Chapter 30: Oh, What Bad Luck
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The light in Zhang Zhuang's eyes grew dimmer, finally turning into disappointment and dejection, filled mostly with regret. He lifted his hand and gave himself two heavy slaps.
He rasped.
"During that period, Fubao's health worsened again. The doctor said she might not survive this harsh winter."
The money at home was all spent on medicinal herbs, yet it wasn't enough.
He could only scrape together from everywhere. But the debts from these years were still unpaid, who would be willing to lend to him?
It was then that Dong Feng came to the door, proposing a ghost marriage.
"I was blinded by money, thinking we would no longer have to worry about medical expenses. I thought I could buy her the best ginseng to eat, and considering this child's gentle nature, if she were to close her eyes forever, her mama and I would no longer be able to take care of her, so I thought I might as well find her a good marriage."
And he... also had his own selfish intentions.
After all, that amount of silver was not small.
Enough to buy a large piece of land and live a prosperous life.
He knew full well that Dong Hui was evil and wasn't a good match, yet he informed Zhang Wangshi.
"This good marriage must not be missed."
Zhang Wangshi never doubted him.
With the use of ginseng and a great amount of tonic, Fubao's face even gained some color, and her speech no longer sounded so weak. She might even live a few more days, not just through this winter.
But Dong Feng could not wait any longer.
When Zhang Zhuang turned to the kitchen to fetch medicine for Fubao, Fubao took her last breath in Dong Feng's hands!
Zhang Zhuang saw it happen, but was powerless to stop it.
Then, Dong Feng threw a silver note at his face, warning him with a few words before leaving in large strides.
The silver note floated down to the soles of his shoes, not far from a dagger stained with blood and Fubao's body growing cold.
Zhang Zhuang felt cold all over.
"I'm a coward, unworthy of being her daddy; afterwards, I was so pathetic I dared not speak to anyone about it."
Including Zhang Wangshi.
No one ever suspected, everyone believed Fubao'er had committed suicide.
Everyone was convinced that Fubao'er, understanding since childhood, couldn't bear her parents spending more silver to buy medicine for her illness.
Zhang Zhuang did not explain, as he couldn't fight against the Dong Family. After a painful decision, he still picked up the silver note.
The matter was thus concealed, and he did not have to bear any other consequences.
These days, he had been sleepless, every time he closed his eyes he saw Fubao's struggle before her death. He couldn't eat, reduced to skin and bones.
The silver note was exchanged for his daughter's life.
If it weren't for Shen Hua coming to unfeelingly expose the matter to Zhang Wangshi...
He was in a daze, and the middle-aged man cried bitterly.
Zhang Wangshi's heart felt as if it was being sliced by her pillow partner's dagger, with deep, bloody wounds, the pain penetrating her heart.
She was already in the throes of losing her daughter, and today received another heavy blow, how could she bear it?
Shen Hua lowered her eyelids and took out that thick stack of evidence from her bosom.
"The Zhang couple is the witness, and these are the physical evidence."
Shen Hua said: "Apart from the Zhang couple, there is information on seventeen other families here for you to investigate, and you will find even more."
Dong Feng had indeed conducted his affairs in secrecy. Money was all too easily blinding, yet it also caused him to fall from grace.
The dead were the most silent, yet Dong Feng couldn't kill them all, alerting people to his tracks.
The evidence was quickly submitted to County Magistrate Liu by the officials.
The entire mystery was thoroughly uncovered.
This was without doubt the simplest yet most thrilling case County Magistrate Liu had ever handled.
He lowered his gaze to look, and the first on the top was deliberately placed by Shen Hua, it was the Shen Family.
County Magistrate Liu: …
So she broke ties with her family for justice!
Even so, to ensure everything was foolproof and ceremonious, County Magistrate Liu still had to summon everyone involved to the government office to verify them one by one.
Clearly, everything had already been settled.
The spectators left unsatisfied, watching as Shen Hua, wrapped in mink fur, rolled out of the grand hall.
Outside, it was no longer cramped, and the air had become much fresher.
"Miss Shen, now that something has happened to the Dong Family, how is it that you showed up?"
Perhaps because Shen Hua's attire today was so childishly charming, someone boldly voiced their question.
They had expected her temperament to be too imposing to bother responding. Contrary to their expectations, the young lady turned around, her dark, clear eyes glancing over. Her delicate nose wrinkled slightly.
The tone of the Little White Lotus matched the small white flower on her head flawlessly.
"How could I not, when my Shen Family was also implicated? My stepmother was blinded by money, yet the Shen Family's actions stand unashamed in heaven and earth, and must not be ruined by her momentary lapse."
The thoughts of everyone present were swayed by this remark.
Could it be, could it really be, that the kind stepmother Mrs. Shen Xue was such a person?
"She sold the dead concubine daughter for money?"
"The Shen family's great madam, surely she doesn't lack silver. What is she getting out of this?"
"Did you forget? She can't have children herself, she resents! As soon as Old Master Shen left, of course, her true nature was revealed; she wouldn't let the living Lady Shen get away, let alone the deceased Second Miss Shen."
"A heart of vipers and scorpions, nothing more. A stepmother is still a stepmother, not of blood, how could she feel any affection?"
The words behind her left Shen Hua feeling uplifted. She walked step by step across the bustling street.
She bought a candied haw from a street vendor and brought it to her pink lips to lick.
She loved eating these, but Shen Wei deemed outside food unsanitary and wouldn't allow her to eat them.
Carefully considering, it had been months since she last secretly indulged.
Shen Hua took a shortcut with Yicui along a narrow alley, at the end of which was the street where the Shen Residence was located.
"Yangyang." Someone called out to her dumbfounded from behind.
He Chu stood there, looking lost, dressed in the scholar outfit he was remembered for, his student robe crisp and clean.
He had been present throughout the adjudication at the government office, yet she remained as she was, never shedding her privileged airs, but still somewhat changed.
Today, Shen Hua was more like a pearl polished of its dust, bright and dazzling. Meanwhile, Zhou Zhizhi was reduced to a dull puddle of stagnant water.
He appreciated Zhou Zhizhi's steadiness; when he reached the heights of officialdom, that was the kind of wife he ought to have.
But this version of Shen Hua left him feeling a sense of loss.
He even... felt a fleeting regret.
Yicui recognized him and immediately looked stern. Just as she was about to protectively place Shen Hua behind her, the young lady furrowed her brows.
Shen Hua murmured, "Oh, how unlucky."
He Chu's face momentarily showed embarrassment.
With no one around, he no longer had the resolve he had on the day of the broken engagement.
"Do you resent me?"
Shen Hua could already guess what he would say next.
She bit into the thin sugar coating on the candied haw, creating a 'crunch, crunch' sound.
She did not stop him, and He Chu felt there was a chance.
"Yangyang, it was my mother's orders; as a filial son, I had no choice but to comply, but in my heart, I only have you. Give me some time."
His gaze fell on Shen Hua's lips; their pale color now stained with sugar, adding a hint of blush.
It would be a lie to say he had no feelings for Shen Hua.
"Yangyang, I didn't want this. I have no feelings for that Lady Zhou. I pleaded with Mama; she also allows you to join the He Family. Even though it's as a concubine, in my heart, you're the one I want to marry."
He looked at Shen Hua expectantly, trying to elicit a response.
Shen Hua seemed to ponder, then asked with some dissatisfaction.
"That's it?"
These phrases, she was tired of hearing.
"Can't you come up with something fresh?"
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