The eighth day of the second lunar month this year was an auspicious day for marriage.
The plaque of the Li Mansion had been replaced with that of the Su Mansion several years ago.
On this day, the Su Mansion was adorned with lanterns and festive decorations both inside and out. Although it was a concubine's ceremony, it was remarkably grand, even exceeding propriety.
Who wouldn't sigh and say that Madam Li Muqing of the Su family was truly a pitiable woman!
She was the sole daughter of the wealthiest man in Lizhen Town, raised as a young lady from childhood. While not comparable to noble daughters from the imperial city, she excelled in all feminine arts – zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and etiquette.
Master Li cherished his only daughter dearly, intending to find her a good son-in-law to inherit the family business.
Unexpectedly, the final son-in-law of the Li family turned out to be a poor scholar of a different surname from the town.
Outsiders gossiped incessantly, claiming that Li Muqing had secretly been in league with this man back in her boudoir, even angering Master Li to illness. However, to save face and out of deep love for his daughter, Master Li held a grand wedding ceremony for the couple.
While this current wedding was not as magnificent as that one, it was utterly inappropriate for the occasion of taking a concubine!
It was rumored that Madam Su, virtuous and benevolent, had actually allowed the concubine to enter through the main gate.
But what woman didn't know what a profound humiliation this was for a woman, and which woman could tolerate it?
It was nothing more than the husband doting on his concubine and neglecting his wife!
The backyard of the Su Mansion was also filled with lanterns and decorations, the sight of red everywhere, as if to pierce one's eyes until they bled.
The scenery of Jin Yuan was entirely different from the outside world; all the hustle and bustle had nothing to do with the people within this garden.
Li Muqing glanced at the sea of red throughout the garden. The servants coming and going, heads bowed, were all engrossed in their needlework.
"Madam, the hibiscus flowers have bloomed again!" a young maid said with a look of surprise to Li Muqing, standing by the window and looking at the blooming hibiscus flowers in the courtyard.
She wanted her young lady to go out more. Seeing her young lady constantly sulking in her room, her health worsening day by day, the maid was anxious. In recent years, the original servants of the Li family were gone, leaving only a few of them. The old wet nurse had said that the Li Mansion had long since become the Su Mansion, and the young lady's home had become someone else's.
Li Muqing raised her eyes, her clear, cold gaze falling upon the hibiscus flowers outside the room.
The young maid thought that her young lady would be a little happier seeing the hibiscus bloom, but to her surprise, her young lady said, "From now on, don't bother with these flowers' life or death; just let them be!"
Li Muqing had loved hibiscus since she was young. Her first meeting with Su Yuqing was also because of a hibiscus, so she had always cherished them greatly. It was no wonder the young maid was so surprised to hear these words.
Since the love had dispersed, the flowers should also disperse, and soon she too would disperse.
She had only given birth to one daughter, and he used the excuse of a thin lineage to take a concubine. But he forgot that she had ruined her health due to a difficult childbirth. He also forgot what he had said before, that if they had a daughter, she should be like her.
It was rumored that the woman he was taking as a concubine was his childhood sweetheart.
A few days prior, she had seen that woman. She was gentle in appearance and beautiful, around her age. However, her brocade attire suggested wealth far beyond that of an embroiderer like herself. She then knew that Su Yuqing had long had ties with her.
Indeed, at her age, if she wasn't married yet, it was likely they had made promises to each other long ago.
Before the woman could speak, she said, "Sister, you must already know who I am, so I won't explain further. I am here today to ask Sister to fulfill my wish to be with A'Yu, we are childhood sweethearts..."
What a clever tactic of preemption! With one "Sister," not "Madam," she had already established her position!
Li Muqing smiled and then said, "I don't wish to participate in those inner-court power struggles..." She paused, then added, "As a person with a short lifespan, I only wish to end my days here in Jin Yuan, detached from worldly affairs. Has Sister understood?"
Having received a satisfactory answer, the woman then left haughtily.
Within a few days, Su Yuqing married her in with the ceremony of a principal wife but the title of a concubine.
He had not stepped into Jin Yuan for days. The only time was for his concubine; worried that she might be wronged, he had specifically come to find her, the nominal principal wife.
Li Muqing simply replied, "En," signifying assent.
However, this simple "En" had ultimately caused her to relinquish the title of Madam Su. From then on, she considered herself only Miss Li.
