Chapter 166 Embroidery Needle
The Yu family and the Song family have reached an agreement.
On the third day after Yu Chengren's death, Song Sha had to die for her cause.
Song Sha was imprisoned in her boudoir, like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.
The servants searched the room and took away all objects that could potentially cause harm, including gold hairpins, silver scissors, and even a bronze mirror from the dressing case.
What they wanted was the perfectly preserved body of a chaste and virtuous woman.
The best course of action is to starve oneself to death, or to hang oneself quietly.
After all, bloodshed is considered unlucky, and if Song Sha were to fight back to the death and injure others, it would alert the authorities.
By dusk on the third day, Song Sha was emaciated.
When the white silk was presented to her, a resigned, bitter smile suddenly bloomed on her chapped lips.
"Father, Mother..." she whispered, but a dark fire burned in her eyes, "I want to... wear the wedding dress I embroidered myself to see Young Master Yu."
This request moved everyone present.
What a poignant scene.
The bride going to the underworld in her wedding dress will surely become a beautiful story.
Song's father nodded in agreement.
When the wedding dress embroidered with twin lotus flowers and mandarin ducks was unfolded, Song Sha's fingertips trembled slightly.
She ran her fingers over every stitch, where her past dreams had become her death warrant.
"Sha'er, it's time." Father Song turned his back.
"Yes, Father."
No one expected that the seemingly dying girl would suddenly erupt.
The wedding dress billowed like waves of blood, and a cold glint flashed from its sleeve—
It turned out that a three-inch embroidery needle was still hidden inside the neckline of the newly completed wedding dress, and had not yet been removed.
From the day it was completed, no one touched the wedding dress again, and no one discovered the forgotten murder weapon.
That was Song Sha's only hope.
Song Sha's goal was clear: her mother.
My mother had bound feet and a slender figure, making her much easier to control.
As expected, Song's mother could not escape Song Sha's hostage situation.
Song Sha grabbed her mother by the neck, and pressed the embroidery needle against her neck.
"Let me go!"
Song Sha shouted sharply, "Otherwise, this needle will pierce down hard."
Everyone was terrified, never expecting Song Sha to suddenly resort to kidnapping her mother as a threat.
She has always been gentle and filial.
Mother Song felt the needle pierce her skin, and as blood seeped out, she trembled and cried out, "Sha'er, how could you do this to your mother..."
"I'll treat you the way you treat me, it's fair." Song Sha's voice trembled, but she clung tightly to her mother. "You all want me dead, so what if I take someone hostage?"
Mr. Song's face turned ashen: "How could I have such a wicked daughter! Your body and hair are gifts from your parents, and your life itself was given to you by them! You are disobedient and unfilial, daring to threaten your own mother with a weapon! Where have you even learned the 'Admonitions for Women'?"
“I never begged you to give birth to me!” A metallic taste rose in Song Sha’s throat. “It was you who wanted to have children and continue the family line. What does that have to do with me?”
Father Song was so angry that the sleeves of his official robe trembled: "You ungrateful wretched child! Release your mother at once!"
Mother Song trembled all over, the tassels on her hairpin rustling: "Sha'er... I've always treated you well..."
"Treat me well?" Song Sha tightened her grip, the needle piercing in another fraction. "Forcing your own daughter to die, is this your way of being good?"
A soft creaking sound came from outside the courtyard wall, the sound of a bowstring being pulled taut.
Without making a sound, Song's father took half a step back, giving the hunter hiding behind the osmanthus tree a chance to shoot an arrow.
"Whoosh—"
The sound of the black-feathered arrow piercing the air was sharp and shrill.
Just as the arrow tip was about to touch Song Sha's back, a yellow talisman fell from the sky and gently affixed to her back.
The arrow struck the girl's slender back, producing a crisp, metallic clang as it bounced off and rolled a few times on the bluestone slab.
“This…this…” Father Song’s eyes widened, and his goatee trembled.
"Hahaha~" A silvery laugh came from above.
Everyone looked up and saw a sixteen or seventeen-year-old girl in a Taoist robe sitting on the upturned eaves, swinging her legs.
“Father-in-law,” she took a bite of the peach in her hand, juice dripping from her fingertips, “that’s not the act of a gentleman to use underhanded tactics. And where have you learned all that from the Four Books and Five Classics?”
Taking advantage of the fact that everyone was looking at the girl, Song Sha suddenly pushed her mother away.
The yellow talisman, when placed close to her body, not only granted her an indestructible body but also bestowed upon her boundless power.
A ruthless glint flashed in her eyes. With a flick of her wrist, the blood-stained embroidery needle transformed into a streak of silver light and flew out with a whoosh.
It pierced Song's father's throat with precision.
"Ugh!"
Mr. Song clutched his neck and staggered backward, rolling to the ground in pain.
The courtyard immediately erupted in chaos.
"Murder!" someone shouted first.
The crowd screamed and scattered in all directions, knocking over the incense burner and scattering ashes all over the ground.
Song Sha shot out of the hanging flower gate like an arrow released from a bow. Several servants tried to stop her, but they were all pushed aside by the amazing strength she unleashed and fell to the ground.
She had lost one of her embroidered shoes at some point, but she didn't care that her foot was hurting from being poked by pebbles.
She didn't stop until she reached the birch forest outside the city.
Holding onto the rough tree bark, Song Sha bent over, panting heavily. Her throat tasted of blood, and her chest felt like it was about to explode.
"Hey!" A clear voice came from above.
Song Sha looked up and saw the young Taoist priest sitting on a tree branch, with only a tiny bit of peach left in his hand, smiling at her.
"You..." Song Sha gasped for breath, her hand still pressed against her rapidly heaving chest, "Why... did you save me?"
Lu Yao spat out the peach pit, nimbly jumped down, and her Taoist robe fluttered in the wind.
She hopped over to Song Sha in a few steps, tilting her head to look her over.
“I admire you,” Lu Yao said directly. “Look at your thin arms and legs, I didn’t expect you to be so courageous in a critical moment.”
Song Sha's face flushed, and her fingers unconsciously twisted the hem of her clothes: "I... I was actually terrified too, I've been trembling for the past three days..."
"That's more like it!" Lu Yao clapped her hands. "If you had just gone to die without saying a word, I would have at most helped you report it to the authorities."
She curled her lip, "I can't be bothered with those spineless people."
Song Sha carefully peeled off the yellow talisman from her back. The talisman paper was already a little wrinkled, but the cinnabar runes on it were still as red as blood.
She held the talisman in her hands, tears welling in her eyes: "Your talisman is truly amazing... Thank you."
Lu Yao grinned, "You're welcome. That needle you used on your father was truly satisfying!"
In the distance, the faint sound of horses' hooves and the light of torches startled the birds roosting in the woods.
Lu Yao grabbed Song Sha's wrist, her fingertips warm and strong: "The soldiers are coming, come with me!"
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