Everyone was shocked and hurriedly carried Xia Yun to the bed. Madam Jin threw herself over Xia Yun, weeping as if her heart would break, crying, "My child, if anything happens to you, it would be the death of me!"
Xia Yun gasped for breath and said, "I studied hard for over ten years, and the official rank I worked so hard to obtain has been ruined by all of you. You... you might as well take my life!"
Madam Jin and Second Sister-in-law Xia stared wide-eyed at each other for a long while. Second Sister-in-law Xia licked her lips and cautiously asked, "Brother-in-law, has your official rank really been... been..."
Xia Yun flew into a rage, struggling to sit up. He spat directly at Second Sister-in-law Xia and scolded, "It's all because of you black-hearted, ignorant women!"
Meanwhile, Madam Jin had plopped down on the ground, wailing at the top of her lungs, "Heavens above! You're blind! Just when our luck was about to turn, we've been tricked by that treacherous little slut from the Chen family! May she be struck by lightning, that seductive, low-class whore! Now I'm going to risk my old life and fight her to the death!" She scrambled to her feet, pushed aside the people standing at the door, and ran outside.
The people in the room were momentarily stunned. Xia Yun was the first to regain his senses and roared, "Stop her! Quickly!"
Second Sister-in-law Xia, as if waking from a dream, chased after her.
Third Sister Xia found it all amusing. Leaning against the doorframe and biting her finger, she giggled. The laughter made Xia Yun's head throb with pain. Using all his strength, he threw a teacup at her. With a "clang," it hit the doorframe and shattered to pieces. Third Sister Xia was startled and scurried away in a hurry.
Meanwhile, Madam Jin dashed to the Chen family's doorstep, pounding on the door and shouting wildly. Before long, the old woman sent by Lin Jinlou came to answer the door and blocked Madam Jin at the entrance. Madam Jin threw a tantrum, spewing vulgarities. Second Sister-in-law Xia arrived and tried to pull her back but couldn't persuade her to stop. Xianglan, hearing the commotion from her room, quietly sent the servant boy to report the incident to the Government Office and instructed the old woman to close the door and pay no attention.
Soon enough, two constables from the Government Office arrived. Without a word, they arrested Madam Jin and Second Sister-in-law Xia, took them to the county jail, and gave each twenty strokes of the rod, breaking both their legs. Only then were they released to the Xia family to take home. Madam Jin was terrified out of her wits. Already advanced in years and with broken bones, she passed away that very Night after being carried home.
The Xia family was shrouded in gloom. Xia Yun's father was indecisive, and his two older brothers were simple-minded farmers. With Madam Jin gone and Xia Yun bedridden, the Xia family was left without a leader. Ironically, Second Sister-in-law Xia, being robust, survived the ordeal. She called her husband to her side and whispered, "Now that Brother-in-law's official rank has been revoked, who knows how many years it will take for him to rise again? We might have to endure poverty for years. He offended the Lin Family, and perhaps his life is ruined. We must be careful not to suffer along with him."
Second Brother Xia, being cut from the same cloth as his wife, hurriedly asked, "What do you suggest?"
Second Sister-in-law Xia said, "Didn't the Chen family give us sixty taels of silver? Now that Mother is dead, you take the silver to arrange the funeral. Buy a cheap coffin, candles, and paper offerings. Fifteen taels should be more than enough. Secretly pocket an extra twenty taels for ourselves."Second Brother Xia thought this plan was excellent, yet hesitated: "Just now Xiao San'er was clamoring to return the silver to the Chen Family... Father agreed too, saying if we plead earnestly, perhaps the Chen Family might soften their hearts and restore Xiao San'er's scholarly rank."
Second Sister-in-law Xia spat contemptuously: "Nonsense! Once silver is accepted, how can it be returned? Did I endure this beating for nothing? Just do as I say. Isn't there that little slut called Yin Die in the household? If we run out of silver, have Uncle sell Yin Die to pay debts!"
After the couple finished their secret discussion, Second Brother Xia went to request silver for Madam Jin's funeral arrangements. As the family had little savings, Xia Yun could only produce forty taels of silver. Following the plan, Second Brother Xia used fifteen taels for the funeral, secretly kept twenty taels for himself, and returned the remaining five taels to Xia Yun. Bedridden with illness, Xia Yun remained unaware of these manipulations and had to comply with his second brother and sister-in-law's arrangements. Worried that failing to return the silver to the Chen Family would bring greater calamity, yet unable to devise a solution after much deliberation, he ultimately yielded to his second brother's persuasion to sell Yin Die.
Xia Yun had initially cherished Yin Die due to the Lin Family's gift of a servant girl, admiring her beauty as well. But with this situation arising, what little affection he had previously felt vanished like flowing water, and he immediately nodded in agreement.
Second Brother Xia promptly sought out human traffickers. After inquiring with several dealers, they found that as Yin Die was a deflowered woman, wealthy families completely disdained her, middle-class families couldn't offer high prices, and only one brothel was willing to pay one hundred taels of silver. After bargaining, they added another ten taels. Being inherently ruthless and greedy, Second Brother Xia knew Xia Yun was kind-hearted and soft, so he deceived him by claiming Yin Die would be sold to a wealthy family.
