Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Li Zhaodi took the money pouch, took out three coins, and returned the pouch to Zhou Runsheng. Zhou Runsheng's hand trembled slightly as he held it. Meng Yingying saw this and thought he was just an innocent young man.
Zhou Xiuqi and Meng Yingying sat to one side eating tofu pudding. She sat a little closer to Zhou Runsheng and whispered, "My confidant, may I ask your surname?"
Like her, Zhou Runsheng answered quietly, "My surname is Zhou, and my given name is Runsheng, which means 'to nourish things silently'."
Meng Yingying also said, "Taoist, Meng Yuan."
Zhou Xiuqi ate slowly and quietly, watching the two of them without making a sound.
Zhou Runsheng nodded, and Meng Yingying asked, "Brother Runsheng, do you have feelings for her?"
Zhou Runsheng hurriedly denied it: "Zhao Di and I are just...just ordinary friends."
Meng Yingying pointed out, "I am a Taoist priest, and I can read faces. Your face is full of hearts, which clearly shows your intentions."
Zhou Runsheng stood up: "I, I have something to do, so I'll take my leave first." He walked away in a hurry, and Meng Yingying watched his hurried departure and laughed: "That's really true."
Li Zhaodi watched his departing figure, then lowered her head to prepare the tofu pudding.
After finishing their tofu pudding, Zhou Xiuqi looked at her, and Meng Yingying asked, "Senior brother, where are we going?"
Zhou Xiuqi remained unmoved, her brow furrowing slightly as she said in a conciliatory tone, "Wait for me outside?"
Meng Yingying: "Can't I go with you?"
Zhou Xiuqi, unable to bear it any longer, said, "I feel uncomfortable with you following me."
Meng Yingying pretended to rub her eyes: "We've been following you for so long, what's there to be uncomfortable about?"
Zhou Xiuqi raised his hand to stop her from saying anything more: "Fine."
So Meng Yingying naturally followed him. Her current understanding of this world was only in her mind. If she wanted to survive, she would have to hone her skills and see more of what this world was like.
Meng Yingying asked, "Where to?"
"Let's go to Cuixiang Pavilion." Zhou Xiuqi walked at his own pace, his long legs leading the way. Meng Yingying could barely keep up with him, no matter how hard she tried. Zhou Xiuqi glanced at her and slowed down a bit: "There are many interesting stories in Cuixiang Pavilion."
Meng Yingying quickly understood what he meant by the interesting story.
At Cuixiang Pavilion, amidst the singing and dancing, several women swayed their hips, leading a handsome man. The man waved a fan from his chest and swaggered onto the stage. Amidst shouts from below, the man covered half his face, blinked his peach blossom eyes, and exclaimed with surprise, "So many people?"
Hearing this, the woman beside him covered her face and laughed, saying, "Young master, you're already more popular than all the storytellers in our building."
"Congratulations, Hualiu."
The man glanced at her and said, "Sister Hua Liu, please stop teasing me."
Upon hearing this, the woman named Hua Liu smiled even more broadly: "How could I dare?"
The man walked up step by step, sat down at the table, and glanced around. His gaze fell on the two women in pink and white in the far corner. The pink-clad girl wore a wooden hairpin in her hair, looking fresh and refined. She was a bit thin, but her appearance was unusually beautiful and lovely. The man beside her was dressed in neat white robes, not even a single strand of hair was out of place when he raised his cup. There was also an impressive sword beside him. Both of them were wearing Taoist robes.
He covered his face and smiled. The Taoist priest had also come to listen to the story. Was his fame really that great?
"Senior brother, that storyteller is watching us," Meng Yingying said in a muffled voice.
Zhou Xiuqi indifferently blew on the hot tea, then calmly covered his lips: "It's alright."
Meng Yingying picked up a raisin and stuffed it into her mouth: "Senior brother, can we order some food? I'm hungry."
Zhou Xiuqi put down his cup and said slowly, "I have no money."
Meng Yingying was stunned. Was this something a male protagonist should say? With your righteous and upright demeanor, Meng Yingying, who had no money, had no choice but to shut up.
Just then, the storyteller on stage coughed and said with a smile, "I never thought I'd have such a packed house."
"I'm sure everyone will find today's story interesting."
His voice was melodious and rhythmic, prompting people to ask him more questions. Someone shouted for him to speak quickly, but the man shook his head and said, "Don't rush me."
"At this beautiful time of year, when the sun is at its zenith, there was a couple, the man surnamed Wang and the woman surnamed Shen. Shen was born into a humble family, while Wang was the only son of a wealthy man, a pampered young master who was spoiled by his parents. The two fell in love and after a year, Shen gave birth to two daughters. Wang's mother was extremely dissatisfied with Shen, believing that she had not given birth to a son for the family, which was a shameful thing."
