Chapter 181

Chapter 181: You Got What You Wanted

He began to resent it and thought: [Why do I have to be this tired every day?]

He turned and saw that two of his brothers did work even heavier than his. In the busy season they worked in the fields, and in the slow season they went to town to look for day labor. He had tried those jobs too. Sometimes it was building houses for rich people in town. Sometimes it was heaving loads at the docks. On the farm they could choose cooler hours, but when working for others they had no freedom. No matter how hot it was, as long as the employer or steward did not say rest, they could not rest.

He worked two days under the blazing sun and fainted from heatstroke. After that, his family did not dare send him out for such work again. But that meant he earned no money, and his position in the family fell straight down. Though his family said nothing, he could feel their disappointment.

Later, several of his brothers got married, but his marriage talks kept falling through. The reason was simple: he had not saved enough bride price. Yes, his brothers’ bride prices were all saved by themselves. Their parents would add some, but only five taels of silver for each child. The rest they had to save on their own.

Though his big brother had spent most of the family’s savings in the early years when he studied and did not earn money, later he passed the licentiate exam and then the provincial graduate exam. He did not place in the top three, but he still became a degree-holding scholar. When he, a provincial graduate, returned to the county seat, he married the daughter of a wealthy merchant. He also secured the post of assistant magistrate, earning five taels of silver each month.

Big brother had made something of himself. Without needing any support from his father-in-law, he sent two taels of silver home every month as living expenses. With that money, Old Li clan lived more decently. Big brother and his wife were filial too. Every ten days or half a month they came back to visit the parents, and each time they brought good things. The villagers praised them and envied them.

As for Li Qing Miao, who had no talent and could not do heavy work, he finally scraped together enough for a betrothal gift and married a wife. But she was not Cui Hua. Cui Hua looked down on a man with no learning or degree. His wife was a shrew. She liked gentle scholars like big brother. She looked down on Li Qing Miao, her husband who could not compare to his own brother in any way. She married him only out of respect for big brother.

Li Qing Miao kept one part of his mind awake. He knew he had once been the most gifted young man in the Great Sheng Empire. He knew that even in old age, his talent could draw the eyes of many young ladies. He tried to recite poems the way he remembered, to prove he was not worse than big brother, but the lines that used to flow from his mouth would not come to him now.

He got his wish and lost everyone’s attention. Even his wife ignored him. All eyes were on big brother. This was his wish, but he was not happy. He missed being the one everyone admired, missed their hopes and their expectations. Most of all, he missed days when he did not have to work.

Whenever he complained that life was too hard, people around him said: “Who does not live like this?” They said he was being dramatic, because his life was already better than most people’s in this time. At least he had never gone hungry. At home, maybe they did not have meat at every meal, but they had fragrant white-flour flatbreads, steamed buns, and rice. Other households ate dark coarse grains or bran with wild-vegetable soup.

Li Qing Miao wanted to say he did not need to live like this at all. What big brother had should have been his. But no one would believe him. Even his parents looked at him like he was a fool, their eyes full of disappointment. His mother looked at him for a long time and said: “Everyone must pay the price for their own choices.”

So Li Qing Miao grew old in mediocrity. His sons and daughters were filial, but the family foundation was thin. When he fell seriously ill, they could not gather enough money for treatment. He felt his body grow weaker day by day, and at last he died in pain.

Right before he closed his eyes, a strong thought filled his heart: [If, back in the school, the teacher had judged me the talented one, would everything have been different?] But there is no if.

Suddenly, as his mind sank into darkness, he saw light again. He opened his eyes and saw Yu Zhi Yi’s smiling gaze, and his relatives all around, the ones he had stabbed and messed up in the real world.

Li Qing Miao gulped fresh air and felt so lucky that all of that had only been a dream. But before he could fully relax, he heard Yu Zhi Yi say: “You have fifteen human lives on your hands. You will go through the animal realm for fifteen lifetimes, then be reborn into an ordinary farming family. Do you not hate the expectant gazes of others? Heaven will meet your wish. In your next life, you will have the talent of an ordinary person and live a life of mediocrity.”

She smiled brightly and said: “Congratulations, you got what you wanted.”

Li Qing Miao stared in terror and shouted: “No! I do not want to be ordinary! I do not want to be mediocre!”

The man who had just been so arrogant now dropped to his knees at once. He cried: “Lord! No, immortal lady! Please, do not be so cruel to me! I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!”

When the resentful spirits of the Li clan saw Li Qing Miao like this, they let go all at once. Their resentment scattered, and they looked as they had when they were alive. Though they had lived in the countryside, they had been decent people. Their clothes were clean and tidy, and their hair was combed smooth. Now their faces were calm. Together they bowed to Yu Zhi Yi and said: “Thank you, Daoist Master.”

Yu Zhi Yi softly recited the Rebirth Mantra and said: “Go on to reincarnation.”

A deep, ancient door appeared out of thin air, and a killing cold flowed from it. Thankfully, the seven members of the Li clan vanished through the door quickly, and it shut at once.

Li Qing Miao was taken away. Even without the Wei couple’s poisoning case, he would have been doomed. But Yu Zhi Yi never leaves any evil deed unpunished, especially murder.

Soon, people found the proof not only of the Wei couple’s poisoning, but also that Madam Zhang’s parents had been killed by Li Qing Miao’s scheme, and that Madam Zhang’s legs had been broken on purpose. All the evidence was gathered.

Seven days later, because the evidence was solid, the crimes were monstrous, and the influence was bad, Li Qing Miao was taken to the execution ground at the vegetable market and beheaded. This time, there was no chance to escape. Yu Zhi Yi had put an immobilization spell on him. Except during eating, drinking, and using the latrine, he could not move at all. Even then, each time he was allowed to move for less than a quarter of an hour. With so little time, even if he tried to flee, he could not get far.

Yu Zhi Yi did not stay to watch the execution. After she organized all the evidence, she took it and returned to the capital. By then, only one day had passed since she had left the Capital City, and only three days since she had returned from Cao South Village.

As soon as she reached her residence, she learned that Du Zi Heng had returned to the capital, but he had not come home nor reported to the Ministry of Personnel. Yu Zhi Yi was not surprised. She smiled with a knowing look and said: “It is only human.” She thought: [It is time to cut things clean.]