If Shen Tang could have internal activities at this moment, she'd probably only be able to express her feelings with standard head-banging screams. Why couldn't they give her a guarantee against crossing over?! Flipping the table (╯‵□′)╯︵┻━┻. Not only did they not give her the memories of the original body, but they also kept letting her encounter people related to the original host every now and then. First, there was Tian Shouyi's misunderstanding of being a "niece-in-law," and now there was Gong Cheng's shocking statement of being a "wife's elder brother." If it were someone else, they might have already been led into a trap by these two.
Shen Tang clenched her fists, her jaw tense, her expression dark enough to drip water. To outsiders, this was her external expression of suppressing the anger boiling inside her, all of which was caused by Gong Yunchi alone. Seeing this, the attendant stepped forward.
He positioned himself between Shen Tang and Gong Yunchi.
Turning his head, he asked, "Brother Yunchi, is this person your wife's elder brother?"
He knew that on Gong Yunchi's wedding day, his entire family suffered a disaster, with everyone being banished, and some sent to the brothels, including the bride who had not yet bowed three times. Hearing about the unfortunate Shen family, who was ordered by Zheng Qiao to be exterminated, hundreds of people from the entire clan were executed.
Gong Yunchi replied, "Should be."
Shen Tang's voice suddenly rose.
"Gong Yunchi, what do you mean by 'should be'?"
She was almost driven to laughter by this big brother. Wasn't it obvious that he should know every member of his future bride's family? Even if it was an arranged marriage, he was too indifferent!
Shen Tang didn't mean to blame him, but her words unintentionally sounded accusatory, completely changing the meaning in Gong Yunchi's ears.
Gong Yunchi thought that every word in Shen Tang's sentence was filled with sarcasm and questioning. She was practically questioning him—[Shen's family suffered a great disaster and was exterminated, while the Gong family was only banished. Now, when faced with this close relative, he only says 'should be.' Does he not recognize this relative?]
So, Gong Yunchi felt ashamed and embarrassed. His body, barely steady, swayed heavily, almost falling over. The young man and the attendant were quick to reach out and support him. The movement exacerbated his wound, and fresh blood soaked through the white cloth.
The attendant urged, "Brother Yunchi, calm down!"
The young man added, "Adding injury to injury won't save your life even if the divine healer of the Medical Academy comes. Whatever it is, it can be discussed slowly."
Shen Tang, without a script or memory, could only rely on her acting skills, guessing and improvising as she went along.
The clever attendant had already escorted the innkeeper out.
With the room cleared, only Shen Tang and the other three remained.
Now, everything could be openly discussed.
She coldly snorted, folding her arms behind her back. "Gong Yunchi, in consideration of your injury, I won't argue about those trivial matters."
With a turn of her mind, her acting skills kicked in.
Gong Yunchi, as the person who currently knew the most about the original host's identity, had firsthand experience of the family's annihilation and possessed more detailed and reliable information than the gossip heard by Qi Shàn. Shen Tang was prepared to deceive him, at least to understand who the original host was and what her identity was. Perhaps she could learn some secrets from Gong Yunchi.
"Thank you, elder brother."
Gong Yunchi heard Shen Tang's words, and his pale face improved slightly. Exhausted, he sat on the cushion, bowed to Shen Tang, and replied, "I'm Gong Yunchi, thanking my wife's elder brother."
Shen Tang didn't buy into his act, maintaining her cold attitude. "Since you called me 'elder brother,' then let me ask you, where is she?"
The "she" in her question was open to interpretation.
Hearing the term "elder brother," Shen Tang's teeth ached.
Gong Yunchi's face, which had just warmed up, turned snow-white once again.
Just as he was about to speak, the attendant on the side interrupted, "Mr. Gu and I saved Brother Yunchi. Under his commission, we also sent people to the brothel immediately to find his sister, but... but we were late, and among that group of women, there was no sign of his sister. They said..."
"That person had already perished on the way to exile," the young man finished the attendant's sentence and added, "More than a month of walking in chains, for an ordinary young man, is already a life-threatening ordeal, let alone a young girl who hasn't even reached adulthood..."
The dangers of exile included not only walking in chains, shortage of food and water, and exposure to wild animals and insects but also the risk of being escorted by prison guards. The survival rate for female prisoners was much lower than for male prisoners. Death along the way was expected.
"In that case, am I just making a fuss for nothing?" Shen Tang took advantage of the shift in emotions, deliberately turning her back to the three of them, so her facial expressions wouldn't give away any flaws. Only her back, with its slightly trembling shoulders and the subtle rise and fall of her butterfly bones with each deep breath, could betray her emotional changes.
Acting really required strong conviction!
The attendant couldn't help but interject, "Shen's family was ordered to be exterminated by Zheng Qiao. What does this have to do with Brother Yunchi?"
It was almost as if he was saying Shen Tang was just making a fuss.
The words Shen Tang had just spoken to Gong Yunchi were like needles, even the young man felt them to be grating, but he remained silent.
Shen Tang retorted coldly, "Are you the one involved in this matter?"
The attendant was speechless.
Gong Yunchi also whispered to stop him, ashamedly explaining, "Even though I have no connection to this matter, it is related to the Gong family..."
Shen Tang closed her eyes, trying hard to empty her mind, forcing herself not to think or analyze. Having someone who could read minds was just so annoying.
The attendant, following Shen Tang's lead, asked, "Is it true?"
Gong Yunchi replied, "Yes, otherwise, would the wedding have been so hasty?"
Under the guise of pregnancy, the Princess Chǔ, mentioned earlier, married into the Imperial Palace of Xīn, and died after five months of pregnancy.
The attendant looked at Gong Yunchi with uncertainty.
"In that case, if the Shen family was just assisting and not the mastermind, why did they suffer the fate of extermination?"
After all, the mastermind was the Gong family, not the Shen family.
Gong Yunchi shook his head. "I'm not quite sure about that."
If it weren't for his father's repeated persuasion, his usually low-key father-in-law, Shěn Gōng, wouldn't have intervened, let alone provoke Zheng Qiao and invite the disaster of extermination. When he learned that Zheng Qiao was leading troops back, his father knew it was bad news and, in collaboration with Shěn Gōng, prepared to have his eldest daughter married into the family. His father wasn't exposed and still appeared as Zheng Qiao's "benefactor" on the surface. If Zheng Qiao sought revenge on the Shěn family, at least he could save a trace of bloodline.
But who would have thought—
Zheng Qiao didn't play by the rules at all.
Princess Chǔ, mentioned earlier, was the small country's princess who married into the Imperial Palace of Xīn and died after five months of pregnancy.
Mr. Chǔ was one of the talents she brought from her country, and he was one of the unfortunate ones affected.
The young man's surname was Gu, draped in chaotic evil neutral.
The attendant, named Wēng Zhī, temporarily kept his identity secret.
Gong Yunchi, nicknamed Yún Chí, was a member of the Gong family who was confiscated and exiled.
The current information about Shen Tang's body was that she was from the Shěn family.