Chapter 1

Boom! Deep beneath the modern world, a top-secret medical and toxicology base erupted into flames. A violent explosion shattered the reinforced concrete, and billowing smoke swallowed everything in its path. Jiang Lingxi stood silently in the center of the collapsed chamber, her eyes utterly calm. She was the sole inheritor of a thousand-year-old traditional Chinese medicine lineage, a master healer capable of bringing the dead back to life, a poison expert whose reputation intimidated all directions, and the supreme leader of a dark organization that struck fear into the global underworld. The warm jade space she always carried close to her body was a priceless heirloom left to her by her grandfather. Inside the space were precious century-old medicinal herbs, a complete set of top-of-the-line surgical instruments, various firearms and weapons, and mountains of food and clothing. It was her greatest trump card in both the legitimate and underground worlds. But today, she had been betrayed by the person she trusted most, and the entire base had been reduced to ruins by explosives. The human heart was ultimately impossible to guard against. In the final second before her consciousness sank completely into darkness, Jiang Lingxi calmly closed her eyes. Dajing Dynasty, Taohua County, Jiang Residence. The midday heat was oppressive, and cicadas shrieked noisily throughout the courtyard. Despite the bright sunlight, the shadow of the artificial hill concealed two hearts filled with venomous schemes. By now, Madam Liu had already secured her position as the principal wife of the Jiang family. She pulled her biological daughter, Jiang Roulian, into a secluded corner behind the artificial hill. Lowering their voices, they plotted a vicious scheme. Every word was malicious, every sentence cruel, and undisguised greed and malice churned in their eyes. Jiang Roulian tightly clenched the sleeve of her dress, digging her fingertips into her palm until they left bloody marks. Jealousy had nearly overwhelmed her reason. Her voice was sharp and venomous. "Mother! "The marriage to the county magistrate's eldest legitimate son should have been mine! "Just because Jiang Lingxi is the legitimate daughter left behind by the former principal wife, Father gave such a wonderful marriage arrangement to her! "Why should all the good marriages go to her? "Father already doesn't care much about us mother and daughter. If I can't secure this marriage either, I'll only be able to marry some ordinary merchant's son for the rest of my life. I'll never have the chance to rise above my station!" Madam Liu raised a hand and brushed over the golden hairpins adorning her head. Dressed in luxurious silk as the principal wife, she was no longer the humble concubine she had once been. Her eyes were filled with sinister ruthlessness as she let out a cold laugh. "Silly girl, I've been planning this for so long precisely so that I can snatch this marriage away from her completely. "Earlier, I personally mixed the most potent aphrodisiac in the world into Jiang Lingxi's dinner. There is no antidote for this poison. Once it takes effect, it will drive the victim completely out of her senses." She leaned closer to her daughter's ear, her voice cruel and icy, without a trace of compassion. "Once the drug takes effect, she'll become unbearably feverish and lose all reason. She won't even be able to retain the slightest sense of shame. "I've already paid a group of crude thugs and beggars from the alleys outside the city. We're just waiting for her to lose control and rush out of the courtyard. They'll swarm her, drag her into some secluded alley, and humiliate her however they please. "Once a woman has been defiled by a group of street beggars, her reputation will be completely ruined. Her innocence will be gone, and her name will be dragged through the mud throughout all of Taohua County! "The county magistrate cares deeply about his family's reputation. Once he learns what happened, he'll immediately tear up the marriage agreement. There is absolutely no way he'll still marry her into his family!" Jiang Roulian's eyes lit up, and a vicious, delighted smile spread across her face. "Even better! "Once Jiang Lingxi's reputation is completely destroyed and the engagement is called off, Father will have no choice but to cancel her marriage arrangement and marry me to the county magistrate's son instead! "Then I'll become the future mistress of the county magistrate's household. I'll have endless glory and prestige, and I'll never have to live beneath Jiang Lingxi again!" A deeper ruthlessness flashed through Madam Liu's eyes, her voice dripping with bone-chilling malice. "Why stop at one marriage? "Back then, the former principal wife always overshadowed me in every way. Now, that wretched daughter she left behind occupies the status of a legitimate daughter, so the family's best farmland, shops, jewelry, and fine fabrics are always given to her first. "Your father has always been a cold and heartless man. He has never cared whether Jiang Lingxi lives or dies. Once her reputation is ruined, your father will only feel that she has brought shame upon the family. From then on, he'll completely despise her and never care about her again."