The Red Fades, the Fragrance Disappears; Who Will Pity It? (16)
"Throw her out of the Liang residence!" Mother Liang gave Chen Bing"er a disdainful look, waving her hand. The maidservants behind her came up and grabbed Chen Bing"er, clamping her arms and pulling her out the door.
"No, I don"t want to! Liang-dage, I don"t want to leave Liang-dage… Mother! Mother! I"m begging you, I"m begging you…" Chen Bing"er was shouting herself hoa.r.s.e, her face deathly pale, her eyes overfilling with tears. Her hands gripped tightly onto the doorframe.
"You still dare to talk back!" Mother Liang"s face immediately flashed with uncontrollable anger. Chen Bing"er"s voice had probably already alerted Liang Shao. She was obviously trying to drive a wedge between their affections as mother and son. Instantly, Mother Liang stepped forward and slapped Chen Bing"er, stooping to pry her fingers off the doorframe one by one.
Although Chen Bing"er"s was currently weak, she had done heavy labor for many years. Her strength was absolutely not a match for this kind of person who had lived in the lap of luxury. They were deadlocked at the front door.
"Stop!" A hoa.r.s.e, weak voice suddenly sounded from outside. "Mother, Bing"er, what are you doing?"Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com. If you are reading this elsewhere, it has been stolen from me.
Everyone stopped and looked outside. Down the corridor, Liang Shao was walking slowly towards them, supported by servants. His complexion was ugly. His heavy panting could be heard from a distance, his knees looking as they could give out any moment.
Chen Bing"er"s eyes glimmered with tears. She looked at Liang Shao, lovely and pitiful. She cried, "Liang-dage… I beg you, Mother… wants to throw me out. I don"t want to leave you! I"m your wife, this is my home!"
Hearing this, Liang Shao"s face turned white, panic flashing across his eyes. His pace quickened. He said in a rush, "Mother, why do you want to throw Bing"er out? Wasn"t everything fine before?"
Mother Liang laughed coldly. "If we don"t send this killing star away, should we leave her in the house to curse you?" Her tone was like a mother advising in earnest. She urged, "Shao-er, listen to Mother. She"s an inauspicious person. Think about it, since you met her, you met with so many troubles. You not only lost your future, but you were also beaten up the night of your wedding. In the future, who knows what kind of disasters will happen!"
Liang Shao frowned slightly. What Mother said wasn"t completely without reason. Thinking like this, his heart began to sway slightly.
Seeing Liang Shao"s confused eyes, Chen Bing"er began to panic. She was afraid he really would throw her away. She wailed, "I"m not an inauspicious person! Liang-dage, did you forget? It was me who saved you, it was me who took care of you without even stopping to sleep…"Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com. If you are reading this elsewhere, it has been stolen from me.
As she cried, Liang Shao"s mind changed again. He lifted his eyes to look at Mother Liang again. Firmly, he said, "Mother, what Bing"er said isn"t wrong. In the beginning, it was her who saved me in Luohu Village. She"s absolutely not an inauspicious person. She"s the benefactor who saved my life, and, even more, she"s my wife."
Chen Bing"er"s heart finally grounded itself again. She smiled slightly and let out a breath. The hands gripping tightly to the doorframe relaxed. With a splat!, a handful of blood inked itself onto her clothes.
"Mother, I beg you not to throw Bing"er out," Liang Shao pled, looking at his mother hopefully.
Mother Liang"s hate increased. Unexpectedly, her Shao"er was led astray by this vixen in just a few words, and even argued with his own mother! But she understood her own son. He was a complete rebel; he absolutely wouldn"t change his opinion. It wasn"t a sensible decision to argue with her son now. Completely helpless, Mother Liang decided to let Chen Bing"er go temporarily. She would shift her son"s affections first.
But she also couldn"t let Chen Bing"er go so easily. As soon as she thought about how she had slaved over this s.l.u.t for the last few days, Mother Liang was uncomfortable throughout her entire body. She restrained the anger in her heart. "If you want me to let her go, that"s also fine. She just needs to guarantee that in the future she"ll listen to my requests, and I"ll let her stay and keep on being my Liang family"s young mistress1."
"Mother, what you said is nothing. Bing"er is your daughter-in-law, of course she"ll listen to your requests." Liang Shao let out a breath of relief, smiling. He looked towards Chen Bing"er. "Chen Bing"er, what do you say?"
