Chapter 2
To live, I had to hide my bones.
I lowered my eyes and put my hands behind my back, concealing the scars where the fingers had been severed, and waited for my punishment.
Zheng Qingxu’s temper had improved considerably in recent years. Only a few days ago, he had gone to the prefect’s residence to play chess and discuss the tribute they would offer His Majesty at this year’s gathering at court.
“Xi will turn sixteen in another fortnight, won’t she?” He set down his teacup with a smile.
I swallowed. “I don’t remember,” I said quietly.
“I remember. Very clearly.” Zheng Qingxu narrowed his eyes at the trembling crown of my head, his smile deepening. “You’re growing up. Time you went out into the world. Come closer. Let your father have a good look.”
Obediently, I shuffled toward him on my knees. As soon as I drew near, the heavy stench reached them, and husband and wife both frowned.
My stepmother was the first to recoil. She stepped in front of me in disbelief. “My lord! She’s mad as this, and you still mean to find her a husband?”
Zheng Qingxu’s expression stiffened too. Leaning away awkwardly, he snapped in anger, “Outrageous! How exactly do you run this household? I told you long ago not to mistreat her. A mistress of your standing, and you cannot tolerate one simple-minded little girl!”
As he spoke, the flies circling my head landed near him.
He could keep up the act no longer. Rising in disgust, he waved his hand. “Enough. Clean her up in the next day or two, and have some decent clothes made for her. When we visit the prefect at the end of the month, she must look presentable. She is not to disgrace the Zheng family!”
My stepmother looked resentful and tried to wheedle, but he shot her a warning glare. “This is a serious matter. Indulge your petty temper again and don’t blame me if I resort to household discipline.”
With that, he stroked his mustache and swept away, his pleasure spoiled.
That night I was sleeping soundly against a woodpile when someone seized my ear and yanked me up. Like a dead dog, I was dragged out to a pond beyond the city.
“Hold her under and give her a proper wash!”
Covering her nose, Chuntang ordered several servant boys to strip off my clothes.
Cold water flooded in, making every bone in my body shudder.
The boys whooped and yelled, taking the chance to wrench at my shoulders and arms. The bolder ones seized my legs and pinched me, tormenting me as they pleased.
My eyes opened wide beneath the water.
They were going to find out… They were going to…
Thick clouds covered the moon. Black night soaked the countryside.
For a long time, curses, laughter, and splashing filled the deserted, shallow pond.
The tallest servant tilted his head back smugly, shaking my ankle up and down, when he suddenly realized that the others had fallen silent.
His smile froze. He looked down in panic and saw ripples of blood spreading over the water.
A round head floated among them, its skin and flesh slipping off, its two eye sockets dark and hollow.
Moonlight pierced the clouds. After a series of muffled thuds, the fields fell silent again.
I spread my arms and legs, surrounded by fresh chunks of flesh and organs.
Water washed through me, until only a silver-glinting skeleton remained, rising and falling with the dancing light.
“You shameless, filthy bastards! Mind you don’t drown her!”
Chuntang shouted from a distance.
She had turned and walked away as soon as my clothes were stripped off, unwilling to sully her eyes with such ugly business.
Step by step I walked ashore. My smooth foot bones made soft, faint sounds against the wet mud.
In the eyeballs teetering in their sockets, Chuntang’s graceful back was reflected.