Li Qingxian looked toward Madam Wei's Middle-Aged Fate Ground.
The Middle-Aged Fate Ground likewise held only one Fate Star: the Human Fate Star.
Within the Human Fate Star stood a courtyard with a two-story building, an apricot tree growing beside the wall. The tree was laden with green fruit, hanging heavy from the branches. Only two apricots had ripened red.
One of those red apricots was inside the wall, and the other outside.
Fate Star: Red Apricot Over the Wall.
Li Qingxian examined it carefully again, withdrew from the Fate Mansion, and resumed his Qi Gazing.
Seven Fate Projections emerged above Madam Wei's head.
In the pitch-black night, Madam Wei, nearly thirty, had powdered her face and applied rouge. Her charm still lingered as she leaned against the doorframe, craning her neck toward the main gate. She waited until the sky faintly brightened, then sighed softly, shut the door alone, and returned to her room.
Late at night, Madam Wei, now past thirty, sat beneath candlelight with no expression on her face. Tears washed away her rouge and powder, congealing into streaks like claw marks.
At dawn, Madam Wei, bare-faced and sallow-skinned, pointed at Wei Yong, who was drunk and covered in lipstick marks, and cursed him viciously. Wei Yong slapped her, kicked her, and turned to leave.
Madam Wei sat on the floor with her hair disheveled. The candle had gone out, and moonlight fell upon her swollen red face. She looked bleak and ghastly, her gaze vacant.
At dusk, in the rear garden beside the well, Madam Wei coldly watched a young maid whose belly had begun to swell. It was as though she could not hear the maid's desperate pleas for mercy. With a wave of her hand, burly servants shoved the maid into the well.
Splash!