Chapter 3: Of Bygone Days_3

Once she was on the boat, she gazed at the ferocious waves of the river and laughed. She had finally found an opportunity. No one could stop her now, and no one could save her, she was free to liberate herself. With a leap, she plummeted into the river, and in that moment, she thought she was truly free.

Unfortunately, the heavens did not grant her release. Even jumping into the tumultuous river couldn't drown her. In the end, she was still rescued. Her rescuer sent her to the Nunnery. Although she was alive, she had lost all her memories.

Forgetting the past also meant forgetting the pain. The days in the Nunnery allowed her to let go of everything. She wished to become a nun, but the Great Grandmaster said her worldly ties were not yet severed, and she couldn't be ordained. Despite this, her days in the Nunnery were quite pleasant. Even though she lost her memories, her basic skills remained intact. With her excellent calligraphy, she copied scriptures, and used her exceptional artistic talent to imitate the images of the Bodhisattva. Whether it was the scriptures or the Buddhas, they were greatly admired by those Madams, representing a considerable income for the Nunnery. Thanks to these two skills, everyone there treated her well. She was very content with her life.

If she could spend her life this way, it would have been a blessing. But fate was not so kind. It made her meet Nanny Gu, who had come to offer incense.

The moment she saw Nanny Gu, richly dressed with maids surrounding her, and being called Old Madam, all the memories she had deliberately sealed away, all the unbearable past events, flooded her mind.

Once the floodgates of memory were open, she could no longer maintain her composure. She had to understand clearly why all this had happened. Why there were rumors of her being involved in an illicit affair, why Nanny Gu had betrayed her, and why, despite being promised to a scholar candidate, she was sold to a merchant.

She found a way to force the truth out of Nanny Gu. And the truth was so cruel. The kindness of the Lady family toward her, treating her like their own, was all to lower her guard. The true aim of the Lady family was the wealth of the second branch of her family.

The Lady family believed her father had amassed a considerable fortune, but after her parents' death, the amount of silver coins the Lady family received was far less than expected. They suspected her parents had hidden the money. That's why they drew her close, to coax information out of her, being excessively kind, and even teaching her to disdain money. In the end, all the wealth of the second branch fell into the Lady family's hands.

Fortunately, her engagement with the Shen family still stood, a family of scholarly repute. Her father had saved the life of Shen Qian, whose career was on a smooth path, and considering the beneficial marriage, the Lady family still showed her some outward affection.

The complication arose because her fiancé, Shen Conghao, was too outstanding. Not only was he handsome and elegant, he was also a talented writer, holding the title of the number one gentleman in the Capital City. All the women who had seen him in the Capital City were smitten. And the Chancellor's legitimate granddaughter was infatuated with him, even declaring that if she couldn't marry her betrothed, she would rather become a nun and spend her life with the ancient Buddha.

The Chancellor's Su Family also took a liking to her fiancé. And the Shen family was also intent on forming an alliance with the Chancellor's family. Thus, she became an obstacle. The Shen family reached a secret agreement with the Lady family to call off the marriage, offering compensation. This compensation included promoting her great-uncle Lian Dongfang, and also facilitating her cousin's marriage, allowing her to become the second wife in the Marquis Luyang's Mansion, to be the Lady of Marquis Luyang.

The false accusations of her having an illicit affair were also a scheme of the Lady family. She did not understand why the Lady family would risk damaging the Lian family's reputation with such a plan. All she knew was that after the incident, the Lady family claimed she had fallen gravely ill, and before long, she had 'died' in the eyes of the world.

The Shen family had Shen Conghao mourn for her for a year and, after that year, Shen Conghao became the Top Scholar, and then his marriage to the Su Family was arranged. With the Su Family's support, Shen Conghao's career was incredibly smooth. Barely thirty years old, he had already become a Third-rank Official. Everyone in the Cabinet predicted he would be the most likely to join their ranks.

Whether it was the Lian family or the Shen family, everyone lived a prosperous life, while she had been pushed into hell by these people. She was inconsolable, utterly inconsolable. If she was to live a life worse than death, she would not let these people live theirs comfortably either.