Chapter 158: Attempting Suicide
Wen Mingqian and Liu Cuiyi drank together until the afternoon at a restaurant called “Jing Ya Ju”.
This place had always catered primarily to female guests, with only women working from the owner to the waiters.
The two of them spoke many heartfelt words and also drank a lot of wine.
Finally, Wen Mingqian said, “Let’s stop here for today! Shu’er and Yan’er must be missing you at home, don’t be back too late.”
The two of them went downstairs, and Liu Cuiyi asked the old woman accompanying her to settle the bill for the wine.
Sang Er, with a giggle, placed two boxes of dim sum onto Liu Cuiyi’s carriage: “These are from Cao Ji’s shop opposite. Children love these two kinds the most.”
Liu Cuiyi knew this was Wen Mingqian’s doing and didn’t refuse, saying with a smile, “Thank you for your trouble, you and your servants. I, as a mother, am so careless that I didn’t even think of this.”
She let Wen Mingqian get into the carriage and leave first before she departed.
“Mother, do you think it would be good if I opened a restaurant that only served female guests in the future?” Sang Er suddenly had an idea in the carriage.
“Of course, it would be good. You are thoughtful and smart, you’ll always come up with good ideas,” Wen Mingqian said.
“Why don’t we ask the coachman to take a detour and go see the sunset glow over Sparrow Screen Mountain near Fuzi Bridge! The western sky is already showing hints of twilight.” Sang Er, being a child, was full of playful energy.
Moreover, she thought that Wen Mingqian was living in such a desolate place now, it must be somewhat boring.
“It’s fine to go and see, it will help clear the wine fumes,” Wen Mingqian said. “Wu Qiu Nunnery is a sacred Buddhist place, we should show more respect.”
Sang Er then asked the coachman to head towards Fuzi Bridge. This carriage was hired, so the coachman was happy to travel a bit further.
The weather had turned cold, and although there were still some people near the bridge, there were far fewer compared to the spring and summer seasons.
“There are vendors selling pumpkin seeds and soft dates by the bridge. I’ll go buy some,” Sang Er got out of the carriage and hopped away.
Wen Mingqian looked at the snacks Sang Er bought. Although they were from a street vendor, they were prepared very cleanly, and the taste was also very good.
She then said, “Go buy more of these dates and take them back for the masters at the nunnery to eat.”
At this time, the sun was still on the mountaintop. By the time Sang Er returned, the sun had already half-fallen below the mountain.
The sunset glow was brilliant, dyeing half the western sky red.
“It’s rare to have such a beautiful sunset glow in winter,” Wen Mingqian sighed. “The most memorable sunset I saw was when I was your age, but that was in summer.”
“Mother, did you have any worries when you were my age?” Sang Er asked, tilting her head.
“Of course, I did, but they were all trivial worries,” Wen Mingqian chuckled. “When I was your age, I was already engaged. I used to wonder in my heart if my husband and I would get along after marriage. I also naively thought that if I gave my whole heart, I would receive a sincere heart in return.”
“It’s not just you, Mother. Which unmarried woman in the world doesn’t think that way originally?” Sang Er couldn’t help but feel sad. “But in the end, they all become heartbroken and disappointed people.”
“Alright, let’s not talk about this anymore. We don’t want you to be scared away before you’re even married,” Wen Mingqian smiled. “Good marriages aren’t non-existent. Not to mention far away, look at the Gong Family’s Eldest Master and First Madam, aren’t they a good example?”
“But those are still a minority! Mother, can you tell me, what exactly should a woman do to avoid the pain of being betrayed?” Sang Er hugged Wen Mingqian’s arm.
“That’s too difficult, how can I explain it clearly?” Wen Mingqian affectionately stroked her head. “Personally, it seems very difficult to avoid. All I can tell you is that even if you are betrayed, don’t devalue yourself. Rely less on others and more on yourself.”
As they spoke, only a sliver of the sun remained on the mountaintop. The sky had darkened considerably, and the wind had grown colder.
“Mother, you must be cold! Let’s go back!” Sang Er said. “Tomorrow will surely be another good day, and we can dry the incense.”
“Let’s wait a bit longer! Let’s see off the last rays of light before we go back,” Wen Mingqian stopped her. “There’s no need to rush.”
By this time, there were hardly any people by the riverbank, and even the street vendors had packed up their stalls and were preparing to leave.
Sang Er told the coachman to turn the horse carriage around and reached out to lower the curtain.
“Huh? What’s that person doing walking into the river in the distance?!” Sang Er’s eyes widened.
Although it was winter, only the water surface by the bank had frozen over, and it wasn’t thick. The center of the river was not yet frozen.
Walking on the ice at this time was extremely dangerous.
Wen Mingqian also leaned out to look and couldn’t help but worry, “This is not good, quickly call her back!”
Although the sky was dark, they could still clearly see that it was a young woman.
“Quickly! Hurry the carriage over,” Sang Er said. “Call that person back!”
She herself leaned out of the carriage window and shouted into the distance, “Come back quickly! Don’t go any further!”
The person seemed to hear her and paused, but then walked even faster towards the middle of the river.
“She’s trying to end her life!” Wen Mingqian determined. “We must stop her!”
The coachman urged the horses with all his might and drove closer.
Sang Er and Wen Mingqian jumped out of the carriage one after another, while the woman was already some distance from the bank.
“Hey, young lady, come back quickly! This is not a game!” Sang Er shouted loudly.
Almost as she shouted, with a splash, the ice beneath the woman’s feet shattered. She stumbled and fell into the water.
She instinctively grabbed onto the ice surface, but because the water was bone-chillingly cold, her entire body instantly went stiff, and she couldn’t even make a sound.
“Quick! Quick! Help! Someone has fallen into the water!” Wen Mingqian and Sang Er shouted.
But there was hardly anyone around.
“I… I’ll go down!” the coachman said hesitantly.
“Can you swim?” Wen Mingqian asked him.
“I cannot…” the coachman replied.
“Don’t go down,” Wen Mingqian stopped him.
The coachman couldn’t swim, so his chances of rescuing the person were slim. Moreover, he was a man, and even if he managed to save the young lady, it might affect her reputation.
“Mother… no!” Sang Er grabbed Wen Mingqian as she was about to enter the water. “The water here is very deep, and it’s bone-chillingly cold.”
“I can swim, at least,” Wen Mingqian said. “Let me try!”
She knew Sang Er had a natural fear of water, so she had to step forward herself.
“Let me!” a stout woman ran over, holding a carrying pole.
“Sister Zhao!” Sang Er immediately recognized this woman as Zhao Po Kuang, who had carried loads for her before.
Zhao Po Kuang didn’t have time to say much. She took off her outer coat and shoes by the bank and rushed into the icy water.
Having grown up on a boat, she was an excellent swimmer. Despite the bone-chilling cold of the icy water, she quickly swam to the woman’s side.
By this time, the woman was already frozen stiff and had lost consciousness. Fortunately, her hands were still tightly gripping the ice, preventing her from sinking.
Zhao Po Kuang grabbed her collar with one hand and dragged her ashore.
