Chapter 23 Summary and Analysis

Jung learns that her grandmother's final days were filled with horrific pain. Her siblings say she seemed to be dead but her eyes remained open. Two days before the death of Yu-fang, her daughter was given a brief pass from detention and De-hong sat with her mother in her final days. She was sent back to prison immediately after her mother's cremation. Jung is filled with guilt over the pain she caused her grandmother in those final days and because she didn't somehow save her. She comes to the conclusion that if she denies herself the companionship of young men—a point that had caused her grandmother worry in her final days—she would assuage her guilt. Of course, that resolve will weaken over time.

Jung and her sister are sent to Deyang to work. The work is hard...