Chapter 46: Crying "Song Xieqing." "Here."...
The Xie family could barely be considered to have risen to prominence for a time, but now it is on the decline.
The ancestor of the Xie family was originally a woodcutter. One day, Xie Ju, who was only five years old, clamored to become an official. Not only did he want to be an official, but he also wanted to be a good and wise official. Xie Ju's parents were puzzled by this. Their family had made a living by logging for generations, and Xie Ju had never been to school until he was five years old.
Xie Ju's parents thought he was joking, but Xie Ju studied hard every night. Even when he went up the mountain to cut wood, he could not help but mutter to himself. His parents had no choice but to use all their life's wealth to support Xie Ju's studies. Seeing how hard-working their son was, his parents also asked his teacher about his son's talent.
The teacher replied, "If you don't carve a rotten tree, it will remain rotten."
When the parents heard this, they thought that this was how it should be.
When Xie Ju was eleven years old, he was at the bottom of the private school students. Xie Ju's parents thought that being a woodcutter was not a bad thing. Look at their young master, who was once the emperor's teacher, but in the end, he still resigned from his post.
Furthermore, it was a time of turmoil and disaster, and the country was in turmoil. Daying was overthrown overnight. The new emperor changed the country's name to "Cheng" and carried out a large-scale purge of the government, which was puzzling. Their young prince had not yet been appointed as the city lord, leaving the city leaderless. Where did this little kid want to be an official?
However, Xie Ju was so devoted to studying that his parents had no choice but to give up.
At the age of thirty-six, Xie Ju passed the imperial examination and was appointed a ninth-rank clerk. He then became an official. The Xie family, which had chopped wood for countless generations, finally retired with honors.
Xie Ju retired at the age of sixty and returned to Huaicheng to enjoy his retirement. He is now one hundred and ten years old! He has lived through four dynasties! He truly lives as long as a pine or cypress!
The Xie family relies solely on Xie Ju's monthly retirement allowance to survive. Recently, Xie Ju has not been in good health, and they are afraid that he may not have much time left.
A few days ago, the only great-granddaughter Xie Shangqing ran away with a poor scholar, which really made the whole Xie family worried. Xie Ju was most partial to his great-granddaughter. If he knew about this, he would probably die of anger and blood loss. Fortunately, the Xie family finally waited for Xie Shangqing to come back. If it was a few days later, I am afraid that the old bones would not be able to hide it.
To be frank, if Xie Ju died, wouldn't the retirement allowance, which the Xie family relied on for survival, be gone? Xie's parents, thoughtful and far-sighted, had arranged a marriage for Xie Shangqing when she was young. It was none other than the second son of the Shi family, a child prodigy from Huaicheng. If this man were to pass the imperial examination and become an official, wouldn't the Xie family be revived?
Unexpectedly, Shi Chunsheng, the youngest son of the Shi family, not only had no ambition to become an official, but his family members even suffered from a hereditary illness! For this reason, the Xie family's parents broke off the marriage with the Shi family.
At the beginning of this spring, Xie's mother found a good marriage for Xie Shangqing. The man's name was Zhu Qi. Although his mother had done many evil things, the eldest son of the Zhu family was young and experienced in human nature, so he did not inherit his mother's evil deeds. What's more, Zhu Qi had a private dock under his name, so he must be a wealthy man. Although he had one or two concubines, how could a family that showed off its wealth be immune to the common practice?
Since taking a concubine is a common thing for men, then finding a rich man for their daughter is a sure thing.
Unexpectedly, his beloved daughter ran off with a poor scholar! Unable to bear the humiliation, Zhu Qi broke off the engagement that very night. That was not enough, but the scholar died on the merchant ship they eloped with—coincidentally, the same ship Zhu Qi managed! Despite his daughter's beauty, after this incident, it was difficult for her to find a good husband.
At this moment, Xie Shangqing was in the boudoir listening to her mother's lecture. Lin had just said a few words when Xie Shangqing burst into tears. Her face was pale and she sobbed on the maid's shoulder. Lin felt soft-hearted when she saw this, thinking that her daughter must have been scared after being attacked by pirates. Helpless, Lin ordered the maid to serve her master well, and then left the boudoir with a long sigh.
When Xie Shangqing heard her mother's footsteps fading away, she first opened one eye to make sure Lin was gone. Then she jumped off the couch and said to her maid, Ju Yue, who was half hugging her, "I'm going out for a while. If mother comes back, you will hide under the covers and pretend to be me. Remember, don't make any sound, just listen to her nagging. Do you understand?"
