Chapter 171: Karma’s Retribution
Unknowingly, more than half a month had passed, and it was almost New Year.
The weather was a bit unpredictable, but it hadn’t snowed for many days.
On this day, Wen Mingqian went to the Buddhist hall to offer incense to the spirit tablets of A Hui and A Shou; she came here every day to offer incense.
After offering incense each time, she would place a few pieces of osmanthus candy.
As she just came out of the Buddhist hall, she met Hui Xin who was carrying a bundle and about to leave.
Although Hui Xin had not been a nun for long, she was very devout and diligent, and Abbot Jingxu liked her very much, often personally explaining Buddhist teachings to her.
“Master Hui Xin, are you going out?” Wen Mingqian asked her with a smile.
“Yes!” Hui Xin nodded, “Madam is going to offer incense again? The Cui family has been expelled from the Capital City. I’m taking some clothes and travel money for them.”
Hui Xin did not evade the topic, her tone was calm and plain.
Wen Mingqian had already heard that Cui Rong had been dismissed from office and exiled, and was forbidden to return to the Capital City for ten years.
And the scandal between Leng Shi and Marquis Fengxian was also exposed, not by others, but by Marquis Fengxian himself to shirk responsibility.
He said that Leng Shi had seduced him and asked him to help her husband seek promotion.
Leng Shi could not bear the humiliation. Since her household no longer had many servants, she cooked a meal for the children, then closed the door and hanged herself.
Not only that, but the Cui family’s plan to sell their daughter for honor was also brought to light, also confessed by Marquis Fengxian himself.
The rumors about Wen Mingqian naturally fell apart.
As for Marquis Fengxian, his title was stripped and he was demoted, to serve as a Tongpan in Tingzhou.
His son, being an imbecile, only received a beating.
Of course, almost all of their family property was confiscated, and without a doubt, the Lu family was ruined from then on.
It was said that Prince Chu and others had interceded for him, which was why he received such a lenient punishment.
Now Cui Rong was penniless and had to take his three children into exile for a thousand miles; the hardship was unimaginable.
Wen Mingqian looked at the small bundle she was carrying and thought there couldn’t be much inside. While Cui Rong and Leng Shi were indeed detestable, the children were also pitiable.
So she asked Hui Xin, “I happen to have some silver here. Why don’t you go and buy some warm clothes for those younger siblings to take with them!”
“No need, I still have some money. Buying them a couple of coarse cloth clothes from the street will be enough,” Hui Xin said. “Karma cycles, this is what they deserve. I hope they can turn over a new leaf in the future and achieve a good outcome for themselves!”
After Hui Xin left, Wen Mingqian was still standing there when Sang Er came to find her.
“Mother, why are you standing here? It’s quite cold,” Sang Er said. “Was that Master Hui Xin in front?”
“It was her, she went to see off the Cui family,” Wen Mingqian said.
“Things in this world are truly unpredictable. I used to think it was a pity she became a nun at such a young age. Now that the Cui family is in this state, she has escaped a disaster by becoming a nun, which can be considered fortunate,” Sang Er couldn’t help but sigh.
“As women, we are born with countless difficulties, and on top of that, she encountered such a father and stepmother,” Wen Mingqian felt great sympathy for Hui Xin. “It was like a poisonous net cast over her. Unless she broke free from the secular world and severed family ties, she could only let them suck her blood.
This is why I didn’t stop her when she wanted to become a nun. We could save her for a while, but we couldn’t secure her future, simply because without proper justification, words are not convincing.
Living in this world, the saying ‘no parents in the world are wrong’ almost completely cuts off the retreat for children.
If parents were reasonable and cared for their children, it would be fine. But if they are blinded by greed, children, especially daughters, truly don’t know how many layers of skin they would have to shed to repay their parents’ nurturing.”
“That’s true. If she hadn’t become a nun, her stepmother would always have taken her back. We had no right to keep her, and even if we sent her away, besides causing ourselves inexplicable trouble, we couldn’t guarantee she would survive,” Sang Er sighed. “We can only say her fate was a bit bitter. With such a maternal family, they treated her like livestock to be bought and sold, regardless of her honor or disgrace. And in this world, most women, before marriage, can only depend on their maternal family, and after marriage, they can only depend on their husband’s family, with little say in their own affairs.”
Wen Mingqian and Sang Er sighed for a while and returned to the house, thinking about the New Year’s gifts to be given to many people during the New Year. They had been busy preparing scented pastes, face creams, and other items these past few days.
Fortunately, Ao Shuang was skillful and could help a lot. The three of them started working from early morning every day, only turning off the lights and going to bed very late.
But being busy like this was also quite interesting, and the days seemed to pass quickly.
A few more days passed, and Sang Er returned from the street. She entered the door, put down the dim sum she had bought, and said breathlessly, “It’s truly news, everyone on the street is talking about it.”
“Sister, quickly tell us what happened!” Ao Shuang asked eagerly. “If I had known there was excitement, I would have gone to the street with you.”
“It’s good that you didn’t go. The street is full of people buying New Year’s goods, it’s too crowded,” Sang Er said while rubbing her sore shoulders. “If you went, you’d get squashed.”
“Sister, drink some water quickly, then tell us the news,” Ao Shuang held out tea to Sang Er. “What exactly happened?”
“As soon as I got to the street, I heard people saying the Lu family had received retribution,” Sang Er said, then took a big gulp of water.
“Which Lu family?” Wen Mingqian, who was embroidering, stopped her needle and looked up to ask.
“Which other Lu family? It’s the former Marquis Fengxian’s family!” Sang Er clapped her hands. “Weren’t they demoted to Tingzhou? As it turned out, halfway there, while staying at the Bairen Post Station, in the middle of the night, their imbecile son went mad for some reason and started hacking at his parents with a knife.
His mother was stabbed more than ten times and died on the spot. His father fled out of the door for two miles, but also died from excessive bleeding.”
“Ah?!” Ao Shuang was horrified. “That’s too terrifying! Why did he kill his own parents?”
“We weren’t there, so we don’t know. But people are saying that the maids he killed turned into vengeful spirits and haunted him, and he was so scared that he started hacking wildly with a knife, only to end up cutting his own parents,” Sang Er said. “Whether it’s true or not, such a person shouldn’t be alive in this world anyway.”
“What happened to that imbecile in the end?” Ao Shuang pressed.
“What else could happen? He even killed his own parents, so how could they let him live? They say he fell into an ice hole and died. I guess those people found him troublesome and decided to deal with him, as escorting him back to the Capital would take too much time and effort,” Sang Er speculated.
“Oh my heavens, listening to this is truly chilling,” Ao Shuang said. “But it’s also their deserved retribution, who told them to do so many wicked things!”
The tragic incident of the Lu family seemed to spread like a gust of wind throughout the entire Capital City, but within a few days, people gradually forgot about it.
Not long after, the former Marquis Fengxian’s mansion was bestowed upon a new noble, and that is another story.