Chen Bing"er had a bad premonition. She didn"t want to agree. Looking at Mother Liang"s cold smile, she opened her mouth and wanted to say, "I don"t—"
But Liang Shao cut her off, hurriedly urging, "Bing"er, quickly agree, nothing will happen. Believe me!"Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com. If you are reading this elsewhere, it has been stolen from me.
Seeing the hope and pleading in his eyes, Chen Bing"er softened. She ignored the discomfort in her heart with great effort. Frowning and biting her lip, she said quietly, "Yes, Bing"er will listen to Mother"s requests."
"Very good. Then you go back to the room and rest well," Mother Liang said slowly. The corner of her mouth hooked up in a smile.
When Mother Liang had left, Chen Bing"er lifted her crying little face and threw herself into Liang Shao"s chest. Choking on sobs, she begged, "Liang-dage, I… I want to go back to the bridal chamber, I don"t want to stay alone, I"m scared…"
Liang Shao also understood Chen Bing"er"s fear and apprehension. He patted her back, his heart hurting. He coaxed her, "Alright, alright, don"t cry anymore. Your crying makes Liang-dage"s heart hurt." As he spoke, he grabbed her hand, blowing lightly. "Silly girl, why do you disregard yourself so much? You can go out and stroll around for a bit, wait until I go to pick you up and then come back, hmm? Look at your hands, they"re bleeding so much. Quickly go back to the room and let me hug you for a bit."
Chen Bing"er pouted. "I didn"t think so much, okay? As soon as I heard I had to leave you I couldn"t take it…"
"You"ve become reasonable now?" Liang Shao gave her a teasing look.
Talking like this, the two of them went back to the bridal chamber with the support of the maids and servants.
Originally, they thought the matters were finished. But since the day Chen Bing"er"s hand healed, Mother Liang came to wake her before the sun had even rose. She had Chen Bing"er make breakfast, saying the family didn"t have any money and they had to dismiss some maids and old maidservants. In the future, the three meals each day would be left to her.
Chen Bing"er was shocked. She retorted, "I—I"m just one person, how could I manage to do all of that?"
"That"s why I"m waking you up a little earlier! Don"t talk nonsense now, hurry and go to the kitchen and cook," Mother Liang said indifferently. "A daughter-in-law was always supposed to wait on the husband"s mother and father. It couldn"t be you want me, this old lady, to cook for you? If you don"t want to, that"s also fine. I"ll just have Shao-er fix you into seven slices before marrying again!"
After being scared like this, Chen Bing"er could only obediently take on the job of cooking three meals a day. When he found out, Liang Shao was also helpless. After all, this was just a little thing. Moreover, Chen Bing"er used to cook often. It wasn"t some difficult thing for her. When Chen Bing"er complained to him, he just coaxed and comforted her a bit.
But this matter was anything but easy. From then on, Mother Liang slowly started to add even more to Bing"er"s work. At first, Chen Bing"er still told Liang Shao about the work: bringing in the water, cooking the meals, washing the dishes, sweeping the floors, washing the clothes, and hanging them to dry… At that time, the two of them were in a sweet, deep love. Liang Shao wasn"t too busy with his official duties because of his sickness. Chen Bing"er was also gentle and beautiful. Hearing her complain, he would still go and talk to Mother Liang, having her stop making difficulties for Bing"er.
But he was a military man. How could he beat Mother Liang"s nimble speech? Moreover, Mother Liang would add another task for Chen Bing"er to do every few days. Every time, Liang Shao was frightened off by her prattling. Eventually, as soon as Liang Shao heard Chen Bing"er complaining, his ears would automatically ring with the sound of Mother Liang"s annoying nagging.
Because of the fact that he had missed too much work while he was sick, every day he returned home physically and mentally exhausted, and just wanted to sleep in peace. He began to be unable to put up with Chen Bing"er. After another complaint, he exploded at her. Chen Bing"er finally shut her mouth and never complained to him again.
The result of this was Mother Liang became even more unrestrained, a.s.signing even more work to Chen Bing"er. Every day, Chen Bing"er was forced to wake up before dawn and couldn"t sleep until midnight. Originally, her health hadn"t completely healed. Now, having to do so much manual labor, her body became even more thin and weak.
