Chapter 11: One Person, Two Lifetimes (Part 1)
The Eldest Princess went to West Mountain Wanhe Temple to accompany the Empress Dowager in praying to Buddha. She searched in the direction of West Mountain overnight, but there was no sign of Miss Yuxiao, which made her start to feel something was amiss! Miss Yuxiao is always delicate; even if she set off nearly two hours earlier, she couldn’t have been faster! Realizing something was wrong, Dongbao rushed back desperately, only to find that Yuxiao was not at the mansion. She continued to inquire within the city and only then heard that someone saw her miss heading to Prince Ling Mansion!
She never expected that upon rushing there, she would hear the news of Miss Yuxiao falling into the water!
Miss Yuxiao disappeared for an entire night. Dongbao was genuinely terrified. She had no idea what had happened last night!
If Miss Yuxiao had really been... then she would find it hard to forgive herself even if she died a hundred deaths! She had been taken in by the Eldest Princess since childhood and grew up with Miss Yuxiao. Although Miss Yuxiao was unyielding and willful, she was like a sister to her. She was tasked with protecting Miss Yuxiao and had never made a mistake, but now such a major blunder occurred!
Not to mention that the Eldest Princess would never forgive her; even she would never forgive herself!
Han Yuxiao covered her face. She never expected that today, not only would she be beaten by that bitch Han Jing, but even by her maid! She instantly went mad with anger, screaming, "You wretched maid! How dare you hit me! I will definitely not let you off!"
Dongbao, however, grasped Han Yuxiao’s wrist tightly and threatened in a low voice, "If you dare say another word, this wretched maid will make sure you never open your mouth again!"
Dongbao’s force made Han Yuxiao feel like her entire wrist was about to shatter. She was in so much pain that she nearly fainted, unable to utter another word, let alone curse.
Dongbao snorted coldly, released Han Yuxiao, and then said to Han Jing, "Miss, please don’t listen to her nonsense, let’s hurry and go back!"
She could already feel the strange gazes from the surrounding onlookers. She must not let her lady stay there any longer. Otherwise, with her lady’s temperament, she couldn’t guarantee what she might do.
Surprisingly, Han Jing was unusually agreeable this time, nodding and then saying "Goodbye" to Su Yu before obediently following Dongbao back.
Along the way, Dongbao seemed hesitant to speak but remained silent until after they returned to the mansion, when she quietly asked, "Miss, about last night..."
Han Jing’s mind was still a bit muddled. She waved it off, saying, "Let’s not talk about that yet. I need to take a bath and eat something. I’m starving!"
She hadn’t even figured out why she was still alive, let alone last night’s events. The unfamiliar memories in her mind were still unprocessed. So the most important task now was to figure out what was going on!
Though puzzled by why Miss was so strange today, Dongbao didn’t inquire further. She ordered preparations and quietly instructed someone to investigate what really happened last night.
𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺
After bathing, eating, and drinking to her fill, Han Jing lay on her bed, finally feeling a sense of reality that she was still alive.
She closed her eyes, quietly absorbing those unfamiliar yet seemingly lived memories in her mind, so much so that Han Jing felt a bit confused. By the end, she couldn’t even distinguish which were truly her own memories, or perhaps both were the same.
That feeling was like one person living two lifetimes.