Yuxi sat on the ground, feeling lost. She had managed to hold on for the past half month, believing everything would be fine once she returned to the capital. But now both the Duke Residence and the Jiang family had publicly announced her death. What was the point in continuing to hold on? Even if she survived today by going through this disaster, what would she do in the future? She was already dead in the eyes of the world. There was no place for her in this vast world anymore.
As they walked away, the man in the pea-green clothing finally spoke up, "Brother, why did you say those things to her? Do you really believe she is Da Nainai1 Jiang?" In truth, he was beginning to believe it a little. Although this woman had an unpleasant smell about her, her behaviour and demeanour didn't resemble that of a rustic village woman.
The man with the square face turned his head and looked at the woman sitting on the ground, who had already fallen into a daze. Shaking his head, he said, "Whether we believe it or not doesn't matter anymore." Given the current circumstances, the truth was irrelevant.
Upon hearing this, the man in green clothing knew for sure that the woman was indeed a young miss of the Duke Residence. He also became curious. "Speaking of which, why was Da Nainai1 Jiang sent to a rural estate?" She wouldn't be in such a miserable state if she were still in the capital.
The square-faced man replied, "She was sent to the countryside because she plotted against the family heir. It happened a year and a half ago." This matter had caused quite a stir at the time, and many people in the capital had heard about it.
The sympathy on the green-clothed man's face vanished instantly, leaving behind a strong feeling of disgust. It was astonishing that a woman could harm innocent children like that. "Such a wicked woman deserves to die."
The square-faced man shook his head. "The affairs of wealthy households cannot be explained in a few words. The waters run deep in this matter!" Seeing that the man in green still wanted to ask more, he continued, "Let's continue on our way. Knowing too much about these things won't do you any good." It was enough to discuss them briefly as gossip; delving deeper would serve no purpose.
The man in green understood and stopped asking further questions.
At some point, a light drizzle began to fall. The raindrops landed on Yuxi's face, cold and chilling her to the core.
Yuxi stood up and staggered back to the thatched hut. Unfortunately, the hut could keep out the wind but not the rain. Rainwater seeped in through the cracks in the roof.
Yuxi curled up in a corner without moving, staring blankly at the water droplets gathering on the roof and dripping onto her body. She couldn't understand how she had ended up in such a situation. Although she had lost her mother at a young age, her grandmother and father didn't favour her, and her stepmother wasn't a kind person, she had lived a relatively comfortable life in the Han family under the protection of her Eldest Aunt. When she reached marriageable age, her Eldest Aunt helped her find a husband by choosing a nephew from her maternal side.
She had met her Eldest Aunt's nephew before. His looks and talents weren't exceptional, but she was satisfied because he had a kind and generous personality. Moreover, his future mother-in-law treated her kindly as well. The Qiu family and the Duke's residence were considered a good match, so the marriage arrangement was decent, and her grandmother and father had no objections. At the crucial moment when the two families were about to finalise the engagement, Jiang Hongjin came to propose to her.
Jiang Hongjin was a renowned, talented scholar in the capital city, handsome and charming. It was said that his temperament was also very gentle, making him the most desirable man among the young ladies of the capital. Unfortunately, she was not one of those who admired him. Though she wasn't clever, she knew that she and Jiang Hongjin were worlds apart, completely mismatched. His proposal must have had a hidden motive. Knowing that he had ulterior motives, how could she be willing to marry him?
Her father knew she was unwilling to marry and threw a white silk cloth at her and said, "Either marry or die; choose one of the two paths."
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She didn't want to die, so she chose marriage. Her intuition was soon proved right when Jiang Hongjin didn't enter the bridal chamber on their wedding night. The humiliation of the groom refusing to consummate the marriage on the wedding night was a great shame, and she became the laughingstock of the Jiang family.
The cold glances from her mother-in-law, the teasing of her xiaogu2, the mockery from her zhouli3, and the disdain from the servants made her life in the Jiang family extremely difficult. For six years, she was tormented by the people of the Jiang family, enduring their sneers and ridicule. No matter how much hardship and suffering she endured, Jiang Hongjin never said a word to her, as if she were not his wife but an invisible person.
One day, unable to bear it any longer, she stormed into the study and confronted Jiang Hongjin, demanding to know why he had married her and ruined her life. If not for him, she would have married into the Qiu family and lived peacefully as a wife and mother. But Jiang Hongjin simply looked down at her, offered no explanation, and ordered his page to drive her out of the study.
Ironically, after six years of marriage, she remained a virgin while one of the maids attending to Jiang Hongjin was pregnant. Even more ridiculous was the fact that when that maid lost her child, the Jiang family people falsely accused Yuxi of being responsible.
She didn't plead innocence or defend herself. She only begged for a divorce. She would rather go to a nunnery, even if it meant spending her life as a blue lamp in front of Buddha4 than stay in the Jiang household. However, Jiang Hongjin refused to issue a divorce letter and instead sent her to a country estate.
For more than a year in the countryside, she had the most peaceful days she had ever experienced during her time with the Jiang family. Unfortunately, she didn't expect the estate to be raided by bandits in broad daylight. After a near-death experience and enduring countless hardships, she managed to escape back to the capital, but she hadn't expected this would be the outcome.
Her body grew colder and colder, and each blink of her eyes felt heavier than the last. Her breathing became increasingly difficult, and Yuxi feared she might not make it through the night.
Yuxi murmured, "Jiang Hongjin, what is the meaning of all this?" Why did he want to marry her? Why did he treat her as an invisible person after marrying her? Why would he rather send her to the countryside than write a divorce letter? Why? Why did all this happen? Now that she was dying, she would never know the answers. Even in death, she would remain a confused ghost.
At that moment, she heard someone shout loudly, "Another person has died here. Take her out and burn her with the others who died earlier." In the refugee camp, the deceased were burned directly to prevent the spread of disease caused by decomposing bodies.
When Yuxi heard this, she whispered, "I don't want to be burned." She wasn't afraid of death, but she didn't want her body to be consumed by the fire, leaving no trace of her existence.
The person handling the bodies sensed Yuxi move slightly, made a surprised sound and said, "Boss Cang, this woman isn't completely dead yet." To say that she wasn't completely dead meant that she still had some breath left.
Boss Cang glanced at Yuxi and replied, "Just burn her." The corpses were disposed of once a day. If they didn't take care of her now, they would have to wait until tomorrow to do so, and what if something went wrong in the meantime? With thousands of people in the refugee camp, they couldn't afford to be careless.
Pain, intense pain, finally forced Yuxi to open her eyes. She saw a blaze in front of her, and her eyes radiated an unprecedented hatred. "Jiang Hongjin, if there is a next life, I vow to destroy you completely."
Footnotes Full List
- da=eldest, nainai=young mistress of a family
- younger sister-in-law
- brother's wives; sisters-in-law
- the life of a solitary Buddhist monk or nun
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The Rebirth of Han Yuxi