A white Land Rover Range Rover of Hunan brand was speeding along the Jintang Expressway.
Inside, a van was racing from Tangshan, Hebei, towards Hengyang, Hunan. Tangshan is home to an old prison, a medium-security facility dating back to 1950, shortly after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Zuo Jing, who had stabbed Hao Laogou three times, was privately pardoned and sentenced to only one year in prison—thanks to the arrangements of his father-in-law, Bai Xingjian. Tangshan, Hebei, is conveniently close to Beijing, allowing the Bai family to ensure Zuo Jing's safety and facilitate frequent visits, offering him constant care and concern.
Years ago, Bai Xingjian and Tong Jiahui had keenly noticed numerous suspicious details and immediately arranged for trusted personnel to conduct an in-depth investigation of everyone in Haojiagou, including Bai Xingjian's own daughter, Bai Ying. Not long after, a secret investigation report landed on Bai Xingjian's desk.
It was the Qingming Festival, and the rain poured heavily, leaving pedestrians on the road heartbroken.
At that moment, the Land Rover was driven by Xu Lin, Li Xuanshi's best friend of decades. Beside her sat Cen Jingqing, a beautiful, intelligent, and somewhat bookish woman. The three women knew each other intimately, their bond as close as sisters. Li Xuanshi's alluring beauty was like the rippling waters of a peach blossom pond in March—shimmering and turbulent. Xu Lin's graceful demeanor radiated like a ripe peach, mouth-watering, while Cen Jingqing, with her elegant figure, resembled a classical lady. All three were from Hengshan, each more beautiful than a flower, their beauty dazzling. While studying at Hengyang Normal University, they were known as the Three Beauties of Hengshan, attracting countless admirers. But Cen Jingqing's beauty was short-lived; like a flower, she had long since faded, leaving behind only memories of her voice and smile, gradually vanishing like spring breeze and rolling clouds. Who would recall the beauty of the past, the lost colors?
Xu Lin, her hands on the steering wheel, glanced thoughtfully at her best friend in the backseat through the rearview mirror. Li Xuanshi slumped dejectedly against the soft, comfortable leather seat, her brows etched with gloom, her delicate face pale. Hengyang is over 1,700 kilometers from Tangshan, a roughly 20-hour drive. She and Xu Lin had left two days earlier on this long journey to pick up Zuo Jing from prison.
Li Xuanshi thought to herself: Even though I was worried coming here, after all, the mother-son bond of over 20 years is unbreakable. With the maintenance of blood ties and the interweaving of family affection, even if Zuo Jing is a wandering son, he will always return to his mother's arms in the end.
The year her son spent in prison felt like an eternity to Li Xuanshi. She deeply regretted appearing in court that day, having been unwilling to do so. Hao Jianghua's excuse—that he wasn't fully recovered—was clearly a pretext to keep her from standing in his way. Even if the Bai family's wrath were to rage in the future, it would be Li Xuanshi who would bear the brunt, reduced to ash. Yet, she braved this storm head-on, determined not to create further complications. Good times are coming!
Li Xuanshi had been teaching for twenty years and knew her eldest son, Zuo Jing, intimately. He was her pride, the embodiment of perfection. Having lived together for so many years, their bond was thicker than blood, a connection that could never be undone. Life flies by in the blink of an eye, and twenty years had passed like a song. Her ex-husband, Zuo Yuxuan, had deeply loved her and cared for her meticulously. Their love, shared by countless others, was the envy of many. And then there was Jingjing, her son, who resembled her in every way: handsome, intelligent, a true dragon. For her, all the beauty in the world was intertwined with him.
A sigh gave rise to compassion in the heart, but a chill ran down her spine. Ever since Zuo Jing got engaged to his daughter-in-law, Bai Ying, everything in his life seemed to have shattered. With the appearance of Hao Jianghua, did fate seem to be playing a cruel joke on him?
Until Zuo Jing committed the crime and was imprisoned, nightmares plagued her almost every night. How many tears had she shed? But things had come to this point, and the Hao family was her fate after all. She was the daughter-in-law of the Hao family, married in a formal ceremony, with three crying children to feed. A lot of money, hard work, and beautiful years were all left in Haojiagou. Is it really impossible to let go? Of course not, but how could such a tangled life give her the chance? Is Hao Jianghua willing to let go? The children? Relationships bound by economic interests? When you are in the underworld, sometimes you truly have no choice. Especially for a woman in her forties or fifties, is it really easy to make a choice? The key is, does she even have the opportunity to choose again?
