Shi Lan snatched it away, glanced down at it, and saw that it only had a simple plum blossom pattern. She glanced at Chang Shi, who was trembling and stealing glances at her, and instinctively felt that she was hiding something, so she asked sharply, "Where are the clothes I was wearing at the time?"
After a long silence, seeing that she could no longer hide it, Chang slowly opened her clothes and pulled out a piece of exquisitely crafted brocade fabric sewn inside her inner garment.
Shi Lan snatched it away, feeling utterly disgusted. She grabbed the tattered fur coat draped over the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) and left without looking back.
Seeing Shi Lan moving normally, no longer the stiff figure she had been just moments before, Madam Chang was initially taken aback. But she quickly recovered and hurriedly chased after her, calling out, "Lan Ya, where are you going?"
Shi Lan turned to look at her, "Go where I need to go."
Chang wanted to pull her away, but feeling guilty, she could only grab the door frame and look up at her, saying, "This is barbarian territory. We are all registered here and there is no escaping it."
Shi Lan slowly turned her head, staring at her, and said, "Isn't this what you wanted?"
Chang moved her lips, as if to deny it.
Shi Lan sneered, "Infants do look similar when they're young, but the differences become apparent after three to five months. You worried that as time went on, people would see through you, so for your own life and Sanya's wealth, you tricked me into going against their wishes, coming to the barbarian territory, and then deliberately kept me here, registered, making me a slave to the barbarians, working like a beast of burden every day, and foolishly treating you like my own mother, being grateful to you."
Her eyes were dark as she stared intently at Chang Shi, coldly saying, "Seeing me take the blame for you and get severely injured by those brats from Borg, are you happy?" She slowly lifted the back of her clothes, revealing bloodstains from the previous tear covering her back, and numerous wounds across her spine. "You raised me for eight years. Although you had ulterior motives, you never neglected my food or drink. Now I've repaid those eight years of kindness with my life. From now on, we have no connection whatsoever. If we meet again, we'll be strangers."
"Speak," Shi Lan said, pushing open the wooden gate to the courtyard and walking away into the night.
Chang's lips trembled, and tears welled in her eyes, but she ultimately did not utter a single word.
She was indeed in the wrong. As Shi Lan said, she made a mistake at the time, and she was afraid every day afterward. Lan Ya's appearance was becoming more and more like the Second Master Pan in the mansion. She was worried that people would find out, so she hurriedly fled with Lan Ya.
At that time, the area had not yet been occupied by barbarians. She held onto a sliver of hope, thinking that after a few years, when her daughter was older, she could go back and, based on the kindness she had shown by nursing her, find a job so that she could see her daughter more often.
Chang's original plan was excellent, but she did not expect that the imperial court would suffer a crushing defeat. Almost overnight, the area was occupied by barbarians. She was led here like livestock and put down roots there, never to leave again.
Shi Lan walked further and further away, soon disappearing from sight. (Latest and fastest updates, free reading)
Chang pursed her lips and slowly turned back.
She only saw her as a substitute for Sanya, but for some reason, her heart ached more and more.
Shi Lan walked quickly for a long time. Ahead of her was a boy about her age. When he saw her, he shouted sternly, "You lowly slave, stop right there!"
Shi Lan stopped and looked up at him.
The boy was half a head taller than her, wearing a lake-blue brocade robe with fur trim, carrying a shiny whip in his hand. He turned his shaved head, shook the tuft of hair sticking up at the back of his head, and tilted his head to look at her.
Looking at his fierce and domineering appearance, Shi Lan's gaze turned cold. That was Wu Ji, the only grandson of the Kitchen Goddess who managed more than twenty Han households in the vicinity.
Two days ago, he had whipped the original owner half to death and ordered the doctor not to treat her. Thinking of how she was burning with desire when she first woke up, Shi Lan's pent-up anger burned even more fiercely.
When Wuji saw that Shi Lan didn't speak, he stared at him fiercely, blinked his big eyes, and suddenly shouted, "Come here."
Shi Lan narrowed her eyes dangerously, but still slowly walked over.
Wuji roughly raised his whip, forcefully lifting her face with his hard hand, looking her over, and snorted, "Isn't she perfectly fine? You even lied to my mother saying she was dying, causing me to be scolded by my mother. You liar, you lowly slaves deserve to be beaten."
Shi Lan was furious. When she arrived, the body's physical strength was extremely weak. If she hadn't come in, the original owner's body would have already become erect.
Wuji seemed to be used to being bossy. Even when Shi Lan's face turned red with anger, he didn't care. He simply pointed to the side and said, "Go and make me some milk tea, chop some firewood, and make my house warmer."
Shi Lan took a deep breath.
The barbarians here practice a system of collective punishment; if a barbarian dies, the barbarians will kill all the Han people they suspect and bury them with him.
More than twenty Han Chinese households lived nearby, all under the care of Wuji's grandmother. If something happened to Wuji, these twenty-odd Han Chinese households would surely suffer. Shi Lan did not want to implicate others because of herself, so she had to suppress her anger and move to the house next door with its high beams and flying eaves to live and brew tea for him.
Wuji followed behind, whip in hand, and seeing Shi Lan struggling to bend over, he maliciously poked her with the whip.
A sharp pain, accompanied by a feeling of dampness, spread down my spine.
Shi Lan gritted her teeth, suppressing the anger surging in her chest, and placed the large kettle on the fire, setting out the teacups and other items.
Seeing that she didn't react, Wuji picked up the whip and kept whipping her from behind as she bent down to add firewood, laughing as he did so.
The water flowed slowly down her spine, and the pain stimulated her nerves. Shi Lan finally couldn't suppress the raging fire in her heart. Her reason collapsed at this moment. She stood up abruptly, grabbed his collar, and lifted him up with one hand.
Wuji kicked his legs, glared at Shi Lan with wide eyes, and even as he faced death, he still shouted with full confidence: "You lowly slave, how dare you offend me! I will tell the matriarch to execute you and your poor, wretched mother, feed your corpses to the wolves, smash your bones and throw them into the river, so that your remains will be gone forever and you will never be reincarnated."
Hearing him say that, Shi Lan was so angry that she laughed. Her original intention of just teaching him a lesson suddenly changed. One less of these inhuman bastards is better off dead.
She tightened her fingers and gently placed her other hand on his throat.
At this moment, Wuji seemed to finally realize something was wrong. He hurriedly reached for the waist knife hanging at his waist and turned his head to look outside, opening his mouth to shout.
Shi Lan had long wanted to kill him, so why would she give him the chance? With a light pinch of her fingers, with a 'snap', Wu Ji tilted his head and closed his ferocious eyes.
Releasing her fingers and ignoring Wuji lying at her feet, Shi Lan turned to look around the room. A small bow hung on the wall, and a thick cloak was draped beside a cabinet with exquisite patterns on the kang (a heated brick bed). The cabinet door was half open, revealing neatly folded clothes and brand-new study materials inside.
Shi Lan chuckled softly. Was this a godsend, a perfect solution for someone who was already sleepy?
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