Yang Ming coaxed his wife to sleep, then began to tidy up the house, first dealing with the tub of bloody water.
He poured the bloody water into a smaller bucket and, carrying the bucket, walked outside, only to see Chu Lian’s carriage arrive. Chu Lian stood at the doorway, hesitating, and Yang Ming seemed to understand his feelings.
He approached and, before he could even speak, he heard Chu Lian ask anxiously, "How, how is she?"
Yang Ming really didn’t know how to begin. He looked down at the bucket of blood he was carrying, shook his head, and said, "Not too good."
Seeing Yang Ming’s demeanor, Chu Lian’s heart sank, a nameless panic welling up within him, his voice trembling, "What, what happened to her?"
"Brother Chu, don’t worry, she’s all right now, but..." It was impossible to hide the truth; it was better to let him know sooner rather than later.
"But what?" Chu Lian asked, his voice laced with tension.
"Last night, she attempted suicide by slashing her wrists. Luckily, she was found in time, and her life was saved."
Upon hearing this, Chu Lian’s mind buzzed, everything before him turning dark. She attempted suicide? Such an optimistic person, always chattering away, had sought death. How desperate must she have been?
Was it because she couldn’t accept having shared a bed with him?
His eyes reddened, his heart feeling an unbearable, wrenching pain, "Does she know?"
"Yes," Yang Ming nodded.
Chu Lian, seeing the bucket of blood that Yang Ming was carrying, felt as if his own heart were bleeding. How much blood had she lost?
Yang Ming hurriedly disposed of the bloody water, "Brother Chu, let’s go inside."
Chu Lian felt as though his legs couldn’t move. Perhaps she hated him to death, maybe she never wanted to see him again.
Yet, he longed to know how she was doing, his conflicted emotions rendering him indecisive.
Reading his intent, Yang Ming then said, "She’s in Yang Qiu’s room now, probably has already gone to sleep."
Upon hearing this, Chu Lian followed him into the courtyard, but he still didn’t dare to see her. He followed Yang Ming into the house and saw the scene of her suicide attempt.
The tub of bloody water, screaming to him with its grisly contents, told him how much she despised him, to the point of seeking death.
He had only just begun to like someone, did he really have no chance at all? He couldn’t accept it.
He left the house and stood beneath the window of Yang Qiu’s room. They were only separated by a single wall, but to him, it felt like a vast distance.
Mother Yang came into the room and saw that Wang Xiangxiang had fallen asleep, so she quietly left the room and saw Chu Lian standing under the window.
"Aunt, is she asleep?" Chu Lian asked in a soft voice upon seeing Mother Yang come out.
If she was asleep, could he sneak in and take a look at her?
"Aunt, I’m going to go in and have a look at her. I’ll come right out."
Mother Yang hesitated, unsure whether to let him in or not, but then heard her son calling her. She turned and saw Yang Ming nodding to her.
Therefore, Mother Yang stepped aside, and Chu Lian opened the door and went inside. He walked to the edge of the kang bed and saw her lying there quietly, her face pale. In just one night, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight.
Seeing her wrist, exposed and wrapped in white cloth, with bloodstains still faintly visible, he felt a deep, aching pain in his heart. How could she be so foolish? She could have at least come up and hit him if she was angry.
His eyes brimmed with tears as he choked up and said, "Do you dislike me that much? But I’ve come to like you, what should I do?"