Chapter 168 My mind is in turmoil
The country is suffering from a severe drought; it has not rained for three years.
Song Sha stayed in the capital and opened an embroidery shop, located opposite Zhaoling Academy.
She took in homeless women and taught them embroidery so they could support themselves.
That day, Song Sha was leading the girls to move the embroidery frame into the courtyard.
Sunlight filtered through the sheer fabric of the embroidery hoop, casting dappled shadows on the ground.
"Master, the thread has broken again," the little maid Ah Xing muttered, holding up the silk thread.
Song Sha took the thread and gently twisted it between her fingertips: "Like this, along the grain..."
Suddenly, a drop of water fell onto the embroidery cloth.
Then came the second drop, and the third drop.
"It's raining! It's raining!"
The girls dropped their embroidery and rushed into the courtyard.
The rain soaked their hair and drenched the embroidery hanging out to dry, but no one bothered to collect it, all immersed in the joy of the heavenly rain.
Song Sha tilted her head back, letting the rain slide down her cheeks.
Song Sha looked forward to Lu Yao's return and, together with Jiang Jinshu, planned a welcome-back dinner for her.
The welcome banquet was very well prepared.
All the dishes were Lu Yao's favorites: braised pork, squirrel fish, glutinous rice chicken, and peach blossom pastries arranged in a tower shape. Each tablecloth was embroidered with auspicious cloud patterns.
In the afternoon, Song Sha was teaching a new girl how to divide lines.
A sudden commotion broke out at Zhaoling Academy, and the faint sound of sobbing could be heard.
"The Imperial Preceptor... will not be able to return from Broken Soul Ridge."
The embroidery needle fell to the ground with a clink.
Song Sha bent down to pick it up, but found that her hands were shaking badly.
She arrived at Broken Soul Ridge with Jiang Jinshu and others.
Song Sha walked to the Stele of Deceiving Heaven, took out the embroidery needle she had treasured for many years, and placed it in front of the stele.
It was the very same dagger she had used to stab her biological father years ago.
The sand and dust stung her eyes, and when she raised her hand to wipe them, she realized they were tears.
Footsteps sounded behind me; it was Jiang Jinshu.
Jiang Jinshu said, "If she sees you crying, she'll definitely laugh at you."
Song Sha straightened her back: "Who's crying? It's just sand in my eyes."
She gazed at the rolling dark clouds on the horizon, "Ayao promised to come back."
Jiang Jinshu gave a soft "hmm": "She always keeps her word."
...
A thousand years have passed.
Under the influence of the resentment of the Deceitful Stele, Song Sha was deceived in every lifetime, a devastating experience.
...She performed on the Qinhuai River, and a wealthy young man spent a fortune to marry her. On their wedding night, however, she was drugged and stuffed into a carriage. When she woke up, she was in the desolate desert beyond the Great Wall, sold to horse bandits.
...She studied medicine in England, secretly joined the Communist Party, and became an intelligence agent, only to be betrayed by her boyfriend. He gently tied her scarf, then turned and handed the list to the secret service. In the interrogation room, they used the scalpel she knew best to peel off her fingernails piece by piece.
...
In this life, Song Sha was born into poverty.
She was her biological father's posthumous child; she was four months old when her father passed away, still in her mother's womb.
The mother hesitated about whether to have an abortion, after all, the pressure of being a single mother is too great.
Song Sha's grandfather knelt on the ground and kowtowed: "Please, this is my son's only bloodline!"
Grandma clutched the pregnant woman's clothes, tears streaming down her face: "We'll sell the house to raise this child!"
They promised to take responsibility for raising the children.
However, on the day of delivery, the nurse brought the newborn out and said, "It's a beautiful girl."
The old man's smile froze on his face.
The promise is no longer valid.
They preferred to adopt a distant nephew from a collateral branch, under the name of Song Sha's biological father.
That's what they consider "proper incense offerings".
Her mother raised her alone, and Song Sha grew up in a cramped rented room.
I started cooking instant noodles on a stool when I was five years old, and my schoolbag was washed until it was almost white.
Her junior high school homeroom teacher couldn't bear to see her like that, so he gave her an old cotton-padded coat, which she treasured and wore for three winters.
Song Sha grew up in such an environment and became a girl who lacked love.
