Chapter 19 Two Lifetimes of Hatred: Zhu Qing, I'm determined to take you away! ...
Zhu Qing was stunned: "How could you..."
Her boss's love rival suddenly showed up at her house in the middle of the night?
Wait, it's the boss's love rival!!
Zhu Qing's eyes gleamed with a gossipy light as he sized up Zhang Yin.
He wore a thin, coarse linen shirt, patched here and there. His wet trouser legs were rolled up, exposing his two strong calves to the air.
His straw sandals were filthy and covered in mud, and the small patch of floor he was standing on was also dirty.
He looked poor and destitute, unlike the wealthy and powerful Feng Huaihe today, but the girl Yingchunhua did not choose Feng Huaihe.
No wonder Feng Huaihe is so perverted.
Even if he manages to become a high-ranking leader, the girl won't even glance at him. That's bad enough, but to choose someone like this is something no one can accept, right?
Zhu Qing's feelings were mixed as she looked at Zhang Yin's dirty straw sandals.
Zhang Yin awkwardly shrank his toes, his face flushed, "I'll clean this place up..."
"Huh?" Zhu Qing realized what she meant and shook her head, explaining, "That's not what I meant..."
Just then, there was a sound coming from the door of the main room. Zhu Qing turned around and saw that Zhu Yubo was soaked to the bone by the rain and was stepping over the threshold with a handful of herbs in his hand.
Upon seeing her, Zhu Yubo was taken aback. "Why aren't you asleep?"
After saying that, he looked at Zhang Yin and quickly explained, "When I came back today, I found Zhang Yin by the edge of the field at home. He had been bitten by a snake, so I brought him back. My elder brother has already agreed, but he didn't have time to tell you."
Zhu Yubo looked apologetic: "You're not angry with me, are you?"
Zhu Qing knew what he was worried about. Although his family did not adhere to the strict rules of social order like those of high-ranking noble families, Zhang Yin was an outsider and was different from his family.
She bumped into Zhang Yin late at night, which naturally worried Zhu Yubo.
But she wasn't really from ancient times, so she just waved her hand casually and went forward to pour water.
Zhang Yin was standing right next to him.
He remained standing motionless, even stiffening slightly when she approached to pour water.
He was very uneasy.
It might be because Zhu Qing had just looked at his shoes.
Fearing he might feel pressured, Zhu Qing casually asked to ease the tension, "Where are you from?"
Ah, Zhu Qing thought to herself, this topic is truly an age-old way of striking up a conversation.
Zhang Yin paused for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "My hometown is in Lingnan. I came to Beijing to visit relatives."
Lingnan was a place that Huang Chao had previously fought and plundered. Plague was rampant and food was scarce. After burning, killing and looting, Huang Chao moved to the north, leaving only a chaotic Lingnan behind.
Zhu Qing then understood why he wanted to go north to visit relatives.
However, everyone in Chang'an is currently in a state of fear, and Zhang Yin looks destitute and down on his luck, so seeking refuge with him would probably be of no use.
Zhu Yubo carried over the crushed herbs and instructed Zhang Yin, "Roll up your sleeves."
Seeing this, Zhu Qing looked away, put down the water bowl, and went back to her room to sleep.
Just as Zhu Qing had undressed and lay down, a sliver of light suddenly shone through the crack in the door, and a small head peeked in, gesturing to Zhu Qing: "I want to sleep with Auntie."
Zhu Qing nodded and quietly entered.
She climbed into bed with her pillow and lay down on the inside of Zhu Qing's side.
Zhu Qing turned to face her: "Manman, do you want to study and write? I'll teach you to write and read."
He nodded vigorously.
She took Zhu Qing's hand and put a grass ring on her wrist.
Zhu Qing touched it; the grass ring was rough, and she rubbed her hands together. "What is this?"
He gestured and said, "It's a grass ring."
She rolled up her sleeve, revealing a straw ring on her slender wrist, just like the one Zhu Qing wore.
Manman: "This is what my mother taught me. It's called 'holding a grass ring to signify a lifelong commitment.' I've decided on my aunt's lifelong commitment, so you won't have to get married or leave Manman."
She gestured forcefully with her little fingers, then suddenly wiped her eyes and burst into tears.
Zhu Qing quickly hugged her tightly: "Why are you crying?"
With a choked voice, she gestured, "Just now I overheard my father and mother talking in the night. My father is going to join the army. He's leaving. If I had known, I would have made him a straw wreath..."
No wonder the little girl crawled over in the middle of the night and put a grass wreath on her; she was afraid that her aunt would leave her too.
Zhu Qing sighed, feeling Manman sobbing in her arms, unable to utter a single word.
