"Nonsense, it was clearly you, you little brat... who broke my inkstone and blamed it on the Fu family's younger sister, making her cry. That's why I disciplined you."
"It was that little girl Fu Wan who broke it! Third Brother is so biased!" Cheng Zheng got angrier and angrier. He tried to pounce on Jiang Yuan's arms, but before he could touch Xiangxiang's mother, he was lifted up by a big hand. He was furious and angry. "Second Brother can testify for me."
"You're always trying to please your second brother. Why don't you ask your elder brother, the Crown Prince, to be your witness!"
"Mother, look at Third Brother." Finally, Cheng Zheng's mouth twitched and he started wailing, his little golden tears bouncing around. Jiang Yuan felt a little sorry for him and quickly reached out to Song Yansi to catch him.
Sunlight filtered through the flower vines, and the courtyard was filled with the gentle chirping of Jiang Yuan. Song Yansi squinted, though he complained that the children were too noisy, his heart was overflowing with happiness.
In the autumn of the tenth year of the Chengtai reign, the emperor and empress went to Hui'an Temple to offer incense. On the way, they found an abandoned baby girl. The emperor and empress were delighted with the girl and took her back to the palace to raise her. They named her Ningyao, and everyone in the palace called her Princess Anping. This girl was intelligent, respectful, filial, and skilled in both literature and martial arts. At the age of seventeen, she married the youngest son of General Mu. She offered many strategies to resist David. The couple spent half their lives on the battlefield, and their virtuous reputation spread far and wide.
In the eighteenth year of the Chengtai reign, the emperor fell ill and abdicated in favor of the crown prince.
In the same year, the crown prince paid homage at the ancestral temple, ascended the throne, and adopted the reign title of Gande, thus beginning the most glorious century for the Great Shu.
Many years later.
“Cheng Yu will definitely be angry.” Inside the carriage, Song Yansi was in high spirits. He sat cross-legged in front of a small table, drinking tea and smiling as he watched Jiang Yuan, who was filled with excitement.
"It's all your fault. You insisted on marrying my Yao'er off so far away. It's so hard for us to even see each other."
"You chose your son-in-law, so why are you blaming me?"
"I don't care!"
Sunlight dappled the lake's surface, the weather was fine and sunny, the autumn waters rippled gently, blending seamlessly with the sky. The carriage moved slowly along the wide road, the voices of the woman and man inside drifting further and further away with the sound of the horses' hooves.
Chapter 94 Rong An's Past Life Side Story
Rong An didn't know how she got to her cousin's side. The man just looked at her, his eyes full of pain.
"Rong'an, I'm sorry." Song Yansi tried to take her hand, but she dodged away abruptly.
"Why didn't you come to save me? Why didn't you come to save me!" she kept muttering. She had written him so many letters; he could have easily come to save her. "You promised Mother you would take care of me."
But what was the result? Rong An could not forget that night, nor could she forget the man who kept moving on her body. That night, she screamed until her voice was hoarse, and all she could hear was Madam Song's cold voice, "You're not being treated unfairly by marrying into the Zhang family."
The man on top of her was in his thirties and reeked of alcohol. His hands kept stroking her skin, and the smell of his breath made her feel nauseous. She was pinned down by him, naked, struggling and pleading, crying uncontrollably.
"My little darling." The man on top continued his movements, "You'll have to marry me sooner or later, so let's become lovers in the red tent first."
She didn't want to get married; she longed for a man as radiant as the moon in her heart.
When Rong'an learned that Madam Song had readily agreed to the marriage with the Zhang family, she had pleaded with her mother, who said that as a daughter of the Tang family, she should uphold the Tang family's integrity. But Rong'an was at this point and didn't want to think about it anymore. She knelt in front of Madam Song's door for a whole day, but she still couldn't persuade the woman who was originally gentle and kind in her heart.
She kept writing to Song Yansi. Her mother said that her cousin was her only relative in the world, and that he would protect her. She should trust him.
However, every letter went unanswered. Each time she saw Sui'er shaking her head with tears in her eyes, her heart grew colder.
The second master of the Zhang family was disabled. Years ago, he had his leg broken while fighting for a girl in a brothel. After his leg was set, he walked with a limp and became increasingly sinister. Daughters from wealthy families were unwilling to marry him, and the Zhang family looked down on girls from modest families. He finally managed to marry a wife of equal social standing, but she was tormented to death by him within two years.
As for Rong'an, she was spotted by him unintentionally while shopping on the street. He then sent a servant to the Song family to propose marriage. The Zhang family controlled the canal transport, and Madam Song agreed without hesitation, intending to use Rong'an to exchange for a new route for the Song family on the water.
The more unwilling Rong'an was, the more anxious Madam Song became. That woman, once her gentle facade was torn away, turned as cold as ice.
The door was locked tightly from the outside. From inside the courtyard came the sound of Sui'er's forehead hitting the ground as she cried and pleaded, "Madam, please let our young lady go."
