Mother died in the most remote woodshed of the Zhang Manor. It was the very day the manor was decorated with lanterns and banners to welcome Crown Prince Li Chongjing and his betrothal gifts. Just the night before, she had stroked my head and said, "Nanji, when I get my monthly allowance, I will buy you some osmanthus-scented cake from the south of the city." But now she lay on a ragged straw mat without even a coffin.
I knelt beside the mat, staring intently at my mother's stiff hand. Clutched in her fingers was a twisted silver tassel. This tassel was unique in the world. It had been bestowed upon Zhang Beiyu by Li Chongjing, and last night, only Zhang Beiyu had come to the woodshed. I pried open my mother's fingers with force and clutched the tassel tightly in my palm.
Suddenly, footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard. A moment later, Zhang Beiyu entered the woodshed's courtyard with several older maids.
"Zhang Beiyu, it was you. You killed my mother."
The servants retreated in fear, but Zhang Beiyu didn't even bat an eye. "Where did this mad dog come from, barking like this, using my own item to frame me? Zhang Nanji, how dare you frame me?"
"This tassel was clutched tightly in my mother's hand. She always kept to her place. Who else besides you would come to this dilapidated woodshed? I will beat the Dengwen drum and let everyone in the world see how you, the future crown princess, treat human life like grass."
"Hold her down. Slap her face."
Immediately, heavy slaps rained down from left to right, falling upon my face. I gritted my teeth tightly without making a single sound, only staring deathly at Zhang Beiyu. Bloody foam trickled down the corner of my mouth, and my eyes filled with blood.
"Zhang Nanji, your mother was nothing but a lowly concubine. Her death is of no consequence. If you want her to have a grand funeral, you'll have to see if you even have the capability."
"A life for a life. Zhang Beiyu, retribution will find you."
"Retribution? I only know that the victors rule and the losers fall. Since you want to seek justice for your mother so badly, as your elder sister of noble birth, I will naturally fulfill your wish."
Zhang Beiyu waved her hand, and the old maid stopped immediately.
"Wei Wuyuan is cruel and tyrannical, and he just happens to be looking for a companion. Your mouth is quite stubborn. Serving him would suit you perfectly. Men, tie her up and send her to the Eastern Depot tonight."
As soon as these words were spoken, a deathly silence fell over the courtyard. Wei Wuyuan was a living Yama whose very name made even court officials tremble with fear. Those who fell into his hands never came out in one piece. Becoming his companion was simply going to one's death, and a death of endless torture at that.
"Zhang Beiyu, you can't do this. I am a member of the Zhang family."
"From this moment on, you are not. Lock her in the cellar. As for that corpse, roll it up in a tattered straw mat and throw it into the mass grave."
"Don't touch my mother. Don't touch her. Zhang Beiyu, even as a ghost, I will never let you go."
The old maids roughly dragged me up. The second before I was dragged away, I used every last ounce of my strength to throw myself back onto the straw mat. From my mother's hidden pocket, I pulled out an old wooden box. That was the relic my mother had repeatedly warned me about during her lifetime, telling me never to let it leave my person, even in death. I shielded the wooden box tightly against my chest, letting the old women's fists and kicks rain down on my body.
After a short while, the cellar door was slammed shut with a heavy thud. My surroundings fell into a deathly darkness. Rats scurried around my feet, and a biting cold wind seeped into my very bones. My face stung with burning pain, and my body felt as if it were falling apart. I curled up in the corner, clutching the wooden box tightly, but I did not cry. Tears could not save my mother, nor could they save me.
Wei Wuyuan. The Eastern Depot. That place was a living hell. But there, I might just be able to borrow a blade to slay my demons. Zhang Beiyu, do you really think sending me to the Eastern Depot will erase all traces of your crimes, allowing you to peacefully become the crown princess? As long as I, Zhang Nanji, do not die today, I will surely trample over your flesh and blood in the future to let my mother's soul rest in peace.
After a bumpy journey, the burlap sack was untied, and the stench of thick blood mixed with decaying flesh instantly flooded my nose and mouth. I was roughly thrown onto the cold brick floor. The surroundings were dim, with only the torches on the walls making a faint crackling sound. Not far away, hair-raising screams could be vaguely heard, along with the sound of iron scraping against bone.
This was the imperial prison of the Eastern Depot, where the living enter and only the dead leave.
On the high seat ahead, a figure shrouded in shadows tapped lightly on the desk.
"A little toy sent by the Zhang family. Zhang Beiyu is quite generous indeed, sacrificing her own sister to fill the Eastern Depot's pit."
The voice was not loud, yet it carried a chill that sent shivers down my spine.
"I am not a toy. I came to strike a deal with the Lord Commander."
"A deal? With you, an outcast whose teeth have been defanged by your own family? Drag her down, rip out her tongue, and dump her in front of the Zhang family's gates. Let's see if Zhang Beiyu is satisfied with my return gift."
"I know where the Zhang family's secret ledger is. I know where the three million taels of silver Vice Minister Zhang embezzled from the canal transport went. If you kill me, Commander, you will never get the evidence of the Zhang family's treason."
I screamed these words with every ounce of my strength, the veins on my neck bulging with tension. The hands gripping my shoulders suddenly froze. A brief dead silence fell, with only the shadows from the torches dancing wildly on the wall.
"Zhang Nanji, do you have any idea what happens to those who lie in the Eastern Depot? Your fate will be a hundred times worse than being turned into a human swine."
"Nanji would not dare deceive you. There is a hidden compartment behind the display shelf in the Zhang family study. Inside, there is not only the secret ledger but also the contact list Zhang Beiyu used to win over court officials for the crown prince. If you do not believe me, Commander, you can send your men to retrieve it tonight."
I kept my head raised, staring intently at the dark figure before me, forgetting even to breathe. These were the secrets I had overheard right before my mother died. They were also my only remaining bargaining chip to survive.
"How interesting. Zhang Beiyu threw you to me like garbage, yet you turn around and betray the Zhang family completely. For what?"
"To let my mother finally rest in peace, and to make Zhang Beiyu and the entire Zhang family pay for their blood debts."
I did not hide the murderous intent in my eyes at all. It was the madness of someone pushed to the brink, willing to sacrifice her very soul.
Wei Wuyuan looked at me in silence. After what felt like an eternity, he let out a soft chuckle. The murderous aura from earlier finally left him.
"If you want to use the Eastern Depot's blade, you must first become a ghost of the Eastern Depot. Zhang Nanji, I accept your pledge of loyalty. Go and retrieve the ledger to prove your worth. If you fail to bring it back—"
"If I fail to bring it back, Nanji will present my own head."
"Spare her life. Take her down. Teach her the rules of the Eastern Depot."
Wei Wuyuan turned and walked back to his high seat. The guards dragged me up from the ground. I did not struggle, holding the wooden box tightly in my arms.
The first step. I had won the gamble. Zhang Beiyu, you stand high above, treating me like dirt. But you forgot that even dirt, when pushed too far, can start a wildfire. I have survived the gates of hell at the Eastern Depot. Next, it is your turn to go to hell.