Fate-Holding Women

CHAPTER 3:

16

After taking on the job of ghostwriting, my family became increasingly prosperous. I bought myself a lot of rouge and powder, gold hairpins, and jade ornaments. 

However, I always wore a wooden hairpin when I went out, and I always wore old-fashioned, dark-colored clothes. I couldn't go three sentences without praising Shi Liang once.

Every day, I got up early to cook. The people nearby could all see the smoke from my cooking, but I deliberately made the food difficult to swallow.

Shi Liang only ate my cooking a few times before he refused to let me cook anymore. 

He would rather buy snacks from outside to eat.

The neighbors all praised me for being well-behaved and dignified, a rare good woman. They said Shi Liang was lucky. 

He felt proud and would compliment me a few times in return. 

The wealthy young man who asked Shi Liang to write for him heard that he was married, and sometimes he would come to our house to visit. 

I only smiled brightly and spoke softly to Shi Liang.

To others, I seemed to be polite and well-mannered, but my face was cold and frosty.

Not only was Shi Liang very pleased with himself, but those wealthy young men started to look at me differently.

One time, while serving food, a dashing young man who was laughing nonchalantly hooked my finger.

I pretended to be startled and pulled my hand back.

A few days later, they started taking Shi Liang to the gambling house.

This was an old trick. Many girls in the Chunzhu Building were lured in this way.

Once inside the gambling house, they planned to lure him into debt, forcing him to pawn his wife and concubines.

17

Every time Shi Liang went out to gamble, I bestowed upon him a portion of my good fortune, ensuring his success.

Shi Liang won money, and the praise from those around him made him quite elated.

“Xian Niang, you wouldn't believe how lucky I was today! I found a copper coin right outside as I left the house, and as soon as I sat down at the table, I started making money! Everyone who bet with me won!”

My eyes were full of admiration. 

“Husband, you're truly amazing,” I said. “How fortunate I am to be your wife!”

He laughed heartily at my praise, bought me a pile of things, and promised he would never let me suffer in the future.

The next day, he took more money and rushed into the gambling house.

I leaned against the doorframe, watching his back until he disappeared from sight.

With the money he'd won, Shi Liang began to change his appearance and demeanor.

He was dressed in silk, wearing a jade crown, and adorned with gold and jade ornaments; the scent of a strange woman's perfume clung to him.

The neighbors gossiped, saying I had a lucky wife's destiny—that after marrying me, Shi Liang, who had previously seemed unremarkable, had suddenly risen in fortune.

I looked at the sky, sat cross-legged in the bathtub, and transferred some of my good fortune to him, ensuring a big win for him today.

After a short while, I opened my eyes, having completely absorbed his life force, wealth, health, romantic luck, and all other forms of good fortune.

A warm current surged through my limbs and meridians, awakening the ancestral cultivation technique hidden within the bloodline of a destined woman.

A wave of joy washed over me: My earlier suspicions were correct!

How could an ancient bloodline lack a legacy?

I activated the cultivation technique, repeatedly attempting to draw in spiritual energy.

The meager spiritual energy of the mortal realm, fueled by the consumed good fortune, surged through my acupoints, forcing countless impurities out of my skin.

I opened my eyes, and everything around me seemed to have its veil lifted, every detail crystal clear.

After cleansing the years of impurities from my blood and meridians, my arms were as white and translucent as jade, faintly glowing.

This certainly wasn't the appearance expected of a woman who had lost her husband.

I emptied the dirty water and boiled another pot of herbal medicine.

After the herbal bath, my whole body was stained a waxy yellow.

Looking at myself in the mirror, I was even more haggard than before.

I buried the leftover herbs in the ground and started a fire to cook early.

After a long wait, someone finally knocked on the door.

“Is Madam Song home? Master Shi won a fortune at the gambling house, overjoyed to the point of… death!”

I was shocked, my whole body trembling, “What?!”

18

The messenger expressed great sympathy for me.

And it's true, a lonely woman with no husband or children, but with money… it's like a piece of fat meat, ripe for the taking by anyone.

In this world, who says a woman isn't also a form of property?

With a husband, she is someone else's property.

Without one, she's free for the taking.

I endured my grief, my face still yellow, and went to identify the body, fainting several times along the way.

Everyone praised my deep affection and loyalty. Those who knew me told others how virtuous I was, what a devoted wife I was to my husband.

They also said that Shi Liang became prosperous after marrying me, proving that I was a lucky woman.

It's just that he was unlucky. Despite his illustrious family background, he was abandoned, clearly unable to hold onto his good fortune.

Therefore, he couldn't withstand this sudden wealth. He made money, but died at the height of his prosperity.

I awoke, and everyone came to console me.

