“To be honest, Young Master Wei probably doesn’t know much more than I do,” