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墨書 Inktalez
Everyone had arrived, and Uncle Liu glanced around before striking the ox with his whip. The animal let out a pained grunt and began to stir.
Father Lu and Lu Zheng continued to stare at each other, a flicker of fear rising in Father Lu's heart—a fear that seemed inescapable. Recent events had taken him by surprise: his grandson had been abducted, his daughter-in-law sold and then redeemed, and it was uncertain whether his son would ever walk again. Now, Ding Cuiying lay on one side, her fate also uncertain.
Why did history always seem to repeat itself? He felt as if he were witnessing a scene from twenty-seven years ago. His gaze finally landed on Lu Zheng's dark, brooding eyes, which reminded him of someone else's.
Since moving here, he had stopped engaging in his previous activities and had gradually relaxed. Lu Zheng had grown up under the humiliation of Ding Cuiying and Lu Yao; he had witnessed it all, and it was what he most wanted to see.
The intention behind keeping him around was for the Lu family to use him like a beast of burden. Father Lu recalled when Lu Zheng was twenty years old, when news of conscription spread through the town. He had gone off without telling anyone. Later, he made an unexpected choice; Father Lu still remembered the look in Lu Zheng's eyes as he left home—a look that spoke of no longer enduring, fierce determination, and resilience.
From that point on, he drifted like a kite, with the tether in his hands becoming a joke.
Frustrated and angry, Father Lu slapped the wooden board beneath him. Uncle Liu noticed the commotion and turned to glare at him. "What are you doing? If you break it, you'll have to pay for it!"
After saying this, Uncle Liu shot a disdainful glance at Father Lu and lashed the whip against the ox again. "What are you doing up at this hour? You're making it impossible for me to get a good night's sleep. At my age, I shouldn't have to deal with your nonsense. The whole village is fed up with your racket."
The ox grunted unhappily a few times, prompting Uncle Liu to strike it again. "Hurry up! We still need to get home and sleep!"
Father Lu and Zhang Yan sat on the ox cart, listening to Uncle Liu's veiled insults with embarrassment etched on their faces. Zhang Yan couldn't help but twitch her lips; she couldn't stand the way Uncle Liu looked at her and quickly turned away.
The journey was bumpy, with a small lamp illuminating the path ahead. The road seemed like a beast ready to devour them, while behind them lurked another predator.
Caught between two threats with no way to retreat.
"Alright, everyone hurry back! No need to linger here; we have to get up early for work tomorrow!" The village chief waved his hand and turned away decisively without any hesitation.
A few men cursed their luck aloud, venting their frustrations about encountering such people. "Why don't they just drop dead?"
"Ugh, it's so annoying! Let's just go back to sleep."
Lu Zheng also left, and when he opened the door of the thatched cottage, he saw Wen Qian still awake, while their son lay beside her, sound asleep.
"Why aren't you asleep yet?" he asked.
"I can't sleep! I'm a bit curious about what just happened."
Although the village chief had briefly explained outside, she hadn't gone out and hadn't heard clearly, so she only understood part of it.
Seeing her anxious expression, Lu Zheng couldn't help but chuckle softly. He changed his clothes and lay down beside her.
"Ding Cuiying hit her head; it doesn't look good. Lu Yao's leg should be injured too."
"Is it one leg or two?"
"Probably two. If we go there in time, there should still be hope."
When Wen Qian turned to look at him, her body suddenly stiffened. The distance between them felt a bit too close, and she instinctively shifted back a little.
Lu Zheng was also taken aback, a hint of confusion flashing in his eyes. He remained still until he noticed Wen Qian's movement and hurriedly scooted back.
Both of them retreated, creating enough space in between for another person to lie down.
Wen Qian turned to embrace their son and simply lifted Lu Chen, placing him between them. Now they both felt more at ease.
Lu Zheng watched Wen Qian's back, his gaze deepening. His voice was a bit hoarse as he said, "I'll turn off the light."
"Go ahead!"
The light was instantly turned off, and Wen Qian steadied her breathing, her heart racing.
It had been a long time since she had been this close to a man, aside from the days she was bound in the mountains in her previous life.
At that time, she had been unwilling; that man had drugged her directly. She had resisted fiercely, but he had tied her up and humiliated her brutally.
Those memories were etched in her mind forever; all she could recall was pain—piercing pain.
That man had his own quirks, especially enjoying hitting her after drinking. He would laugh heartily at her suffering.
At this moment, it felt as if the echoes of his furious voice were ringing in her ears: "You filthy whore, scream! I’ll beat you to death; do you believe me?"
"Hahaha, this is too much fun!"
He would crouch down and slap her face with a stick, then grip her chin tightly. "I heard you're a military officer's wife! Quite different from the rest!"
He would only emerge from the cellar after exhausting himself from beating her, leaving Wen Qian covered in wounds.
Wen Qian always held back her cries, knowing that if she made a sound, the man would only hit her harder. At that point, even if she wished for death, it would be impossible to escape. Each time she felt she was on the brink of death, the man would dangle ginseng in front of her, reviving her just enough to continue his torment.
One night, after drinking too much and losing money outside, the man was in a foul mood and struck her without restraint. It wasn't until he saw the person beneath him nearly turning into a pool of blood that he sobered up, quickly scrambling to retrieve the ginseng.
In the deep mountains, herbs were plentiful, but ginseng was something he had little of. He hastily cut off a small piece with a knife and shoved it into her mouth, warning her fiercely that she couldn't die. "You are mine; I bought you. You must live for me."
Desperate to save her, he clutched the remaining ginseng tightly. Panic set in; it had cost him several dozen coins! He hadn’t had enough fun yet! Moreover, since buying her, she hadn’t given him a son. He couldn’t afford to buy another woman.
In a stroke of misfortune turned fortune, Wen Qian woke up in the middle of the night. She coughed up blood violently and lay on the ground in a pitiful and weak state, despairingly gazing at the ceiling above her.
Spitting out the ginseng slice from her mouth, memories of her tragic life flooded back: a happy childhood shattered by her parents' sudden departure, an unexpected marriage, a tormented life afterward, a kidnapped son, and now herself sold off.
A glimmer of hope flickered within her as she thought: if there were to be another life for her, she would make changes; she could no longer live such a pitiful existence.
Suddenly, her fingers brushed against something cold. As she reached out to touch it, pain shot through her as her finger was cut. Yet she found herself laughing despite the pain; disregarding the injury, she grasped the object tightly.
It was a knife!
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