After a while, screams were heard from the yard.
I was startled and ran to the door to check.
This sight scared me to death. I saw my third sister grabbing the young master of the Xiao family by the ear and dragging him out.
Wei Qi followed them silently, seeming a little depressed.
I didn't understand what was going on, so I shouted, "How could you pull the young master's ears?"
The third sister ignored me and dragged the young master of the Xiao family out of the courtyard before saying, "If you dare to do this again, I will break your dog legs!"
Wei Qi and the young master of the Xiao family hung their heads and ran away quickly.
I was a little confused, and then I saw my third sister coming towards me. I was so scared that I turned around and ran away.
Later I found out that my third sister was taking a bath when the young master of the Xiao family and Wei Qi broke into the room.
I thought the matter was over, but the governor found out.
That day, the concubines watched as Young Master Xiao was whipped ten times.
It was not until this moment that I realized that the governor was so indulgent towards my third sister.
I consider myself an experienced person and I know that this man may have other intentions.
The third sister had a separate courtyard. She could enter and exit the inner and outer courtyards freely, but she could not walk out of the gate of the Governor's Mansion because the gate was guarded by soldiers and no one was allowed to pass through.
Her food, clothing and other expenses were also different from others. We only had three dishes per meal, but she had four dishes, two of which were meat.
Also, every time there was a banquet, she would not accompany the generals, but only stay with a group of actors.
But those actors all lived in large courtyards, which were messy and dirty, and the food was very bad, even worse than us concubines.
I was a little worried. I had so many conflicts with her. Would she take revenge on me one day
So, I stayed quietly in the governor's mansion for more than a year. During this period, many concubines were given away by the governor, and then new ones came in.
At this time, I was already an elder in the mansion. As long as I didn't go to places guarded by guards, I could move around like my third sister.
That day, my mother suddenly came to me and said that my younger brother Xubao also wanted to be an official, and asked me to talk to the governor about this.
I shook my head and said that the governor was difficult to talk to.
In fact, the governor hasn't seen me for a long time.
But he often went to see his third sister and sometimes had meals at her house.
My mother was a little unhappy and asked me if I had become too independent and that was why I refused to help.
I had a lot of grievances but I didn't want to be looked down upon by my parents, so I just said I would give it a try.
At noon, I made sure that the governor would not come at this time, so I quietly entered my third sister's yard.
The third sister’s yard is very big. There are not many flowers or plants in it, but there is a tall pavilion. Standing on the pavilion, you can see the situation outside the Governor’s Mansion.
I looked around and saw my third sister sitting in the pavilion, looking outside silently.
She lifted her skirt and went up to the high platform. She followed the direction of her third sister's sight and saw a group of young military officers standing there, each of them looking heroic.
My heart skipped a beat. Could it be that my third sister had fallen in love with some military commander
At this time, the third sister turned around and asked, "What are you doing here?"
I smiled awkwardly and sat down on the stone bench. "My mother asked me to take good care of you and make you a set of cotton clothes when she is free."
The third sister sneered, turned away and said nothing.
I said, "Third sister, mother asked you to talk to the governor and find a job for your younger brother Xu Bao."
Third sister: “No time.”
I was a little angry: "The governor is so good to you, why don't you just say something? Your brother is an official, wouldn't you be proud of it?"
The third sister: "Go away! Don't bother me with your family's mess."
I was furious, pointing at her and saying, "No wonder mother said you were an ungrateful person, you really are. Now that you're shaking like a jerk, you don't even recognize your mother's family?"
The third sister looked at me coldly, which made me scared, so I had to storm off the platform.
A few days later, several dancers suddenly moved into the third sister's yard, and a maid was arranged to guard the door.
I wanted to go in, but was stopped by the gatekeeper. She said, "If you want to go in, you must report to the young lady first."
There was no choice but to come back.
By the second year, many Western flowers were planted in the mansion’s garden. These flowers were very beautiful, and people would occasionally pick them and wear them on their heads.
One day, I saw a young general take out a handful of loquats from his arms and give it to my third sister. My third sister took it and smiled sweetly at him.
I was overjoyed and wanted to go closer to see what the general looked like, but he left very quickly.
From then on, I began to pay attention to my third sister's actions.
Then I found that she saw that I had a cold face, but she was very enthusiastic towards those young and handsome generals, and often greeted them with a smile.