"Xuanshi! Xuanshi!" Xu Lin's voice, usually elegant and composed—a testament to her job as a bank vice president—now carried a hint of annoyance and anxiety. "Oh! I've been calling you for ages! Xuanshi! Are you okay? You look so strange!"
Xu Lin sounded like she was complaining, but her tone revealed genuine concern for Li Xuanshi. Right and wrong, love and hate—only the heart knows the truth.
"Oh? What's wrong, Sister Lin?" Li Xuanshi was brought back to reality by Xu Lin, her chaotic thoughts interrupted. Xu Lin was actually the same age as Li Xuanshi, her birthday just a month and a half earlier. Li Xuanshi, however, was very diplomatic and always addressed her as "Sister" as a sign of respect. Due to her position, Xu Lin did provide Li Xuanshi with much assistance, such as loans for the Haojiashan Golden Tea Oil Company and the Hot Spring Villa. She even occasionally helped with her sexual affairs with Hao Jianghua when Li Xuanshi was struggling. Such a deep bond between best friends was untold.
Xu Lin sighed softly, her gaze fixed calmly on the asphalt outside the windshield. She was a proud and refined woman, her clothing and makeup reflecting the style of a fashionable, urban beauty. She wore Lancôme perfume, favored brown sunglasses, and almost always wore a hat to shield herself from UV rays. Women dress to please themselves, but for whom did she blossom with her beauty?
As the car moved, Xu Lin slowed down, one hand on the steering wheel, the other pulling a pack of slim, green, hard-shelled women's cigarettes from her purse. They were St. George, a foreign brand with a mint flavor. She had been smoking this brand for years, perhaps previously for social reasons, but lately, she had been smoking heavily, feeling restless. Perhaps the nicotine was a potent solace.
Fireworks flickered, filling the car with the delicate scent of mint. Li Xuanshi disliked the smell of cigarettes, and Hao Jianghua didn't dare smoke in her presence. Once, after a passionate intercourse, Hao Jianghua had a cigarette and was immediately sent to the guest room to sleep. Especially in her private car, people like Hao Hu would never dare to intrude. Only Xu Lin always had her own way, and Li Xuanshi let her do as she pleased.
Li Xuanshi rolled down the window slightly to dispel the smell of cigarette smoke. The quiet atmosphere was filled with an eerie silence, as if an invisible barrier had suddenly appeared between the best friends, who usually shared everything. Each was lost in their own thoughts, feeling awkward and depressed.
Finally, Li Xuanshi broke the silence: "Sister Lin! I may lose my son Jingjing!" She spoke with loneliness and without much self-blame.
"Xuanshi! Seriously, have you ever regretted it? You know what I mean. The regret I'm talking about is about Bai Ying!" Xu Lin turned her head and looked at Li Xuanshi meaningfully, then turned back to continue driving.
"Sister Lin! Are you still unaware of Bai Ying's situation? Initially, I was indeed unaware that Old Hao raped her. Under the circumstances at the time, if I hadn't begged her on my knees to keep quiet, would anyone in the Hao family be able to survive? If the truth were revealed and Jingjing found out that his wife had slept with her stepfather, how heartbroken and embarrassed would he be? No matter how tolerant and forgiving you are, as a man, you should understand, Sister Lin. When something like this happens, there will definitely be a gap between husband and wife. And Bai Ying's identity and personality will definitely make her blame her husband. If this goes on for a long time, the relationship between the two will never be the same. Besides, how can the Bai family's political image allow such a scandal?"
She sighed deeply and turned her face to the car window. The vehicle was traveling on the highway, and the green belt outside quickly flew behind them.
Then, Li Xuanshi said quietly, "That bastard Hao Jianghua is incredibly scheming. I was fooled for a long time by his honest and kind appearance. If a mouse jumps into a rice jar, will it think about suffocating in the rice or dying from overeating?"
Her change in addressing Hao Jianghua revealed that, at least for the moment, she was filled with resentment. She then went on to say, "That bastard wants to fuck Bai Ying into submission, making her his devoted mistress. He can then use his power to bully me and, by doing so, strengthen his position in the Hao family. With control over the money, he'll naturally have even more control over everything. He can have as many women as he wants, fuck whomever he pleases, and no one can stop him!" However, she hadn't fully revealed her feelings to her best friend. Was Hao Jianghua's sinisterness and greed more than just the ulterior motives she had suggested? With hearts separated, how could anyone trust anyone so easily?
