The Nightmare Experience of a Useless Person

"Xuanxuan, have you seen Sister Qingjun?" Jiang Zhiyang rushed into the bedroom, but only saw Xuanxuan who had just woken up.

Xuanxuan sat on the warm bed, rubbing her still-sleepy head. She looked around and finally seemed to remember something before slowly saying, "Sister Qingjun just got up. She must have gone to the backyard to wash up."

"Apu, have you seen Sister Qingjun?" Jiang Zhiyang climbed out the window and took a shortcut to the backyard, but only saw Apu brushing his teeth.

"Ugh, ugh." Apu gagged violently while brushing her teeth, spitting out two mouthfuls of water before slowly speaking, "Sister Qingjun has finished washing up and said she's going to comb her hair by the peach tree."

The area under the peach tree was empty except for Xiulian, who was reading a book.

"Xiulian, are you watching Qingjun?"

"Oh, you're looking for Sister Qingjun too?" The book slowly slid down, revealing a pair of eyes that curved into crescent moons. Without even looking, Jiang Zhiyang could imagine the teasing smile that would follow the book.

"Also? Who else is looking for Qingjun?" Actually, there was no need to ask, since it was obvious that there were others in this courtyard who shared his thieving intentions.

"Brother Jiang Shuo, they went that way. Xiao Tao is leading them in throwing beanbags." The book slowly rose, burying Xiu Lian's even more "outrageous" laughter.

With Qingjun absent and Jiang Shuo also absent, it must have been that despicable Jiang Shuo who beat him to it and abducted him away again.

"Xiao Tao, where is Sister Qingjun?" Jiang Zhiyang jogged a few steps, then put his hands on his hips and started panting.

Xiao Tao put down the beanbag, pointed forward with her little hand, and said, "Grandpa Jiang asked Sister Qingjun and Brother Jiang Shuo to write a name card for him."

Grandpa, sister, brother, hey, they sound like a family. It was infuriating. Jiang Zhiyang darted a few steps, and before he even entered Old Jiang's house, he ran into Jiang Shuo.

"Have you seen Prince Qing?"

Jiang Zhiyang didn't speak, but Jiang Shuo asked as if nothing had happened, which made Jiang Zhiyang pout and swing his legs.

There was nothing in Old Chiang's house.

There is none in the kitchen.

There is no courtyard.

Lok Sin Tong is such a small place, how come we can't even find a single girl!

Jiang Shuo, not understanding what was going on, just followed along. Seeing Jiang Shuo following, Jiang Zhiyang took off running even faster. The two of them chased each other around the small Leshan Hall three times in a row! Now they had no choice but to stop.

Jiang Zhiyang was panting heavily, too weak to speak, and stared straight at Jiang Shuo with a sidelong glance.

"Why are you glaring at me?" Jiang Shuo asked, looking directly into Jiang Zhiyang's eyes, puzzled.

"Still asking! Still have the energy to ask!" Jiang Zhiyang didn't have the energy to say anything more, but silently added two parts malice and three parts contempt to his eyes.

"Yes, I like Qingjun, but why fight for this? Isn't it all about fate?"

The one surnamed Jiang is quite straightforward!

Look, everyone, look! Let the world see! Jiang Shuo is just asking the obvious. Compete? Who's competing with whom? They clearly met first, but Jiang Zhiyang stubbornly insists, "Compete? I never said I liked Qingjun!"

"You pretentious jerk." Jiang Shuo laughed heartily, reaching out to put both arms around Jiang Zhiyang's shoulders.

At this moment, Jiang Zhiyang didn't care about brotherly affection. However, he was too weak to move and could only dodge Jiang Shuo's embrace like a slippery eel.

"Are you looking for me?" Qingjun muttered to himself, peeking out through the crack in the window.

It turns out that this is a secluded corner behind Jiang Zhiyang and Jiang Shuo's bedroom. Qingjun finally found this place, and it was really not easy for her to study the letter by herself. This small Leshan Hall can't even keep a secret. And since it was a day off, the children all wanted to pester Qingjun to play.