On the night of their wedding, she lay sick and frail, almost spitting blood and dying. The young maid anxiously went to find the master, but was driven back by a maid from the Second Madam's chambers.
The young maid was in tears, yet she still cursed the Second Madam. Li Muqing, her face as pale as paper, felt a sweet metallic taste in her throat, but she still mustered the strength to comfort the little maid.
She had no other attachments in this world except for her daughter; she wanted to resolve her daughter's future worries.
The Second Madam was no easy character. After her death, she would undoubtedly become the matriarch of the Su family, and her A'Qiu would surely suffer mistreatment.
Only the Li family could protect her!
Her grandfather was still alive; he had gone to the imperial city with her second uncle, who was an official. However, as long as there were people in the Li family, A'Qiu would have another reliance.
Moreover, she was indeed of a short lifespan, but that woman simply couldn't wait. She could tell that an extra herb had been added to her medicine, as she had been drinking the same decoction for years. Yet, she pretended not to know and finished it all.
She accepted the medicine as prescribed, and she also kept the dregs.
That very night, a joyous occasion turned into a funeral!
Furthermore, before the mourning period for Madam Su was over, Master Li, her grandfather, personally returned to Lizhen Town, claiming to seek justice for his murdered granddaughter. The matter caused a great stir, but a conclusion was soon reached.
It turned out that the newly entered Second Madam had bribed the maid in Madam Su's chambers, adding a mutually destructive herb to her daily decoction. Within a month, Madam Su indeed succumbed to poisoning.
The dregs of the medicine served as evidence, and the maid as the witness!
Su Yuqing looked at his newly married woman and felt that her appearance had completely changed. But he forgot, when had he not changed himself!
The scholar, once brilliant and talented but frustrated by poverty, had long since transformed into someone else due to wealth.
His mother had been the wet nurse of the Li family's sole daughter. However, she was accused of stealing money and expelled from the Li family. His father was a compulsive gambler and often beat them. After his mother was driven out by the Li family, they were subjected to beatings daily.
At that time, he could only sneak into private tutoring sessions to listen.
One day, he was discovered by A'Shuang, who had come to deliver food to the tutor.
The tutor was her father; he was a man who valued talent. Seeing his aptitude, he agreed to let him audit classes without charging any fees.
A'Shuang was an intelligent and kind woman. While delivering food daily, she would save him an extra portion... Those times, though poor, were filled with bittersweet joy.
However, later, when he accompanied A'Shuang to Qingquan Temple for incense, they encountered the Li family's young lady, who had fallen into the water while picking flowers.
The Li family's young lady mistook him for her rescuer. To repay the favor, thus began their acquaintance, their mutual affection, and their promise.
He actually hated the Li family because they had driven his mother out of the mansion without proper investigation. He and his mother had almost lost their lives, and it was only through his mother's sacrifice that he managed to survive.
Therefore, upon learning that this woman was the Li family's young lady, he resolved to retaliate.
He betrayed A'Shuang and married Li Muqing.
But in his heart, he always told himself that he loved his childhood sweetheart A'Shuang, and his feelings for the Li family's young lady were merely exploitative, nothing more!
Yet, who could truly understand the intricacies of love?
He realized that being moved was not love; companionship could foster feelings, but not necessarily love; hatred might even be mistaken for love!
When A'Shuang was apprehended by the authorities, he did not intervene, nor did he see her one last time.
He was the one who had harmed two people simultaneously; his sins were grave.
The person who had saved Li Muqing that day was not him. It was likely she had also loved the wrong person, and this was a thorn deeply buried in his heart.
Later, a handsome young man appeared. Only then did he realize that this was the person Li Muqing had longed to find. However, the young man before him seemed too young.
Looking at his ever-changing expression, the young man dispelled his doubts: he was actually a demon!
Jiu Ying said to him, "I dared not see her that day, but now I have caused her this harm. You must all pay for her life!"
As for the past between Jiu Ying and Li Muqing, no one knew. Because even Li Muqing was unaware of his existence. Even when Su Yuqing later betrayed her, and Zhu Qiu, transforming into a handsome young man, appeared before her to reveal the truth, her reaction was indifferent.
She had always known who she truly loved. In her youth, she had met a young Su Yuqing. One glance was enough to seal her destiny!
Why would she need to repay his life-saving grace with herself? It was simply because her affection ran deep!