Chapter 219 Fell in love with the same man
He Danggui was dumbstruck. When she looked through her tears at the malicious smile on Ming Ri’s face, she was confused that Ming Ri hated her. Why? When did she offend him?
Both of them had worked for Lord Ning’s Wuying Tower, with a tacit understanding for years. When she just began to get involved in things like intelligence trading and assassinations, she tried hard to play the role of “eager beaver” and always took the lead at everything for fear that she couldn’t do well and would drag others’ feet. She thought that she did her jobs very well and helped Ming Ri a lot. So, she really couldn’t understand why he, as her partner, looked at her with such hatred in his eyes, let alone appreciation.
Ming Ri looked at He Danggui with undisguised hatred. He smiled and said, “It’s a pity that your mother is so useless that she gives up just like that. There are ‘Seven Reasons for Divorcing the Wife’, and ‘Three Reasons for not Divorcing the Wife’. If a woman is homeless, she cannot be divorced. If a woman has mourned for her husband’s parents for 3 years with her husband together, she cannot be divorced. If a husband was poor before their marriage and becomes rich now, his wife cannot be divorced. He Fu was poor when your mother married him. He and his families were dependent on your mother. And then he used your mother’s dowry to get rich. It is exactly the third item of ‘Three Reasons for not Divorcing the Wife’. In this way, He’s Family actually has no right to divorce your mother, and your mother doesn’t have to tangle with He Fu. She should go to Yamen and hand over a written complaint. And she should take the receipt for the loan from He Fu as the evidence. Then she can change the ‘divorce by abandoning’ to the ‘divorce with agreement’ and take her treasure box easily. It’s just because your mother has no knowledge, or even the common sense. It’s ridiculous for her to imitate Meng Jiangnv who searched husband for thousands of miles.”
He Danggui repeated her questions blankly, “Is my mother badly hurt? Does she go back to Luo’s Mansion?”
Ming Ri released her and shrugged his shoulders. He said, “I rode day and night to send your mother back to Luo’s Mansion in Yangzhou City according to your instruction. I asked her if she wanted to take a shower and change the clothes on the way, but she lay in the carriage, as if her soul has been drawn away. So, I had to endure the smell of the fecal sewage while riding. I put her at the gate and knocked on the door when we got to the East Yard of Luo’s Family. A servant in Luo’s Mansion opened the door after a while. He glanced down at the floor and said with frowning, ‘Where does the beggar come from? Get out! If you want to beg, wait at the side door. The front gate is not the place for you to lie down. Oh! How disgusting the smell is!’ Then, he closed the door.”
He Danggui folded her hands and covered her mouth and nose tightly. She tried to stop herself from crying and thought in her mind, “Why? Why is the fate co cruel to my mother? Why can’t I build a safe house for my mother? I hope she can live in it forever and never go out, so she will never be harmed.”
Ming Ri poured a cup of tea on the table and took a sip. Then he continued, “After I repeatedly knocked on the door for several times, the servant was impatient. He found a bare broom to sweep away your mother. When she was swept away the steps, her hair slipped and her face revealed. Then the servant was shocked and said, ‘Ah! Isn’t this the elder Lady? Didn’t she go to Qingzhou City several days ago? Why does she lie in front of Luo’s Mansion as a beggar?’ Then the servant kept shouting, which attracted many people in Luo’s Mansion. They pointed at her and discussed in a low voice. At last, Madam Luo came out trembling on her little feet. She didn’t mind the filth on your mother’s clothes and hugged your mother. She cried, ‘Chuanxiong, what’s wrong with you?’”
He Danggui also cried with trembled shoulders. She asked, “How is my mother now?”
Ming Ri took another sip of tea and spoke slowly, “Your mother’s lips moved, but she can’t speak because she has a so bad cold that her throat was hurt. Madam Luo repeated the question for several times, and your mother spoke in a voice which was worse than a broken bellow. Madam Luo is in her sixties and unable to understand a word with the degradation of hearing. She was hopelessly worried. Seeing that, I had to step out from behind the stone lion and explain everything. Hearing this, your Second Aunt frowned and scolded your mother, ‘You are a disgrace to women. If I were you, I wouldn’t go back to my natal family. I’d throw myself into the nearest river to commit suicide.’ I quite agree with her. Concubine He, my Lady, what do you think?”
He Danggui cried for a while and felt all her strength was taken away. She wanted to run to Luo’s Mansion at once to pick up her mother. But Princess Xie had just made a terrible scene. Princess Xie told Madam Nanny and Lord Ning on He Danggui. Princess Xie said that He Danggui didn’t obey the rules of Lord Ning’s Mansion. Besides, He Danggui didn’t respect the princess of the mansion and didn’t get along with other concubines. In such the mansion and the situation, how could He Danggui prop up a stretch of sky for her mother?
Ming Ri drank the tea, and then something came to his mind, “Ah, before I left, Madam Luo drew me aside and said that the matters about your First Uncle and Third Uncle can be put on hold, but she hopes you will take more care about the matters of your Second Uncle and your Second Sister’s husband. And you’d better get those done in this month. In addition, she asked you not to worry about your mother, who seems to be suffering from the apoplexy. The families will take good care of her. Besides, the maidservants found that your mother’s back has probably been struck by her frozen dress during carrying her. And she has pulled the cloth apart perhaps because she felt uncomfortable. But by accident, she has torn off a piece of skin, which is a frightful bloody mess now. I don’t know what disease is in that fecal sewage, and it’s better for her not to be infected with other diseases.”
