Chapter 107: Life and Death
The one who returned to Yunnan faster than the imperial edict was Zhang Ke.
As soon as he came back, the first place he went to was Jiang Susu's residence, and gave her the antidote that Shen Xiunian had risked his life to obtain.
"He didn't come back with you?"
Jiang Susu looked past Zhang Ke, her eyes always wandering around the gate of the yard.
Even though she knew very well what the outcome would be if Chen Xiunian went there, she still had a glimmer of hope in her heart just in case.
Zhang Ke lowered his head and remained silent.
The journey back took almost another month. He went from finding it hard to accept it in the beginning to being numb and not wanting to mention it anymore. If it wasn't for completing the task that Chen Xiunian had given him at the end, he wouldn't want to go back to Yunnan.
"Did he say anything?
Jiang Susu wanted to ask if Shen Xiunian had anything to say to her.
But Zhang Ke still shook his head. He wanted to hear a few more words from his general, but the general just told him to bring the antidote back to Yunnan without even saying take care or goodbye. He didn't even have the chance to say a few more words to the general before the general was taken away. Now he is being detained in Tianlao awaiting execution in the autumn.
"Zhang Ke..."
Before Jiang Susu finished speaking, Zhang Ke turned around and walked out of the yard.
Perhaps, Zhang Ke has a grudge against Jiang Susu.
If it weren't for her, his general wouldn't have ended up like this.
Jiang Susu understood his thoughts very well. She knew that it was right for him to hate her, and she hated and resented herself just as much.
The pill in her hand that was split into two halves was just like the ending of her and Shen Xiunian, which ultimately meant separation.
Her meeting with Shen Xiunian was a mistake from the very beginning.
One by one, tears dripped onto the red pill in her hand, creating a circle of red water, like tears of blood.
When he entered the room, Shen Huaijun was lying on the bed in a coma. He had been drowsy for the past few days and his body had been stretched to its limit. Finally, he got the life-saving medicine.
While feeding her the medicine, Jiang Susu continued to cry.
One life and one death, Huaijun's life was exchanged for Chen Xiunian's death.
She can't be happy!
She hugged Shen Huaijun's body and cried until she broke down.
She was sobbing when suddenly there was a noise in the yard that drowned out her crying.
She suddenly became alert and slowly raised her head, just in time to see a figure looking in through the screen window.
There is more than one figure.
They were all tall and dark-looking.
Almost in an instant, she reacted, and before anyone entered the room, she hugged Shen Huaijun and hid him under the bed.
When she stood up, the person outside just broke into the room.
There were several masked men in black, four or five of them. It was obvious that they were sent by Jiang Yan. How could Jiang Yan be willing to fall? He must have a backup plan. Even if he was going to die, he would take others with him.
As the men approached step by step, Jiang Susu had already stopped crying.
She took out the hairpin on her head, gathered her shawl hair, turned it around a few times, and then put it on the back of her head, then fixed it firmly with the hairpin.
She learned martial arts to protect her mother.
Although her mother and Jiang Yan gave birth to her, her mother was not even as good as a concubine who was raised outside.
That year, Jiang Yan went into the mountains to hunt and met his mother who was picking tea. Seeing that his mother was pure and innocent, he had evil thoughts. He was not a good person to begin with. After taking advantage of her, he left and refused to admit it afterwards. Not to mention proposing to her, even taking a peasant girl as a concubine was too shameful for him.
My mother's reputation was ruined by her pregnancy before marriage, and no one was willing to marry her.
Because she was kind-hearted and couldn't bear to kill a life, she didn't take the abortion drug and gave birth to her.
From childhood to adulthood, my mother has endured countless abuse and bullying.
By chance, she learned martial arts from a master and vowed never to let her mother be bullied again.
But accidents always come unexpectedly. Her mother is seriously ill and needs to be saved by a famous doctor. However, even if she sells herself, she cannot get so much silver. So she goes to the Prime Minister's Mansion for help, but is instead strangled by Jiang Yan. Jiang Yan captures her mother and threatens her life to force her to go find Shen Xiunian.
"Xiu Nian… Shen Xiu Nian."
Jiang Susu was covered in blood and half-kneeling on the ground.
If she could do it again, she would definitely listen to her mother and not provoke the Prime Minister's Mansion, as it would only end up hurting others and herself.
She vomited a large mouthful of blood.
His cheeks, neck, and torso were all broken, especially his chest and abdomen, which were bleeding profusely as if holes had been dug out.
Fortunately, all the killers who came are dead.
She didn't dare to stop, fearing that she couldn't hold on any longer, so she took Shen Huaijun out from under the bed and carried him out the door.
She wanted to ask for help, but people on the street didn't dare to approach her when they saw that she was covered in blood.
Therefore, she could only walk forward carrying Shen Huaijun on her back.
Her steps became heavier with each step. When she was almost at the general's mansion, she could not even stand steadily. She fell down after she reached the door with Huaijun in her carrying straps.
The gatekeeper ran down the stairs to inquire about the situation, but was held tightly by her.
"You...you help me tell your wife that...Jiang Susu wants to see you."
The servant was frightened but couldn't get rid of the man, so he could only turn around and ask someone to come in and report.
When Liu Fuying went out, Jiang Susu was already dying.
Even though Liu Fuying was frightened by her appearance, no matter what, the person had come to the door and he couldn't just leave her there, so he thought about carrying the person in first, but Jiang Susu kept shaking her head and refused.
"Chen Xiunian...he said..."
Jiang Susu was so weak that she didn't even have the strength to speak.
"He said I can't enter the Shen family, so I'd better... I'd better not go in."
“You, you…”
Liu Fuying squatted in front of her. The shock came so suddenly that she didn't know what to say. She was still wondering if Jiang Susu came to ask her to help look after her child.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Susu didn't think so.
"I have no one to trust. I...I can only beg you to send the child to my master in Liucui Mountain. I want him to learn martial arts and punish evildoers and benefit the people in the future. Please, please."
She wanted to grab Liu Fuying's hand, but was afraid that the blood on her hands would stain her, so she had to drop her hand.
"Mrs. Liu, please, please."
Her eyes were full of pleading, and then she looked at the child lying asleep beside her. No matter how cruel Liu Fuying was, she was already a mother. She knew the deepest feelings a mother has for her child, and she couldn't help but empathize with her.
"Okay, I promise."
Jiang Susu then smiled with relief and slowly took out a stack of banknotes from her arms.
"This was given to me by Shen Xiunian, but it is still the property of the Shen family. I have no status and I don't want to take advantage of you, so I'm returning it to you now."
She raised her hand tremblingly, but Liu Fuying did not take it.
"This is what Chen Xiunian told me. It is the reward he earned by risking his life on the battlefield all these years. He has the right to spend it himself. When the time comes, I will give the banknote to the child and send it with him to Liucui Mountain. You can rest assured."
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