"Ah..." A piercing scream that almost shattered everyone’s eardrums rang out through heaven and earth.
Du Wanqing dropped the bronze mirror in her hand, pushed away the two older women propping her up, and franticly tried to escape, dragging her injured leg.
With her body lacking support, how could she manage to walk in the snow? She fell to the ground after just a few steps.
The cold snow, like needles piercing her skin, caused her so much pain she nearly stopped breathing.
"This is not me, I don’t look ! There are ghosts, don’t follow me..."
Du Wanqing must truly have been on the verge of madness.
She ripped off the gauze on her body and with her functioning hand, she scratched her face until it was bloody.
Hearing the scream, Miss Du hurried back and stood in front of Du Wanqing.
She looked down at Du Wanqing, her hands trembling slightly.
Seeing her in such a state, it seemed she had received enough retribution.
Miss Du looked toward the stunned maids and old women nearby and said coldly, "What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help her to her feet."
Everyone snapped out of it, rushed to help Du Wanqing off the ground, and used a new piece of gauze to rewrap her face.
Du Wanqing’s eyes, seemingly poisoned, glared at Miss Du as she breathed heavily and cried, accusing, "Don’t pretend to pity me; I don’t need your fake concern. It’s all your fault. My husband and I were so close, and if you hadn’t interfered, we wouldn’t have ended up . Are you satisfied now? He doesn’t want me anymore!"
Miss Du took a deep breath and quietly wiped away the tear that had slipped from the corner of her eye.
Standing before her parents’ graves, her heart ached as if it were tearing apart.
She thought that even if it was a mistake at the beginning, if she hadn’t persistently intervened, their wrongs might have turned right.
So, when it came down to it, she indeed was at fault.
"I indeed owe you an apology, but it’s all in the past now. Come with me to our parents’ graves and bow your head. Let’s forget about these years at the Jie Family, and I’ll take an oath before them with you, that from this moment on, you will still be my only family, and we two sisters will depend on each other for life."
"No, don’t you dare think I’ll let you have your way," Du Wanqing cried out loud, "I want to go back to the Jie Family. My husband said he wouldn’t mind my looks, I have to go back; I know I was wrong, he’ll surely forgive me. Sister, if you truly want to reconcile, help me, send me back to my husband’s side..."
Miss Du suddenly flinched, nearly losing her balance.
Even now, did she still think she could return to the Jie Family? Did she still harbor hopes for that man?
"Don’t call me that!" Miss Du barked furiously, "Stolen goods can never be enjoyed for life. Don’t you understand? A man like him is so clear-cut in love and hate, he won’t leave any room for feelings. When he loves you, he could give you everything, unconditionally accommodating you. But when the love is gone, it’s gone; he won’t give you any more chances. Just think about how he treated me at first!"
There was an abandoned thatched cottage on the back hill, and Gu Youyou, following Jin Zijin, only realized how familiar it looked when they got closer. On closer examination, wasn’t the cottage identical to the one they had once occupied on the north hill of Lotus Village?
She looked at Jin Zijin in astonishment, thinking to herself: Jin Zijin must have a peculiar fondness for thatched cottages.
No wonder after she set his thatched cottage ablaze, he built another one exactly alike.
"Don’t tell me that our Lotus Village’s cottage was inspired by this very one?"