I cried for a long time before I could finally muster the strength to hire people to handle my husband's funeral arrangements.

After the final rites, during the night of mourning, someone snuck into my low, humble courtyard. 

I was bowing my head in front of the spirit tablet, silently reciting my mother's name, when I turned and saw a dark figure.

“Don't you dare scream!”

The man covered my mouth, his voice harsh: “If you scream again, I'll strangle you!”

My whole body trembled, I couldn't utter a single word.

My hand, however, quietly gathered a ball of spiritual energy, ready to unleash.

In the flickering light of the white candle, I saw his face clearly.

The handsome and debonair features I saw during the day now looked like a vicious wolf, utterly repulsive. 

It was Liang Mu, one of the wealthy young men I had been writing for.

He slowly released his hand, seeing that I was only crying and not calling for help, he softened his voice.

“Sister-in-law, please don't shout. I simply admire your beauty and can't bear to see you widowed at such a young age.”

My tears flowed uncontrollably, “My husband is still in the spirit hall, are you not afraid that his spirit will come to seek revenge?”

He let out a cold laugh.

“What's Shi Liang anyway? Even if I fed bones to a dog, the dog would wag its tail at me. He just knows how to write a few articles, yet he acts so big in front of me! I wasn't afraid of him when he was alive, why would I be afraid now that he's dead?”

I covered my mouth and sobbed, hiding the mockery on my lips.

The man used to brag about their deep brotherhood, but when it came to stabbing his brother in the back, he never hesitated.

He lowered his head and looked me over by the candlelight, his delight growing with each glance.

“Sister-in-law, you don't know, the first time I saw you at the Shi family, I felt Shi Liang wasn't worthy of you. I've longed for you day and night, yet you've always been cold to me, showering only tenderness on that Shi Liang. What merit does that little man have? You probably don't know, he's got a mistress on the side, buying her gold hairpins while you wear wooden ones. What use is such a man?”

My face was filled with sorrow, “It was those women outside who seduced him. He said he would be devoted to me…”

Liang Mu coldly snorted.

“I advise you to give in to me, sister-in-law. Otherwise, I'll go report to the authorities, claiming that you deliberately seduced me and secretly poisoned Shi Liang. Let's see how the court will judge that.”

After saying this, he leaned in to kiss me.

I struggled weakly, “Either I have an affair with someone in the mourning hall, or I will be charged with the crime of murdering my husband. You keep saying you have feelings for me, but when have you ever given me a way out?”

Seeing that I couldn't escape, I pleaded, “If you truly have feelings for me, wait until Shi Liang is buried, and then come to formally marry me.”

The force after channeling spiritual energy is so hard to control; I almost lost control and sent him flying.

Liang Mu, completely unaware, laughed, “If you make me happy today, I will definitely marry you with great fanfare!”

I cried out, “Shi Liang always boasted about his noble family background. Don't you want to know why he married someone like me, of humble origins?!”

Liang Mu stopped his movements. 

“I am the daughter of Song You, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. I was kidnapped at the age of thirteen and only recently contacted my father. He won't openly acknowledge me, but if I die, do you think he'll investigate? Are your hands truly clean in this matter?”

Seeing him remain silent, I changed my tack, “But if you marry me, you'll have the support of a Vice Minister as your father-in-law. Even if the Liang family wants to get you an official position, having connections is always better than not, right?” 

Using a combination of threats and enticements, I finally swayed Liang Mu.

The wife of a merchant's family isn't valuable, and he's not the eldest son.

This deal, indeed, is profitable.

19

Unlike the previous dynasty, this dynasty suffered a sharp decline in population due to war, and marriage is not restricted by mourning periods.

After marrying into the Liang family, I learned that Liang Mu had eight concubines and four maidservants who also served as concubines.

The youngest was only thirteen.

The same age as when I first entered the Chunzhu Building.

That young girl's name is Cao'er, she's a refugee from another region, sold into the Liang household.

Rumor has it that Liang Mu caused her to miscarry a child earlier this year.

Yet, I saw her eyes shine when she looked at Liang Mu, clearly filled with joy and admiration.

I asked her, “Do you like your husband?”

She nodded vigorously.

“Why? Is he good to you?”

Her Mandarin was slightly imperfect, mixed with an accent from somewhere else.

“Master is good to me. Although he beats me, and my stomach hurt badly last time he kicked me, he lets me eat my fill. Back home, my father also beat me, and didn't give me food. I was so hungry I drank cold water in the middle of the night. Master also knows a lot of things; he can write and paint! In our village, if a boy can write his name, he's called a ‘Wenqu star’." (Note: Wenqu star is a reference to a star god associated with literature and scholarship.)