After Shen gave birth to her daughter, Wang's mother, Chen, would beat and scold her every day. In winter, she wouldn't let her use hot water, and in summer, she would make her wash clothes outside. Wang was unaware of all this, as he was busy preparing for the spring examinations the following year. Shen was tormented to the point that she finally fell ill. Only then did Wang rush to care for his wife. However, Shen was completely heartbroken and thought Wang was a heartless and ungrateful person. So she refused to see him and refused to see him. Little did she know that Wang was completely unaware of everything.
Shen was locked in the cold woodshed, unattended, coughing incessantly all day long. Just when she felt she was about to die, Chen rushed over, handed her a hot water bottle, fed her some medicine, and spoke to Shen with tears in her eyes.
“Mrs. Shen, I have wronged you in the past. Now it is your turn to repay me. I hope you will not blame me.”
Shen was still out of sorts, and she was no match for Chen. The blade cut her hands and feet, severing her limbs, but she did not die. Blood stained the entire bed, and Chen's hands were burning hot.
A person walked in from outside, followed by someone carrying a huge urn. The person praised Chen Shi, saying, "With such a demeanor, my lady will surely reward you handsomely." Shen Shi, barely breathing, turned her head away. Chen Shi trembled, not daring to look at her, repeatedly saying, "Yes, yes." Shen Shi's mouth opened and closed, but Chen Shi didn't hear it. The person's clothes were made of unusual material, clearly indicating a wealthy and noble person. The people put her into the urn and carried her back in a sedan chair. Shen Shi, made to look like this, shed tears of blood, her heart full of resentment with nowhere to vent it.
After an unknown amount of time, Madam Shen was brought into the mansion and placed on a high altar. With barely any strength, she spoke, "You treat human life like dirt! Aren't you afraid? Aren't you afraid of retribution?!" she shouted angrily.
But the man just smiled, watching her struggle: "Human life? Some people are born with a silver spoon in their mouth. If you want to report to the authorities, go ahead. Even if you can crawl out, it won't do any good. Power is a knife. Whoever has the knife can kill, and whoever doesn't has the fate of being slaughtered."
After that day, Shen lived a life of chaos and confusion. She couldn't figure out what these people wanted to do. Every day, someone would bring her strange potions and force her to drink them. After drinking the potions, Shen found that she was no longer hungry, sleepy, or even needed to sleep. She couldn't even count the days on her fingers. Until one day, the door was kicked open. Shen closed her eyes and heard the sound of a hairpin swaying before she even got close. The person walked lightly, not with dignity, but with a kind of contempt.
Shen opened her eyes. Having been deprived of light for so long, she had to strain to see the person's face against the light. She stared wide-eyed. She recognized the woman; it was the General's wife, Gu Cuiying. Gu Cuiying stopped a foot away. Her appearance was striking, frail and aloof. Even from a distance, one would want to rush forward to help her. Gu Cuiying slowly revealed a gentle smile, which sent a chill down Shen's spine. She straightened her clothes, sat down, and looked at Gu Cuiying, saying, "We are both women with tragic fates. You should know how tormented and frustrated a woman in a noble family must be without a son to rely on."
"You can endure such humiliation, but I, Gu Cuiying, cannot. I climbed to my current position step by step for wealth and status. To me, a man's true feelings are nothing but fleeting illusions."
As she spoke, Gu Cuiying looked her up and down again: "My sister is just as stupid as you, enduring everything for a man, but what kind of ending does she get in the end?" Gu Cuiying was dismissive, showing a sharpness that was different from her appearance.
Shen gritted her teeth and said, "I have no grudge against you, why did you torture me into this state!"
Gu Cuiying: "We have no grudges against each other, but you are the final blow that will help me rise to power."
Shen didn't understand: "I have nothing, how can I be what you call a knife?"
Gu Cuiying's delicate fingernails lightly traced the pearwood table: "I still need a son. A few days ago, I learned a method. As long as you find a woman born in the lunar calendar at the yin hour, and she is not yet twenty, make her into an altar, worship her, and kneel and pray to her every day, you can pray for a son. It is always effective. You were born in the lunar calendar at the yin hour, and you married into the Wang family at sixteen. You are only seventeen this year."
“It couldn’t be better.” She chuckled, leaving fine scratches on the pear wood.
Gu Cuiying stood up: "Don't worry, no one in the Wang family dares to touch your two daughters." After saying that, she turned to leave. Shen Shi closed her eyes again. What did it matter if she harbored resentment in her heart? What did it matter if she treated human life like dirt? What could she do to her?
