On the Azure Sky Continent, in the nation of the White Tiger, within the imperial capital...
In the courtyard of the Eastern Province Prime Minister’s residence, flowers of all colors are blooming vibrantly, while the willows gently sway, creating an enchanting scenery, akin to a celestial realm.
However, amidst such a refined residence, the western side annex was in a ruined state.
A rundown wooden hut stands alone, out of place amid the extravagant and resplendent other structures of the courtyard.
Inside the hut, a broken-legged table, a filthy bed canopy, and a cracked copper mirror create a scene of even more desolation.
Currently, inside the hut are two young girls.
The taller one, dressed in a pink cloud-patterned skirt, slender like a willow, already holds the charm of a woman despite her young age. The shorter one, in a green chiffon dress, has a figure slightly plump but not overweight, seeming lustrously round.
The tall girl is none other than the fourth young miss of the Prime Minister's house, Liu Xin. The shorter one is the second miss, Liu Shan.
Liu Xin and Liu Shan are standing by the old, dilapidated wooden bed.
On the bed lies a girl about the same age as them.
The girl has eyebrows as dark as ink without any half trace of drawing and lips as red as the cherry without any makeup. Her skin is as white as snow and as delicate as mutton fat jade. She lacks the charm of Liu Xin and the roundness of Liu Shan, but she exudes an indescribable grace and elegance.
It's evident that the girl is trapped in a nightmare right now. Her eyes are tightly closed, her eyebrows slightly furrowed, feebly struggling, with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead.
Liu Xin and Liu Shan show no sympathy for the anguish of the girl on the bed, instead choosing to torment her mercilessly.
Ruthlessly, Liu Xin pricks the girl with an embroidery needle held between her fingers, all the while cursing maliciously.
"Dreaming of becoming the Crown Princess, are you? Pathetic and blind! You don't even understand how embarrassing you are! If I were you, I would have killed myself by now!"
The sharp rebukes of Liu Xin were piercing, which made Liu Shan, who was standing next to her, slightly worried. She rushed over to check whether the cotton in the girl's ear was firmly in place.
Seeing Liu Shan behave like this, Liu Xin scoffed and said, "Even if she hears it, so what? Even if she realizes it was me who pricked her, what can she, a useless blind girl, do about it?"
Upon hearing this, Liu Shan quickly laughed in appeasement and said, "You're absolutely right, Fourth Sister. You are a Second Rank Warrior after all. How could she, a good-for-nothing, dare oppose you?"
Clearly delighted by such sycophantic words, Liu Xin's actions didn't stop, revealing a smirk. She continued to instruct, "Second Sister, you should get started, too. If there aren't enough needles, just pinch her. There's no way we can't kill this wretched blind girl."
After hearing Liu Xin's words, Liu Shan didn't dare delay any further. She hastily picked up a needle that was lying nearby and began piercing the petite body of Liu Xiao Jiao.
Pain... severe pain... why was her whole body in agony?
In a chaotic blur, Liu Xiao could only feel intense prickling pain from countless places on her body, wave after wave, endless.
Struggling, she finally managed to open her heavy eyelids.
As soon as her eyes opened, she saw two beautiful girls in front of her, continuously piercing her with needles.
It hurts! Please stop!
Liu Xiao wanted to knock the hands of the two wicked girls away but she found her body as heavy as lead, unable to move at all.
The lips of the two girls were moving, obviously talking about something, but she couldn't hear anything.
That's when she noticed something stuffed in her ears.
Fortunately, though, she had learnt to lip-read. Thus, by observing their lip movements, she was able to decipher their conversation.
"Fourth Sister, she has opened her eyes. She seems to be awake!"
"Don't worry, the drug effect hasn't worn off yet. She can't move. So what if her eyes are open? What can a blind person possibly see? We've blocked her ears too, so there’s no way she can know it's us hitting her."
What? She's blind?
What nonsense. She sees clearly, more so than when she wore glasses.
Who are these two wicked girls? Why are they abusing her like this?
Wasn’t she performing battlefield first aid for the army in Afghanistan? She faintly remembers someone throwing a grenade at them, but how did she wake up in this weird place?
Too many questions filled her mind. Liu Xiao didn't have time to think before she was overwhelmed by pain.
Eventually, she lost consciousness due to the overpowering darkness.
"Whimper...don't leave Yin, third sister. What will Yin do if you go..."
In a daze, a weak cry echoed in her ears, incessant like a buzzing fly.
Who was it? Why were they so annoying? Couldn't they let her sleep peacefully for a while?
Annoyed, Liu Xiao opened her eyes to see a strange sight.
Dirty and broken bed curtains, patched blankets, peeling wooden chests, a room was worse than an Afghan refugee camp.
Looking at the scene before her, she felt incredibly strange.
However, what was the absolute strangest was the little girl in front of her.
The girl's facial expression was flat, showing no signs of sadness. In fact, she had a slight contempt and took delight in calamity in her eyes. However, the cries she made sounded as if she had lost her own mother.
Was this a voice actress from an animation? How could she perform so convincingly?
Just as Liu Xiao was thinking this, the girl in front of her discovered that she was awake. She showed a look of disgust and disappointment on her face while her voice seemed full of surprise and joy.
"Third sister, you're finally awake! You scared Yin to death!"