Fate-Holding Women

CHAPTER 1:

1

I was born with the ability to see the luck of the people close to me for a day.

 

Every morning, when I greeted everyone, a quick glance at the aura above their heads would reveal that my elder sister would fall later that day, and my stepmother (my father's legal wife) would punish me by making me pick beans.

 

Since I was a child, my concubine mother had taught me to keep my ability a secret.

 

She said my talent was superior to hers.

 

We, the Fate-Holding Women, were an ancient lineage that had existed for thousands of years in the realm of cultivators.

 

Fate-Holding Women could share their fortune with their husbands, and at the peak of their abilities, they could even alter a person's fate and change their life.

 

However, our ancestors were all deeply in love, and to protect their beloved partners, they would sacrifice their own fortune without hesitation.

 

As a result, each generation became more unfortunate than the last, and now, the remaining bloodline had even fallen to the mortal realm.

 

My grandmother was at least a noble lady, but my mother became a concubine.

 

I had promised my concubine mother many times that I would never use my talent lightly.

 

Until my father was carried back to the mansion, covered in blood.

 

The next day, when I greeted my grandmother, I saw the joy on her face as she murmured about ‘ancestral spirits blessing us’ and ‘ancestors protecting us’,and I felt an ominous premonition.

I rushed to my concubine mother's courtyard. She lay on the bed, barely alive, her face as pale as paper.

 

“Xian'er…” she coughed, covering her mouth. Her fingers were stained with blood.

 

“You used it, didn't you?” I asked her. “You know very well. You're not the main wife. A concubine is not meant to share fortune with her husband. You'll face backlash!”

 

She shook her head.

 

“You don't understand. Your father and I... we've been together for so many years. There was a way, but I couldn't bear to watch him die. I couldn't do it.”

 

I wanted to ask, what about me? What will happen to me if something happens to you?

 

But I couldn't bring myself to ask.

 

I thought my concubine mother would be the exception, but I didn't expect that she couldn't escape the fate of a Fate-Holding Women.

2

After my concubine mother's death, my father didn't arrange for her funeral.

 

“Your concubine mother shielded me from disaster, and she left at such a young age. I am deeply grieved,” he said, stroking his beard, with a hint of meaning in his voice. “I heard that your maternal grandfather was also seriously ill and couldn't be cured. Your grandmother prayed to the gods for days, and her health declined. Strangely, your maternal grandfather recovered after that.”

 

He looked at me inquisitively, kneeling on the ground.

 

“Xian'er, do you know why?”

 

I closed my eyes.

 

Mother, this is the good man you risked your life to save.

“Because…”

 

I clenched my teeth, my voice trembling as I told him, word by word.

 

“The women in our family are born with the ability to shield their husbands from misfortune. But it must be the main wife.”

 

“My mother was just a concubine, with limited fortune, so she couldn't withstand the disaster.”

 

“I see, I see!”

 

My father became excited.

 

He grabbed my arm and helped me up from the ground.

 

“Xian'er, your father has a worry, and I wonder if my daughter would be willing to help me resolve it.”

 

“My concubine mother's funeral…” I hesitated.

 

He waved his hand dismissively. “What's that! As long as you help your father solve this worry, your concubine mother's coffin, temple, and eternal lamp, your father will have people prepare them all.”

 

And so, I was betrothed to Qi Changlan, the dying son of the Marquis of Changping, becoming his fiancée.

3

My father was a man who wouldn't take a step without seeing a rabbit.

 

I was brought to the Marquis of Changping's mansion and shared a room with the sickly young man.

 

You see, in the face of power, women's rules cease to exist.

 

My father always used to lecture me and my elder sister about women's virtue.

 

But with a single word from the Marquis of Changping, he didn't hesitate to send me to the mansion.

 

I grasped the pale hand of the young man.

 

Actually, transferring fortune doesn't require physical contact.

 

But I had never touched a man before. Touching him today felt like a defiance of my father's authority.

 

He opened his eyes and looked at me weakly.

“You... are you the fairy who came to save me?”

 

I suddenly wanted to laugh.

 

I had seen him return from the battlefield, full of spirit, arrogant and untamed.

 

They said he was exceptionally brave and a rare young talent.

 

Now, to save his life, he even believed such absurd things and pretended to be a fool to win my favor.

 

I lowered my head, “General is my future husband. I am useless, I can only pray to heaven for my husband's well-being.”

 

That way, my concubine mother would have a place to be buried.

 

He grabbed my hand in return, “What's your name?”

 

“My name is Ah Xian.”

 

“Xian Niang, if I can live, I will not disappoint you.”

 

These words still echoed in my ears.

 

When I was tied up and thrown into the water, I thought, liar.

4

After receiving my good fortune, Qi Changlan miraculously recovered. 

