Chapter 979: The Peasant Girl’s Splendid Manor
Chapter 979: Inciting Possession (4)
By the time he finished the wedding ceremony and rushed out of the residence upon receiving the news, Fangcao had already been assaulted by a thug on her way home from the city. Unable to bear the humiliation, she jumped into the moat. When her body was retrieved, it was completely unrecognizable, becoming the nightmare that would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Back then, he had wished to follow Fangcao in death. His grandmother had to threaten him with her own life to stop him from jumping into the moat, but his heart had already died with Fangcao.
Like a walking corpse, Cui Ping’an clung to Fangcao’s body without sleeping or resting. He only fainted from starvation after her corpse had rotted beyond recognition. Only then did the Cui family’s servants bury Fangcao and bring him back home.
When Cui Ping’an finally regained consciousness, he was like a soul without a body. Every day, he remained by Fangcao’s grave, not returning home for days at a time. He forgot about the Cui family, forgot about his grandmother, and even forgot about his cousin—his newlywed wife.
His new wife couldn’t stand that her husband’s heart was with someone else. She also knew that no living person could compete with the dead. So, she left behind a letter of separation and returned to her maiden home, never stepping into the Cui household again.
However, having been married—even without consummation—she became the subject of unbearable rumors. No respectable family was willing to take her in, and in the end, she could only marry a widower.
That widower was a third-rank deputy general. Though he seemed dignified on the surface, he was actually cruel and violent behind closed doors. If displeased, he would hit people without hesitation. His first wife, pregnant at the time, was beaten to death over a trivial matter. Because he had kept the incident well hidden, outsiders believed the wife had died due to premature labor and complications in childbirth, as he claimed.
With Cui Ping’an’s cousin’s reputation already tarnished, the deputy general used it as an excuse to mistreat her. She was beaten to death within six months of the marriage. Although Cui Ping’an’s maternal grandfather uncovered the truth and ensured the deputy general paid with his life, the dead could never return.
Because of this incident, Madam Cui’s maternal family completely severed ties with her. When she later died of depression, none of her relatives came to pay their respects.
A few years after Madam Cui’s death, Cui Ping’an also passed away from grief. Though not yet thirty, his hair had turned completely white, his face gaunt like that of a sixty-year-old man. His tragic end drew sighs from all who heard of it.
Cui Ping’an left the world in utter despair, never imagining that he would have a chance to wake up again. When he opened his eyes once more, he immediately resolved to convince his grandmother to let him grow old with the one he loved. He would not drag his innocent cousin into a tragic fate again. If he couldn’t have this, he would rather never marry than repeat the miseries of his past life.
It was the first time Madam Cui had seen her grandson so resolute. This side of him was unfamiliar, making it impossible for her to continue treating him as a child. But it wasn’t out of snobbery that she refused to let him marry the daughter of a tenant farmer—such a daughter-in-law could never be a match for Princess Fuyun. If the princess wanted to eliminate a low-born concubine’s daughter, she wouldn’t even need to lift a finger—someone else would do it for her.
And when that time came, how could her grandson endure it? If he acted on impulse and did anything to Princess Fuyun—even if she was unharmed—she would have ample cause to accuse him of disrespecting his legitimate mother and committing the grave offense of insubordination. At that point, not only would her grandson be in trouble, but the entire Cui family would be implicated, which was the last thing she wanted.
However, seeing the deep pleading in her grandson’s eyes, she couldn’t bear to refuse him outright as she had before.
Madam Cui took a deep breath, as though making an important decision. “Xiao Qi, as long as you're willing to marry your cousin, Grandmother can allow that girl to live in the residence. That way, you two can still spend time together like before, and it won’t interfere with your marriage to your cousin.”
“No, Grandmother!” The words, identical to those spoken in his previous life, brought all the memories rushing back to Cui Ping’an. His face turned deathly pale as he cried out emotionally, “You can’t do this! You can’t bring Fangcao here! I can’t marry my cousin—I can’t! Otherwise, they’ll both die! They’ll all die!”
Seeing her grandson so out of control, Madam Cui was shocked. She hurriedly pulled him into her arms, gently patting his back and soothing him with worry in her voice, “Xiao Qi, what’s wrong? What’s the matter with you? Don’t scare your grandmother like this…”
Cui Ping’an vaguely heard someone calling him, but he was trapped in the tragedy of his past life, unable to pull himself out. He couldn’t tell who was speaking to him—he only sobbed helplessly, completely unlike the cheerful, bright youth he used to be.
The commotion in the room did not escape the notice of the maids guarding the door. Hearing Ping’an’s anguished cries and Madam Cui’s weak attempts at comfort, her trusted maid grew worried and hurried off to find Cui Qingrou.
Cui Qingrou had just finished bathing. Hearing the maid’s report, she didn’t even bother to brush her damp hair—she simply tied it up hastily with a ribbon and rushed over.
When she arrived, Madam Cui cried out anxiously, “Rou’er, come quickly and check on Xiao Qi—look at him, is he possessed or something?”
Cui Qingrou was alarmed. She quickly stepped forward and saw her normally composed nephew, eyes shut tightly, face pale, slumped weakly in his mother’s arms, murmuring something under his breath.
Cui Qingrou leaned in to listen, only vaguely catching words like “don’t jump” and “don’t die.” Seeing the pain etched in his expression, her heart clenched. She quickly called out to a maid nearby, “Hurry and help the Young Master lie down on the bed, and get the physician immediately!”
(End of Chapter)
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