Why did Chapter 87 disappear?
Shen Qingci was still somewhat bewildered, and simply sat up: "What happened?"
Wanqing's tears fell in a torrent: "Miss Sheng! Something happened to Miss Sheng! She hanged herself! She's gone!"
Shen Qingci was stunned, and it took her a while to come to her senses: "What did you say?"
Wanqing gritted her teeth: "Miss Sheng hanged herself!"
"I heard that this morning, Miss Sheng's personal maid went to her room to wake her up as usual, but when she entered the room, she found Miss Sheng hanging from the beam, already cold!"
Shen Qingci felt her blood rushing backward, and her mind went blank with a bang.
After a long while, she suddenly stood up: "Help me change my clothes, let's go to the Sheng residence!"
She left the courtyard, got into the carriage, and was still somewhat dazed.
Didn't she talk to Sheng Lingxue last night? How could she suddenly... just disappear?
She carefully recalled Sheng Lingxue's every move and word from last night, and a sense of regret began to creep into her heart.
After Sheng Lingxue handed over the evidence, she seemed a little dazed and kept saying that she felt relieved after receiving the evidence.
However, she was so excited about obtaining the evidence that she didn't notice Sheng Lingxue's unusual behavior.
Sheng Lingxue probably didn't want to die at first. She was even worried that she wouldn't be able to stand up to the Huo family, Prime Minister Liu, and that tyrannical emperor, and wanted to plead with Lord Sheng on her behalf.
Later, it was because they learned that she had found Chu Jichen and was about to marry him, and that she could use Chu Jichen's power to take revenge...
Only then did she feel completely relieved.
It's because of her...
If she hadn't told Sheng Lingxue that she was going to marry Chu Jichen, Sheng Lingxue probably wouldn't have died...
The carriage soon stopped at the Sheng residence. Shen Qingci hurriedly got off the carriage, but noticed that there was no white banner hanging at the entrance of the Sheng residence.
She still held a glimmer of hope, and after being informed, she was led by servants to the courtyard she had visited the previous night.
Before she even reached the courtyard gate, Shen Qingci saw the white flowers hanging there.
Shen Qingci felt as if a stone had suddenly lodged in her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.
She walked quickly over, and just as she reached the door, she heard a woman's slightly annoyed voice coming from inside: "She did it on purpose! Shen Qingfeng has been dead for almost a year! She's already seventeen! She's practically an old maid! What's wrong with me arranging another marriage for her?"
"They had just found a good match and were about to settle down, but then she tried to kill herself?"
"What's wrong with the marriage I found for her? Is this how she retaliates against me?"
"I'm so angry! I'm so angry!"
"She thinks dying will end everything? That she can go find Shen Qingfeng? Dream on!"
Her voice grew increasingly shrill: "Even if I die, I'll arrange a marriage for her! I'll let her know what happens when she goes against me!"
Shen Qingci's face was full of astonishment. She quickened her pace and stepped inside.
As soon as she entered, Shen Qingci saw the woman standing at the entrance of the main house, jumping up and down. She recognized her at a glance; it was Sheng Lingxue's stepmother.
Sheng Lingxue's biological mother died in childbirth when she was around ten years old. Soon after, Sheng Lingxue's father remarried.
Previously, Sheng Lingxue had always been bright and generous in front of her and her older brother. She never knew that Sheng Lingxue's stepmother was so vicious.
"Aunt Sheng said you arranged a marriage for Sister Sheng? I wonder which man it is?"
Madam Sheng turned around with a furrowed brow, and upon seeing Shen Qingci, her expression instantly turned utterly sarcastic: "What's it to you?"
"Oh...isn't this Miss Shen? Oh, no, the Shen family is gone, so you can't be considered Miss Shen anymore."
"Is that the wife of the General Who Conquers the West?" She scoffed. "Oh, I forgot, the General Who Conquers the West is gone too."
She squinted at Shen Qingci: "And I heard that you've been kicked out of the Yongning Marquis's mansion? What's a widow who's still in mourning for her husband doing here? What bad luck! Get out!"
Shen Qingci took a deep breath and clenched her hands tightly in her sleeves: "I've come to see Sister Sheng."
Madam Sheng's eyes darted around, her mind racing: "Sure, go ahead and see."
She stepped aside, and Shen Qingci, too lazy to investigate further, simply took a deep breath and strode inside.
Perhaps because the incident happened so suddenly, the Sheng family hadn't had time to prepare a coffin, and Sheng Lingxue had already been put down and temporarily placed on the bed.
Shen Qingci entered the room, but her steps couldn't help but falter.
She looked up at the bed and saw Sheng Lingxue with her eyes closed, as if she were asleep, but her face was pale and bloodless.
Shen Qingci's tears fell in a downpour. How could such a vibrant person have turned into this state in just a few hours?
"Sister Sheng."
Shen Qingci rushed over, grasped Sheng Lingxue's hand, and burst into tears.
From the doorway came Madam Sheng's mocking voice: "You two seem to have a pretty good relationship, so why are you crying so bitterly?"
"When you were the general's wife, why didn't you come to visit often? Now that you're widowed, you're putting on this show of sisterly affection."
"Just watch, you won't see it again anyway."
"When she was alive, I wanted to arrange a marriage for her, but she refused. She threatened me all the time, saying she would kill herself if I forced her to marry! Now that she's dead, I can't control her anymore, can I?"
"You have to marry me even if you die!"
Shen Qingci gritted her teeth: "You want to arrange a ghost marriage for her?"
"Yes," Madam Sheng said, her eyes crinkling with a smile. "Our Sheng family has raised her for so many years; we can't just let her die without giving anything in return, can we?"
Shen Qingci was filled with rage; this woman was simply insane!
"Ask anyone in the capital, and you'll find no noblewoman who would do such a thing."
Madam Sheng scoffed, "I don't care about other people's families, this is what I intend to do. Who told her... to always defy me?"
"The marriage proposal I made for her was so perfect, but she just gave me that deadpan look, ugh..."
"I don't care about a few measly coins, I just want to annoy her and make her suffer."
As she spoke, she lifted her eyelids and glanced at Shen Qingci: "This is a family matter. Sheng Lingxue is nominally my daughter."
"What I want to do is none of your business."
Shen Qingci's eyes were dark and brooding. He reached out and took Sheng Lingxue's hand, his gaze fixed on her face. In his heart, he thought to himself, "Sister Sheng, don't worry."
"I will avenge the Shen family."
“I will never allow your stepmother to harm you in the slightest.”
"Since she won't let you be buried in the Sheng family's ancestral tomb, then you'll be buried in my Shen family's ancestral tomb. From now on, you're a member of the Shen family, and my sister-in-law!"
Madam Sheng grew impatient: "You've seen the body, shouldn't you leave now? I'm not trying to be mean, but how can you, in mourning, go to someone else's house?"
"Get out! Get out!"
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