Qingjun didn't know what important matter the two brothers had that made them search for her everywhere. However, suddenly, Xiulian's words popped into her head: "Go around and wander around. He keeps following you, which means he likes you."

Do they all like her? But what's the point of arguing about it? The children of Leshantang like her, Ah Wu and Ah Liu like her, every living being in the world who wants to live forever likes her. Since Jiang Zhiyang and Jiang Shuo both like her, why don't they all like her together?

"Okay, I'm not going to tease you anymore. Drink some sleep-inducing soup and get some rest. It was my fault last night; I overslept and missed our shift change. Go catch up on your sleep now."

Despite the commotion, Jiang Zhiyang still listened to Jiang Shuo and fell asleep quickly after drinking the herbal medicine.

But Jiang Shuo didn't leave. He carefully pulled up Jiang Zhiyang's sleeve. What was he doing? Was he applying medicine to him? Qingjun couldn't see clearly through the narrow crack in the window.

There's no time to delve into it; the most important thing right now is to study this letter. I've been holding it in my hand all morning, and it's gotten a bit crumpled.

She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and solemnly unfolded the yellowed letter.

"On the seventh day of the third month of the forty-sixth year of Daqing, Jiang Yuanchen raped me."

What does this mean? Jiang? From the Jiang family? Putting aside the questions for now, Qingjun calmed down and read on.

"I am Yu Anyi, the eldest daughter of the Yu family in Rongcheng. On that day, Qingming Festival, a poetry gathering was held on Fanxing Street, inviting famous scholars from all directions to compose poems."

I was reluctant to join in the fun, but my cousin invited me several times, saying that the poetry gathering invited famous people from all over the country, and that it would be pointless if I, the most talented woman in Rongcheng, didn't go. I couldn't refuse, so I eventually went to the street with my cousin and a few sisters.

At the poetry gathering, the winner was Jiang Yuanchen, the only son of the Jiang family. His cousin praised his classmate highly, calling him virtuous and talented, gentle and refined, and one of the most outstanding talents in Rongcheng.

The dazzling array of flowers and beautiful phrases captivated me, and I was so engrossed in them that I lost track of my cousin and sister in the sea of ​​people.

Fanxing Street is far from home, and I rarely go out. In my panic, I even got lost. Just then, Jiang Yuanchen appeared. He said he recognized me and could give me a ride home. I declined several times, but he became even more enthusiastic, even taking out his cousin's jade pendant, claiming they were classmates and sworn brothers. He pulled me into his car, and in my anxiety, I actually fell asleep. When I woke up, I was on his bed.

He drugged me. When I realized it, I found myself bound tightly. I panicked and struggled desperately, but he ignored my warnings and approached me naked.

That year, I had just come of age and was inexperienced in matters of the bedroom. I knew nothing about such things. All I knew was that his eyes were like those of a wolf, treating me like a fish on a chopping board, to be slaughtered at will. All I knew was that his palms pressed against my skin, causing waves of chills. All I knew was that his beard pressed against my neck, as if holding a cold knife, cutting off my pulse.

But I am not livestock.

I refused, I struggled, I broke the bed frame, blood flowed from my forehead into my ears, I couldn't hear anymore, I fell into a vortex of excruciating pain.

When I woke up again, my body was covered in marks, and the sheets still smelled of foul-smelling blood—that person's scent.

I was so dirty, I smelled so bad, my nose was filled with the thief's disgusting stench. I didn't know what to do, so I rushed out of the house and poured cold water on myself. My body was soaked, numb from the cold, and aching, but I still couldn't wash away those marks.

I thought that the humiliation would only happen once, but he wanted to ruin my life. My father and mother had promised me that I would never marry or enter a temple to cultivate myself, but he made the marriage proposal procession travel from the east to the west of the city every day, and made the marriage certificate and betrothal gift be displayed on the gate of my Yu family every day.

I agreed, because my Yu family is a scholarly and upright family, and we cannot let a lecher ruin our century-old reputation. So I agreed, still fantasizing, what if? What if he could treat me well and we could live a loving life as husband and wife? What if he could pass the imperial examination and achieve great success? Would I still have the face to go home then? What if... what if...