Thinking of Liang Mu's terrible handwriting, I couldn't help but facepalm.

“I'll teach you to read, will you learn?”

She shook her head in fear.

“How could I be worthy of reading and writing? That's not something for someone like me!”

I sighed in disappointment, waving her away.

Back then, although my father didn't forbid me from reading and writing, my elder sister disliked reading, so he didn't hire any tutors for his daughters.

After all, I was just a concubine's daughter.

I shamelessly attached myself to my older brother and cousins, borrowing their books and writing materials.

I found ways to enter the library, copying book after book.

My feelings at the time were probably best described as ‘greedy.’

Not enough, not enough, far from enough.

It's this very ‘not enough’ that continues to benefit me to this day.

I was thrown into the river with nothing, unable to take away money or power, but I could take away knowledge.

The world says that greed is evil, and that a pure heart, lack of desire, and contentment are good.

But I feel that those who are content are confined to the bottom of a well, while those who are greedy leap over the fences.

The so-called acceptance of the status quo is merely the shepherd's expectation of the flock.

If the sheep truly believe it, that's the most laughable thing in the world.

20

Since completely absorbing Shi Liang's good fortune, I've unlocked a new ability.

Originally, I could only absorb good fortune from my husband.

Now it's expanded to his entire family.

I tried to absorb a large amount of the Liang family's fortune, but met with significant resistance.

Fortune is like the tide, it ebbs and flows.

To completely absorb someone's good fortune, you must do so when their fortune is declining, and the same goes for the fortune of their family.

This is about following the ‘trend.’

Destiny is determined by heaven, but fortune is determined by man.

Every action a person takes affects their own fortune.

If one commits acts that ruin one's fortune, their own luck will decline.

If Shi Liang had remained virtuous and not fallen for the trap, he wouldn't have died so quickly at my hands.

One month after our wedding, Liang Mu brought me to the Minister's mansion.

The old gatekeeper, Ding, stared at me dumbfounded, as if he'd seen a ghost.

I smiled slightly. “Old Ding, please inform my father that Xian Niang has returned to visit him.”

Old Ding hurried inside to report, and soon came out sweating profusely, saying that my father wasn't home and he didn't dare to act without authorization.

Liang Mu was both disappointed and invigorated.

Disappointed at his failure, but invigorated at having actually married a high-ranking official's daughter.

I was pleased as well.

My father, knowing I was still alive, would surely be unable to eat or sleep, fearing I would ruin his reputation.

Thinking it over, his only option was to strike first, eliminating me and the Liang family together.

What is the most enjoyable thing in the world?

Nothing more than using an overt strategy to make your enemy work for you.

21

The prefect who annihilated a family, the magistrate who ruined a household.

The blow an official can inflict on those beneath him is fatal.

My father didn't even need to appear in person; a vague hint would be enough to have many underlings take care of the problem for him.

They didn't need to be excessive; simply using the pretext of an inspection to seize the Liang family's goods and funds for a period of time would create a cash flow problem.

And in this process, petty officials would swarm like flies smelling blood, extorting layer upon layer of fees.

Soon, a hole appeared in the cloud of the Liang family's fortune. I tore that hole wider, absorbing it day after day, cultivating without ceasing.

As my cultivation deepened, the speed at which I absorbed spiritual energy through fortune also gradually increased.

The Liang family was becoming increasingly frantic, but I had broken through to the fourth level of Qi Refinement.

I could even use some simple spells.

Liang Mu was restless and dragged me out the door, heading straight for the Song mansion.

I knew that this trip was dangerous, and my father would surely be prepared to completely eliminate me.

I sat in the carriage, not daring to stop for a moment, frantically using spiritual energy to impact the acupoints throughout my body, then using fortune to gather the spiritual energy.

In the unseen half-air above my head, a giant vortex formed, drawing in the Liang family's fortune from all directions.

Qi Refinement, fifth level, broken!

The Qi above Liang Mu's head gradually thinned, and a wild horse running rampant through the streets charged recklessly, kicking Liang Mu, who had been thrown from the carriage, to the ground!

His ribs were instantly crushed, and he lay in the middle of the road, spitting blood, yet no one dared to speak up for justice.

“Husband!”

I stumbled out of the carriage and fell upon Liang Mu, my cries filled with anguish, while the effeminate youth on horseback merely curled his lip in boredom. 

“Dead is dead. What's the crying for?”

His gaze fell upon me; the spiritual energy, still not fully dissipated after my breakthrough, attracted him.  

He dismounted his horse like one possessed and came before me.

“Such beauty, yet you're with such a frail weakling. It's such a waste, like a pearl rolling in the dirt. If you were with me, I'd let you know what a true, great man is!”

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