I saw no less than three young generals who were obsessed with her and gave her gifts from time to time. She accepted them all.
But she disliked Wei Qi very much, because whenever Wei Qi saw her accepting things from those generals, he would make sarcastic remarks and his words were extremely sharp.
Whenever this happened, I would step forward to help and annoy my third sister.
Later, those young generals never showed up again. The governor also moved his office to the outer courtyard and issued an order that female family members were not allowed to go to the outer courtyard.
But one time, I saw the third sister climbing over the courtyard wall again, and I was curious about where she was going and how she would come back.
Coincidentally, the governor just came in from the outer courtyard, and I hurriedly told him about my third sister climbing over the wall to escape.
I saw the governor's face change drastically. He quickly ran into the third sister's yard to confirm, and then checked which wall she climbed over. Then he loudly called the guards to go out and catch her.
I have never seen the governor so flustered, and I couldn't help feeling jealous.
An hour later, the third sister was brought back. One of her hands was held by the governor, while she was eating a string of candied haws with the other hand.
I secretly glanced at the governor's face and found that he had a stern face, but he didn't look angry.
After that, there were several more maids in the third sister's yard, following her closely.
The original servants and maids never appeared again.
Even several dancers who lived in the same courtyard with her were punished with whippings.
Another autumn, the governor was ordered to go out and suppress bandits, and he was away for several months.
We concubines had free time, so we played mahjong in the house.
The maids and old women in the mansion also began to be lazy. The cat stayed in the house to warm himself by the fire and refused to go out to guard the door.
No one knew that the third sister had escaped from the Governor's Mansion at some point and never returned.
When the maids discovered that the person was missing, the entire governor's mansion was shocked.
I was puzzled. Life was good in the Governor's Mansion, but she insisted on escaping. She was really crazy.
A month later, the governor returned to the palace.
He was wearing armor, had an angry look on his face, and his beard was cut short, making him look very ferocious.
The steward of the mansion was so frightened that he trembled with fear and knelt on the ground to report the escape of the little dancer.
The governor closed his eyes and pondered for a while, then waved his hand to let the steward go outside to receive punishment. Then he got up and went to his third sister's yard, staying there for a long time before coming out.
When he came out, he took out a letter, stared at me for a long time, and ordered people to drag me away and beat me with a stick.
I was beaten with fifty boards for no apparent reason until I passed out, and then I was dragged away to apply medicine.
After that, I was sent out of the Governor's Mansion.
Fortunately, my father also made a friend in the Governor's Mansion. He sent me to the clinic for treatment and sent someone to inform my parents.
My parents and younger brother came over soon, and when they saw me, they didn’t ask about my injuries. Instead, they blamed me for offending the governor and causing him to be scolded by the governor.
He also asked me where my third sister had gone.
How would I know where she went
Within a year, my father was dismissed from his post on charges of accepting bribes and embezzling taxes.
Fortunately, the amount of money my father embezzled was not large, and he made up the deficit in time, otherwise he would not have been dismissed from his post, but would have been exiled or beheaded.
My parents were very angry and blamed my third sister for the dismissal, saying that if she had not escaped secretly, their family would not have been so unlucky.
Now that I have lost my job, my life is over.
They looked around angrily for the person, but couldn't find him anywhere.
A year passed like this. One day, the eldest sister came to visit her parents and told them that she had seen her third sister in Qinchuan County.
He also said that she was living a very prosperous life in the county town with her two sons from her adoptive parents' families, and that she was very happy.
My parents were furious and immediately took several servants to Qinchuan County.
The eldest sister led them to the courtyard of her third sister, watched her parents take people in, and stood outside and watched quietly.
Not long after, the parents came out and went to the county government to report the matter, saying that their daughter had hanged herself.
Cases like this, especially those where parents beat and killed their children, were not uncommon. The county magistrate only asked the coroner to investigate and then classified it as a family dispute without filing a case.
I felt bad, so I asked my eldest sister why she watched my parents kill my third sister. Even if they could have just beaten her up, they didn't have to do that.
The eldest sister just said coldly: "People like her, who disrespect their parents and disregard human ethics, do not deserve to live."
I looked at my gentle elder sister, but she said the most heartless words, and my hair stood on end.
Later, with the recommendation of my uncle, my father defected to King Cheng and became a staff member in the King Cheng's Palace.
