"Whаt's wrоng? Whаt's wrоng?" Zhоu Chujin scrаmblеd uр in а рanic, tightly еmbrаcing Zhou Shаojin, and саllеd оut lоudlу to the mаids, "Chixiang, Shi Xiang, light the lаmрs quicklу!" Thе rооm brightеned.
Zhоu Shаоjin sаw thе bloоd on her hand, hеr fаcе filled with horror, аnd she let оut a heаrt-wrеnсhing, hуstеriсаl screаm: "Вloоd, blооd, bloоd..."
"Shaоji, Shаojin." Chujin wаs sо frightenеd her voicе changed, "Dоn't bе аfraid, dоn't be afraid, уоur sistеr is herе! Yоur sistеr is hеrе!" Аs she sроke, shе alsо saw the blоod оn Shаоjin's hand. Shе hurriеdlу liftеd the blanket аnd saw a stain spreаding beneath Shаojin. Chujin sighеd in reliеf, hеr anхious heart settling, and she said with a mix of exasperation and amusement, "Alright, alright, it's nothing, it's nothing. It's just your monthly cycle!"
Is that really it?
Zhou Shaojin gazed at Chujin with fear and unease.
Chujin tapped her younger sister's forehead and smiled, "Would your sister lie to you? Look at you..." She shook her head with a smile, "Our Shaojin has grown up too!" By the end of her words, her tone was filled with deep emotion.
Shaojin didn't understand.
But Madam Fan Liu, who had rushed in wrapped in clothes and slippers upon hearing the commotion, knew.
"The second young lady is experiencing this for the first time!" she said with a smile, instructing Shi Xiang, "Go and make some brown sugar water for the second young lady right away!" She then turned and returned to her own room. Meanwhile, Chujin held her sister close and whispered explanations about some precautions into her ear.
But Shaojin was in a daze.
So, she had just been dreaming.
She hadn't gone back to the past.
Yet that dream had revealed the secret she had buried deep in her heart for ten years, a secret she dared not touch.
Back then, when the news of Cheng Lu and Wu Baozhang's engagement came out, it was utterly sudden. At that time, her elder sister was already married, and her grandmother and aunt were secretly helping her prepare for her own marriage. Not only the fourth branch, but even Cheng Jia's mother, Madam Jiang, was taken completely by surprise and had hurried over to verify the truth.
Her grandmother, such a strong-willed person, fell ill immediately.
Uncle Mian was so angry he cursed loudly, and Cheng Yi rolled up his sleeves, ready to confront Cheng Lu. It was Cheng Gao who stopped Cheng Yi: "What's done is done. Can we really force Cheng Lu to break off the engagement with the Wu family? Even if he wanted to break it off and marry Shaojin, don't think we would agree." He sneered, "We can only blame ourselves for misjudging people, mistaking a wolf in sheep's clothing for a gentleman. Shaojin still has to marry in the future. If you make a scene now, for Cheng Lu, it would just be a romantic scandal, but it could cost Shaojin her life. A gentleman's revenge can wait ten years. Just watch, if I don't deal with him, I won't bear the surname 'Cheng'." Her aunt also stopped Cheng Yi: "This matter was only a verbal agreement between our two families, with no exchange of tokens. It was originally our mistake. You must not cause a stir. If any rumors spread, it will only harm Shaojin." She also comforted her, "Let's just consider it as being bitten by a dog. In the future, Aunt will find you a better match than Cheng Lu, one that is harmonious and happy, and make that Cheng Lu regret it."
She couldn't accept it.
It wasn't as if she was clinging to Cheng Lu. Now that Cheng Lu had broken his promise and betrayed her, it had somehow become her fault. Not only that, but she had also dragged her grandmother, aunt, uncle, and cousins into disgrace along with her.Therefore, when her father wrote saying her stepmother would come to take her to his post, she refused to follow her stepmother to Baoding, stating, "My affairs are to be decided by my maternal grandmother."
Her stepmother dared not make the decision, wrote to her father, and temporarily stayed with the Cheng family.
Cheng Lu did not come, but Wu Baozhang did.
Wu Baozhang knelt before her, face full of shame: "This marriage was arranged by my stepmother. By the time I knew, both families had already settled the betrothal... If I had known beforehand, I would never have agreed no matter what..."
What Wu Baozhang thought, she simply did not care.
Cousin Gao was right—no matter what, their two families could not call off the engagement. Even if they did, she would not marry Cheng Lu anymore. She just wanted an explanation!
Cheng Jia invited her for a walk in the garden, saying she had something to tell her.
They walked to the small cave formed by piled Taihu stones beside the Water Pavilion. Cheng Jia mysteriously blinked at her and said, "Wait here, I have something good for you."
She waited in the cave for Cheng Jia to return.
But what came was a drunken Cheng Xu.
Zhou Shaojin trembled.
Shaking uncontrollably like a sieve, her teeth chattered, "clacking" incessantly.
"Shaoji, Shaojin." Zhou Chujin was so frightened she nearly cried out, once again pulling her sister into her arms, shouting at Madam Fan Liu, "Go quickly and fetch Eldest Aunt, go quickly and fetch Eldest Aunt!"
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Zhou Shaojin clung tightly to her sister, like a drowning person clutching a life-saving straw, greedily drawing warmth from Zhou Chujin. "I'm just cold, sister, hold me, hold me... Don't go call Eldest Aunt, it's too shameful... I'd rather die... Don't you dare call Eldest Aunt..."
"Alright, alright, alright. I won't call Eldest Aunt." Zhou Chujin's tears fell like rain. "I'll hold you, I'll hold you."