During her four years of university, Song Sha's life was as regular as a timetable: working at the cafeteria at six o'clock, attending classes at eight o'clock, organizing bookshelves in the library in the afternoon, and tutoring in the evening.
The day Ying Yanghui appeared, she had just finished get off work at the convenience store and was waiting at the door for the rain to stop.
He tilted the umbrella at an angle: "Use mine."
His face flushed red, and he dared not look her in the eye.
Song Sha recognized that he appeared frequently, several times a day.
She suddenly felt a sweet warmth in her heart.
When they were dating, he always referred to her as "my Sasha".
His colleagues teased him, saying he was afraid of his wife, and he just laughed and shook the small rubber band on his wrist.
The day they got their marriage certificate was a sunny day. Ying Yanghui kissed her at the entrance of the Civil Affairs Bureau and said, "I'll take care of you from now on."
Before he could even warm the marriage certificate, he was called by his company to accompany a client.
Ying Yanghui works in sales, which often involves drinking for business purposes. When he comes home drunk, he becomes very irritable.
He took out his frustrations on Song Sha when clients gave him attitude.
"Do you know how difficult it is to please President Wang?" Ying Yanghui grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the wall. "Useless! I work so hard, and you can't even cook a proper meal!"
The next day, Ying Yanghui apologized to Song Sha in tears, kneeling by the bedside, his trembling hand gently stroking the bruises on Song Sha's arm as if he were very distressed.
"Honey, I drank myself into oblivion yesterday... Look at me, how could I possibly hurt you on purpose?"
Looking at his reddened eyes, Song Sha's heart softened.
She remembered the first birthday cake he bought for her in college, and how clumsily he styling her hair.
Those memories acted like painkillers, temporarily numbing her reason.
But painkillers always lose their effectiveness.
Forgiveness time and time again only resulted in repeated wounds.
Three months later, late at night, the sound of the belt buckle slicing through the air was particularly jarring.
Song Sha's screams woke up the entire building.
The newly moved-in female neighbor banged on the door and shouted outside that she would call the police.
When the police knocked on the door, Ying Yanghui seemed like a different person.
He hurriedly fastened his belt, then hugged Song Sha tightly, his tears and snot covering her: "Baby, I was wrong, I promise this is the last time..."
His embrace was still so warm, but all Song Sha could smell was the nauseating stench of alcohol.
Song Sha filed for divorce. Ying Yanghui knelt down and showed her the photo album page by page: "Remember? This is our first date... This is your graduation ceremony..."
He was waiting for Song Sha to soften her heart, but Song Sha remained silent.
Ying Yanghui's face turned ferocious, and the next second, he slapped Song Sha hard across the face.
"You shameless slut!"
Looking at him, Song Sha realized that the young man with a flushed face in the rain had long since died from repeated drinking.
The one kneeling before her now is nothing more than a demon cloaked in memories.
Song Sha clenched her fists.
A plan began to take shape in my mind...
However, Zheng Tianhe's appearance disrupted her plans.
At this moment, Song Sha, who looked pitiful, was actually in a state of utter confusion.
She and Zheng Tianhe stood around the unconscious Ying Yanghui, looking at each other in bewilderment.
Zheng Tianhe called an ambulance and was hesitating whether to call the police.
Her finger hovered above the dial pad, "Although that bastard deserved it, but..."
If you conceal or fail to report it, the consequences may be even more severe.
Just then, the police entered the room.
“We have been closely monitoring the live broadcast room of Qianniangangtong.com.”
Zheng Tianhe's lips twitched: "You guys are using the live streamer's room as a surveillance camera?"
The veteran officer coughed lightly: "This is called the new 'Internet + Policing' model."
Song Sha looked at the police, her fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes until her knuckles turned white.
"It's okay, Song Sha... I'm here."
A clear, melodious female voice suddenly emerged in the long-silent live stream room.
The voice was gentle yet powerful, as if someone were gently holding her trembling hands.
Song Sha suddenly looked up.
On the screen, the anchor is intently looking at the camera, his eyes so clear they reflect his image.
Song Sha saw her pale face reflected in those gentle eyes.
A long-lost warmth suddenly surged up, dispelling the chill in my chest.
"Thanks……"
Song Sha's voice was soft, but no longer trembling.
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