Crimson Gold: Rebirths and Redemption

Chapter 8

Days turned into weeks, and weeks turned into a month. Xunmi withdrew into a solitude filled with mourning and reflection. The absence of Weimin, once a source of solace, now intensified her solitude. The truth of his actions, the realization that he had chosen another over her, echoed through the empty corridors of their home.

In the quiet moments, between tears and whispered regrets, Xunmi contemplated whether the shattered pieces of her life could ever be mended. The child she had carried, a symbol of their love, was gone, leaving behind an emptiness that mirrored the void in her heart.

Rumors, like vultures, circled the remnants of Xunmi's happiness. Whispers of the miscarriage and the ensuing confrontation painted a bleak portrait of the once-venerable Lady of the Jiang household. The once-coveted title of the general's wife now carried a weight of scandal and tragedy.

As the seasons changed, Xunmi found herself drawn to the pond behind her courtyard, desolate and uncared for, she finds similarity within herself and the pond.

What is she living for anymore?

Her baby boy died because of her weakness and his cruelty.

And he, he broke his promise, there were never happiness in this household so what is she holding on?

she can't be his wife and she can't be his love, she is simply practical, someone to have while he wait for his true love, the true balm to his pain and now that he has, he doesn't need her anymore. Was she to be a statue, the family maid, managing his household as he frolicked with that girl?

Maybe that was all she is good for, but she can't bear that future, to be set aside as that bastard builts a family with that whore, to have sons and daughter, bastard making bastards, while she is barren with only a ghost of a child in her memory.

And she can't ask for divorce, not when her family has enough wagging tongues because of her, her little sisters would need to marry and they don't need her to add another stain to the family name.

Sometimes late at night when everyone was asleep, she snuck out to sit at the edge of the pond. In the hushed stillness of the night, Xunmi found herself drawn to the edge of the pond, a mysterious and haunting allure emanating from its tranquil surface. The moon's soft glow cast gentle ripples on the water, creating an otherworldly dance that mirrored the turmoil within her.

On nights like these, when the weight of her burdens pressed upon her, the pond beckoned as a sanctuary, a respite from the complexities of her existence, a place where the threads of her worries would unravel and dissolve into the depths.

Tonight is one of those nights where even though she can't hear the whisper of the pond, it calls to her. It tells her to come to it in her finest and heaviest of fabrics. It promises to take her to a place where the worries of this life would cease to exist. She doesn't have the luxury to answer its call tonight, it's early and her maids are still awake. Yet the call is getting stronger and she could almost hear the wispy voice of a woman telling her to "Come"

The desire to escape, to surrender to the promises of the pond, clashed with the practicalities of her existence. she weighed the cost of surrendering to the pond's embrace against the responsibilities that anchored her to the mortal world.

Fenghua, not knowing her lady mind but perceptive to to her lady's contemplative state, intervened with a chiding tone, her hands gently steering Xunmi away from the window. "My lady, what are you doing? The weather is cold, it is still winter! Please get away from the window."

With a sigh, Xunmi allowed herself to be guided back to her bed, the allure of the pond's mysteries momentarily set aside. "Winter shall end soon, and it's warmer as we near the new year," she remarked.