A Dream Within a Dream (Part 3)
Third generation:
In the long, winding river of reincarnation, the gears of fate quietly turn.
In the old world, social hierarchy was strictly enforced, and marriage was often seen as a crucial link for family continuity and the exchange of benefits. Due to the considerations of the Xu family matriarch and the Xu family head and his wife, Lin Shi, of humble origins, did not have a future with Xu Xinghao, the young master of the main family, simply because they were childhood sweethearts. She neither returned to the familiar yet unfamiliar Xu family as their principal wife, nor did she condescend to become Xu Xinghao's concubine, being brought into the Xu family through a side gate. Fate pushed her onto a completely different life trajectory: Lin Shi, as a servant girl born into the Xu family, was treated as an adopted daughter and married as the principal wife to a wealthy young master from Tanjia Village.
When Lin Shi first entered the Tan family, she still harbored some hopes for her future life. The young master of the Tan family was handsome and elegant, from a wealthy family, with ornately decorated mansions and a large retinue of servants. When she and the young master of the Tan family first got married, because of her outstanding appearance and gentle nature, the two of them enjoyed a period of blissful life together.
But as the days passed, especially after the passing of Tan Gongzi's parents, his true colors began to show, and Lin Shi gradually saw through him. It turned out that this Tan Gongzi was a complete wastrel, indulging in a life of debauchery. He frequented brothels, mingling with various beauties, completely disregarding his wife's feelings. His family's wealth was squandered like water: lavish banquets followed one after another, the tables piled high with delicacies, all solely to satisfy his endless vanity and desires.
What pained Lin Shi even more was that her husband was not only a spendthrift but also had severe violent tendencies. At the slightest provocation, he would beat her. Her body was often covered in bruises, old wounds barely healed before new ones appeared. Each time she was beaten and verbally abused, she could only silently endure it, swallowing her tears. For the sake of her two children, she repeatedly chose to endure, hoping her husband would change his ways. But all she received in return was even more escalating abuse.
"Get out of here..." Every time Lin Shi tried to gently dissuade her husband from going out, she was met with angry shouts and punches and kicks. As time went on, she stopped trying to stop Tan Gongzi from going out. Instead, she would stand in the corner and watch the increasingly overweight and ugly man dress in fine clothes, plunder every penny of the family's wealth, and then happily go out to squander it.
In this family environment, Lin Shi's life descended into an endless abyss of darkness. She was exhausted every day, burdened with heavy housework and caring for her young children. The two children, too young to understand, only knew to cling to their mother for warmth and security. Looking into their innocent eyes, Lin Shi felt as if her heart was being torn apart. She knew this life couldn't continue; otherwise, her children would be destroyed by this twisted family.
Unfortunately, good fortune did not favor Lin Shi. Due to her husband's long-term extravagance, her family's wealth gradually dwindled, and countless creditors came knocking at their door demanding repayment. Faced with enormous debts, the Tan family's young master was helpless, only thinking of his own pleasure, and even planned to sell Lin Shi and her children to pay off the debts. When this news struck Lin Shi like a bolt from the blue, her heart was filled with despair and fear. She knew that if she and her two children were sold to another family, an even more tragic fate awaited them.
Lin Shi humbly took her two young children to the Xu family for help, but the Xu family sent her and the children back to the Tan family on the grounds that "it is a family matter of the Tan family and they cannot interfere." Because of Lin Shi's plea for help, her husband deliberately came home drunk and beat her and the children severely.
With no other options, Lin Shi secretly prepared a potent drug and slipped it into the only meat dish on the table—the very dish her selfish husband was enjoying all to himself. Soon, the fat, bloated man collapsed beside the table, vomiting blood and bulging eyes, while his wife and children stood by, watching indifferently as his breath gradually faded away.
Even though Lin Shi's husband had died, she and her children had no way to survive. So, before news of her husband's death spread, and before the Tan family's creditors came to collect their debts, Lin Shi took her two young children and left home.
It was an ordinary, bleak day in late autumn. The autumn wind howled across the river, rippling its surface. Lin Shi, holding a child in each hand, gazed at the surging Qiupu River, her eyes revealing a resolute yet helpless expression. Tears blurred her vision. She knew this was her final choice. Rather than let her children suffer in the future, she would end their painful lives together. So, she gritted her teeth and, with her children in tow, slowly walked into the river, step by step venturing into the icy depths. The water rose above their ankles, knees, waists… until it completely submerged them.
And so, the third life of the mortal Lin Shi came to an end in sorrow and despair.
However, the power of reincarnation did not cease. When this life ended, the cultivator Lin Shi was quickly pulled into the scene of the mortal Lin Shi's fourth life by that mysterious and powerful force. A new life was about to begin; what fate awaited her? No one knew, only the endless path of reincarnation stretched ahead…
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