After arriving in the new world, her consciousness returned. With a slight lift of her eyes, Tang Ning was stunned by the alluring woman in the dressing mirror who was halfway through removing her makeup with camellia oil.
Slightly messy black curly hair, adorned with a shimmering pearl hair clip on one side; dark eyebrows, vermilion lips, a pert nose shaped like a peach blossom; eyes like autumn water, with slightly upturned corners and distinct eye bags; a captivating, languid charm that seems both drunk and alluring.
On one earlobe, a pearl earring matching the pearl hair clip still hung, while the other earring had been removed and placed on the dressing table in front of her.
She was wearing an exquisitely crafted indigo-blue Suzhou embroidered cheongsam, embroidered with large clusters of white and red peonies. At the neckline, the top button of the delicate knotted clasp was undone, revealing half of her snow-white, smooth neck, while a mink fur shawl, so white it was almost impossible to see any impurities, was draped over her arm.
Tang Ning moved slightly and felt a silky touch coming from her arm.
She raised her eyebrows slightly, and the alluring woman in the mirror followed suit.
With remarkable ease, Tang Ning reached out and removed the pearl earring still hanging on her left ear. She then looked around and realized that she was the only one in this place that resembled a dressing room. With a slight shift in her gaze, Tang Ning's eyes fell on the little system.
She didn't even need to say anything; the other party had already intuitively conveyed the plot of this world to her—
This tacit understanding surprised Tang Ning slightly, and then she smiled and began to learn about the background of this story.
Tang Ning was born in a chaotic world similar to the Republic of China. Her family was poor from a young age, and her parents kept having more children because they had too many. In addition, the village suffered a famine, and it seemed that there was no income for the family, especially their precious sons who were born to the couple. They were all about to starve to death.
Tang Ning's parents set their sights on their second daughter, Tang Ning, who was the most beautiful and had the best figure. At that time, Tang Ning was not called Tang Ning, and her family did not even give her a proper name. She was always known by the nickname Er Ya.
Heaven knows that when Er Ya learned that her parents were taking her to the city alone, the little girl, who had never received any attention since birth, was so excited that she didn't know what to do. Little did she know that her parents were taking her out to sell her to that kind of dirty place, because the place offered more money!
They had already reached the entrance of the brothel when Er Ya sensed something was wrong. She managed to break free from her parents' grasp and escape, but how could a little girl who was usually starving run away from two adults? In desperation, she saw her salvation: a well-dressed couple who had just stepped out of a car. Immediately, Er Ya began to frantically kowtow to the couple, one after another, begging them to have mercy and save her.
The couple were kind-hearted and had money, so in a moment of impulse, they joined the two men who rushed over and grabbed the little girl by the hair and bought her for a large sum of money.
The little girl is really sensible. At such a young age, she can boil water, cook, and do laundry. Seeing how well-behaved and obedient she is, the Tang couple, perhaps because they had just gotten married and didn't have children yet, softened their hearts and took her in as their goddaughter, naming her Tang Ning.
Perhaps Tang Ning really is a lucky star. Not long after arriving at the Tang family, Tang's mother became pregnant. Because her own mother had been giving birth all the time, Tang Ning had accumulated a wealth of experience in taking care of pregnant women. Throughout the entire pregnancy, Tang Ning was taken care of so well that she became fair-skinned, plump, and radiant. This made Tang's parents love her even more. Even after she gave birth to their daughter, Tang Yin, their love for her did not diminish in the slightest.
Tang Ning could be said to have truly fallen into a paradise. She never dreamed that she could live such a happy life. She worked even harder. When she heard that her father was going to send her to school, Tang Ning cried until her pillow was soaked that night.
Perhaps meeting Tang's parents used up the greatest luck of her life. After only a few years of schooling, Tang's father suddenly fell seriously ill. At that time, the Tang family had just welcomed a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, and were enjoying a sweet and happy time. Who could have imagined that they would encounter such bad news?
To pay for Tang's father's medical treatment, the family mortgaged all of their profitable shops to the pawnshop, and the family lived a frugal life, crammed into a small alley in Haicheng.
Tang Ning was of course unable to attend school. Moreover, because Tang's mother was a weak woman who couldn't manage the household, Tang Ning went back and forth between the hospital and the alley almost every day. She also had to deal with her mother's constant tears, Tang Yin's helplessness, and the crying and arguing of her two younger siblings.
Those were really tough times. Tang Ning was only fourteen or fifteen years old, but she had to start working as soon as she opened her eyes, and she couldn't close them until the middle of the night.