Hao Jianghua's shamelessness was fully demonstrated in his subsequent actions. Li Xuanshi was practically led by him. He covered up his mistakes one by one, his hurt for Zuo Jing escalating from guilt to gradual numbness. However, Bai Ying's downfall was something Xu Lin, Li Xuanshi, and the other women in the Hao family hadn't anticipated. From forced rape to half-hearted submission, to active participation and indulgence, it took only two or three months. It was as if it had all happened naturally! Privately, everyone regarded her as a slutty, self-deprecating slut, and they held her in deep contempt.
Li Xuanshi was deeply displeased with Bai Ying's debauchery. After all, she was her daughter-in-law. A few affairs, even the pleasures of a public display of affection, were fine. As Zuo Jing's first wife, she owed her husband a timely return. However, Bai Ying's behavior left her deeply disappointed. While Li Xuanshi was partly to blame for Bai Ying's downfall, it was ultimately Bai Ying's own depravity. As time went on, she increasingly felt that Bai Ying was not the right match for her son, Zuo Jing. At this point, further persuasion was futile and might even incur resentment. She simply let her go! As long as the Bai family didn't know, it didn't matter. Li Xuanshi was also aware of her son Zuo Jing's deep affection for Bai Ying, but she could only keep it a secret for a while before making further plans. However, events didn't unfold as she had imagined. Unable to detect the signs, the fire, once started, spread like wildfire. She was overcome with panic, and the reality of the situation was beyond her control. The situation is hopeless. Is it still possible to remedy the situation?
She wondered how much of the truth the Bai family knew. Bai Ying would certainly not reveal her scandal to her family. Li Xuanshi didn't dare approach the Bai family directly, so the last hope of resolving the crisis fell on her son, Zuo Jing.
She admitted she wasn't a good mother. At least after marrying into the Hao family, mother and son separated, each with their own family. The affection they once held would naturally fade with time. She had to pour even more of her energy into the Hao family, managing their business, supporting her husband, and, of course, fulfilling her wifely duties, bearing children for Hao Jianghua and raising a family. But she never, in her heart or in her emotions, wanted to hurt Zuo Jing. Even a tiger wouldn't eat its own cubs, and compared to how her son treated her, her actions towards him were enough to make her feel utterly ashamed and humiliated.
In panic and helplessness, she had to find her best friend of many years to discuss how to resolve this difficult matter. This is how she came up with this long-distance prison rescue operation!
But she had never expected that Zuo Jing would become a completely different person after leaving the prison, leaving her completely unpredictable. Thinking of Zuo Jing's cold expression sent a chill down her spine. Zuo Jing's parting words and that strange, mysterious woman had left her feeling completely bewildered. She felt as if the sky was falling!
She had expected her mother-in-law, Tong Jiahui, to come and pick her up from prison, but unexpectedly, she didn't show up. The more unusual the stillness and movement, the more terrifying it became!
How had things come to this? And that little bitch Bai Ying had gotten herself into trouble, running away and hiding! And now her mother-in-law had to work tirelessly and shamelessly to clean up her mess! What sins had she committed in her past life? For twenty years, she had been safely protected by her ex-husband, Zuo Yuxuan, enjoying a smooth, peaceful, and happy life. Then, in her second marriage to Hao Jianghua, things had been okay for the first two or three years. While the uncouth, ugly, and yellow-toothed Hao Jianghua was a far cry from her tall and handsome ex-husband, he was at least obedient and behaved accordingly. Especially when it came to sexual intercourse, Hao Jianghua was truly gifted, his enormous cock unmatched. He fucked her every night, every morning, almost every day. It truly gave her a taste of the ultimate female pleasure. She truly believed in the book's description of orgasms and ecstasy!
These secret pleasures of the boudoir, hidden from the public eye, were something her ex-husband, Zuo Yuxuan, could never grant her. A woman in her early forties, as ravenous as a wolf, inevitably craves pleasure and desires. Food, sex, and love are part of human nature, and there's nothing wrong with it. However, Hao Jianghua one day discovered two secret recipes from a wandering monk. One, a Dragon Essence and Tiger Fierce Tonic Soup, was incredibly potent and possessed the magical properties of preventing premature ejaculation. He had always possessed a preternatural libido and excessive strength. After taking the decoction, he truly transcended the mundane, his sexual prowess reaching a terrifying level. Every time they engaged, he drove her to ecstasy, unable to stop.
