1 Death of the Wicked Woman (2/2)
The news quickly spread through the streets and alleys of the Dynasty.
Within the imperial palace, the emperor was momentarily absent-minded. Ink dripped down from the tip of his brush, staining a piece of paper with the imperial edict.
The great general of the Wei Kingdom stood dumbstruck in his courtyard. The fragrant autumn was still reminiscent of the time when An Jin had married him. It was just that An Jin had died.
Over and over again, An Jinxiu watched her bones turn into ashes, and she even had the mood to watch the sunlight slip from the wooden window into the room. Under the mottled light and shadow, it seemed as if her entire life was being played out one by one in this flickering flame.
She fell in love with the Fifth Prince Bai Chengze, but married off to the illiterate Shangguan Yong. All of her sins started because she was unwilling, while her eldest sister could marry into the crown prince. Yet, she could only marry a despicable, unrecognizable soldier who had saved her father.
”I am unable to repay you for saving my life. Knowing that it is not easy for a benefactor to request a wife, I have used my daughter to repay this great kindness.”
With a single sentence from Grand Preceptor An, her entire life was decided. It was laughable to think about it at the time, but now it was lamentable to think about it.
Fifth Prince Bai Chengze was unparalleled handsome, so what if he was both civil and martial? How many sweet words did he said come true? She had given him her heart, given him advice, plotted against him, stolen the military talisman from her husband's hands, helped him turn into a soldier and massacred the entire capital. So what if she helped him become the master of this world? Where was the position of the three thousand beauties of the imperial harem? Bai Chengze was the monarch that descended upon the world, and An Jinxiu was a wicked woman that disobeyed the laws of women.
Her husband, Shangguan Yong, did not know poetry, so what if he did not understand romance? Now that she thought about it, this man was the only one who had truly treated her with sincerity. As for that pair of children, forget it. An Jinxiu shook her head, praying that they would forget about her. Her life had been a huge mistake, and she couldn't blame anyone else.
After taking one last look at the human world, An Jinxiu turned around. The Yellow Springs Underworld was deathly silent. Who knew how many years a sinful girl like her would have to spend here? A few pieces of white paper money suddenly appeared at the foot of An Jin's feet. An Jinxiu turned around to look at the world again and saw Shangguan Yong.
Shangguan Yong lowered his head to burn the paper money. This woman, An Jinxiu, had left him with no peace when she was still alive, but when she was dead, he was still unable to find peace. He would never forget the beauty this woman had given him when he had married her, the look of impatience in her eyes when she looked at him, and the madness in her eyes when she was abandoned by the new emperor.
”If we hadn't been married, if you had been married to His Majesty in the first place, perhaps you wouldn't have ended up like this,” Shangguan Yong told the burning fire. ”I grew up poor and didn't have the money to study. ”Ah Jin, in the next life, you will be a good person. Don't trust the wrong person anymore, and don't ever meet a husband like me that doesn't suit you.”
The paper money was burnt to ashes and scattered in the wind.
In the end, Shangguan Yong threw a red bracelet into the fire as well, as if this was the only way he could truly destroy the marriage between him and An Jin, a woman whose appearance was like a flower but whose heart was like a scorpion's.
On the lookout platform, An Jin covered her face and cried.
”Why are you crying?” A woman's voice sounded as she asked.
”I did something wrong while I was still alive,” cried An Jin.
”Then you regret it now?”
”I only just found one person's good after making a big mistake,” An Jin's tears stained the front of her clothes. ”Why do you think I'm so stupid? ”
”Ai!” In the midst of all this, the woman who had spoken let out a long sigh.
An Jinxiu walked down the terrace as she muttered to herself, ”I can't go back. …”
”You can go to the Bridge of Helplessness.” The woman suddenly said to An Jin, ”Just remember not to drink Grandma Meng's Elixir.”
At the end of the bridge, the white-haired Grandma Meng let out a long sigh as she looked at An Jin. ”Do you really not want to forget what happened in the past?”
An Jinxiu nodded.
”Let's go,” Grandma Meng pointed to a path for Ah Jin.
An Jin's figure disappeared at the end of the bridge.
”Why did Bodhisattva make her suffer again?” Grandma Meng asked the person hidden in the midst of her lies.
No one answered Grandma Meng's words.
She didn't want to forget. Was it because she was worried, or because she was unwilling? Grandma Meng handed the bowl of soup to the ghost in front of her and said, ”This trip will be a lifetime. Take care of yourself.”
This was a lifetime, so what if this was the beginning of a new life?
However, when a Resurrection Lily floated over the bridge, blooming for a thousand years, and giving birth to a thousand years, Grandma Meng suddenly remembered that today was the day the Resurrection Lily had bloomed and fallen.