Chapter 6

Don't Understand

    This morning's breakfast consisted of the fish that her husband was indifferently fishing for.

    Shan Shan didn't mind his cold demeanor; she was fine with eating whatever was available. While waiting for the food, she calmly walked around the house, considering how she might reinforce the bamboo structure just in case her husband's ardor became even more vigorous than last night, risking the house's collapse.

    As she circled back to the front of the house, she suddenly heard a voice from behind. Turning around, she saw Jia Ru and Concubine Zhu, along with Qing Li, accompanied by four other village women heading towards the wide front yard.

    In Ping Yan village, houses were built according to one's means; the poor do not have walls, and some houses don't even have a low wooden fence.

    Here too, guests could easily approach since the bamboo house stood isolated, and Gong Niu had never had visitors before, except for the first time people came to burn the house. This was only the second time a group had come together like this.

    Zhao Wei was walking towards the house, carrying several fish, standing stoically with a cold gaze, masking his dignified aura and true identity with his disfigured face and bent posture. The visitors saw him only as a simple, mute, disabled man.

    Shan Shan also watched the visitors with a cool detachment, but quickly return to her usual expression, revealing nothing but innocence.

    Jia Ru was Qing Lin's mother; remembering this, Shan Shan greeted her with a sweet voice, "Mother."

    Jia Ru nodded at her daughter before instructing her husband’s concubine, "Have these people wait outside for a while."

    "Yes, Mother," Qing Li responded for her mother.

    Hearing this, Jia Ru confidently walked into the bamboo house.

    Qing Li approached her sister, looked at her meaningfully, and then smiled.

    Shan Shan slightly raised her eyebrows but said nothing.

    Shortly after, Jia Ru emerged holding a white bedsheet stained with virgin blood.

    The sound of fish dropping from Zhao Wei's hand thudded on the ground as Shan Shan widened her eyes, her face flushing. She asked in embarrassment,

    "Mother, what are you doing?"

    Should such things be displayed in front of others? That was her blood mixed with her husband's essence, and she was very protective of it.

    Jia Ru didn't answer her daughter but turned to Concubine Zhu and the four women, excitedly saying,

    "You all must witness for me. Spread the word throughout the village that my daughter preserved her chastity until her wedding night. Their relationship was pure and without any disgrace."

    Shan Shan immediately felt better upon hearing her mother's words. At least this woman was still intent on protecting her daughter.

    After the lengthy declaration, Qing Li, standing beside her, whispered softly, "The villagers have slandered my sister too much. Instead of the marriage putting an end to it, gossipmongers continue to spread tales that my sister had lost her dignity secretly having an intimate relationship with Gong Niu and had to marry him out of necessity. So, I proposed this idea. Eldest Sister doesn't need to thank me, just love your husband deeply, remain together, and do not go back to Brother Chuan."

    Shan Shan squinted at Qing Li, who stood smiling beautifully beside her, understanding the implication easily.

    This was to reaffirm that Qing Lin was truly married.

    It was to ensure that Zhang Chuan would not come back for Qing Lin.

    It was a push to distance her from her past fiancé completely, reaffirming her status as the wife of a disfigured man.

    Shan Shan frowned, thinking to herself,

    If the real Qing Lin were still here, how much would it pain her?

    Certainly, those who had orchestrated for Gong Niu to take responsibility and marry Qing Lin must be Zhang Chuan and Qing Li, conspiring to remove Qing Lin from their lives without bearing the guilt of betraying her.

    Yet, this marriage still inevitably brought disgraceful rumors about the Han family, questioning whether she had lost her virginity on the night she disappeared.

    Unable to remain passive, Jia Ru herself had to step forward to protect Qing Lin in such a manner.

    As Shan Shan thought it through, she found it appropriate to consider it as cleansing the reputation of this body's owner. She immediately whispered back to Qing Li,

    "Since all these malicious accusations originate from you, it's only right that you should rectify them. Should I be thanking you?"

    This statement left Qing Li's smile frozen, her eyes flickering with uncertainty.

    Shan Shan then curled her lips into a mocking smile, adding to the other's confusion.

    Qing Li gasped in shock, staring at her sister in disbelief, disturbed by the sinister smile. She shook her head slightly, disbelieving what she saw, and murmured, "I meant well and thought I was doing you a favor. Why look at me like this?"

    Qing Li uttered a lament, her eyes teary but not quite crying, her display of kindness painfully insincere.

    Shan Shan narrowed her eyes, restraining herself from reaching out to strangle her venomous younger sister.

