Liu's hands drooped limply, their knuckles clacking against the iron bars. She seemed to see Shen Weiwan in the ancestral hall again, in front of the clan elders and the housekeeper, throwing a thick stack of account books in front of her. Every embezzled amount was remembered clearly, even the details of how she had tricked Shen Weiwan into handing over the storeroom key. Those tricks she had thought were flawless, in front of the reborn Shen Weiwan, seemed as ridiculous as children playing house.
"Bang—"
The iron door was pushed open again, and this time the neatly dressed Chun Tao walked in. She was holding a lunch box, her face expressionless, with only a hint of subtle contempt hidden deep in her eyes.
"Madam Liu," Chuntao's voice was clear, yet piercingly cold, "My young lady, remembering your past kindness, specially asked me to bring you something."
Liu glared at him with red eyes, like a wounded beast: "What tricks does Chen Weiwan want to play again? Is it false mercy?"
Chuntao placed the food box on the ground and lifted the lid, revealing two bright yellow steamed buns and a small dish of black pickles. She said calmly, "Young lady, you said this was the 'thrifty meal' you specifically instructed the kitchen to send her when your wife passed away. Now that it's been returned to its rightful owner, I hope you enjoy it."
Liu's eyes were fixed on the two steamed buns, and the memories of ten years ago suddenly flooded back like a tide. At that time, Shen Weiwan's biological mother had just passed away. She deliberately asked the kitchen to stop eating meat in Shen Weiwan's courtyard, and only sent such steamed buns and pickles every day. She also took Shen Weiwan's hand and said hypocritically: "Wanwan, your mother is gone. We orphans and widows have to live frugally and can't let outsiders gossip..."
"Bitch!" Liu rushed over, knocking the food box to the ground, and the steamed bread rolled into the dirty water in the corner. She screamed like crazy, "Chen Weiwan! Do you think you can get revenge on me like this? Even if I become a ghost, I will not let you two go! I will curse you to live a life worse than death--!"
Chuntao took two unhurried steps back, brushed the dust off her sleeves, and sneered, "Madam Liu, you'd better save your energy. My mistress said that after you've been in prison for ten years, she will personally prepare a cart and take you to the mass grave to 'rest'. If you torture yourself to death now, wouldn't that be too easy for you?"
Watching Chuntao turn and leave, listening to the clang of the iron door locking again, Liu suddenly collapsed to the ground and burst into hysterical laughter. That laughter, filled with despair and unwillingness, echoed in the empty cell with a particularly poignant tone. She finally understood that from the moment Shen Weiwan was reborn, the fate of her and her daughter had been completely rewritten by an invisible hand. The foolish girl who had once been manipulated by her was now a sharp blade hanging over their heads, shattering their hopes and dignity bit by bit.
Meanwhile, in the Moon-Lan Pavilion on the west side of the General's Mansion, Chen Weiwan sat on the waterside bench, slowly peeling a bunch of purple grapes. The golden glow of the setting sun shone through the carved window lattices onto her, casting a warm edge on her moon-white skirt. Chuntao trotted across the veranda, her skirt picking up a breeze.
"Miss," Chuntao stood still, panting, a look of uncertainty on her face, "Liu is making a scene in prison, banging her head against the wall, crying out for justice, and even saying she wants to see the Emperor."
Shen Weiwan popped a plump grape into her mouth, the sweet juice blooming on her tongue. She raised her eyes lazily, the corners of her eyes slightly raised. "Let her make trouble. The emperor is busy with all sorts of affairs. If he could see a prisoner like her, he wouldn't have ordered the confiscation of the general's household supplies in the first place."
Chun Tao hesitated for a moment and whispered, "But no matter what, she is still your aunt..."
"Aunt?" Chen Weiwan smiled softly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes, carrying a hint of cold sarcasm. "In my previous life, when she tricked me into handing over the warehouse key and then pushed me to that lame Li Xiu, did she ever even consider the slightest bit of kinship? Chuntao, go to the front yard accounting office and make another copy of the account books that Liu used to withhold military pay. Send them to the Dali Temple tomorrow morning."
"Yes," Chuntao agreed, then remembered something and couldn't help but say, "By the way, Miss, the guard who escorted Miss Shen Er to the ancestral temple said that she hit the wall while on the way, but she was stopped in time and survived."
Shen Weiwan paused as she peeled the grapes, raised her eyebrows, and said, "It would be a blessing for her if she died. Send a message to the abbot of Jingxin Temple, saying that I have ordered that Shen Ruorou be given three meals of boiled cabbage in plain water every day. When she realizes her sins, she can have another bowl of brown rice."
Chun Tao burst out laughing. "Young lady, this trick is really amazing. Miss Chen is very particular about food and clothing, even choosing seasonal desserts. Now she must cultivate her character in front of the ancient Buddha."
Chen Weiwan tilted her head and smiled, a cunning glint in her eyes. "That's just the beginning. Chuntao, go ahead and tell everyone in the capital to invite all the famous embroiderers to come to the mansion. Tell them that I want to personally select the silk thread and embroider a few sets of coarse cloth clothes for 'Laywoman Shen' of Jingxin Temple, who can wear them all year round. I want her to sincerely repent for the sins of the first half of her life before the Buddha."
Chuntao smiled and withdrew, leaving Shen Weiwan sitting alone in the porch. The last rays of sunset sank into the distant rooftops, stretching her shadow very long. She looked at the ripples gradually forming on the water, and thought back to that snowy night in her previous life when she was falsely accused of adultery and beaten to death at the corner gate of the general's mansion. The last thing she saw before her death was Liu and Shen Ruorou standing in the porch, draped in precious fox furs, watching her with indifference as she breathed her last, like a dead dog.
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