"Mother, I know I was wrong. Please save me..."
It took Ning Yuwan a while to make out these few words. The handwriting was so blurred that Yuan Qingrong could only recognize the words "mother" and "save". She couldn't make out the rest.
The only ones who called her mother were her precious Yuwan and Ning Yuqin.
"Yuwan, could it be that Yuqin really can't hold on anymore?" Yuan Qingrong wasn't thinking of rescuing her. There was still some anger in her heart, but she couldn't help but feel a little pity.
"What if this is just a misdelivered letter?" Ning Yuwan comforted her. "Ning Yuqin has done so many evil deeds. From now on, her affairs have nothing to do with you, mother." Then she called Honglu and Hongqiao. "Tell the doorman to be more careful in the future. Don't bring in any random things. It's so inauspicious!"
Yuan Qingrong nodded. "Maybe it really was a misdelivered letter."
She didn't know Ning Yuqin's final fate. She only knew that it was secretly arranged by the people from the Prince's Mansion. Ning Yuqin should have been punished for trying to harm the Marquis, which was a capital crime. The fact that the Prince's Mansion arranged for her to continue living was already the best outcome.
But...
Was it really better for Ning Yuqin to live than to die?
At noon.
In the living room, Ning Fengnian and Yan Zhao were still engrossed in their chess game.
Inside the house, Yuan Qingrong, who had the habit of taking an afternoon nap, was sound asleep.
No one noticed that a carriage quietly left the Yongning Marquis Mansion. Inside the carriage were Ning Yuwan and Lianzi. Their destination was Tangjia Village.
At the same time.
In the earthen house in the northernmost part of Tangjia Village, Old Lady Tang was scolding and beating her new daughter - in - law who had been living there for three months. "You good - for - nothing. You can't even pour tea properly. You're wasting my good tea leaves."
If Yuan Qingrong were here, she would surely recognize that the so - called "new daughter - in - law" was Ning Yuqin!
"It hurts!" Ning Yuqin frowned. She grabbed Old Lady Tang's wrist and then flung it away forcefully. "What good tea leaves? Even a dog wouldn't eat them!"
Old Lady Tang obviously wasn't used to dealing with someone as tough as Ning Yuqin. For some reason, the scene of a woman being beaten and scolded involuntarily flashed through her mind, and she unconsciously associated it with Ning Yuqin.
In the first three months, when she heard that Ning Yuqin was pregnant, she had been quite polite and protective of her, not allowing Tang Sanjin to scold or beat her.
However, Ning Yuqin was ungrateful. Her temper became more and more willful, disrespectful, and she ordered Old Lady Tang around as if she were a servant.
Old Lady Tang was so angry that she pushed her a few times. But Ning Yuqin glared at her and scolded, "Filthy thing. Don't touch me!"
It turned out that in Ning Yuqin's eyes, her kind protection was just that of a filthy thing. Old Lady Tang was so angry that she started to fight with Ning Yuqin. But because of the child in Ning Yuqin's belly, she kept giving in.
Without Old Lady Tang's protection, Tang Sanjin wouldn't let Ning Yuqin off easily. Sometimes he would scold her mildly, and sometimes he would kick and beat her severely. Ning Yuqin was covered in bruises.
No matter how much Tang Sanjin scolded and beat her, the child in her belly remained safe and sound. It was really lucky.
Maybe because of this, Old Lady Tang also started to bully her without restraint. Today, she ordered Ning Yuqin to make tea, hoping to enjoy being served.
Unexpectedly, Ning Yuqin had a big temper. She splashed the hot tea directly on Old Lady Tang.
Old Lady Tang, who had endured the wind and rain in the countryside all her life, had thick skin. The hot tea on her hand didn't hurt at all. She only felt sorry for the tea leaves and her clothes. "You little bitch. If you don't wash the clothes clean tonight, don't even think about eating!"
"I won't eat then!" Ning Yuqin didn't back down. Even on normal days, Old Lady Tang never let her eat her fill! Dinner was just a bowl of thin porridge and two eggs.
She didn't know that in an ordinary peasant family, such food was considered good. But she had been used to living a life of luxury since childhood and had never known the hardships of the countryside.
