameless and disgusting."

"And you let her tarnish your reputation like that?"

7.

The princess grabbed something and smashed it against the railing, trying to break the section where I'd carved my words.

Damian's voice turned cold, rare for him.

"Anya, you used to be so composed. After three years apart, have you become so petty? Look at yourself—do you still look like a princess?"

The princess froze, her eyes red. "Damian, are you blaming me for her sake now?"

Her tears dripped onto the table, one by one. She was truly heartbroken.

"You say I've changed, but have you ever thought about what I went through these three years? Have you forgotten what you saw the night you rescued me?"

"Father married me off to an animal! An animal! What was a princess of this kingdom worth in enemy lands? Damian, while you were having fun with other women, I was being tortured for three years!"

"How dare you say that to me? You never used to say a harsh word to me. I see now, Damian—you think I'm dirty, don't you?"

She swept all the tea sets off the table, stood up, and pointed at his nose.

"Let me tell you, no matter how dirty I am, no matter how unlike a princess I've become, that bitch Yinniang isn't fit to be my substitute!"

"Before the wedding, I want every trace of her gone!"

Princess Anya's beauty had been legendary across the kingdom since childhood.

As the emperor's only daughter, she was more favored than any prince, truly a golden branch and jade leaf.

She was brilliant, composed, and unmatched by any woman in the world.

But now she had become so hysterical...

I heard that the enemy prince Damian had killed with his own hands was a notorious lecher.

People died in his mansion every few days, most of them women who'd shared his bed.

...

The princess ran off crying. Damian clenched his fists but didn't move. This time, he didn't chase her.

He walked over to the railing and touched the carved words.

"Yinniang awaits..."

"What were you waiting for me for?"

He sat in my usual spot and looked up to see the city gates.

Damian laughed, his eyes hollow, talking to himself.

"See, I always said you were stubborn, and you'd argue with me."

"You stared at those gates every day. Did you think I'd come back faster?"

"Yinniang, you were a fool. You gave your heart to someone who didn't deserve it. A complete fool."

I couldn't help it. When I was little, I got caught in the rain with a fever, and no one treated me in time.

After that, I became slow and stubborn.

But I wasn't stupid, Damian.

If you hadn't deceived me, I never would have loved you.

If I were still alive, you'd see that I don't love you anymore.

8.

After that day, Damian didn't go to see the princess for a long time.

I secretly went to the palace and saw the empress coaxing her daughter for a long time.

She said, "What woman doesn't want a man's true heart? He treated her as a substitute—she's pitiful enough. You don't need to fight with him over a substitute."

The empress was a kind and understanding woman.

After Damian left the capital, she had summoned me a few times.

Someone so high above would always hold my hand and laugh with me.

She said she liked me, felt close to me.

Once, she invited me for milk tea. I got morning sickness and stained my dress, and she personally helped me change into clean clothes and even fixed my hair.

I'm not one to cry easily, but that day, I made a fool of myself, sobbing uncontrollably.

Her hand stroking my hair was so gentle, so warm.

I said something treasonous: "Your Majesty, you smell like my mother."

She didn't scold me. She said we were fated and that she thought of me as a daughter.

Looking back now, I had the same face as the princess. The empress must have seen me as a substitute too.

About half a month later, the princess finally relented.

She wrote an apology letter, held it out with both hands, and lowered her head as she offered it to Damian.

Her sincerity was adorable.

"Damian, you're right. As long as I'm a princess, even for one day, I shouldn't lose my composure."

"I shouldn't lower myself to argue with a servant like Yinniang."

"I'm just afraid... afraid you don't love me anymore, afraid you despise me, afraid that one day I'll wake up and you'll tell me you don't want me..."

She held back tears, her voice trembling, and won Damian's sympathy again.

Damian pulled her into his arms with a sigh.

"I said I'd protect you for life. That will never change."

The princess lightly punched his chest. "No, I don't remember you ever saying that."

Damian frowned, his gaze distant and unfocused.

"I did. You forgot."

He comforted her half-heartedly. "Last time, I spoke too harshly. I'm sorry."

"You've been through so much these three years. I'll take you to the Clear Spring Temple to pray and find some peace."

The Clear Spring Temple...

I had an eternal lamp there for my dead child.

9.

On the way to the Clear Spring Temple, a young girl stopped the princess.

"Sister, you haven't come in so long."

"I just saw you smile. You're so pretty when you smile. Don't cry anymore."

"My mom says if you lose a baby, you can have another..."

She mistook the princess for me.

The princess frowned and shoved her, scaring the girl into tears.