"I've found a good match for your young lady."
Her fingernail was broken by the immense force, and bright red blood flowed from Rong An's fingertip to the back of her hand, spreading in a strange curve.
I won't get married, and you shouldn't get married either, okay?
good.
Her body ached, and so did her heart. A warm sensation surged within her, and the man's low breaths whispered in her ear, his wet lips and tongue relentlessly kissing her body. This time, she truly was unworthy of that bright moon.
The candlelight crackled and popped. She sensed someone leaving the room. She heard Madam Song's satisfied laughter. She felt someone embrace her and weep, tears falling onto her shoulder like a summer downpour.
After that, the man came frequently, and she knew from Miss Song's sarcastic remarks how bad the rumors about him were.
The more she resisted, the more excited the man became, hurling more and more vulgarities at her, until finally she couldn't hold back any longer. The moment the scissors plunged into his shoulder, blood splattered onto her face, followed by even greater pain. She was slapped several times, seeing stars, and then dragged back onto the bed, her hysterical outbursts useless.
Mother, my cousin lied to us. She has truly been abandoned, and no one in this world will come to save her. And the man she cherishes most is no longer within her reach; she doesn't even have the right to reach out to him.
The hairpin was gripped tightly in her palm, and the moment the man let out a low growl, she stabbed it into his throat. Rong'an looked at his suddenly dilated pupils; blood stained her clothes, flowing all over the bed and onto her body.
Sui'er was the first to rush in. That girl had always been a crybaby, but at that moment she was incredibly calm.
“He’s dead.” Rong’an opened her mouth, her face calm, holding the blood-stained hairpin in her hand as if to say, “What a beautiful day.”
"Miss, let's go."
Where to?
"Go home, go back to our home."
“Our home?” There’s no home left. Her mother is dead, so she has no home anymore.
Rong'an didn't know how Sui'er had bribed the gatekeeper's servant. That greedy and gambling servant actually left a door open for her. The rain was really heavy that night. Sui'er sheltered her in the swill cart and said, "This cart runs every half hour. Miss, go first. I'll come find you later."
Sui'er's eyes were unusually firm under the moonlight, which made Rong'an really think that they could escape. But after that parting, she never saw Sui'er again.
When Xu An found her, she was all alone in the mountain god temple where they had sheltered from the rain together when they were children. He took her to see a doctor and also to see Sui'er.
It's just a small mound of earth, without even a tombstone.
He said, "When I found her, she was already gone."
“Sui’er has been timid since she was little. She’s afraid of the dark and afraid of pain.” They had promised to depend on each other for survival, and they had clearly promised to go home together. How could she abandon her? She dug at the mound of earth like a madwoman, cutting her palms all over with stones. Her Sui’er was so timid, how could she dare to sleep here alone?
Xu An just kept pulling on her arm. Rong An watched his mouth open and close, but she didn't know what he was saying. All she knew was that Sui'er was gone, the girl she had grown up with since childhood was gone.
Rong'an didn't know how she got into the carriage, nor how long the journey had been. She kept vomiting, unable to stop herself from thinking about everything that had happened over the past two months. Xu An had called several doctors for her, but nothing helped until the carriage reached the border town.
A strong wind blew by, and Song Yansi just stood there. She looked at him and felt like he was a complete stranger.
He hired the best doctors for her, and she was forced to drink countless herbal decoctions, but her health did not improve, and she vomited more and more severely.
A terrible thought crawled through her mind.
Her period seems to have been late for a long time.
“This child must stay.” These were the first words Song Yansi said when she asked him to confirm.
Why stay? It was like a knife, constantly stabbing at her heart, reminding her of that unbearable past.
"I don't want to!" Rong An heard the harsh words come out of her own mouth, filled with uncontrollable resentment and hatred. She gripped Song Yansi's arm tightly. "That beast ruined me. Why did I have to give birth to his bastard child? Why did you do this to me? Do you know how much pain I'm in?"
She frantically slammed her fist against her stomach, then turned to ram her head against the corner of the table, but was held tightly by someone. Song Yansi's voice trembled uncontrollably, "Rong'an, you can't take this child, you mustn't take it."
He consulted all the famous doctors in the area, but Rong'an's health was too poor to carry the child; if she were to be forcibly aborted, she would be at high risk of hemorrhage.
"Then let me die!" The person in her arms wailed, her cries filled with despair. "I trusted you so much, why didn't you come to save me? How could you not come to save me?"
Letter after letter arrived. At that time, Song Yanji was fighting on the front lines day and night. By the time he returned victorious, several months had passed, and it was too late to find her.
Rong'an's belly grew bigger day by day, and she became increasingly silent, often not uttering a single word all day. Everyone in the army assumed she was carrying Song Yanji's child, and whenever the topic came up, Song Yanji never denied it, further confirming everyone's suspicions.
