Her parents and grandmother, however, were unwilling. Behind her back, they secretly went to the Zhao Family.

She didn’t know what was said at the time, only that Mrs. Zhao had been sick with anger, so ill she couldn’t get out of bed.

The engagement was nearly ruined. It was only because Mr. Zhao mediated that she was able to marry into the family successfully.

On her wedding day, Mrs. Zhao had seemed to be in good spirits. But as soon as the friends and relatives left that evening, she took to her bed.

It was time for them to consummate the marriage, but with this happening to Mrs. Zhao, Zhao Jing was in a frantic rush. He sent people to fetch a doctor, which alerted the Zhao clansmen.

Someone remarked, "I’m afraid this bride brings bad luck to the family. Before she even married in, she made Auntie Nine sick with anger. The moment she stepped through the door, Auntie collapsed, and it looks like she’s barely breathing. Marrying this wife is like marrying a nemesis."

Her temper flared, and she immediately got into an argument with them. Naturally, she didn’t win. She spent the entire night crying into her blankets. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Zhao Jing didn’t come back that night. This made her even more furious, and her resentment grew to include all of them.

The next day, Mrs. Zhao’s condition improved slightly, and she urged Wanyue and Zhao Jing to make the customary bridal visit home.

At that time, she was still fuming and said, "My mother-in-law is sick. It’s fine if we don’t go back for the visit."

It was just something she said out of anger, but to her surprise, Zhao Jing took her at her word and really didn’t go. Her mother-in-law tried to persuade him, but seeing that Zhao Jing was dead set on it, she didn’t press the matter further.

This made her even more incensed, but she suppressed her anger, holding it in for the time being.

Two days later, Zhao Jing had to go to Moxiang Pavilion in the county town, and he left Wanyue and Xiang’er to brew his mother’s medicine.

At that moment, Mrs. Zhao spoke up, asking Zhao Jing to take Wanyue to the county town to take her mind off things, suggesting she could buy some snacks or other things. Zhao Jing flatly refused, saying he was going on proper business, so Mrs. Zhao dropped the subject.

Chen Wanyue didn’t believe Mrs. Zhao was doing this for her benefit; she thought Mrs. Zhao was just putting on an act. She was even more furious at being rebuffed by Zhao Jing, and she blamed Mrs. Zhao, accusing her of having ill intentions and deliberately trying to drive a wedge between them.

With anger surging in her heart, she waited for Xiang’er to go to the privy, then grabbed a handful of herbs from a paper packet in the kitchen and threw them into the pot.

Before she and Zhao Jing were married, she had noticed that whenever Xiang’er or Zhao Jing brewed medicine, they would take something from that paper packet to brew along with it. They never took much, just one or two strands. She didn’t know what it was, but driven by a desire for revenge, she grabbed a whole handful and tossed it in.

What she didn’t know was that the paper packet contained second-grade ginseng rootlets, something Mrs. Zhao had used to sustain her life during her period of mourning.

The doctor had prescribed a different medicine for Mrs. Zhao’s current illness, one that strictly forbade the use of ginseng rootlets or slices. This was because Mrs. Zhao’s body was too weak to handle potent tonics, and also because the ginseng would counteract the effects of the current medicine. If taken, the consequences would be unpredictable.

Chen Wanyue knew none of this; she acted solely on her own whims.

The result was predictable.

After drinking the medicine, Mrs. Zhao sprayed an arrow of blood from her mouth. She was already in her final moments before Zhao Jing even returned.

She and Zhao Jing had been married for a mere ten days when he lost his mother.

Once Mrs. Zhao was gone, she and Zhao Jing nearly divorced.

But the Chen family absolutely would not take her back, and she knelt crying before Mr. Zhao, Mrs. Zhao, Second Aunt, and several other elders. She begged them, saying it was an accident, that she had carelessly knocked the contents of the paper packet out and only put them in the pot to avoid waste. She confessed her guilt and said she was willing to atone for her mistake.

In the end, she was allowed to stay, but she and Zhao Jing became a couple full of enmity.

Their life together truly lived up to the words a Zhao clansman had said on their wedding day: "Marrying her is like bringing a nemesis into the home."

’As all these memories replayed in her mind, Chen Wanyue looked at Mrs. Zhao’s fair, rosy complexion and felt a bitter taste in her mouth.’

’When my grandmother came to break off the engagement, she even said Mrs. Zhao had a sallow complexion and that it wasn’t a sign of a long life.’

’But just by switching to marrying my cousin, Mrs. Zhao’s health has improved so much? Could it be that my cousin really brings their family good fortune?’

’Whether that’s true or not, I absolutely will not allow it!’

Chen Wanyue blinked and said to Mrs. Zhao, "I originally didn’t want to say this, but you’ve been good to me in the past, and I would feel too guilty keeping it from you."

Before Mrs. Zhao could speak, Chen Wanyue continued, "I’m not trying to trick you. If I’m making this up, may I be struck by lightning. Auntie, I’ll tell you the truth: my cousin is infertile."

Mrs. Zhao looked at her as if she were an idiot. "Your cousin isn’t even married yet, and you already know she’s infertile? If she were married for several years without children, I might believe you. But right now, I just think you’re talking nonsense."

Chen Wanyue held up two fingers. "I swear it, Auntie, it’s true."

"Swearing an oath is useless for something like this. You need proof."