Chapter 3

Han Qing Lin's Demise

    Time passed quickly, and the hastily arranged wedding was almost upon them.

    Zhang Chuan's anger towards Qing Lin was justified, as she had indeed spent the entire night with Gong Niu. Yet, Zhang Chuan agreed to marry her to protect her reputation.

    Qing Lin thought that she could forgive him and his affair with her sister. She even considered allowing him to marry Qing Li as a concubine for his happiness, willing to endure any personal suffering.

    As long as he was content and did not disdain her...

    Qing Lin thought generously, being a woman of beautiful spirit, always seeing the best in everything and everyone—her parents, her sister, and her beloved.

    The wedding ceremony took place a few days later. Qing Lin, dressed as a bride and veiled, smiled faintly, genuinely happy.

    The procession wasn’t large, with only the villagers who came together as witnesses.

    Qing Lin's vision was obscured by the veil, and after several cups of tea to calm her nerves, she felt increasingly disoriented.

    The ceremony proceeded amid constant sounds of celebration, but Qing Lin felt overwhelmed, her mind foggy, unable to comprehend much.

    She was then led by her mother and sister to a bridal chamber that felt strangely unfamiliar.

    Before she could make sense of it all, the brief conversations of the people around her ceased, and the groom entered. Everyone else left, leaving only the bride.

    Qing Lin sat anxiously on the ceremonial bed, the smell of alcohol wafting around made her smile awkwardly. Zhang Chuan seemed to have been subjected to playful teases. She could still hear people standing outside the bridal chamber.

    The traditions of Ping Yan village on a wedding night were that everyone related to the family stays nearby as witnesses to ensure the night goes smoothly.

    Qing Lin's heart pounded violently.

    Today, she was ready to give herself entirely to Zhang Chuan, without any reservations.

    But fate was cruel. As the bridal veil was lifted in the dim light of the night, the groom standing before Qing Lin was not the man she had been waiting for.

    The man in front of her in the red groom's attire was not Zhang Chuan.

    It was Gong Niu.

    The man who had saved her from drowning.

    Her body stiffened like a log, her mouth agape, a look of utter disgust spreading across her face.

    It couldn’t be!

    Her groom was supposed to be Zhang Chuan!

    Qing Lin had never even entertained the thought that this disfigured man could be her husband.

    She was shocked, and before she could utter a word of protest, she saw the big, tall, hideous man approaching her.

    Quick and decisive.

    His gaze was intense, his demeanor clearly that of a brute, more terrifying than any apparition, his bearded face turning from red to a deep, unsettling shade of black.

    He was no different from the wild outlaws or vicious robbers, and his actions resembled those of a rapist and murderer.

    At first, Qing Lin’s eyes widened in shock, and in a moment of realization, she gasped in horror as she heard the harsh breathing of the man before her. She could sense his heavy, lustful breath, like a starved beast that had longed for this moment too passionately.

    Soon...thick hands abruptly reached for her waist, the man's eyes under the red candlelight flickering fiercely as if ready to ignite.

    Qing Lin saw a fiery desire in those eyes, then a fervent heat swiftly enveloped her body.

    She felt the rough intrusion of those scalding hands slipping under her clothing, crudely squeezing her chest, then violently tearing her garments with savage ferocity.

    In a few rips, her body was bare; her last barrier of a small dudou[1] was flung far away.

    Qing Lin felt an icy chill across her chest before the coarse body of Gong Niu pressed down upon her. His body was extremely hot, nearly scorching her skin. He was burly and heavy.

    A moment later, Qing Lin's slender legs were forcefully spread apart by Gong Niu's robust, strong legs. A searing heat then penetrated her, filling her violently.

    Qing Lin screamed out in disgust. She was in immense pain, tears streaming down her cheeks like a torrential downpour. Yet, Gong Niu showed no signs of stopping. He continued his savage assault relentlessly and selfishly.

    In the cramped room on the matrimonial bed, low groans mingled with sobs and cries.

    The burly man withdrew his burning rod only to thrust it back fiercely, moving in and out without regard for the struggling figure beneath him.

    His large hands pinned her soft, small hands above her head, and his hips brutally slammed into her, crudely securing her in place.

    His movement on her body was wild.

