Chapter 6 of 10

Chapter 6

16 min read3,958 words

Every beautiful woman who lives a hard life usually has a story that is not simple, and Yulian is no exception.

If she hadn't been sold to the Li Shouzhen household at a young age, Yulian might have starved to death during a drought, locust plague, or famine, or even been eaten by others; or, if she was luckier, she might have grown up and married into a poor but well-matched family, living a life of poverty, ignorance, and submission as before. In any case, since she became a maid in the Li household, she experienced a life completely different from her background, a life without hunger and cold, only fine clothes and delicious food. Even as the lowest maid, it was better than living in her hometown.

But no one is easily satisfied, and no one is willing to be lowly and be bullied at will without envying those who live in luxury. Yulian gradually realized that her greatest asset and opportunity was her appearance. She was more beautiful than the other maids who did miscellaneous work and had grown into a graceful young woman.

The head of the household, Li Shouzhen, had the greatest power in that wealthy estate, but he was cunning and worldly wise. Even if he favored her, she would only be a plaything. Yulian set her sights on Li Shouzhen's son, Li Chongxun, a young master who had just grown up and had little experience.

Sure enough, Li Chongxun was easily enchanted by Yulian. After a series of passionate vows, Yulian endured the pain and disgust to secretly consummate their relationship with the young master. She didn't expect Li Chongxun to fulfill all his promises; it was enough for such a wealthy young master to keep some of them. Moreover, Yulian later found out that she was pregnant, which made the situation more optimistic.

However, she finally realized that it was impossible for her to become the daughter-in-law of the great general Li Shouzhen. The Li family would never give up the opportunity to marry into the wealthy Fu Yanqing family. Thus, Fu Yanqing's eldest daughter, Lady Fu, naturally became Li Chongxun's wife. Yulian didn't dare to reveal that she was carrying the Li family's bloodline easily. She planned to first try to get along well with Lady Fu and then hope to become a higher-status concubine in the Li Chongxun household. If she had a son, she would have some security.

Unfortunately, life is unpredictable. Before Yulian could achieve that, the Li family was wiped out due to a rebellion.

She and Lady Fu were both women and both Li Chongxun's women, but their fates were vastly different in that moment of turmoil. Lady Fu, who was just a criminal's wife, transformed into the adopted daughter of another powerful figure, Guo Wei, after revealing her father's name and her connection to him. Yulian's fate, however, was far from such respect. After the Li family was destroyed, she was left without support and was taken by a military officer in Guo Wei's army.

She was raped and then taken back to his home. She couldn't resist; otherwise, she would have been sold as a camp prostitute and raped by countless men. Yulian miscarried due to the lack of timely medical care and was later told that she could never bear children again. Before she could hate the officer, another war broke out, and the officer died in battle. His wives and concubines scattered, and Yulian was sold like goods to divide the money. The person who bought her was her current husband, Chen, who was ugly, drank heavily, had a violent temper, and was poor, and he was also impotent, with nothing good to speak of... Even more unfortunately, when Guo Wei led his army back to Tokyo, there was almost no resistance, and the casualties were minimal, but he was pushed off the city wall and broke his leg.

Life went on like this until the first year of the Xiande era. Yulian had lost all hope in life. An infertile woman, with nothing and a burdensome husband, she had thought many times about abandoning her husband and running away, but where could she go, and what could she do? She had speculated countless times in the dark of night that if she ran away, she would likely be sold into a brothel... Even if she were taken in by an ordinary family as a wife, once they discovered she couldn't bear children and didn't need to answer to her family, they would likely sell her for money and find a new wife, as common people married to have children.

Sometimes she felt very desperate, just thinking about living one day at a time, and if she couldn't bear it, she would die.

Sometimes she felt very resentful, feeling very stifled. Not to mention great wealth and status, she was even inferior to the ugly and coarse women in the Longjin neighborhood of Tokyo. She hadn't had a single good day and was instead mocked and gossiped about behind her back. Was she going to end her life in humiliation and let those people mock her further?

She had no friends, no family, and even her home was broken. When her husband was killed, she felt little sorrow. This situation made her feel she was the most unfortunate person in the world. Although she was of low birth, heaven had given her a better appearance than most people. Moreover, there were many others from the lower class, so where did she go wrong? Was it a mistake to have attracted Li Shouzhen's son? If she hadn't done that, would it have been much better...?

Yulian felt ashamed to face people and only wanted to hide in a dark corner. If no one in the world knew her, it would be better, and she wished those gossipy women wouldn't use her misfortune as a laughingstock.

