Li Youcai was distressed; Ye Niangzi had disappeared. He waited by her door every day, but the woman never returned, leaving him anxious about her well-being.
With Liu Yu on her deathbed, he had hoped to build a good life with Ye Niangzi and have her bear him a son. Now, she was nowhere to be found.
Initially, he hadn't intended to divorce Liu Yu. After all, they had been married once, and he didn't want to go through it again. It was Ye Niangzi who told him she might be pregnant.
Everyone in the village looked down on them. If she became pregnant and they weren't married, she might be punished by being drowned in a pig cage.
Li Youcai, heartbroken, went home to discuss a divorce with Liu Yu. But Liu Yu, with her terrible temper, refused no matter what he said. They argued daily, their home filled with constant commotion. He knew the neighbors enjoyed the spectacle, making them a laughingstock behind their backs, but for Ye Niangzi and the child she carried, he had to persevere.
In the end, their conflict with Liu Yu escalated to a point of no return. If Ye Niangzi never returned and his reputation was already ruined, he couldn't bear to imagine the consequences.
He had planned to search for Ye Niangzi after Liu Yu's funeral. However, just as she was about to be buried, officials arrived. Villagers, unfamiliar with the ways of the world, feared dealing with the authorities and instinctively moved aside, keeping their distance.
The moment Li Youcai saw the officials, his heart sank. He hoped it wasn't what he suspected.
Sometimes, the more you dread something, the more likely it is to happen. At the magistrate's command, the officials, disregarding Li Youcai's protests, opened the coffin. Several elderly men, who appeared to be physicians, then carefully examined Liu Yu's body. Li Youcai was stunned.
"My lord, this woman indeed died of poison," the physicians concluded unanimously after a thorough examination.
"Take the prisoner, Li Youcai, away," the magistrate ordered immediately. Several officers grabbed Li Youcai and forced him to the ground.
Li Youcai's mind went blank. He knew he was finished.
Li's mother stood in the crowd, silent. No one knew what she was thinking. As a mother, how could she be unaware of her son's actions? She had simply been unable to sway him.
"My lord, my lord," Wang Yougen's mother cried out. "Before Liu Yu died, she said my son Wang Yougen was also murdered by Li Youcai. Please investigate, my lord." Seeing Li Youcai being arrested, she grew agitated. She now believed Liu Yu's words might have been true and rushed forward, pleading with the magistrate to investigate.
The scribe approached Wang Yougen's mother to gather information and took her statement. They then led Li Youcai away.
Li Youcai glanced up inadvertently and saw Wu Caiwei standing in the crowd. Tears streamed down his face. At this point, he truly regretted his actions, feeling that the time spent with Sun Yuanyue was the happiest period of his life.
In the court, the magistrate began the trial. Only then did Li Youcai learn that Wu Caiwei had reported him. He harbored intense hatred for her, his entire plan disrupted by her actions.
Initially, he denied Wu Caiwei's accusations that he had killed Wang Yougen and Liu Yu.
Wu Caiwei, well-prepared, had found the merchants who had traveled with him. She then compared his later statements to the villagers with their original accounts, uncovering inconsistencies.
Furthermore, based on Ye Niangzi's testimony, she found the old man who sold medicine. She discovered numerous medicinal herbs there, including those Li Youcai had purchased. The old man, realizing he was implicated, quickly confessed to mitigate his own punishment. He recounted to the magistrate exactly how Li Youcai bought the medicine, what kind it was, and how much he paid.
Li Youcai's murder of Liu Yu alone was enough to seal his fate. Regarding Wang Yougen's case, the magistrate, having lost patience, immediately ordered twenty strokes of the cane. Under the pain of the blows, Li Youcai confessed to all his misdeeds.
The magistrate immediately declared a death sentence!
On the day of Li Youcai's execution, Wu Caiwei deliberately attended. She wanted the original owner to witness Li Youcai's downfall, hoping to dispel her lingering resentment.
The following year, Li Yuheng successfully passed the imperial examinations and became a scholar's wife.
Together, they devoted themselves to charitable deeds, becoming renowned philanthropists.
When Li Zhutao brought a shy young man before Wu Caiwei, she was still a little bewildered.
Considering the early marriage customs of the ancients, Wu Caiwei and Li Yuheng resolved to thoroughly test the young man.
To their surprise, the young man passed the test.
Though reluctant, Wu Caiwei orchestrated a grand wedding ceremony, sending her daughter off with great splendor.
Three years later, Li Yuheng achieved the rank of Jinshi and was appointed magistrate of a remote county. He entrusted all local business affairs to Li Zhutao, and they departed with a sense of freedom. By then, Li Zhutao, pregnant, held Wu Caiwei's hand and wept profusely.
From then on, wherever Li Yuheng went, Wu Caiwei followed. They were a devoted couple, traveling across the land and doing their utmost to help those in need.
Incredibly, during this journey, they welcomed another son. Seeing Wu Caiwei's difficult labor, Li Yuheng, just as in his past life, decided against having more children, believing one son and one daughter were enough.
Of course, Wu Caiwei also remembered to search for her uncle's family. Fortunately, they had been taken in by a merchant family. Upon learning that Li Yuheng was inquiring about them, the merchant family tactfully and willingly released them from servitude.
Her uncle was old and yearned for his homeland. Wu Caiwei, respecting their wishes, provided them with a sum of money, arranged for escorts, and asked Li Zhutao to look after them.
In this life, she again outlived Li Yuheng. In his final moments, Li Yuheng remembered their past lives, and they embraced, crying and laughing together.
In her final moments of clarity, she saw the original owner's grateful smile, and a beam of golden light entered her body.
After departing this world, she returned to modern times.
As she was a homebody, her greatest pastimes were reading novels and playing games.
Her best friend was away at university and hadn't returned, so she once again chose to quickly enter her next mission.
The moment she opened her eyes, Wu Caiwei felt an overwhelming pain throughout her body. Observing her surroundings, she realized her medical skills wouldn't need to be hidden this time. Her keen sense of smell detected a variety of medicinal scents, a combination that could only belong to an apothecary.
The place where she was now clearly belonged to the master of the house. Finally, she wouldn't have to conceal her acceptance of memories.
Fifteen minutes later, she opened her eyes and felt an urge to curse.
In the previous two instances, the original host had been directly killed. This time, it was indirect, and even after the original host's death, no one recognized their mistakes, attributing it instead to bad luck. The original host was a kind woman and held little resentment for this. What she resented was the terrible fate of her son and daughter.
This was a small town in the territory of the State of Wu, named Yunshan Town. The original host's name was Wang Chunyan, and she grew up in Xishan Village, not far from the town.
Because of her diligence and beauty, she was noticed by the only doctor in town and his wife, who invited her to be their daughter-in-law.
At the time, all the girls in the village envied her good fortune, and she herself felt lucky.
The first few years were good. She gave birth to a son and a daughter, solidifying her position in the Qiu family. With her in-laws around, even though Qiu Ze liked to play the benevolent figure, he did so within limits. After her in-laws passed away, he took charge, and Wang Chunyan's life became like being steeped in bitterness.