The moment Fang Xiuxiu walked through the door, she shouted,
“Sister-in-law, hurry up and cook! Mother and I are starving!”
Ruan Qingli replied lazily,
“There’s not a single grain of rice left in the house. What exactly am I supposed to cook?”
Hearing that, Madam Zhou’s face flushed slightly.
“So you’re blaming me for taking all the rice? You’re just a hen that can’t lay eggs—how much do you think you deserve to eat in a day? Your eldest sister is pregnant again and doesn’t get enough to eat at her in-laws’ house. What’s wrong with me bringing her some rice? Are you really trying to stop me? Shubai must have been blind to marry such an unreasonable woman!”
Ever since it was discovered that Ruan Qingli couldn’t bear children, Madam Zhou had hurled insults like these at her almost every day.
By now, Ruan Qingli had become numb to them.
Arguing with someone like Madam Zhou was useless.
To deal with a snake, you had to strike at its vital point.
So she calmly said,
“You’re right, Mother. I was being petty. Since you were away these past few days, I sold the dining table. I used the money to buy rice and eggs. I kept enough for myself to eat, and I sent everything else to Elder Sister.”
Madam Zhou was notoriously stingy.
Even toward her own daughter, she hated spending money.
The only reason she had taken all the rice to her eldest daughter’s house was because she didn’t want Ruan Qingli to have any.
Now, hearing that Ruan Qingli had sold the family table to buy eggs—not only eating them herself but even sending some to her eldest daughter’s in-laws—Madam Zhou’s heart ached as though someone had cut away a piece of flesh.
She exploded in rage.
“Ruan Qingli! You wretch with a mother who gave birth to you but never taught you any manners! You’ll do any wicked thing! Why didn’t you just starve to death these past few days? I’ll make Shubai divorce you! Let’s see who’d ever want a hen that can’t lay eggs after you’re thrown out of the Fang family!”
Han Sheng happened to be on his way to the yamen.
Passing through his courtyard, he paused briefly upon hearing Madam Zhou’s shouting before continuing on his way.
Fang Shubai returned home after completing the first two rounds of the prefectural examinations.
Since there was still another month before the final academy examination, most candidates returned home to rest in the meantime.
The moment he arrived, Madam Zhou immediately began complaining to him.
The more Fang Shubai listened, the more irritated he became.
His performance in the first two rounds hadn’t been particularly good.
Whether he could earn the title of licentiate would depend entirely on the final examination.
But this time was different from all the others.
He had encountered an unexpected opportunity…
Madam Zhou continued complaining endlessly while Fang Xiuxiu chimed in from the side.
“Brother, Sister-in-law really went too far this time. While you were away, she cooked special meals for herself every day. She even sold the family’s table to buy eggs for herself. Mother and I only got wild vegetable buns. I don’t mind, but Mother became ill from hunger.”
Madam Zhou wiped at her eyes as she spoke.
“Shubai, I’m not saying your wife is a bad person, but she’s completely different when you’re away. She knows you spoil her, so yesterday she even dared to yell at me. I worked so hard raising all of you after your father died, and now that I’m old, I’m bullied by my own daughter-in-law…”
With that, she sat on the bed, weeping pitifully.
Fang Shubai remained silent.
His face darkened as he returned to his room.
The moment he stepped inside, without saying a word, he walked straight up to Ruan Qingli and slapped her across the face.
“So this is how you’ve treated my mother and sister while I was away?”
Covering her burning cheek, Ruan Qingli asked,
“So you’re sentencing me without even asking what actually happened?”
Looking at her coldly, Fang Shubai replied,
“Are you saying Mother and Fourth Sister would falsely accuse you? I already went to the kitchen myself. There were only wild vegetable buns in the pot. Has our family really fallen into such poverty? And wasn’t it you who sold the furniture?”
Ruan Qingli refused to back down.
“Yes, I sold it. But do you know why? Because I had nothing to eat! I was about to starve to death! You’re right—our family isn’t so poor that we have to survive on wild vegetable buns. But Mother wouldn’t even give me a single copper coin. How was I supposed to buy grain? If I didn’t dig wild vegetables, what else was I supposed to eat?”
Fang Shubai let out a cold laugh.
“A’Li, why would you tell such an obvious lie? Mother may be unhappy because you can’t bear children, but she would never refuse to give you money for rice. If you really don’t want to cook for the family, then I’ll simply hire Aunt Zhang back in a few days.”
Hearing those words, Ruan Qingli felt utterly exhausted.
They had lived together for nearly three years.
Truthfully, Fang Shubai had treated her reasonably well.
But whenever the issue involved his mother or his sister, he would always choose to believe and side with them without question.
A heart didn’t grow cold overnight.
At that moment, Ruan Qingli felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness.
Seeing her hurt expression, Fang Shubai softened.
He sat beside her, pulled her into his arms, and gently coaxed her.
“A’Li, my father died when I was very young. My mother raised the five of us all by herself. You didn’t see how much she suffered for my sake. In the future, just try to be more patient with her… if only for me.”
He gently touched her swollen cheek.
“Does it still hurt? I was too impulsive just now. I shouldn’t have hit you. If you’re angry, you can hit me back a few times. Just don’t make yourself sick from anger.”
As he spoke, he took a tael of silver from his robe and placed it in her hand.
“A’Li, keep this. Tomorrow, go into town and buy yourself something you like. Winter is almost here—you should get yourself a few more sets of clothes.”
A slap followed by a sweet reward.
It was Fang Shubai’s favorite tactic.
In the past, it had always worked perfectly on Ruan Qingli.
This time, however, it didn’t.
She quietly pulled herself free from his embrace, picked up her quilt from the bed, and headed for the door.
Fang Shubai frowned.
“It’s already so late. Where are you going?”
“I’m sleeping in the side room.”
“A’Li, I just got home today. I’m really tired. Can you stop making such a fuss?”
A bitter laugh escaped through her nose.
“Fine. Call it making a fuss if you like. You’re tired, so get some rest. I just want to be alone for a while.”
After Ruan Qingli left, Fang Shubai angrily smashed a teacup onto the floor.
There had been some things he was still hesitating about.
Now…
He no longer wanted to wait.
During this trip to the county for the examinations, the county magistrate had unexpectedly taken a liking to him.
The magistrate even seemed interested in marrying his daughter to Fang Shubai and had specifically inquired about his marital status.
The opportunity was simply too valuable to miss.
If he became the county magistrate’s son-in-law, he could use that connection to climb steadily through the ranks of officialdom.
But first…
He needed an unblemished reputation.
That meant A’Li would have to leave the Fang family for a while and relinquish her position as his lawful wife.
Of course, he didn’t consider himself an ungrateful man.
Once he became an official in the future, he would bring her back into his household as a concubine.
But he couldn’t simply divorce her outright.
Doing so would tarnish the spotless reputation he had worked so hard to cultivate.
He would have to come up with a flawless plan.