After detoxifying the man lying on the ground, before dawn, Shen Huaixu returned to the carriage and took out a jar of glutinous rice wine and two cushions. She also called Shuangjiang to join her and left Xiaoman on standby.
She brought Wu Li to a relatively flat stone, placed a cushion on it, and sat cross-legged. Wu Li had difficulty seeing, so he could only grope his way slowly to sit on the cushion.
Chen Huaixu poured a cup of glutinous rice wine for himself and Wu Li respectively. Wu Li couldn't help but curl his lips at the sweet aroma of the wine, "The county lady is in a very elegant mood."
Hearing this familiar name, Shen Huaixu was not surprised.
The wind in the forest was a little chilly. She took the two cloaks that Shuangjiang handed her, threw one to Wu Li, and put one on herself before saying, "I hate to put myself in a difficult position. Wouldn't it be nice to have a drink while the night is beautiful? Unfortunately, your body probably can't handle alcohol."
Wu Li said nothing. He carefully put on his cloak and whispered, "Thank you."
She picked up the cup and took a sip of glutinous rice wine. The familiar taste reminded her of some things in her childhood. She was in a trance for a moment and put the glass down.
She should have gotten straight to the point, but for some reason, she suddenly felt like talking to someone.
Feeling a little dizzy, she lowered her head and said, "You must have heard that the eldest princess Wei Nishang was raised in the royal courtyard for more than ten years, and only returned to Xiangyi City two or three years ago."
Shen Huaixu nodded: "I know."
"The first time I saw her, she was dressed in men's clothes, riding a horse. Although she was thin, her face was as bright as the moon. She rode past me on the bridge, but suddenly turned around and called me, saying in a smooth voice that I was beautiful.
I seldom come into contact with men, and I didn't notice anything wrong with her at the time. I just thought she was a playboy who came from nowhere and came to Xiangyi City without knowing the appearance and name of the witch.
I wanted to ignore her, but she chased me all the way, chattering all the way, which was very annoying. She said she was new here and that she had run away from home disguised as a man... Later, we met by chance in the palace, and I learned that she was the eldest princess Wei Nishang.
I treated her respectfully as the eldest princess, but she always loved to cling to me. When I asked her about it, she just said that we hit it off right away. I have always been cautious and didn't take such words seriously. But she seemed not to feel that I was not affectionate towards her, and still came close to me...
Wu Li looked extremely calm when she said this, as if the other protagonist in the story was not the one who caused her illness. Chen Huaixu only nodded occasionally and responded from time to time, acting as a qualified listener.
"As a witch, few people approach me. They say witches cannot be desecrated, but that's not true. They are more afraid of the witches' poisons and poisons. Wei Nishang was the first person to treat me as an ordinary person. Perhaps it was because I had been suppressed for too long, and my family also needed me to interact more with the eldest princess, so my relationship with her gradually became closer.
She's a very strange person and always says strange things when we're alone.
She asked why women couldn't stand in men's position and look down on the world. She said she wanted to improve the status of women. Her ambition was obvious. I thought it was outrageous, but I also longed for the Nanxia Kingdom where she said women had less hardships. Later, I discovered the peculiarity in her, was ecstatic, and agreed to work for her.
There must be some sisterhood involved, but what really made me make up my mind was that I wanted to struggle out of the quagmire and break out of the cage that the Wu family had built for the witch, simply because... I loved someone."
She gently exhaled the anger in her heart, her eyes gradually turning into a terrifying black color. "She sent me to the southwest of Dajin to mine fluorescent stone for her. She knew the danger of that thing from the beginning, so she gave me a black robe, saying that as long as I put it on, I would not be affected.
She lied to me. After I came back from that village, my body started to feel abnormal. At first the symptoms were mild and I didn't take it seriously, but gradually the abnormalities became so severe that I couldn't ignore them.
I didn't know the cause of the illness. Later, after hearing about the miserable conditions of the villagers, I realized that she had approached me in the first place because of the identity of a shrine maiden.
It doesn't matter who the witch is. Even if I'm gone, there's still the next one. When her power grows, those fence-sitters in the Wu family will naturally offer her a witch who is more loyal than me.
But I was too stupid and stepped into a trap full of sharp knives, losing half my life.
I tried to expose her evil ambitions, but she threatened to kill her lover. I could only hang on, using all my life's knowledge to keep myself alive—I couldn't kill her, but it was okay to annoy her. As long as I didn't die, they couldn't push the younger generation into the position of miko.
A twisted smile appeared on her face, hidden beneath the black veil. "You're right. I should thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have witnessed her suffering a fate worse than death. You know it was me who injured her in the fluorescent stone explosion. It's great that he's still alive, I'm still alive, and she's alive too."
The last sentence was a bit confusing, but Shen Huaixu understood it.
There is a world of difference between hearing something from someone else and hearing it from the person involved.
She put down her wine glass and said seriously, "As a woman, as a witch who is the center of everyone's attention, you have the awareness to resist, which is very rare. You are very powerful. Most people in the world can't do what you do. I admire you very much."
The twisted smile under the black veil disappeared. Wu Li bit the flesh on her cheek, and a faint smell of blood raged on the tip of her tongue. She tried hard to open her eyes. She wanted to see Shen Huaixu's face, to see if she was speaking sarcastically and mocking her, mocking her stupidity, and mocking her for not knowing her own limitations.
Too bad she couldn't see anything.
"Resistance will lead to conflict, and in serious cases, there will be casualties, either on your side or the enemy. Unfortunately, your resistance has failed, but it's not your fault. I understand exactly what you're facing and how much courage it takes."
There was another silence, which seemed to be the norm between the two. Shen Huaixu didn't mind and just sat with her quietly.
"What you just said is very similar to the Wei Nishang I first met." Wu Li lowered his eyes and whispered, "In the past, I could still be used, but you, you have already told me what you want."
Chen Huaixu blinked, "Do you think I'm saying this for some other purpose?"
Wu Li raised her eyes hastily, but felt her efforts were in vain. Her back became more hunched. "No, it's just, it's very strange."
"There's nothing strange about it. I just said what I wanted to say. Just listen to it and don't take it too seriously. Now, tell me what you want to know, right?"
***
"Who exactly is Wei Nishang?"
Chen Huaixu thought for a moment and said, "Do you know about reincarnation? The body of Wei Nishang is no longer the Wei Nishang who was imprisoned in the other courtyard before. It's like there is wine in a glass, and someone pours out the wine and replaces it with water. As long as no one gets close, no one will know it is water.
Wei Nishang is the original wine, and the counterfeit that returned to Xiangyi City is water."
"Does this really exist in the world?" Wu Li murmured softly, then asked, "Then where do all those strange things on her come from?"
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