Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
San Chun thought to herself, if it weren't for Ju Rong chasing after her to acknowledge her as a daughter, she wouldn't even know where home was.
But she said, "The child misses her mother and naturally wants to come back to take a look."
Madam Ju sneered, "If you truly had the slightest respect for me, you wouldn't have eloped with someone back then."
Could it be that she really eloped with someone? San Chun blinked, wanting to ask who that scoundrel was. Before she could ask, Madam Ju already inquired, "Where is Zheng Lan? Why didn't he come back with you?"
San Chun tried hard to think but couldn't recall who Zheng Lan was. However, judging by her tone, the man she eloped with must be named Zheng Lan.
Not wanting to admit her own memory loss or perhaps too lazy to explain, she simply replied, "I don't know where Zheng Lan went."
"Are you saying you lost Zheng Lan?" She spoke sharply, her voice loud enough to startle anyone.
San Chun rubbed her ears and muttered to herself; it seemed like Zheng Lan was more important than her. Could he be someone significant to Madam Ju?
"Why is it only Zheng Lan that my daughter lost? Doesn't he have legs? Shouldn't he be able to follow on his own?"
In her view, men shouldn't always be following women around. When she was picked up by Qing, she was alone without any men around. This way, either Zheng Lan abandoned her or they simply got separated.
Madam Ju understood and coldly smiled, "If it’s true that Lan doesn’t want you, then you’ve really hit the jackpot."
Madam Ju then glanced at the White Plum in her hand; there were no plum trees in the residence, so this must have been picked from outside. She gritted her teeth; this girl never seemed to rest.
"From today on, you will stay in the residence and not go anywhere. Your father wants to arrange a marriage for you to avoid causing trouble and becoming a laughingstock."
"Understood." She obediently replied.
Madam Ju continued, "I wonder what the adults are thinking; a woman with such a tarnished reputation and no sense of shame—could there still be someone willing to marry you?"
San Chun nodded. Naturally, there were people who wanted to marry her, and Chengyang Jun was quite interested in her. She couldn't help but think that if her father was arranging a marriage for her, was he really planning to betroth her to Zhong Xue?
Spending every day with someone whose temperament was so unpredictable, she truly lacked confidence in not provoking him. The consequences of angering him could be severe; she recalled the last time he forcefully tore her clothes off and how terrified she had been during that incident in the carriage. Being with such a person required a strong heart, or else one might genuinely be scared to death.
Madam Ju thought her nod meant agreement and couldn't help but sneer, the nasty Girl still had some self-awareness.
Ju Rong had forced her to meet this daughter, feigning illness for some time but ultimately couldn't resist her husband's demands. Now that she had met her, she had no interest in continuing the conversation. She waved her hand, signaling for her to leave.
San Chun came out of the lady's room and walked a few steps when she suddenly noticed a woman approaching from afar.
The woman wore a green silk gown, exuding an elegant and extraordinary demeanor, with an air of lightness about her.
As the woman walked, it was as if a refreshing breeze swept by, and in no time, she was right in front of San Chun.
When she spoke, her voice was endlessly gentle and pleasant. "Dan, you’re back. Where is Zheng Lan?"
San Chun shook her head. "I don’t know."
"You left with him; how could you not know?"
San Chun forced a smile. Why did everyone keep asking her about Zheng Lan? Unfortunately, she really didn't know.
The woman let out a light huff. "If anything happens to Zheng Lan, I won’t spare you." With that, she floated away like a breeze. Looking in the direction she headed, it seemed she went to see Madam Ju.
San Chun sighed. It seemed she needed to find out soon who she had offended in the past; otherwise, if someone hated her, she wouldn't even know why.
She glanced at the maid who had been standing behind her all along but never made a sound and asked, "Who was that just now?"
The maid lifted her eyelids slightly. "That is Miss Fengyi."
With just that one sentence, when asked again who Feng Yi was, she fell silent.
San Chun had no choice but to find someone who could speak well to inquire.
She sought out a girl in the kitchen named Feng Er. The girl first gave her a strange look, then chattered on for a while.
Zheng Lan was the nephew of Madam Ju and the same age as Ju Dan. Ever since the lady married into Ju Mansion, he often came to play in the residence, and over time, he became close with Dan. However, Madam Ju disapproved of her nephew being involved with her, and Ju Rong also intended for his daughter to enter the palace and marry the Crown Prince. Their relationship was not recognized within the household.
At that time, Ju Dan was extremely reluctant to marry the Crown Prince; seeing Yan Dan felt like looking into a mirror—what fun was there in having two identical faces together?
San Chun deeply agreed with this sentiment. Although she had never seen Crown Prince Yan Dan, just thinking about two such similar people being affectionate made her scalp tingle.
Just imagine waking up one day and suddenly seeing another version of yourself upon opening your eyes; it would probably be enough to make you jump. If they were intimate, it would be even worse—like being with oneself; that scenario was too bizarre and would likely take away any sense of romance.
However, others did not think this way at the time. Many believed that the cousin relationship was quite close. Their wedding date had already been set, waiting for the Crown Prince to return victorious to hold the ceremony.
