Everyone was shocked and hurriedly carried Xia Yun to the bed. Jin Shi threw herself over Xia Yun, weeping as if her heart would break, and said, "My child, if anything happens to you, it will 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're just trying to kill me!"
Jin Shi 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, and spat in Second Sister-in-Law Xia's face, cursing, "It's all because of you black-hearted, ignorant women!"
Meanwhile, Jin Shi had plopped down on the ground, wailing at the top of her lungs, "Oh heavens! You're blind! Just when our luck was about to turn, we've been schemed against by that treacherous, seductive little slut from the Chen Family! May she be struck by lightning and burn, that bewitching, 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, rushed out after her.
Third Sister Xia found it all amusing. Biting her finger, she leaned against the doorframe and giggled. The laughter made Xia Yun's head throb. With all his strength, he threw a teacup at her. It hit the doorframe with a "clang" and shattered to pieces. Third Sister Xia was frightened and scurried away in a panic.
Meanwhile, Jin Shi dashed to the entrance of the Chen Family's residence, pounding on the door and shouting wildly. Before long, an old woman sent by Lin Jinlou came to answer the door and blocked Jin Shi from entering. Jin Shi threw a tantrum, spewing vulgarities. Second Sister-in-Law Xia arrived and tried to pull Jin Shi away, but she couldn't calm her down no matter what. Xianglan, hearing the commotion from inside the house, quietly sent a servant to report the incident to the authorities and instructed the old woman to close the door and pay no attention.
Soon enough, two constables from the authorities arrived. Without a word, they arrested Jin Shi and Second Sister-in-Law Xia, took them to the county court, and gave each of them twenty strokes of the rod, breaking both their legs before allowing the Xia Family to come and retrieve them. Jin Shi was terrified out of her wits. Already advanced in years and with her bones injured, she passed away the very night she was carried home.
The Xia Family was shrouded in gloom. Xia Yun's father was indecisive, and his two older brothers were simple farmers with little insight. With Jin Shi gone and Xia Yun bedridden, the Xia Family was left without a leader. Meanwhile, Second Sister-in-Law Xia, being robust, managed to survive. 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 extreme poverty for years. He offended the Lin Family, and perhaps his life is ruined forever. We need to be shrewd and not suffer along with him."
Second Brother Xia, who was cut from the same cloth as his wife, hurriedly asked, "What do you have in mind?"
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 handle the funeral. Buy a cheap coffin and arrange for candles and paper offerings. Fifteen taels should be more than enough. Secretly pocket twenty taels for ourselves, and we'll keep the money for our own use."Second Brother Xia thought this plan was excellent, but hesitated, "Just now Third Brother was still insisting on returning the silver to the Chen Family... Father agreed too, saying if we plead earnestly, perhaps the Chen Family might soften their hearts and restore Third Brother's scholarly rank."
Second Sister-in-law Xia spat contemptuously, "Nonsense! Once silver is received, how can it be returned? Did I endure this beating for nothing? Just do as I say. Isn't there still that little slut called Yindie in the household? If we're short on silver, have Uncle sell Yindie to repay the debt!"
After the couple conspired in secret, Second Brother Xia went to request silver for Madam Jin's funeral arrangements. With no savings in the household, Xia Yun had no choice but to 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 submit to his second brother and sister-in-law's schemes. Worried that failing to return the silver to the Chen Family would bring greater calamity, he agonized over solutions until Second Brother Xia persuaded him to sell Yindie.
Xia Yun had initially cherished Yindie due to the Lin Family's gift of a maidservant, admiring her beauty as well. But now, faced with these circumstances, what little affection remained vanished completely, and he immediately nodded in agreement.
Second Brother Xia promptly went to find a human trafficker. After inquiring with several dealers, they found that as Yindie was a woman who had lost her virtue, respectable families wanted nothing to do with her, while middle-class households couldn't offer high prices. Only one brothel was willing to pay one hundred taels of silver, and after haggling, added another ten taels. Being inherently ruthless and greedy, Second Brother Xia knew Xia Yun was kind-hearted and soft, so he deceived him, claiming Yindie would be sold to a wealthy family.
Meanwhile, Yindie had her own calculations. Seeing that Xia Yun had lost his scholarly rank and the large Xia family relied solely on a few meager fields for survival, they were heading toward utter destitution. Moreover, everyone in the household was domineering and difficult to deal with, with many filthy, unspeakable flaws. Since Xia Yun lost his official position, the family had treated her with nothing but beatings, abuse, and harsh words, leaving her without a single good day. Having never experienced hardship or poverty since childhood and having grown up in the luxurious Lin Family, Yindie looked down upon the Xia Family with contempt. Upon hearing that Xia Yun intended to sell her, though anxious, she felt somewhat secretly pleased. If the buyer was willing to pay a high price to acquire her as a maid or concubine, she could return to a life of luxury and fine clothing. Though reluctant to part with Xia Yun's youthful handsomeness and affectionate nature, the thought of the coarse rice and poor meals she endured daily made these virtues vanish like distant clouds.
