The entire courtyard fell silent at Mrs. Wen's words!
Everyone's surprised gazes wavered between Li Jinghuai and Mrs. Wen, utterly confused by this statement!
Shen Cuiyu frowned tightly. Although she had previously guessed that the red - clothed ghost was closely related to Wen Zimo, she never thought it would have reached the level of marriage!
"Not the legitimate wife?" Song Yanling was the first to react. Enraged, she rushed in front of Mrs. Wen. "She was brought into the family through proper match - making and betrothal procedures by Wen Zimo! How could you humiliate her like this?!"
Unfortunately, Mrs. Wen couldn't see the ghost. She only felt a sudden chill surround her. She instinctively shrank and nervously looked around.
Li Jinghuai stared in disbelief with wide - open eyes!
Even the most docile clay figurine has its limits. No matter how gentle her nature was, she couldn't bear it any longer. A surge of anger mixed with grievance welled up in her heart, and her voice rose several tones.
"Mother - in - law, I know you don't like me. But on that day, with heaven and earth as witnesses, I was married to Zimo through proper rituals, with the three letters and six etiquettes, and carried into the Wen family through the main gate in an eight - sedan chair! My name was inscribed in the ancestral shrine, and the marriage certificate was officially stamped by the government! How can I not be the legitimate wife?!"
"Properly married?" Mrs. Wen let out a very strange sneer from her throat. Her smile was so distorted that it looked even uglier than crying. Her cloudy eyes were filled with both pity and mockery. "Do you still remember... on the day you entered the family and served tea, besides this half - dead old woman, there was also a... memorial tablet hidden tightly behind a thick screen under the high seats? You're neither properly named nor justifiably positioned. What kind of legitimate wife are you?"
Li Jinghuai instantly froze.
Of course, she remembered that day...
At that time, she was wearing a phoenix crown and gorgeous wedding clothes. Full of joy and shyness, she bowed gracefully towards the blurry memorial tablet behind the screen.
She had finally married the man she loved. If Yanling had been there, she should have been happy for her, too.
Back then, Wen Zimo stood beside Li Jinghuai. He gently held her hand and explained in a low and guilty voice next to her ear.
"Jinghuai, I'm sorry. My father passed away early and didn't get to see our wedding. It's a great regret in my life. Today, I can only set up my father's memorial tablet and let him receive the ceremony behind the screen to show my filial piety and fulfill his last wish... I'm just sorry to have wronged you."
After saying that, Wen Zimo looked deeply into her eyes, as if looking at someone through her.
"Xiaohuai, don't worry. We'll soon be together. I... will never have a second heart."
At that time, upon hearing these words, Li Jinghuai only thought that Wen Zimo was extremely filial and sincere. She was deeply touched and even felt a bit of pity for him. How could she have ever suspected anything?
But at this moment, Mrs. Wen's heart - stabbing words were like the coldest dagger, piercing through the gentle veil in her memory!
The arrangement that seemed so touching at that time now seemed extremely strange when recalled!
If it was really Wen Zimo's deceased father's memorial tablet, why was it hidden so tightly behind the screen? So tightly that not a single word on the tablet could be seen?
When Wen Zimo held her hand tightly back then, was it really out of guilt, or... was he afraid that she would notice something?
On their wedding night, why didn't Wen Zimo touch her?
And on the night of consummation, when he was delirious and called out "Xiaohuai", was it really her?
All the doubts over the years erupted at this moment, like broken beads strung together by a thread. An extremely absurd conjecture, like a snake that had been lurking for a long time, suddenly raised its head and spat out its cold forked tongue, instantly tightening around Li Jinghuai's heart and freezing her blood!
At the wedding with red candles brightly lit and joyous music resounding, the one she knelt and bowed to... was not her early - deceased father - in - law at all!
A loud buzzing filled Li Jinghuai's head, as if the whole world was shattering and collapsing in front of her eyes!
"The red - clothed ghost... is the wife Wen Zimo married through proper rituals?!" Her voice trembled and was almost inaudible.
Mrs. Wen avoided her gaze. A faint but real trace of guilt flashed in her eyes, but it was quickly replaced by a numb resignation. She nodded and calmly told the cruel truth.
"Yes. Her name is An Huai." Mrs. Wen's voice was extremely dry. She showed a very complicated smile. "Come to think of it... she does look a bit like you. Even your names... are homophones but with different characters."
"An Huai... Li Jinghuai..." Li Jinghuai unconsciously repeated these two names. She felt dizzy. If Shen Cuiyu hadn't reached out in time to steady her, she would surely have collapsed to the ground.
She actually... on that carefully - designed wedding, had respectfully served the tea of a concubine in front of the memorial tablet of Wen Zimo's original wife!
The happiness she was so proud of was actually a lie from beginning to end!
"Then the marriage certificate... and the official record... are they all fake?" Li Jinghuai murmured to herself, as if the last glimmer of hope was fading away.
Mrs. Wen said woodenly, "Zimo... wasn't originally from Linyu City. He only moved here a few years ago, and no one knew if he had been married before. With his means, it wasn't difficult to get a fake - looking marriage certificate..."
"Ugh—" Li Jinghuai suddenly bent over. A nauseous feeling surged from her stomach to her throat, but she couldn't vomit anything. There was only endless sourness and bitterness.
All the sweetness, all the happiness, and all the hopes for the future that she had... were actually a stinking swamp! And she had been deeply trapped in it without even realizing it!
The huge emotional impact swept over Li Jinghuai like a violent storm and completely disturbed the ghost fetus in her womb!
A heart - wrenching pain came from her lower abdomen. The pain made Li Jinghuai's vision go black. She could no longer hold on and fell to the ground.
"Jinghuai!" Song Yanling was extremely anxious at this moment but could do nothing...
Shen Cuiyu bent down and hugged Li Jinghuai in her arms. She once again channeled her spiritual power, trying to soothe her and the ghost fetus in her womb.
At this moment, Li Jinghuai couldn't even shed tears. She raised her pale face. Her eyes were empty but filled with bone - deep hatred. She scanned this exquisite but cage - like Wen Mansion and finally fixed her gaze on Mrs. Wen.
"Your Wen family... has deceived me so much..." Her voice was very soft but as cold as ice.
Mrs. Wen felt a chill run down her spine under Li Jinghuai's gaze. This look was very familiar to her. An Huai had also looked at her like this before she died...
"Ah!" Mrs. Wen suddenly let out a scream. It seemed that she had recalled something extremely terrifying. She turned around and was about to run out of the courtyard!
"Pei Yu, stop her!" Shen Cuiyu said.
Pei Yu did a neat somersault and stood in front of Mrs. Wen. He blocked her way with his long fan and coldly questioned, "How did An Huai die, and what exactly did you see that day?!"