The morning wind shook pear blossoms from the trees. The small mountain village looked as though a pure and beautiful snow of pear petals had fallen. Yet now, the blossoms carpeting the ground were trampled into mud by more than a dozen men and women holding shovels and hoes.
“Second Brother, the Zhang family has only Baogen as its single heir. That little slut Qin Shuyao isn’t just bullying Baogen. She’s clearly trampling on our entire Zhang family.”
He Cuilian, who had been fierce and vicious the day before, was now crying with snot and tears streaming down her face, wailing like she was at a funeral.
The man called Second Brother was named Zhang Chunsheng. He was Zhang Baogen’s second uncle and held an official post in the county.
He had been tied up with work the day before and missed his nephew’s wedding banquet, only managing to return to the village late at night.
As soon as he arrived, his sister-in-law burst into tears, sobbing about how the bride had run off and slept with a wild man, bringing shame upon the Zhang ancestors.
That was not all. Just before dawn, Zhang Baogen crawled back home with his face covered in blood, accusing Qin Shuyao’s “wild man” of kidnapping and torturing him.
“Second Uncle, I just wanted to talk things through with Qin Shuyao. They did this to me. If I hadn’t been lucky enough to escape, our Zhang family line would have ended.”
So early that morning, Zhang Chunsheng gathered more than a dozen Zhang family men and marched in force to Qin Family Village to demand justice.
“That adulterous pair are still inside the house. I’ve been watching the whole time.”
Standing at the gate of Qin Shuyao’s home was a young man of eighteen or nineteen. When he saw Zhang Baogen arrive, he smiled obsequiously, eager to claim credit.
His name was Qin Feng, a neighbor of Qin Shuyao and a loafing village punk.
Once, drunk in the middle of the night, he had sneaked into Qin Shuyao’s room intending to assault her. Instead, she had stabbed a knitting needle straight into his thigh. Furious and frightened, he had held a grudge ever since.
He had helped Zhang Baogen untie himself and then stood guard, watching the house. Zhang Baogen had promised him fifty yuan for his trouble.
Zhang Chunsheng kicked down the wooden gate and, led by Qin Feng, headed straight for the west room.
He stopped at the doorway and said to He Cuilian, “You take a few women in first. No matter what, make her put on some clothes.”
He Cuilian’s eyes brimmed with malice and hatred. She shoved the door open, storming inside while hurling curses.
“You shameless slut, you dare bully my son. See if I don’t tear you apart today…”
Her shouting cut off abruptly. The room fell into dead silence, leaving the men outside staring at one another.
“Oh no, Cuilian’s in danger.”
Zhang Runsheng pushed past his second brother and rushed inside. He was not truly worried about his yellow-faced wife. He simply wanted a chance to see Qin Shuyao without clothes.
Zhang Baogen and several other men with ill intentions also took the opportunity to enter.
There was no erotic scene of Qin Shuyao’s naked body as they had imagined. Instead, Qin Shuyao sat fully dressed in the corner of the bed, arms wrapped around her knees, her face still marked with the mottled bruises left by the wedding prank.
Chen Qilan sat in the corner farthest from the bed, his back straight and his expression cold.
Yes, the moment Chen Qilan heard Zhang Baogen escape, he had already guessed what would follow.
Unhurried, he had gone to the kitchen to heat water and carried it into the west room, carefully washing the still-sleeping Qin Shuyao. He found clean clothes in the cupboard and dressed her properly, even combing her hair.
Then he used the same water to wash himself, methodically tidied everything up, and only when the noise outside grew loud did he wake Qin Shuyao.
At this moment, Qin Shuyao had not fully come back to herself. Her memory stopped at the moment Chen Qilan carried her into her room the night before. As for what happened afterward…
The intense soreness throughout her body told her that those so-called erotic dreams had all been real.
How she had hooked her arms around his neck and kissed him, how he had trapped her in his arms and taken her at will.
But this was not the time to dwell on that. The Zhang family had come aggressively, clearly unwilling to let her go.
Qin Shuyao had endured the torment of her previous life and had long since seen through many things, including so-called chastity and reputation.
But Chen Qilan was different.
He was a young, promising officer with a boundless future. He should not be dragged into this mire because of her.
She took a deep breath and looked at the Zhang family with a mocking smile.