"What nonsense are you talking? Where did this wild child come from, daring to curse me? I'll cut out your tongue!"

Damian stopped her, pulled out a piece of candy, and handed it to the girl.

He soothed her until she stopped crying. She pouted, glanced at the princess, clutched the candy, and ran off.

The princess pulled out a handkerchief and handed it to Damian. "Why bother with her? She's filthy. Wipe your hands. Children are the worst!"

Damian didn't take the handkerchief or respond.

He liked children. He used to whisper to me, saying he wanted me to give him a dozen little ones.

I'd laugh and scold him, "Do you think I'm a sow?"

He'd just say, "Have them. I can afford it."

Damian walked into the temple in silence, his head low, lost in thought.

The princess tried to engage him. "I know you like kids. We'll have a dozen of our own..."

I paused, unsure if I should call the princess naive.

Childbirth was a walk through death's door, even for a princess.

How could she burden herself like that?

But I thought Damian would be happy.

Instead, he said to her, "You're afraid of pain. If you don't want to have children, you don't have to."

He cared for her so much.

But the princess didn't appreciate it. "No one else will bear your children. They're not worthy!"

She threw another tantrum, stormed ahead, and knelt angrily before the Buddha. How could that work?

Damian let her be. He stopped in front of the eternal lamps.

My heart skipped a beat. Half a step to the right, and he'd see my daughter's name.

Damian stared intently, as if searching for something.

He glanced left, and the princess followed.

I screamed, "No! No!"

But it was too late.

She spotted my baby's lamp, her face twisted, and she grabbed it, smashing it to the ground and stomping on it.

I lunged to grab her foot, but I couldn't touch anything.

My child! My child! She has no lamp on her path to rebirth—she'll be scared! She's so small; what if she takes the wrong path...

Damian stared in shock at the princess's outburst, then shoved her hard.

He picked up the broken pieces, stood slowly, and as if gathering courage, approached the lamp stand.

The empty slot read: Lily, daughter of Yulang and Yinniang.

10.

Damian relit Lily's lamp.

He stood before it until dark, until a tear fell without warning, snapping him back to reality.

He rode back to the mansion at full speed and berated the entire household.

"Why wasn't I told that Yinniang gave birth to my child?"

"Why wasn't I told that my daughter died?"

The old butler knelt at his feet, as calm as ever.

"General, Yinniang wrote to you."

"On October eighteenth, Miss Lily was born. Yinniang struggled to write you a letter with the good news."

"Two months later, the young miss was too weak to survive the winter. Yinniang said not to disturb you, that she worried you'd be distracted on the battlefield. She said she'd tell you when you returned."

A letter...

October eighteenth...

Damian's eyes widened as if remembering something. He dashed back to his room like a madman, fumbled under his armor, and pulled out a bloodstained letter.

It was so stuck together it couldn't be opened.

He clutched the letter, then slammed his fist against the wall, over and over, until he collapsed against it, drained.

He sat there in a daze, as if he didn't know who he was or what to do.

Like a zombie, he pulled out a small box from under the bed and opened it woodenly...

Inside were a pair of embroidered shoes, small enough for a girl of about ten.

One shoe was brand new, the other old and slightly singed.

Damian's eyes slowly focused. He grabbed the old shoe and roared, "Whose shoe is this? Who put it here? Who touched my box!"

I had moved the box. I had put the shoe there.

The old shoe was mine.

The new one was mine too.

Damian, you'll never know how ecstatic I was when I found that box and saw my shoe inside.

The flutter of young love turning out to be the love of a lifetime—what a奇妙 feeling that was. I couldn't wait to share it with you.

I wrote you a long letter, from Lily to the shoes, pouring out every bit of my longing and hope.

Back then, I firmly believed our future would be happy.

But Damian, you never read my letter properly.

What were you doing then?

I don't know. Either way, you had no time for me.

Look at yourself, Damian.

You kept the shoes I gave you so carefully. Why did you ruin our love so carelessly?

Damian wailed, sitting on the floor, clutching my shoe and my letter, holding them tight as if begging me to come back.

I laughed wildly beside him.

Damian, I hate you.

I have ways to make the rest of your life a living hell, forever chasing regret.

11.

Damian wanted to call off the engagement. The princess's angry expression slowly froze.

"Damian, she's dead! You want to break off our engagement for a dead woman?"

She stormed off her seat, clawing at Damian, kicking and hitting him.

"How dare you do this to me! You liar! You bastard! You came to me first! You said you'd protect me forever!"

Damian grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the side. He pulled out the new embroidered shoe, his expression icy.

