The night deepened.
Perhaps because she had received a fright during the day, Yu Tingwan did not sleep steadily at night. Trapped in a nightmare, sweat covered her forehead, her breathing followed and turned urgent, and she abruptly woke up in shock.
Yu Tingwan curled up holding the bedding in one place, fear-tremble flickering in her eyes.
Scenes skimmed past before her eyes in fragments.
Paper money flew about, cries and wails in bursts. Wind and snow swept broadly, icy cold piercing the bone.
She saw herself in a wedding dress, stumbling and staggering toward the street, begging for help from the Wei family army carrying the coffin.
The vice general’s sword at his waist was unsheathed, slashing in the air with a cold gleam, pointing straight at her.
“Who disturbs the general’s funeral procession, dies!”
But Yu Tingwan did not panic and retreat. The Dong family servants behind her were the ones truly like jackals, wolves, tigers, and leopards.
Yet they were deterred by the Wei family army and all halted, not daring to step forward.
The group before her eyes—how were they not Yu Tingwan’s life-saving straw?
Her eyes were brimming with tears, her voice carried trembling, she knelt down toward the coffin, tears rolling down from the corners of her eyes.
“This common woman is being forced by maternal aunt to be sold to the Dong family’s elderly over-seventy village squire as a wife. I should not disturb the general’s peace, but truly I have nowhere to go,”
“The general died in battle, His Majesty could not eat nor sleep because of this, defied the persuasion of ministers, and broke precedent to grant a prince’s funeral rites. I heard the people of the capital voluntarily posted white couplets and hung mourning banners, the whole country mourned.”
“But in Ze County, the Dong family, only separated by one street, today has gongs and drums clamoring, a grand joyous banquet set. Ze County from top to bottom should be in mourning, yet he didn’t even place the general in his eyes. Saying it’s provocation is not an exaggeration!”
The Wei family army members all changed expressions at once.
What a Dong family!
How dare they!
Let alone them—even the court officials ordered to escort Wei Zhao’s coffin looked worse one by one.
The Ze County magistrate had sweat on his forehead, but at that moment had no time to wipe it.
“Someone come, haven’t you dragged this woman of unclear background away yet!”
But Yu Tingwan only looked over coldly.
“Is the magistrate trying to shield the Dong family, or is it that you’re afraid the matter of Ze County reaches His Majesty’s ears and you lose your black gauze hat, thus are rushing to arrest me?” [乌纱帽: “black gauze hat,” a metaphor for official position or title]
She didn’t need to say more, the rage in the vice general’s eyes could no longer be concealed.
With one sword he chopped toward the magistrate’s shoulder.
“This sword was a reward from the general when he was alive. Once drawn, it must see blood!”
“Ze County is a piss-sized place, could there be any disturbance and you as magistrate not hear of it?”
“Why didn’t you care!”
“Was it that you took bribes, or thought we wouldn’t stay, that once a person dies the light goes out, and so didn’t place the general in your eyes!”
“That Dong family deserves death—you also should be killed!”
Seeing this, the Dong family servants were so frightened they retreated again and again.
Yu Tingwan knew, she had won the gamble.
Then, she heard someone shouting behind her.
“Wan-niang.”
There was light flickering in her eyes. She turned back abruptly and saw Hu Dazhu running toward her.
Hu Dazhu’s eyes were filled with bloodshot veins, utterly haggard. Afraid that during the days she was lost, he had not closed his eyes.
Hu Dazhu’s fingers were trembling, pulling her up from the ground.
“As long as you’re okay, as long as you’re okay.”
“They all said you were carried away by wild beasts. I just wouldn’t believe it. This child of mine, your fate couldn’t possibly be as thin as your ah-niang’s.”
Behind him was Hu Yaozu who had caught up.
Hu Yaozu’s concerned gaze stayed on Yu Tingwan the entire time, not moving even half a bit.
He looked like he wanted to speak but then stopped, in the end saying nothing at all.
Having suffered quite a bit of grievance these days, Yu Tingwan completely let go of her defenses upon seeing Hu Dazhu. She threw herself into Hu Dazhu’s arms, tears like a breached dam.
Hu Dazhu patted her back: “Cry, cry, uncle’s here, no one can bully you again. Once you’re done crying, we’ll go home.”
Yu Ting’s body froze. She slowly pulled away from Hu Dazhu’s embrace bit by bit.
