Blood-Red Skirt - Liu Qianqian
My name is Liu Qianqian. The Jingxian Jiaofang (a type of brothel) was once my prison, but also my battlefield.
I can't remember what my hometown looks like anymore. I only remember my mother fainting on the doorstep when the matchmaker dragged me away. In the brothel, beauty was the only asset, and also a death warrant. I've seen too many women fade away like fleeting flowers, and I'm not reconciled to that fate.
When I was sixteen, a portly salt merchant took a liking to me, and the nanny forced me to serve him. I resisted fiercely, so they locked me in the woodshed. In the darkness, I felt for a shard of broken porcelain, the cold blade pressed against my warm wrist. Pain, excruciating pain, blood gushed out, staining half my sleeve red. But I laughed. The nanny scolded me for being crazy, and the salt merchant, finding it unlucky, turned and left.
This scar is a mark I branded myself. I used it to preserve the last vestige of purity.
Later, I met Zhou Lang. He wasn't anyone remarkable, just a widowed silk merchant, honest and kind, but he treated me with genuine sincerity. He redeemed me from my servitude and married me properly. Although I was only a merchant's wife, I was content. I thought that after a life of wandering, I had finally reached shore.
We left Jing County and went to Jiangnan. Life was simple, but peaceful. Zhou Lang managed the business, and I learned to manage the household affairs. In my spare time, I watched him fiddling with the abacus, listened to his stories of business, and watched the small bridges and flowing water outside the window, listening to the soft Wu dialect. Those were the happiest years of my life. As for Qingxing, I redeemed her from her servitude early on and kept her by my side, hoping she wouldn't follow in my footsteps.
Until that day, Zhou Lang returned excitedly, saying he wanted to expand his business to Chang'an. He said there were more opportunities there and he wanted to give me a better life. My heart skipped a beat. Chang'an… that place teeming with powerful and wealthy people—I instinctively resisted it. But looking into the light in Zhou Lang's eyes, I swallowed my words of dissuasion.
We arrived in Chang'an and organized the goods for storage.
The change came too quickly.
That morning, a group of officials suddenly burst into our temporary courtyard. Without a word, they rushed into the storeroom and found several packets of smuggled salt among the silks from Jiangnan. Zhou Lang was immediately arrested on the spot for trafficking smuggled salt—a capital offense!
I was completely stunned. We personally checked and packed all the silk in the warehouse; how could there be smuggled salt?
I ran around frantically, pleading for help, but to no avail. Money flowed out like water, leaving no trace. Those "friends" who used to call me brother now avoided me like the plague. I finally understood that before the truly powerful and wealthy, we commoners were nothing but ants.
With no other options, I thought of Xuanji. I knew I shouldn't drag her down with me; she must be struggling in the Li household too. But who else could I turn to besides her?
When I saw the mystery, I almost collapsed. She promised to ask her for me. I clung to her like a last straw and returned to the inn, praying day and night.
What awaited me was Li Yi's "expedient measure." He made me "voluntarily" submit to Vice Minister Xu in exchange for Zhou Yu's life. Every word was like a knife, stripping away my last shred of dignity.
The final straw that broke my back was that letter of divorce.
When the servant handed it to me, I could hardly recognize the signature on it as Zhou Lang's. "Liu Shi is unworthy, bringing disaster upon herself and her husband's family. From this day forward, we part ways amicably and have nothing to do with each other."
Hahahaha... What a fine example of "Liu's lack of virtue"! What a fine example of "parting ways amicably"!
I ran for him, I sacrificed my dignity for him, and I almost succumbed to that beast! All I got in return was his betrayal!
At that moment, my heart died. All my attachment and expectations for this world, along with that laughable bond between husband and wife, turned to ashes.
Since this world won't let me live, since everything I cherish has been shattered, what is there left for me to fear?
Minister Xu...didn't you want me? Alright, I'll come.
I carefully washed and dressed, putting on my most vibrant pomegranate-red silk skirt, drawing my eyebrows and applying lipstick, as if going to a grand feast. I carefully polished the exquisite gold hairpin that he had admired when he coveted me on a stone, the tip gleaming with a cold, vengeful light.
I was brought into the Xu residence. Seeing that I had finally "come to my senses," he was smug and dismissed his attendants. Inside, red candles burned brightly, and the air reeked of alcohol. His obese body pressed against me, his face contorted with a repulsive grime.
Now!
With all my might, I plunged the sharpened gold hairpin into his neck!
Warm blood splattered all over my face and body. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, making strange hissing noises like a slaughtered pig.
"You beast! Let's die together!" I shouted frantically, wanting to stab again, but the guards who rushed in after hearing the noise held me down tightly.
They beat me, kicked me, and threw me into a dark cell. I didn't care at all; looking at the dried, blackened bloodstains on my prison uniform, I felt only a sense of satisfaction!
When Xuanji came to see me, I was already at my last gasp. Seeing her tears and anxiety for me, I felt a sliver of warmth in my heart, but mostly a resolute resolve. I told her about Qingxing's whereabouts and warned her to be careful of Li Yi.
"Go, live your life well." That was my final blessing to her. This filthy quagmire, I'll be the only one to sink into it.
The days in prison were dark and long. The physical torture was nothing compared to the devastation in my heart. I knew I wouldn't live to see any "justice." There is no justice in this world.
That's fine.
I took out a bamboo strip that I had secretly hidden and sharpened to an even higher point, and with my last bit of strength, I stabbed it into my throat.
Pain struck, blood gushed out, and life was rapidly lost along with its warmth.
Through my blurred vision, I seemed to see again the misty rain of Jiangnan, Zhou Lang's honest smile, Xuanji's scheming eyes, and Qingxing's sneaky eating.
If there is an afterlife, I wish to remain untouched by worldly affairs, free from wolves and jackals, and simply be a wild grass, growing freely and flourishing and withering as it pleases in a corner unknown to anyone.
The crimson hue is the last and most vibrant color I leave for this heartless world.
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