"Yes, I came to you first!"

"Because you lied! Because you said this shoe was yours!"

Back when bandits attacked the Water Moon Nunnery, Damian was injured and couldn't move. I hid him somewhere.

Before leaving, he asked for a token, saying he'd find me no matter where I went.

He said I saved him for a day, and he'd repay me for a lifetime.

I had nothing to leave, so I took off one of my shoes and gave it to him.

The princess shouted, "It's mine! It is mine! Mother said it's mine!"

The empress slammed the table, her authority clear.

"General Warrington, have you lost your mind? How dare you overstep like this? Do you think this is your backyard?"

Damian ignored her and fixed his gaze on the princess. "Let me ask you one more time. Was it you who saved me at the Water Moon Nunnery?"

The princess lied without flinching. "I've told you before. It was me."

Damian spat, "You're beyond help!"

The empress heaved for breath. "General Warrington, you've been making a scene over a shoe. That shoe is from the palace. I'm telling you, it belongs to Anya. Would I lie to you?"

Damian tilted his head slightly, a hint of arrogance in his tone. "Your Majesty knows very well whose shoe this really is."

The empress's eyes flickered, as if struck. She changed the subject and dismissed him.

"Marriage is a matter of mutual consent. Since you have no intention of marrying Anya, I won't force you. Leave."

Anya sobbed and grabbed Damian's hand, her words broken.

"No! No! Don't go! You said you'd marry me!"

"Damian! Do you love a person or a shoe?"

Damian sneered and pushed her away.

"The person I love, the one I want to marry, is not you—a selfish, vicious liar! Since you claimed to be the one I was looking for, we've met sixteen times. Sixteen times, and I never saw you! I only ever saw the lively, adorable girl from the Water Moon Nunnery who made my heart race!"

"So who is she? Is she Yinniang? How could it be such a coincidence? Damian, you've just changed your mind. Why blame everything on me?"

Damian's hands clenched into fists. He bit his lip, lowering his head to hide his tears.

"Yes, it's her. It's Yinniang."

"Such coincidences do happen. And there are fools like me, who fall in love and still deceive themselves, missing a destined bond, led around by a lie!"

12.

Damian decided to move my grave into the Warrington family cemetery.

The princess got wind of it and arrived first, intending to dig up my grave and deny me peace in death.

By the time Damian arrived, my coffin lid had already been pried open.

The princess sat nearby, stunned. When she saw him, she rushed to block him.

"Don't look! Don't look!"

He shoved her aside and stumbled toward my coffin, only to find it empty.

"Where is she? What did you do with her!"

His fury made him look like he might snap her neck at any moment.

Someone knelt and grabbed his leg, shouting, "General, this coffin was always empty! General!"

A glimmer of hope lit Damian's eyes.

"...So Yinniang isn't dead?"

The princess shrieked, cutting him off. "She's dead! She's dead! She can't be alive! That bitch..."

Before she could finish, Damian grabbed her chin, his voice venomous. "Say one more word, and I'll make sure you never speak again."

"Why? Born from the same womb, you grew up with everything, while she suffered so much?"

It seemed Damian had investigated everything.

I was supposed to be a princess too.

The empress gave birth to me and Anya—twin girls.

That year, a drought struck. The court astrologer said twins were unlucky, and the emperor ordered the elimination of all twins in the kingdom.

Fearing for her position, the empress decided to abandon one of the baby girls.

Unluckily for me, I was the one chosen.

I was sent to the distant Water Moon Nunnery. The maid who took me there despised me.

She said if it weren't for me, she wouldn't have to suffer in a nunnery.

Whenever she was angry, she'd use the palace's various punishments on me.

One rainy day, on a whim, she made me lie in the rain and covered my face with yellow paper.

The paper got wet and stuck to my face. She stood under the eaves, watching me gasp like a fish out of water, struggling desperately.

I almost died, but the abbess saved me.

After that, I fell gravely ill, and the fever damaged my mind. I forgot most of my past.

13.

I forgot I was supposed to be a princess.

Until... until I discovered that the empress had poisoned me and Lily.

After Lily was born, I never recovered. Lily was the same—barely breathing, hardly crying, pitifully quiet.

I took her to every famous doctor in the capital, but none could explain it.

Finally, a wandering monk took pity on us and secretly told me we'd been poisoned with a rare palace toxin, incurable outside the court.

It hit me like lightning. I carried my child to the palace gates and begged to see the empress. The moment I saw her, everything came back.

I called out, "Mother... Mother..."

Mother, how could you be so cruel?

She slapped me across the face and scolded me for talking nonsense.

