Madam Tao felt stifled. She was suffocated by the current situation and by the ugliness of human nature. The thought of Gu Jingyuan’s crime weighed even heavier on her mind. Gu Jingyuan’s crime was the adultery with Concubine Li.
At night, Madam Tao tucked Gu Jingyuan in and heard his murmurings. She leaned in and vaguely heard the word “Li.” Madam Tao knew he was thinking of his late wife.
Gu Jingyuan was her husband and her admired hero. She had become his second wife against all odds. No one understood better than her how deeply Gu Jingyuan loved his late wife. She also had absolute faith in his character, firmly believing he was incapable of such a vile act against a woman.
But… Concubine Li was the younger sister of Gu Jingyuan’s late wife, and they looked very similar.
Madam Tao shuddered, suddenly feeling uncertain.
She couldn’t think about it too much, nor did she dare to. She wiped the moisture from the corner of her eyes and knocked on Gu Jianli’s door.
Gu Jianli sat on her bed with her knees drawn up, her chin resting on them. In the dimly lit room, she looked like a small, curled-up figure. She tilted her head, looking up at Madam Tao, then patted the bed beside her, inviting her to sit.
Madam Tao suppressed her sorrow, sat next to her, and tried to force a smile. Watching Gu Jianli’s expression, she tentatively and pleasingly said, “I just wanted to come over and chat with you. I hope I’m not disturbing you?”
Madam Tao never had a loss for words with outsiders, but she became somewhat tongue-tied with the three members of the Gu family. Perhaps it was because she felt inferior and her low self-esteem acted up.
Gu Jianli placed her hand on Madam Tao’s, making Madam Tao feel a bit uncomfortable at the sight of their intertwined hands.
“Thank you,” Gu Jianli said.
Madam Tao hurriedly responded, “What are you talking about…”
Gu Jianli shook her head with a smile and softly said, “When I was young, I was not very sensible and didn’t show you enough respect…”
“That’s not true! Nonsense!” Madam Tao quickly interrupted her. She understood the two stepdaughters well; who could genuinely like a stepmother? Moreover, these two stepdaughters had only been indifferent and distant towards her over the years, which couldn’t be considered disrespectful.
The two shared a knowing smile, some words unnecessary to be spoken.
Madam Tao comforted Gu Jianli, “Some half-dead people are said to recover when a happy event happens. You’ve had good luck since childhood, and though your marriage has had many twists and turns, marrying Lord Ji by chance might be a kind of fate. Maybe you’ll actually cure Lord Ji’s illness by marrying him, and the day after, he’ll be as lively as a dragon!”
Gu Jianli didn’t really believe in the idea of a “joyous event dispelling illness,” but she didn’t want Madam Tao to worry too much. So she smiled, following Madam Tao’s words, half-seriously and half-jokingly said, “Thank you for your kind words, but I just hope Lord Ji remains half-dead. He better not be lively as a dragon.”
She frowned slightly, showing a rare bit of girlish charm.
Madam Tao was taken aback and asked, “Are you afraid of him?”
Gu Jianli retorted, “Is there anyone who isn’t afraid of him?”
“This…”
Recalling the deeds of the half-dead Fifth Master of the Guangping Marquis’ household, Madam Tao suddenly didn’t know how to comfort Gu Jianli. Not to mention her fifteen-year-old stepdaughter, even she would tremble in fear when facing Lord Ji.
Gu Jianli seemed to think of something and shuddered, her voice trembling, “I heard that those who kill too many people will be haunted by evil spirits after death. He has killed so many; if he dies and I’m buried with him, wouldn’t I also be haunted by countless evil spirits?”
Gu Jianli’s face turned paler and paler, her anxiety and fear evident. She had lost all the composure she had earlier.
Madam Tao knew Gu Jianli was fearless in her actions but had a particular fear of ghosts. She was pondering how to comfort her when she suddenly saw Gu Jianli breathe a sigh of relief.
“How could I forget? He has killed so many people that he would become the most fearsome ghost after death! Other evil spirits wouldn’t dare haunt him…”
Gu Jianli’s voice lowered, tinged with doubt and terror.
“Jianli, don’t say such things. There are no ghosts in this world!”
Gu Jianli remained silent, still lost in her imaginings. Madam Tao quickly spoke up to stop her from overthinking and scaring herself into nightmares in the middle of the night.
“Jianli, we’re not at a dead end yet. As long as we’re alive, there’s hope. Not to mention that Lord Ji might not die immediately, even if he does, it doesn’t mean you have to be buried with him. Paths are made by people, and solutions are found by people. The Gu family will never be dejected or lose their fighting spirit.”
Gu Jianli nodded, not wanting her stepmother to worry further.
But in her heart, she kept speculating wildly. No matter what, she was married to Lord Ji. After the marriage, she might have to take care of him for a few days before he died. In the underworld, seeing that she had cared for him and was buried with him, he might protect her from the evil spirits.
But someone as cold-blooded and sinister as Lord Ji, would he even know how to be grateful? The first one to devour her might not be some other ghost but Lord Ji himself!
Gu Jianli had nightmares all night, dreaming that she was trapped in the underworld, surrounded by terrifying, ugly evil spirits. She ran and ran, accidentally falling, and when she looked up, she saw the nine-headed, six-armed Lord Ji. He picked her up and, with a massive gaping mouth, “chomp,” he ate her!
Gu Jianli woke up in a cold sweat, her clothes soaked.
“The underworld is too terrifying…”
She clasped her hands together, praying earnestly for Lord Ji to live a little longer, much longer, but never to wake up, preferably remaining half-dead forever, hanging on to life.
