2: The heroine has reincarnation with memories?

Time, rewind to half a month ago.

Seven-year-old Yinyao gasped for breath, cold sweat pouring down as she sat up from the bed.

The bed curtains trembled as she sat upright, huddling herself.

In a daze, she had a dream.

In her dream, she was seventeen.

It was another quiet, ordinary night, and the impregnable capital had fallen.

It fell without warning.

Her Imperial Father clearly said that the front lines were victorious in battle after battle, the soldiers were invincible, and the rebel generals had all been captured…

How could this be?

Without time to think, Yinyao was protected by her personal palace maid and guards, surrounded by dozens of people, and fled the city.

“Imperial Father—”

That night, Yinyao was seventeen, she lost her Imperial Father and Imperial Mother, and became a princess of a fallen kingdom.

Through blurry tears, she looked back; the sounds of battle shook the heavens, and towering flames had already engulfed the capital.

Fleeing in disarray, Yinyao didn't know how many days and nights she endured. When she finally came to her senses, only her palace maid and one guard remained by her side.

The news of her parents' deaths spread like wildfire.

When the tears dried, a person became devoid of joy or sorrow.

Passing by a small city, the few of them disguised themselves and entered. Wanted posters of Yinyao were plastered everywhere in the city, offering a reward of vast riches.

The few of them left the city overnight, but Yinyao didn't notice the flickering gaze of the guard as he left the city, nor the notice he clutched in his arms.

Late at night, Yinyao slept by a forest stream. Half-awake, she suddenly heard her palace maid's urgent cry.

Yinyao opened her eyes; a dagger was plunged into her personal palace maid's chest, and the strong smell of blood made Yinyao want to vomit.

The guard, holding a rope, froze, then his expression turned grim: “I protected you all this way, so it's only right that I collect some interest for my deceased brothers!”

Yinyao kicked and bit, gradually losing ground.

“Princess… run!” At some point, her personal palace maid had crawled over, desperately dragging the guard's calf.

The palace maid pulled the dagger from her chest and fiercely stabbed it into the guard's calf.

“Ah!”

Amidst a piercing scream, the guard finally drew his saber and thrust it.

Yinyao tumbled and scrambled, and when she hurriedly looked back, she only saw the palace maid's wide-open mouth.

She was silently saying:

Escape!

Her life was as cheap as grass, and to use herself to save a body worth a thousand gold was enough to die content.

Yinyao's eyes felt dry, and her throat was swollen and burning.

But no tears flowed, and no sound came out.

“Plop!”

She plunged into the small river and floated downstream.

Time flew, and another half month passed in a blink. At this moment, Yinyao was disheveled and indistinguishable among the refugees.

She didn't know where the crowd was going, having no purpose, no direction.

Her heart was already hollow and numb; even if she died the next moment, Yinyao felt no ripple of emotion.

“Demons causing chaos, demons causing chaos!”

“Monsters are coming, run!”

Unsure of the commotion behind them, the fleeing crowd immediately fell into chaos.

Yinyao was bumped and pushed by the crowd, accidentally falling to the ground.

“Finally, am I going to die?”

“Although it's not very glorious, this way is also good…”

Yinyao lay quietly on the ground, waiting to be trampled into mud amidst the stampede.

“You silly girl, why are you so foolish?” Suddenly, a young man's angry scolding came from beside her, and then Yinyao felt a great force on her back, and her whole body was lifted into the air like a little chick.

“You fell and didn't get up, waiting to die?” The man glared at her.

“If I die, then I die.” Yinyao was expressionless, indifferent to his rescue.

She didn't need it.

And no one could save her.

A person who grew up in the light had been banished to the darkness.

The man sighed, silently carried her on his back, and ran off.

“Brother Yun, why are you carrying a burden?”

“You, Old Luo, we can't just stand by and watch, can we?”

…

“There's water here, wash your face, you stink.”

“Don't tell me, you're quite pretty.”

…

“I'm going to gather local volunteers and act on behalf of heaven. Xia Yao, do you want to come with me?”

…

He once picked the freshest wild flowers from the mountains and wove them into a crown for her to wear;

He once used his immense strength to pluck the feathers of a demon bird, crafting a feather fan to fan away the heat for her;

He once climbed a mutated, towering giant tree to pick the sweetest spirit fruit of autumn for her;

He also once, amidst the white snow, built an ugly snowman, grinning to make her laugh.

But Yinyao neither cried nor laughed.

A person without a heart would not be hurt.

Unbeknownst to her, Yinyao stayed by the man's side under the identity of Xia Yao.

Xia was Yinyao's birth mother's original surname.

Two years passed in a blink of an eye.

The man already had over ten thousand soldiers by his side.

The man was named Meng Yun, possessing immense strength. She had personally witnessed him smash a demon beast's head with a single punch, blood splattering.

His adjutant was named Luo Mian, whose silver spear was used with divine skill.

Yinyao and Meng Yun married.

