The spring chill was biting. A cold wind poured in through the half-open door, triggering a fit of coughing from the woman lying sick in bed.
The man standing by the bed acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing.
Talking to himself, he said, “Cousin, you are now a woman of the Meng family. You should understand the principle that we all rise and fall together. If you are willing to take out a hundred thousand taels from your dowry to help the Meng family through this crisis, I… I can consider giving you a child.”
After saying this, Meng Zhuo felt a bit uneasy.
He had always prided himself on being a gentleman; using his wife’s dowry to bribe a eunuch was, after all, undignified.
But the Meng household had been schemed against this time, with an old case from three years ago being unearthed. If they couldn’t provide enough “filial respect” to Eunuch Cai, who was coming from the capital, he feared his father’s official position would be lost.
The woman behind the gauze curtains remained motionless.
Meng Zhuo assumed she was still sulking over the fact that he had taken a wife and a concubine at the same time, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit irritable.
“Back then, you accidentally fell into the water and your wet clothes were seen by everyone. It was I who disregarded the past and married you. Now, although I have taken Sisi as a concubine, within the inner manor, you are the wife and she is the concubine. She can never surpass you. Why must you be so petty with her?”
Finally, there was movement behind the curtains.
Meng Zhuo thought Chu Yun had finally listened and struck while the iron was hot: “Eunuch Cai will arrive in less than a month. As long as you are willing to provide the money, I can consummate the marriage with you tonight.”
Suddenly, a porcelain pillow was hurled from the curtains.
It slammed heavily against his forehead, and blood began to flow immediately.
“You son of a bitch, Meng Zhuo! Do you think that thing in your crotch is cast from gold? A hundred thousand taels to sleep with you? Go take a piss and look at your own reflection!”
Meng Zhuo was stunned by the impact.
He was even more stunned by the cursing.
He couldn’t believe these crude words had come from the mouth of his quiet, weak cousin.
It wasn’t until the blood trickled down his forehead that Meng Zhuo realized what had happened.
He roared in anger, “You’re mad! You actually dared to wound me!”
The Moon-Shadow Gauze bed curtains were suddenly yanked open with great force.
Meng Zhuo saw the person who stepped out—cloud-like hair and a flower-like face, skin as white as snow. It was indeed his fragile cousin who supposedly couldn’t even care for herself.
Seeing no trace of remorse on her face, Meng Zhuo’s blood rushed to his head. He raised his hand, intending to give Chu Yun a slap.
But “Chu Yun” swept a chilling gaze over him, scaring Meng Zhuo so much he froze in place.
Those almond eyes, which were usually as soft as water, now held a bloodthirsty glint, and an intimidating aura radiated from her entire body, making it hard for Meng Zhuo to breathe.
This look gave him a strange sense of familiarity.
Two years ago, he had been ordered to transport grain and fodder to the border city. On the way, he encountered a desert ambush and nearly died at the hands of the desert tribes. Fortunately, General Xie, who was stationed at the border, arrived with his troops and wiped them out.
At that time, General Xie had stepped through a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood to reach his side. His first words weren’t of concern for Meng Zhuo’s safety, but a cold inquiry about Chu Yun’s situation.
Meng Zhuo had recalled the physician’s words and answered truthfully that his cousin was weighed down by grief and her health had been poor.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Zhaoshen had looked at him with that same ferocious gaze, as if his cousin’s poor health were his fault.
Now, “Chu Yun” was looking at him with that exact same expression.
It made him break out in a cold sweat. His hand remained raised in the air, not daring to strike down.
Zhaixing, who had been guarding the door, heard the commotion inside. Thinking her lady was being mistreated, she immediately pushed the door open and blocked “Chu Yun’s” path. “Young Master, let’s talk things through. Please, don’t use violence!”
With Zhaixing intervening, Meng Zhuo seemed to find a way out of his predicament.
The slap he didn’t dare land on Chu Yun’s face landed on Zhaixing’s with a sharp crack.
To his surprise, in the next instant, a sudden pain flared in his abdomen.
He was actually kicked to the ground by “Chu Yun”!
Meng Zhuo’s feeling wasn’t wrong; Chu Yun was not Chu Yun, but Xie Zhaoshen, who had just returned in triumph from the border.
The Chu and Xie families were old friends, and he and Chu Yun were practically childhood sweethearts who had once been betrothed.
It was just that the two of them had disliked each other since they were young. He detested Chu Yun’s affectations and her calculating nature, while Chu Yun detested his unruly and aggressive behavior.
The engagement had truly been a mistake of circumstances.
Xie Zhaoshen had already prepared himself for the chaotic life they would lead after marriage.
