Chapter 482 – Death Marriage, The Widow at the Door (Part Five)
Shangguan Wan hesitated internally, her face showing a struggle.
The Stepmother said, “Wan’er, although you scoff at those evil books, in the end, you still acknowledge them.”
Shangguan Wan’s expression stiffened as she quickly denied, “How is that possible!”
How could she possibly admit to acknowledging those twisted and misleading writings?
The Stepmother countered, “If that’s the case, why do you doubt that you can’t do it?”
Shangguan Wan was left speechless.
After a while, her hesitant gaze firmed up, and she bowed deeply to the Stepmother.
“Thank you for your guidance, Madame.”
The Stepmother continued, “With your stepmother in the Shangguan family, you will not receive their protection. The Liu Residence cannot always shelter you. If you wish to completely sever ties with the Zhang family, Wan’er, from now on, the path ahead depends solely on you. Work hard, and remember to take care of yourself.”
Shangguan Wan’s eyes turned red, gritting her teeth as she nodded, “Thank you, Madame.”
She had thought that if her mother hadn’t suddenly passed away, she wouldn’t have fallen to this miserable state—after all, she wouldn’t have been so bullied. But then she considered: what good is resenting these things?
There are no “what ifs” in this world; reality is reality. Rather than dwelling on how things were in the past, it was better to focus on her future.
The Stepmother watched as Shangguan Wan left, shaking her head inwardly.
If it were the former Shangguan Wan, would she have needed to point these things out?
Yet, the grind of her stepmother and the Zhang household had, in just a year or two, bent her proud spirit.
The “four books” that Shangguan Wan once scoffed at had gradually poisoned her… Now, she hoped this child could be reborn, with a life on the other side filled with brilliance. With this thought, the Stepmother smiled softly, like a delicate flower reflected in water.
“You really do love to meddle…” Lady Die’s voice, laced with a hint of laziness, drifted in from behind.
The Stepmother maintained a calm demeanor as she replied, “I only see my own shadow in this young girl.”
She had an older sister to protect her, but Shangguan Wan had nothing—her heart softened at the thought.
Rather than helping Shangguan Wan, it felt more like helping her own shadow.
Lady Zhang Zhao left the Liu Residence with reluctance and resentment, having heard that a contingent from the Liu household was about to depart from Hejian County.
Her nerves tightened, and a glint of malice flickered across her face. After a moment, she snapped, “Catch up to them!”
She instinctively felt that Shangguan Wan must be among those troops, that little vixen trying to slip away from Hejian County.
As they were about to leave the borders of Hejian County, Shangguan Wan’s spirits soared, but behind her came the hurried clatter of hooves.
“Don’t be scared.” Nong Qin remained composed, softly reassuring Shangguan Wan, “I’ll handle them.”
The group of more than a hundred that rapidly approached was, in fact, the Zhang family’s house servants, with a speeding carriage trailing behind.
The carriage curtain lifted, revealing the sullen face of Lady Zhang Zhao.
“Hand over that little vixen, Shangguan Wan.”
Lady Zhang Zhao paid no heed to the contingent since they were merely household servants, not even worthy of speaking to her.
Nong Qin scoffed, suddenly raising her hand, her voice hoarse as she commanded, “Form up, prepare for battle!”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than the weary troops quickly arranged into a defensive formation.
Hundreds of longbows were drawn, their arrows aimed at the members of the Zhang family.
Upon seeing this, Lady Zhang Zhao’s face turned as dark as ink.
Nong Qin, being a half-disciple of Jiang Pengji, was quick to fight; when it came to a brawl, she’d never back down.
A weakling like Lady Zhang Zhao could only depend on her house servants to exert dominance; against punches, Nong Qin feared nothing.
With a hoarse voice, she asked Lady Zhang Zhao, “Madam Zhang, is the person you’re looking for here?”
Cold sweat appeared on Lady Zhang Zhao’s forehead as she clenched the carriage door tightly.
Even though she believed that a mere group of house servants wouldn’t dare harm her, the suffocating aura of murderous intent still frightened her.
Facing hundreds of arrows pointing directly at her head, she felt that if she gave an unsatisfactory answer, she might turn into a pincushion in the next second… Her breathing nearly halted, fearing that these petty servants might harm her.
Internally, she bitterly resented these Liu household servants for growing so audacious.
“Madam Zhang, is the person you’re looking for here?”
Nong Qin calmly asked again.
After a moment, Lady Zhang Zhao swallowed her indignation and with a contorted face replied, “Not here, I must have recognized the wrong person.”
Upon hearing this, Nong Qin revealed a faint, mocking smile, raising her hand to signal the troops to lower their bows.
Lady Zhang Zhao looked at Nong Qin’s attire with disdain in her eyes.
In her view, Nong Qin was the most unvirtuous of women, deserving to be punished severely.
“Leave!” Nong Qin ordered a team of troops to stay back to prevent Lady Zhang Zhao from attacking from behind while the rest retreated in an orderly fashion.
Shangguan Wan waited anxiously behind, and upon seeing the situation, slowly released a breath.
“Women who bully the weak and fear the strong are the easiest to deal with.” Nong Qin returned with a cold expression, summarizing the encounter.
Shangguan Wan let out a laugh, her tension dissipated.
“I just realized that your approach has quite the style reminiscent of Brother Lan Ting.”
“I can’t compare to the Young Master.” Nong Qin shook her head and mounted her horse, “Let’s go.”
Shangguan Wan had learned horseback riding and archery during her time at home, and after the kidnapping incident, the residence even hired a martial arts instructor for her. She was also proficient in hand-to-hand combat after spending more than half a year in the troops.
If it came to a serious fight, some male troops might not even be her match.
Of course, since Shangguan Wan had never seen blood, if it came to life-and-death combat, she would certainly be the one to perish.
The journey north was quite difficult; the surrounding refugees not only eyed their clothing and food but also coveted the women in the camp.
As they approached the border of Wanzhou, Shangguan Wan had already accumulated several lives on her conscience.
“The situation is unstable. The north is at war, the Green Garment Army and the Red Lotus Sect are fighting fiercely…”
In just over half a month, the two thousand troops had slimmed down.
The pampered Shangguan Wan also looked thinner, her skin darker by two shades, but she had become much more efficient in her actions.
With a knife slung at her waist, she donned a makeshift outfit for warmth, wrapped in a rough cloak.
“Even so, it’s still the innocent commoners who suffer the most.”
Shangguan Wan wore a solemn expression. In this hellish landscape, she could hardly feel at ease.
The increasingly grim and brutal realities along the way had taught her a harsh lesson.
The world outside was devoid of silk and fine food; bodies of the dead, frozen and starved on the roadside, littered the land.
Birds unable to find food in winter feasted on the corpses, tearing them apart until they were nothing but shreds.
If the internal struggles were like hidden needles within silk, where words were the mightiest weapons, then warfare was entirely different.
White blades went in, red blades came out, and there were far too many dangers threatening the lives of ordinary people.
The harsh winter, the shortage of food, the rampant killers, and the two opposing rebel armies wreaking havoc on the common folk…
Moreover, they also had to guard against their own companions.
Shangguan Wan had once witnessed a few people roasting food that turned out to be the remains of the dead!