Zheng Lan was anxious in his heart. After several discussions with her, they ultimately decided to elope after the Crown Prince's expedition.
This story was half from Feng Er and half from San Chun's speculation. After listening, she nodded deeply, finally understanding why Madam Ju looked at her so unfavorably—it turned out she had entangled herself with her nephew.
She and Zheng Lan had left, leaving everyone in the mansion wondering how to explain themselves to Wei Wang.
Coincidentally, at that time, Wei Wang fell seriously ill, and Menglin Jun took over governance, imprisoning the entire family until the Crown Prince returned to question them. Later, when the Crown Prince did not return and died on the battlefield without his body being found, Menglin Jun ordered all members of Ju Mansion to be executed; it was Young Master Qi who intervened.
The Crown Prince died in battle, Wei Wang's condition worsened, and he passed away. Following that was a struggle for succession: one contender was Menglin Jun, Wei Wang's younger brother; the other was Wei Wang's son Qi. Everyone thought Menglin Jun was strong and would surely ascend to the throne, while Young Master Qi had always been like an invisible person—no one expected him to counterattack so fiercely and decisively.
He was bold and ruthless; he only recruited a few eunuchs but managed to subdue Menglin Jun and stabbed him to death. He then ascended as king, now known as Wei Wang.
As for Miss Feng Yi, she was the daughter of Chief Minister Du Xuan and had been betrothed to Zheng Lan. As someone else's fiancée, how could she be polite after you took her man? It would be surprising if she even managed a good expression towards you.
Later, she did not hear about these matters from one person, but rather gathered information from many people's words, including some palace secrets, and even specifically asked Ju Rong.
After hearing all this, she felt an immense sympathy for Crown Prince Yan, who died young in battle and looked exactly like her. It was as if she had died; just the thought of it made her heart ache. She was also very interested in Young Master Qi, who had been accustomed to being a goat and suddenly turned into a wolf; that was no easy feat. Perhaps this is what is commonly referred to as enduring humiliation and bearing burdens, just like Zhong Xue. Once one has the ability to take revenge, they can become as cruel as a devil.
Fortunately, there was only one Zhong Xue in this world, and she had not heard of any despicable behavior from Yan Wang.
Heartache aside, these were all things of the past; after all, she could not remember them and did not have so many worries. What concerned her now was her marriage—who exactly did Ju Rong want to betroth her to?
She privately asked her father, who clearly told her, "Anyone is fine, but it absolutely will not be Chengyang Jun."
She felt relieved by her father's courage and asked, "Father, are you not afraid of Chengyang Jun?"
Ju Rong snorted coldly, "This is Yan Country, not Wei Kingdom. I don't believe he would dare to act recklessly."
San Chun let out a sigh of relief; it was great that she wouldn't have to marry Zhong Xue. If she could find someone like Qing, whom she felt a strong connection with, that would be even better.
Thinking of Qing inevitably reminded her that there had been no news from Qin State lately. She wondered how his matters were progressing and whether Qin Wang had acknowledged him as his son.
Sighing, there were simply too many things weighing on her mind lately...
*
After staying quietly at home for seven or eight days, early one morning Madam Ju sent someone to summon her; there was a banquet in the palace and invited her to attend.
Madam Ju must have hated her deeply; if there wasn't something important, she wouldn't want to see her at all. What could this be about?
Upon arriving at the palace and seeing a hall full of beautiful women and charming ladies, she suddenly realized—could it be that Wei Wang was looking for a bride?
Sometimes having such a sharp mind could be quite troublesome. If she hadn't known, she could have happily enjoyed the delicacies and admired the beauties. But now, just thinking about sitting there with many pairs of eyes likely watching her made her feel utterly uncomfortable.
Madam Ju remained silent, leaving San Chun unsure whether she was being ignored or simply did not want to engage with her.
Not even a glance was cast in her direction; Madam Ju completely disregarded her presence. San Chun desperately wanted to press her warm face against the cold shoulder, but the chill was so intense that it froze her warm demeanor from half a meter away.
She touched her face, feeling the heavy coldness surrounding her, and quickly shifted her body to the right. In doing so, she accidentally bumped into a nearby Noble Lady. The girl, only about fifteen or sixteen years old, smiled sweetly at her, but her words nearly choked San Chun, “Dan, I can’t believe you’re still alive.”
San Chun took a few more glances at the girl, noticing her oval face, long eyelashes, large eyes, and fair skin. She was quite beautiful and slender, giving off a somewhat delicate impression. However, what was alarming was that someone who appeared so fragile could possess such a venomous heart.
San Chun did not respond; she genuinely did not know who this girl was or how she had offended her in the past.
The girl was relentless, lightly parting her crimson lips to unleash even more venomous words, “I thought you were dead. I burned so much paper money for you; how come it didn’t curse you to death?”
Unable to endure any longer, San Chun asked boldly, “Did I offend you?”
“You offended my sister; that’s worse than offending me.”
Comment 0 Comment Count