However, a large, dark mole appeared on my delicate face.

From then on, I became known as the ugly woman in the neighborhood.

Yet, Qi Changlan never showed any disdain. He sent me food and toys every day.

He would tell everyone, “If it weren't for my fiancée, I would have died long ago. Now, she has only suffered a slight disfigurement. If I were to reject her, wouldn't that make me no different from a beast!”

Everyone praised this heartwarming story, and countless young ladies envied my good fortune.

Only I knew the truth.

He sent me all these gifts, but he never wanted to be close to me.

He always smiled gently when he looked at my profile.

But when I turned my face, revealing my birthmark, a faint disgust would flash in his eyes.

Ha, men.

People related to the Qi family would always come around and hint, telling me in a roundabout way that an ugly woman wasn't fit to be the wife of the heir to the Marquis of Changping.

And my father would repeatedly urge me to hold onto Qi Changlan, saying this marriage must not be lost.

After all, my father's official rank had been raised two levels after he sold me.

The good times didn't last long. 

When Qi Changlan was suppressing bandits in the suburbs of the capital, he actually saved the Eldest Princess.

The Eldest Princess fell for the young general, saying she would only marry him.

The Emperor sent a decree to our mansion. After reading it, my father, without a word, spread the news that I was seriously ill and needed to be sent to the countryside to recuperate.

Then he ordered people to tie me up and throw me into the river outside the city to drown.

It was the middle of winter, and the water in the river was freezing.

The clothes I was wearing quickly soaked up the water, dragging me down.

Cold water filled my lungs, my limbs went numb, and it felt like countless vengeful spirits were grabbing my ankles in the river.

In the face of death, I used my instinct and borrowed fortune from Qi Changlan.

Thankfully, I had only told half the truth back then. They never imagined that I could not only shield my husband from misfortune by sacrificing myself, but also take his fortune.

We were still engaged, so borrowing his fortune was easy for me.

I broke free from the ropes and the heavy clothes, struggling to climb ashore.

In that moment of rebirth, I thought:

No matter if it's my father or Qi Changlan, one day I will make them regret what they did.

I will seize the power they value most, and I will let them know what it feels like to be trampled on like a dog.

With the effect of the borrowed fortune, a wet and shivering me was picked up by a procuress.

She sold me to the largest brothel in the capital, the Chunzhu Building.

The madam disliked the birthmark on my face, saying that with such features, I wouldn't attract any customers.

Without a word, I knelt down. “I know my appearance is flawed, but I've read quite a few books at home, I can read and write, and I have a skill for hairdressing,” I said. “Please, Madam, have mercy and take pity on me. Let me be a hairdressing girl for the ladies!”

The madam and the procuress haggled for a while before finally agreeing.

“Let's say I'm doing a good deed today. Yin Niang is still short of a hairdressing maid, and if she doesn't mind you, you can go and serve her.”

5

Yin Niang was the top courtesan of Chunzhu Building, possessing a stunning face and a captivating voice.

In front of the madam, she called me affectionately: “Such a clever girl! I wouldn't dare dislike you. I love having you here already! Come, my room is here, you'll sleep in the outer room. Just be obedient, and you won't lack for food or anything else.”

Back in the room, she threw things around in a fit of anger, shattering them on the floor.

“I told you, this time I want someone presentable! Why is it that those others get girls that are all clean and tidy, but when it's my turn, I get a girl with a birthmark—an absolute fright! You all think Yin Niang is useless and easy to bully!”

I clutched at my clothes, trembling in fear. “It's Ah Xian's fault. Please calm down, Miss.”

She glared at me and kicked my knee.

“Get out! Don't ever show this side of your face to me; it's hideous!”

6

Yin Niang disliked my birthmark.  

Even though the new hairstyles I created for her made her surpass all the other girls, she still treated me poorly, constantly beating and scolding me.  

Whenever she was upset with a client, she would take it out on me.

She punished me by making me kneel for long periods, whipping my arms and legs, and refusing to let me eat. To avoid beatings, I volunteered to write poetry and songs for her.  

She used these poems and songs to attract more cultured clients—men who were generous, less demanding, and easier to please than the merchants.

Yin Niang's life improved, and fearing I might run to other girls in the brothel, she stopped beating me.  

However, sometimes she would deliberately ask me: “Since you're literate, you must have been a lady from a wealthy family. How did you end up in a place like this?”

I pointed to my birthmark, lowered my head, and subtly displayed a hint of shame and indignation.

She would then smile smugly.  

She would then have me take off her shoes, empty her chamber pot, and so on. 

It seemed that ordering around a girl of my supposed background, watching a high-born flower fall into a mire even dirtier than her own, brought her great joy and satisfaction.  

