Her face was filled with panic. After running outside, she even tripped and fell, looking utterly disheveled.
The bright red wedding dress, the wounds covering her body, and the bloodstains on the firewood chopper successfully made every passerby stop in their tracks.
“I killed someone—I killed someone!” she cried, her voice trembling with sobs, stirring sympathy in those who heard her.
“I didn’t mean to—it was Qi Dalang who wanted to kill me! I was terrified, so I tried to grab his chopper. But he wouldn’t let me go and snatched it back. He was stronger than me. In the struggle, the blade went into his neck… He… he died!” Li Shu’s eyes were red, filled with horror.
As soon as she said this, the crowd was shocked.
Ganhe Town was a border settlement. It suffered frequent raids from foreign tribes and bandits. The local customs weren’t exactly gentle, and deaths occurred every year. But the mountains were high and the emperor far away—official achievements were often fabricated, and many cases were never recorded.
Those sentenced to death were usually notorious bandits or ruthless murderers. Ordinary people who committed crimes were often first sent to the army as cannon fodder; if not fit for conscription, they were sent to the mines—worked half to death before being dragged back and executed.
Li Shu knew that for killing someone, execution was possible.
But if she hadn’t killed him, with her broken body under the torment of Qi Yanfeng and his mother, the possibility of being beaten to death was just as real.
And if she truly became known as the Qi family’s daughter-in-law, even if she were beaten to death later, Qi Yanfeng would likely be shielded by virtue of being her husband.
She had just combed through the original owner’s memories. There were men locally who had beaten their wives to death. They appeared mad, but were calculating—never striking a fatal blow outright. Instead, they wore their wives down slowly, like cutting with a dull knife. In the end, the women would die “of illness,” and the men remained safe.
At that moment, the crowd rushed into the Qi house to see for themselves. What they saw made them gasp.
Qi Yanfeng was truly dead.
“You foolish girl! How could you kill your husband? That’s a grave crime!” someone said, looking at her with sympathy.
“Kill my husband?” Li Shu immediately shook her head, looking nervous and pitiful yet unwavering. “No! He isn’t! The name written on my marriage document isn’t Qi Yanfeng. He married the wrong person! I wanted to go home, but he was afraid I would ruin Yao A Ning’s marriage with the Ma family, so he beat me badly. This morning, when he saw I still wanted to leave, he tried to kill me!”
Her body trembled, but her words were clear.
In just a few sentences, she laid out the situation plainly.
A marriage wasn’t sealed simply by bowing to heaven and earth!
The Ma family was respectable. They had followed proper procedures two years ago—betrothal gifts, formal letters, and an official matchmaker. If the marriage didn’t go through, both families had to sign a formal dissolution document. Even if Yao A Ning had been carried into the Ma household and the wedding feast had been grand, without the proper matchmaker and documents, she wasn’t legally the wife.
Ordinary people didn’t pay attention to such details. In their eyes, once the banquet was held, the matter was done.
But now that Li Shu had pointed it out, people began recalling the rumors from earlier that morning.
They had all heard that the two weddings had been mixed up. In this farce, the greatest victim was clearly… Ah Li.
Just look at her—
Her once-clean wedding dress was stained with blood. Her face was bruised blue and purple, blood lingering at her lips and nose. When she ran out, she had limped. At seventeen or eighteen, she looked smaller and thinner than her peers. Her ashen eyes barely held any light.
“The wedding processions were mixed up. Qi Yanfeng was furious. He had another episode! When he had an episode, he was terrifying! Haven’t you seen it? Truly terrifying!” Li Shu added, shivering.
“What a pity,” the crowd sighed.
“I heard this bride was raised by a stepmother. Her maternal uncle found her such a good match with the Ma family. If she’d married there, her hardships would’ve ended. Compared to that, the Qi family is much worse. And that Qi Yanfeng wasn’t normal—I’ve seen him go mad before…”
“Yes, when he goes crazy, he hits anyone in sight and listens to no reason. Such a young girl—if she just let him beat her, wouldn’t she have been beaten to death?”
“Speaking of which—doesn’t the Ma family know they married the wrong person? Why hasn’t anyone come?”
“…”
Yes. The Ma family should already know.
So Li Shu waited.
…
She crouched on the ground, shivering, looking helpless and without support. The more pitiable she appeared, the more public opinion tilted toward her.
As for Qi Yanfeng…
His death was unfortunate, but he had been killed while trying to kill someone during an episode. Compared to Li Shu, who was still alive, he seemed the less tragic figure.
Not far away, members of the Ma family were observing.
This was a major incident, and the Ma family didn’t know how to handle it either.
Captain Ma had been stationed in the army for years. He had only met Ah Li once, two years ago when arranging the engagement. Back then, he thought the girl looked a bit too thin—not the most ideal choice.
But she was said to be diligent and obedient. Though somewhat timid, she was young and could be molded after marriage. As for her appearance… well, girls change as they grow. Two years had passed—how could he remember clearly?
His son, however, had visited the Li household two or three times over those two years, each time briefly.
Thus, Captain Ma had never imagined the marriage could go wrong.
When someone from the Qi family came yesterday to question the situation, Captain Ma was shocked. He immediately sent someone to check the bridal chamber—but by then, the two youngsters had already hurriedly consummated the marriage!
In the middle of the night, he summoned his son for questioning. Only then did he learn… his son had not taken a liking to Ah Li at all, but to the Yao family girl from the same alley.
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But the Yao parents were somewhat mercenary. Years ago, they had even been fined by the authorities for occupying someone else’s property. If they knew their daughter could marry into the Ma family, they might demand an outrageous dowry. Fearing his father’s disapproval, the son had devised this underhanded trick!
It truly was despicable.
When Captain Ma learned the truth, he even thought that if his son had applied this scheming mind to his career, he might one day have become a minor general.
Unfortunately, the only unlucky one in all this was Ah Li.
Captain Ma knew he was at fault. In the middle of the night, he personally visited the Li family and explained everything.
The Li parents were indifferent. A married daughter was like water poured out, they said. They told Captain Ma not to take it to heart. That eased his conscience somewhat.
Still, he worried Ah Li might suffer in the Qi household, so he had someone watch the Qi residence.
If Ah Li and the Qi son could make the best of the mistake and live peacefully, then perhaps this farce could be put to rest.
But no one expected Qi Yanfeng to be killed!
The Qi and Ma families lived close by. Captain Ma quickly received the news. Looking at his beaming son and thinking about the murder outside, his head throbbed. He immediately kicked his son. “Look at the mess you’ve made!”
Young Master Ma looked innocent. Yao A Ning stood beside him, flustered and anxious.
“Father, what’s wrong? Didn’t you say last night that the Li family didn’t object? Why are you so angry at me today?” Young Master Ma still didn’t take it seriously, grinning. “You’ve seen Ah Li before. She’s frail—doesn’t look like she could bear children well. And she’s timid. When I visited the Li house before, she barely dared speak to me. How could someone like that be a proper daughter-in-law for our family?”
“A Ning is better—graceful and generous, and she knows how to please elders. Didn’t you see how happy Grandmother was when she met A Ning today? She even said it was good the bridal sedan was carried to the wrong house!”