To Be A Virtuous Wife

12

"This box should have been given to wang fei a long time before, but it was just that when wang fei was getting married, it was forgotten in the rush," Liang shi gave the box to Mu Jin. Seeing Qu Qing Ju take the sandalwood box from Mu Jin, she continued in a choked up voice: "I've been keeping it these past years, waiting to give it to you one day."

The purple color of the sandalwood looked aged but there was still a faint scent when held in one's hands. A gold lock was formed into the shape of a cloud. The lock had been opened already. Qu Qing Ju only had to lift the lid to see what was inside.

The hand that held the lid paused slightly. In a deep part of her soul, she felt the strong desire of this body towards the box. She could feel the hate and helplessness of a neglected and helpless little girl.

Slowly opening the box, inside there was high-quality cloth laid out and on top of the cloth was a single jade pendant. Fine mutton-fat jade had been carved into the shape of a gourd. The shape of peanuts were carved finely onto the gourd along with the words "Live for a hundred years." Her heart jumped and a length of memory, like a movie scene, floated to the top of her mind. The original Qu Qing Ju had always wanted to get this jade gourd from Liang shi but Liang shi deliberately kept it away. Now she was, of her own initiative, handing it over, and pretending to be a good person in front of so many people. She was most likely scared that Qu Qing Ju was going to act against her in the future.

"Jiejie had somebody prepare this jade gourd very early that year, but jiejie passed away. In the rush, the jade store sent the pendant to me," As Liang shi talked, her eyes reddened, "Jiejie died too young, her only concern was you, wang fei. In the past, I was worried that wang fei was too young and would lose what jiejiehad left you, so I kept it for you. Now that wang fei has grown up, this jade gourd should be given into wang fei's care." She scanned Qu Qing Ju up and down and said ruefully, "Seeing what wang fei looks like now, jiejie in heaven will be happy."

She lifted a hand to take out the jade gourd pendant. The feel of it was warm and smooth. Because it was carved to be small, there wasn't much weight to it. It was possible to see that Tian shi had wanted to, at Qu Qing Ju's hundred-day celebration, put the gourd on her body.

The nobility had the fashion of giving children a hundred-day celebration. When the child reached a hundred days, the elders would personally put on the child charms for a long life. Most of the charms would have magic clouds and peanuts and other objects of good fortune along with the words "To live until a hundred years." This was to symbolize locking down a person's life and that the gods would protect the child to live a hundred years.

Pity the love of mothers in this world, Tian shi died so young. The rumors outside said that she became ill due to anger, but a woman that, at the very end, still ordered for her child a jade gourd, would she be so weak as to die due to anger? Mothers grow strong in protection of their children. Tian shi wasn't the type to fall into sadness, would she not care for her newborn daughter and get so angry as to die?

"Very early in life, I heard Gao mamasay, not long after my birth, mother had ordered a jade gourd pendant for my hundred-day gift. But sadly, ten years ago mother made Gao mamaretire and I never even once saw the jade gourd that mama mentioned. I didn't think that mother had been keeping it for me all this time." The hand that held the gourd tightened. Qu Qing Ju, in front of the females present put the jade gourd on her neck, her eyes reddening, "As a daughter, I troubled my mother to be pregnant for ten months. Even into death, my mother was concerned for me. The fact that I could not reciprocate, it is a failure of my filial piety." In the previous life, her parents had died early in a car crash but until the last moment, they had been thinking about her. Seeing this jade gourd pendant, she felt her heart twist and felt that the people of this Chang De Gong Fu was extremely disgusting, to the point of throwing up if she had to look at them.