Chapter 4

The New Han Qing Lin

    Now...the woman, who once appeared weak with a constantly sickly sweet face, has transformed.

    Shan Shan, in the body of Qing Lin, sat still with a stern face and a sinister gleam in her eye, quietly recalling all the memories that the body's original owner had retained.

    Previously, the wicked and cruel Shan Shan was punished by her even more ferocious and malevolent master with advanced demonic techniques for attempting to steal someone else's lover.

    Hah! She didn’t even complete her deed, but her spirit had already departed from her original body.

    Master, oh master, you were overly committed to the path of the immortals...

    Her slender, pale fingers were raised to wipe the tears that still flowed unabatedly on her cheeks.

    The original owner of the body died, and then she entered.

    Now, Shan Shan vividly remembered every torment the original owner felt,

    Whether it was the heart-wrenching pain of seeing her lover stolen by another woman, the intense sadness of being miserably treated,

    Or the overwhelming sense of despair.

    The agony was immense!

    Shan Shan fully realized the torment of being usurped just now, and immediately felt remorse and deep understanding.

    At this moment, she had seen all the memories from when Qing Lin was a little girl until she grew up, got engaged, flirted with her fiancé, secretly saw him holding hands with her sister, and watched them passionately in love in a garden house, then ran away crying and fainted into the water, only to be rescued by a man and returned home to be reprimanded by her family.

    Shan Shan closed her eyes and pondered upon the deeper insight she knew more than the original owner.

    The evil spirit of hers was sent by her master not long before, and was floating around waiting to enter the body as soon as Qing Lin died.

    The reason it had to be this woman was to understand the profound feeling of having a lover stolen and experiencing severe maltreatment.

    Shan Shan cursed in her mind,

    Hah! The Master was so wicked, teaching his disciples such painful lessons. The disciple now fully realized the heartache to the point of unstoppable tears.

    One of the woman's hands rose to wipe away tears again, while the other clenched at her left chest, feeling a heart shattered nearly to death.

    What the old Qing Lin felt, the new Qing Lin, like Shan Shan, felt the same.

    But what's more was the feeling of bitter hatred.

    Although the original owner chose to foolishly escape this pain through death, choosing to end her life as a feeble way out, Shan Shan was not the same.

    Because everything was about to begin anew from here.

    Shan Shan clenched her teeth tightly, suppressing the agony in her heart, recalling the terrible events in detail.

    That day when Qing Lin returned home after nearly drowning and was condemned by her family, there were witnesses who falsely claimed she had a secret rendezvous with another man, which led to her marriage to Gong Niu.

    The events had many loopholes, but the foolish old Qing Lin couldn't anticipate them, yet it wasn’t hard for Shan Shan to discern.

    Zhang Chuan was displeased with Qing Lin for rejecting him and felt humiliated, while Qing Li, who had always envied her sister because she secretly adored the other's fiancé, easily took her place.

    That day, Qing Lin ran away crying, while Qing Li and Zhang Chuan parted ways after their rendezvous. When Qing Li returned home and found that Qing Lin was not in the house and had not returned even as night fell, instead of searching for her to offer help, she waited and seized the right moment to tell their parents that Qing Lin might be with Zhang Chuan, as they were engaged and it was permissible for them.

    Even though it was against tradition, Han Yi Shuan saw it as an opportunity to expedite the marriage and thus quicken their business dealings, so he let it be.

    Meanwhile, Jia Ru, too intimidated to contradict her husband, stayed silent.

    That night, Qing Li secretly visited Zhang Chuan and informed him about the situation. They quietly searched for Qing Lin, and soon, accidentally saw her from a distance with Gong Niu by the stream.

    The conniving fiancé and her deceitful sister thus found the perfect opportunity to completely rid themselves of Qing Lin.

    They hired witnesses to pressure Qing Lin about Gong Niu.

    That day, Zhang Chuan feigned anger and jealousy and would not listen to reason, which overwhelmed Qing Lin, who spoke slowly and softly, allowing Han Yi Shuan to call for a meeting to resolve the matter without escalating it and tarnishing their family's reputation.

    Once in the study with Han Yi Shuan, Zhang Chuan pretended to be calm down.

    Then, he agreed not to break off the engagement to protect the Han family's honor, but his bride must not be a woman who secretly has relations with another man, like Qing Lin.

    Thus, the father secretly switched the fiancée status from the older to the younger sister immediately to avoid impacting his business dealings.

    The mother, too devoted to her husband, agreed without objection.

    While Qing Li stayed close to Qing Lin, consoling her gently with a naive-sounding voice that the bad times would pass, Zhang Chuan would forgive her, and they would surely marry.

