Chapter 8

Chapter 8

I had been about to go out for a spring excursion, but the carriage had barely left the gate when it slammed to an abrupt stop and nearly threw me out.

The coachman said someone had blocked the carriage-she had suddenly rushed out and knelt right in front of it. I lifted the curtain for a look, only to find it was Qiushui.

She was dressed plainly and looked rather haggard. The moment she saw me, she kowtowed once, then knelt there in utter misery, crying without saying a word.

More and more people gathered to watch. I stepped down from the carriage. Seeing that the atmosphere was just about right, Qiushui suddenly knocked her head against the ground several more times and began her performance.

One moment she was sobbing, “Madam, spare my life,” and the next she was pleading, “Madam, please have mercy. Give me a way to live.” Anyone who didn’t know better would think I had ruined her entire family.

I played dumb and simply asked, “Who are you?”

Qiushui froze for a moment, then quickly recovered. Wiping her tears, she began telling the story of how she and General Qi were in love, how their feelings had grown too deep to sever, and begged me to let the two of them, a pair of star-crossed lovers, be together.

Right there on the street, in broad daylight-she had truly gone all in.

The onlookers clearly hadn’t expected her to be so shameless as to say absolutely everything out loud. After the initial shock, however, some of them quickly grasped the gist: so the husband had found himself a tender little love nest outside, but his wife at home was domineering, and now the mistress had come to force her way into an official position.

A few people in the crowd muttered that I was intolerant and the like, but the people of the capital had seen plenty. Most of them were saying that with one look at this spectacle, it was obvious Qiushui was no easy woman to deal with. If she were taken into the household, wouldn’t the family be thrown into chaos?

Seeing that public opinion had not turned in her favor, Qiushui visibly panicked. But after glancing in a certain direction, she calmed down again. She cried out that she, too, came from an honest family, and that she had only resorted to this desperate measure because she had no other choice. She said she had arrived too late in this life and wished us a long and happy marriage; she only hoped that in the next life, she and her dear Qi could continue their bond.

With that, she suddenly got up and rammed herself into a roadside pillar, splitting her forehead open.

She collapsed toward the ground like a limp noodle. But before she had fallen halfway, a man squeezed out of the crowd, rushed forward in two swift strides, and caught Qiushui steadily in his arms, then checked on her condition with the utmost care.

He lifted his head, eyes full of reproach, as if he wanted to speak but was holding back. So I simply closed my eyes and fell backward too.

My maid’s voice could pierce three streets. The moment she saw me collapse, her inner actress possessed her. She immediately burst into wails and cried at the top of her lungs, “Someone help! Heaven have mercy! This shameless adulterous pair is forcing the lawful wife to her death!”
My ears rang from the noise, but in my heart, I was beyond satisfied with her performance. I had planned to keep playing dead just like that, but then I immediately realized that wouldn’t do.

After all, this was a perfect opportunity delivered straight to my door.

I weakly came to like a fragile beauty clutching her heart, and the crying stopped at once. My maid supported me with extreme caution, as if I were made of porcelain.

As though I might shatter at the slightest touch, I forced myself to speak in a frail voice that nevertheless reached everyone present.

“I see. So that’s how it is.

“If you wanted to replace your wife, you could have simply given me a divorce agreement. If our fate together has ended, then we can part; I would have granted you your wish. But you refused. On the surface, you said you couldn’t bear to let me go, yet suddenly you staged this entire scene. So it turns out you wanted to pin the crime of being vicious and jealous on me, all so you could destroy my reputation!”

Leaning on my maid, I swayed slightly. My voice trembled with sobs, but I still forced myself to sound strong as I said,

“What, just because I have no maiden family to rely on, you think you can bully me like this? Just because I am alone, you think you can frame me however you please?”

Then I changed tack, pointed toward the surrounding crowd, and continued in a clear, forceful voice,

“Heaven sees everything we do! So many neighbors are here watching today. I, Wu Siming, will say this plainly: everyone present, please bear witness for me. If anything happens to me, I will donate every property under my name to the city’s charity halls. I will not let the Qi Family, who schemed against me and tried to harm me, benefit from a single thing!”

With that, I turned away, leaving them with a frail silhouette. After taking two steps, I began to tremble faintly again. Clutching my maid, I said,

“No. I can’t go back to the Qi Family. If they dared scheme against me like this in the middle of the street today, they might poison me tonight. Go! We’re going to the magistrate’s office. I want a divorce. I want the honorable magistrate to uphold justice for me. Now! This instant! I can’t wait even a moment longer!”