    At first, Qing Lin was breathless from being pinned down, but now her breaths were hurried, sometimes struggling to keep up, managing only to emit loud moans.

    She was experiencing near suffocation in excruciating agony and torture. All she could hear was the low moans of the coarse man, covering up her own weeping, making her feel the most intense fear and repulsion in her life.

    The repulsive man moving over her,

    Was a genuine wild beast in his greed.

    He was taking from her without any compassion, and perhaps even the term 'rape' was an understatement.

    The night was long, the love was short. Qing Lin thought that it was terribly wrong; it should have been an endlessly long night of perpetual hell.

    Because she was being devoured by a wild beast all night long.

    The next morning,

    On the red bed, covered with white sheets, a naked, frail figure lying alone, without her husband by her side. Her body was marred with red welts and bite marks.

    Qing Lin had been awake for a long time but continued to weep incessantly, her body trembling hopelessly, her face pale as if her blood had been drained by the whirlpools of an icy lake.

    The image of the man who had brutally claimed her was seared into her vision, and the intense loathing solidified in her mind.

    Instead of entering the bridal chamber with the handsome man she admired, she had to share it with that repulsive man.

    She abhorred Gong Niu immensely.

    Utter disgust.

    What made her feelings worse was the reality of what her family and beloved had done.

    Previously, her parents and sister had all reassured her to await becoming the bride of Brother Zhang Chuan, asserting that he had no intention of canceling the engagement and urging her to stay inside and not venture out.

    She had once questioned the secretive relationship of her fiancé with her sister, but Qing Li had responded,

    "Sister, you must be seeing things."

    Of course, she couldn't believe it, but Qing Li's tears had made the situation worse, drawing reproachful looks from everyone in the house. At that time, Qing Li clearly stated,

    ‘I have nothing to do with Young Master Zhang Chuan, and that would never happen. You're my sister, how could I possibly hurt you? Please be at ease, prepare yourself to be a good wife to him, and don't entertain such impossible thoughts.’

    Qing Li's serious expression and convincing words made everyone believe that Qing Lin was foolish and embarrassingly jealous of her younger sister, forcing Qing Lin to resign herself to believe Qing Li completely.

    Afterwards, everyone still tried to comfort her with words that she was going to marry Zhang Chuan anyway and should not worry about trivial matters.

    Right now, the more she thought about it, the more she sobbed. The sorrow overwhelmed her emotions like a massive wave crashing violently.

    She was deceived! Everyone had deceived her…

    Her mind was filled with the recurring question: Why? Why was everyone so heartless towards her? Why did they hurt her? Why?

    Qing Lin was so heartbroken as she felt like coughing up blood, and then she realized the cold bloodedness of fate, eventually hating herself.

    Hating that she was foolish and incompetent, hating that she was born as Qing Lin, a woman who deserved to die.

    Since the world was unjust, she thought she should end it herself!

    She couldn't go on any longer; she refused to bear this disgrace. She was unwilling to accept any more resentment.

    If the past couldn't be corrected, if she couldn't move forward in the future,

    Enough! A miserable life.

    A life that repaid her foolishness with pain.

    Qing Lin cursed several times and contemplated briefly before slowly closing her eyes, her face contorted with unbearable bitterness, swallowing the torment that sedimented into thick clots in her heart.

    Soon...the long white bedsheet and the beam of the house came together, allowing her tormented body to sag under its own weight.

    Qing Lin breathed her last breath shortly after…

    On the beam in the bridal chamber,

    A naked body hung motionless, but within moments, the body twitched violently.

    As soon as she opened her eyes again, Shan Shan felt breathless, her tongue stuck in her throat. The white cloth tightened around her neck.

    The woman strained, lifting both hands above her head, grasping the cloth firmly, then thrust her body upwards, hooking her legs around the beam, her feet intertwined securely. She quickly untied the knot at her neck and let herself fall heavily to the floor with a loud thud.

    Shan Shan choked, unable to scream.

    In addition to the choking, she felt a throbbing pain in her privates.

    The woman furrowed her brows in rage. She couldn't understand why the owner of the body didn't commit suicide before entering the bridal chamber!

    Damn it!

[1] A dudou is a traditional Chinese article of clothing that covers the front of the torso, originally worn as an undershirt with medicinal properties.