A roaring sound still seemed to echo in her ears as Jin Mingzhu slowly opened her eyes.
The first thing she saw was four pairs of worried eyes. They belonged to people she knew very well, yet something about them seemed wrong. Why did they all look the way they had several years ago?
Mingzhu abruptly sat up.
Standing beside her bed were her family members.
The woman wiping away her tears was her elder sister, Jin Tianjiao. Next was her delicate and pampered stepmother, Xu Yao. Standing on either side of Xu Yao were Mingzhu’s youngest sister, Jin Xiaofeng, and Xu Yao’s son, Xu Yu.
Tianjiao had gently arched brows shaped like willow leaves, clear, sparkling eyes, and delicate, beautiful features. Xu Yao, on the other hand, had sharply arched brows and seductive, foxlike eyes. Despite her age, she retained much of her charm.
Her younger sister, Xiaofeng, was still a tiny little girl. Xu Yu was a year older than Mingzhu, with cool, distant eyes.
At that moment, her stepbrother looked at her with an indifferent expression. “Jin Mingzhu, is a man really worth all this?”
Their relationship had never been good, but that wasn’t the important thing right now. Why did they all look several years younger? Jin Mingzhu stared at them in confusion. “Am I dreaming?”
Xu Yao held Jin Xiaofeng’s hand and raised her eyebrows slightly. “Oh, my dear young lady, what dream are you talking about? You’ve finally woken up! With the state our family is in, we really can’t afford another disaster!”
Jin Tianjiao nodded beside her. “Little Sister, you’re awake! Hurry and get up. I’ve made something delicious.”
Xu Yao rolled her eyes. “Your engagement to the Lu family was arranged while your father was still alive. Now that he’s dead, if they don’t want to honor it, then so be it! That boy Lu Mingshu doesn’t fancy you. He doesn’t love you. Why are you making yourself so miserable over him? Just stop seeing him! You even went out in the rain in this freezing weather. If you fall seriously ill, how am I supposed to answer to your father?”
Hearing those words, Mingzhu became completely alert.
She had actually returned to the past!
This must have been just after Lu Mingshu came to break off their engagement. Heartbroken, she had chased after him, gotten caught in the rain, and fallen ill from the cold.
Yes, that was exactly when it had happened.
In truth, when their engagement was first arranged, Prince Shun’s Residence had still been prosperous, and the Lu family had also been well-off. Later, Prince Shun’s Residence was confiscated by the government, and Mingzhu’s family fell into decline. Even so, she and Lu Mingshu continued seeing each other frequently.
He had been her fiancé since childhood, and Jin Mingzhu had always believed that everything would improve once they were married.
The Lu family had witnessed the decline of Prince Shun’s Residence, and the elders had expressed considerable dissatisfaction with the engagement. Lu Mingshu, however, had seemed unconcerned and continued associating with her. Mingzhu had believed that reflected his feelings toward her. She had never imagined that he would break off their engagement for Jin Shuyao.
In fact, by the time Xu Yao married into the family, Prince Shun’s Residence had already become little more than an empty shell. Mingzhu’s father had spent his entire life obsessed with pleasure and luxury, yet he possessed little actual ability. After the residence was confiscated, he spent his days drinking heavily, and his health gradually deteriorated.
Before that, he had only ever had one woman, Mingzhu’s mother. Together, they had three children, all daughters.
It was said that when her elder sister was born, their father had been overjoyed. Calling her a child favored by heaven, he named her Tianjiao.
Mingzhu was three years younger than her elder sister. Their father had called her his precious pearl, so he named her Mingzhu.
Their youngest sister had been an unexpected child, born ten years later. Her name had been decided before her birth. Their father had said that the child would be an outstanding person, like a dragon or phoenix among ordinary people. If it was a boy, he would use the character for dragon; if it was a girl, he would use the character for phoenix. Their family had once been happy, but unfortunately, their mother’s health was poor, and she passed away less than two years later.
Xu Yao had only one family member of her own: her son, who bore her surname.
She had not come from a respectable background. To survive, she had once sold her body in the back alleys, and it was through that work that she met Mingzhu’s father. Later, when she was brought into Prince Shun’s Residence, people gossiped about her for quite some time.
In the past, Jin Mingzhu had disliked everything about her: her background, her manner of dressing, and even the way she spoke. But now, having returned to her teenage years, she watched Xu Yao holding her younger sister’s hand despite the displeasure on her face and the harshness of her words. To her surprise, she felt somewhat moved. Whatever else could be said about Xu Yao, she had never abandoned the Jin family’s children.