    Afterward, everyone helped arrange this marriage for Qing Lin.

    Zhang Chuan continued to act like the perfect fiancé, and Qing Li remained innocently cheerful, everyone acted as if nothing had ever happened.

    The wedding went smoothly because Qing Lin drank tea made from intoxicating herbs, which made her dazed. During the ceremony, the veil made her vision became even more blurry, so she was led into this dilapidated house without noticing the specifics.

    Shan Shan glanced around this decrepit house that Qing Lin hadn't clearly seen the night before, but now it was all too apparent.

    She noticed the partially burned and repaired damage, which wasn't hard to piece together.

    The plot to force the benevolent man had taken place.

    The Han family had brazenly invaded this house.

    They threatened Gong Niu that if he did not accept Qing Lin as his bride, they would report him to the authorities for assaulting a woman and refusing responsibility, ensuring the scandal would spread throughout the town.

    How could a physically disabled man disagree?

    For the father's business, for the mother's selfish love, for the younger sister to steal her elder sister's fiancé, and to rid Zhang Chuan's life of an annoying woman, it had to be so.

    The foolish Qing Lin was inevitably mistreated.

    The one who saved Qing Lin from drowning became merely a pawn for the vile man and wicked woman, and even the villagers were easily manipulated.

    Gong Niu was vilified by the villagers, threatened extensively, and even had his house nearly burned down by thrown torches, fortunately stopped in time.

    Afterward, the villagers imposed Qing Lin upon him.

    Thus, the marriage happened as it did.

    Everything was due to that despicable pair.

    As Shan Shan thought of Gong Niu, she frowned.

    Though she was a martial artist trained in more profound and wicked techniques than anyone, never showing mercy or morality, she still had a sense of reason.

    She could not blame him for the events of the previous night's wedding bed.

    She knew well that the man named as her husband was not at fault and had also become merely a tool for Zhang Chuan and Qing Li.

    It was expected that the wedding night would proceed as it did.

    Additionally...in Shan Shan's view, this man wasn't as hideous or terrifying as a narrow-minded woman like Qing Lin might perceive him. On the contrary…Shan Shan found him irresistibly charming. His stature was tall and robust, appealingly muscular, only marred by scars on his face, which she herself had borne before dying in her previous life, thus not considering them significant.

    Although his face bore scars and his beard was bristly, these were trivial matters. The only disgusting thing about this man was his too aggressive behavior on their wedding night.

    If they were to share the bed again, she would need to tell him to be gentler, to avoid leaving this body too sore, just enough to add a tingle of pleasure...

    Shan Shan slowly closed her eyes, accepting this fate. She got up and walked over to a chest of bride's dowries placed nearby. After observing for a moment, she noticed how meager these items were, as if merely moving house.

    How stingy the Han family really was!

    Once she found a dress and dressed herself, her hair simply done up with a single wooden pin, she picked up a hand mirror to observe her reflection for a long while.

    This Qing Lin was strikingly beautiful. Her face was sweet, her eyebrows beautifully arched, her dark eyes sharp, her nose well-shaped matching with her lush, red lips—a stark contrast to the former unsightly Shan Shan.

    Ah...was the woman in front of her really herself?

    Shan Shan tilted her head left and right, tears brimming with emotion, no longer resenting the master who had cast such a harsh fate upon her.

    While thanking the master who had killed her and allowed her spirit to fly into this beautiful, unfortunate woman's body, Shan Shan glanced at the wrinkled state of the bed briefly. She saw streaks of red blood on the white sheets and blinked lightly, regretting not being able to experience the pleasurable sensations of her wedding night because this body had only left her with midsection pain.

    Sigh!

    With a deep sigh of regret, she then calmly surveyed the interior of the house. Noticing burn marks everywhere made her feel guilty towards the benefactor of Qing Lin, who was now her husband.

    Behind the shrubbery along the riverbank, which was quite distant from the bamboo house damaged by fire,

    The cool, clear water flowed slowly, reflecting the light of the scorching sun. The young man with a stooped back and wearing coarse, torn clothing, sat fishing in silence. His demeanor was stern and cold, exuding an aura of royalty.

    Near him to his left, a man in black was bowing his head, his hands clasped, kneeling silently.

    Beneath the bushy beard filled with scars that obscured his handsome features, revealing only his hideousness, he had a chilling gaze that grew intensely irritable due to the disgraceful events of the previous night.

    Tang Zhao Wei was his real name.

    His hoarse voice, though oddly authoritative, began to speak from lips obscured by his bristly beard,

    "Last night, I was drugged with aphrodisiacs; otherwise, I would never commit such crude acts against her!"

