Hua MuTan's Memories
Where am I?
TanTan looks down at her hand. She is holding a dagger, and its blade is stained with blood.
What? What am I doing with a dagger? Whose blood is this?!
Suddenly, she hears angry voices.
"Put it down, MuTan!"
Prince Li stands before her, glaring at her furiously. Beside him is a beautiful young woman whose right arm is wounded. Blood flows from the injury, which was obviously caused by the dagger in TanTan's hand. The woman's face is terribly pale.
"I warn you, Hua MuTan! Put it down, or I'll have to use force!"
"No... No, Li Ge... Please don't hurt MuTan Jie..."
That woman is still protecting her? What an angel...
"Ha... Hahahaha! Disgusting! You're disgusting, ShuangAi! Always pretending to be an angel! Isn't that how you stole my husband's heart, you wicked woman? I curse you to die! Die... DIE!"
That's my voice, but those aren't my words... Is this... a memory from Hua MuTan's past?
Prince Li suddenly moves toward her. He makes a quick movement, and everything turns dark.
When TanTan opens her eyes again, she finds herself in a different scene. It is nighttime, and she is standing in a secluded corner of the city.
A man with his face covered in black cloth stands before her.
TanTan watches as her hand gives him a heavy pouch filled with money. She hears Hua MuTan's voice speaking coldly.
"I'll give you the rest of the money if you manage to kill that wicked ShuangAi. Make sure she never arrives at Prince Li's birthday celebration."
So Hua MuTan really did plan to kill ShuangAi?
The scene suddenly changes again.
This time, TanTan finds herself at what appears to be Prince Li's birthday celebration. Guests are gathered in the banquet hall, congratulating the prince on his birthday.
She is seated beside Prince Li, who is busy responding to the guests.
Suddenly, a male servant rushes into the hall and approaches Prince Li. His hurried arrival immediately draws everyone's attention.
"Prince Li! Physician Huang sends his apologies for being unable to attend. On their way here, their carriage was attacked by a group of assassins!"
Prince Li is visibly shocked.
"How is Shuang Mei? Is she all right?"
His immediate concern makes it obvious to everyone how much he cares for Lady ShuangAi.
"Lady ShuangAi... she... she fainted after the attack..."
Prince Li drops his drink and rushes toward the exit. However, Hua MuTan grabs his arm, stopping him.
"Husband... How can you leave your own birthday celebration? Everyone is watching..."
"Was this your doing?"
"What? What are you talking about?"
"Let go of me! Hua MuTan, I won't forgive you if anything happens to ShuangAi!"
Prince Li roughly pushes her away and storms out of the hall.
TanTan can hear the guests whispering around Hua MuTan.
"What a disgrace! Her own husband has abandoned her for another woman!"
"Was what Prince Li said just now true? Did she really send assassins after ShuangAi and her father? What an evil woman!"
TanTan can almost feel Hua MuTan's humiliation and rage as she hears her scream in the middle of the banquet hall.
Then, everything turns dark once again.
Another memory appears.
This time, TanTan is in a kitchen, standing in front of a small storage room. From inside comes the desperate voice of a little girl.
"Let me out! Let me out! YiFu... Help me!"
XiaoRue is standing beside Hua MuTan, crying and trembling with fear.
"XiaoJie... Please forgive her... D-don't do this..."
"Be quiet, XiaoRue! I need to teach this wicked little girl a hard lesson. That way, she'll never dare to speak badly about me in front of Prince Li or steal all his attention again. Now, aren't you afraid of me?! You must obey me from now on!"
"You're an evil JieJie! My YiFu won't let you get away with this! He will never love you! I'm not afraid of you! I'll never obey you!"
"You wicked, stubborn little brat!"
TanTan can feel Hua MuTan's anger growing as she searches for something to use against the little girl.
Her eyes fall on the space beneath the cooking furnace. A small fire is still burning there.
Hua MuTan picks up a piece of burning wood.
"Open the door, XiaoRue."
XiaoRue looks horrified at what Hua MuTan is about to do.
"Nooo, XiaoJie! You can't do that! You can't kill her! She's Prince Li's adopted daughter! If you hurt her, Prince Li will be furious with you! Please think about it again, XiaoJie!"
