Chapter 6

When I saw Cui Shiyu again, he was in a sorry state.

His hair was tangled, his clothes in tatters.

He was covered in the dust of travel.

He must have suffered a great deal.

“My dear, I’m back.”

“All this past year, I’ve felt someone was trying to kill me. So I turned their scheme to my advantage, faked my death, and escaped.”

He glanced at me and was just about to smile when he spotted Qin Yanwei.

And the marriage card in his hand.

“Brother Qin? Mother?”

He looked around, bewildered.

My mother-in-law shut her eyes and pressed a hand to her forehead. “Oh dear, I’m dizzy. Quickly, help me back to rest.”

I stood in the corner, thankful the betrothal gifts Qin Yanwei had brought were already in the rear courtyard.

Otherwise, he and Cui Shiyu might have staged a wrestling match right in the mourning hall.

Qin Yanwei tucked away the marriage card and smiled. “You passed away so suddenly, leaving only two women at home. I was wondering whether there was anything I could do to help.”

Cui Shiyu bowed deeply to him.

“Thank you, brother,” he said, deeply moved. “You’ve cared for the women of my household in every possible way this past year while I was away. I can never repay you. In another life, I would gladly repay this kindness from beyond the grave. But… where is your wife today?”

Just then, the servant who had delivered the betrothal gifts returned.

He carried a wild goose in each hand.

The geese honked at the top of their lungs.

“Master, these two betrothal geese are making such a racket that the maids in the back are frightened. They asked me to show them to the mistress.”

Dead silence fell.

Cui Shiyu’s gaze settled slowly on the geese, then shifted to the red sash at Qin Yanwei’s waist.

“Brother, it seems rather inappropriate to dress like that on the seventh day of mourning for me.”

Qin Yanwei stopped pretending.

“You asked where your sister-in-law was, Brother Cui.”

He stepped beside me. In full view of Cui Shiyu, he took my hand in his left and picked up the dog with his right.

“If there’s nothing else, Brother Cui, I’ll take your sister-in-law and go.”

“Let go!”

Cui Shiyu came over to pull me away.

“Are you mad? That’s my wife, not yours!”

Cui Shiyu no longer wanted to repay any kindness. He picked up the hoe meant for digging open his grave, waiting for a suitable moment to swing it at Qin Yanwei’s temple.

Qin Yanwei sneered. “Once you died, she stopped being your wife. Men and women are free to marry. You’re no longer involved.”

“I’m still alive!”

“Your household registration has been canceled. Who can prove it?”

Cui Shiyu’s eyes bulged with fury. “My dear, you mustn’t! How could a vile wretch like him be sincere with you? How long have you even known him?”

I fell silent.

So did Qin Yanwei.

Suddenly, Cui Shiyu understood. Qin Yanwei was the secret lover who couldn’t be shown in public.

“So you’re the bastard!”

“I knew someone at court was trying to kill me!”

“Who exactly are you?”

Qin Yanwei swept back his sleeve. “You work for my Qin family, and you ask who I am?”

Cui Shiyu’s expression cracked. “You’re the heir to the throne, and you went off to be a kept lover? Have you no shame?”

“Must you make it sound so ugly? If you’d been more generous, I could have joined the household long ago. Why else would I have stayed a kept lover?”

“In your dreams!” Cui Shiyu snapped. “Would you like me to give you the first husband’s place as well?”

“That would be ideal.”

I was just ducking my head to slip away.

Both of them called out at once.

“My dear.”

“My lady wife.”

“Who will you choose?”

Looking at the pair of fighting cocks, I clutched my chest.

“My heart’s acting up. I really can’t choose.”

“If all else fails, perhaps you could work it out between yourselves?”