On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

The door curtain was suddenly lifted, bringing up a weak airflow, stirring up the scent of soapberry and new hope in the warm room.

Wang Youde appeared at the door.

He was wearing a brand new blue official uniform that symbolized "making up for one's crime while serving one's sentence." His face showed a mixture of fatigue, a hint of barely perceptible pride, and some indescribable excitement, as if he had accomplished a great feat.

He almost stumbled in, forcing a self-consoling smile on his face, his voice hoarse and eager to show off:

"Ladies! Good news! Such great news!!"

He opened his arms as if to embrace the "joy" that filled the room, his voice rising slightly with excitement:

"It's done! It's done! His Highness the Crown Prince has shown mercy! He has pardoned you!!"

The warm room fell into dead silence in an instant.

The coarse cloth Wang (the wife) was mending fell to the ground with a "clack". The needle pierced her finger and a drop of blood oozed out.

She was completely unaware of this and just raised her head stiffly. There was no expression on her sallow face and her empty eyes were as if she was looking at a stranger.

The fourth concubine was cutting off the last cumbersome gold hairpin in front of the bronze mirror. When she heard the sound, her hand trembled and the sharp tip of the scissors almost cut her earlobe.

She turned around abruptly, and the carefully maintained determination on her face was instantly replaced by astonishment and a hint of disgust that was hard to conceal.

The Sixth Aunt held her son Lin'er in her arms, and the gentle sound of her reading came to an abrupt end.

She subconsciously held the child tighter in her arms. The color drained from her pretty face and her eyes instantly filled with tears of humiliation. However, she bit her lips tightly, lowered her head, and avoided Wang Youde's gaze.

Ninth Aunt was clumsily scrubbing clothes with several concubines, water splashing the hems of their skirts. At this moment, their movements froze, their wet hands suspended in mid-air, their faces filled with confusion and a hint of disturbed fear, like frightened deer.

The fifth concubine was standing in the middle of the room, skillfully directing her concubine's daughter to pack her luggage.

Hearing the sound, she turned around abruptly, her movements as quick and decisive as a sword drawn from its sheath.

Those sharp eyes were like knives tempered with ice, coldly nailing Wang Youde's face with a flattering smile, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up into an icy arc.

No surprises!

No gratitude!

No crying!

There was only a cold silence filled with alienation, scrutiny, and even... a hint of subtle disgust!

The air seemed to be frozen, with only the occasional bird calls outside the window, which made the silence in the house even more terrifying.

The smile on Wang Youde’s face froze instantly!

Like a frozen mask!

His outstretched arms froze awkwardly in mid-air, neither moving forward nor backward.

A chill instantly ran down my spine and spread throughout my body!

He looked in disbelief at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces before him, at the undisguised indifference and resentment in their eyes.

"Hmph." A clear, cold snort filled with sarcasm and disdain broke the silence, like an ice pick breaking through the ice.

The fifth concubine put down the bag in her hand, crossed her arms, straightened her back, and her eyes were like two cold rays of light, piercing Wang Youde.

"Master Wang..." She deliberately emphasized the word "Master," dragging out the last syllable long and cold, full of bitter irony. "Your news is so timely."

The cold curve at the corner of her mouth deepened, revealing undisguised contempt. "We've known this for a long time. Your Highness, the Crown Prince, has shown mercy and given us, the families of these criminals, a chance to live as ordinary citizens of Hu County! Is it really necessary for you, the Lord Wang, who has made meritorious contributions while serving your sentence, to come back all the way to announce the good news?"

The blood color on Wang Youde's face disappeared completely in an instant!

He felt like he was slapped hard in public, and a burning feeling of humiliation instantly spread throughout his body!

He looked at the Fifth Aunt in disbelief, then at the cold and even resentful eyes around him. The pitiful pride in his heart was instantly replaced by huge humiliation and anger!

"You...you guys..." His voice trembled as he pointed at Fifth Aunt, then at the others, his fingers trembling violently with excitement.

"What's with your attitude?! Do you know how much I paid for you?! Huh?!"

He took a sudden step forward, his face distorted with excitement and grievance, and his voice suddenly rose, filled with a kind of anger and hysteria of being betrayed:

"It was me! I kowtowed before His Royal Highness and begged for mercy! I kowtowed until my head was broken and bloody! I used my life as a guarantee! It was me who groveled and gave up my last bit of dignity! Only then did His Royal Highness show mercy! Only then did you guys get this chance to live!!"

He waved his arms, spitting everywhere, trying to arouse their gratitude, his voice becoming shrill because of extreme grievance:

"Shouldn't you be grateful to me?! Shouldn't you thank me, the head of the family?! Without me, Wang Youde, you would have been sold into slavery! Exiled thousands of miles away! How would you even have the chance to be an ordinary citizen here?! Ah?! Check your conscience! Have your consciences been eaten by dogs?!"

"Thank you?!" Fifth Aunt burst into a sharp and piercing sneer as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world!

That laughter was like an owl crying blood in the night, filled with endless malice and deep hatred, shaking the window frames as if they were buzzing!

"Wang Youde! You still have the nerve to ask us to be grateful to you?!!"

She rushed to Wang Youde like a lit powder barrel, her fingers almost poking his nose!

His eyes burned with rage, and his voice became sharp and hoarse due to extreme anger, like sandpaper rubbing against his face:

"Who is to blame for us ending up like this?! Ah?! Who is it?! It's you! You're the one with no conscience, worse than pigs and dogs!!"

She turned around suddenly, and her finger, like a poisoned sword, pointed with thunderous force at the trembling Sixth Aunt holding the child in the corner!

"Look at her! Look at Xiaoliu!!" The Fifth Aunt's voice was like a knife tempered with ice, and every word was filled with bloody accusations.

"How did she get in here?! It was you! You beast!!"

She took a step closer, her eyes fixed on Wang Youde's instantly pale face:

"That winter! Her father! Mr. Zhang, the scholar from the east city! He was so sick that he was barely alive! The family didn't even have money to buy medicine! You! You wolf in official disguise! Bring your lackeys! Kick down her broken door!!"

The Fifth Aunt's voice suddenly rose, with a shrill scream that tore through the air:

"You looked at Mr. Zhang lying on his broken bed coughing up blood! You looked at Xiaoliu kneeling on the ground begging for mercy! What did you say?! Huh?! You said: 'Either, follow me and live a happy life! Or, watch your father cough to death!'!!"

She turned around suddenly and looked at the Sixth Aunt, who was already in tears and trembling all over, and her voice was filled with heart-piercing grief and indignation:

"Xiao Liu! Tell him! How did you get dragged onto his shabby sedan chair inlaid with gold and jade? How did your father helplessly watch you being snatched away? How did he spit blood all over the ancestral copy of the Analects? How did he die of anger that very night?!"