Chapter Three: The Cursed New Bride

Just as Madam Liu was reveling in her pleasant thoughts, she was startled by the heartrending sobs that suddenly pierced the air. Lifting her head, she saw her second son hanging from a tree branch, and terror seized her so completely that her soul threatened to abandon her body.

“Qingsong, what happened to you? Who could be so vicious as to hang you from this tree? Mother will get you down this instant!”

Seeing her second son’s body turned blue and purple from the cold, Madam Liu dashed forward, so frantic that one of her shoes flew off, all the while shouting back toward the house for her third son.

“Qingbai, you little wretch, get up this instant! Your brother’s in serious trouble!”

Inside the house, Chu Qingbai was making up for lost sleep. Upon hearing Madam Liu’s cries, he merely rolled over, exposing his bare bottom.

What trouble could big brother possibly be in? Wasn’t he in high spirits last night, enjoying himself to the fullest?

Could it be that he was too happy, and now his legs won’t work? How unfair—that would be enough to make anyone jealous!

Madam Liu called for ages, but Chu Qingbai did not appear. Helpless, she huffed and puffed her way up the tree herself.

“Son, Mother is here to save you!”

This heartfelt cry filled the barely conscious Chu Qingsong with emotion; he could see his mother now only an arm’s length away.

And then—

With a thud, Madam Liu, having climbed too hastily, reached out to pull him in but failed to secure her grip on the trunk. As she fell, she desperately clung to her son’s thin trousers, unwilling to let go, determined to bring them down together.

“Heaven is determined to destroy me,” Chu Qingsong thought, suddenly wide awake. The feeling below left him chilled to the bone—the wind was icy on his most sensitive parts, each inch colder than the last.

At that moment, the neighbors began rising to light fires and prepare breakfast. As they stepped out into their yards, they were greeted by the sight of Chu Qingsong, completely naked.

The young women, upon seeing him, shrieked and fled indoors, faces covered in embarrassment.

The matrons, however, lingered, pointing and whispering among themselves, trading glances laced with amusement.

“Tsk, tsk. Madam Liu always boasts that if her second son marries, he’ll have two children a year—what a fantasy!”

“With a build as scrawny as a chopstick, how could he father two in a year? Unless she’s counting on another man.”

These murmurs floated on the wind to Chu Qingsong’s ears, making him so mortified that he wished he could bury his head between his legs.

“What are you all gossiping about here? Have you nothing better to do?” Madam Liu scrambled up from the ground, glaring at the chattering women and snapping at them.

She climbed the tree a second time, and at last managed to untie the vine binding Chu Qingsong.

With a heavy thud, Chu Qingsong hit the ground. He clutched his trousers to shield himself and staggered hurriedly into the house without so much as a backward glance.

Inside, Gu Xiaoyao, now fully awake, listened to the commotion with a hint of disappointment. After a night exposed to the freezing cold, the man was still alive and well; she had hoped for a different outcome.

If Chu Qingsong could have read her thoughts, he might have wet himself from terror.

Madam Liu hurried after her son into the house. Seeing him shivering under the covers, her heart ached. She rushed to the third son’s room to fetch an extra quilt.

“Mother, what are you doing? I’m still sleeping! Are you trying to freeze me to death?” Chu Qingbai, bleary-eyed and covered in goosebumps, instinctively grabbed for the corner of his blanket.

Catching sight of her third son still trying to sleep, Madam Liu gave him a smack on the back of the head, spitting with anger as she scolded him.

“Your second brother’s in trouble and you’re still in bed—are you a pig? Even the pigs in the pen are up before you!”

At this, Chu Qingbai finally woke up for good. He had thought his mother was joking.

“What could have happened to second brother? He was having such a good time last night.”

But even as he said this, he hurriedly dressed himself—not out of any sense of duty, but simply eager to see the spectacle for himself.