in2ebook Chapter 199 Dapeng rises with the same wind on the 1st and soars up to 9 miles
Chapter 199 Dapeng rises with the same wind on the 1st and soars up to 9 miles
The overgrown, abandoned house was scorching in the sunlight. When the wind blew, I couldn't tell whether it was hot or cold sweat that soaked through my inner shirt.
Sun Yongshi kept wiping the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, while Aunt Cheng held her breath, not daring to even breathe.
“Of course.” Butler Yu smiled sinisterly, half of his face contorted into a hideous, dark expression like a malevolent demon. “Where else in the Marquis of Chengen’s mansion would you find another young master?”
Marquis Chengen had once climbed up to Zhang, the daughter of a vice minister. At first, he naturally humbled himself and became her concubine. Later, he had a beautiful concubine, but Zhang was vicious. Not only were the women unable to give birth, but even if they did, they would not survive.
Cheng Yan was lucky to survive.
Zhang had two sons with the Marquis of Chengen: the eldest, Cheng Shiyuan, and the second, Cheng Shiming. The elder was twenty-nine years old this year, and the younger was twenty-seven. They were not young anymore.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, neither of them got married or had children.
When the two brothers reached marriageable age, Empress Dowager Cheng was already a favored concubine in the palace. The feud between Empress Dowager Cheng and the Cheng family was known to almost everyone in Qin Capital. Therefore, any family that still wanted to live dared not marry their daughters into the family.
Zhang also looked down on those lowly servants and maids, and refused to let them give birth to the two brothers' children.
"But...but how can we eat snake meat? My God, how can this be..." Aunt Cheng was truly shocked.
She had visited the Cheng family in Qindu several times before. In her memory, the two brothers, Cheng Shiyuan and Cheng Shiming, were always dressed in fine clothes, ate delicacies, and were always surrounded by servants. How did they end up in such a state?
Although she had anticipated that these people might not have a good time while being imprisoned in the Marquis of Chengen's mansion, she did not expect it to be this bad.
"Why not?" Steward Yu gave Cheng Ergu a cold look. "It's only because we're merciful and haven't interfered. The higher-ups said they have to grind rice every day. They have to grind thirty bushels of rice and get one bushel, which will be their rations."
Aunt Cheng asked, "What if you don't pound enough and it's not enough to eat?"
"If there's not enough to eat, of course they're starving, or they're looking to see what food is available in this mansion." Steward Yu sneered. "As prisoners, it's already a mercy that they don't starve to death. To expect to eat well and be full is simply wishful thinking."
Yes.
A prisoner.
Although the Marquis of Chengen, Zhang Shi, Cheng Shicheng, and Cheng Shiming were supposedly being kept in the Marquis of Chengen's mansion, they were in reality prisoners. It was just that the small prison cell had been replaced by the mansion of the Marquis of Chengen.
"Come on, didn't you say you wanted to see Marquis Chengen? Hurry up and come with me. After you've seen him, go back as soon as possible. Otherwise, if something happens here, you'll die in vain."
Butler Yu was unwilling to talk to them any longer and strolled towards the path in the grass. It was only then that the three of them noticed that he was limping and walking slowly.
Seeing this, the three had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.
The group walked through tall weeds, passing under the cover of grass on the bluestone slabs. They occasionally saw insects, birds, and rats running by, and even a snake slithering by, which startled the three of them, who were filled with regret.
They shouldn't have come here.
Before long, the group arrived at the only relatively clean courtyard.
It's said to be clean, but that's only in comparison. The other houses are already covered in vines, old and dilapidated, covered in moss and uninhabitable, while this courtyard, although also in disarray, is still considered tidy.
In the courtyard, two men dressed in old gray long gowns were pounding rice. They held pestles in both hands and pounded the rice listlessly. Not far from the two men, an old woman with disheveled hair was sitting.
"Pounding rice, pounding rice... The son is king, the mother is a captive. Pounding rice all day until dusk, constantly facing death. Separated by three thousand miles, who can send a message to my daughter...?" (Lady Qi's "Pounding Rice Song")
"Hahaha...hahaha..."
"The son is king, the mother is a captive..."
Steward Yu sneered, pointed to the two people pounding rice nearby, and told her, "Zhang Shi, your son is pounding rice. How can he be a king? But if you want to be Lady Qi, it's not impossible for you to have your wish."
Zhang's face changed, and she pulled her clothes tighter, trembling: "Don't touch me, don't touch me! I'm not a prostitute, I'm... I'm the wife of a newly appointed scholar, the daughter of a high-ranking official, the wife of the Marquis of Cheng'en..."
"Hahaha......"
"Cheng Fuyao...Where is Cheng Fuyao? Where is that bitch? Where is that bitch?"
"The roc rises with the wind, soaring ninety thousand miles high, hahaha..."
Cheng Fuyao.
Naturally, it was Empress Dowager Cheng's original name. It is said that a strong wind arose on the day she was born, and the Cheng family named her Fuyao, which originally meant wind. Unexpectedly, this bumpy fate made her climb desperately upwards, and she eventually achieved what she has today.
On the same day, Dapeng rose from the wind and lifted up to 90,000 miles.
"Sister-in-law?" Aunt Cheng's expression changed repeatedly. It took her a while to recognize that the old, thin woman with a full head of white hair was actually her former high and mighty sister-in-law, the daughter of the vice minister.
Moreover, judging from her appearance, she has already gone mad.
Cheng Ergu swallowed hard, her hands and feet trembling. Listening to Zhang's gossip, it was clear that she had experienced countless tragedies.
Empress Dowager Cheng and Cheng Yan's methods were extremely ruthless and merciless, not only killing people but also destroying their spirits, making life worse than death.
For a moment, Cheng Ergu felt a chill of fear, realizing how incredibly bold she had been to ask Cheng Yan to come and see the Marquis of Chengen. She wondered if, in a fit of anger, Cheng Yan had sent her to keep the Marquis of Chengen company, and if her fate had been the same as Zhang's today.
Cheng Shiyuan and Cheng Shiming paused at the sound of "elder sister-in-law," then their gazes swept over Cheng Ergu's face, searching their memories. Immediately, their previously numb faces revealed surprise.
"Second Aunt?"
"Is it really you, Second Aunt?"
"Second Aunt, it's me, Shiyuan!"
"I am Shiming!"
The two brothers immediately dropped their long pestles and rushed forward. One grabbed Cheng Ergu's hand, while the other knelt down and hugged her legs tightly, as if afraid she would run away at any moment.
The three were startled by the actions of the two brothers, especially Aunt Cheng, who was pulled and hugged by the two tall and strong brothers and could not break free. She was so frightened that she was almost dumbfounded.
"What...what are you doing? Let me go! Let me go!"
"Second Aunt!" The Cheng brothers wept bitterly, their cries filled with anguish.
"Second Aunt, please save us!"
"Yes, please help us, we really can't live like this anymore."
"Second Aunt, have you seen Eldest Sister? Go and beg her to let us go. We know we were wrong."
"Yes, we know we were wrong. Please, we beg her to let us go. We never want to live like this again..."