"Don't be foolish, XiaoRue. I'm not stupid enough to kill her. I just want to let her feel a little burning pain. Perhaps I'll burn her face a little. Then she'll never dare to disobey me again!"
"No... No, XiaoJie... That's not right..."
Gathering her courage, XiaoRue steps in front of Hua MuTan, blocking her way into the room. She shakes her head, pleading with her eyes.
"Step aside, XiaoRue! Are you disobeying me now? Move, or I'll burn you along with her!"
"No, XiaoJie! I won't let you do something wrong again! You've already done enough... Please!"
Hua MuTan tries to force XiaoRue out of her way. During their struggle, the burning wood accidentally touches some nearby objects.
A small fire breaks out.
Both Hua MuTan and XiaoRue are startled. They immediately rush out of the kitchen.
Unfortunately, the kitchen is filled with flammable materials, and the fire spreads rapidly.
XiaoRue quickly grabs a bucket, intending to fetch water and put out the flames. But Hua MuTan stops her.
"XiaoJie, please! She's only a little girl!"
"I'd rather see her burn to death! Then everyone in this household will know what happens when they disobey me!"
"HUA MU TAN!!"
At that moment, Prince Li arrives. He is shocked by the scene before him.
Some servants who accompany him immediately rush to put out the fire, while others hurry to rescue the little girl trapped inside the storage room.
Prince Li strides toward Hua MuTan and slaps her across the face with all his strength.
"Be grateful that I don't kill you right now, you evil woman!"
Just then, a little girl runs out of the room and throws herself into Prince Li's arms.
"YiFu! Waaah... Waaah!"
Prince Li immediately picks up the frightened Li FangFang and holds her tightly. He then turns toward Hua MuTan, glaring at her furiously.
"It's all right, FangFang. You're safe now."
He looks directly at Hua MuTan.
"Listen carefully, Hua MuTan! From this moment on, don't you dare go near FangFang again! If you ever hurt her, I swear I'll kill you, no matter what! Let's go!"
Prince Li carries FangFang away, followed by the others.
Soon, everyone has left Hua MuTan and XiaoRue behind.
XiaoRue knows that her XiaoJie is furious, but as always, she tries to calm her down.
"XiaoJie..."
However, Hua MuTan is so angry that she shoves XiaoRue away, causing her to stumble and hurt herself.
"Go away, you traitor! I don't want to see you anymore!"
Once again, Hua MuTan screams in frustration.
"WHY?! Why does everyone care about someone else but me?! Why can't anyone care about me?! Aaaaah!"
This Hua MuTan is really, really childish. She's angry simply because she doesn't get what she wants. She does whatever she likes, even when it's terribly wrong. She's just like a spoiled princess! She causes her own suffering, yet somehow still blames everyone else.
More and more memories of Hua MuTan's cruel deeds begin flashing through TanTan's mind.
The scenes come faster and faster, each one more disturbing than the last.
She can barely endure them anymore.
"STOOOOP!!!"
This time, TanTan finally opens her eyes for real.
"Auuuch!"
A burning pain shoots through her back.
Brak!
TanTan turns her head toward the door. It seems someone has just left her room, but she doesn't have enough strength to get up and find out who it was.
Instead, she tries to recall what has just happened.
She was injured during the attack. Then, while unconscious, she experienced several flashes of Hua MuTan's memories. Those memories have helped her understand more about the woman whose body she now occupies—and the complicated situation she has found herself in.
However, none of those memories explains how Hua MuTan actually died before Lang TanTan came to possess her body.
One thing is certain: she really doesn't want to continue living as the old Hua MuTan.
On the contrary, TanTan begins to feel that perhaps the reason she has ended up in this body is to help fix all the problems Hua MuTan left behind.
Well, whatever happens, she will do everything she can to get rid of the terrible reputation of being an evil woman!
But... auuuch! I never knew being slashed by a sword could hurt this much! In dramas, they make it look so easy. Ahh... I'm getting dizzy again.
TanTan slowly closes her eyes.
For now, all she can do is get some rest and regain her strength.