Mysteries of the Great Zhou Dynasty

Chapter 25 Extra Warmth (2)

Wen Xin remembered that it was the Lantern Festival when she was five years old. Fengxian County was bustling with people going to see the lanterns, while a medium-sized courtyard in the city was deserted. The servants in the house had been given leave to go out and play. Wen Xin was wearing a bright red jacket. The clothes were new, but very dirty, especially the cuffs, which were rubbed black and shiny. Wen Xin was lying on the rockery under a big tree in the courtyard. She looked up at the sky, which was divided into squares by the wall. She watched boredly as a few skinny sparrows chirped on the branches and the leaves of the big tree rustled. Outside the courtyard came the joyful sounds of gongs and drums and firecrackers, but from inside her own house she could occasionally hear her mother's labored cough. Her mother was sick.

Wen Xin lay on her side, feeling wronged, tears streaming down her face. She really hated this new house. Since moving in, Daddy had been getting busier and busier, never coming home all day, sometimes leaving for a month or two. Even when Daddy came back, he always looked worried. It was fine if he didn't talk, but once he did, he'd start arguing with Mom. He never asked her why she was squatting on the ground playing with ants, nor did he buy Mom a nice bracelet. She didn't know if Ant Daddy had found a home...

Wenxin missed the old days so much. She missed the small courtyard where the aroma of rice wafted in the air, the small lake at the doorstep where she could catch fish and swim, and the sweet taste of the dragon beard candies her father brought back...

Wen Xin remembered that a month ago, because she wanted to see her father so much, she secretly ran to her father's shop to find him. She met that woman in the reception room. She would never forget that scene.

Wen Xin crouched by the door. She saw the heavily made-up woman sitting in the main seat, her nails dyed red with nail polish, looking like blood. The woman wore a transparent jade bracelet. She raised her hand to admire it, raising an eyebrow and saying critically, "Yi Lang, I won't accept a bracelet from anyone. The jade quality of this bracelet is okay, but the craftsmanship is a bit rough."

"This jade bracelet is a bit rough, and ordinary bracelets are not worthy of you. I have sent someone to find a piece of high-quality mutton-fat jade for you, and I will wait to find the best craftsman to carve a bracelet for you. The extra material can be used to make a jade hairpin, and the pattern will be peony. What do you think?" Wen Yi held the woman's hand affectionately, stroking it and saying.

"Yi Lang is still the best." The woman leaned in Wen Yi's arms and said softly.

Wen Xin, who was outside the door, was startled and accidentally fell in.

The woman looked her up and down and said arrogantly, "Where did this wild girl come from?"

"This is my new little maid." Wen Yi glared at her, warned her not to speak, and then dragged her out, "Get out now! You have no manners."

Although the woman's face was full of suspicion, she didn't say a word.

Wen Xin felt puzzled, but she knew that if she told her mother about this, she would definitely be sad, especially since she was sick.

Wen Xin thought of this, quickly stood up, ran to the house and secretly took out her mother's bracelet. Afraid of being discovered by her mother, she hid in a cave in the rockery. She took out the bracelet and put it on her hand, secretly comparing the two bracelets in her heart.

"Hmph, my mother's bracelet is still the most beautiful!" Wen Xin carefully took off the bracelet, put it in a box, and held it in her arms. She sat in the cave of the rockery, hugged her knees, touched her red and swollen right cheek, and recalled what had just happened.

Just now, she'd been pestering her father to take her to see the lanterns, but he'd said he was busy. She'd started crying and refusing to go, saying that in previous years, the whole family had gone. She'd been crying so hard that her father, infuriated, raised his hand and slapped her. It was the first time he'd hit her, and the thought brought back warm tears. Because of this, she hadn't even eaten much of her dinner.

Wen Xin cried and fell asleep. The noisy noise outside did not wake her up. When she woke up again, she found that the yard was full of flames. Her mother's house was on fire. Wen Xin did not react for a moment. The housekeeper's left hand was burned beyond recognition, but he seemed to feel nothing and continued to fight the fire. Her father just stood there in a daze.

The housekeeper was trying his best to put out the fire while shouting, "Boss, go get some help! What are you just standing there for? What's wrong with these doors and windows? Why can't they be opened?"

Wen Xin cried out at the top of her lungs, her little face was all red from tears. She tried desperately to rush into the fire to save her mother, but was scared back by the fire.

Daddy looked embarrassed. "It's useless, useless... That woman is so cruel! If I save her, she'll probably take her anger out on me... Anyway, she has tuberculosis and will die sooner or later... Why don't we just pretend we didn't see it?"

The housekeeper slapped Dad in disbelief: "Are you still a human being?" The housekeeper didn't have time to pay attention to him. While trying his best to put out the fire, he asked Wen Xin to call the neighbors for help.

Wen Xin reacted and ran out to ask the neighbors for help.

Although the fire was put out, my mother could not be saved. The adults said that when she was found, she was lying in bed and she probably passed away in her sleep.

The housekeeper went to report to the authorities, saying that his mother had been murdered. However, he was beaten by the officials and thrown back.

A month after Mom passed away, Daddy "married" that woman. They moved into a courtyard so deep that it seemed unfathomable to a five-year-old. The house was bigger, but Wen Xin was even more unhappy. Wen Xin didn't understand why Daddy "married" that woman, so why did they move into her house? The adults said it was called "entering the family," and for a long time, Wen Xin couldn't figure out what the term meant. But she knew she was even more unhappy.

That woman always abused her and didn't give her food, but Daddy pretended not to see it.

The most peaceful time was when she secretly took the bracelet out of the hole in the wall in the dead of night. Only by holding the bracelet could she fall asleep. This bracelet was the only thought her mother had left her.

Years passed, and the woman's father died. Then, after a while, concubines were brought in from the same room. People said these concubines were there to give Wen Xin a little brother. The mistress had been injured giving birth to a little sister, and she wouldn't be able to have a little brother anymore, but they couldn't end the family line. That being said, none of the concubines ever gave Wen Xin a little brother. Either the baby miscarried in the womb or died before its first birthday. After years of tossing and turning, not only was there no little brother, but even a little sister who survived.

That woman gradually stopped paying her any attention, leaving her to fend for herself; perhaps she was bored, or perhaps she was too busy dealing with the concubines her father had married. Sometimes, Wen Xin felt that a large house had its advantages; as long as she didn't hang around that woman, she wouldn't bother to bother her.

(End of this chapter)