Before Mingzhu’s father died, he had entrusted the children to Xu Yao. It had been nothing more than a few words, but Xu Yao had taken them to heart. No matter how angry or frustrated she became, she had never left.
Xu Yao had sold everything Mingzhu’s father had managed to preserve and exchanged it for money.
At the time, Jin Tianjiao had cried and made a fuss over it. Mingzhu hadn’t understood either. But looking at the people before her now, she could finally appreciate some of the difficulties Xu Yao had faced. The family had no money and hardly any means of earning a living. Supporting an entire household under such circumstances was extremely difficult.
Xu Yao could easily have taken her son and left, but she hadn’t.
Nor had she returned to her former profession. Instead, she had somehow acquired a set of tofu-making equipment and started making tofu in the courtyard. Every day, she sent Xu Yu out to sell it on the streets. They lived in an old house in a narrow alley, with four rooms in total. One of those rooms had even been converted into a tofu-making workshop.
Of the remaining three rooms, Jin Tianjiao and Mingzhu shared one, Xu Yao and Xiaofeng shared another, and Xu Yu occupied the last one by himself.
Jin Mingzhu thought carefully about the timing. This was eight years ago, when she was eighteen.
Ordinarily, Mingzhu couldn’t stand being lectured by Xu Yao, but this time, she didn’t argue.
Xu Yao wasn’t accustomed to such a reaction. Tilting her head, she examined Mingzhu. “What’s gotten into you? Don’t tell me you’re still thinking of doing something foolish! I’m warning you, selling tofu every day is exhausting enough. You’d better take care of yourself and stop dwelling on pointless things. It’s not as though you can’t find another husband! If the Lu family doesn’t want this marriage, that’s their loss. Once I earn more money, I’ll find you a good family to marry into sooner or later… You know your elder sister isn’t quite right in the head, and your younger sister is still little. Nothing can happen to you! If you abandon them, then I won’t look after them either!”
In the past, Mingzhu had only found Xu Yao unbearably nagging. Now, with several more years of experience behind her, she could hear the concern hidden beneath those endless complaints. She even found it rather endearing.
Jin Mingzhu suddenly laughed. “Of course. What could possibly make me do something foolish?”
As she spoke, she threw back the thin quilt and climbed out of bed.
“I’m fine. You don’t need to worry about me. I’m going to the Lu residence.”
It was almost dark. What could she possibly want at the Lu residence now? Still holding Xiaofeng’s hand, Xu Yao immediately stepped forward to stop her. “What are you going to the Lu residence for? Everyone in North City already knows that Lu Mingshu and Jin Shuyao are together and that he’s broken off your engagement. I’m telling you to give up on him! Don’t go looking for him again.”
Mingzhu nodded. There was no longer the slightest trace of hostility toward Xu Yao in her eyes. In fact, her expression was remarkably gentle. “Don’t worry. I’m just going to return everything he gave me. After that, we’ll have nothing more to do with each other.”
Xu Yao blinked. She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something else, then closed it again.
“Oh, forget it. Returning everything is probably for the best. Do whatever you think is right. We’re going to eat now. Come along, come along…”
Xu Yu glanced back at Mingzhu before turning and leaving first.
Xu Yao hurried after him with Xiaofeng, leaving only Jin Tianjiao standing there, her eyes still brimming with tears as she looked at Mingzhu. “Mingzhu, Lu Mingshu doesn’t like you, so you shouldn’t like him anymore.”
Mingzhu nodded, stepped forward, and hugged her elder sister. “I know.”
Her sister had understood such a simple truth from the very beginning, yet Mingzhu herself had taken so many wrong turns before finally realizing it.
As Xu Yao had said, Jin Tianjiao did have certain developmental difficulties. People outside the family called the eldest princess of Prince Shun’s Residence a fool. Mingzhu, however, had never believed that. Her elder sister understood everything; she simply reacted a little more slowly than other people.
Xu Yao was a terrible cook, while Jin Tianjiao learned everything quickly. Ever since the family dismissed their cook, Tianjiao had been responsible for preparing their meals.
Jin Mingzhu hugged her sister once more before releasing her. “You should go and eat too. I’ll be back soon.”
Jin Tianjiao nodded and headed toward the door. “Make sure you come back quickly.”
After seeing her sister out, Mingzhu returned to her bedside, bent down, and pulled a bamboo chest from beneath the bed.
She opened it to reveal an assortment of old belongings. There were books with maple leaves pressed between their pages, dried flowers that had long since withered, rouge and face powder, and a small mirror that had seen plenty of use. She rummaged through the contents. They were all ordinary little trinkets that could be found anywhere.
