Chapter 86, the flashback chapter, is complete (Don't buy if you don't like it)...
Meng Yingniang was very satisfied with the dagger in her hand. Ever since she had the thought of committing suicide, she had not encountered any sharp objects around her.
Even the hairpins worn in their hair were replaced, and they could only use flat hairpins or combs.
Tao Maoran finally grasped Meng Yingniang's hand, and after his initial surprise, he regained his composure.
He grinned, blood trickling from his mouth, staining his lips with a seductive allure. "It doesn't matter. I'll die with you. Even in death, you'll be mine. We'll never be apart."
These words truly disgusted Meng Yingniang. She tried to pull her hand away, but her last burst of energy seemed to have run out at this moment.
Just as she was feeling hopeless, Zhao Xian rushed up and shoved Tao Maoran away with all her might.
She reached out to help Meng Yingniang up, but Meng Yingniang, who was already unsteady on her feet, slid down. Zhao Xian knelt on the ground beside her, looking at her bleeding abdomen, and simply pressed her hand down to stop the bleeding. "Are you crazy? Why are you doing this?"
Meng Yingniang raised her hand, noticed it was covered in blood, and put it down again. Her voice was soft, filled with exhaustion and helplessness, "A-Xian, I can't take it anymore. I'm so tired. I want to go home."
She had wondered why she and Tao Maoran had ended up like this—was it because of the disparity in their social status?
But when she met Zhao Xian and Jiang Liangxu, Meng Yingniang realized that it wasn't the difference in their social status that made her realize that some people were simply wicked, cowardly, and selfish.
It's laughable that she actually loved someone like that; how pathetic that makes her.
It also made her realize just how terribly wrong she had been.
Zhao Xian's tears fell uncontrollably. When she heard the word "home," many words suddenly choked up in her throat.
"Ah Xian, don't make me be buried with him, it will delay my return home." Meng Yingniang spoke slowly, but tried her best to pronounce each word clearly.
She knew they wouldn't survive, so she had medicated the dagger beforehand.
"No, no. Fine, fine, I'll bury you separately, so he won't disturb you." Zhao Xian cried, her whole body trembling. She wanted to call for a doctor, but she also wanted to go home. There was nothing in this place she wanted to stay.
For them, going home is truly a hope, a beautiful expectation and wish; how could she bear to ruin it?
"No, we must die together!" Tao Maoran struggled to crawl over and grab Meng Yingniang.
At this moment, he suddenly remembered many things. Meng Yingniang was a very nice person and she was also keen on making friends. However, she didn't care much about the people she had dealt with in the past.
This time is different, this time is just different.
Tao Maoran regretted it. He regretted that if they hadn't passed through Huquan County and met Zhao Xian, things wouldn't have turned out this way, and they would still be the same as before.
He had threatened her before, about the lives of her friends, her family, and the lives of her acquaintances.
They threatened her to leave them and come back to them.
She hated and cursed him, but in the end she would always compromise and obediently return to his side.
The same threat, which was clearly the least significant this time, resulted in the most severe consequences.
Tao Maoran struggled to crawl toward Meng Yingniang, but when he was only a foot away from her, he could not go any closer. Meng Yingniang could reach him with her hand.
But she kept her head turned to the side in Zhao Xian's arms and didn't look at him even once.
Tao Maoran's fingers bled as he struggled to grip the pebbles on the ground. Blood trickled down the corners of his mouth, making him look disheveled, yet his eyes were filled with resentment. "Give her back to me, give her back to me, she's mine."
Zhao Xian raised her hand to cover Meng Yingniang's ears, "Don't shout, you're disturbing her."
Tao Maoran went from anger to pleading: "Please give her back to me."
"Give it back to you? Don't dirty her way home." Zhao Xian could no longer feel Meng Yingniang's breathing. She didn't react to Tao Maoran's disheveled state, but instead hugged Meng Yingniang even tighter.
Tao Maoran wanted to keep climbing, wanting to take Meng Yingniang back, but he couldn't move at all. He could only watch helplessly as Meng Yingniang was so close to him, yet he couldn't reach her no matter what.
Meng Yingniang's death did not cause much of a stir. She was forced to rely on Tao Maoran and was controlled by him, with no freedom.
He may seem to be complying with her escape, but his relentless pursuit is also a form of restraint.
Tao Maoran's body was brought back by his entourage.
It was all very quiet, without any commotion or noise; the burial was peaceful and uneventful.
After Meng Yingniang and Tao Maoran died, Zhao Xian went to the place where they used to live, intending to collect Meng Yingniang's belongings for her burial.
But they found a letter, a letter left for her, written in English.
Zhao Xian then realized that Meng Yingniang had no intention of leaving at all.
Tao Maoran guessed that they came from the same place, and he used this secret to threaten her.
Meng Yingniang dared not leave. If she left, Tao Maoran would expose Zhao Xian's identity. It was also the letter she sent to Tao Maoran that brought him back.
By the end of the letter, the handwriting had been blurred by tears.
After Tao Maoran was buried, Zhao Xian met with Tao's young mistress and made a deal with her, taking Tao Maoran's body away.
Both of their bodies were burned.
Meng Yingniang's body was buried in a scenic spot.
As for Tao Maoran, his ashes were taken away by five caravans, who were instructed to scatter them wherever they pleased along the way. These caravans came from all over the country, and some were even heading to the area beyond the Great Wall.
Those places are very far away. Even if he becomes a ghost and wants to climb back, he will have to go through countless hardships.