"I hope you starve to death, you little bitch!" Old Lady Tang's face turned pale. She secretly glanced at Ning Yuqin. The child in the little bitch's belly was her eldest grandson. She really didn't dare to starve Ning Yuqin to death.
She hated Ning Yuqin even more in her heart! The bitch was just relying on the eldest grandson to be so arrogant! She secretly made up her mind that after Ning Yuqin gave birth to the child, she would settle the score with her properly!
Old Lady Tang could endure for the sake of the child, but Tang Sanjin wouldn't!
In the evening, he came back drunk again. Seeing Ning Yuqin lying on the bed, he was filled with lust. He quickly took off his clothes, climbed onto the bed, and was about to take off Ning Yuqin's clothes.
"Get away!" The previous two times, Ning Yuqin had been forced to be with him. Now that she was sober, she naturally didn't want to. She waved her limbs and kicked Tang Sanjin hard.
"Ouch!" Tang Sanjin wasn't careful. His private parts were kicked by her. His face turned extremely pale. After a while, his face became cold and fierce. He grabbed Ning Yuqin's hands with his left hand and slapped her several times with his right hand.
Ning Yuqin's cheeks were swollen and red. She couldn't speak clearly. She struggled desperately with her hands and scratched Tang Sanjin's face. "Ah... Get away!"
"Stinking bitch! I'm doing you a favor by sleeping with you! You don't know how to appreciate it!" Tang Sanjin's face hurt. He grabbed Ning Yuqin's long hair and dragged her to the ground!
"You even dare to fight back. I'll beat you to death!" He was extremely cruel and didn't care about the child in Ning Yuqin's belly. He wasn't worried about being retaliated against either!
That day, the master of the Yongning Marquis Mansion said that Ning Yuqin had nothing to do with the Yongning Marquis Mansion from then on!
It was also that day that he finally saw the face of the eldest young lady of the Yongning Marquis Mansion clearly. She was really ten times more beautiful than the woman in front of him. He lusted after her but didn't dare to really defile her! After all, such a noble woman was far beyond his reach.
But when it came to Ning Yuqin, he was even more cruel. Who asked her to lose her noble status and be less beautiful than others!
His mind was in a mess, but Tang Sanjin's actions didn't stop. He beat and kicked her mercilessly!
Blood oozed from the corner of Ning Yuqin's mouth. Her eyes were filled with hatred. At first, she had hoped that the Yongning Marquis Mansion would come to rescue her after seeing the letter. She had waited for three days, but no one came.
Now, filled with resentment and pain, she made up her mind. While Tang Sanjin was finally tired from beating and was resting aside, she slowly crawled over. Her right hand randomly grabbed the sewing basket beside the bed. There was a brand - new pair of scissors in it!
When Ning Yuwan arrived at Tangjia Village, she saw people running around in disbelief, spreading the news.
"Something terrible! Sanjin's wife has gone crazy and killed someone!"
"Sanjin and his mother have both been killed by his new wife!"
When she reached the door of Tang Sanjin's house, a pungent smell of blood hit her nostrils.
In the middle of the room, Ning Yuqin was lying on the ground, laughing stupidly. Her mouth and body were covered in blood.
Beside her were the corpses of Tang Sanjin and Old Lady Tang, their eyes wide open, looking as if they were dying unwillingly.
Not only that, Ning Yuqin had also been extremely cruel. She had cut open her own belly and taken out the fully - formed fetus, casually throwing it aside.
"Sister..." When she saw Ning Yuwan, she suddenly called out softly. It was hard to tell whether it was because of the pain or because she was truly repentant.
"I should have gotten along well with you earlier..."
Large amounts of blood flowed from her belly onto the uneven ground and slowly crept towards Ning Yuwan's feet.
Ning Yuqin stretched out her hand, as if waiting for Ning Yuwan's forgiveness. But the latter's expression was extremely cold, and she even took a few steps back.
Finally, Ning Yuqin ran out of strength. "It's okay... You're not her. In the next life... In the next life, I want to be the elder sister and take good care of her..."
Tears of blood streamed down her face, and Ning Yuqin finally closed her eyes.
Ning Yuwan watched coldly as she closed her eyes. She wouldn't forgive Ning Yuqin on behalf of the original body because the original body was already dead.
As for Ning Yuqin's next life? There was no such thing! The soul of the original body had completely disappeared...