Cinnabar Bone

My mother said that my body was precious.

When I was alive, my flesh could produce fragrance, and when I was dead, my bones could be used as medicine.

When I was 16, I was bought by a wealthy family.

Ariel Bruce and Zane Bruce suffered from insomnia, and they needed my Cinnabar Bones to calm their minds.

However, ...

When I got into bed, they refused to sleep.

1

After I drank a bowl of bitter medicine, my mother stuffed a piece of preserved fruit into my mouth.

With tears in my eyes, I got into the Bruce family's carriage.

When I turned around, I saw my parents counting dollar bills with spit on their right hands without even looking at me.

They sold me for 50,000 dollars, which was a high price.

I was sold for such a price because all the girls in my family had Cinnabar Bones.

My body could calm minds. Even if I was dead, my ashes could be used as tranquilizer.

If you were lucky enough to refine a whole piece of Cinnabar Bone, carrying it with you could ward off disasters and evil spirits.

There were a total of four daughters in my family, and I was the youngest.

My three sisters were sold to powerful families and all became concubines from maids.

But my eldest sister had a short life.

A few days ago, she died in childbirth.

Her husband's family burned her and found a Cinnabar Bone in the ashes.

The bone was white as jade, but there was a blood-red core in the middle.

Because of this, my family became famous.

It had been more than a month since Zane couldn't sleep at night. His grandmother sent a maid to buy me.

My father quickly raised the price.

He asked for an additional 20 percent.

...

When we arrived at the Bruce's residence, the maid took me to wait in front of Nicole Foster's church hall.

After about half an hour.

Zane and Nicole appeared together.

It was the hot and humid July.

Nicole's face was flushed, and her hair was sweaty.

Perhaps she had been kneeling before the statue of Christ for a long time, and her clothes were all wrinkled.

Zane didn't look any better.

The maid pulled me forward.

"Mrs. Nicole Bruce, this is the maid named Lily that Mrs. Shirley Bruce asked me to buy to help Mr. Bruce sleep,"

Nicole's face showed resentment.

She said jealously, "I don't like her name."

Lily was Zane's favorite flower.

The meaning of this name was self-evident.

I was so scared that I immediately knelt down.

The maid looked embarrassed and said, "Mrs. Nicole Bruce, this name was given by Mrs. Shirley Bruce..."

Tears welled up in Nicole's eyes.

She swayed and leaned her head on Zane's shoulder.

"Zane, your grandmother always likes to hurt me..."

Zane tightly embraced Nicole's waist and asked the servant to take me away.

Nicole and Zane were not biological mother and son.

Zane's biological mother passed away early, and when he was five years old, Ariel married Nicole.

Although she was a stepmother, she took special care of the weak Zane.

Ariel was often away at war, so this stepmother always kept Zane in her own room.

Not only did they sleep in t...