He could last two or three hours without ejaculating, and his intensity grew with each thrust. Initially blissful, Li Xuanshi gradually lost her strength. Though her lotus-shaped vagina, with its endless, flowing stream of water, was indescribably marvelous, it could only retreat against Hao Jianghua's arm-thick, arm-length, and terrifyingly long cock. Only with the combined force of her mouth and the trembling, round, plump, white breasts upon her chest could she finally hold back and call it a day!
Three months after Hao Xuan's pregnancy, the couple should not have sex. Hao Jianghua, with her strong libido, used to have sex every day, but after abstaining for a while, she began to scratch her head and feel uncomfortable all over. At that time, her best friend, Cen Jingqing, happened to be visiting Li Xuanshi in Haojiagou. The sisters gathered together and chatted freely. Li Xuanshi, playing the role of host, invited the villa's best chef to cook a meal at the Hao family mansion for her best friend. After three rounds of wine and a variety of dishes, both guests and hosts were delighted!
That night, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse, the wind was clear and the clouds were light. Hao Jianghua took advantage of the night to sneak onto Cen Jingqing's bed, took her by force, and raped her!
From that point on, Li Xuanshi constantly helped her husband clean up the mess, using coercion, inducements, and money to smooth the way, gradually sinking deeper into the mud without realizing it. Over the years, Li Xuanshi's business in Hengshan grew, and her wealth overflowed. Meanwhile, Hao Jianghua's debauchery and sexual indulgence spiraled out of control. The Hao family's harem grew larger, with Xu Lin, Wang Shiyun, He Xiaoyue, Wu Tong, Cen Xiaowei, and Bai Ying all falling prey to his pleasures. Hao Jianghua then prepared a medicinal decoction called Su Nu He Huan Yang Yan Tang and had the women drink it before intercourse. Sure enough, during intercourse, the women became even more unbridled, their voluptuousness succumbing to unbridled lust, forgetting the troubles of life as they spent the night in the hibiscus tent!
As the decoction continued, Li Xuanshi, Bai Ying, and the other women became increasingly addicted to sex, reveling night after night, oblivious to the day's passing! After the revelry, though feeling empty and lost, a sense of uncertainty remained, but some noticed that their faces, nourished by lovemaking, were even more vibrant, like the radiance of spring water. Their skin, more supple, smooth, elastic, and firmer, boasting results far superior to those of ordinary beauty treatments, fueled by a surge of excitement. They joyfully indulged their desires, lost in lustful dreams, whispering and weeping, "Why is the dawn approaching?"
Li Xuanshi's thoughts were swirling, and she came back to her senses from her confusion. She gently said to Xu Lin, who was driving silently: "Sister Lin! Have you always hated me in your heart?" Her tone was sad and mournful, like a mosquito's hum, as if she was talking to herself.
Xu Lin clearly heard her words. Her shoulders trembled slightly, her lips quivered for a moment, and she was speechless. The original scene had long since faded with time, and she was actually reluctant to revisit those unpleasant memories! The past, with its joys and sorrows, will always pass. Why not let the right and wrong be sealed in the corner of the past? The wound has long since scabbed over, so why cruelly peel it back?
Xu Lin suddenly smiled, then awkwardly pulled a cigarette from the pack and lit it. After two puffs, her emotions seemed to calm, and she suddenly regained her open-minded personality. "Come on! Why are we still talking about this? It's been so long, it's boring to talk about it!" As she spoke, her spirits seemed to wane a bit. Women are such complex, emotional creatures. The sun rises in the east and the rain falls in the west. It's said there's no clear sky, but it's actually sunny!
Li Xuanshi didn't dwell on Xu Lin's emotional ups and downs. She sighed to herself and continued, "Yes! No matter how bad things were for us, we still had our own lives, free and easy. We could laugh out loud and cry secretly. But Qingqing passed away, leaving behind a regret. She must have resented us!"
Xu Lin remained noncommittal. She knew Li Xuanshi's character. She had hit a wall with the Zuo Jing incident, and there seemed no hope of recovery. Li Xuanshi was an incredibly strong-willed woman. She had previously taught as a class teacher and then as a principal. Later, she became adept at managing and investing, a master of strategic planning. Years of hard work and dedication, her successful career and fame, had gradually made her a bit vain. Even the seating arrangements at the Hao family's dining table seemed absurd to Xu Lin. What era was this? And why were they still playing the old-fashioned game of large wives and concubines?