Zhou Shaojin insisted, demanding Zhou Chujin call Madam Fan Liu back.
Zhou Chujin nodded, signaling with her eyes to Madam Fan Liu.
Madam Fan Liu stood at the door.
Zhou Chujin held Zhou Shaojin tightly.
Zhou Shaojin leaned on her sister's shoulder and began to sob softly.
She seemed to hear Cheng Jia's scream and that incredulous voice: "What are you doing here? What are you doing? How could you do such a beastly thing! I'll tell my mother, no, I'll tell Eldest Aunt..."
Then, many people rushed over.
Someone helped her up, took her back to her bedroom, cleaned her body, changed her clothes, and tucked her into bed...
She drifted in a daze, unaware of day or night.
Afterward, she was helped to the hall.
Eldest Aunt and Madam Yuan were arguing there. Madam Yuan pointed at her nose, calling her lewd and wanton.
Later, her father rushed back, standing silently by her bedside, tears streaming down his face.
Eldest Uncle supported her grandmother as she entered, bending his knees as if to kneel, intending to apologize to her father.
Her father wordlessly helped her grandmother up, then walked out.
Thus, she became engaged to Cheng Xu.
Madam Yuan insisted on personally instructing her.
Her grandmother and Eldest Aunt disagreed.
Madam Yuan lifted her chin high, sneering coldly, "She is to be the matriarch of our Cheng family. You couldn't even manage a girl raised in the inner chambers, let alone the eldest grandson's wife who will oversee the household affairs?"
Her grandmother and Eldest Aunt were left speechless, faces flushed red.
"I'll go!" She stood up.
Eldest Aunt wiped her tears, helplessly helping her dress and prepare.Cheng Xu secretly watched her on her way to the main house.
Madam Yuan humiliated her in the side room of the upper house.
She even instructed the matron who accompanied her to look for a few clever and agile maids to serve as Cheng Xu’s concubines in the future, right in front of her.
Numbly kneeling in the side room, reciting the Admonitions for Women from memory, she let them do as they pleased.
But one day, when she inadvertently looked up, the disdain and contempt in the eyes of those maids and matrons pierced her heart like needles.
She suddenly woke up.
Feeling as if she had been trapped in a long, long dream.
Why should she live such a life?
What had she done wrong?
Why could Cheng Xu escape unscathed without any punishment, while she had to suffer here, condemned by everyone?
Where had her sister gone?
She must find her sister!
If her sister knew she was living such a life, she would surely help her!
She tucked all the gold and silver ingots from her chest into her bosom and, on a windy, moonless night, left the Cheng family and Jinling with her wet nurse, Madam Fan Liu.
Madam Fan Liu found a large cargo ship bound for the capital. The two hid in the ship’s hold, and she vomited all the way to the capital. However, when they reached Tongzhou, they encountered a fierce snowstorm and were stranded at a courier station. Madam Fan Liu pawned a gold bracelet passed down from the Fan family, enabling them to find the Liao family’s old residence in the capital.
She didn’t know whether news of her escape had reached the capital or whether the Liao family knew what had happened in Jinling. Afraid that her sister might be looked down upon because of her, she rented a small courtyard not far from the Liao residence to settle in.
The northern snowstorm cut through people like knives, chilling to the bone.
Madam Fan Liu waited at the entrance of the alley where her sister lived, while she huddled in a room without a heated floor, drafty on all sides, warming herself only by a brazier. It wasn’t until the ninth day that Madam Fan Liu, her face blue from the cold, appeared before her, sleeves pulled tight, covered in snow, leading her sister, whose face was hidden beneath a wind hood.
“How have you become so thin?” her sister exclaimed in shock.
Whether from the cold, fear, or shame, she trembled uncontrollably, unable to utter a word.
Fortunately, her sister asked no questions. She took off her fur coat and wrapped it tightly around her, then turned to Madam Fan Liu and said, “How can anyone live here? Pack up your things and accompany Second Miss to my dowry estate later.”
The caring words, still carrying her sister’s warmth and fragrance, broke the dam of fear and restraint Zhou Shaojin had been holding back, and she burst into sobs.
Her sister gently patted her back, comforting her.
Madam Fan Liu seemed to hesitate, wanting to speak but holding back.
“It’s fine!” her sister said firmly. “I’ve already sent Ma Ci over—the servants there will be transferred to my estate in Langfang, and the maids and matrons serving you will be bought from Shandong. After Second Miss rests for a few days and her complexion improves, and once the maids and matrons are accustomed to their duties, you can move in with me. If the Liao family asks, just say Shaojin missed me and came to the capital specifically to visit.” Her expression suddenly turned cold. “Her son is a treasure, but are the daughters of the Zhou family mere weeds? Just stay with me, and let’s see who dares to say a word against you. In a few days, I’ll find a good match for Shaojin, so she won’t think that without the Cheng family, Shaojin can’t marry!”
Could she still marry after all this?Does my sister even know what happened to her?
She widened her eyes in surprise, not daring to look at her sister, and instead turned her gaze toward Madam Fan Liu.
Madam Fan Liu nodded, tears welling in her eyes.
A weight lifted from her heart.
To have to recount such a humiliating event to the sister she cared for most, the one closest to her—she would rather throw herself into Mochou Lake.
"Sister!" she wanted to stop her sister, but mumbled, unsure how to begin.
"I have my own plans for this matter," her sister said, suppressing her anger with difficulty. "Just focus on recovering your health at my small estate!"
Yes, with her sister protecting her, what did she have to fear?
She set her worries aside and devoted herself to recuperating at the small estate.
But who could have expected a bolt from the blue—she was pregnant!
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