    Then, they heard Jia Ru say, "Now you all know that my husband Han Yi Shuan has never neglected this daughter. Even though she already had a suitor, Lin’er's feelings are paramount. Young Master Zhang himself sympathizes with them, showing neither indifference nor anger. The Zhang and Han families still maintain good relations, and no engagement promises have been broken. You must not speak in a way that worries my husband anymore. Oh! And one more thing...if anyone thinks to have Young Master Zhang call off the engagement and propose their own daughter instead, think again."

    "Exactly. The four Furens[1], you must maintain justice for the Han family, cooperating with my sister. As Lin'er's mother, Sister Jia is not at all comfortable."

    Concubine Zhu bolstered her words with several more sentences to affirm and enhance Jia Ru's credibility as the Furen of the Han family.

    Shan Shan listened and raised her eyebrows, exclaiming inwardly with realization.

    After quickly processing the situation, she could easily guess what was happening.

    Jia Ru's protective stance towards Qing Lin was indeed appropriate.

    However, the statements made clear that everyone was acting solely for Han Yi Shuan's sake.

    This was likely because someone suspected Han Yi Shuan of being senseless enough to offer his daughter to a disabled man, coupled with slanderous gossip that Qing Lin had been intimately involved with Gong Niu to the extent that they had to marry immediately, affecting the entire Han family.

    Jia Ru deeply loved Han Yi Suan. Her statement sharply slapped the faces of those who slander, thoroughly covering every scandalous topic.

    She defended her beloved husband excellently regarding his choice of a lowly son-in-law, demonstrating that he never looked down on those deemed inferior like Gong Niu. Every word clearly stated that her daughter willingly left her fiancé to be with another man.

    Another significant issue concerned the handsome Zhang Chuan, who was desired by other women in the village. Despite this, he maintained his gentlemanly conduct impeccably, enhancing his charm. Even though he shifted his interest from the elder sister to the younger, everyone sympathized with Qing Lin's love, allowing the engagement switch to be viewed gracefully. The Han family and Zhang Chuan commendably maintain their promises.

    Only Qing Lin was shameless.

    Thus, Han Yi Shuan managed to preserve his social reputation without losing any business connections. Qing Li didn’t have to lose Zhang Chuan to anyone. Jia Ru performed her role as a mother without any guilt. Concubine Zhu had to act as a good concubine to the Furen, unopposed to any command, but surely, she would secretly encourage her daughter to fully compete. As for Zhang Chuan, he lost nothing at all!

    Shan Shan understood everyone very well, giving a chilling smile as she mentally listed her grievances.

    Meanwhile, Zhao Wei, seeing the ridiculousness of the scene unfolding before him, bent down to pick up a fish and walked indifferently across the courtyard into the house, his face calm and his demeanor emotionless, as if everyone around him was nonexistent and unworthy of attention.

    Qing Li sneakily watched her sister with a look of uncertainty in her eyes, whispering softly with concern,

    "Is there something wrong, Sister Lin? Are you feeling unwell? You seem off, I'm worried..."

    Despite her sister's overflowing concern and compassionate words,

    Shan Shan responded coldly, "Such pretentious concern!"

    “…!?”

    Again, Qing Li was taken aback.

    Shan Shan squinted and whispered to her sister, "Less pretense, won't you? Aren't you tired? Just watching you is exhausting for me."

    "Si...Sister Lin!" Qing Li stammered, shocked, as if seeing a ghost. "What's happened to you? Why are you speaking like this? You never used to..."

    Shan Shan raised her eyebrows and smirked mischievously while glancing at the noisy group of noblewomen, noticing that no one was paying attention to them. She then stealthily pinched Qing Li.

    "Ouch! Sister Lin, what are you doing?"

    "I just pinched you, you fool!"

    Shan Shan said through gritted teeth, then pinched her harder. This time Qing Li screamed loudly, trying to draw everyone's attention.

    "Aaaah!"

    And it worked. Jia Ru, Concubine Zhu, and all the noblewomen immediately turned their attention towards the sisters.

    Qing Li quickly flipped her sleeve and showed her arm to Jia Ru, crying out,

    "Mothers, Sister Lin pinched me!"

    Her appearance was pitiful, her arm marked with red marks, her face flushed, and tears streaming down.

    Jia Ru, Concubine Zhu, and the noblewomen all stared at the source of the problem with stern, accusing eyes.

    Shan Shan then reverted to acting like the old Qing Lin, her body shaking, her lips quivering before she hesitantly said,

    "Mother...I would never dare do such a thing. I just saw some red marks on Sister Li's arm and was so shocked that I pulled her arm to check. There were red marks on her shoulder and even on her chest, very strange and totally out of the ordinary."

    Her panicked face made everyone willing to believe her, for Qing Lin had always been weak and naive, incapable of lying, let alone harming anyone—not even an ant, supposedly.

