Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Qi Qingyao and Jiang Yeqian were en route to the Jiuli River together. Jiang Yeqian eyed the woman next to him, trying to act casual about it. The house was too dark before, and so everything was shadowy and hard to see. Now, under the morning sunlight, he could see her much clearer.
She appeared to be around the age of eighteen, with pale skin as delicate as porcelain. Her eyelashes were like little fans, and her eyes, half-closed, were fogged with a touch of careless indifference. Under the thin fog, she seemed to light up. The sun shone on her face, accentuating her seductive beauty. Though beautiful, she was also sharp in a way that could not be concealed, a hint of jade-like coldness.
Jiang Yeqian did not understand. From what he had seen of the past few days, Qi Qingyao was an extremely intelligent woman. How did she end up living in a straw hut? She was someone who could dig up ginseng roots easily without even trying. Was her luck so bad that she had accidentally landed herself into such a pitiful life? Was she unable to purchase even the smallest portion of food for herself and her children? All these questions flooded his mind.
She was thinking.
He was looking at her.
The villagers watched them from afar.
Several women had been straightening their fences outside their homes early in the morning, gossiping as they worked. Suddenly, they caught sight of a man and a woman together on the road. They were both extremely good-looking, as if sculpted by the gods themselves. They were certainly not difficult to admire as a couple. However, as they came nearer, they suddenly realized the woman’s face was familiar.
“Oh my god, what did I just see?”
“What are you so surprised by?” A woman beside her asked.
“Just now, I… I…”
“Quit stammering, just tell us.”
“They’re right there. Take a look for yourself!”
“Isn’t she the lunatic from the Qi family?”
“It’s her! Why’s she going to the Jiuli River with a man?”
“Maybe it isn’t her? Perhaps we’ve mistaken her as the lunatic?”
“I wouldn’t mistake the lunatic for anyone else, even if she turned into ash. It’s definitely her!”
“What’s happening?”
“Maybe she’s married and we didn’t know?”
“The Qi daughter is a lunatic. That’s something everyone knows! Who would marry a foolish woman with three kids?”
“This won’t do. Let’s go. We should go to the Qi house and ask Madam Wu what’s up. She’ll know, since it’s about her daughter.”
“Let’s go!”
The women had no time for their fences now. They planned to head straight to the Qi house together to get some answers. Did the Qi lunatic really get married?
Qi Qingyao, along with Jiang Yeqian, were near the Jiuli River when she inhaled a lungful of cold air and sneezed.
She rubbed her nose and gestured for Jiang Yeqian to set their buckets down on the shore.
Qi Qingyao lay down on her stomach beside the buckets. She looked at the koi fish she had fed for the past few days and sighed. She reached into the bucket and caressed it, murmuring, “Fishie! Although you’re a koi fish that brings luck, I have no fish tank or pond with flowing water for you! I’ve had to put you in a bucket of still water, and I can’t bear to do it to you any longer! I’m afraid you’re going to die! So today I came here to set you free!”
Jiang Yeqian stood at her side. He asked with a serious tone, “Are you really not gonna eat it?”
“Food, food, food! That’s all you know! This is a koi fish!” Qi Qingyao could not help teasing him. After berating him, she looked back to the fish. Ignoring the cold, she kept running her hand over it, sighing, “I can’t bear eating you, and I can’t raise you either. I can’t bear letting you go like this even more, but I have no other way! Please understand…”