Chapter 777: Zhu Yingtai Under the Tide of the Age: Divergent Fates (4/5, Requesting Subscriptions)

The Zhu family.

The servants were busy when their master returned, beaming with joy, his steps broader and faster than usual.

"Even if the matter succeeded, does the master need to be this delighted?"

The servants muttered inwardly but did not pause their work, their expressions unchanged.

This was what they had trained themselves to do over many years as servants.

Those in power must hide their joy and anger.

Being a servant is no simpler.

One slight mistake, and the master's resentment could cost you your life.

Servants in this era had little to no human rights; killing one carried no liability—just dump the body in a mass grave and be done with it.

Thus, the servants had honed their skills in this cruel environment.

"Lady, great news!"

Entering the parlor, he saw the lady brewing tea, and the Zhu master shouted loudly.

"Lower your voice, mind your manners—we are a prominent family, we must observe propriety; no shouting like common folk," the Zhu lady replied, exasperated, shooting her husband a look.

"Gulugulu."

The Zhu master sat down, sipped tea, and said, "Lady, great news—this matter far exceeds your wildest imagination."

"The Ma family agreed?" the Zhu lady replied indifferently. "Even if the Ma family holds great power, we needn't be this ecstatic."

"Not the Ma family!" the Zhu master shook his head. "It's someone else."

"Someone else?" the Zhu lady's face darkened. "I told you, if our daughter marries into the Ma family, at least it's a match in status. If it's some nobody, I won't agree!"

"No, Lady, first look at this!"

Saying this, he pulled out a divine talisman hidden in his sleeve and handed it to her.

"Recite it once, then we'll speak of other matters."

The Zhu lady looked puzzled—her husband had always been so sharp-witted; why had he become so strange after one trip out?

Was there something wrong with the Ma family?

Meeting her husband's expectant gaze, the Zhu lady sighed and began to recite.

As she recited, her body began to glow…

Moments passed.

"This… this is a divine trace!" the Zhu lady exclaimed in shock. "Husband, how did you obtain such a divine artifact?!"

The Zhu master quickly recounted the entire story from beginning to end.

The Zhu lady listened, her face brightening. "So our daughter isn't marrying into the Ma family—she's to be sent to an immortal's side?"

"Yes. Lady, what do you think?"

"I think it's excellent," the Zhu lady beamed. "If this comes to pass, not only will our daughter have a fine future, but our whole family will prosper. This is far better than marrying into a powerful noble house."

"I thought the same. Lady, you'll speak to our daughter," the Zhu master nodded. "This matter is crucial—she must not be reluctant. Otherwise, once she's before the immortal, she might offend him."

"Rest assured, our daughter is quite sensible," the Zhu lady smiled. "Leave it to me."

On the upper floor.

Zhu Yingtai rose at dawn to wash and groom, a pretty maid standing behind her to comb her hair.

"Young Lady is so beautiful—whoever becomes her husband is truly fortunate," the maid sighed.

Hearing this, Zhu Yingtai sighed. "Beauty isn't fortune. Born into the Zhu family, one has no control over one's fate—you wouldn't understand."

The maid remained silent inside.

She naturally wouldn't understand.

Born to a common family, she had been sold into the Zhu household as a child, just for a meal.

Her parents and older brother had not been so lucky—they died in the drought three years ago, their bodies never recovered, likely dragged off by wild dogs somewhere.

At first, she hated her parents.

Over time, the hatred faded, replaced by longing.

The world was harsh; everyone suffered like this. Selling children was commonplace.

If she could be sold, her parents would have sold her too—into a wealthy household as a servant, just to secure two meals a day.

Yet in this era, even becoming a servant wasn't something anyone could choose; ordinary folk had no hope of it.

The world is hard; being a commoner is hard!

Xiao Zhu thought of the night her parents sold her, and sorrow welled within her.

"Old man, did you find out?"

"I did. The Zhu family is kind—the servants live well. Alas, poor girl, so young and already forced to serve others."

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"At least being a servant means food. Too bad her brother is male—he can't even sell himself into slavery easily, so he's stuck suffering with us. The world grows harder by the day; I don't know how many more years we can feed him."

"Sigh…"

"Young Lady probably can't understand—so many people dream of a life like hers! Having no control over one's fate? I'd wish for that kind of helplessness too," Xiao Zhu thought, her hands still moving, not a single complaint escaping her.

In one room, two hearts held different thoughts—both mere ripples beneath the raging tide, their fates not their own.

A speck of dust from the age, when it lands on an ordinary person, becomes a mountain—unavoidable, unresistible.

"Yingtai!"

The next moment, the door creaked open, a sliver of sunlight streaming in, falling across half of Bai Xi's face.

Instantly, one side of her cheek lay in shadow, eerie and dark; the other, bathed in light, radiant and lovely.

"Xiao Zhu, you may go—I'll attend to the Young Lady now."

"Yes, Lady."

"Mother, has it been settled?" Zhu Yingtai's heart trembled.

Although blind marriages arranged by others were the norm in this era, the thought of marrying a man she knew nothing about still filled her with difficulty.

"It's settled—and it isn't!" Zhu's Lady picked up a sandalwood comb and began brushing her daughter's hair. "My daughter has great fortune—you have a celestial connection, and will go to the Immortal Realm to enjoy bliss. When that time comes, I only hope Yingtai will not forget the Zhu family."

"Celestial connection?" Zhu Yingtai was bewildered; she tilted her head, her entire face bathed in sunlight.

It was a face of exquisite refinement, as if the Creator had shown her special favor, granting her eyebrows and eyes with a beauty that could topple cities, her demeanor gentle and refined, like a figure stepped straight from the Immortal Realm.

Looking closer at her figure, it was perfectly proportioned, revealing the elegant grace of a southern Jiangnan woman beneath her plain white robe.

"Do you really believe in those superstitious tales, Mother?" Zhu Yingtai sighed, her heart sinking.

She had a suspicion—she thought of something terrible—but she was powerless to change it.

Trapped within the scheme, how could an ordinary person resist fate?

She turned her head away, her entire face cast in shadow, hiding her sorrowful expression.