Even with all her efforts, Tang's father's illness was beyond saving, and he died in the hospital.
With Tang's father dead, it was as if half of the sky had collapsed for the Tang family. Tang's mother even wished she could go with him. Fortunately, Tang Ning noticed her unusual behavior and cried out to save her when she tried to hang herself. He also brought her twin siblings to her, thus preventing Tang's mother from taking her own life.
Tang's mother didn't want to die, but the Tang family's life had to go on. Not only that, because she had taken advantage of the Tang family before and had studied for several years and learned to read, how could she let Tang Yin and her two younger siblings be illiterate?
So in order to support her family and even save money to send her younger siblings to school, Tang Ning started frantically taking on all sorts of odd jobs, washing clothes, taking care of children, making pancakes... If the dock hadn't rejected her, she would have even wanted to carry sandbags!
Even though she's tried so hard, she only has enough to feed and clothe her family; she can't even afford a new dress for the New Year.
Although Tang Ning had suffered greatly from life's hardships, a beauty is a beauty, and being relatively young, she still grew into a graceful and charming young woman.
The alleyway was full of all sorts of people, and because of her appearance, Tang Ning sometimes had to deliberately make herself look ugly when she went in and out. Even so, she almost fell victim to someone's evil deeds. Fortunately, a young man who was passing by and pulling a rickshaw saved her, and Tang Ning was able to escape unscathed.
Coincidentally, the rickshaw driver lived in the same alley as her.
After a while, the two became acquainted.
Tang Ning also learned the young man's name: Lu Chen. A few years ago, he and his mother depended on each other for survival, but unfortunately, his mother died of illness last year. Now he is all alone, pulling a rickshaw every day. He is a man who is well-fed and has no family to worry about.
Seeing her younger siblings growing up, and her second sister Tang Yin already ten years old but still wasting her time at home, Tang Ning felt sad as she could only watch enviously as girls her age went to school.
After three sleepless nights, she combed her hair neatly, washed her face clean, and put on her prettiest dress. Finally, she stood at the entrance of Lidu, the largest dance hall in Haicheng.
Fifteen-year-old girls are at the most tender age, not to mention their excessively beautiful faces. At first glance, the head of the Lidu dance club took a liking to them, saying that they could make them dancers.
The word "dancer" was so ambiguous that it almost immediately stung Tang Ning's heart.
But she had no choice. Before he died, her father entrusted his younger siblings to her. How could she just watch them go to the docks to carry sandbags and continue washing clothes for others?
Just as Tang Ning was about to nod, a small commotion suddenly broke out in Li Du. It turned out that Jin Pingping, the most popular singer in Li Du at the time, suddenly went on strike. No matter how the manager of Li Du tried to persuade her, or even when the boss came, she just wouldn't go on stage. After all, Li Du's rival, Paramount, had offered her double the price to poach her. Who doesn't like money? Even a pig would know which to choose!
Just as things were getting out of hand backstage at Lidu, Tang Ning saw an opportunity for herself.
Like a newborn calf unafraid of a tiger, she took advantage of the chaos backstage, grabbed a lipstick, applied it to herself, and went on stage to sing "Night Fragrance".
Tang Ning has loved singing since she was a child. During the most tiring and difficult period when her father was with her, she relied on one song after another to get through it.
It's worth noting that when Tang Ning first started singing, she was singing a cappella, and even the band on the side didn't react until she sang a couple of lines before the band caught up with her beat.
It was this rendition of "Night Fragrance," combined with Tang Ning's pure yet alluring appearance and her unique voice, that won her thunderous applause from the audience who kept calling out "Jin Pingping."
Tang Ning also received an admiring look from the boss of Lidu, who almost immediately decided to promote her, much to the chagrin of Jin Pingping who was standing to the side.
No matter how angry she was, she couldn't stop the rise of the new generation of songstress, Tang Ning.
In just a few years, she firmly established herself as a pillar of the Lidu community and successfully sent her younger siblings to school. Not only that, she also moved her house from the alleyway to the bustling Fengxiang Street.
Tang Ning's outstanding qualities naturally attracted the admiration of some men, including Xu Sinian, the head of the Xu family, one of the two major powers in Haicheng.
Xu Sinian was a legendary figure.
At the young age of 24, this frail man, who is disabled in both legs and relies on a wheelchair for mobility, has managed to control the Xu family business, which spans various industries including banking, news, and film. What's even more legendary is that he was reportedly not favored by his biological father, Xu Yingkai, in his early years.
