Chapter 51: Unwillingness
Hearing this, Jingwu stopped resisting and, when the time was right, said, "That's enough, no need."
Yue Huai felt that it was about time, so he withdrew his hand and was about to say goodbye when he saw a silver note being stuffed into his palm.
"The reward." Jingwu looked at him, her eyes sparkling. "Take it."
Yue Huai looked at the fifty taels of silver in his hand and remembered that when he gave her spiritual power last time, the reward he said was silver. He nodded helplessly and said, "Okay. I'm leaving now. I wish you success in your tribulation in advance."
Upon hearing this, Jingwu immediately smiled and nodded, "Thank you for your kind words."
She watched the boy disappear from sight, stood there for a moment, and then turned and went home.
After returning home, Jingwu went to a secluded spot on the back mountain, released the ghost fetus from his Qiankun bag, and chanted incantations to help it pass on.
A moment later, seeing that his soul was clear and pure, they chanted an incantation to summon the gates of hell and sent him into reincarnation.
Meanwhile, inside the county magistrate's residence, after finishing all her business, the magistrate's wife thought of her good friend.
She remembered that things needed to be settled, so she ordered someone to invite her over.
When Qi Shihua walked in, he saw the county magistrate's wife, dressed neatly, sitting in a chair waiting for him.
She felt something was strange; how could someone who had just given birth yesterday be getting out of bed today?
Moreover, how did she manage to give birth to the baby so easily yesterday?
Although Qi Shihua thought this in her heart, she still smiled and said with a hint of reproach, "Ali, why did you get out of bed right after giving birth? Let me see my goddaughter, where is she?"
The county magistrate's wife, named Gao Li, was looking at her with a solemn expression.
Qi Shihua keenly sensed something and then noticed the statue of the girl placed to the side. Her heart skipped a beat, but she still asked nonchalantly, "What's wrong? What's this?"
Gao Li let out a long breath and forced a smile: "Didn't you tell me you also wanted a daughter? Now that my wish has come true, I'll return this statue of a young girl to you, and I wish you a speedy delivery of your daughter."
As she spoke, she kept her eyes fixed on the person in front of her, not missing a single expression.
Upon hearing this, Qi Shihua smiled without batting an eye and said, "Not everyone is as lucky as you, almost forty and still able to conceive a daughter. You know, my husband and I have long been sleeping in the same bed but dreaming different dreams, how could I possibly conceive again so easily?"
She pushed the statue of the girl back.
Seeing this, Gao Li didn't say much, but asked again, "Where is that temple you mentioned last time? I think I've already fulfilled my wish, so I should go and give thanks."
"Oh dear, you just gave birth, what wishes do you have?" Qi Shihua sat down next to her and said with a smile, "I'll go for you. You just need to take good care of yourself during your postpartum period."
“That won’t do. Tell me the address, and I’ll personally take my husband there after I finish my postpartum confinement.”
Qi Shihua's expression changed slightly when she saw that she kept asking about this matter. She then declined, saying, "The mountain road is difficult to travel. You should stay home and rest. Don't go through all that trouble. I'll go in your place."
Gao Li, her friend of decades, understood immediately upon hearing her words. Just as the master had said, she knew there was a sinister plot within the statue of the young girl, which was why she gave it to her.
Her face turned cold, and she turned to look at her: "Fine, then let my husband take some people with him to that temple and see what kind of temple could produce such a statue of a child girl with evil spirits!"
Upon hearing this, Qi Shihua panicked instantly: "What nonsense are you talking about? Childbirth is fraught with danger for women. Just because you had a difficult delivery doesn't mean there was a ghost!"
How do you know that the statue of the virgin girl contains a demonic fetus?
Qi Shihua realized she had let something slip and her face turned deathly pale.
Gao Li looked at her with red eyes: "I considered you my best sister, why did you do this to me?"
Seeing this, Qi Shihua knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he simply decided to give up and do whatever he wanted.
"What good sister? If you truly considered me your best sister, you should have promoted my son to your husband's side, instead of rejecting me and saying he wasn't cut out to be an official!"
Gao Li frowned, her eyes filled with disbelief: "But your son idles away his days, bullying men and women. How can you expect me to let him stay by my husband's side and ruin his future! I've already told you, it's your own fault for spoiling him."
"You make it sound so nice, always saying you treat me like a sister. I suggested arranging a marriage between my daughter and your son, but you refused. Isn't that because you look down on me for marrying a merchant and think I'm not good enough for you, a wife of an official?"
Qi Shihua looked at her and sneered repeatedly, her eyes almost spitting venom.
"How could you think such a thing?" Gao Li's heart ached, and tears streamed down her face. "Shengming was frail back then, and I was afraid he wouldn't live long, causing your daughter to be widowed for nothing. That's why I didn't agree to this childhood betrothal. I was thinking of you wholeheartedly, but you..."
She looked at her friend with a sob in her eyes, feeling that all her past sincerity had been misplaced.
"What's the point of saying all this? I don't think I'm any worse than you. Why should I only be able to marry a merchant's wife, while you are the wife of an official? Why should my husband and I be separated for two years, while you are almost forty and can still get pregnant?!" Qi Shihua grabbed the collar of the person in front of him, almost going crazy: "Tell me, Gao Li, what exactly is the reason?"
"You're really crazy." Gao Li looked at the person in front of her with shock in her eyes, and shook off her hand: "Since you are so unwilling, then from now on our two families should have no more dealings."
She sighed deeply and ordered her servants to throw her out.
Gao Li knew that such a statue of a young girl alone could not be used as evidence to imprison her.
But she will tell her father what Qi Shihua has done, and he will surely cut off business ties with her husband's family. When her husband's family finds out the reason, her life will not be easy either.
She sighed deeply and ordered her servants to throw the statue of the maiden out as well.
Qi Shihua was driven out of the county magistrate's office. Her hair was disheveled, and she stumbled along the roadside, almost insane.
Why? Why didn't the statue of the virgin girl cause Gao Li to die in childbirth, and instead allowed her to give birth safely?
Both being daughters of merchants, why does she have both a son and a daughter, and a loving marriage? While I am estranged from my husband, what gives me the right? What is it that makes me so special?
Qi Shihua stumbled and walked towards the outskirts of the city. When he reached the riverbank, he looked at the rushing river and smiled sinisterly.
She refused to admit defeat. She went home and made her son study hard so that he could surpass him.
She must live a better life than her!
As Qi Shihua was thinking this, she was about to turn around and go back to her residence when she saw a wild boar appear out of nowhere, rushing towards her at high speed.
She didn't have time to escape and was thrown into the river, where the current quickly submerged her head.
Qi Shihua struggled and cried for help, but no one was passing by in the suburbs at that moment.
She couldn't swim, and before long, she was swept away by the rushing river.
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