Zheng Lingbo stood holding a spittoon, bent over beside his aunt Yang Yuyan. She listened to the children teasing each other while casually spitting out the pits of longan into the spittoon.
The married second daughter, Liu Ningning, returned to her parents' home with her child to visit relatives. The room was adorned with flowers and ornaments, yet Zheng Lingbo stood out of place among them.
She was already frighteningly thin, with her exposed wrists appearing to be wrapped in a layer of skin over bones. Her stooped and hunched posture was like that of an elderly person, lacking vitality.
The child was brought back by Liu Chengwang from outside a few years ago, claiming that his friend had passed away, and he couldn't take care of the child anymore, so he entrusted it to him.
Now only about five or six years old, he had attendants help him peel the shells and remove the kernels, but he wouldn't eat it; he insisted on doing it himself. However, being so young, after a few attempts his hands began to hurt, and he couldn't help but lose his temper. He threw a plate off the table with one hand, which happened to be aimed directly at Zheng Lingbo's face.
"Ugly freaky! What are you looking at?"
Zheng Lingbo was caught off guard and hit directly. A soft "Ouch!" escaped her lips, and she dropped the spittoon in her hand, instinctively reaching up to cover her face.
The spittoon hit the ground, and the kernels inside almost landed on Yang Yuyan. The next second, Yang Yuyan slapped her hand out, cursing fiercely, "Are you trying to die? Bad luck! You can't even hold a spittoon properly!"
Zheng Lingbo looked at the child, momentarily at a loss. Liu Ningning disliked her and raised her hand to throw the teacup at her, exclaiming, "What are you staring at my baby for? Do you want to cause trouble for the child?"
Zheng Lingbo, instinctively trying to dodge the scalding tea, finally only turned her head slightly. The tea splashed onto her shoulder, burning her skin sharply. Her neck also reddened. After a long time, she whispered softly, "I'm not, I didn't..."
No one in the room was listening to her, and Liu Ningning gave her a cold look, flicking her own hand that was also slightly scorched. In a bad mood, she said, "What a bad luck."
Yang Yuyan patted the child's soft, round face and comforted him, "Don't look at this ugly thing. Later, grandma will accompany you to eat lychees."
She said this and glared at Zheng Lingbo, "The one without eyesight! Get out and kneel outside. Don't get up until you know the rules."
Now it is the height of summer, and the room is warm and cheerful. Outside, the sun is fierce, baking the slabs of stone so hot that they burn. Zheng Lingbo, dressed in coarse hemp clothing, kneels on them. Her face turns a bright red not long after, and she can only hang her head and stand there in a daze.
Six years ago, although she succeeded in becoming the wife of the Liu family, no one in the Liu family liked her, including her husband and cousin, Liu Chengwang. He paid her little attention and was often beaten or insulted when he saw her.
Zheng Lingbo accepted her fate, but she also felt some injustice. Liu Chengwang simply said lightly, "Isn't this what you asked for?"
Yes, she had pursued this marriage, so now she was supposed to endure everything that came with it.
The sun was scorching, making her dizzy. Everything before her turned black. Only then did she realize that it was already dusk. A servant came over with a compassionate look, urging her to return. So, Zheng Lingbo stiffened in that position and bowed respectfully towards the room: "Thank you, honored lady."
Kneeling for half an afternoon, her clothes were soaked in sweat and then dried, her legs were so stiff she couldn't move. But Zheng Lingbo's several years of time, as if also accustomed to, a while later, so staggeringly slowly back towards her own yard.
It was called a courtyard, but in fact it was an abandoned shed, a room the servants would not live in. But after the Zheng family's extermination, there was nowhere else for Zheng Lingbo to go except there.
She walked slowly in the shadows of the trees, expressionless.
Unexpectedly, there was a sound not far away. Zheng Lingbo instinctively shrank down and lowered her head to hide in the corner, fearing another beating or scolding without reason.
A rather unfamiliar voice said, "Zheng... Madam?"
The person on the other side seemed to be hesitant. Zheng Lingbo's peripheral vision caught a glimpse of someone's shadow and didn't think it was calling herself. She moved a little further into the corner, holding her breath, and waiting for the person to pass by.
But the person called out again, "Madam."
Zheng Lingbo hesitated for a moment, then looked up. There stood a young man, a stranger, supporting Liu Chengwang, who was reeking of alcohol.
The sky was getting dark. Zheng Lingbo's heart skipped a beat. She couldn't remember when she last saw Liu Chengwang. It had been six years. Even ice could be melted, but Liu Chengwang's heart remained hard, and Zheng Lingbo had also learned to give up hope in the past two years.
The young man said that Liu Chengwang was drunk and kept asking for his wife.
Zheng Lingbo stared blankly at the young man, unsure how he had recognized her. She then turned her gaze to Liu Chengwang, who seemed to be disoriented. Her heart fluttered slightly, and the sudden delusion made her feel dizzy for a moment.
But when she was a child, it was her cousin who said he would marry her, and after growing up, everything had changed.
After a while, she swallowed hard and bravely took Liu Chengwang from the young man's arms.
The young man looked hesitant again and asked, "Is it alright for madam to do it alone?"
Zheng Lingbo nodded, "It's okay."
After the young man left, she unconsciously gritted her teeth and staggered back to her own courtyard, supporting Liu Chengwang. Without realizing it, she was fixated on his handsome face, which was still furrowed in sleep.
After a while, a drop of hot tears rolled down her cheek unexpectedly. She murmured, "Cousin, Chengwang cousin, when will you show mercy to me? Brother Chengwang..."
A soft cry, and Liu Chengwang suddenly opened his eyes with a dazed expression. He wrapped Zheng Lingpo in his arms and sobbed incoherently, "Xin'er, Xin'er, are you here to see me?"
Liu Chengwang held her tightly with a strong arm, and Zheng Lingbo stiffened as soon as she heard the name he called out.
Liu Chengwang was completely unaware.
"Xin'er! Six years have passed, why did you only come to see me now? I miss you so much!"
He put his hands on Zheng Lingbo's cheeks and gently said with concern, ignoring her resistance, "Xin'er, you've become thinner. Are you unhappy? I've avenged you by annihilating the Zheng family. Are you happy?"
Liu Chengwang laughed as he spoke, his eyes twinkling with light in the moonlight, as if he were a child waiting for praise.
Zheng Lingpo was on the verge of madness.
She stood in a daze, questioning him word by word, "What are you, saying?"
Liu Chengwang then repeated, "The Zheng family is no more. I saw it with my own eyes; the fire was so big that it almost destroyed the military governor's mansion. Are you happy?"
"What... what..."
Zheng Lingpo suddenly opened her eyes, and her mouth was wide open to scream, but all the heart-wrenching sounds seemed to be stuck in her throat. This was the first time in six years that she had genuinely regretted anything. The pain of regret flooded her, causing her to struggle for breath.
Liu Chengwang's words didn't stop. After saying "Xin'er," he began to curse Zheng Lingpo, calling her a prostitute who had been defiled and forcing herself to marry him. He cursed her for causing the death of Xin'er six years ago and why she didn't die herself. As he continued to curse, he became silent and passed out completely, dead drunk.
Zheng Lingpo stood frozen, listening to the end, and then suddenly like a dying wild rabbit, she turned and ran towards the military governor's mansion.