Because of her exhaustion, Chen Bing"er had already turned down Liang Shao"s prepositions numerous times. Even when Liang Shao wore her down into agreement, her body was unsuitable, making it unusually painful. Every time, she squeezed her eyes tightly and suffered through it. Liang Shao was also uncomfortable. Chen Bing"er"s body was all hard edges; her suffering expression and the way she lay on the bed like a dead fish completely ruined his mood. After a few times, the two of them simply laid under the blankets and slept.
Just at this time, Mother Liang hatched another evil plan.
Mother Liang paid visits to the famous matchmakers in the capital and attended a few small-scale tea parties held by the ladies of the capital. She looked everywhere for a concubine for her son, even bringing a big pile of paintings and pulling Liang Shao over to introduce them to him one by one.
Although Liang Shao and Chen Bing"er"s affections weren"t as deep as before, he still remembered their agreement and didn"t agree to take in a concubine. Mother Liang, however, tricked Chen Bing"er into thinking Liang Shao planned to take in a concubine. Thus, the Chen Bing"er who loved Liang Shao deeply couldn"t hold it back anymore. She rushed into Liang Shao"s study and had a huge argument with him. In the end, although she knew it was Mother Liang making mischief, the feelings between the two faced imminent danger after the fight.
Chen Bing"er blamed herself for not trusting Liang Shao, and Liang Shao also had a guilty conscience. The two of them each had their own thoughts and became even more unwilling to face each other.
All of this was Mother Liang"s fault. Chen Bing"er absolutely loathed Mother Liang, but she loved Liang Shao to the point of ruin. Under this contradiction between an unbreakable shield and an unstoppable sword, she became even more quiet.
Thinking about all of this, Chen Bing"er"s face paled. Her ears filled with Mother Liang"s incessant chattering from inside the house. Squeezing the broom in her hands tightly, her expression became cold enough to freeze. Her eyes glinted, looking as though she was about to eat someone.
Mother Liang… Mother Liang!Please read at yanyantls dot wordpress dot com. If you are reading this elsewhere, it has been stolen from me.
Chen Bing"er screamed in her heart, but her face was completely calm. Holding the broom, she lightly swept Mother Liang"s courtyard, not even noticing a shadow flashing away from the trees. He turned towards the Xie Residence.
Lu Qi stood respectfully before Xie Fei, succinctly reporting what he had seen in the Laing residence to the young master. When he finished, he frowned. Hesitantly, he said, "Young Master, normal people or the kind of people like Liang Shao who only know outside martial arts kind of people probably think Chen Bing"er is just quiet, but this subordinate could feel her aura changed, becoming dark and fierce. This subordinate guesses that the Liang family may have pushed her too far. Chen Bing"er very likely will do something irrational."
As he spoke, his tone became extremely solemn. Although Chen Bing"er was a delicate girl who didn"t know any martial arts, when someone went insane, their might was enough to shock people. Because they were facing a madwoman, n.o.body could guess what she was thinking or what she would do. She would even throw away her life in her madness. This kind of person was incredibly frightening.
Xie Fei quirked the corner of his mouth. "With her strength, she isn"t a threat outside of the Liang Residence. At most, it"s just the Liang family, that"s all. They"ve reaped what they sowed. There"s no need to take notice of it."
"Yes." Lu Qi nodded, lifting his eyes to look at Xie Fei before continuing to ask, "Young Master, the bait has already been prepared, when should we release it?"
Xie Fei smiled slowly, his lips cold. "In these few days."
Lu Qi nodded in understanding. With a flicker, his silhouette faded away.
The author has something to say:
I originally thought it would finish today, but it turned out that I"d written five thousand words and still wasn"t done, so we"ll separate into two chapters~~~ Tomorrow this story will finish. Recently I"m watching "This Is Armor Plating", I"m really super super envious of Zheng Shuang"s sulking(???)
T/N: "This Is Armor Plating" is a Chinese variety show (這就是鐵甲, I have no idea what it"s about lmao I translated literally) and Zheng Shuang is an actress (she played Bei Weiwei in Love O2O!) in it. Question marks are left in but maybe Zheng Shuang is really cute sulking? (Wouldn"t be surprised, she"s adorable in this jasmine tea ad.)
1↩ The specific word here used is 媳婦, which can mean daughter-in-law, a young married woman, or a young woman. What Liang Shao says in the next line is "兒媳", which also means daughter-in-law, but more so in the context of "the wife of (your) son".