However, Zhao Xian was not happy at all doing these things. She only felt that she was cowardly and only knew how to take revenge on a dead person.
If only she had been a little more ruthless back then...
--
After Tao Maoran's death, Tao's young mistress's son became the heir of the Tao family. However, the child was still too young, so Tao's young mistress began to take over the business.
Jiang Liangxu was transferred to another place after serving in Huquan County for three years. Later, Zhao Xian met Tao Shao Madam, who had completely taken control of the Tao family and become the head of the family.
By then, Zhao Xian had already forgotten Meng Yingniang, perhaps because of the long time that had passed, or perhaps because she was deliberately trying to forget.
If she hadn't met the head of the Tao family and talked about the past, she really wouldn't have remembered it for a moment.
Madam Tao had long since let go of the past. "Madam was careless. Even I, as their wife, couldn't do that, chanting sutras and praying for their well-being."
Zhao Xian suddenly remembered that after Meng Yingniang died, Jiang Liangxu took her everywhere to pray to the Bodhisattva for Meng Yingniang's well-being. They met a high monk named Huineng who said that after three years, he could pray for her to be reborn in the next life.
Zhao Xian dared not think about whether it was true or not, and only believed that he was right.
Three years later, she forced herself not to think about it or miss it, using the fact that Meng Yingniang had returned home to persuade herself.
As it turns out, time is a great healer; over time, the lingering effects of time do fade.
Zhao Xian shook her head: "It's not for them."
Two women who had only met twice sat at the same table years later for two people who were already dead and whose faces they could not even remember.
Xu Baozhu took a sip of wine: "Sometimes I wonder, if I had met you first, would things have been different?"
When Meng Yingniang died, Zhao Xian even took Tao Maoran's body with her for a joint burial.
To be honest, she couldn't even remember what her husband looked like anymore; she had only met him a few times, all for the sake of having a child with her.
Zhao Xian smiled and said, "It won't be the same. No one can replace Meng Yingniang, no one can."
"Where did Madam Jiang bury them?"
Under Zhao Xian's gaze, Xu Baozhu smiled and said, "It was just a casual question."
Tao Shao's wife was named Baozhu, which shows that before her marriage, she was a woman who was cherished like a precious jewel in her family.
However, he was also let down by Tao Maoran.
As Xu Baozhu was about to leave, Zhao Xian said, "They were not buried together; his bones were crushed and scattered to the winds."
Xu Baozhu had become the head of the Tao family, but when she heard the words "crushed to ashes," she couldn't help but tremble. She certainly didn't think that she had crushed Meng Yingniang to ashes.
Back when Zhao Xian was still the county magistrate's wife, she lit many eternal lamps and prayed to many temples for Meng Yingniang; these things were no secret.
"Look at me, my hearing is getting worse and worse. I heard that Lord Jiang is going to be transferred back to Jin'an. I would like to congratulate you on your success, Madam."
...
Three days have passed since the sixth prince married his principal wife in the Jiang family.
Li Lianniang asked Cui Tingyue about matters concerning the Sixth Prince's residence no less than ten times.
No detail was overlooked.
So the mother fainted because Nalang was stabbed by the Third Prince.
They didn't really understand that, although the scene was indeed frightening, even Cui Tingyue didn't dare to sleep peacefully at night after returning, and had to have two maids by her side to keep her company.
But no matter how scared you are, there's no such thing as fainting and never waking up.
Li Lianniang and Cui Tingyue originally intended to fulfill their filial duties and serve their father-in-law, but unexpectedly, after returning from the Sixth Prince's residence, their father-in-law remained in the room the whole time, and it was not their turn at all.
I could only pay my respects to my mother outside each day, listening to Peony talk about her condition.
On the morning of the fourth day, when the two arrived at Begonia Residence again, they saw that Peony's brows were relaxed, as if she had encountered a happy event.
The two of them said almost in unison, "Mother is awake?"
Peony's face was filled with undisguised joy as she nodded, "She's awake, she's awake. The master is in the room. Young mistress and young lady, please go to the tea room to sit for a while."
She was going to fetch the family physician.
inside the house.
Jiang Liangxu gently brushed away the stray hairs from Zhao Xian's face. "You've been asleep for three days now, and I've been worried every day that you don't want to wake up."
"Jiang Liangxu, wish me well." Zhao Xian blurted out subconsciously, then realized her lack of composure and pursed her lips.
Their eyes met, and seeing the worry in his eyes, Zhao Xian suddenly felt a little melancholy. She smiled, but her smile lacked some of her carefree spirit. "I've made my husband worry."
Hearing her familiar words, Jiang Liangxu pulled her into his arms.
The sudden hug was so tight that Zhao Xian poked his shoulder and said, "Loosen up, you're going to strangle me."
That one word, "Husband," brought Jiang Liangxu a moment of relief from his worries of the past few days. "My wife..."
He wanted to ask her how much she remembered, but the words caught in his throat.
Zhao Xian once had the thought that she could go back after she died; that was shortly after she gave birth to Jiang Heng.
To prevent her from overthinking, he lied to her; he had no idea how much she had been thinking about.
Did you notice again? She had met Master Huineng.
Even though it was someone he spent every day with appeared in front of him, he was even more afraid to speak.
Having spent over twenty years together, they knew each other best. Zhao Xian could clearly sense his low spirits. "Why is my husband so bitter and resentful? Did he do something to betray me?"
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