On their wedding day, Luo Mian was dead drunk: “I say, General Yun, if I had known digging a hole could get you a wife, Old Luo would have definitely picked one up too!”

Meng Yun only smiled.

Yinyao didn't know if she loved him, but love or not didn't matter.

Meng Yun was good to her, protecting her alone in a chaotic world, and that was enough.

The two lived in harmony, becoming a beautiful tale within the army.

Another three months passed in a blink of an eye.

Meng Yun led his army to the foot of Tianyang City.

With one saber strike, he sent the enemy general's head flying and entered Tianyang City that very day.

Yinyao never expected that the person beheaded by that single saber strike was her own uncle, Zhenyang Prince, Martial Universe Qiankun.

On the face of the head placed before her, there was shock, fear, resentment, and unwillingness.

These were all expressions Yinyao had never possessed.

But from that day on, suspicion grew in Yinyao's heart towards Meng Yun.

Meng Yun was not a person with great righteousness; he was merely a rough hero.

Suspicion grew like weeds, and the seed of betrayal was sown.

Three months later.

Yinyao secretly met an uninvited guest. His name was Wu He, Martial Universe Qiankun's own son.

“Do you know who killed your Imperial Father?”

“Don't you want to personally avenge your enemy and restore the kingdom with me?”

Wu He left, leaving behind a divine saber that could cut through iron like mud.

Yinyao gazed at the short saber, sitting in silence for a long time.

That night, when Meng Yun returned, Yinyao, for the first time, asked him a question:

“Meng Yun, if one day you command the world, what will you do?”

“Of course, I'll be emperor! Let me tell you, I even wrote a five-year development plan…”

Enough.

Yinyao no longer wanted to listen.

She had made up her mind.

Late at night, she rose and swiftly and accurately slashed across Meng Yun's neck, along with an inexplicable stinging pain in her heart.

It was all cut through fiercely.

Blood gushed out.

Meng Yun startled awake, reflexively sitting up, clenching his fists, protecting Yinyao in front of him.

He looked around, there were no enemies.

Suddenly realizing something, Meng Yun pursed his lips, his gaze gradually dimming.

“Run…”

His leaking throat emitted an incoherent roar, and his robust body crashed down.

Even at the last moment of his life, Meng Yun feared that this killer would not escape the pursuit of his adjutant.

Blood and fire, swords and tears.

Amidst the earth-shattering sounds of battle, Wu He, holding the battered Luo Mian captive, smiled faintly and extended his hand to Yinyao.

“Welcome home, my silly sister.”

“Xia Yao! Brother Yun was blind! May you not die a good death!!” Luo Mian's silver spear was broken, his eyes splitting with rage.

“Noisy.” Wu He beheaded Luo Mian with a single sword strike. He was covered in blood, yet he smiled brightly.

Luo Mian's ghost-like gaze deeply pierced Yinyao's heart.

It doesn't matter, anyway, the great revenge is avenged, she thought.

Wu He said with a smile:

“Thank you for avenging my father's death.”

“Although I don't want to admit it, brother has to apologize to you.”

“I'm sorry, Yinyao, brother deceived you.”

“The one who killed your Imperial Father was actually my Royal Father, your own uncle.”

“The one you personally killed was my mortal enemy, your benefactor, and your husband.”

“Oh, I also found this,” Wu He took out a booklet from his embrace: “Xia Kingdom Five-Year Development Outline? Well written, I plan to develop the country according to what Meng Yun wrote. But this national title of Xia Kingdom…”

“Is there anyone named Xia here, Sister Yinyao?” Wu He's smile was full of meaning.

Yinyao was struck by lightning.

Meng Yun, Meng Yun…

Meng Yun!

Meng Yun!!!

At this moment, only that name remained in her mind.

She felt she couldn't breathe; each breath brought a tearing pain to her chest.

Why would breathing cause heartbreak?

She couldn't explain it, and she didn't want to explain it.

This far exceeded her capacity to bear.

To avoid the pain, Yinyao decided to stop breathing.

It turned out that she could feel heartbreak.

It turned out that heartbreak could kill a person.

…

Tears, from the eyes of seven-year-old Yinyao, burst forth like a dam breaking.

Was it a dream?

If it was a dream, why was every single detail so real?

Seven-year-old Yinyao believed this was a premonition from heaven. She decided to visit the old places; she would know if it was real or fake once she saw it.

Meng Yun's birthplace was Huangsha Town!

The grand retinue left the capital, heading towards the remote small town. Half a month passed, and the gradually familiar scenery along the way made Yinyao's heart grow firmer.

Twenty li from Huangsha Town, the retinue passed through a market.

At a certain moment, Yinyao felt something and pulled open the curtain.

In the crowd, a young man's gaze flashed and quickly disappeared into the throng.

A husband's name caught in her throat, a thousand worries finally found their resting place.

Even ten years younger, she could recognize him in the crowd at a glance.

Just as he had pulled her up in the chaotic world.

Yinyao suppressed the thoughts in her heart: “You over there, you, stop.”