Since he accidentally broke both legs at the age of 16, he has been even more disliked. There were even rumors that Xu Yingkai intended to divorce his wife and instead support his second concubine to take over. However, just as these rumors began to circulate, a horrifying thing happened in the Xu family. Xu Yingkai, his wife, his concubines, and their children were all poisoned to death overnight, leaving only the disabled Xu Sinian as the sole heir of the Xu family.
God knows how many people wanted to rush up and take a slice of the Xu family's cake, but in the end, Xu Sinian, who was only 17 years old, not only managed to withstand it, but also fought back against them one by one, and successfully became one of the two major forces in Chenghai City.
Xu Sinian was not interested in women, and from the age of 17 to 24, not a single woman appeared in his life until he met Tang Ning.
When they first met, Tang Ning was singing on stage, her smile bright and radiant, as if she were glowing. She immediately captured Xu Sinian's heart. In the subsequent encounters, he saw Tang Ning without makeup, her face pure and innocent. She would give food to a little beggar on the street, wearing a plain cheongsam and holding a bouquet of lilies, her beauty and elegance astonishing.
With just one glance, a thought arose in his mind: he wanted her.
But after a thorough investigation, she discovered that she already had a boyfriend, a rickshaw puller who had neither money nor power.
The land sank.
A little wolf cub who fights exceptionally fiercely.
He even witnessed Tang Ning and Lu Shen on a date. To put it simply, Tang Ning, dressed in a beautiful dress, carrying a small bag, and wearing a jade bracelet on her wrist, walked next to Lu Shen, who had a dark complexion and wore old clothes. It was no different from a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung.
However, Xu Sinian did not think that he could definitely win over Lu Chen in Tang Ning's heart. After all, Tang Ning, who sang in a decadent place like Lidu, was still willing to choose such a boyfriend, which meant that she might not be a woman who cared about money at all.
As expected, after several tests, Xu Sinian finally came to a conclusion: Tang Ning had deep feelings for her boyfriend. This was probably related to Lu Chen's several acts of heroism in saving Tang Ning before she became famous. In addition, after Tang Ning became famous, she always rode in Lu Chen's rickshaw. Over time, the two became familiar with each other and eventually got together.
This Lu Chen is quite an oddball. Despite the vast difference in status between him and Tang Ning, he doesn't feel inferior at all. He always tries his best to make her happy, strives to live a positive and optimistic life.
It was so positive it was almost blinding.
Xu Sinian thought to himself.
Who would have thought that not long after, Lu Chen offended the Third Master Chen, who was on par with Xu Sinian, and the latter even issued a kill order against him in the martial arts world.
He could no longer stay in Haicheng Luchen, so he had to flee. However, he hoped that Tang Ning could come with him, and Tang Ning immediately agreed.
After all, she had repaid the Tang family's kindness over the years, and she wouldn't touch a single penny of the money she had saved up. She would leave it all to them. She liked Lu Chen. She had developed feelings for him from the first time he saved her from those thugs, and her feelings only grew stronger over time. Even if she had to eat coarse food after leaving him, she wouldn't regret it.
But who knew that on the day of their agreed elopement, Lu Chen waited and waited at the train station, but the train had already left and Tang Ning still hadn't appeared. He rushed to the Tang family home, but at the corner he saw Tang Ning bending down and kissing Xu Sinian on the cheek, her expression completely obscured.
Lu Chen went mad and rushed forward with bloodshot eyes, only to be pinned to the ground by Xu Sinian's men. He kept questioning loudly, but only received a contemptuous smile from Tang Ning.
"A man like you, a piece of trash, is worthy of me? You want me to elope with you? Do you even have money? Do you want me to live a life of hardship with you? A man who lives like you is a complete failure. Before, I was just playing around with you out of boredom, but I can't believe you actually took it seriously. It's hilarious!"
She said this.
This immediately provoked Lu Chen to rush forward, only to be brutally beaten and unable to get up from the ground. He then saw Tang Ning expressionlessly get into Xu Sinian's car, which quickly drove away.
It's unclear how much time passed before Lu Chen finally got up from the ground and limped out.
After walking for about a street, he immediately heard hurried footsteps behind him. Lu Chen hurriedly turned around and saw Tang Yin, who was only fifteen years old at the time, holding a bag of silver dollars and stuffing it into his arms without saying a word.
"Brother Lu, take care of your travel expenses. Take care in the future."
After saying that, without waiting for Lu Chen's reply, she immediately ran back.
After that night, Lu Chen disappeared. Tang Ning went straight to Xu Sinian, but after only three months with him, she returned to Lihui and started singing again.
Because she overheard that the reason Lu Shen offended Master Shen was actually a scheme set up by Xu Sinian.
