Xiang Ling felt like her head was spinning. Usually, she should have been born as a baby in the Mortal Realm to face the life tribulation but due to some unknown reason, she ended up inside the body of a deceased young lady. Still, she thought that she could face whatever this unexpected life had to throw at her but little did she expect that she would receive another big surprise so soon.
She could handle the life of a young lady but could she handle the life of a married woman?
Just the thought of it made Xiang Ling want to cry out loud and complain to the heavens. The punishment wasn't fair, to begin with, but since it was a punishment given by none other than the Heavenly Empress herself, Xiang Ling barely had a choice. But what now? Wasn't her punishment going just too far?
Xiang Ling was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice where she was heading. It was not until she bumped against the back of Fu Xiao, did she returned to reality.
"My apology, My Lady." Fu Xioa quickly apologized as she bowed her head and waited to be punished. Her action surprised Xiang Ling and the look of terror on the young girl's face made Xiang Ling wonder just what sort of person the original owner of the body was.
"It's alright." She dismissed Fu Xiao's apology but didn't try to sound too soft. If she was reading the situations right, the original owner of the body didn't treat the servants kindly which could also explain why all the servants looked at Xiang Ling with terror-filled eyes.
Turning her attention away from Fu Xiao, she finally noticed her surroundings. They were inside a courtyard that was located in a secluded corner of the Chen Manor. Though quite big, it was just as unkempt as the rest of the manor.
They took a gravel road through the main garden before arriving at the inner courtyard. There was a garden with a pond and even a bridge. Standing next to the pond was an old Peach Blossom tree and surrounding it was a wooden platform, and kneeling on that platform... was a man.
His back faced Xiang Ling who just entered the inner courtyard with Fu Xiao and got to see such an unexpected scene. From her place, all that she could see was his long silky black hair that cascaded down his spine. A blue colored ribbon was keeping the upper half of his hair tied. Though dressed simply, Xiang Ling felt the man was not just anybody.
She turned her questioning gaze toward Fu Xiao, waiting for the girl to explain what was going on. Though she didn't want to raise any suspicions, she was just too lost at the moment to care about such things. She just wanted to know why a man was kneeling in her courtyard.
Thankfully, Fu Xioa didn't think much of Xiang Ling's confused look. After all, the previous owner of the body was known to punish people and then forget about them within minutes, and in this particular case, it already had been over a day.
"My Lady, you punished Master Wei the previous morning when you left for the temple. You ordered him to kneel there until you order otherwise." Fu Xiao reminded Xiang Ling but the latter was having a hard time processing what she just heard. She spared a quick look at the man before turning her attention back to Fu Xiao as she asked in a panicked tone, "Are you saying that he had been kneeling there since yesterday morning?"
Fu Xiao nodded her head but Xiang Ling still refused to believe. Her attention once again turned toward the man and she wondered what sort of crime he committed to receive such heavy punishment.
"Why was he punished?" She found herself asking but when she heard no response from Fu Xiao, she turned to look at the girl only to find an irritated look on the latter's face that she quickly schooled.
Xiang Ling did understand the reason behind Fu Xiao's irritation - it wasn't because she was asking such a question but because out of all people, she was the one asking that question. In Fu Xiao's eyes, not only did Xiang Ling forget about punishing someone but she even forgot why she punished him in the first place. Anyone would feel hostile toward such a person. But Xiang Ling could do nothing about her lack of information as she received no memories of the previous owner of the body.
Once again putting on an act, she spoke - "Ah, didn't I say that my head is hurting and I can't seem to recall some of my memories?"
Fu Xiao remained silent for a while and looked at Xiang Ling as if she was trying to study the latter. Eventually, after a few moments, she let out a barely audible sigh and answered - "You invited some courtesans yesterday morning to entertain you and ordered Master Wei to serve them tea and snacks. Accidentally..." Fu Xiao stopped as if she suddenly realized the slip of her tongue and quickly corrected it as she continued - "... Master Wei lost his balance and dropped the teacup on one of the courtesans, making you... mad... So, you..."
The girl didn't dare to continue and just left it there, not like it wasn't already clear what would have happened after that. But Xiang Ling felt like her ears were buzzing with information that kept surprising her. How could anyone punish a person so heavily just because of such a little mistake? Moreover, if the previous owner of the body was indeed married, why would she do the shameful act of mingling with courtesans?
Xiang Ling shook her head, not understanding what sort of person the original owner of the body was. She turned to Fu Xiao and asked one last question - "Who is this man?"
The look on Fu Xiao's face this time was even worse than the one before. The girl looked totally amazed by Xiang Ling.
"My Lady, that's your husband, Master Wei Guang!"