“Uncle, how did you know I was in the county?”
Hu Dazhu actually didn’t dare to look at her reddened eyes.
“Your aunt said it.”
He didn’t speak of the twists and turns in between. Nor how he sensed something fishy and pried open Wang-shi’s mouth.
Hu Yaozu, seeing this, quickly said: “Wan-mei, this time it was my mother who did wrong. Father already beat her, scolded her, she knows she was wrong now.”
Yu Tingwan seemed like she hadn’t heard what he said, just kept looking at Hu Dazhu.
She actually clearly knew that all these years, Hu Dazhu had treated her like a biological daughter, and that wouldn’t be an exaggeration. But even more clearly, she knew how much Hu Dazhu valued Hu Yaozu.
Even if Hu Dazhu was angry with Wang-shi, for Hu Yaozu’s sake, he would not divorce her. Even more so, he wouldn’t let this matter blow up.
How could she ever compare to Hu Yaozu’s future and reputation?
Yu Tingwan couldn’t say she was disappointed—she just felt it was laughable.
She heard herself ask in a very, very soft voice: “After all that, Uncle still thinks I can return with you without a single thorn in my heart?”
The scene abruptly cut off, but that sense of sorrow and helplessness was still spreading bit by bit in her chest.
Yu Tingwan let out a deep breath.
———
Time passed very quickly. In a blink, it was the wedding day.
Yu Tingwan got up early, preparing to go first to the Wei family home, to paste up all kinds of double happiness characters.
On the day of great joy, the corners of her eyes and brows were full of joy.
Hui-niang had to prepare the banquet. One person alone couldn’t handle it all, so Yu Tingwan thought once she finished pasting the happiness characters, she’d go to the kitchen.
She was afraid the wedding robe would get stained with oil, so she planned to change into it only when the sun was about to set and it was time to bow to the hall.
But just as she stepped out the door, she bumped into Aunt Wu who had come looking for her.
Aunt Wu was just wondering why the Wei family had red couplets pasted at the door. She had planned to go in and ask, but upon seeing Yu Tingwan come out, she threw that thought to the back of her mind.
She dragged her to a corner, all mysterious and mumbling.
“Wan-niang ah, can you really tell fortunes?”
Yu Tingwan: …
What can she even do?
Last time she warned the Wu family’s young daughter-in-law not to get bumped, that was only because of her memories from her past life.
But her memories were all incomplete.
Facing Aunt Wu’s shining eyes, Yu Tingwan hesitated for a moment: “Hard to say.”
Aunt Wu: “I’m asking on someone else’s behalf. If it’s accurate, she’s willing to pay fifty wen!”
At these words, Yu Tingwan didn’t hesitate: “I’m very strong!”
Aunt Wu was overjoyed. She looked around, still uneasy, and dragged Yu Tingwan into the old house. Only then did she lower her voice and explain the situation: “That girl calls me aunt. Early on she was married off by her stepmother.”
“She rarely visits her maternal home, but with her birth mother’s death anniversary coming up, she came back to stay for a night. And just one night stirred up something big. She saw something was wrong with that stepmother—like she had signs of early pregnancy. At first we thought it was overthinking. After all, her father has been dead for several years. How could the stepmother be pregnant?”
She covered her mouth: “But that stepmother sneakily went to Sandun Village to find a midwife who specializes in delivering babies. When she came back, she brought back a few packs of medicine. The girl thought something was off, so she secretly took a little and went to ask Old Man Qian. And found out—those were abortion pills!”
“Wan-niang, you could even divine that Xu family brat would harm our Xiufen, that shows you’ve got skills. This slut isn’t easy to catch, help her divine who the bastard father of that child is.”
Yu Tingwan: …
Really treating fortune-telling like divine powers, huh.
Wait a minute…
She seems to know who this stepmother is.
Matchmaker Liu.
The person Aunt Wu was talking about was Matchmaker Liu’s stepdaughter—Zhou Qin.
She knew!
That child belongs to Zhou Qin’s biological grandfather!
After the baby is born, no one even knows whether the child should call Zhou Qin “older sister,” or Zhou Qin should call the child “little uncle” or “little aunt.”
Anyway—it’s all from the Zhou family’s bloodline!!!
Seeing Yu Tingwan’s expression turn strange, Aunt Wu hurried her.
“What’s wrong? Quickly divine it.”
“I dare to divine, are you brave enough to hear it?”
How filthy!