Every one of them had been a gift from Lu Mingshu. She straightened the contents and closed the chest.
The Lu residence was only two street corners away, so it wasn’t far. Carrying the bamboo chest, Jin Mingzhu left the courtyard and walked straight toward that street. News traveled quickly in those days. Lu Mingshu had only just come to break off their engagement, yet the neighbors were already looking at her with complicated expressions.
Mingzhu ignored their curious gazes and walked directly to the Lu family’s front gate.
At this time, the gatekeeper Lu Xing was still a young boy. When he saw her approaching, he came forward to greet her. “Miss Mingzhu, you’re here!”
Jin Mingzhu nodded. “Please inform Lu Mingshu that I’ve come to return his belongings.”
Lu Xing hurried inside. Before long, Lu Mingshu came out in a rush.
Eight years earlier, Lu Mingshu was still quite young.
He wore a fashionable student uniform and leather shoes. When he saw Mingzhu, his expression shifted slightly before he lowered his eyes.
Perhaps he felt guilty. Perhaps his heart had softened. After so many years by his side, she understood him far too well.
Eight years ago, Jin Mingzhu had chosen to remain devoted to Lu Mingshu, following him wherever he went and waiting for him. This time, however, she chose her family.
Mingzhu placed the bamboo chest in her arms on the stone steps. “These are the things you gave me in the past. I’m returning them to you now. As for me, I’ve also given you shoes, socks, and clothing over the years. Judging by those leather shoes you’re wearing, you probably don’t need them anymore, so you can return them to me. You were right. Two people should only marry if they have feelings for each other. Breaking off our engagement is a good thing. I wish you well. From now on, we have nothing to do with each other.”
Lu Mingshu’s decision to end his engagement with Jin Mingzhu was exactly what the elders of his family had been hoping for.
They had even discussed it privately. If Mingzhu came to their door, they would give her a little money for the sake of their past relationship and send her away. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that Jin Mingzhu would appear at the Lu family’s gate and say something like this.
Lu Mingshu was stunned.
He knew that Jin Mingzhu loved him. He had assumed she had come to beg him to reconsider. Instead, she was so resolute that she even wanted to settle accounts over the small gifts they had exchanged in the past.
For a moment, he didn’t know what to say. “Mingzhu…”
“Forget it. There’s no need to return anything. Just throw it all away.” Jin Mingzhu interrupted him before he could finish. “Lu Mingshu, I came here today because I wanted to tell you something. Wanting to break off our engagement is your decision, and now I’m telling you mine. From today onward, I don’t want you anymore. That’s all.”
With those words, she turned and walked away, leaving Lu Mingshu with nothing but the sight of her resolute retreating figure.
Lu Mingshu moved his hand, instinctively wanting to call her back. Unfortunately, he was a moment too late. She had already gone too far.
Mingzhu walked quickly. She had spent far too long following in Lu Mingshu’s footsteps and carrying the burdens of the Lu family. Now that she had been reborn, none of it had anything to do with her anymore. Night was falling, and a gentle evening breeze stirred the air. Jin Mingzhu headed toward the old alley with light, cheerful steps. In the golden autumn season, leaving the Lu family behind felt like lifting an enormous weight from her shoulders. Her entire body felt wonderfully light.
With the matter that had been weighing on her heart finally settled, she even began to feel a little hungry. When she returned to her family’s small courtyard, Mingzhu was just about to head toward the front room when she heard a woman’s angry voice coming from inside.
It was Xu Yao. “Auntie, you’ve come to arrange a marriage, and that’s supposed to be a good thing. We ought to welcome you with drums and gongs! But even though Prince Shun’s Residence no longer exists, Jin Mingzhu is still the daughter of a prince and his princess consort. She’s a respectable young lady of noble birth! What do you mean by repeatedly saying she’s been cast aside and will have trouble finding a husband? Yes, the Lu family came to break off the engagement, but there are plenty of good men in this world besides that Lu boy! We certainly don’t need to marry her off to some sickly man who hasn’t got long to live just to bring him good fortune!”
Hearing the commotion, Mingzhu hurriedly pushed open the door and entered.
Matchmaker Zhao, who was well known throughout North City, was walking out with a cold expression. The two nearly collided and had to steady themselves before coming to a stop.
When the matchmaker looked up and saw Mingzhu, her face immediately broke into a smile. “Mingzhu! You’re finally back! I’ve come to arrange a marriage for you!”