Wang Daxia was shocked by Chen Jingji's choice. He had always thought of Chen Jingji as a stingy, greedy, smooth-talking market agent who repeatedly curried favor with Li Jiubao and Wei Caiwei to facilitate future business dealings. But upon hearing that Chen Jingji had severed his romantic ties for Li Jiubao's sake, he silently cursed himself for being blind in the past, mistaking a good person for a villain.
Wang Daxia relayed Chen Jingji's plea to Wei Caiwei, "...I promised him I'd find a way to get him into the palace and try to arrange for him to study at the Directorate of Ceremonial's Inner Study Hall. Even as a eunuch, only through education can one rise above others."
Wei Caiwei thought to herself that in her previous life, she had never heard of Chen Jingji. However, when Li Jiubao was enfeoffed as Consort Li, she had secretly asked Wang Daxia to investigate the whereabouts of a certain Liu—formerly the owner of a gambling den in the capital. This man had fled after being involved in a murder case, taking his family's assets with him, and no one knew where he had gone into hiding.
At that time, Wang Daxia was in the Eastern Depot and had many informants. He eventually tracked down news of the gambling den owner in his hometown—the belief in returning to one's roots runs deep in our people's bones. Although the man had changed his name, he had returned to his hometown to purchase a burial plot.
Following the trail, Wang Daxia found him in Hangzhou.
Consort Li ordered Wang Daxia to castrate the man and make him suffer through the night before letting him die.
Wang Daxia carried out Consort Li's command without question, though he didn't understand why she harbored such hatred for a gambling den owner that she would subject him to such cruel punishment. He mentioned this to Wei Caiwei.
Wei Caiwei said, "The less one knows about the affairs of nobles, the better. The more you know, the sooner you die—don't dig too deep. Those who run gambling dens are heartless, greedy scoundrels. Countless families have been destroyed, shedding tears and blood because of them. The gambling den owner deserved to die. Besides, I've heard that Consort Li's father, Li Wei, had a gambling addiction. Perhaps there was some conflict between the Li family and the gambling den back then, and Consort Li was seeking revenge..."
Recalling events from her past life, Wei Caiwei had always thought the gambling den owner had some grudge against Consort Li's gambling-addicted father Li Wei. But now, thinking back, it wasn't because of Li Wei—it was because of Chen Jingji.
Consort Li's peculiar act of revenge—insisting that Wang Daxia castrate the man and make him suffer all night—finally made sense: in her previous life, Chen Jingji had died from severe injuries after being trampled by a horseshoe while protecting her.
Because in that previous life, Wei Caiwei hadn't been recommended by Lu Bing and never had the chance to take the palace female physician examination at the Directorate of Ceremonial. She wouldn't have happened to pass by Shichahai on her way home, nor would she have had medicinal supplies with her to treat wounds. There was no Wang Daxia to deliver ice free of charge every hour to reduce the fever of the severely injured Chen Jingji and prevent wound infection.
So in that previous life, Chen Jingji died at Shichahai—without medical treatment, without anyone to save him.
That's why Consort Li wanted Wang Daxia to castrate the gambling den owner and make him suffer through the night before dying. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Because these were exactly the sufferings her childhood sweetheart Chen Jingji had endured.
So in this reborn life, I haven't only changed my own and Wang Daxia's fates. In the future, I'll also change Lu Ying's fate of being widowed young and becoming a Buddhist nun. And unintentionally, I've changed Chen Jingji's fate too.
He was originally supposed to die from excessive bleeding and infected wounds—but Wang Daxia and I saved him. Yet now he wants to enter the palace as a eunuch, walking the path Wang Daxia took in the previous life.
In the previous life, Chen Jingji and Li Jiubao were separated by death. In this life, they're separated by life.Parting in life and death—it turned out they were destined to experience the greatest sorrows of this world across two lifetimes.
In this life, the Northern City Military Command had already sent seven hoodlums to the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen to serve prison sentences. Upon hearing that Young Master Wang had intervened, the gambling den owner—who had initially hoped to acquire a delicate beauty as a concubine—never expected to kick an iron board. Who could have known these paupers from Machang Alley were connected to Wang Daxia, one of the Four Pests of the North City!