Now Yin Die had her own calculations. Witnessing Xia Yun's loss of scholarly rank and the large Xia family relying merely on a few meager fields for survival, she saw they were heading toward utter destitution. Moreover, everyone in the household was domineering and difficult to deal with, with numerous filthy, unspeakable flaws. Since Xia Yun lost his official position, the family members had subjected her to nothing but beatings, abuse, and vicious words, without a single good day. Having never experienced hardship or poverty since childhood, and having grown up in the wealthy Lin Family, Yin Die held the Xia Family in utter contempt. Hearing that Xia Yun intended to sell her, though anxious, she felt some secret delight - if the buyer was willing to pay a high price to acquire her as a maid or concubine, she could return to a life dressed in finery and eating delicacies. Though reluctant to part with Xia Yun's youthful handsomeness and affectionate nature, whenever she thought of the coarse rice and rotten meals she ate daily, these advantages completely evaporated like distant clouds.
Therefore, when Second Brother Xia coaxed her: "A wealthy rural landowner wants to buy you as his concubine. Quickly pack your things to go live in luxury - why stay here suffering poverty with us?"
Yin Die immediately gathered her belongings. Entering the room to kowtow to Xia Yun, she knelt on the ground with tearful eyes and said: "Though reluctant to leave you, sir, the family has encountered great misfortune and needs silver. Second Brother selling me can still exchange for some taels to sustain our livelihood."
Xia Yun, whose head injury hadn't healed and had developed new symptoms, lay in bed listening to Yin Die's words. His heart softened somewhat, secretly thinking that after all their shared intimacy, selling her like this was truly heartless. But when he turned his head, he saw Yin Die wearing her best pink silk embroidered with peonies and butterflies, a peach-red threaded gauze skirt that accentuated her slender willow waist, her hair meticulously styled with two or three pearl and jade hairpins, her face heavily made up and extraordinarily gorgeous - bearing no resemblance to someone reluctantly parting, but clearly eager to leave immediately.Xia Yun felt another wave of dizziness from anger. Recalling how all her current troubles stemmed from this woman, she sneered coldly: "I only hope you'll climb to a higher branch—become some rich man's concubine! I wonder if he'd mind wearing secondhand shoes!"
This remark left Yin Die flushed with humiliation, her heart seething with resentment. Though she longed to retort, she feared provoking Xia Yun into selling her to some unsavory place, so she swallowed her shame and withdrew.
Once Second Brother Xia escorted Yin Die outside, his expression twisted into a vicious grin. "You cheap slut! A sold-off servant daring to dress finer than your mistress?" He snatched Yin Die's bundle and ripped all the hairpins and hair ornaments from her hair.
Yin Die cried out in alarm and lunged to reclaim them, but Second Brother Xia kicked her hard in the abdomen, cursing, "Wastrel! A beating is too good for you!"
Gritting through the pain, Yin Die struggled up to fight back, but Second Brother Xia seized her hair and raised his hand to strike. Suddenly, a voice interrupted: "Tsk, tsk, that won't do—how will she receive clients with a damaged face?" The brothel runner Gao Erbao from Yicui Pavilion sauntered over.
Second Brother Xia immediately lowered his hand, beaming obsequiously as he bowed to Gao Erbao. After looking Yin Die up and down with satisfaction, Gao Erbao paid the silver and took her away. Second Brother Xia pocketed thirty taels for himself before handing the remainder to Xia Yun, who used sixty taels to repay the Chen family—this is not to mention.
Upon learning she had been sold to a brothel, Yin Die turned pale with horror, weeping and cursing uncontrollably. The brothel madam grew furious, whipping her with a cane and denying her food for two meals until Yin Die finally submitted. Noting Yin Die's pretty face, the madam tried teaching her to read and play music, but Yin Die proved utterly inept, failing to learn after weeks of instruction. Though she had a glib tongue skilled at flattery, she completely lacked the ability to read people.
Unable to refine her, the madam acknowledged Yin Die's incapacity for elegance and simply put her up for business. Anticipating resistance, she drugged Yin Die's wine and sold her virginity to a wealthy merchant. Fully aware yet paralyzed, Yin Die could only weep helplessly afterward.
The madam consoled her: "Good girl, earn some silver while you're young—it'll be your security in old age. Spreading your legs brings real silver, far better than men's hollow affections."
The merchant soon sent a five-tael silver ingot as rouge and powder money, promising to deliver gold-woven dresses later. The madam grinned ear-to-ear, immediately promoting Yin Die to a fine suite and assigning two maidservants to her. The next day, the merchant paid thirty taels to book Yin Die overnight. Though repulsed by his age and odor, Yin Die coveted his silver—especially when he sent two bolts of fine cloth from a silk shop for tailoring, along with a large box of famous pastries and wines delivered by a servant boy. Envy swept through the brothel. For a moment, Yin Die felt this glamour and prestige surpassed even her days with the Lin Family, so she fell silent and embarked on her trade in flesh.Month after month, she was either kept by this patron or bedded by that one. As seasons turned, there had once been men willing to redeem Yin Die, but she always found fault—either disliking one for his poverty or despising another for offering her an undignified status. Before she knew it, youth and beauty faded, and when she finally awoke to reality, the only ones still willing to redeem her were those she utterly scorned. This fueled her growing resentment. After two more winters, she contracted a filthy disease, her body festering with incessant pus.
The brothel madam, disgusted by Yin Die’s stench and filth, drove her out of her room, forcing her to lodge in a low-class brothel where only peddlers and laborers would spend a little coin to stay. Gradually, even those men stopped coming. One day, Yin Die was seized by relentless abdominal pain, yet no one called for a physician. By the time someone noticed, she was already dead, her eyes wide open as if glaring at some unknown enemy, her body crawling with maggots. She was simply wrapped in a mat and hastily buried.
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