When Ju Yue saw that her young lady had explained everything, she did not allow her to dissuade her. She jumped out of the window sill and refused to leave the door open.
Xie Shangqing took a shortcut and walked quickly. She took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and removed the pale powder on her face. The family was getting more and more poor, and the servants and maids were dismissed, leaving only a few personal attendants. She didn't have to worry about running into anyone on the road and being caught.
However, there was a gatekeeper on duty, so Xie Shangqing had to find a low wall to escape. Perhaps because her ancestors all made a living by logging, she had been born with a strong body and a surprisingly tough physique. In addition, when she was young, she learned a few simple martial arts from an old soldier in the neighborhood without telling her parents. Climbing over a wall was nothing but a challenge for her.
Xie Shangqing quickly and swiftly escaped over the wall, not showing any of the haggard look that people talked about due to the death of her lover. Even jumping into the flower pond in Qiongyifang in the morning did not affect her in the slightest.
She stopped a carriage and said, "Yishui Street, West Lane."
After only half a moment, the colt stopped and Xie Shangqing jumped down from the shaft of the cart, throwing a few copper coins at the driver.
She walked forward a few steps, picked up a thick stick on the ground, and then stopped in front of a house. The door was wide open and there was a three-foot flower pot outside. She knew that the owner had some furniture.
Xie Shangqing originally wanted to break in, but after thinking it over, he still knocked on the door according to etiquette.
She knocked urgently and heard hurried footsteps from inside the door.
With a creak, the door of the house opened a finger's gap from the inside. Xie Shangqing took the opportunity to cross the wooden stick in her hand through the gap. She slammed the door with all her strength. A woman's wailing came from inside. Duan Meiyin's forehead hit the edge of the door. This was not over yet. The person outside the door came in. Before she could calm down, the palm wind swept past her ears, and a loud slap landed on her left cheek.
"What did I tell you the other day? You can test me, but you can't do anything harmful to my well-being. And you pushed me directly into the flowerbed! Duan Meiyin! You'd better prostrate yourself before Huaixian every night and pray that she's alright!"
The unexpected slap startled the woman standing nearby, sending the silver coins tumbling to the ground. She scrambled to pick them up. This person was none other than the young lady in green clothes who had stirred up trouble at Qiongyi Tower that morning. Seeing the silver in hand, she repeated everything Madam Duan had instructed her to do. She glanced at the scuffle between Duan Meiyin and Xie Shangqing, quickly clutching the silver, uttered the word "goodbye," and vanished.
Duan Meiyin was knocked to the ground by Xie Shangqing, and the gold and silver hairpins on her bun fell down. Xie Shangqing, the bastard, held her with one hand and put the fallen hairpin into his bag with the other.
Duan Meiyin was no match for her, but in order to pay the salary for Fu Cuishan's woman, she had already sent the servants to the backyard. Moreover, this matter must not be known to others, especially Zhu Qi.
She saw a thick log rolling down not far away. Duan Meiyin's fingertips had just reached for it when Xie Shangqing grabbed her hand. Duan Meiyin angrily said, "Isn't it just to make the performance more realistic? I wanted to pretend that I didn't mean to reveal the truth about what happened at the dock, but who knew that with just a slight push, she fell into the flower pond? Who knew she was so fragile?!"
Duan Meiyin's neck was scratched by Xie Shangqing, leaving bloody marks, but she refused to give in and pulled Xie Shangqing's hair with both hands.
The two of them rolled over and bumped into the wall, feeling pain and then separated.
Xie Shangqing stood up first, panting, "Alright, let's not talk about the blessing for now. Let's just talk about you instigating your cheap cousin to kidnap me and ruin my reputation. Just wait, and once that's done, I'll send you to jail too."
Perhaps because they had made too much noise, servants could be heard calling "Madam" from the distant backyard. Xie Shangqing teased, "What kind of Madam are you? You're just the wife that Zhu has verbally agreed to marry. You're not listed in the family tree, and we haven't even arranged a marriage. Madam Zhu? If you and your cheap cousin hadn't plotted against me, you should be calling me 'Madam' now."
