The Farm Girl and the Executioner (Rebirth) 69

Chapter 69: So Spineless

Lin Shuang woke up the next day and went to the city early in the morning.

She rode her horse, galloping along the road, her mind replaying Jiang Huaizhen’s response last night when she had said she wanted to get another bed.

It had to be said that the other’s “alright” had broken her heart.

She had only made the request on a whim, and she had indeed wanted to see how cruel Jiang Huaizhen could be.

And then she had found out that she was really cruel.

She had been sad all night.

Now she was starting to regret it, regretting her impulsive suggestion to get separate beds. When the bed was made, she was afraid that she would have no more hope.

But regret was useless. What was said was like spilled water. Could she go to Jiang Huaizhen and say, let’s not get another bed, let’s just continue to sleep together?

She couldn’t say it.

Since Jiang Huaizhen could agree to this “alright” now, she would not agree to sleep together again.

The autumn wind, mixed with fallen leaves, blew in her face. Lin Shuang only felt that the melancholy in her heart was piling up, layer by layer, like the autumn wind and the fallen leaves.

She sighed all the way to the Everlasting Peace Apothecary.

But as soon as she entered the door, she was pulled to the honey-roasting room. Shopkeeper He had already had someone prepare the tools and medicinal herbs early in the morning, just waiting for her to arrive and start work.

It had only been a year since her rebirth. Before she came back, Lin Shuang had been working in the Qin family’s medicine field. There was nothing in the apothecary that she hadn’t done.

She had practiced again yesterday, and now that she was in the roasting room, she went straight to work.

A few of the young apprentices gathered around her, watching her skillfully roast the medicinal herbs. Their mouths were wide enough to fit a few eggs.

After a flurry of activity, she had no time to think about other things.

On the first day, she was so busy that she missed the time to leave the city, so she simply stayed in the back courtyard of the clinic.

For several days in a row, Jiang Huaizhen watched as Lin Shuang went out early every morning and only came back at night. Sometimes, when it was too late, she wouldn’t come back at all. She hadn’t seen her for two or three days.

She walked around the house with her cane, feeling restless.

Old Madam Jiang was dizzy from her pacing and cursed, “Your wound hasn’t healed yet, and you’re walking around and around. Don’t you want your leg anymore?”

Jiang Huaizhen looked at her and suddenly asked, “Grandma, if Grandpa were still alive, and you had been arguing all your life, would you have grown tired of each other in the end?”

Old Madam Jiang’s eyes narrowed slightly. “What, are you in love? Who have you taken a liking to?”

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen turned and walked away with her cane.

Old Madam Jiang cursed behind her, “What, you’re afraid of choking when you eat, so you’re not going to eat? Are you thinking of starving yourself to death? So spineless. You’ve been telling me every day that you’re not getting married and not having a son-in-law, but you’re just worried that someone will not want you in the future?”

Jiang Huaizhen turned back. “I’m not afraid that others won’t want me. I’m just afraid that I’ll kill others!”

Old Madam Jiang remembered what her son had said about the female prisoner named Dong Hanyan back then and instantly shivered, spitting a few times. “What nonsense are you talking about? I’ve raised you for so many years. Don’t I know what kind of person you are? You’re as soft as tofu. If you could be so cruel, why did you have to work so hard to pull me back from the gates of hell?”

Jiang Huaizhen shook her head. “Grandma, I’m an executioner. My biological mother killed her husband. I have her blood in my veins. I might be like her, a madwoman…”

“I won’t allow you to say that about yourself. I won’t allow you to say that about my granddaughter—” Old Madam Jiang’s tears fell. “My granddaughter is kind-hearted. Even if she was forced to become an executioner, she would not kill people indiscriminately—”

Seeing the old woman cry, Jiang Huaizhen quickly walked over, helped her to a nearby chair, and wiped her tears with her sleeve, blaming herself. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have spoken so recklessly.”

Old Madam Jiang cried and cursed, “Which enemy have you fallen in love with? He’s making you so uneasy, making you love him to the point of wanting to kill?”

Jiang Huaizhen bit her lip and shook her head. “Even if I don’t kill, in the future… we will grow tired of each other. It’s better to keep a distance, so we can keep that feeling of liking, for a long, long time—”

Before she could finish, a sharp pain came from her ear.

The old woman had already recovered. Before she could wipe her tears, she reached out and twisted her ear. “You spineless thing. Your father lived for over forty years, a bachelor all his life. His greatest wish was to find a companion to show him some warmth. But he lived his whole life, until his hair turned white, and he never found such a person.”

“You’re good-looking. The people who want to marry you can line up to the village entrance. Even if you have a son-in-law, there are plenty of people who want to be our Jiang family’s son-in-law. Now that you have someone you like, you’re so timid. If your father knew in the underworld, he would probably jump out of his coffin and beat you to death.”

Jiang Huaizhen quickly covered her ears, and her pretty face also flushed red from the old woman’s scolding.

She stammered, unable to speak.

“Who is that person?”

Jiang Huaizhen shook her head.

Old Madam Jiang raised her hand, wanting to hit her again.

Jiang Huaizhen quickly straightened up and took a few steps back.

Old Madam Jiang said angrily, “I don’t have many years left to live. You have to let me see you get married before I die.”

Jiang Huaizhen’s lips were still tightly pursed.

This time, Old Madam Jiang was really angry and cursed, “What kind of thing have I raised? Shuang’er is more ambitious than you. She just goes and does whatever she thinks of. Even when she was arrested by the yamen, she wasn’t afraid. If you had a fraction of her spirit, I would be at ease even if I died.”