Wang Daxia’s notorious reputation made the owner dare not provoke him. The next day, he shut down the gambling den, gathered his wealth, and fled without a trace.
With the main culprit missing, Magistrate Wang Niqiu of Shuntian Prefecture hurried to close the case. He sentenced the seven hoodlums to fifty lashes and exile.
Wang Daxia sighed over Chen Jingji’s sacrifice—becoming a eunuch for love, distancing himself from his beloved. He seethed with hatred for the gambling den owner. "Wang Niqiu of Shuntian Prefecture can’t be bothered to investigate further. I’ve already used my connections with the Embroidered Uniform Guard to track this scoundrel to his hometown. I swear I’ll capture the murderer. Chen Jingji can’t be left ruined like this, and his grandmother didn’t die in vain. Hmph, the monk may run away, but the temple remains."
For the gambling den owner to cross paths with Wang Daxia in two consecutive lifetimes was fate indeed—this time, he would surely be caught earlier. Wei Caiwei had absolute faith in Wang Daxia’s ability to find people. "You will definitely catch the culprit. However, though Chen Jingji has been castrated, he isn’t necessarily ruined. He still has a future ahead of him."
Ah, Eunuch Wang, in your past life you despised nothing more than people calling eunuchs worthless.
Wang Daxia scratched his head. "I understand. I won’t say such things again. Though Chen Jingji has lost that... he’s a true man. To make Li Jiubao give up on him, he willingly became a palace eunuch. Li Jiubao is admirable too—knowing he could never... she even threatened suicide to force her father to consent to the marriage. They clearly love each other deeply, yet they’re forever separated. Ah, this damned world!"
Watching Wang Daxia lament the doomed love between Chen Jingji and Li Jiubao, Wei Caiwei thought: Chen Jingji entered the palace for Li Jiubao, while I gave up entering the palace for you. To love someone is to always consider their well-being.
Her heart stirred as she gazed at the still-naive Wang Daxia. "What is love in this world? It makes life and death meaningless. Most couples flee when disaster strikes; few stand by each other. Yet fate plays cruel tricks—lovers are torn apart, separated by heaven itself."
In her past life, seeing Wang Daxia lying in his coffin, parting from him in death, her heart shattered. Overwhelming grief crushed her, stealing her breath.
The moment the coffin lid closed, darkness swallowed her vision. She collapsed against the coffin, and when she awoke, she found herself reborn at seventeen.
Now she realized—that darkness had been death itself.
A life without Wang Daxia was a life she refused to live alone.
This was love that transcended life and death...
Even Wang Daxia, with his thick nerves, could sense Wei Caiwei’s sorrow. He waved a hand before her eyes. "What unhappy thought is troubling you?"
It wasn’t unhappiness—only unresolved feelings from a past life. I was reborn for love, to find you again in your carefree youth.
For a fleeting moment, Wei Caiwei impulsively wanted to confess everything. But Wang Daxia, so terrified of ghosts, would likely lose his mind hearing such a tale.Sometimes it felt blissful to carry the emotions from her past life alone, like secretly nibbling on candy under the blankets as a child. When exhausted or disappointed, she would take them out to savor privately, and they would fill her with strength.
But at other times, Wei Caiwei would feel sorrowful and overwhelmed, as she did now.
She longed to hold him as she had in her previous life, leaning against his shoulder, curling up in his embrace in the most comfortable position.
He was a eunuch without roots, unlike ordinary men who could easily relieve their desires.
She kissed him, caressed him, whispered sweet nothings in his ear, and even explored another way for a man to relieve his desires—drawing from medical knowledge of acupoints and organ structures, as well as from risqué illustrated books sold in market stalls about male couples. Without roots, she could still help him soar to the heavens and release his pent-up urges.
Wang Daxia was good to her. Externally, he could shield her body from poison arrows; internally, he was skilled and clever in bringing her joy in the bedchamber. Truly, he was capable both in the public sphere and in private life.