Duan Meiyin's eyes welled up at the word "cousin." She stood up and said, "What kind of lady are you? You're just from a poor family, eh? Do you really think you're a noble lady?" She glanced at the sky and said coldly, "If Miss Xie just wanted to beat up my concubine, and now she has got what she wanted, you can go away... Zhu Qi should go home."
Xie Shangqing remained silent, only hearing the footsteps in the backyard getting closer and closer, and even the sound of heavy shoes approaching outside the gate. She then trotted to the wall, stepped on the lotus pot on one side, found the right moment, turned over and left.
Duan Meiyin raised her hand to adjust her hair and clothes. In just a few breaths, the maid in the backyard and Zhu Qi came into her sight.
Zhu Qi stepped forward and glanced at Duan Meiyin's clothing. Her hair was disheveled, and blood oozed from the side of her neck. Zhu Qi frowned slightly. A servant had reported that she and his cousin had fallen into the pond together that morning, and that was probably where she got injured. She had already changed out of that dress, but Zhu Qi still slapped her.
Just now, Xie Shangqing hit him on the left cheek, and now Zhu Qi hit him on the right cheek. Duan Meiyin cursed inwardly, thinking that it was exactly symmetrical.
Duan Meiyin recalled the man's appearance when he was fished out of Cangze by the yamen runners. Chu Zhijian saw that he had been gnawed beyond recognition by the fish. She took advantage of this and burst into tears, tugging at Zhu Qi's sleeve and sobbing, "Husband, why do you treat Ayin like this? Don't you think Ayin knows? You originally wanted to marry Madam Zhu! I saw that you were still hesitant to make Ayin your principal wife, and Ayin was naturally worried. Anyway, no matter what, husband never thought of marrying me!"
"If Madam Xie hadn't eloped with Scholar Chu, would Ah Yun still be kneeling before Madam Xie, serving tea to her mistress? Ah Yun is heartbroken, but is she just trying to show off by looking for her husband's cousin? Could it be... that my husband is still obsessed with Madam Zhu?"
"Stop, stop, stop!" Zhu Qi interrupted her. "Why did you suddenly think of going to the storehouse to look for cloth? And why did you choose to wander around in front of Zhu Hao wearing this dress? Qiao Meiyin, you'd better explain it to me clearly."
"My husband, don't you understand even after hearing this?" Duan Meiyin walked forward tremblingly. She had jumped into the flower pond to save Zhu Hao in the morning and caught a cold. In addition, she had just wrestled with the crazy woman, which made her exhausted.
Her eyes were red as she caressed her belly. "My husband probably doesn't know, but the doctor took Ah Yin's pulse a few days ago and said she's two months pregnant. Ah Yin was displaced and bullied in her childhood, and she's weak. Ah Yin was afraid she couldn't keep the baby and would make your husband happy for nothing. So, I planned to tell you when the pregnancy is stable. I also wanted to ensure a good family for the unborn child. Is Ah Yin wrong? Since ancient times, children of concubines have always suffered. Ah Yin simply took the fabric that your husband had been saving for a long time, made a dress out of it, and showed it off in front of Madam Zhu. Isn't that wrong?"
Duan Meiyin carefully observed Zhu Qi's expression and continued, "Ayin knows that Madam Zhu is well versed in textiles. Ayin also knows that the things in your husband's collection are all of the finest quality. Ayin just... wants to let the women in this city know that your husband's pampering of Ayin is wrong."
Tears rolled down her face repeatedly. Zhu Qi's heart softened and he quickly hugged her in his arms. "How could you not tell me about such a big thing as pregnancy? If I had known, I wouldn't have slapped you."
The stupid woman in his arms should not know about his dealings with the pirates, and she has no idea that the silk brocade hidden in the warehouse for a long time is the blessing item. He has had many women in recent years, but no children. Now that Duan Meiyin is pregnant, he can play a trick to coax her. If she really doesn't know, it's best. If she knows, then he will kill the mother and keep the child.
And his cousin, it would be best if she never wakes up. And, Mrs. Xie, she must have heard something that day, otherwise why would her expression be like that? Although the scholar Chu Zhijian is dead, Xie Shangqing is still alive, and she might have gone to the government office to report it.
However, the dead cannot speak.
…
The night is quiet and deep, with blue clouds covering the moon.
"Miao girl, you must continue to feed her according to the medicine guide. You must feed her as much as she vomits out."