She didn't want to leave them either.
She didn't know this before, but when Tian Lingzi ordered her to gouge out her eyes, besides fear, what she really thought was that she would never see her brother, sister-in-law, and niece from the Zhu family again.
It turns out that once she's grasped something, she can't bear to let it go.
In her past life, all she wanted was a normal family. Now that she's transmigrated, she finally has one. How could she bear to watch her family be torn apart?
Thinking back to the somber atmosphere in the main hall today, Zhu Zhengyang's determination to join the army, and the oppression from Mufu's Tian Lingzi...
One thing after another forced her to stand up and fight.
If you dared to strive in a family like that in your past life, why are you afraid to strive in the Zhu family, which is full of love?
She cannot lie flat.
She aspires to grow into a figure feared by powerful figures, protecting her family as they survive for five generations.
From then on, she was simply Zhu Qing, sharing life and death with the Zhu family, no longer the Ai Di who was sacrificed by her family.
-
Head of the Secretariat.
A dark room in the side room.
Feng Huaihe examined the painting of Zhang Yin's slow slicing hanging high on the wall.
Zhang Yin, the person he hated most in his past life.
In his previous life, Feng Huaihe met him on Zhu Qing's wedding day. He was wearing a bright red wedding dress, which matched Zhu Qing's wedding gown perfectly.
Their reunion in this life was on a painting of slow slicing, his blood staining the city walls in the painting, still a striking red.
Feng Huaihe withdrew his gaze and focused intently on the wooden carving in his hand.
He held a fine carving knife and carefully carved the face on the puppet, stroke by stroke.
Gradually, Zhu Qingyan's smiling features appeared on the puppet.
Feng Huaihe's carving was incredibly lifelike; Zhu Qing's clothing folds, eyelashes, and eyes were all depicted with exquisite skill, making him appear incredibly vivid.
He grew up under the care of his eldest sister. During the days when he was not loved or cared for by her, he would use the family's small knife to carve wooden puppets.
Over time, Feng Huaihe became able to carve puppets with unparalleled skill.
The countless puppets in the dark room were all Zhu Qing images born from his blade.
The final cut is complete.
Feng Huaihe held Zhu Qing's puppet in his hands as if it were a rare treasure, and lowered his head to kiss the puppet's lips.
Their lips met, like a real kiss. Feng Huaihe's peach blossom eyes slightly turned up, and he chuckled softly.
"I didn't save Zhang Yin, you won't blame me, will you?" He moved the small statue slightly away and spoke to her face.
The puppet's face wore a sweet smile, its eyes filled with joy, and it stared straight at him.
“I suppose you’re not upset,” Feng Huaihe smiled with relief, his fingertips gently stroking her cheek. “Otherwise, why would you smile at me?”
The little statue is still smiling, its eyes fixed intently on him.
Feng Huaihe slowly raised his head and looked again at Zhang Yin's death by a thousand cuts.
It was as if I could see the way Zhang Yin died in my past life.
The feud over the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun pushed Zhang Yin to his death.
No matter how desperately Zhu Qing pleaded before his death, Feng Zhijian never offered any help.
He hated Zhang Yin.
After the Sixteen Prefectures incident, Shi Jingtang urgently needed someone to step forward and deflect the anger of the masses.
But Zhang Yin ran away, and no one could find him.
In order to kill Zhang Yin, Feng Zhijian sought out Shi Jingtang, obtained some men, and went to Jinyang. There, they captured Zhang Yin at the former home of Zhang Yin and Zhu Qing.
At that time, Zhang Yin had prepared a memorial tablet for Zhu Qing and was offering incense to her at the incense table.
Feng Zhijian led his men in and took Zhang Yin into custody.
The incense Zhang Yin hadn't finished offering to his wife went out. His eyes widened in anger: "How did you know about our family?"
After saying that, Zhang Yin realized what was going on and stared at Feng Zhijian as if he were trash: "You were spying on us?"
The words "our family" stung Feng Zhijian.
Feng Zhijian finally had an outlet for his years of hatred for Zhang Yin. He grabbed Zhang Yin by the collar, lifted him off the ground, and slammed him heavily onto Zhu Qing's memorial tablet.
The memorial tablet landed in front of Zhang Yin, who then vomited blood, which landed entirely on the tablet.
Before he could get up, Feng Huaihe raised his foot and stepped on his back.
“Zhu Qing died for you…” Feng Huaihe ground his feet down hard.
Zhang Yin has stood tall for decades, and having Zhu Qing and showing off Zhu Qing is enough for him!
Therefore, now is the time to crush Zhang Yin's back bones, break him, and make him unable to stand up straight in front of us again!
