“Shuyue is preparing to come to our mansion in a few days to propose marriage. If you are willing, she will ask the Emperor for this marriage.” The woman’s voice was clear and familiar to Shen Meng.

She opened her eyes to see her sister-in-law Liang Rong’s face. To be precise, it was her former sister-in-law Liang Rong.

The man kneeling in front of the small Buddha hall continued to twirl the sandalwood beads. He had a handsome appearance, and his plain robes complemented his beauty even more.

Although there were  strands of white hair mixed in his ebony-like hair, and fine lines at the corners of his eyes showed that he was no longer the young and beautiful man of the past, but it did not diminish his attractiveness.

Instead, it added a touch of mature charm.

Even Shen Meng, who didn’t prioritize looks, had to admit his good looks. Even though he had been married to someone else, he could still captivate decent women.

The woman referred to as Shuyue was surnamed Wang and was the current victorious general.

However, she was not a rough woman who enjoyed fighting. Instead, she was a handsome scholar-general. This General Wang was highly regarded by the current Emperor.

As she had not yet married, she was the ideal husband in the hearts of many young men in the capital who had not yet married. However, she was deeply in love with Liang Jue, her childhood sweetheart.

Seeing him silent and seemingly without any happy expression, Liang Rong couldn’t help but advise, “Shuyue is deeply in love with you, and she has never had a concubine at home. Moreover, she’s marrying you as the main husband. What else are you dissatisfied with?”

Liang Jue’s thin eyelids twitched slightly, and he reluctantly responded to his own elder sister, “Elder sister is right. She is indeed very good, and I’m not worthy of her.”

The more he said this, the more annoyed Liang Rong became, “If you really miss her, I have nothing to say. But, thinking you are still have your thought on that dead person… She harmed you, she brought disgrace to our Liang family, and you still think about her. That’s understandable, after all, women are fickle and men are foolishly in love. She was your first wife, I can understand that. But she’s been dead for so long, what else can’t you let go of?”

Liang Jue remained silent, returning to his indifferent demeanor. Liang Rong sighed and tried to persuade him earnestly, “Shuyue truly loves you. Considering the current status of our Liang family, she can’t possibly treat you badly. And you don’t have a child either. You’re all alone, how can we rest assured?”

Shen Meng’s feelings for Liang Jue were not deep, at least not deep enough to prioritize over her own career. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have easily given him up for the sake of profit, let alone remarried to support the third imperial daughter.

Just because the new husband couldn’t accept being below the main husband, her conscience had not yet been extinguished. It was not appropriate to belittle Liang Jue and make him a concubine. So, she divorced Liang Jue and quickly married another man.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. She bet on the wrong horse and ended up being deceived. After blocking disasters for the third imperial prince, she closed her eyes, and when she opened them again, she became a ghost attached to Liang Jue’s headpin.

When she woke up again, seven years had passed since her death, and now, she had been by Liang Jue’s side in the form of a ghost for three years.

It’s said that if a person dies without being reincarnated, there must be some obsession left in this world, and they would choose to linger around the person they were most obsessed with.

Clearly, Liang Jue was someone she had given up on, so Shen Meng couldn’t understand why she didn’t stay by the side of her enemies or the new husband she married, but she’s instead lingered around Liang Jue’s headpin.

But she knew that if Liang Jue agreed to remarry, she would feel uncomfortable even as a ghost. Perhaps it’s human nature. Even though she didn’t care that much, once something became someone else’s, she couldn’t help but care.

Floating out of Liang Jue’s headpin, she hovered in the air and observed her former husband’s reaction.

When the deceased former wife was mentioned, cracks finally appeared on Liang Jue’s calm face, and it could even be said that there was a slight distortion. Shen Meng looked into his eyes and felt that the hopeful eyes in her memory were now filled with pain and despair.

He closed his eyes and then opened them again, and between the opening and closing of his eyes, the surface emotions calmed down.

He seemed calm in tone, but the slightly trembling fingertips betrayed his inner thoughts, “I’ve said before, I will never remarry in this lifetime, whether she’s good or bad. Alive or dead. Since I married her, I won’t have children with anyone else.”

Liang Rong was so angry that she trembled all over, looking like she hated iron for not becoming steel.

She didn’t mince her words and exposed Liang Jue’s scar, “You want to live as someone else’s person, or die as someone else’s ghost. Have you ever thought about whether she want you or not? She divorced you ten years ago!”

The Buddhist beads in Liang Jue’s hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound, “I still want to pray for my late wife. Please I tell the Elder Sister to reject General Wang. Say that I, Liang Jue, am unworthy and cannot bear such deep affection.”

Liang Rong spoke coldly, “Even if you don’t consider yourself, can’t you think about me and Mother?”

Liang Jue’s attitude was unusually tough, “I can listen to you about other things, except for the matter of remarriage. If Elder Sister wants to turn a happy occasion into a funeral, you can try to force me.”