"That's right. We are all doctors serving Young Master Lu Jue. He heard that all the mediocre doctors in Huaicheng were preparing for the Zhu family's funeral, so he urgently asked us to come... He fed Madam Zhu all the best and most effective medicines, some of which were even gifts from the emperor."
"Madam Zhu was already suffering from the gnaws of her illness, and now she's experiencing menstruation... the chill from the flower pond is bone-chilling, damaging her heart, lungs, and meridians. We've tried everything we can to treat her, and it's been nearly seven days. Whether Madam Zhu can wake up depends on these few days. If she still doesn't wake up, I'm afraid..."
Zhu Hao was trapped in darkness. She could not see, could not speak, and her body was frozen. However, she could hear voices, rustling sounds, and even the cries of Miaoli and Xuyin. Occasionally, Zhu Hao could also feel someone slowly helping her up and feeding her medicine. However, she vomited at least half of the large bowl of medicine she was given...
Tonight is the ninth day of Zhu Hao's coma. With trembling eyelashes, she suddenly opened her eyes and vaguely saw Miao Li lying in front of the couch. Zhu Hao wanted to turn away, but in an instant, her eyelids pressed her down and she fell asleep again.
I don’t know how long it took, but the rustling sound came to my ears again.
Afterwards, Zhu Hao heard several voices chatting on the side.
"Even if this mortal wakes up, he's already on his last legs, barely surviving. If I continue to live like this, I might as well die and leave some peace and quiet."
"What are you talking about? Aren't you already dead? Besides, we live under someone else's roof, how can we curse her like that? We should pray for the young lady."
"But...if the young lady wakes up, this winter will be unbearable. Even if she survives, she won't be able to survive the deep winter next year. But what can we do for her by worrying about this? After the desert is over next month, we will have to leave. By the way, you called Yin? You said you wanted to go home, but Yin, where is your home?"
Zhu Hao was sweating profusely and shivering uncontrollably. Sweat slid down her eyelids and she opened her clear eyes.
The lights in the inner room were dim, and Zhu Hao could vaguely see the shadow of a butterfly swaying on the candlestick. The sound came from there.
I wish her muscular aches and bone pains would be cured. A rusty taste rose from her throat. She gasped and coughed violently, vomiting black blood all over her collar.
In an instant, Zhu Hao felt as if several pairs of eyes were looking at her.
"She-she-she-she! She's awake!"
"Why is she looking at us with those darting eyes? She can't possibly see us, right?! She's not dead yet, this shouldn't be the case!"
"...I guess he's dying."
Zhu Hao leaned on the edge of the pillow. The discomfort in her throat and body made it difficult for her to say a word. She opened and closed her lips, and suddenly saw a beam of green light flash through the window, dispersing the butterfly shadow.
Zhu Hao's limbs were numb and she couldn't move. She glanced sideways and saw Song Xieqing sitting on the edge of the bed without her knowing when. He raised his finger and produced a handkerchief, which he carefully wiped away the blood stains from the corners of her lips. The blood stains on her collar also faded away in silence.
“…What is it?”
She was finally able to speak, but her limbs were sore all over. She felt very uncomfortable and her sweaty little face was wrinkled.
Song Xieqing remained silent for a moment, staring at her pale face, and squeezed out two words, "Wandering soul."
She had become accustomed to these ghosts and spirits ever since she met him, but she had never been able to glimpse these wandering spirits before. Thinking of this, Zhu Hao felt a little strange. She couldn't help but feel sad. She asked in a hollow voice, "Is what they said true? Am I going to die? Did you just... kill them?"
"It just scares them away."
He didn't answer the first half of the sentence.
Zhu Hao stared at the Xingziqing curtain in a daze, tears in the corners of her eyes. Although she was not fully awake a few days ago, she could occasionally hear the doctor's diagnosis. Although she was awake, how could she not know the condition of her own body?
"Song Xieqing."
"exist."
She called again, "Song Xieqing."
"exist."
He spread the blood-stained towel in his palm, and used his eyelashes to block the surging rage in his eyes.
Zhu Hao's body gradually warmed up, and she buried her head in the quilt, "Get out."
The quilt rose and fell, and intermittent sobbing sounds were heard.
Song Xieqing clenched the handkerchief tightly, and the blood on the towel was almost crushed into his skin.
She is crying.
-----------------------
The author has something to say: Sister Duan and Sister Xie are both ruthless people ()
Xiao Song: You yelled for me to get out of here? T_T
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