I often thought that there was something almost desirable about Yin Niang's existence—her volatile stupidity, her muddled life.  

She rejoiced at the smallest reward and vented her anger on those weaker than herself, never giving a moment's thought to the future.

I loathed her, despised her, yet envied her.

7

Within a few years, fine lines appeared at the corners of Yin Niang's eyes, and the makeup couldn't hide her weariness.  

Chunzhu Building acquired newer, younger girls.  

As Yin Niang aged and lost her beauty, the refined gentlemen stopped visiting, replaced by rough, sweaty dockworkers and craftsmen.

Even I, this ugly girl with the large birthmark, was reassigned by the madam to do the hair and makeup for the new top courtesan, Yao Niang.

I went to Yin Niang's room to collect my remaining belongings, when suddenly the door was flung open by a drunken man reeking of alcohol. 

He brandished a fist the size of a rice bowl, shouting: “Where's Yin Niang?! Bring Yin Niang out! Saying she's not here... I, burp! ...I think it's just that she looks down on me!”

My heart leaped. 

Before I could react, he grabbed me from behind.

“Yin Niang, Yin Niang, I've got you! Let me give you a good kiss!”

His hands were covered in coarse, dark hair, and the hot, fetid smell of him washed over me, making me want to vomit.

  

In a flash, several ideas on how to kill him without alerting anyone raced through my mind. 

Then, I heard rustling sounds from the doorway. I turned my head and saw Yin Niang.

Her expression was complex—a mixture of pity, sorrow, satisfaction, and a sense of ‘finally.’ 

Ah, she was happy, wasn't she? 

Happy that I was about to experience the same bitterness she had endured for so long.  

I planned to give Yin Niang a defiant look, to make her think I was deliberately seducing her customer.

She was strong-willed and proud of her beauty; she certainly wouldn't want to lose to an ugly girl like me.  

I figured I could escape once she tried to intervene. But before I could act, she rushed over and pulled me away, half-heartedly whining and snuggling into the reeking man's embrace.

“You fool! You want this ugly girl? Don't come looking for me anymore. If people find out Yin Niang had her business stolen by a girl with a birthmark bigger than her eyes, how will I ever show my face again?!” 

Yin Niang, though older, still possessed a certain charm that I, with my monstrous birthmark, couldn't match. 

The drunkard, somewhat sobered, was naturally pleased by Yin Niang's jealousy and possessiveness.

Yin Niang, while placating the drunkard, subtly signaled me to leave.

  

I clutched my clothes and quickly escaped the room, leaving the unsettling events behind.

8

For days after that, I didn't see Yin Niang. I was restless, wanting to ask her why she did that, yet feeling it would be ridiculous. 

 

The truth is, such things were commonplace in Chunzhu Building.

  

But I hated being forced.

  

When I finally saw her again, she was dressed in plain, dark clothing, not a single inch of skin showing, being awkwardly lifted from a rope by several attendants.

The other girls were in a panic, some shouting, “She's dead!”, scattering like startled birds.

I was pushed and shoved by the fleeing crowd, my mind a complete blank.

Yin Niang was dead?

How could she have died?

From what I knew, she had saved a considerable amount of money and had even been looking for someone to buy her freedom last year.

Why would she kill herself?

Before my eyes flashed a series of images: Yin Niang scolding me, hands on hips; Yin Niang pulling my ears and scolding me; Yin Niang eating melon seeds as I wiped the floor; and finally, Yin Niang forcefully pushing me away from a drunkard's grasp.

And then, even those vivid memories of Yin Niang slowly faded away.

Only a cold corpse remained.

I thought blankly, how could she just leave like that?

I still hadn't said thank you.

________________

Glossary:

Niang is a Chinese term that has multiple meanings depending on the context. 

 

- Niang (娘): This is the most common meaning of Niang, referring to ‘mother’ in Mandarin Chinese. It's a respectful and affectionate term used for one's own mother or a woman who is like a mother figure.

- Niang (娘): In some contexts, Niang can also be used as a suffix to indicate ‘female’ or ‘woman’. For example, ‘Lao Niang’ (老娘) means ‘old woman’ or ‘old lady.’

- Niang (娘): In some dialects and regions, Niang can also be used as a term of address for ‘young woman’ or ‘girl’.

- Niang (娘): In some traditional Chinese operas and plays, Niang is used to address ‘female characters’ in a general sense.

- Niang (娘): In some Chinese slang, Niang can be used as a derogatory term for ‘effeminate’ or ‘weak’.

 

It's important to note that the specific meaning of Niang can vary depending on the context, dialect, and region.

In this context, ‘Xian Niang’ and ‘Yin Niang’ follow the same pattern: the first word is the given name, and ‘Niang’ is a title or suffix.

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