Strangle

Sunday morning. The temperature in Yuzhou today was minus 5 degrees Celsius.

Though the sunlight outside was bright and clear, it carried a faint chill, as if even its golden radiance had been frozen solid by the cold air.

Winters in Hui Province were bitterly cold, because there were neither heated brick beds nor much central heating.

In previous years, when Shen Qing'e still lived in the countryside, she would either hide under the covers or wrap herself in a thick cotton coat and shiver at home, relying entirely on trembling to fight the cold.

Now, she was staying with her brother-in-law's family. The Jiang family were businesspeople with excellent living conditions. Their home was a Large Flat, and underfloor heating had been installed during renovation, leaving the entire place warm and cozy—far more comfortable than air conditioning.

Shen Qing'e wore a set of autumn loungewear as she sat on the sofa. On the coffee table before her were washed green grapes, Pine Nuts that cost dozens of yuan per jin, Pecans...

Whenever this happened, Shen Qing'e would set herself a goal: one day, she had to own a home of her own in the city.

Only then could she be said to be truly living well.

Having received such a good education, she couldn't possibly end up worse off than the man her own sister had married, could she? Aunt stared at the fifty-five-inch television, where Empresses in the Palace was playing, a palace intrigue drama that people would still discuss and analyze even ten years later.

Women of a certain age were inevitably chatty, especially full-time housewives like Aunt. When the show reached an exciting part, she would sometimes discuss it with Shen Qing'e.

Shen Qing'e could only respond to her one point at a time.

As Aunt