Sometimes she wanted to persuade her best friend, but could Li Xuanshi ever turn back from her wrong path? Having experienced so many times in the Hao family's inner courtyard, Xu Lin knew just how deep Li Xuanshi had fallen. She, too, was gradually sinking into depravity. Her remaining willpower was but a faint flicker of light, like a firefly. How long could it last? Her innermost thought was utterly pessimistic.
Li Xuanshi encountered a major obstacle with the Zuo Jing incident, as if the entire Hao family was facing a catastrophe. She couldn't imagine the extent of Zuo Jing's combined wrath against the Bai family! As the saying goes, when the nest is overturned, how can the eggs remain intact? When the city gate is on fire, the fish in the pond are also affected. She, Xu Lin, was also involved. If she had known this would happen, why did she do it in the first place?
So helping Li Xuanshi was the same as helping herself. They had long been entangled in the same vine. If they worked together, perhaps they could avoid disaster. Fighting? Pointless! Xu Lin wasn't as shallow and foolish as Cen Jingqing. To be jealous over a man as ugly, incompetent, irresponsible, and heartless as Hao Jianghua was a joke!
Xu Lin has a complete family. Her husband, Liu Xinwei, has been appointed Director of Hengyang Customs for his significant contributions to anti-smuggling efforts, and he's enjoying a prosperous life. They have a son and a daughter, Liu Jian, 26, who is married. Their daughter-in-law, Meng Qingqiu, is a distinguished, gentle, and generous woman who works as a clerk in the Municipal Procuratorate.
Her daughter, Liu Yao, 23, owns a bar and, as a hobbyist, enjoys photography, leading a colorful life. For Xu Lin, life is nearly perfect. The only flaw is her relationship with her husband, which has long been a festering marriage. The apparent maintenance of their relationship is driven, in part, by work demands on both sides, but also by concern for their children. Having a family that can at least be considered complete offers a sense of comfort and peace of mind.
Her husband, Liu Xinwei, received an exceptional promotion because he suffered a severe lower abdominal injury during an operation, leaving him disabled and unable to perform any acts. Xu Lin had endured a sexless marriage for years, occasionally engaging in one-night stands with superiors in the banking sector or with officials from the China Securities Regulatory Commission, but these were insufficient to quench her thirst. She also had to consider her work and her reputation. Later, through Li Xuanshi's entrapment and seduction, she became Hao Jianghua's secret mistress, finding a way to vent her sexual desires.
The car quickly fell silent again, each lost in their own thoughts, the only sound being the low roar of the engine. Traffic on the highway was sparse, and the luxurious, top-of-the-line white Land Rover stood out, like a sharp arrow shooting from north to south towards the sky! Li Xuanshi, exhausted, leaned back in the back seat and closed her eyes. Her mind was in turmoil, and she couldn't find peace for a moment. She thought about a lot of things: the happy times she had spent with her ex-husband, Zuo Yuxuan, and their son, Zuo Jing, in Hengyang, and later in Changsha. She thought about the hardships, loneliness, and suffering she had endured as a woman after her ex-husband's death! She thought about the memories of her second marriage to Haojiagou, and the faces of people flashed through her mind like a rolling slideshow. Her mind finally settled on Hao Jianghua, this good-for-nothing, old, ugly man, her so-called husband, who had done almost nothing serious over the years except fucking a bunch of women.
Use her late husband's vast inheritance to support such an unmotivated person? Whenever she encountered setbacks, Hao Jianghua would either make excuses or simply walk away. Li Xuanshi couldn't even find anyone to discuss things with, so she could only grit her teeth and persevere, even if tears welled up in her eyes, she wouldn't let them fall! She didn't want others to see her vulnerability and helplessness, and even more so, she didn't want others to have the chance to laugh at her! Even if it was just superficial happiness, what would it matter? For this so-called decent life, she had to use her fragile shoulders, a woman's, to support the entire Hao family. For this place she had fought for nearly eight years, she had given up everything she could, even her eldest son. She had sacrificed countless time, energy, and even family ties. What else did she have? What would she gain in the end? She dared not even think about it, as a single misstep could lead to eternal regret! Everything was her own choice! Be it fate or destiny! She has staked her entire fortune and life on this, and if she retreats any further, she will be left with a dead end. There is a bottomless abyss ahead, so how can she turn danger into safety?
