"I'm so scared. I'm afraid I'll never see you again. I regret everything," Young Master Ye's tears flowed uncontrollably.
"Don't worry, Mother won't send you off alone. Look, I've already found you a wife. After forty-nine days of rituals, I'll send her to you to serve you," Madam Ye said, holding her son's frail hand firmly.
Xu Jia didn't want to hear anything else they said. She just wanted to get away from this place; it was too terrifying.
She slipped away silently, without lingering, moving quickly in one direction, thinking she could surely reach the edge of the Ye manor.
As the courtyard wall came into view, she couldn't help but feel a surge of joy. If she could escape successfully this time, she vowed to hide far, far away.
Suddenly, a commotion erupted not far away. Her heart fluttered. Knowing they had discovered her absence, she quickened her pace. But as she reached the wall, a new problem arose: the wall was so high, with no trees or ladders nearby. How could she get out?
She was so anxious her eyes teared up. Throwing caution to the wind, she scrambled up the wall with hands and feet, hoping to climb over. But luck was not on her side; her foot slipped, and she fell.
Looking up slightly, she saw a pair of feet standing before her. She offered a sheepish smile to the person.
"It's so late, Madam, where are you going?" a wet nurse asked, her face expressionless, flanked by four or five maids.
"Nowhere in particular. I just found our Ye manor's scenery so lovely and wanted to take a stroll. Before I knew it, I ended up here. I was thinking of climbing the wall to admire the moon, but I slipped and fell," Xu Jia said awkwardly.
The wet nurse glanced at the sky, then at her. Only then did Xu Jia realize there was no moon tonight; it was pitch black.
"This wall is too high, I can't climb it, and I've seen enough scenery. Let's go back," Xu Jia coughed awkwardly and, with her head held high, walked past them, leading the way.
After a few steps, she stopped. "Um, um, which way should I go?"
The wet nurse remained silent and led the way.
Xu Jia had no choice but to follow behind them, grumbling to herself as she walked, "What's so great about them? They just know the Ye manor better."
Back in her room, she felt dejected. What was she to do now? The windows were nailed shut, and guards stood at the door.
After forty-nine days, her life would be forfeit. She had come to enjoy a life of comfort, not to lose her life.
She decided to conserve her energy and get some rest, so she would have the spirit to plan her escape tomorrow.
After several days of planning, Wu Caiwei rented a small shop not far from the Ye and Xu manors. She hired two seamstresses and opened for business.
Of course, she and Xu Hui were prime targets for the Ye family's retaliation. To avoid unnecessary trouble, they rarely showed themselves, and when they did, they wore veils.
Wu Caiwei's clothing designs were novel. She displayed a wooden mannequin outside the shop, attracting the attention of many young women. Upon inquiring, they found the prices reasonable, and thus, one order after another began to come in.
Jiang Feng originally thought she would have to handle everything herself, which was already difficult enough. Little did she know, things were about to get much worse.
Of the remaining three shops owned by the Liu family, Old Master Liu refused to sell any of them. He wanted to rent them out, but everyone knew he had offended the Ye family, and no one dared to rent from him for fear of retaliation from the Ye family if their businesses succeeded.
However, the Liu family was a large one, and daily expenses for food, drink, and essentials were constant. Moreover, there were five servants in the household whose living expenses were cut down again and again, to no avail. Old Master Liu began to consider other options.
Since the Liu family would henceforth be ordinary citizens, worlds away from their former status, they no longer needed to entertain. The fine clothes they had acquired at high prices were no longer valuable, but their gold and silver jewelry were different; that was real wealth.
And so, Jiang Feng's jewelry box became the target. Old Master Liu took it all and pawned it. She cried and protested, but it was useless. This time, Old Master Liu was determined and had no regard for appearances.
She had thought everyone was in the same boat. But seeing Concubine Bai still adorned in gold and silver, changing her jewelry daily, her state of mind collapsed.
She was the legitimate wife, yet the master protected her all the time. Why were her belongings confiscated while hers remained?
Unable to bear it, she stormed into Concubine Bai's courtyard while the master was away, like a bandit, heading straight for her jewelry box.
This was Concubine Bai's most valuable possession. How could she let Jiang Feng have it? One insisted on taking it, the other desperately tried to snatch it away. As they struggled, they began to fight.
She pulled my hair, I punched your stomach. Such a commotion attracted the few servants in the Liu manor. They didn't know what to do.
They hurried to find the master. Old Master Liu hadn't gone anywhere; he only visited his three shops daily.
Upon hearing the servants' report, anger flared within him. He was struggling every day to save his family's assets, and this was what they were doing? It was one thing not to understand his difficulties, but to create such chaos at home was another.
He quickly returned to the manor and rushed to Concubine Bai's courtyard, only to find the two of them fighting fiercely, their hair disheveled, clothes askew, and faces bruised and swollen.
Overwhelmed, he stepped forward and, with all his might, separated them. "Jiang Feng, I am utterly disappointed in you. If you don't want to stay in the Liu manor, pack your things and go home. I'll give you a divorce letter."
Jiang Feng stared at the deep gaze of this man in disbelief. Hearing his heartless words, she instinctively took a few steps back. "You want to divorce me? When you married me, you didn't say this. You said you would treat me well forever. And now? You're favoring your concubine over your wife."
"Our union was a mistake from the beginning. We were from different social strata. If I hadn't been so willful back then, the Liu family wouldn't be facing such a crisis. I would still be that wealthy master," Old Master Liu felt their affection had been exhausted, and all this had happened because of her.
"You were the one who proposed this matter initially, you were the one who wanted to align with the Ye family. When things went wrong, everyone blames me. If you're so capable, why didn't you do it yourselves? There were so many girls in the Bai family; why did you have to sacrifice a Jiang family girl? Was it because you thought the Jiang family was easy to bully?" Jiang Feng was defiant. She had had enough. Everyone looked at her with condemnation, as if she were a heinous sinner.
Old Master Liu unconsciously turned his head away, feeling somewhat guilty. In fact, it was Concubine Bai who had initially proposed the idea, saying that a Jiang family girl, orphaned and without parents, would become the eldest daughter-in-law of the Ye family upon entering. Even then, he felt something was amiss, but for the sake of the Liu family's interests, he deliberately ignored his discomfort.
Seeing his guilt, Jiang Feng understood everything. Her heart felt as if it had been doused with a basin of cold water, chilling her to the bone.
Composing herself, she gritted her teeth and said, "I've been married into the Liu family for so many years, bearing your children and managing the household. I am a member of the Liu family in life and a ghost of the Liu family in death. If you want to drive me away, it's impossible."