However, she thought of Lady Fu, whom she saw on Zhuque Street the day before. She was also a woman from the destroyed Li Shouzhen household, but she had become the wife of an official due to her family's influence. Her noble status made officials fear and respect her, let alone the common women, who wouldn't dare mock her. They wouldn't even have the courage to envy her... Yulian fantasized that if she could one day be so noble, those who knew her should feel ashamed and recognize their own baseness! Such a fantasy gave her a faint sense of satisfaction. But her experience in the Li Shouzhen household made her realize that it was impossible in reality, and she could only console herself in her own mind.

...

In the evening, someone knocked on the door. Yulian opened it and saw that it was Shaogez. Shaogez was still wearing his armor but without weapons. He hung his head, looking dejected, and didn't even dare to look at Yulian. He didn't enter the house but stood at the door and said, "Commander Wang ordered me to compensate the Chen family for the bereavement and funeral expenses, but..."

Yulian quickly looked around the alley and said, "Come in and talk, don't stand at the door."

Shaogez hesitated for a moment, then entered the kitchen and found a stool to sit on.

"Have you eaten?" Yulian asked, treating Guo Shao nothing like an enemy who had killed her husband. She knew that Shaogez had killed the man to stand up for her. Shaogez didn't respond, so she guessed he was hungry and quickly lifted the pot lid, filling a coarse bowl with a green, mushy soup.

Guo Shao saw the steaming soup on the wooden table and awkwardly said, "This isn't right... By the way, there's a jar of money under the bed in the back of the blacksmith's shop where I lived, but it's not enough."

Yulian asked, "They just asked you to pay, didn't they beat you?"

Guo Shao shook his head and, unable to resist his hunger, took a sip of the soup. He immediately found the taste terrible, as if it contained chaff and other grain husks... In this era, having something to eat was already good, but did Yulian usually eat this? He secretly glanced at her again, unable to believe that such a fair-skinned woman could live on such a diet.

Yulian had a smooth, round forehead and an oval face, with almond-shaped eyes that were very clear and well-matched, naturally beautiful. Her expression was not overly alluring but rather kind. However, her clothes were indeed very old, and her fair face and neck contrasted sharply with her surroundings, making her look like a partially peeled glutinous rice dumpling.

Guo Shao took a large sip of the unknown soup, losing his appetite, and slowly ate while saying, "Commander Wang thought I had some connection with the palace guard commander Zhang Yongde and wanted to do me a favor. But yesterday, Yang Biao was demoted three ranks for gambling and injuring someone. If Commander Wang showed me leniency, it would be unfair and wouldn't convince the others. So, he demoted me from a hundred-man commander to a squad leader and ordered me to compensate... As for Yang Biao, he was demoted to a squad leader yesterday and then demoted again to a deputy squad leader today because of me."

The military ranks in the Five Dynasties were quite chaotic, but Yulian, having grown up in the Li Shouzhen household and later met Guo Shao in Tokyo, understood a lot about these things. A commander or a hundred-man commander was like a centurion, a squad leader was like a squad commander, and a deputy squad leader was like a deputy squad commander... Most people in the military just wanted to advance and get rich, so although Guo Shao hadn't been executed for murder, being demoted from a hundred-man commander to a squad leader was a significant loss.

Hearing this, Yulian said, "I don't want the deed to the shop anymore."

Guo Shao seemed to misunderstand and nodded, "I can't do anything now, so I'll count the shop as compensation for your family, and the money in the jar will be included."

Yulian shook her head and glanced at him, "Keep the shop, I don't want it. I'll sign the document to complete the task, as if I've been compensated."

Guo Shao frowned, "I have to return to the camp early tomorrow. What are your plans? The blacksmith's shop is my compensation to you, and with Old Huang's help, you can manage to make a living. Don't refuse..."

"My affairs don't need you to worry about them, Guo Lang," Yulian's tone suddenly turned cold. Women can change their expressions faster than the weather.

Guo Shao's words got stuck in his throat, and he fell silent. He thought about it; he had always had a good feeling for Yulian. She was beautiful but pitiful, hardworking, and anyone would like her. But he couldn't demand anything from her just because he had been a little kind and helped her in her time of need.

He was about to leave when, in the light of the firewood in the stove, he suddenly saw Yulian's eyes glistening with tears. The flames flickered, casting orange light on her face, alternating between light and dark, reflecting her uncertain inner thoughts.

"You..." Guo Shao didn't know how to ask.

Yulian pursed her red lips, looking as if she wanted to say something but held back. Her beautiful, clean face stood out starkly in the old, dusty, and dilapidated house, creating a stark contrast. The kitchen was filled with the smell of old things, and everything was old, but Yulian's presence made it seem out of place.

The tears in her eyes finally slid down her cheeks, and she smiled slightly, "Go back, we won't be like those adulterous and murderous couples, and I'm not a venomous woman who kills her husband. I'll remember the kindness you've shown me."

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