Jiangnan Gaiden - Capítulo 3
"You gave birth to such a good daughter! Let her go!" The two maids nimbly dodged aside. A thick, strong hand slapped the middle-aged woman's beautiful face without any mercy. Her frail body could not withstand the violence and she fell to the edge of the bed, collapsing to the ground, curling up into a ball. There were no cries, only fear, trembling, and tears streaming down her delicate face.
"If you can't get her to do things for me by tomorrow, it won't just be a slap! I'll hand you over to the torture chamber and have the First Madam execute you." The old man cruelly uttered these harsh words, watching with satisfaction as the middle-aged woman trembled like a leaf in the wind, filled with fear. Then, with an expression of disdain, he turned and left. The two maids also left on their own.
After a long, long time, the frail woman on the edge of the bed sat up, her face streaked with tears, and embraced Yang Yiliu.
"Huan'er, Huan'er, I shouldn't have given birth to you. I suffer alone. If this lifelong misery is my destiny, I can't bear it. At most, I'll just die. But God is so unfair. He made you born into this terrible family, and as my daughter, you are destined to continue my suffering for the rest of your life. Huan'er, my child! Last night, I heard the news of your suicide. I cried and cried. I cried because you were finally free, and I cried because of your sorrow. Born into this terrible family, why weren't you a little worse? Instead, you were as cowardly as me, bullied and slaughtered by everyone..." The woman sobbed uncontrollably, her heart breaking.
Tears welled up in Yang Yiliu's eyes for no apparent reason. This woman was Su Huan'er's mother! Though she was thin as a rake, she was still beautiful, and even her fine clothes could not hide her sorrowful and suffering heart... She was a weak woman who had been bullied so much in a male-dominated society! This was probably not the first time she had been beaten by that furious old man, but the threats that the man had thrown at her seemed even more terrifying than the injuries she had just suffered.
Good heavens! Were all men in the Song Dynasty like this? She actually arrived in such an era! Sigh, since she's here anyway, and has survived in Su Huan'er's place, she has an obligation to help Su Huan'er's mother. Yang Yiliu, oh Yang Yiliu! You think too highly of yourself; you currently have nothing! Moreover, the time and space you exist in isn't the 20th century with gender equality, but an ancient era of male supremacy. The excessive inflated egos of men clearly demonstrate the insignificance of women! In this era, a woman's value is roughly equivalent to that of a piece of furniture—a cold voice in her heart reminded her.
This is truly infuriating. But she won't give up! Yang Yiliu gently hugged her "mother." Now she must thoroughly investigate the family's personnel structure and the reasons for Su Huan'er's suicide attempt... Clearing her throat, she found the burning pain was no longer intense, and she could now produce a slightly hoarse voice.
"He... wants me to get married. If I don't, he'll beat you again, won't he?"
The beautiful woman nodded sadly, her eyes still filled with shock and fear.
In this home, she and her daughter were isolated. They had always huddled together, helpless and weeping. Now, her daughter's protective arms encircled her. The woman had no time to question the motivation behind this protective act; she simply greedily absorbed the sense of security emanating from those arms.
He feigned courage and spoke up, trying to provoke her:
"Don't worry about what he'll do to me, Huan'er. Don't agree to do anything heinous. He wants you to investigate Young Master Shi's background and steal his account books. Your father wants to harm him..."
"My father?" Yang Yiliu exclaimed, interrupting the middle-aged woman. Good heavens! That terrifying man was actually Huan'er's biological father, and the beautiful woman's husband!
Ao Ren, oblivious to the surprise and disbelief in her tone, continued speaking as if nothing had happened: "This Young Master Shi, I met him once before, he... he's a terrifying person. If he knew you were marrying him for that purpose, he would definitely beat you to death. Your father is so biased, he doesn't care about his other daughters, he insists on sending you to your death, he has no regard for blood ties at all... He, he's truly a cold-blooded and heartless beast! Huan'er, if you don't betray Young Master Shi, as his wife, he certainly won't abuse you. Marry him! Don't worry about me, life there will definitely be better." She then burst into tears again.
Yang Yiliu felt all sensation return to her body. She took out a handkerchief to wipe away her mother's tears. Being born into this era was an unchangeable fact. So, her only wish now was to rescue this poor woman from this hell. To let her live a good life; she was determined to do it no matter what.
"Mother, listen to me, I will marry into that family, and I will definitely take you to live with me..."
The door was suddenly and rudely pushed open, interrupting Yang Yiliu's unfinished words. Four maids in green robes escorted in a stunningly beautiful woman. The woman in red, with an air of arrogance, first glared at the woman and then sneered.
"Yu Niang, why is your face so swollen like a big steamed bun?"
"Ninth Miss, please, Huan'er has just woken up and is still very weak..." Yu Niang tried to stop the beauty in red from bullying her daughter, almost kowtowing, but her face was soon covered with fresh tears.
"Get out of the way!" The woman in red rudely pushed Yu Niang aside.
"What are you doing here?" Yang Yiliu quickly helped Yu Niang up. Her calm and composed demeanor was something no one had ever seen before, even the beautiful woman in red was taken aback.
Su Hongxiang, the ninth young lady of the Su family, had always found her sole pleasure in bullying her stunningly beautiful younger sister. She especially loved watching her cry and curl up in a ball. Today, Su Huan'er was different, yet it was hard to pinpoint exactly what was different! She was still petite, still possessed the same beautiful face—a face that was utterly repulsive! Ever since Su Huan'er came of age, countless noble young men had come to propose marriage, leaving the other four unmarried sisters of the Su family without suitors. Even the man Su Hongxiang admired had fallen for Su Huan'er, which was unforgivable, so Su Hongxiang hated her to the core.
Looking at the sinister expression on the woman in red, it was obvious that she was related to that old man; they were cut from the same cloth. However, she was no longer the Su Huan'er who had been bullied and dared not fight back.
Su Hongxiang laughed shrilly:
"Congratulations on surviving, Su Huan'er. Your husband is the richest man in the six northern provinces! That 'Northern Asura,' Shi Wuji. Just hearing that terrifying name tells you he's a rare and extraordinary man. You, you slut, are a perfect match for him. Don't think that after you marry him he'll treat you like a precious flower, living a life of luxury. Northerners use their wives to entertain guests; a hundred men share one woman. You're going to be a prostitute, not a rich young mistress! I'm so glad you didn't die, otherwise I would be the one marrying that devil. Thank you so much, you little slut!" She waited to see Su Huan'er burst into tears.