Of course, she dared not force him, because Liang Jue kept his word. What General Wang wanted was always a living person. If she was rejected, she would be unhappy, but if Liang Jue died at the grand wedding, the relationship between the two families would only worsen.

Liang Rong’s face turned green and then white, then white and red, and it took a while for her to recover to her original appearance. She knew very well that her brother, who followed their deceased father, had a stubborn personality and was not afraid of death. If Shen Meng hadn’t died, if it wasn’t for the promise to their father, he might have followed that woman long ago.

She softened her tone, “Alright, alright, I won’t force you. But if one day you change your mind, and if there’s someone who want to marry you that’s beautiful, young and virtuous as you, don’t regret it.” The Liang family valued interests, as well as family relationships and stability in the household, but when it came to being devoted and faithful, there weren’t many, regardless of gender.

She didn’t think the Liang family had any lineage of devotion, yet somehow they produced a devoted seed like Liang Jue.

Liang Jue hurriedly saw off the guests, “I don’t need to entertain you here since elder sister is busy with official matters.”

Liang Rong left dejectedly, and with the creaking sound of the wooden door, the whole small Buddha hall became quiet again. Only Shen Meng, in her spiritual form, spun around in the air for a few rounds before sitting down in front of the small Buddha hall again.

She wasn’t a heartless ghost. Seeing her former husband, who had been divorced because of her, looking haggard because of her and praying day after day, she couldn’t help but feel touched.

But what she had done, she would not regret. Even if she could start over, if she couldn’t predict the future, she would still make the same choice under those circumstances.

Shen Meng glanced at Liang Jue for a while under the dim light of the candle, then returned to stay inside the headpin.

When she woke up again, the surroundings had changed. Liang Jue seemed to be in a moving carriage, wearing plain embroidered silk robes. He rarely dressed up, making his appearance even more stunning.

The carriage soon stopped, and Liang Jue opened the curtain and got off. The scene that greeted Shen Meng’s eyes was a continuous range of mountains, with towering peaks in the distance and lush pine and cypress trees nearby.

In the midst of the verdant scenery stood a lonely tombstone, and Shen Meng glanced at it, seeing her name written on it. That’s right, she had almost forgotten. She had been dead for many years, and today was her death anniversary.

The weather wasn’t very good today, with the sky overcast and drizzling. The servant boy held an umbrella for Liang Jue, but raindrops still blew in with the wind, dampening his hair bit by bit.

The wind was cold, and even Shen Meng, staying inside the headpin, could feel the chill.

Liang Jue stood in the cold wind and rain in front of her tombstone for a long time, until several hours later, the new husband she married climbed up the mountain with the crowd. When he met Liang Jue, naturally, there was another round of cold mockery.

Liang Jue’s temper wasn’t actually very good. Shen Meng thought he would be annoyed, but he remained as impassive as a block of wood, letting his servant’s face turn red without retorting.

Her husband and the crowd left soon, leaving only Liang Jue behind. He stayed for a while longer, placing the wine and food she loved to drink before silently leaving.

The journey up the mountain went smoothly, but when they were coming down, they encountered bandits robbing travelers. Shen Meng, being a helpless ghost, could only worry silently for her former husband, Liang Jue.

The bandits sought wealth, and upon lifting the curtain, they intended to plunder the valuables in the carriage. Liang Jue didn’t intervene, so his servant took out some jewelry and handed over some silver, but the bandits were clearly not satisfied.

In the ensuing chaos, the headpin where Shen Meng stayed was pulled out from Liang Jue’s head.

When pulling out the headpin, Liang Jue, who had been like a wooden figure, suddenly went mad and tried to snatch it back. The bandits were startled and, without caring for the valuable item, slapped him back. Liang Jue staggered from the blow but still held onto the headpin, his eyes glaring at the bandits, causing them to shiver with fear.

During the struggle, Liang Jue was stabbed by the bandits, and blood flowed onto the headpin, but he still didn’t let go. In the midst of the scuffle, the carriage fell off the cliff, and Liang Jue fell down along with it. Naturally, he lost his life, but his eyes still focused on the headpin. Shen Meng descended again, and at that moment, Liang Jue suddenly raised his head and uttered two words in her direction.

The surroundings fell silent, so even though his voice was very soft, Shen Meng still heard clearly that he was calling her.

Perhaps because she had been a ghost for too long, Shen Meng had forgotten many things from her past life. It was only at this moment that she remembered. The headpin she stayed in was the first gift she gave to Liang Jue back then, and it was the only one.

She always liked clever people, and Liang Jue clearly did many foolish things, even lost his life for such a broken headpin. Yet, she suddenly felt that if she could start over, she would regret it for him once.

—

“She bet on the wrong horse” : The phrase means she made a mistake by trusting the wrong person.