At this time, my second cousin had already become a concubine in Prince Cheng's mansion.
Later, King Cheng rebelled, but was suppressed by the governor and his troops.
As soon as King Cheng fell, all his followers were arrested and thrown into prison to await execution in the autumn.
My family was interrogated separately by the governor.
The governor sat behind the desk and asked my parents why they killed my third sister.
My mother lay on the ground and didn't dare to answer, and my father couldn't even utter a word.
The governor asked again, and my mother tremblingly made up an excuse, which was basically that she wanted to vent the governor's anger.
I saw the governor smile and wave his hand, and someone brought my eldest sister in.
The governor told A Niang that she could survive as long as she strangled her eldest sister on the spot.
A Niang agreed without thinking, untied her belt and started to strangle her elder sister.
The eldest sister struggled desperately, but her hands and feet were held down and she couldn't escape at all.
My mother cried and tightened her belt, but my eldest sister did not die.
I watched this scene in horror and collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
I don’t know how long it took, but my eldest sister was finally strangled to death by my mother.
The governor laughed loudly and looked at me with a cold gaze again.
My eyes were filled with tears and my teeth were chattering.
My younger brother was so scared that he peed his pants and started talking nonsense and cursing incoherently.
I don't know where I got the strength from, but I hugged him and covered his mouth.
After A Niang strangled her eldest sister, she seemed a little dazed.
The governor really released her and me, but he did not release my father and brother.
My mother and I were taken to the human trafficking market to be sold. In the end, I was bought by a businessman from another place, and my mother was bought by a brothel madam.
Several years later, I happened to hear that the governor had become the regent, second only to the emperor.
Some people also said that the Regent loved to watch the Hu Xuan dance, and all his concubines in the palace were Hu Xuan dancers.
But he had no children in his life and no queen.
The dream scene ended abruptly here.
I suddenly woke up from my dream, my heart still beating rapidly.
I looked at the gauze curtain above my head and pinched myself hard.
Fortunately, fortunately, those were all dreams. I was not a concubine, but a married woman.
My younger brother was fine and was not beheaded.
As for Dad, fortunately he is also alive.
I rolled over and got off the bed, waking my husband up. "It's not even daybreak yet, what are you doing out so early?"
I looked at him and said gently, "Just go out for a walk."
The husband immediately sat up and put on his coat: "I'll go with you."
So the two of us went outside the yard and looked around.
The streets are now very wide, and there are guide lights hanging at the doors of the inns, flickering.
When I thought about the scenes in my dream and looked at the present moment, I felt a sense of unreality.
"It's cold outside, let's go home." My husband took off his coat and put it on me.
I nodded: "Okay."
Holding my husband's hand, I returned home with him.
The days that followed were peaceful and tranquil.
My grandparents lived to be ninety-nine years old and died of natural causes.
My father lived to be over eighty years old. Before he died, he grabbed my brother's hand and called my mother's name.
I know that although my mother had a bad temper and often beat and scolded her children, she was very good to my father. She gave all her love to my father, and only a little bit of her conscience was left for her children.
When she had lost her conscience, she could kill any child without mercy.
But my father is a heartless man, selfish, dark and incompetent. He doesn't even have much love for his own son.
He and A Niang are a perfect match.
I watched my father take his last breath, his hand still tightly grasping my brother's sleeve.
"Change your clothes early, otherwise it will be difficult to change later." The coffin officer urged.
I handed him a set of shrouds that I had prepared long ago and left the house.
When I came under the sacred tree, I knelt down and prayed silently, asking my father to find my mother in the underworld, so that they could be together forever.
Several years later, when I was lying on my deathbed, I saw my third sister Yingbao again.
She is still so young, like a girl, but I am already old. Even though I have taken the anti-aging elixir, my mortal body is still decaying.
I held Yingbao's hand and said, "Third sister, don't hate your parents or your eldest sister. They have already been punished."
I wanted to tell her about my dream, but I didn't know how to start.
Yingbao looked at me with pity and gave me a red pill: "Take it and you can extend your life by fifty years."
I shook my head, but still took the pill and wanted to give it to my husband.
In this life, he has been with me for the longest time, more than my parents have ever given me.
I have no way to repay him, so I can only offer my gratitude to him.
Yingbao didn't say anything, just waved her hand and performed the Changchun Jue on me.
I felt much better, but I also knew that mortal life is limited and my time was up.