The Heroine Pays Me to Fall in Love (Quick Transmigration) - Chapter 8

Jiang Zhinan sent A’ning back unusually early that evening.

After all, the girl had sparred with Dong Xue that very morning and then spent the whole afternoon studying. Her body couldn’t possibly handle much more—she needed rest.

With that thought, Jiang Zhinan gathered up the books spread across the table and said gently, “Go back and rest early.”

“Miss isn’t going to teach a little longer?” A’ning clearly didn’t want to leave, her eyes hesitant and reluctant.

“No,” Jiang Zhinan replied firmly. “Go back and rest.”

“Alright then.” Seeing there was no room for negotiation, A’ning blinked and nodded softly.

She stood, helped tidy up the table, and then pushed the door open to leave. Before stepping out, she turned and said, “Miss, you should rest early too. I’ll come again tomorrow.”

“I know.” Jiang Zhinan waved lightly in response.

A’ning smiled, her lips curling faintly, and soon disappeared into the night.

“Sometimes,” Jiang Zhinan murmured to herself, “being too eager to learn isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

Yet despite her sigh, her tone carried a quiet pride.

After returning to her quarters, A’ning decided to take a bath first.

Perhaps because she had been too tense during her bout with Dong Xue, her muscles now ached faintly once she finally relaxed. A hot bath would help ease the soreness.

Thinking so, she set down the things in her hands and began preparing hot water.

Afterward, she removed her jade hairpin, undressed, and stepped into the bath barrel, resting her feet on the small wooden stool as she sank into the warm water.

In truth, she had never enjoyed such comfort before.

Ever since she could remember, she had lived in that cramped little room with seven or eight other girls, all squeezed together to sleep at night.

Some of the girls were a few years older—fourteen or fifteen perhaps—while others were around her age, still half-grown children.

A’ning never knew how she had come to be there. She had never seen her parents or any relatives.

The older girls told her, “This is your home. The man who manages this place is your father. You must call him that, or you won’t get to eat—and you’ll be beaten.”

They also warned her, “You must obey him. Never try to run away, or your end will be miserable.”

There were endless rules.

Back then, A’ning didn’t understand much, but the fear in her sister’s eyes made her stay silent. She committed every word to memory and dared not ask further.

And so the days passed in a haze.

Until one year later—her “sister” vanished without a trace.

A’ning searched for her again and again, but found nothing. Only after quietly asking around did she learn that the girl had been sold.

In that instant, A’ning understood everything.

Now, soaking in the warm water, she let it wash over her skin as her thoughts drifted far away.

She wondered—if Miss Jiang had never taken her in, what kind of person would she be now?

Lost in her thoughts, she suddenly noticed the thin gauze curtain hanging by the inner door move ever so slightly.

Even such a small motion caught her attention.

She was sure she had closed all the doors and windows when she came back. Even if a draft slipped through the cracks, it wouldn’t be strong enough to make the curtain sway like that.

Unless—someone had come in, bringing a gust of air with them.

Who’s there?

A’ning shot up from the bath, grabbed the robe hanging on the rack, and wrapped it hastily around herself, ready to step out.

But she was still a step too late.

A sharp, brittle sound suddenly rang out from the outer room.

A’ning’s eyes widened.

She rushed out frantically, but whoever had entered was already gone—having fled through the door moments earlier.

All that remained was her treasured jade hairpin, now shattered into several pieces on the floor.

A’ning knelt down slowly, gathering the broken fragments one by one into her palm.

Her eyes reddened.

The intruder had clearly come prepared. They hadn’t stolen or taken anything—only broken her hairpin.

But that hairpin was her most precious possession. Seeing it in pieces hurt more than if someone had cut into her heart.

She hadn’t been in the Jiang residence long, not long enough to make enemies.

Except Dong Xue.

Clutching the broken hairpin tightly, A’ning rose to her feet.

Lately, the nights had been foggy, leaving the ground damp. Anyone walking outside would leave faint footprints upon returning indoors—barely visible unless one looked closely.

A’ning lowered her gaze and followed the shallow prints across the floor.

Their size and shape matched Dong Xue’s perfectly.

Her eyes narrowed. She picked up the candle from the table.

Jiang Zhinan had always been a light sleeper.

But since people in the past tended to go to bed early, the world outside was usually quiet by nightfall, allowing her at least some peaceful rest.

