Rebirth: the Journey of a Wife Spoiling Her Husband

[Chapter 2] I Only Have One Husband

Xiao Wan's heart hurt so much it felt like she couldn't breathe, as though there were wild animals tearing away at her flesh. It was summer but her body was cold as though she was suffering from severe blood loss. She couldn't stop shivering nor could she keep the pained sobs from escaping her mouth. She wanted to roar out at them but all that came out were her pitiful cries. Her pain and grief were so sharp she wished she was already dead.

"Come on now. Xiao Wan has to finish her parade through the streets. It's already getting late. She needs to be delivered to the execution grounds soon." Chu Muqing spoke to the officials after she was satisfied saying her piece to Xiao Wan.

At her command they quickly stepped forward and tied Xiao Wan's hands. The rough hemp rope buried into her skin and the angle they forced her arms into made her arms burn and tingle from lack of blood flow. She looked up and having finally found her voice again screamed. "Chu Muqing you treacherous bitch! This old lady here was really blind to take you for a friend. You will definitely suffer retribution for this one day!" Then she turned her eyes to Ji Shumo. "Ji Shumo you think Chu Muqing cares about you? You're just used goods. You'll regret this one day! She'll definitely toss you aside once she's done with you!"

Xiao Wan didn't get to finish everything she wanted to say before a dirty rag was stuffed in her face and she was forcefully pulled away.

That last gaze she shot Ji Shumo was so intense that it shook his confidence. As if seeking solace and reassurance he pulled Chu Muqing's arms closer to him.

The Empress had been incredibly angered by the treason. So much so that she ordered the Xiao House be forced to walk without shoes or shirts through the streets, completely unprotected from the scorching heat of the Sun. She wanted to set an example and warn anyone else with the same ideas.

The purpose of the parade was to make Xiao Wan face the common people and bear their anger and condemnation, and indeed their faces were full of disgust as they looked at her. However with what happened earlier Xiao Wan was completely numb to their glares. Her heart was broken and her mind was in shambles. Xiao Wan walked forward feeling the heavy chains dragging her feet with every step she took. Eventually her path led her to ten guards. They would be her escort for the execution. After walking for an hour her ankles were rubbed raw and blood was oozing out at a constant rate. The soles of her feet had long ago blistered and turned dark from the constant contact with the hot ground.

She wanted to maintain her pride so bit her lip and tried her best to keep from crying out in pain. Despite all the hardship she didn't utter a single word of complaint. This really surprised those escorting her, after all her reputation for being the spoiled eldest daughter of the Xiao House was well known. Everyone thought she was incompetent and just a good for nothing whose parents spoiled her rotten. They had expected her to scream and wail at her treatment, yet she did not. They couldn't help but take a closer look at her because of this.

How could they have known that the pain in her heart was incomparable and had already numbed her to the physical ones assailing her.

She finally finished her walk of shame at around noon. By this time her whole body was unbearably foul. She smelled bad before but now it was an overpowering stench with tentacles that seeped into everything around her.

She could see other members of her family at the execution scaffold. The sight of her bloodied feet and disgraceful appearance caused each and every one of the them to weep, their faces pale losing all coloring.

She looked at everyone there and couldn't find her little sister Xiao Qingru. Xiao Wan had never looked very highly upon her sister because the other was born from a concubine, from a father from the Liu clan. This resulted in the two sisters constantly being at odds with one another.