    The man in black flinched, panicked by his own mistake that he could not help his master who had been drugged. He respectfully said,

    "To seamlessly conceal your true identity, Your Highness, I was unable to intervene with the Han family's plans."

    Zhao Wei glanced coldly. Although his body was now misshapen with deformed bones rendering him unattractive, the resolute gaze under his thick, dark, sword-liked eyebrows radiated a formidable and oppressive aura.

    The man in black stifled his trembling shoulders, cautiously looking at his young master, and added carefully,

    "Currently, you must remain as Gong Niu, the unattractive, hunchbacked fool familiar to the villagers. Live an ordinary life that is no different from others, and without attracting undue attention that could escalate to official notice, which could lead villains to discover your identity. This wedding had many village witnesses and perhaps spies; many were standing around the house as per the tradition, so stopping it was not an option."

    He swallowed hard and continued reluctantly,

    "Moreover…truthfully speaking, taking a woman to bed is not a significant issue. Being married is even advantageous. That woman now belongs to you, just a village woman after all, serving you is only right. It's like being back in the Eastern Palace where you can release your desires, so you don’t have to waste your time going to the brothel. And she is quite beautiful, after all."

    After saying this, he gave a sycophantic smile, thinking he might be rewarded for his understanding.

    But instead of praise, he only received a cold stare and a frosty expression with a menacing aura from Zhao Wei. Wu Jie, his close guard, immediately bowed his head and ceased talking.

    Actually…he was trying to comfort a high-born and arrogant Crown Prince as best as he could, not belittle a village woman.

    Because the woman's disdainful look was the real issue, not the bedding incident caused by the drugs.

    The man in black was inwardly crying, feeling like there was hell inside him. After a while, he spoke softly, uncertainly,

    "Miss Qing Lin is not bad, after some time she will adjust. Such actions will not happen again. She will surely come to like you." His voice grew fainter, better silent than spoken.

    Zhao Wei responded coldly, "I do not like her, and her disdain is fitting."

    At this, Guard Wu Jie showed a pained expression, as if his heart was being sliced with a knife.

    He had been by the prince's side since his youth. The prince was handsome like a celestial descended to earth, his charisma radiating wherever he appeared, his celestial-liked handsome features beloved by all women. Yet now, to be looked down upon by an ordinary woman in such a manner was unbearable to him.

    Wu Jie's grief deepened, his face contorting.

    Yet, Zhao Wei remained icy. He spoke slowly,

    "Leave me, I wish to be alone."

    The guard bowed and retreated, disappearing without a trace.

    Alone, Tang Zhao Wei slowly closed his eyes, feeling greatly troubled by his fate.

    By the riverside, away from the bamboo house scorched by fire, under the blazing sun, the grass bending in the breeze, sat a disfigured man fishing in solitude.

    In truth, this large, stooped figure was not physically disabled nor mute, and importantly, he was the Crown Prince of Da Tang, hiding due to internal royal conflicts as decreed by his father.

    Zhao Wei was once a paragon of grace and nobility, causing hearts to flutter wherever he appeared. However, now, there was no trace of that charming young man, and there were only the scornful looks of others casting upon him.

    Originally, his towering stature fit the royal lineage, perfectly crafted to be the celestial heir apparent, and at only eighteen, he had become an outstanding great man.

    However, after being severely attacked, his martial prowess was destroyed, his powerful aura and his graceful demeanor vanished, marred by disfigured bones and a stooped posture. When walking, he bent his shoulders and bowed his head in such a dull manner.

    As for his speech, it was also damaged by poison, leaving his voice hoarse and unpleasant, which made him seem almost mute. And because there was no need to talk to anyone, he let others think he was mute, not bothering to defend himself.

    All over his body, only the scars were intentionally made by Zhao Wei himself to conceal his true handsome face, with his beard also serving to cover his identity.

    The name Gong Niu was a pseudonym given by the villagers at their will.

    All of this stemmed from an assassination attempt that forced him to flee to this remote area nearly a year ago.

    From that event, Zhao Wei truly became a man as disabled as he appeared, forced to hide in shameful seclusion.

    It had been one year since Da Tang Palace fell into disarray.

    Shortly after Zhao Wei was declared as the Crown Prince, although he survived an assassination attempt, he was severely injured in the way that should never have been forgiven.

    The Emperor of Da Tang, well aware of his son’s plight, had issued an order through a shadow guard for him to hide in a safe place until the turmoil subsided.

    Zhao Wei’s place in the Eastern Palace seemed smooth, but securing his path to the throne as the rightful heir was not so straightforward.

    His continued existence under the guise of Gong Niu, the disfigured man, thus remained an unwelcome necessity.