He set a trap for Lu Chen, forcing him to leave, but then reappeared before Tang Ning when she wanted to elope with him, saying that Third Master Chen's men had discovered Lu Chen and that he would soon be a corpse, with no way to escape unless...
She followed him, and he helped her protect Lu Chen so that he could leave Haicheng safely.
But who would have thought that the mastermind behind Lu Chen's affair was Xu Sinian from beginning to end?
Tang Ning couldn't accept it and blamed herself for being so heartless to Lu Chen back then, because everything he suffered was caused by her.
Even though she immediately had Tang Yin send travel expenses to Lu Chen, it couldn't ease her guilt.
It was this guilt and self-blame that led Tang Ning to relentlessly pursue Lu Chen after their unexpected reunion five years later.
Who would have thought that the reason her once deeply loved lover returned was solely to take revenge on her?
He used all sorts of sweet words to coax and seduce her, even causing her to break up with Xu Sinian.
He told her in bed that after their breakup, he would come to the Tang family to offer betrothal gifts and marry her.
As it turned out, he did come and did indeed come to propose marriage, revealing his identity as the young marshal of Fengcheng. However, it was his younger sister, Tang Yin, who asked for his hand in marriage.
Yes, that day, she was worried that if she showed up herself, Lu Chen would refuse the travel expenses she offered, so she asked Tang Yin to deliver them on her behalf. Who would have thought that such a warm gesture from Lu Chen during his lowest point would make him remember Tang Yin's kind and innocent nature so vividly.
Because he remembered his sister's kindness in sending him travel expenses, he recognized his ancestors and became a young marshal. After returning to Haicheng, whenever Tang Yin encountered any hardship, he would immediately rush to her side. Being at the age of youthful infatuation, Tang Yin, who no longer remembered what Lu Chen originally looked like, naturally fell in love.
Hearing that he had come to propose, she was surprised but shyly agreed.
Tang Ning was so afraid that she didn't even dare to question Tang Yin in court, because she was afraid that Tang Yin would be hurt.
In the end, he only dared to confront Lu Chen in private, but was met with Lu Chen's sneer.
He said, "How can a woman like you have no self-awareness at all? We're just having fun. You don't actually think I'd marry you, do you?"
With just one sentence, Tang Ning understood that this person had come back to take revenge on her. Perhaps if she were to reveal her past grievances now, she wouldn't just be seen as making up a story.
Tang Ning forced herself to leave, but even more devastating things were yet to come. It turned out that Xu Sinian had known Lu Chen's current identity from the very beginning. Not only that, he watched her fall deeper and deeper into his trap, because he wanted to see if she would disappoint him. In the end, he was very disappointed.
Hehehe...
Tang Ning's emotions completely broke down.
The key issue is that she doesn't know who to blame. If it were five years ago, she could blame Xu Sinian, but five years later, she can only blame herself for being too stupid and taking people's words too seriously. Now she deserves to end up like this!
Tang Ning, who blamed herself for all the mistakes, spent half a month adjusting her emotions before she finally felt a little better. She even thought about reminding Tang Yin that a man who was intimate with her sister one day and proposed to her the next was really unreliable.
She wasn't jealous; she was genuinely worried about Tang Yin and didn't want her to regret it later.
But who would have thought that at this moment, she began to gag, unable to stop gaging every morning.
She was pregnant, and a check-up at a small clinic revealed that she was already more than three months along.
During this period, the only person she had a relationship with was Lu Chen.
She had no intention of keeping this child, regardless of whether she could persuade Tang Yin. If she couldn't convince Tang Yin, keeping the child would only cause her distress; even if she could, she didn't want to have any further entanglement with Lu Chen.
After much deliberation, Tang Ning decided to have an abortion.
Unfortunately, she had barely stepped out of the private clinic, weak, when reporters waiting at the door captured the firsthand information. From then on, the news that Tang Ning, the star of Lidu, had undergone an abortion spread throughout Haicheng.
Upon hearing this news, the initial flutter in Xu Sinian's heart caused by Tang Ning completely dissipated.
Lu Chen went directly to Tang Ning and asked her how much money she wanted. Before choosing to have the surgery, Tang Ning had gone to see Tang Ning and subtly hinted at it to her.
It was this action that made Lu Chen immediately think that Tang Ning was threatening him. After all, if she went directly to Tang Yin and said that the child was his, he would have no way to explain himself.
"This was originally yours!"
"Heh, who knows whose it is? After all, our Miss Tang has so many admirers..."