    Everyone then looked suspiciously at Qing Li, wondering what could have caused the marks.

    Concubine Zhu, hearing this, was alarmed and hastily lifted Qing Li’s blouse to check the marks with concern.

    Qing Li’s eyes widened and gasped in unexpected shock.

    As the blouse was opened, almost revealing the love marks from Zhang Chuan from the day before, she regained her composure and quickly made an excuse:

    "Mother, nothing is wrong with me."

    "Hmm...What is it?" Concubine Zhu looked at Qing Li with confusion. "Where are you hurt? Do you have any bruises? We need to take care of it in case you are ill."

    "There's nothing, Mother. I was just teasing Sister Lin just now."

    Shan Shan interjected anxiously, "You shouldn't tease me like that. Mother, please take care of Sister Li immediately, I am really worried about her. Maybe she has a serious disease, and we need to prevent it from spreading."

    Unnoticed by anyone, Jia Ru and the four Furens immediately looked at Ching LiQing Li with shocked and disgusted expressions, fearing the spread of a serious disease.

    Meanwhile, Concubine Zhu hurriedly tried to open Qing Li's blouse to look for the red marks, filled with concern.

    "Umm...There's nothing, Mother. Nothing at all. I want to go home now."

    Qing Li quickly pulled her blouse closed and ran off immediately, her actions panic-stricken as if she had seen a ghost, leaving everyone just staring in bewilderment. Some even stepped back from Concubine Zhu suspiciously, eyeing her warily, wondering if there might be infectious diseases floating in the air.

    Concubine Zhu glanced at the eldest daughter of the Furen for a moment, her eyes blazing with anger, not maintaining her previous calm demeanor, then swept her gown and ran after her daughter.

    After that, Jia Ru spoke several sentences to her daughter about managing a household, ending with a reminder that she must go back to perform the tea ceremony according to tradition, to show filial piety, and not to neglect it.

    Not long after...Jia Ru led the four witnesses away.

    Shan Shan watched everyone with a cold gaze, feeling increasingly irritated that she couldn't kill someone as easily as before; they were all so annoyingly intrusive.

    While seething with anger, a certain feeling suddenly arose in her heart.

    Shan Shan realized that this body still harbored deep-seated pain.

    The old Qing Lin deeply loved her fiancé Zhang Chuan, and she was heartbroken to have been betrayed by the man she loved, and the reason why she had decided to end her life was because she remembered that all that had happened was due to her family conspiring together.

    Her delicate hand clutched at her left chest, her beautiful eyebrows furrowed, her heart aching unbearably.

    Though Shan Shan's spirit and intellect were in Qing Lin's body, the true feelings of Qing Lin still swirled around.

    At this moment, Shan Shan was undeniably Qing Lin.

    In the past, Shan Shan had never considered any bad things that had happened. But now, even minor trouble could easily cause wounds in Qing Lin's heart, and they were disturbing her mind unforgivably.

    She closed her eyes, exhaled slowly, and calmed her mind. After a moment, she walked into the house, looking for paper, ink, and a brush.

    Shan Shan paced back and forth for a while, searching without success, then realized that the owner of the house was just a poor, disabled young man—hardly a scholar’s dwelling.

    She thus gave up on finding paper and instead looked for bamboo, but even with the smooth bamboo tubes still required ink and a brush.

    Since there was nothing available, she abandoned the idea again and walked into the kitchen. Seeing her husband cooking by himself, she smiled at him before going toapproaching the stove to fetchspread out the coals and wait for them to cool down. While waiting, she looked for a rough, wide wooden plank, wiped the dust off with her hand, and then, using a piece of charcoal, began to intricately write on the wooden plank for a long time.

    Zhao Wei watched her perform this strange action quietly, his sharp black eyes smooth and undisturbed by any ripple of emotion, revealing nothing of his feelings, not asking or speaking. He watched her draw grids and lines, sketching some sort of blueprint, and stayed silent until she stopped writing. Then he heard her say,

    "It's done. My Eight Directions Stratagem Expelling Demons."

    This stratagem was one of the traps from her previous life to prevent enemies from approaching Shan Shan's sect.

    The young woman looked up at the young man, her smile turning wicked as she explained clearly,

    "You need not worry, my Ye Niu. No one will be able to disturb us, husband and wife, here in our home anymore. If anyone dares to step foot here, rest assured their limbs will be severed and blood will be spilled."

    Having said this, she flashed a malevolent smile before standing up and walking out of the house, disappearing in an instant.

    Once again, Zhao Wei could only watch in confusion.

    What kind of woman had he married?

[1] Furen (夫人); in ancient China, means the first wife who has powers to take care all of the household affairs.