Jealousy fueled Feng Zhijian's boundless power, and with a crack, Zhang Yin's spine was broken.
He lay on the ground, unable to get up. In his sight was Zhu Qing's memorial tablet, stained with his vomited blood.
He reached out, wanting to pull her into his arms.
Snap!
Feng Zhijian kicked it hard, sending the spirit tablet flying far away, out of Zhang Yin's reach.
"You married her, yet you made her die for you?" Feng Zhijian was filled with hatred, his cheeks bulging from biting his lip.
In his overwhelming rage, Zhang Yin recalled the night before Zhu Qing left.
He buried his face in Zhu Qing's neck and said, "Don't go see Feng Zhijian. You've been fighting for so many years, and he has a Taoist priest named Jing Wan by his side. He will kill you."
“During those most chaotic years in Chang’an, I spent every day with my mentor,” Zhu Qing said absentmindedly, “He wouldn’t…”
“Even if he can’t, that Taoist priest can. I still have all the rewards the monarch gave me. Once I find a chance to exchange them for food, I’ll take you to hide…”
"But someone has to step up for this matter of the Sixteen States."
Zhu Qing said, "If one of us has to step forward, it can only be me. My lord, I will pave the way for you. You will be my strategist and you must help us to create a wise ruler, end the war, and restore peace and prosperity to the great land of China."
"Anything is acceptable as long as the war ends and peace is restored. You can be granted official titles and ranks, or you can marry another wife. Learn from Qin Shi Huang and look at how Liu Xiu did it, and do the same."
Zhang Yin's voice trembled: "You are clearly more capable than me. These are things you should be doing. I should be the one stepping forward."
"If you do it, you will be recorded in history and your name will be remembered. As your wife, I will also be remembered by posterity."
Zhu Qing was very clear-headed, so clear-headed that a chill ran down her spine: "But if I were to do this, because of my female identity, the history books would either not record me or would write me as Mr. Zhu Qing. But I don't want that. I have worked hard all my life, and I want myself and us to appear completely in the history books."
"..."
Zhang Yin snapped out of his reverie and suddenly burst into tears. He felt as if his back was broken. He had sacrificed his beloved wife for this result. All his efforts in life had been in vain. He could no longer lift his head or straighten his back.
At first, Feng Zhijian only made a guess, but when he heard Zhang Yin crying, all his guesses were silently confirmed.
"I knew it, I knew it...!"
Feng Zhijian's anger surged to the top of his head, and his whole body trembled. "You, a grown man in your thirties, couldn't stop a woman from going to be buried with the Sixteen Prefectures? You're just a coward, you're afraid of death. You're deliberately acquiescing, deliberately running away."
Zhang Yin just cried.
Feng Zhijian was so angry that he felt dizzy and swung his fist at Zhang Yin: "If it were me, I should die for her, and let my body rot for her."
"If I can't protect her, I'll dig up her grave, open a memorial hall, let her body live with me, rot beside me, turn into bones right before my eyes, watch her disappear completely, and then end my own life..."
"Then why didn't you die for her? You killed her!" Zhang Yin cried out in rebuttal.
Feng Zhijian gritted his teeth and sneered: "Because you are a good-for-nothing. You are incapable of assisting a wise ruler or ending the war. Looking at the current situation, apart from Feng Dao, who among you is capable? If I die, who will fulfill her last wish? You? Ha."
Zhang Yin was stunned, unable to find any words to refute him.
It's just that he's mediocre; his abilities are less than a third of Feng Zhijian's.
"She begged me to save you before she died, but do you deserve it? Zhang Yin, I hate you. You're afraid of death, so I'll make you wish you were dead. Now, with the city in chaos and the people starving, your wife has already died for the Sixteen Prefectures. You should do something in return. Why don't you become the people's food?"
Feng Zhijian smiled sinisterly.
He bound Zhang Yin and handed him over to Shi Jingtang, offering him a treacherous plan: to hang him on the city wall and subject him to slow slicing every day, his flesh and blood falling off to be fought over by famine refugees who would then devour him.
This painting marked the end of Zhang Yin's life.
He died a gruesome death, but Feng Zhijian still harbored unspeakable hatred in his heart. "Zhang Yin, I still hate you. In this life, I want you to die an even more gruesome death. Even if you die, are buried, and rot away, I will dig you up and whip your corpse, so that you will never have peace."
"Zhu Qing, no matter who she is, I'm going to fight you for her."
A note from the author:
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When can I update daily? I really want to update daily...
I really want to see nutrient solution raining down in the comments section! Please! Make my dream come true! Hehe [Let me see]
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