Thus, when Second Brother Xia coaxed her, saying, "A wealthy landowner from the countryside wants to buy you as a concubine. Pack your things quickly and go live a life of luxury. Why stay here and suffer poverty with us?"
Yindie immediately gathered her belongings, entered the room, and kowtowed to Xia Yun. Kneeling on the floor with tearful eyes, she said, "Though I am reluctant to leave you, sir, the family has encountered great misfortune and needs silver. Second Brother selling me can bring in a few taels to help us get by."
Xia Yun, still recovering from his head injury and now afflicted with new ailments, lay in bed. Hearing Yindie's words, his heart softened a little, thinking that after all their shared affection, selling her like this was indeed heartless. But when he turned to look, he saw Yindie dressed in her finest pink silk embroidered with peonies and butterflies, a peach-red threaded gauze skirt that accentuated her slender waist, her hair meticulously styled and adorned with two or three pearl and jade hairpins. Her face was heavily made up, radiant and glamorous, showing no trace of reluctant farewell but rather an eagerness to depart.Xia Yun was so furious her head spun again. Thinking how everything had started because of this girl, she sneered coldly: "I only hope you'll climb to a higher branch and become some rich man's concubine! I wonder if he'll mind picking up worn shoes of mine!"
This left Yindie flushed crimson with humiliation. Resentment burned in her heart, yet she dared not retort for fear of angering Xia Yun further and being sold into some unspeakable place. Swallowing her shame, she withdrew.
Second Brother Xia led Yindie out the door and immediately changed his expression, grinning viciously: "You cheap slut! A sold slave still dares dress more elegantly than your mistress?" So saying, he snatched Yindie's bundle and stripped all the hairpins and ornaments from her hair.
Yindie cried out in alarm and tried to grab them back, but Second Brother Xia kicked her hard in the abdomen, cursing: "Wasteful wretch! Beating you is letting you off easy!"
Gritting her teeth against the pain, Yindie struggled up to reclaim her belongings. Second Brother Xia seized her by the hair and raised his hand to strike, when suddenly someone tutted: "Tsk tsk, that won't do! If you damage her face, how will she receive guests?" It was Gao Erbao, the brothel attendant from Yicui Pavilion, sauntering over.
Second Brother Xia immediately lowered his hand, his face breaking into an ingratiating smile as he bowed to greet Gao Erbao. The latter looked Yindie up and down, satisfied with what he saw, then paid the silver on the spot and took Yindie away. Second Brother Xia pocketed thirty taels for himself before handing the remainder to Xia Yun, who took sixty taels to repay the Chen Family. Of this, no more need be said.
When Yindie learned she had been sold to a brothel, she turned pale with horror. She wept, screamed, and hurled abuse incessantly until the madam grew angry. After a thorough thrashing with a cane and two meals withheld, Yindie quieted down. Seeing Yindie's pretty face, the madam tried teaching her to read and play music, but Yindie proved utterly inept at these skills. Despite long instruction, she learned nothing, though her glib tongue could flatter—yet she completely lacked the ability to read people's moods.
Unable to train her properly, the madam realized Yindie would never acquire refined graces and simply put her up for business. Certain Yindie wouldn't comply willingly, she drugged Yindie's wine and sold her to a wealthy merchant. Yindie remained fully conscious but completely paralyzed, and afterward wept uncontrollably.
The madam said: "Good girl, earn some silver while you're young—you'll have something to rely on when you're old. Spreading your legs brings gleaming silver, far more reliable than men's hollow affections."
Presently, the merchant sent over five taels of silver, saying it was for Yindie's rouge and powder, and promised to deliver several sets of gold-woven clothing later. The madam grinned from ear to ear, immediately promoting Yindie to a fine suite and assigning her two young maids. The next day, the merchant sent thirty taels to book Yindie for the night. Though Yindie loathed the merchant for his age and stench, she coveted his silver. Moreover, he sent two fine bolts of cloth from a silk shop for her to make clothes, along with a large box of famous pastries and wines delivered by his servant. Everyone in the brothel grew envious. For a moment, Yindie felt such prominence and prestige surpassed even what she'd experienced in the Lin household. She fell silent and thenceforth engaged in the flesh trade.Month after month, one patron would book her services, another would stay the night. As springs passed and autumns came, there were initially men willing to redeem Yindie from her plight. Yet she would either scorn one for his poverty or disdain another for offering her an undignified status. Unaware of her fading beauty with age, she suddenly realized that those still willing to redeem her were precisely the ones she utterly despised, fueling her growing resentment. After two more winters, she contracted a filthy disease, her body festering with unceasing pus.
The madam, repulsed by Yindie's stench and filth, drove her from her room and confined her to the lowest brothel, where only peddlers and laborers would pay a pittance for her company. Gradually, even these men ceased to come. One day, Yindie was seized by relentless abdominal pain, yet no one summoned a physician. By the time she was discovered, she had long died—her eyes wide open, as if accusing some unknown foe, her corpse already crawling with maggots. They wrapped her in a straw mat and hastily buried her without ceremony.
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