Started as a mute girl? I prospered in the lean years

After detoxifying the man lying on the ground, before dawn, Shen Huaixu returned to the carriage and took out a jar of glutinous rice wine and two futons. She also called Shuangjiang to join her and left Xiaoman on standby.

She brought Wu Li to a relatively flat stone, placed a cushion on it, and sat cross-legged. Wu Li had difficulty seeing, so he could only grope his way to sit on the cushion.

Shen Huaixu poured a cup of glutinous rice wine for himself and Wu Li respectively. Wu Li couldn't help but curl his lips when he smelled the sweet aroma of the wine, "The county lady is in a very refined mood."

Shen Huaixu was not surprised to hear this familiar name.

The wind in the forest was a little chilly. She took the two cloaks handed to her by Shuangjiang, threw one to Wu Li, put one on herself, and said, "I don't like to put myself in a difficult position. Wouldn't it be nice to have a drink while the night is still bright? Unfortunately, your body is not suitable for drinking."

Wu Li didn't say anything. He just carefully put on the cloak and whispered, "Thank you."

She picked up the cup and took a sip of the rice wine. The familiar taste reminded her of some things from her childhood. She was in a trance for a moment and put the glass down.

She should have gotten straight to the point, but somehow, she suddenly felt like talking to someone.

Feeling a little dizzy, she lowered her head and said, "You must have heard that the eldest princess Wei Nishang was raised in the royal courtyard for more than ten years, and only returned to Xiangyi City two or three years ago."

Shen Huaixu nodded: "I know."

"The first time I saw her, she was dressed in men's clothes and riding a horse. Although she was thin, her face was as bright as the moon. She rode past me on the bridge, but suddenly turned around and called me, saying that I was pretty.

I seldom come into contact with men, and I didn't notice anything wrong with her at the time. I just thought that this playboy had come from nowhere and came to Xiangyi City without knowing the appearance and name of the witch.

I wanted to ignore her, but she chased me all the way, chattering all the way, which was very annoying. She said she was new here and that she had run away from home by disguising herself as a man... Later, we met by chance in the palace, and I learned that she was the eldest princess Wei Nishang.

I treated her respectfully as the eldest princess, but she always loved to stick to me. When I asked her, she just said that we hit it off right away. I have always been cautious and didn't take such words seriously, but she seemed to be unaware that I was not affectionate to her and still came close to me... "

Wu Li looked extremely calm when she said this, as if the other protagonist in the story was not the one who caused her illness. Shen Huaixu only nodded occasionally and responded with a few words from time to time, acting as a qualified listener.

"As a witch, few people would approach me on their own initiative. They say that witches should not be desecrated, but that's not true. They are more afraid of the witches' poison and Gu. Wei Nishang was the first person to treat me as an ordinary person. Perhaps I had been suppressed for too long, and the family also needed me to have more contact with the eldest princess, so my relationship with her gradually became closer.

She was a very strange person and she always said strange things when we were alone.

She asked why women couldn't stand in men's position and look down on the world. She said she wanted to improve the status of women. Her ambition was obvious. I thought it was extremely rebellious, but I also yearned for the Nanxia Kingdom where she said women had less hardships. Later, I discovered the strangeness in her, was ecstatic, and agreed to work for her.

There must be some sisterhood in this, but what really made me make up my mind was that I wanted to struggle out of the quagmire and break through the cage that the Wu family built for the witch, just because... I liked someone. "

She gently exhaled the anger in her heart, her eyes gradually dyed with a terrifying black color, "She sent me to the southwest of Dajin to mine fluorescent stone for her. She knew the danger of that thing from the beginning, so she gave me a black robe and said that as long as I put it on, I would not be affected.

She lied to me. After I came back from that village, my body started to feel strange. At first the symptoms were mild and I didn't take it seriously, but gradually the abnormalities became so severe that I couldn't ignore them.

I didn't know the cause of the illness. Later, after I heard about the miserable conditions of the villagers, I realized that she had approached me in the first place for the identity of a shrine maiden.

It doesn’t matter who the witch is. There will be another one after me. When her power grows stronger, those fence-sitters in the witch family will naturally offer her a witch who is more loyal than me.

But I was too stupid and stepped into a trap full of sharp knives, losing half my life.

I tried to expose her evil ambitions, but she threatened me with the life of her lover. I could only linger on, using all I had learned to prolong my life—I couldn’t kill her, but it was good to annoy her. As long as I didn’t die, they couldn’t push the next young person to the position of the witch.”

A twisted smile appeared on her face covered by the black veil. "You are right. I should thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have witnessed her suffering a fate worse than death. You know it was me who injured her in the explosion of the fluorescent stone. Fortunately, he is still alive, I am still alive, and she is also alive."

The last sentence was a bit confusing, but Shen Huaixu understood it.

There is a world of difference between hearing some things from other people and hearing them spoken by the person involved.

She put down her wine glass and said seriously: "As a woman, as a witch who is the center of attention, you have the awareness of resistance, which is very precious. You are amazing, most people in the world can't do what you do, I admire you very much."

The twisted smile under the black veil disappeared. Wu Li bit the flesh on her cheek, and a faint smell of blood raged on the tip of her tongue. She tried hard to open her eyes wide. She wanted to see Shen Huaixu's face, to see if she was speaking sarcastically and making fun of her, laughing at her stupidity, and laughing at her for overestimating her own abilities.

Too bad she couldn't see anything.

"Resistance will lead to collisions, and in serious cases, there will be casualties, either on your side or on the enemy's side. Unfortunately, your resistance has failed, but it's not your fault. I understand what you are facing and how much courage it takes."

There was another silence, which seemed to be the norm between the two of them. Shen Huaixu didn't mind and just sat with her quietly.

"What you just said is very similar to the Wei Nishang I first knew." Wu Li lowered his eyes and whispered, "I could be used before, but you, you have already told me what you want in advance."

Shen Huaixu blinked his eyes, "Do you think I have other intentions in saying this?"

Wu Li raised her eyes hastily, but felt that it was futile. Her back became more hunched. "No, it's just that it's very strange."

"There's nothing strange about it. I just said what I wanted to say. Just listen to it and don't take it too seriously. Now tell me what you want to know, right?"

***

"Who exactly is Wei Nishang?"

Shen Huaixu thought for a moment and said, "Do you know how to revive a dead body? The person in Wei Nishang's body is no longer the Wei Nishang who was imprisoned in the other courtyard before. It's like there is wine in a cup, and someone pours it out and replaces it with water. As long as no one gets close, no one will know that it is water.

Wei Nishang is the original wine, and the fake one that returned to Xiangyi City is water."

"Is there really such a thing in the world?" Wu Li murmured in a low voice, and then asked, "Then where did those strange things on her come from?"