However, before the wedding, Grand Tutor Chu met a violent death. Chu Yun was taken to Jiangzhou by her maternal aunt, and he was dispatched to the border to defend against enemies.
Before his departure, Chu Yun suddenly demanded to break the engagement. She said many heart-piercing things, even claiming she feared he would die on the battlefield and leave her a young widow.
Proud as he was, it would be a lie to say he wasn’t annoyed. Therefore, on his way back to the capital, he deliberately took a detour through Jiangzhou just to see how Chu Yun was doing, and if she…
Had a shred of regret.
At this moment, Meng Zhuo, who had been kicked to the ground, was full of fury. He pointed at Xie Zhaoshen and shouted, “Acrimonious and jealous, crude and barbaric, and you even dare to harm your husband! I… I will divorce you!”
Xie Zhaoshen closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Very well, he had seen that Chu Yun was not doing well.
Not only had he seen it, he had experienced it firsthand.
Xie Zhaoshen licked his left canine tooth, wanting to give Meng Zhuo another kick. But as soon as he moved, he felt his limbs grow weak and his throat itch, and he began to cough violently.
The coughing was bad enough, but when he covered his mouth with his sleeve, it came away stained with spots of blood.
Xie Zhaoshen’s eyes darkened. Chu Yun’s body had been more delicate than ordinary people since childhood, but after three years in Jiangzhou, she had actually reached the point of coughing up blood.
Chu Yun’s lack of judgment was indeed detestable, but the Meng family who mistreated her was even more hateful.
Xie Zhaoshen looked at the pathetic Meng Zhuo, and a bloodthirsty expression appeared on his face once more.
Should he skin him alive?
Or pull out his tendons?
With just one look from him, Meng Zhuo felt a chill through his entire body. Despite his anger, he scrambled away on all fours.
Xie Zhaoshen didn’t give chase; he collapsed into a chair to steady his breathing.
Zhaixing hurriedly approached Xie Zhaoshen, saying with a sob, “Miss, why are you coughing up blood again?”
Xie Zhaoshen narrowed his eyes. “Again?”
Zhaixing looked at her lady in confusion. Thinking back to the kick her lady had given the Young Master, she sensed something was off. “Miss, what’s wrong with you?”
Xie Zhaoshen fabricated a lie on the spot. “My mind is muddled from the high fever. I’ve forgotten what happened during these three years in Jiangzhou. Tell me about it.”
Upon hearing this, Zhaixing began to cry again, repeatedly saying how bitter Chu Yun’s life was.
“Get to the point! Especially about that drowning incident!”
Xie Zhaoshen interrupted impatiently. Chu Yun used to love crying too.
She would follow behind him, acting as if he were bullying her. This little maid was truly Chu Yun’s servant; they were exactly the same when it came to crying.
Zhaixing felt that her lady had become exceptionally terrifying today. With a sob, she began to recount the past three years in Jiangzhou.
Three years ago, Chu Yun’s father, Grand Tutor Chu, was embroiled in Prince Cheng’s regicide and rebellion case. Chu Yun traveled everywhere to plead for her father’s innocence, but before there was a result, Grand Tutor Chu hanged himself in prison, leaving Chu Yun heartbroken.
With the man dead, the debt was settled, and the Emperor temporarily spared the Chu family.
However, the members of the Chu family feared being implicated and cut ties with Chu Yun one by one.
Just when Chu Yun was at her wits’ end, her maternal aunt in Jiangzhou took the initiative to step forward, bringing her to Jiangzhou to live in the Meng manor.
Over the past three years.
Fearing that her aunt would be put in a difficult position, Chu Yun used her money to smooth things over for the Meng family at every turn, helping her uncle navigate the official circles with ease.
As she spoke, Zhaixing began to sob. “But Madam Meng has the heart of a snake behind a Buddha’s face. Half a month ago, she ordered someone to push Miss into the lake, and it ‘just so happened’ that Meng Zhuo rescued you. Miss’s wet clothes were seen by everyone, and her reputation was ruined.
“Furthermore, Miss’s health was already poor, and she suffered a persistent high fever after falling into the water.
“While you were still unconscious, Madam Meng used the pretext of a Joy-Bringing Marriage to make you marry Meng Zhuo. I wanted to save you then, but I was locked in the woodshed by the manor’s old hags.”
Zhaixing was angry, but Xie Zhaoshen was even angrier than her.
Back when Chu Yun was scheming against him, her methods were endless. How was it that after coming to Jiangzhou, she became a piece of dough that anyone could knead and flatten!
“Is Chu Yun a useless waste? Being bullied like this and not knowing how to fight back! Even if… even if…”
Even if she had just sent him a letter!