And wasn’t she the same? Though Wang Daxia had started out by relying on her support—initially a relationship where the woman was stronger—later, their love became equal. She gave just as much, dying for love and being reborn for it.
In truth, the depth of our feelings was no less than that of Chen Jingji and Li Jiubao.
Seeing that she hadn’t responded, Wang Daxia grew worried and boldly touched her forehead with the back of his hand. “Are you sick? Strange, you don’t have a fever.”
Wei Caiwei finally snapped out of her reverie and said, “Hurry up and grow up.” How could a fourteen-year-old like you bear the weight of a lifetime of love?
Wang Daxia didn’t understand. He puffed out his chest, trying hard to act like an adult. “I’m not little at all! Don’t look down on me for being young. I’m already fourteen, and I’ll be fifteen after the New Year!”
After a moment’s thought, Wang Daxia added, “Now that I think of it, I still don’t know how old you are.”
If she added her age from her previous life, telling him would probably give him a shock!
Nourished by love, Wei Caiwei’s heart had never aged. So without a hint of guilt, she said, “I’m seventeen. I’ll be eighteen in the autumn.”
“Well—” Wang Daxia said insincerely, “that’s not considered old.”
Wei Caiwei replied, “It’s not old, just three years older than you, that’s all.”
Feeling embarrassed about his youth, Wang Daxia didn’t want to continue discussing age and changed the subject. “I’ll go ask Lord Lu for help in pulling some strings. He recommended you to become a palace female physician; getting Chen Jingji into the palace as a eunuch should be just as easy for him. It’d be best if he could study at the Inner Study Hall of the Directorate of Ceremonial.”
Wang Daxia was a man of action, especially when it came to important matters. He first went to find his father, Wang Commander. “Father, I’ve been in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for two months now, and thanks to Lord Lu’s guidance and care, I’ve improved rapidly. I’d like to properly thank him.”
Wang Commander thought it made sense. “Even rotten wood can become a pillar—we really should thank him properly.”
Wang Daxia choked back a retort. He didn’t understand why his father was always like this, even when something good happened, seizing every chance to put him down. He had never received positive feedback or encouragement—it was as if he weren’t a son but an enemy.
But since Wang Daxia needed his father’s help now, he didn’t dare say more. “What’s the use of just empty words? We need to offer something tangible. Giving money is too vulgar, and Lord Lu would look down on it. Do we have any antiques or calligraphy and paintings by famous artists at home? I’ll use them to curry favor.”Wang Commander spared no expense when it came to his son's future. He gave Wang Daxia a painting from his private collection. "This isn't an antique—it's a work by Tang Bohu from the Chenghua era. Tang Bohu only passed away in the second year of Jiajing's reign, so it's merely thirty-seven years old. But I've heard Lord Lu greatly admires Tang Bohu and owns several of his paintings. He'll surely appreciate this."
Wang Daxia unrolled it to reveal an ink wash painting titled "Autumn Breeze and Silk Fan." It depicted a beautiful woman holding a silk fan in a desolate autumn courtyard, lost in thought before a cluster of slender bamboo. An accompanying poem read:
With autumn here, the silk fan should be stored away,
Why does the fair lady grieve so deeply?
Observe the ways of the world in detail,
For most chase after warmth and shun the cold.
Wang Daxia asked, "Father, this isn't a forgery, is it? Don't get me into trouble."
"Impossible," Wang Commander replied. "This has been passed down from your great-grandfather's generation. Your great-grandfather personally bought this painting from Tang Bohu himself. How could it be fake? With your judgment, could you even tell the difference anyway?"
Having family heritage truly made a difference. Wang Daxia rolled up the painting and said, "It's just that the poem seems too simple—even I understood it at a glance. It doesn't seem profound at all. But since Great-grandfather personally acquired it, it must be genuine."
"You—" Wang Commander was nearly infuriated by his son. "Don't speak nonsense when you've read so little. Poetry that's clear and easy to understand is precisely what's rare. You're truly embarrassing."
Author's Note: As for the method Caiwei taught herself... well, you all know what I mean...
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