Chapter 1

Chapter 1

His wife, a woman who had never once left Qingping Town, Wuxi City, knocked on my door in the middle of a snowy night.

She was wearing a newly made black cloak, her face flushed red from the cold.

“Miss Yu, do you remember me? I am Liu Xingzhi’s wife.”

I remembered her.

Though it had been twelve years, that meeting had been deeply embarrassing for me.

Back then, Beiping was still called Beijing.

During a school break, Liu Xingzhi invited me to Wuxi for a visit.

We boarded a train from Beijing, and Liu Xingzhi spoke effortlessly about the history of various domestic and foreign railway stations.

When we reached Shanghai, we switched to the waterways. We could only get tickets for a second-class cabin.

The crowded cabin was filled mostly with laborers. I was somewhat repulsed, and Liu Xingzhi told me I suffered from the “sin of the petty bourgeoisie.”

He mingled with the laborers, chatting away happily. Someone asked him if I was his wife.

He smiled. “No, she is my student, Yu Ge.”

Liu Xingzhi was an intellectual who had been invited by the principal to give a short-term course; I was indeed his student.

I gave him a sharp poke with my finger. He lowered his head, blushing, as the people around us began to laugh.

With a shy expression, Liu Xingzhi said, “I’m going back to my hometown this time. By the time we return, she will be my fiancée.”

Liu Xingzhi and I were in a relationship based on free love.

My family was in Beijing, and my parents were very satisfied with him, so I followed him to Wuxi.

The journey took four or five days before we finally reached Qingping Town, Wuxi City.

I knew Liu Xingzhi came from a well-to-do family, but I still felt nervous as we walked into the grand, Jiangnan-style residence.

Perceptive as always, Liu Xingzhi squeezed my hand tightly. He pointed out each courtyard, sharing stories from his childhood.

Deep within the courtyards, I saw a woman dressed in late Qing Dynasty fashion-a sight that felt strangely out of place.

She looked even more nervous than I did.

“Are you Young Master Xingzhi? You’ve returned.”

That was the first time I met Liu Xingzhi’s wife.

It was also the first time my younger self stood face-to-face with the crushing weight of old-world social codes.

Liu Xingzhi had a massive row with his parents.

During the years he had been away studying, his parents had secretly arranged a marriage for him.

The Liu Xingzhi in Beijing had no idea that he had a wife in Wuxi who had been part of his household for three years.

He got dead drunk, not just for my sake, but for his ideals.

“Is it not ridiculous? While I was away preaching new thoughts and new theories, I return to Wuxi only to find myself still living the life of a pampered young master.”

What Liu Xingzhi pursued was equality, freedom, labor rights, and the elimination of oppression.

The man I deeply admired was the Liu Xingzhi of Beijing.

I comforted him. “Don’t be sad. The spring breeze of liberation hasn’t reached Jiangnan yet.”

Liu Xingzhi tried to run away with me.

However, the Liu family had deep-rooted connections in Wuxi. We fled to the station, to the docks, and even onto rugged mountain paths, but we were caught every time.

Old Master Liu pointed at me and said, “Miss Yu, I can have someone escort you back.” Then he looked at Liu Xingzhi. “But you must complete the wedding ceremony. You cannot make Juan Niang wait for you any longer.”

Juan Niang’s name was already in the Liu family genealogy. Liu Xingzhi proposed divorcing her so she could find someone else to marry.

Terrified, she threw herself headfirst against a water vat under the eaves and lost consciousness.

When she woke up, she seemed frightened out of her wits.

She offered to let me become a co-wife and said I could take Liu Xingzhi back to Beijing; she promised never to disturb us.

She only wanted to remain with the Liu family in Wuxi.

“Don’t say such things anymore. If he hears you, it will only make him angrier,” I told her.

Juan Niang didn’t quite understand. “Is Miss Yu… unwilling?”

Without hesitation, I replied, “Yes. I am unwilling.”