Chapter 003 Bathing

Taiwei glanced at her expressionlessly.

Bizhu, however, stood there with a disdainful look in her eyes, urging, "Miss, don't just stand there. The water will be cold soon."

"Put down the things and go out," Taiwei stood up and walked towards the washroom, instructing, "You don't need to wait on me."

Bizhu hesitated for a moment, then couldn't hide her relaxed and pleased expression, and replied in a pleasant tone, "Yes," and quickly left after arranging the things.

In the washroom, only Taiwei was left in an instant.

It was so quiet that she could hear a pin drop, and because of the silence, the sound of her heartbeat seemed particularly loud.

Thump, thump, thump.

One beat after another.

It was a sign of her being alive.

Taiwei frowned and placed her palm on her chest. Through the thin undergarment, the movement of her heart became even clearer.

She took off her clothes cleanly.

Her slender waist and the youthful curves were all telling her that this was a body that had not yet fully matured.

It was a stranger that confused her.

But within this unfamiliarity, there was also a sense of familiarity.

This was her body.

It was not wrong.

...It was just a bit too young.

She held her breath and immersed herself in the water.

The water was not very hot, but there was still a hint of warmth. The faint warmth was enough to make her yearn and indulge. She greedily submerged deeper into the water, the deeper she went, the warmer it became. Born in water, she soaked in it, feeling safe as if in her mother's womb.

But the wounds on her back, when touched by the water, stung a hundred times more. Almost instinctively, she curled up in the water, bending her legs and hugging her knees tightly.

She didn't understand.

She was supposed to be dead, so why did she have a heartbeat and breath again?

She also didn't understand.

She had already grown into an adult, so why did she revert to a youthful appearance?

Why was it a snowy day in the deep winter when she closed her eyes, and when she opened them, it was a late spring evening?

She held her breath, closed her eyes, and her lungs gradually burned due to the lack of air.

Finally, with a splash, she surfaced and began to gasp for air.

When her breathing returned to normal, she called Bizhu to come in.

As she wiped the water from her face, she saw a flash of impatience on Bizhu's face as she entered, but she pretended not to notice and asked, "Is it the fourth year of Jianyang now?"

Bizhu clearly didn't expect her to ask this, and after a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Miss, what are you asking? If it's not the fourth year of Jianyang, then what year could it be?"

Taiwei's mind was in turmoil, and after hearing the answer, she asked, "What date is it today?"

"Why are you asking this?" Bizhu asked in confusion before saying, "Today is the twenty-fifth of the third month."

Taiwei's throat went dry, and for a moment, she couldn't speak.

The fourth year of Jianyang, the twenty-fifth of the third month.

That was eight years ago.

She remembered what happened on that day eight years ago.

Because on that day, she had offended Fourth Sister, who had been cursed for generations.

She remembered clearly that early that morning, the matron from the sewing room had brought fabric to measure her for summer clothes. She had chosen the fabric, but then someone came to tell her that Fourth Sister had taken the fabric.

According to the rules, the fabric was chosen in order of seniority.

The ones she chose were the ones left by Fourth Sister.

But she had chosen, and Fourth Sister chose again.

It was clearly a deliberate provocation, and no one would be happy about it, but she was too lazy to argue with Fourth Sister. Besides, even if she did, it would be useless. After all, it was Fourth Sister's turn after she had chosen, and she could just say that she hadn't made up her mind last time, and who could really argue with her?

So Taiwei thought that if she didn't have the fabric, she would just choose another one. It wouldn't be a big deal if she didn't have enough fabric to wear.

Who would have thought that they would meet in the garden in the afternoon, and she and Fourth Sister would run into each other.

Fourth Sister brought up the matter of the fabric, and seeing her indifferent expression, her face suddenly changed, and she fell into the small lotus pond.

She stood by, reaching out to grab her in surprise, but she didn't catch her.

After the maids and matrons fished her out, Fourth Sister cried and accused Taiwei of pushing her.

Upon investigation, several maids and matrons testified that they had witnessed Fifth Miss pushing Fourth Miss into the water.

They said that although they were not by the pond, they were all in the garden at the time and all saw it.

Further investigation into the fabric incident provided a motive.

So Taiwei was unable to defend herself, and no one believed her no matter what she said.

She and Fourth Sister had never gotten along since childhood, and when they were five or six years old, she dared to push people down in the corridor. Now that she was grown up, it didn't seem strange for her to push someone into the pond.

From the lady of the house, Mrs. Qi, to the kitchen's vegetable-washing maids, everyone believed without a doubt that Taiwei had harbored murderous intentions towards Fourth Sister because she had taken the fabric she liked.

But how could she admit to something she hadn't done?

She refused, adamantly.

As a result, her grandmother was furious and used family discipline on her.

But even after receiving fifteen strokes, she still refused to admit her mistake. Her grandmother then punished her to kneel in the ancestral hall, without food or drink, for a whole night for each day she knelt.

Before dawn, she fell ill.

But even if she was sick, she couldn't stop kneeling until she admitted her mistake.

Her grandmother was determined to discipline her, saying that this time she had to smooth out her rough edges.

She knelt for a whole morning, and her legs were as numb as wood, with no feeling at all.

It was said that it was her father who finally spoke up, and her grandmother finally relented.

Fortunately, she was lucky. Her legs were not injured, and her mind was not confused. So afterwards, she even felt proud of herself for enduring it. But now, if you ask her, she would say that she was incredibly foolish at that time, as foolish as a pig.

Even though she didn't do it, everyone assumed she did. So what difference does it make whether she admits it or not? Refusing to admit it would only bring more trouble to herself.

You see, being flexible is the way to survive.

Certainly, integrity is important, but at that moment, integrity is the least important thing.

Blindly refusing to adapt will only lead to drowning in the name of "dignity."

But she couldn't understand such reasoning at her age.

Taiwei raised her hand from the water, delicate and fair fingers with light pink round nails. These were the hands of a young girl who had not truly suffered but thought she had experienced all the hardships in the world.

She couldn't help but laugh out loud.

When she was in her teens, many things seemed significant, but when she reached her twenties and experienced life and death, looking back, those things didn't seem significant anymore.

Admitting a mistake to avoid a beating, what could be easier than that?

So, when she realized something was wrong, without hesitation, she bowed and admitted her mistake.

As expected, her grandmother was extremely satisfied.

She didn't have to kneel in the ancestral hall.

Thinking of this, Taiwei turned her body to reveal her back, covered with overlapping bruises, to Bizhu, and casually asked, "How many scars are there?"

Bizhu, after taking a closer look, couldn't help but shudder and whispered, "There are five."

"Five?" Taiwei turned away from her, sighed deeply.