Jiang Huaizhen looked at her cautiously, hesitating to speak.

If she let the old woman know that the person she was infatuated with was Lin Shuang, she didn’t know if the old lady could take it.

She had fainted just from seeing those silver pieces last time…

Old Madam Jiang stared at her. “Ever since your father entered this profession, everyone has said that our Jiang family will have no descendants and will not have a good end. Later, your father died without getting married, which really proved their words. I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. You have to win some face for me, right?”

Jiang Huaizhen frowned.

Old Madam Jiang was not willing to give up and asked, “Does that person like you?”

Jiang Huaizhen nodded.

Seeing her nod, Old Madam Jiang was angry. “That person likes you, and you also like that person. Why are you still acting as if you’re about to die? Is it because you’re not a good match, or what? Or has that person already gotten married?”

Jiang Huaizhen shook her head.

“Then what do you want?”

Seeing that Jiang Huaizhen was not speaking, she was so angry she got up to find a broom and cursed, “Why are you so stubborn? Do you have to anger me to death?”

Seeing this, Jiang Huaizhen quickly stopped her. “Grandma, I’m just afraid…”

With that, her eyes also turned red. “I’m not as good as her in any way. I can’t earn money, and my job is not respectable. I only have my face to look at. She will definitely be very successful in the future—she is already very successful now… I’m still this mess. She will definitely despise me in the future—”

And, they were both women. A relationship between women was a taboo.

As an executioner, she was already despised.

In the past year, when they had been selling sauce flatbreads, they had been doing well, but because of her identity, they had been pushed out and could only sell on the official road. Even when they were building a kang for others, she had been subjected to the same taboo… If, if their matter was known to outsiders in the future, who knows what would be said.

She was already used to being despised.

In her childhood, others would laugh at her when the adults were not around. “I heard that your mother eloped with your father. Which girl from a good family would do such a thing? So shameless.”

Later, her mother had killed her husband, and she had become the daughter of a condemned prisoner.

And then, her identity had changed, and she had become the daughter of an executioner.

Now, she had become an unwelcome executioner.

All along, she had been used to the looks of avoidance and contempt from others. But Lin Shuang couldn’t. She didn’t have the same original sin as her. She was smart, beautiful, and generous. She shouldn’t be with her, and be gossiped about because of a relationship that was not accepted by the world.

How could Old Madam Jiang know these things in her heart? She just couldn’t stand her cowardly appearance and spat, “Spineless.”

Jiang Huaizhen let her scold her and sat down on the threshold, dejected.

Old Madam Jiang couldn’t stand her appearance, but in the end, she was the granddaughter she had raised. She could only say patiently, “Your second life was given to you by your father. Do you listen to your father or not?”

Jiang Huaizhen replied, “I listen, but Father is already gone…”

“He’s gone, but he had only one wish in his life, and that was to find a companion. But he didn’t realize it until he died. Do you think that if you’re also single, he won’t be able to rest in peace?”

Jiang Huaizhen lowered her head.

“That person likes you so much, and you’re not without feelings for that person. If you keep pushing and shoving like this, that person will be so sad.”

These words fell into her ears, and Jiang Huaizhen thought of that night, when Lin Shuang had turned her back and cried silently, and her red-rimmed eyes when she woke up. Her heart was instantly pierced by a sharp file.

Her face also turned pale.

Seeing this, Old Madam Jiang said, “Alright. Go and talk to that person clearly. If you’re going to be together, then be together. If you delay any longer, you’ll be an old maid.”

Jiang Huaizhen lowered her head and looked at the tips of her toes.

It seemed that she had been moved by the old woman.

Or rather, in the end, she could not resist the desire in her heart.

Jiang Huaizhen suddenly raised her hand and covered her eyes. She was not as indifferent as Lin Shuang had seen. In the few nights that Lin Shuang had been away, she had barely slept.

She missed her so much, missed the sound of her footsteps, the scent on her body, her seemingly unintentional touch of her fingertips, the way she would link her arm when they were walking, and the way she would snuggle in her arms when they were sleeping…

“But I rejected that person…”

With that, her throat felt as if it had been stuffed with a ball of cotton soaked in vinegar, both sour and astringent.

She and Lin Shuang were now as if they were in a silent war with each other. They hadn’t seen or spoken to each other for several days. Would she resent her? Would she still like her?

Seeing that she was still a little dejected, but had finally had some thoughts, Old Madam Jiang was slightly relieved and glared at her. “Then you have to try again. Shuang’er has a good head on her shoulders. You can go and ask her for advice—”

At this, she remembered that Lin Shuang had not been at home for several days and asked, “Shuang’er has been in the city for several days and hasn’t come back. Is the clinic that busy? Has she bought a house in the city and doesn’t want us anymore?”

Hearing this, Jiang Huaizhen’s heart instantly sank again.

Old Madam Jiang unknowingly added more salt to the wound. “Ever since you got injured, she’s changed. She doesn’t like to be at home anymore. I don’t know if she has someone she likes outside.”

Jiang Huaizhen stood up, walked out with her cane, and said, “If she doesn’t come back tonight, I’ll go to the city tomorrow to see.”

“Your leg is like this. How can you go to the city?”

“The leg is not injured to the bone. It’s already healed.”

Seeing her go back to her room, Old Madam Jiang sighed, stood up, and was about to go out to find Ping’er.

The older one was spoiled. The older she got, the more spineless she became. Fortunately, there was still a younger one.