It was this one sentence that caused Tang Ning's emotions to completely collapse, and she even began to lose her senses.
However, Tang Ning was taken in and brought to the mountain by a young Taoist priest named Yu Ming.
His purpose in picking her up wasn't simple either; it was also for Tang Yin's sake.
When Yuming was fifteen, he followed his master's advice and went down the mountain. His master said that he had calculated that the first girl Yuming would meet after going down the mountain would be his destined person and also his tribulation. If he could overcome it, he would be able to attain enlightenment; if he could not, he would probably be forever barred from the Dao and it might even become a knot in his heart.
Yu Ming, who was only fifteen years old at the time, had no experience living down in the mountains. It was winter, and he was cold and hungry. He collapsed by the roadside and almost froze to death. When he woke up, by sheer coincidence, the first person he saw was Tang Yin.
If he wasn't mistaken, Tang Yin was his calamity.
Making her happy and content is his biggest goal.
So when he accidentally saw Tang Ning and Tang Yin's fiancé Lu Chen entangled in private, fearing that Tang Yin would be heartbroken, he took Tang Ning back to the mountain when she was in a daze. Fortunately, he also knew medicine and could help treat her.
Whether it was due to his lack of medical skills or Tang Ning's unwillingness to recall her previous memories, after more than half a year of treatment, her madness was cured, but she lost her memory and only remembered him.
Having no other choice, Yuming had to continue supporting her.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, war broke out.
Immediately, Yu Ming became worried about Tang Yin down the mountain. He learned some martial arts and wanted to go down the mountain to see Tang Yin. If he left, Tang Ning, who only knew Yu Ming in the whole world, would follow him to the death.
Having no other choice, Yuming had to bring her along.
It wasn't until they descended the mountain that they realized the situation in Haicheng was truly dire. To make matters worse, they heard that a riot was breaking out on Fengxiang Street, where Tang Yin lived, and Lu Chen was nowhere to be found.
Upon hearing the news, Yuming immediately set off for Fengxiang Street without hesitation.
His movements were too fast and too hasty; Tang Ning couldn't keep up and they got separated.
Yuming wanted to go back to look for it, but thinking that this area was a relatively safe place, he went to Fengxiang Street first.
He arrived just in time, because if he had been any later, the Tang family's gate would have been smashed open by the mob outside. Yu Ming quickly fought off those people and escorted Tang Yin and the others outside.
Because Yuming was skilled in martial arts, he was quickly spotted as he walked, and someone raised a pistol and pointed it at his back.
Tang Ning, who happened to be there, saw it first. The woman, who had lost her memory and whose heart and eyes were only for the little Taoist priest Yuming, grabbed the man without thinking. The man was furious and pulled out a dagger and stabbed her in the stomach, but she refused to let go.
Seeing this, the man began stabbing wildly with his knife. Blood kept gushing from Tang Ning's stomach, but she clung tightly to the man's leg, refusing to let him go. In the end, she successfully bought time for Yu Ming and the others to escape.
She was dying, and on her deathbed, Tang Ning regained all her lost memories. She even remembered that one night after she finished singing, she was riding in a rickshaw when she found a frozen little Taoist priest in blue clothes by the roadside. She took him to the hospital, registered him, and took care of him all night. When he finally recovered, she was worried that he would be left unattended because she had to go to work, so she took him home. But when she returned that night, the little Taoist priest was long gone.
If she's not mistaken...
Before she could finish thinking about what would happen next, Tang Ning's consciousness immediately plunged into darkness, and she died alone in the dirty alley.
Soon, Yu Ming and the Tang family encountered Lu Chen's team that had returned to rescue them. After watching them leave, he took the opportunity to come back to find Tang Ning, but unfortunately, she was already dead. Where could he find her?
After Yu Ming returned empty-handed, he caught up with Lu Shen and the others.
From this point on, war broke out in earnest.
Tang Yin joined the Red Cross and became a nurse, while Lu Chen went to fight in the war.
Yes, Tang Yin eventually learned about the relationship between Lu Chen and Tang Ning. Because Tang Ning was unwilling to accept him from beginning to end, she finally nodded and agreed to marry him when he was shot and on the verge of death. They became husband and wife amidst everyone's blessings. Yu Ming remembered her kindness and always stayed by Tang Yin's side to protect her.
Xu Sinian was sickly and frail. In the second year of the war, knowing that his days were numbered, he committed suicide together with the enemy.
Later reports about these individuals were mostly positive and praising.
Aside from Tang Ning, even a century later, people still relish her scandalous affairs and speculate about the true father of the child she miscarried...
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