Chapter 716: Extra Chapter 2: Truly Wicked!

Yu Nian shook her head.

"If she were merely fleeing without purpose, she would certainly not escape; she returned home burdened with worries, preparing to first tidy her belongings before making further plans, when her eyes landed on her sister who was embroidering a handkerchief."

"Her sister was called Zhan Jiaoying, just having passed the coming-of-age ceremony, her body had already started to develop, and she was good-looking; Zhan Jiaoe had a sudden thought, pulling Zhan Jiaoying to act spoiled, insisting on dressing her sister up."

Yu Nian said this, and a bad thought rose in my heart: "She... she wouldn't be trying to make her sister a scapegoat, would she?"

At the moment I saw Yu Nian nod, my heart sank sharply.

"Zhan Jiaoe rummaged through chests and cabinets, taking all the clothes she usually hoarded and hated to use, and threw them onto Zhan Jiaoying; because she was two years younger than her sister, the clothes were a bit tight on Zhan Jiaoying, which instead better outlined her sister's just-developing figure."

"When the gambling house people came to seize Zhan Jiaoe, she had already hidden herself; the pursuers' gaze inevitably fell on Zhan Jiaoying, just as Zhan Jiaoe had anticipated, and Zhan Jiaoying was abducted."

I raised my hand and pressed hard on my brow, feeling an indescribable discomfort.

Is Zhan Jiaoe hateful?

Yes, hateful.

She sacrificed Zhan Jiaoying to save her own life, an unforgivable sin.

But the reason Zhan Jiaoe took this path was also because her father forced her, so her father is the true culprit.

Zhan Jiaoe is guilty, and her father is even more heinous.

I cautiously asked: "Then what happened to Zhan Jiaoying?"

"Her father signed a servitude contract, and Zhan Jiaoying was abused to death by a gang of gamblers." Yu Nian said sorrowfully, "Throughout the process, Zhan Jiaoe witnessed it all with her own eyes; she hid until the matter was settled, then sneaked back home, gathered everything she could carry, and fled far away."

"While she was packing, her four-year-old little sister clung to her thigh, incessantly crying, 'Second sister, I'm hungry,' 'Second sister, where did the eldest sister go,' 'Second sister, don't leave, it's dark and I'm scared, Dad beats me'..."

My heart felt like it would break: "Poor child."

Yu Nian sighed heavily again and said: "Zhan Jiaoe secretly sneaked back to pack up; feeling both fearful and impatient, she shoved the little sister away, not expecting to lose her grip—the little sister's forehead struck the edge of the stool and she died on the spot."

I stared blankly: "How could this happen…… Zhan Jiaoe she…… she……"

I really wanted to ask: Does Zhan Jiaoe feel remorse?

But upon second thought, since she could frame her own older sister to save her life, how could she possibly pity her little sister?

Indeed, Yu Nian said: "Zhan Jiaoe feels no guilt; she even rubbed all over the little sister's body, tearing off the small silver lock plate that their mother had hung around the little sister's neck before her death, and left without looking back."

Hearing this, I felt so sorrowful I could not speak.

Zhan Jiaoe…… truly wicked!

But this world is just so unfair; such a great evildoer does not necessarily receive the punishment she deserves.

"Zhan Jiaoe is not only ruthless but also very clever; she quickly entered a wealthy household as a maid, starting from a sweeping maid, then becoming a first-rank maid beside the lady, and eventually a concubine-maid for the young master, all in just five years."

"In the sixth year after she fled her natal family, she successfully became pregnant with the child of the household's eldest legitimate son; however, the young mistress had not yet entered the door, so this child could not be kept, and to show loyalty to the lady, she personally aborted the fetus..."

At this moment, my emotions unexpectedly calmed: "Such a ruthless, decisive person would have planned her life early on, and to achieve her goals would employ any means; Zhan Jiaoe's hands throughout her life must be stained with many lives, I suppose?"

"Many, so many that she might not even remember them herself."

Yu Nian counted them one by one: "From Zhan Jiaoying to the little sister, from the first fetus in her womb, to when her father came knocking, which she had paid assassins to kill and bury the corpse, to the young mistress and concubines in the manor, along with their fetuses and children... from a lowly sweeping maid to becoming the mistress of the household, Zhan Jiaoe's rise to power was paved with a line after line of living lives."

"They say evil meets its own reward; for such an utterly wicked person, why hasn't heaven taken her?" I gritted my teeth, "In my view, Zhan Jiaoe deserves to descend into the eighteenth level of hell."

At some point, Yu Nian had already set up a barrier around the ferry boat, isolating the two of us within it; others cannot hear our words.

Yu Nian said: "This is what I said at the beginning: Zhan Jiaoe is not only skilled in her methods but also exceptionally lucky; having done many guilty deeds, her heart is uneasy, so she constantly engages in praying to Buddha and seeking Dao; beside her there is an old Daoist who year after year relieves her worries and untangles her knots."

"When Zhan Jiaoe was forty-three, her eldest grandson accidentally fell into a water vat; when he was fished out, he was barely breathing. Zhan Jiaoe doted on this grandson, so she sought out a Daoist priest, declaring that no matter the cost she would surely save him."

I keenly realized that this was another important turning point in Zhan Jiaoe's fate.

And this turning point may very well directly concern me.

I asked: "Was the eldest grandson ultimately saved?"

"The soul had been separated too long; retrieving it would be powerless to reverse fate." Yu Nian continued, "Zhan Jiaoe felt deep anguish; how could she be someone who would suffer a silent loss? She first questioned the Daoist's ability and demanded the return of the deposit she had paid him; the Daoist, reluctant to give up that substantial deposit, told Zhan Jiaoe, 'This is your eldest grandson's fate.'"

"The Daoist said her eldest grandson's birth characters were too weak, inherently a short-lived fate; unexpectedly, three years earlier a water ghost had dragged him away to serve as a substitute; even if he defied heaven and forcibly summoned his soul back, that grandson would at most have three good years left, not worth it."

"Then he added, although the eldest grandson's fate is thin, Zhan Jiaoe's fate is good; though the Daoist cannot save the grandson, he can transfer the grandson's remaining three years of yin lifespan to Zhan Jiaoe, allowing her to live three more years."

I exclaimed in astonishment: "Did Zhan Jiaoe believe it? And did she actually do it?"

Yu Nian replied: "Yes, although she harbored doubts—after all, no one could verify how much lifespan she originally had or whether the Daoist truly extended her life by three years—but in that era, average human lifespan was short, and the temptation of gaining three extra years was immense, so she ultimately gritted her teeth and agreed."

I only felt a buzzing in my head: "Her eldest grandson died a violent death; his original lifespan still had three years un-lived. If the Daoist had dealt with that water ghost, appealed for the grandson's injustice, and let the grandson observe three years in the netherworld, he would still have a chance to be reborn; Zhan Jiaoe's doing this, that her eldest grandson..."

Yu Nian: "His soul turned to ashes and smoke..."