Chapter 5

Cui Shiyu left in a hurry. The very next day, I went to see Qin Yanwei.

With the dog.

His eyes lit up when he saw me.

“Zhaozhao! What brings you here?”

“My husband’s away on business.”

Qin Yanwei froze, then slammed the table and shot to his feet. “It was him! And to think I praised him as a man of noble character! That sanctimonious hypocrite!”

“Who?”

His eyes shifted. “Nobody important.”

I’d done a lot of thinking these past few days. I didn’t want to stay married to Cui Shiyu, but I wasn’t particularly eager to entangle myself with the crown prince either.

Perhaps I should find a chance to end things with Qin Yanwei too.

I sighed, feigning curiosity.

“My husband says the crown prince has been sending officials away on business quite frequently. Has something serious happened at court?”

Qin Yanwei’s smile stiffened. “How would an ordinary fellow like me know anything about that?”

“Zhaozhao, you say you don’t want crab. What about shrimp? Fish? I can peel and debone those too.”

“And I’ll do some for the dog.”

“Your clothes look dusty. I’ll wash them and hang them up later.”

“That’s a lot of trouble,” I said.

“None at all. I’ve had to fend for myself since I was little. I’m used to doing these things. Thank goodness they’ve come in handy.”

Ha.

Was it so much fun keeping me in the dark?

One was a fox who could lie you into your grave without a qualm; the other, a black-hearted madman.

Neither was any better than the other.

But watching Qin Yanwei’s practiced movements as he mended and washed the clothes brought a rumor to mind.

I’d heard that the crown prince had been out of favor in his early years. The emperor had abandoned him in a detached palace and left him to fend for himself.

And I’d once seen old whip scars on his arms. I couldn’t bring myself to say we should part.

Oh, never mind. I would keep turning a blind eye.

There was time enough to break up when he couldn’t keep up the pretense anymore.

Time flew.

A year went by in the blink of an eye.

Even Cui Shiyu’s dog now called Qin Yanwei Dad.

Cui Shiyu still hadn’t returned.

A few days ago, while I was taking an afternoon nap, I heard Qin Yanwei speaking to an adviser in the outer room.

“That bastard is coming back already?”

“Yes. Lord Cui is so eager to return that he’s finished three years of work in less than one.”

Qin Yanwei clicked his tongue. “A young talent like Lord Cui mustn’t be wasted. If I recall, bandits are running rampant along the southeastern coast. We’ve lost quite a few ministers there. With such an outstanding record, surely Lord Cui can relieve the court of its worries.”

One word from Qin Yanwei, and Cui Shiyu was sent away again.

Before long, terrible news arrived.

Cui Shiyu was dead.

When my mother-in-law heard, she emerged weeping, supported by several fair-faced, handsome young scholars.

“…”

No wonder she hadn’t bothered with me all year.

She’d been keeping lovers too.

She was luckier than I was, though. My father-in-law had died young, so there was no one to stop her.

“Now you’re as lucky as your mother-in-law, Zhaozhao,” Qin Yanwei added.

Everything clicked.

That black-hearted Qin Yanwei had found lovers for my mother-in-law?

The dreadful news left her distraught.

She held my hand and spent her days fretting over how we would live from now on.

“I’ll provide for you, Mother,” I said.

“Our first concern is arranging my husband’s funeral.”

Cui Shiyu and I had been husband and wife for several years. Our affection might not have run deep, but I couldn’t let him depart in utter loneliness.

The people sent to recover his body said he had fallen into the sea. There was nothing left to find.

I could only bury his clothes and erect a memorial grave.

He had no son. After much persuasion, Qin Yanwei finally agreed to let his canine son smash the funeral brazier for him.

Perhaps Cui Shiyu’s death had been too unjust. All through the vigil, I felt a chill down my back.

I burned a few extra sheets of spirit money for him.

His first seven days of mourning had barely passed when Qin Yanwei came to call.

He bowed to my mother-in-law. “Madam, I wish to marry Li Zhao. From now on, I shall treat you as my own mother. Please rest assured.”

Before he’d finished, a servant came stumbling and crawling into the room. “Madam… the master, he-he—”

“What’s all the fuss? Has he risen from the dead?”

“He’s—he’s still alive!”