The day Rong'an gave birth was extremely dangerous, because she was carrying twins and had no will to live. If Fu Zhengyan hadn't sent Fifth Master over in time, she would most likely have died.
Basins of bloody water were being carried out. Rong An lay on the bed, and she vaguely heard Fu Zhengyan's voice. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she closed her eyes resignedly. If only she could die this time.
Later, her cousin came to her side and told her about the Tang family and her father. She finally understood her mother's tears and why her mother wouldn't let her bow down to the Song family. Her cousin said he would clear the Tang family's name, avenge her, and also punish Madam Song. He wouldn't let any of them go. He said, "Rong'an, you must live on. Your suffering will be repaid by your cousin."
At that time, neither she nor her cousin knew that their future path would be so difficult.
Later, she went to Lin'an and used the two children to dispel Li Sheng's suspicion of her cousin, and also met her cousin's rightful wife.
That woman, innocent and passionate, couldn't hide her grievances. She bit her lip and slapped her. Then she saw Jiang Yuan's fingers trembling under her sleeve.
The two children seemed frightened by Jiang Yuan's resentment and kept crying, but Rong An didn't want to watch at all. She was afraid that if she watched, she would be unable to help but strangle them with her own hands. They were the shame she could never wash away.
In the days that followed, she was like a spectator, watching her cousin keep digging up the secrets buried in time, watching Jiang Yuan gradually lose his brightness and become ruthless, and watching more and more people get involved.
With the increasing number of women in the harem, Xie Jiayan became the most popular woman, locked in a fierce battle with Jiang Yuan. The Jiang and Xie families stood on opposing sides, while various regional princes caused constant turmoil, and her cousin was almost driven to his death.
Only here was she quiet and still, until the day Jiang Yuan came looking for her.
She understood that this woman couldn't hold on any longer; she said she envied her. Looking into Jiang Yuan's eyes, Rong An knew she was sincere, but what did she have to envy?
Tang Rong'an is long dead; what lives on now is nothing but resentment and unwillingness.
Jiang Yuan's love for her cousin was once matched by her hatred now. Who wouldn't hate someone whose family was destroyed? But did she hate Jiang Yuan? Rong An asked herself. The answer was naturally no. What did the grudges of the past have to do with Jiang Yuan? She was born with original sin simply because her surname was Jiang.
Rong'an did not sleep a wink that night. The next day, at the crack of dawn, a palace servant came to report that the Emperor and Empress had passed away the previous night.
"That's good." Rong An looked down at the thick carpet, her eyes like a dry well, finally free.
She truly envied Jiang Yuan.
Her cousin was still the same cousin, yet he was not quite the same person. Rong'an had never known that her cousin could be so ruthless, like a demon from hell who could mercilessly kill anyone who stood in his way.
Blood flowed like rivers, and the people suffered terribly.
Rong'an remembers that when she was a child, her cousin once said that when he grew up he wanted to be a scholar like Han Yu, traveling around and writing books, living a carefree and unrestrained life, and spending his best years with him.
But now, he's probably become someone he doesn't even recognize.
Then, the Xie family finally fell, and all the grievances and hatred the Tang family had harbored over the years were laid bare for all to see. Madam Song was also filled with fear and anxiety, and after falling ill once, she never recovered.
Over the years, Rong'an looked at herself in the mirror, her white hair had turned black.
Just then, an unfamiliar male and female voice rang out from outside the door, "I heard that Mother Consort wishes to see her son."
Rong'an rarely saw them, but this time she had someone prepare a table full of food, and she saw the suspicion in her son and daughter's eyes.
"Now that everything is settled, it's time for Mother to start thinking about herself." She smiled and served food to her children.
“It’s wonderful that Mother thinks this way.” The princess dismissed all the palace servants, her eyes shining. “Father is getting old, but he only has four sons. The third brother died young, the eldest brother is much older than the second brother, and the fourth brother is still a child.”
That's right, her child is grown up, but her cousin's child is still young.
"I hope my mother will lend me a hand," the eldest prince said, kneeling on the ground.
Rong'an knew exactly what kind of person her son had become. She reached out and pulled him, poured two glasses of wine and placed them in front of them. "Okay."
"Thank you, Mother." Her son and daughter couldn't contain their joy; she had seen that glint in their eyes far too many times before—it was greed.
Rong'an watched them down their drinks in one gulp, and moments later, the surprise in their eyes turned into deep terror. Even tigers don't eat their cubs; tell me, what mother in the world would kill her own child with her own hands?
Rong'an held their hands and patted them gently. She had never looked at them so closely before. These were her children, so tiny, yet they seemed to have grown up all of a sudden. The temperature in her palms grew colder and colder. As she watched the children gradually stop struggling, something slid down her cheek, and a voice, desolate and sorrowful, said, "In the next life, find a good family and don't come looking for your mother again."
My cousin has had such a hard life, and his child is still so young. She can't leave him with even the slightest burden.