Ming Ri looked with delight at He Danggui’s broken lips that she bit. He waved his hands and said goodbye to her, “There will be a big action in Wuying Tower 3 days later. Don’t be late, My Lady. We will see each other in the small building in the west street after 3 days.”
He Danggui stared at the “bill” on the table, and her tears on her face were dry by the wind. Why should she continue to pay for the treasure box that had caused a humiliation for her mother? Why did it go like this? When would she be strong enough to protect her mother?
By the time everything was settled and the bill had been paid, it was 5 months later. He Danggui asked for leave to Lord Ning once again. She caught Bai Yangbai rudely and asked him to go to Qingzhou City with her to seek He Fu for revenge.
Hatred was like in her throat and was about to erupt. But she didn’t know that He Fu had died peacefully in his sleep a month ago until she arrived in Qingzhou City. He was said to suffer from a brain disease. And a few years ago, doctors had asserted that he was likely to fall asleep and couldn’t wake up.
He Danggui gritted her teeth with hate. It was a great bargain for He Fu, who had ruined her mother’s life, to die like that. He didn’t even deserve to be a man or a person!
At that time, Bai Yangbai comforted her, “Everything is a cycle, and he will have his retribution. What he owed your mother in this life is not over, and he will continue to pay in his next life. Don’t be sad. Your mother won’t have such bad luck next time. Maybe she’ll marry a good man in her next life. After she dies, I’ll read the Scripture of Feng Qiu Huang (Phoenixes Seeking Mates) for her to release her soul from purgatory for 3 days for free.”
He Danggui raised her eyebrows and asked, “When I die, what rebirth scriptures will you read for me to release my soul from purgatory?”
Bai Yangbai was silent for a moment and then said, “If you die, I’ll resort to magic arts to bring back your soul and revive you. I’m so capable that you’ll never die, girl.”
He Danggui closed her eyes to recall these past events. It was extremely painful for her to think of her mother’s misery and the humiliation her mother had experienced in her previous life. She finally could do things what she couldn’t do in the previous life. “He Fu, you can’t hurt my mother anymore. I’ll make you pay off all debts at once. Are you strong enough and ready to pay your debts?” She thought.
Seeing expressionless He Danggui, Chang Nuo said tentatively, “He Fu got drunk and hurt people in the downtown of the capital. He not only lost his official position, but also was sentenced for a year in prison. Now He Fu is in the prison of the capital, where the weather is rheumy and the environment is very bad. Prisoners are often bitten by snakes, insects, mice and ants, and then they died quietly... Sister He, Lord Ning is going to Yangzhou City on business after 4 days. If you would like to accompany him for a few days, He Fu’s name will appear on the list of prisoners killed by snakes and mice attacks. Without He Fu, your mother will be a widow. There is a custom in the Ming Dynasty that widows can marry with their daughters together and be considered as half masters in the husbands’ houses. What do you think?”
He Danggui sneered and said, “Since Lord Ning’s ‘illness’ has been cured, maybe he doesn’t need me anymore. His Senior Concubine Zhou is noble and virtuous, and they are a perfect match. Childe Feng, you should get them together instead of mismatching Lord Ning and me. And I suppose Lord Ning’s subordinates who called Ming Ri and Ming Yue are strongly against the plan that Ning Lord will marry me.”
In her previous life, He Danggui didn’t know why Shangguan Ming Ri hated her so much until she died. His hatred was even without any disguise.
Since the affair of Qingzhou City, they offended each other openly. Shangguan Ming Ri made her stumble and let her step into the trap at intervals. At first, she thought Shangguan Ming Ri was ordered by Princess Xie, or perhaps he was sent by one of concubines in the mansion, who was jealous of the favor she had received and wanted to kill her. However, every time she crossed swords with Shangguan Ming Ri, she couldn’t help denying that conjecture. It was because every time he looked at her, she felt as if she was in ice water. And his hatred towards her always made her shudder.
How could a proud man like Shangguan Ming Ri be bought over by the women in the mansion with the gold and silver? How could he be so hostile to her if he only took money and did things for others? Wouldn’t it be better to hide his edge and kill her unexpectedly?
Suddenly, He Danggui remembered Zhou Jinglan’s undisguised and rancorous eyes toward her before she died in her previous life, which were so similar to Shangguan Ming Ri’s eyes that they could overlap. Then she remembered that Feng Yang said Zhu Quan used to like men. Therefore, she suddenly understood why Shangguan Ming Ri hated her so much. It turned out that he took her as a rival in love!
“Ha-ha...” He Danggui was amused by this idea and could not help laughing. She gradually became hysterical and scared away the rabbit in her arms.
It was so ridiculous. Lord Ning Zhu Quan was really a famous figure in the Ming Dynasty. Not only women but also men liked him. Just because Zhu Quan took her as a shield to cover up his natural ruthless face and pretended to be very affectionate to her in front of everyone, all the women and men who fell in love with Zhu Quan regarded her as a rival in love and wanted to kill her quickly!
It turned out that Shangguan Ming Ri had designed her mother to suffer the humiliation just because he was in love with her husband. And perhaps, her husband, Zhu Quan, was interested in Ming Ri, too. So, they conspired to play tricks on her!
Chang Nuo looked puzzled and asked, “Sister He, what makes you laugh so happily? Are you sure that you won’t consider my offer? Don’t you want to kill He Fu?”
Wiping her tears of laughter, He Danggui replied, “After listening to you, Childe Feng, it suddenly dawns on me a lot of things that I have never thought of before. And now, I have changed my mind a little bit.”
The source of this c𝐨ntent is freewe(b)nov𝒆l