The Princess Wei Yang

CHAPTER 2 - The Unwanted Daughter

The candlelight was very faint.

Li Wei Yang was lying on the bed when she suddenly woke up. She could clearly hear the conversation going on outside.

Outside the room, Mrs. Ma was speaking cautiously. “Mother, do you think we should go find a doctor for Third Miss? After all, she was sent by the Li’s. If she dies. . .”

After listening to her daughter-in-law’s words, Mrs. Liu ‘s face turned cold and callously replied, “The lass thinks she’s a noble lady, but from what I heard, she was born from a lowly maid who was in charge of washing feet. Not only that, she was born in February—an utter misfortune. The Li’s are a reputable family. They couldn’t kill her so they sent her off to their distant relatives in Ping Cheng. Furthermore, Lao Tai Tai and Li Furen became sick consecutively. Isn’t she a bad luck star to her family? That’s why they panicked and sent her off to us here in the village! In my opinion, not only is she a misfortune, she’s a lazy pig. Every time she’s given a small task, she would act as if it’s killing her. That stinking lass!”

Li Wei Yang startled at the conversation. She studied the environment. This room didn’t have much of anything. The most it had was a square table, four wooden chairs, a wardrobe and last but not least, the wooden bed she was currently lying on. This place is—Her mind was suddenly foggy. The outside conversation still went on loud and clear.

“When she was at the Li estate, she had maids and never had to do anything strenuous. Today she was a little careless and fell into the crack between the ice sheets, causing her to fall ill. It’s not exactly her fault. . .” Right now the weather was extremely cold yet Mrs. Liu had forced Wei Yang, a young girl, to go do the laundry at the frozen lake. Mrs. Ma didn’t have the heart to watch. Her voice became more worried and restless.

Mrs. Liu coldly scoffed. “Even for a stillborn, there will be room left for affections but this 3rd Miss is totally useless. I gave her a small task but she can’t do it as if I told her to do something impossible. What they say is true, who does she want to deceive. If I don’t shove her, she won’t move. Other people only take two steps but she has to take three steps. Watching her pretending to be ill over there makes me angry. Might as well leave her outside and let her freeze to death!” As those words were spoken, she looked intently at Mrs. Ma with a chilling expression. “Do you think I don’t know? You pity that little wretch. Since you pity her then you go ahead and do the laundry for her!”

Mrs. Ma quickly said, “Mother, you’re right. I won’t say any more nonsense.”

Mrs. Liu breathed heavily as she stood up then slammed the door.

What’s happening? Aren’t I already dead? How come I’m lying here? Li Wei Yang wanted to move but her whole body was drained of energy, as if there were no bones in her system. She carefully thought over everything. Right then, someone lifted the curtains and walked in. Soon, Li Wei Yang was sitting up in someone’s arms. This person’s shoulders were small and skinny with a soft chest and there was some sort of locust smell.

“Eat some congee. After sweating, the fever will get better.”

A warm breath of air hit her face. Li Wei Yang thought she saw a ghost as she stared at the woman weirdly. If she remembered correctly, this village woman, who was about 20 years old, was Mrs. Ma—the oldest daughter-in-law of the farmer family she had lived with before. But how can this be? Clearly she was given the poison wine, but after a blink of an eye, she was seeing the familiar faces from 23 years ago. . .

At 16 years old, she married Tuo Ba Zhen. 8 years later, she became the Empress. Afterwards she was imprisoned in the Cold Palace for 12 years.  When she passed away, she was already 36 years old. However, Mrs. Ma looked the way she was 23 years ago. This was completely unbelievable! Instinctively she looked at her hands. They were skinny, slender and porcelain white. This pair of hands didn’t belong to a 36 years old woman but a pair of hands that belonged to a young maiden. As the thought crossed her mind, there was a flicker of horror in Li Wei Yang’s eyes.