“What? In broad daylight, are you planning to snatch a bride?”
Her voice was hoarse and her throat ached.
She did not know whether it was the aftereffect of the veterinary drug or the prolonged, fierce entanglement of the night before that had overstrained her voice.
Chen Qilan lifted his eyes to look at her. Last night, she had been like an oriole leaving its valley, crying his name with a sound so sweet it had stirred wicked thoughts in him.
“Look at me. Say it. Who am I?”
The girl in his arms had trembled and cried, her nails nearly digging into his flesh.
“Chen Qilan. You are Chen Qilan.”
Knowing how young and pure she was, he should not have been so reckless last night.
“What do you mean snatching a bride? You were my wife to begin with. We held the wedding yesterday.”
“It was just my brothers getting carried away for fun. Why are you taking it so seriously? You’re making my parents lose face.”
Zhang Baogen was full of anger, but when he saw Qin Shuyao’s breathtaking beauty, he hesitated.
“Qin Shuyao, I’ll give you one last chance. Go back, kneel to my parents, and apologize properly. Our family won’t pursue what you did before.”
Zhang Chunsheng chimed in as well. “Marriage is a major matter. Even if there’s a misunderstanding, you can sit down and talk it out later. We already gave the bride price. You can’t…”
“Bride price?”
Qin Shuyao snorted.
“Sorry, but I didn’t take a single cent of your family’s bride price.”
Zhang Chunsheng froze and instinctively looked at his younger brother and sister-in-law. Both of them looked guilty and flustered.
“What’s going on? Didn’t you borrow a thousand yuan from me for the bride price?”
He Cuilian muttered, “We thought… since she was marrying into our family anyway, she’d have to bring the bride price back. So we didn’t… we’re family. Why talk about money?”
After a pause, she pointed at Qin Shuyao and cursed, “You little vixen. You’re not just slutty, you’re vicious too. Saying this now, you’re deliberately sowing discord, aren’t you?”
“Second Brother, now isn’t the time to worry about the bride price. This little slut committed adultery with a wild man. You’re an official. You can’t just watch her disgrace our Zhang family.”
Twisting the truth without blinking, He Cuilian continued, “That little slut is easy to deal with. Beat her a few times and drag her home. She’ll behave and live with Baogen. The key is this wild man.”
She pointed at Chen Qilan, who had not said a word, almost grinding her teeth to dust.
“Second Brother, have the military leadership expel him. No, expulsion isn’t enough. He has to go to prison. You’re an official. Ruining him would be easy.”
Her triangular eyes gleamed with venom.
In these surrounding villages, who did not know the Zhang family’s power? Anyone who dared provoke them would lose a layer of skin, even if the King of Heaven himself showed up.
“Shut up. Do you think I’m powerful enough to command military leaders?”
Over the years, Zhang Chunsheng had cleaned up many messes for his family. After all, this was his youngest brother, and Zhang Baogen was the Zhang family’s only male heir.
He took a deep breath and looked at Chen Qilan. “Comrade, this is ultimately a family matter. You see…”
He took out a pack of cigarettes and stuffed it into Chen Qilan’s pocket.
“We all work within the same system. I have some connections in the military too. If you give me face, I’ll write a letter of commendation to your unit, praising you for acting bravely.”
“I guarantee that letter can earn you a third-class merit citation. How about it?”
Chen Qilan said nothing and instead looked at Qin Shuyao.
She was also looking at him, her expression calm and steady. She even smiled at him, clearly respecting whatever choice he made.
Zhang Chunsheng’s words carried two meanings. Besides the promise of commendation, there was an undisguised threat.
If he could write a letter that earned Chen Qilan a merit citation, he could just as easily write a complaint that destroyed his military career.
Yesterday, Chen Qilan had taken her away under great pressure. Then he had stepped into danger himself to save her life by taking the antidote. She already owed him two great debts.
She had no right to drag him down any further.
This was her fate. Even reborn and struggling with all her strength, she still could not escape being swallowed and torn apart by a tragic destiny.
Chen Qilan stood up without a word. The Zhang family’s faces lit up as they stared at Qin Shuyao like wolves eyeing a lamb.
He Cuilian did not even wait for Chen Qilan to leave. She had already taken out the rope she had prepared in advance, planning to bind Qin Shuyao and drag her home to discipline her properly.