Gu Cuiying naturally understood her thoughts: in this mansion, if one wasn't ruthless, she would be the one to die.
Many days later, Gu Cuiying sat at the dining table, facing the fish and meat in front of her, and suddenly sobbed, "Why is the fish so fishy today?"
Upon hearing this, the serving maids exchanged glances. The maid beside her seemed to understand better: "Madam, could it be that you're pregnant?" She hesitated, but Gu Cuiying's face lit up with joy: "Really? Really?"
The head maid smiled and said, "Quickly, fetch a doctor!"
The old woman sat upright in the main seat. Upon hearing the words, she looked at Gu Cuiying, who blushed but couldn't suppress the smile on her face. The old woman smiled and nodded, unable to hide her own smile either.
The doctor arrived quickly and confirmed that she was pregnant. In an instant, the whole mansion was filled with joy. The old lady of the general hugged Gu Cuiying and said, "Cuying, our general's mansion is so lucky to have you. Your sister has been married into our family for ten years and has not given birth to a son. You are so promising!"
Gu Cuiying remained silent, but smiled gently, appearing overjoyed.
Lower your eyes to hide the hatred that is about to overflow from them, and laugh, laugh as much as you can while you can.
Late at night, in the main house, Gu Cuiying watched the person beside her fall asleep, put on her clothes, quietly walked out the door, and went to another ancestral hall. The ancestral hall was filled with red light. She gently knelt down, kowtowed three times, and then slowly straightened up.
"You got what you wanted, my two daughters..." The voice above was hoarse and terrifying, accompanied by the cracking sound of bones.
Gu Cuiying raised her chin slightly: "What I want isn't a child; I want his General's Mansion wiped out." She composed herself, her expression hardening, and said to Madam Shen:
"However, I have taken both of your daughters out of the Wang family and sent them to my private estate, where they will enjoy endless wealth and luxury."
Madam Shen: "Why do you harbor such resentment towards the General's family? They have treated you well."
Upon hearing this, Gu Cuiying turned around, her eyes flashing with anger: "Not stingy?" She laughed loudly.
"Do you have the right to say that? As expected, a woman like you only deserves to stay in this dark world, never able to lift her head, kneeling and worshipping at the feet of men." After saying that, Gu Cuiying left and slammed the door shut.
Shen closed her eyes. If she could, who wouldn't want to take revenge quickly and decisively? But she didn't have the confidence, while Gu Cuiying did. Although her current predicament wasn't entirely her own fault, it was also due to her cowardice.
The door was suddenly pushed open, so Gu Cuiying turned back. A downpour started outside: "Shen, you've been holding back for so long, don't you want to have some fun?"
In the empty ancestral hall, Gu Cuiying's voice was strong and clear. Shen looked at Gu Cuiying, puzzled, and asked, "What are you going to do?"
Gu Cuiying let the rain soak her exquisite makeup and hair, her gaze turning cold: "I've thought of a way to help you get revenge and get away unscathed."
Shen: "Help me?"
Gu Cuiying: "Answer me, do you hate it?"
Shen remained silent, and Gu Cuiying waited patiently for her reply.
Madam Shen: "I hate it, I hate the royal power, I hate my own cowardice, I hate it! How could I not hate it!"
After a long silence, Gu Cuiying cut her wrist, walked quickly to her, and dripped the blood onto Shen's face. Gu Cuiying said, "Weng Zhongxian, please think of me and exchange my spirit for yours."
"Immortal in the Jar, please grant me your wish, exchange my spirit for mine."
Suddenly, Shen's eyes rolled back and swelled, as if trying to burst out of their sockets. Shen let out a piercing scream of pain. Gu Cuiying put her wrist to her mouth, and Shen pounced on it like a hungry wolf, biting down on her wrist.
Gu Cuiying rapidly deteriorated, while Shen Shi became increasingly energetic. The bones in the urn cracked and popped, and a hand reached out from it, pushing Gu Cuiying's shriveled skull aside. The urn burst open, and a naked person stepped out from the shards, letting out a sinister laugh: "The summoning technique that no one has dared to use for hundreds of years has now been used by two women."
"Don't worry, I won't leave a single one behind."
With a deafening roar, Weng Xian crawled out of Gu Cuiying's belly and scratched at her skin, drawing blood.
The child wasn't breathing or crying; he just stared at her with his eyes open. Weng Xian held him in her arms and walked out step by step.
Amidst thunder and rain, inside the main house, the man inexplicably opened his eyes, coughed twice, and sat up from the bed. A dark shadow flashed behind him, and when he looked back, Weng Xian was floating in the air in front of him, holding his skull in his hand. With a forceful lift, the skull fell to the ground without a sound, and the child devoured it. Weng Xian cackled, "The first one."
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