She threw Damian's letter at my feet.

It said he had rescued the princess, driven back the enemy, and would soon return to the capital.

He said he would marry her, make her the most radiant bride, and cherish her forever.

He only asked the emperor for permission.

Damian, I wrote you so many letters, and you never replied.

You were too busy asking to marry the princess.

"Yinniang, don't hate me. In this world, there can only be one princess."

"I let you live this long out of mercy."

"Anya is back. The general won't want you anymore. What's the point of living?"

"Don't worry. I personally ordered the poison. I know you're afraid of pain. It won't hurt. You'll just fall asleep and never wake up. It won't hurt..."

Lily drank my milk, so she couldn't survive either.

Damian, do you know what it feels like to kill your own child?

Watching her, little by little, stop breathing under my hands—I wanted to cut myself into a thousand pieces.

But I couldn't.

I was afraid that if I died first, no one would perform her rites. I could become a vengeful spirit and linger in this world, but my child couldn't.

She was unlucky to be born into my womb, to barely open her eyes to this world before dying with me.

I lit an eternal lamp for her, praying for her peace in the next life, and in every life to come.

But my mind really was failing. By the time I died, I had slowly forgotten all of this.

So I wasted so many tears on you and her.

Looking at the empty coffin, I finally understood.

I was indeed dead. My body had been entrusted to someone I trusted, buried where no one could find it.

And I lingered in this world because there were still things I needed to see with my own eyes.

14.

Damian revealed everything to the emperor about the empress giving birth to twins.

The empress was guilty of deceiving the emperor. She was stripped of her title and given a cup of poisoned wine.

Before she died, she held a pair of little tiger-head shoes in her arms and smiled calmly.

"She's truly my daughter."

Hah!

I said I'd make her pay. I wasn't just talking.

As for the princess, she went mad after the sudden upheaval.

She was imprisoned in a side hall, likely never to see the light of day again.

Step by step, everything went according to my plan.

I had spent over three years with Damian. I knew his temperament inside out.

I didn't have to do anything. All I needed was one embroidered shoe, and he'd tear himself apart for me.

15.

After seeing my empty coffin, Damian went mad searching for me.

I timed it perfectly. When he was exhausted and on the verge of despair, a child delivered a letter to the Warrington mansion.

I had written it before I died.

I asked him to meet me at a rundown temple on the outskirts. He rode there at full speed.

He dismounted, strode into the temple, and looked around the empty space, muttering, "Yinniang, is it really you? Come out... Stop torturing me..."

On the altar was a cup of tea, with a letter underneath.

"Damian, stop searching. I'm dead."

"The tea is poisoned. If you want to see me, drink it. I'll be right here, watching you."

Damian, do you dare to gamble? Is this a test?

Am I alive or dead? Is the tea poisoned? Will you die if you drink it?

If you live, will you see me?

If you die, will you see me?

See? Isn't my puzzle a headache?

Damian stared at the tea. Unexpectedly, without a second thought, he picked up the cup and drank every drop.

"Yinniang, I don't have the right to think too much."

"I've wronged you. So I'll do as you say."

"If you want me to live, I'll live. If you want me to die, I'll die..."

Damian, your devotion comes too late.

I watched him collapse before me.

Outside, my friend, dressed in my clothes, appeared and lit the oil I had already poured.

The flames crawled up the walls and quickly engulfed the roof.

Damian coughed himself awake.

Damian, did you really think I'd let you die so easily?

The tea only had a mild sedative. I just wanted to make sure you couldn't escape the fire.

The biggest regret of my life was meeting you.

I should have let you die in that fire at the Water Moon Nunnery.

Damian struggled to his feet, but the fire was too fierce. There was no escape.

He strained his eyes to see the figure outside, screaming hoarsely, "Yinniang, Yinniang! I finally found you..."

"You're not dead. Thank God, you're not dead..."

"I'll... I'll protect you..."

His voice gave out. The smoke destroyed his throat.

I watched the flames lick at his clothes. He stood still.

He smiled. I smiled too.

My soul began to grow transparent, suddenly feeling as light as a feather.

This must be what it means to have no more attachments.

I had finished my business in this world. Finally, I could move on to my next life.

Damian, do you know?

A ghost with lingering attachments cannot reincarnate.

You saw "me." "I" am still alive.

Too bad. You'll never find me.

I want you to wander this world for ten years, a hundred years, a thousand years, burdened with guilt and regret.

I want you to become a lonely ghost, never to be reborn for all eternity.

Damian, my life will begin anew.

And you—you will be frozen in this moment forever.