That night, something strange happened.

Jiang Zhinan had been sleeping soundly when a sudden outburst of shouting erupted outside.

The noise struck her like a clap of thunder right by her ear, jolting her awake in an instant.

Before she could even gather her thoughts or figure out what was happening, the door to her room was thrown open. Several maids rushed in, their faces pale, and hurriedly pulled her up to her feet.

“What’s going on?” Jiang Zhinan asked, startled, her voice edged with panic.

“Fire! There’s a fire!” the maids cried, terror in their eyes. “Miss, you must run!”

Almost as soon as they said it, the acrid smell of burning hit her nose.

When she stepped outside, she was met by thick, roiling smoke and flames licking up toward the sky.

The fire wasn’t far from her quarters—no wonder the maids had come running in such a panic.

“Where’s A;Ning?!” Jiang Zhinan froze for a moment before the thought struck her. She turned anxiously in every direction, searching.

“Don’t look for her, Miss!” one of the maids shouted through tears. “A’Ning’s gone mad! She’s the one who set the fire!”

“What?” Jiang Zhinan was stunned, her whole body going rigid.

By the time she reached the scene, the blaze had mostly been brought under control.

A’Ning was there too, though she had already been subdued by the servants. She was forced to kneel on the ground, her hair in disarray, her expression unreadable.

Jiang Zhinan looked at her—and in her eyes, she caught a flicker of stubborn defiance.

The fire had consumed Dong Xue’s room. The girl had survived, but just barely—choked by smoke, one of her eyes had gone blind. Now she knelt on the ground wailing.

But that wasn’t what mattered most. After all, in a decaying old world like this, the death of a servant would hardly cause a stir.

The real problem was that A’Ning had set the fire. The servants had interrogated her for half the night but failed to get a clear answer. In the end, even Governor Jiang himself had been alarmed and come in person.

“Outrageous!” Governor Jiang roared the moment he arrived. He strode forward and slapped A’Ning across the face, the blow so heavy it made her head spin and drew blood from the corner of her lips.

“Beat her to death!” he shouted, still seething, giving the order to have her executed on the spot.

But Jiang Zhinan could never allow that.

“Father!” Before he could speak again, she stepped forward quickly. “You cannot kill her!”

“And why not?” Governor Jiang’s tone was thunderous, his anger boiling over. “That wretch dared to set fire to the house! What reason could there be to spare her?”

“Please, Father—I beg you!” Jiang Zhinan pleaded. “A’Ning is my maid. It was my failure in teaching her properly that led her to act so recklessly. I will see to her punishment myself.”

“That won’t do!” Governor Jiang snapped.

Seeing that he would not yield, Jiang Zhinan bit her lip hard, then dropped to her knees with a heavy thud.

The sound stunned everyone present—even A’Ning, who widened her eyes in disbelief.

“I beg you,” Jiang Zhinan said, her voice trembling but resolute, “hand her over to me. Whether she lives or dies will be for me to decide. If you refuse, then I will not rise from this spot.”

“You!” Governor Jiang’s face turned red with fury, at a loss for words.

Her gaze was firm—unyielding, leaving no room for negotiation.

“Enough, enough!” Governor Jiang finally relented with a frustrated sigh. He didn’t want to turn his relationship with his daughter sour over a mere servant. “Do as you wish.”

Jiang Zhinan hurriedly thanked him, afraid he might change his mind, and immediately ordered the others to release A’Ning. Without another word, she led her away at a brisk pace.

Her face, however, had darkened to a stormy shade.

A’Ning followed silently behind her. She didn’t speak, not even once, all the way back.

When they finally returned to their quarters, Jiang Zhinan turned to her and said coldly, “Kneel.”

A’Ning obeyed without question. She said nothing, simply dropped to her knees.

“You won’t sleep tonight,” Jiang Zhinan said, disappointment flickering in her eyes. “Reflect carefully on what you’ve done and what it’s cost.”

“Yes, Miss,” A’Ning replied softly.

“Louder!” Jiang Zhinan barked.

“Yes, Miss!” A’Ning raised her voice, shouting the words. Her expression remained as calm as before, her eyes revealing no trace of emotion.

Yet the hand clutching the hairpin was clenched so tightly that its sharp end pierced her skin. Blood slowly dripped onto the floor.