When Hao Jianghua was hospitalized with a knife wound, Li Xuanshi was horrified and filled with remorse. The truth about her daughter-in-law Bai Ying and her husband's affair finally came to light, and even her gentle son Zuo Jing couldn't contain his grief and indignation, choosing to die together to wash away the shame. And how much more humiliation had Zuo Jing endured in recent years than just the two or three times revealed? As a mother, she knew her role in all of this, and in one sentence: unworthy of being a mother, unworthy of being a human being! But Old Hao's extravagant desires had long since become lawless. He acted first and then asked for permission later, drugging and raping women, then, with a playful smile, begged her, the so-called "First Lady of the Hao Family," to intervene with coercion and bribery, and he succeeded every time. Despite Li Xuanshi's eloquence and silver tongue, as more and more women joined the Hao family's harem, he succeeded.
Li Xuanshi suffered equally. Not only did she have to share her husband with more women, but her expenses also rose month by month. Only those who manage the household know how expensive food and daily necessities are. The Hao family's current extravagant lifestyle is entirely thanks to Li Xuanshi, or perhaps even the Zuo family's kindness. Everyone in the Hao family, big and small, lives in luxury and prosperity. And while the hot spring villa seems bustling with visitors daily, how much profit does it actually generate? Only she, Hao Jianghua, He Xiaoyue, Wang Shiyun, and a few others know the true story.
After the government launched a major crackdown on corruption, the villa's business had long since declined, barely breaking even. During the off-season, it had to divert funds from the Golden Tea Oil Company. If it weren't for the need to cultivate and maintain connections in the government for Hao Jianghua, Li Xuanshi would have considered getting rid of this burden long ago.
The Golden Tea Oil Company, while seemingly very profitable, cost over $10 million to import a set of advanced New Zealand equipment, and the aging equipment requires regular maintenance and overhaul. Contracting tea seed plantations with local villagers and neighboring counties is even more costly. Furthermore, there are the raw material and finished product inventory, logistics, and company management costs, making the business situation less than optimistic. If it weren't for the tax breaks and exemptions implemented by Vice Mayor Zheng, the company would likely have suffered the same fate as the Hot Spring Villa, struggling to make ends meet. Vice Mayor Zheng not only holds a 20% stake in the company, but even the villa's beautiful waitresses and even the manager, He Xiaoyue, often have him chatting about life. That would be fine, but Zheng has actually begun to covet Li Xuanshi's beauty, flirting with her several times! Despite her utmost resistance, her husband, Hao Jianghua, feigns ignorance and even hints at instigating further instigation. Fortunately, her daughter-in-law, Bai Ying, intervened, but who will?
For a long time after her second marriage, Li Xuanshi dared not contact her former friends and family, fearing the mockery and ridicule. The practice of inserting flowers into cow dung existed in ancient times, such as with Pan Jinlian and Wu Dalang. But upon closer inspection, Pan Jie'er not only died a bloody death, but also suffered a fate that will be remembered in history. And Li Xuanshi herself thought, aside from murdering her own husband, her actions were hardly any worse than Pan Jie'er's. She indulged in lust, allowing her daughter-in-law to have an affair. She collected many beautiful women and harmed her own children. If you even count the past incidents involving her two best friends, Xu and Cen, her sins would be countless. Such a scandalous act, in ancient times, would have been punished by being riddled with wooden donkeys or drowned in pig cages.
How could a virtuous wife, a devoted mother, a beautiful teacher, a wealthy widow, have ended up in such a state? She'd been married to Hao Jianghua for nearly eight years, and especially since her eldest son, Zuo Jing, was imprisoned, she'd woken up in the middle of the night, tears soaking her pillow, regretting her actions too late! Naturally, she felt the pain, and she regretted it too. But Hao Jianghua was like a leech, sucking her blood dry. He wouldn't stop until he'd drained her dry.
Hao Jianghua relied on her money and beautiful women to pave a high-ranking official career, becoming a powerful figure in the village. He became extremely arrogant and his desires expanded! He even treated her, the first wife he married with formal marriage, with even more indifference and defiance. If Li Xuanshi had not always held on to the financial power, and Hao still had a lingering interest in the pleasure of the two-way affair with Li and Bai, her position in the Hao family would probably be in jeopardy now.
Li Xuanshi had been intelligent and refined since childhood, well aware that a storm was brewing. Either she exploded in silence, or she perished in silence! Where would she go from here? There was no answer! She had invested so much in Hao Jianghua and the entire Hao family, so much that it was unbearable, so much that she now had no way out! She couldn't let go, couldn't ask for anything, yet she had nothing to ask for! Wasn't life an irony? And as she watched, with the car at the mountain's edge and the boat at the bridgehead, did she really have any choice? Was fate a form of torture?