WBICDPH Chapter 30 Part 2

“But have you ever asked Chu Ji what she wants? When she says she wants freedom, does she mean becoming your wife—or does she mean, as she herself said, doing what she can for the world and for the country?”

Dongsi spoke firmly, each word clear.

“The money I’m offering is to redeem a whole Chu Ji—not your future wife.”

The man frowned, his eyes narrowing slightly, his tone sharpening.

“I’ve already said it—she’s just immature and ignorant of the world. Her words don’t count. Miss Dongsi, there’s no need to play word games with me. What’s the difference between the two things you just said? If Chu Ji’s wish is to become my wife, would you tie her up and force her to chase those fanciful, unattainable dreams?

“Or is it that because you did one good deed today, you think you’ve become some kind of savior—free to interfere in and dictate other people’s lives and futures?”

“I—” Dongsi trembled with anger, unable to utter a single word.

“I understand how you feel. Seeing Chu Ji reminds you of your former self. Forgive my bluntness, but you’re not really trying to help her—you’re trying to help the person you once were, and letting Chu Ji replace you to accomplish what you never could.

“But Third Miss Xu, wake up. You and Chu Ji alike—those things you talk about are childish fantasies. Rather than indulging in illusions, it’s better to keep your feet on the ground. Just like you—once the illustrious Third Miss Xu, and now aren’t you still a prostitute in this little building?”

A trace of contempt appeared on his face.

“Chu Ji has admired you since childhood. I wonder—if she knew that Third Miss Xu is now Miss Dongsi, what would she think? She won’t become another Xu Dongsu. I won’t let her turn into someone like you. And I imagine that’s why you want to redeem her today—because you don’t want to see her end up the way you have.”

“…”

Dongsi’s eyes slowly reddened.

She had thought that after all these years, no form of humiliation could hurt her anymore. But she hadn’t expected that the moment someone uttered the words “Third Miss Xu,” she would still be completely defenseless.

Xu Dongsu was her pride—and her fatal weakness.

She had told herself countless times that Dongsi, who struggled to survive, was just as worthy of pride. Yet others’ words constantly reminded her that she was nothing but base.

Chu Ji had said that only when one despises oneself does true degradation occur.

But Dongsi couldn’t stop herself from thinking that way. She simply couldn’t.

That day, the jewelry she had spent years slowly accumulating was taken away by that man. Dongsi sat alone in her room, staring blankly for the entire night.

The next day, Chu Ji came to bid her farewell and knocked on her door—but Dongsi didn’t dare to open it, nor did she dare to make a sound.

Her feelings were too complicated. She didn’t know how to face Chu Ji. She wanted to ask whether Chu Ji would pursue the things she had spoken of—but felt it was meaningless.

That man was right. Just because she had helped someone, did that give her the right to interfere in another person’s future?

Perhaps Chu Ji’s words had only been said to humor her. To anyone else, those dreams would sound utterly unrealistic. If she truly clung to them, it would only be laughable.

In the end, she had helped where she could. Whether Chu Ji became someone’s wife or someone’s teacher in the future had nothing to do with her, a mere prostitute.

Dongsi sat inside her room. Chu Ji stood outside the door.

Unable to knock it open, Chu Ji sighed softly, speaking almost to herself.

“I’ll write to you. And if you ever leave this place, you must tell me where you go. What I said yesterday wasn’t empty talk. I’ll come find you.”

The shadow outside the door disappeared, and only then did Dongsi’s shoulders finally slump.

After that day, everyone at Mantingchun knew that Chu Ji’s lover had taken Dongsi’s redemption money and led Chu Ji away—and that Chu Ji had accepted it without hesitation.

Dongsi continued living as she always had. Only now, the wooden box that once sealed away her past and her future was gone. With nowhere to store her remaining gold and jewelry, she gave it all away to the girls who were secretly saving to redeem themselves.

She accepted a single truth—

She could never be Xu Dongsu again.

No matter what she was inside, in others’ eyes she would forever bear the mark of a prostitute. Nothing she did would earn respect—only disdain and mockery.

Dongsi was merely the stain on Xu Dongsu’s name.

She would spend her life pleasing others with her beauty. She could never return to being Xu Dongsu.

With nothing left to hope for, Dongsi suddenly grew weary of her days spent drinking, smiling, and playing the confidante of powerful men. Absentmindedly, she snapped a string while playing the zither. Later, she fell while dancing and injured her leg badly, leaving her with a lasting ailment. Her steps grew unsteady, and those who once tried every trick to win her smile now mocked her behind her back, calling her a cripple.

Gradually, she was forgotten in a corner of Mantingchun. After all, the building never lacked pretty girls who knew how to please.

And so Dongsi passed one winter after another in Mantingchun.

The Chu Ji, who had promised to write, never sent a single letter—but Dongsi no longer cared.

Only occasionally would she sit by the window, lost in thought, wondering what Chu Ji was doing now. Was she still striving for the things she had spoken of? Or had she already married, become someone’s wife, someone’s mother?

Would she ever come back?

Would Dongsi ever see that snow-night smile again?

Dongsi had known pride and despair in her life. She had once stood at the heart of splendor, admired by thousands, and she had endured countless snowy nights alone in a room without a brazier.

She had thought her life would simply end like this. If she were lucky, she might one day bargain for her freedom from the madam. If not, she would die in some forgotten corner of Mantingchun.

Until one day, a young servant named Wu Ai rushed to find her. Out of breath, he told her he had heard that Old Marquis Qin wanted to redeem her and take her home as a concubine.

To Dongsi, the news was like a bolt from the blue. It struck without warning, mercilessly shattering the last patch of purity in her heart.

In this life, what she least wanted was to serve men with her body.

She had once struggled for freedom, only to fail. Now she was a cripple, mocked by others, her beauty long faded—yet someone still wanted to trap her in a household in this way.

At first, Dongsi managed to stay calm. She asked Wu Ai where the news came from. He said he had heard Old Marquis Qin say it himself at a tavern. Dongsi told him not to spread the word—at least not to let the madam know.

But before she could finish speaking, exaggerated laughter rang out from outside the door.

“Old Marquis Qin? The Old Marquis Qin of our city? Dongsi, Dongsi—who would’ve thought you still had such good fortune?”