Gu Jianli bit her lip gently, feeling guilty for hoping Lord Ji wouldn’t recover. But thinking of Lord Ji’s terrifying reputation, she gritted her teeth and selfishly forgave herself.
Three days passed in a flash.
Gu Jianli sat up, her clear and bright phoenix eyes showing no sign of the grogginess of someone just woken. She had barely slept that night.
She sat quietly for a while, then hesitantly took out a letter from under her pillow and slowly unfolded it.
It was still dark, and unwilling to light a candle, the room was pitch black. Gu Jianli couldn’t see the words on the letter, but she had long memorized them. Her slender fingertips brushed over the paper as her lips moved silently, reciting the poem written on the letter.
This letter was sent to her secretly by Ji Xuanke on the second day of their engagement.
Gu Jianli remained motionless, lost in thought for a long time.
In the past three months, she had seen much of human nature’s coldness and warmth. Even relatives had taken advantage of their misfortune. She and Ji Xuanke had not become husband and wife, so it was only natural for him to avoid risks and seek benefits. There was no reason to hold a grudge against him.
Gu Jianli smiled with relief as she lit the candle. The dim flame gradually consumed the letter, burning away every word and sentence. It also burned away everything about Ji Xuanke.
On the table lay a bright red wedding dress. Gu Jianli touched the coarse fabric, changed into it, and walked into the outer room. Her stepmother and younger brother were in the courtyard; only her father lay on the bed in the outer room.
Gu Jianli sat quietly by her father’s bedside, her gaze filled with sadness and reluctance as she looked at him for a long time, unable to tear her eyes away.
Hearing sounds outside, Gu Jianli held her father’s hand, bent down, and whispered in his ear, “Father, Jianli is getting married. The wedding dress you prepared for me was taken away. Please wake up and get it back for me.”
Gu Jianli didn’t notice her father’s hand twitch slightly at his side.
Madam Tao came in and handed a bowl of noodles to Gu Jianli. The steaming noodles held a peeled boiled egg.
Holding the hot bowl of noodles, Gu Jianli looked at Madam Tao in confusion. She was quite frugal, saving every bit of money for her father’s treatment.
“Hurry and eat, it’s longevity noodles!”
Gu Jianli was startled, then quickly lowered her head, tears falling into the noodles. She blinked rapidly, trying to stop her tears, and ate the noodles one bite at a time.
In the Great Ji Dynasty, girls typically married at sixteen or seventeen, with fifteen being the youngest age permitted. Girls younger than fifteen were not allowed to marry. The Guangping Marquis’ household, fearing that Lord Ji would die too soon, couldn’t delay any longer. They had waited three days because today was Gu Jianli’s fifteenth birthday.
Madam Tao also stuffed two silver ingots into Gu Jianli’s hands.
“I probably won’t need these; keep them,” Gu Jianli tried to return the silver.
Madam Tao slapped Gu Jianli’s hand hard. “You useless girl! It’s not time to give up! When I say take it, you take it!”
Gu Jianli smiled slightly, understanding Madam Tao’s well-intentioned comfort, and didn’t insist further. She took one last deep look at her comatose father, patted her younger brother’s shoulder, lowered the red silk over her head, and stepped over the threshold.
“Elder sister!” Gu Chuan suddenly hugged her leg.
Her younger brother, who had been mischievous and disobedient, had become unusually silent since the family’s troubles began, not saying a word all day. His eyes were red, and he softly but firmly said, “Wait for me!”
Gu Jianli looked at him from under the red silk, patted his head, and said, “Xiao Chuan is now a man. You must protect our parents.”
Gu Chuan nodded vigorously.
Gu Jianli turned and walked out. She resisted the urge to look back and resolutely got into the bridal sedan chair. The sedan chair swayed and gradually moved away. The shouts following her slowly faded out of earshot.
Sitting in the sedan chair, Gu Jianli’s tears started to fall, first trickling, then streaming down, soaking her face.
Falling from the clouds into the mud, she had held back her tears for the past three months, but today she couldn’t anymore.
With her face covered by red silk and isolated in the sedan chair, she could cry to her heart’s content.
Memories of the past floated before her eyes. Her vision blurred with tears, and she could no longer see the happy moments clearly.
Once she felt emotionally relieved from crying, she took out a handkerchief from her sleeve and carefully wiped her face. Her face, washed by tears, looked even more delicate and jade-like. She slowly curled her lips into a graceful and elegant smile.
The sedan chair was carried through the side gate into the Guangping Marquis’ mansion. It was cold and quiet, without firecrackers or any celebratory noise.
“Fifth Lady, it’s time to get out of the sedan chair.”
A hand reached out from the sedan chair, causing Nanny Song to pause before she reached out to assist. Nanny Song helped Gu Jianli into the small courtyard, explaining, “The Fifth Master is unwell and cannot endure noise. The wedding banquet is in the front yard. As for other ceremonies, they will be simplified.”
Gu Jianli nodded slightly, looking at the path beneath her from under the red silk.
Nanny Song continued to say something, but Gu Jianli didn’t pay much attention. As she got closer to Lord Ji, her heart grew more uneasy.
When they entered the room, the smell of medicine was overwhelming.
Once Nanny Song helped her sit by the bed, Gu Jianli straightened her back, her whole body tense. Cold sweat began to seep from her forehead.
He… is right beside her?
In the red-filtered vision, the image of the dream Lord Ji — nine-headed and six-armed, as strong as a bull — appeared.
She clenched the handkerchief hidden in her wide sleeve, suddenly exerting force. Her nails broke, causing a sharp pain that made her gasp.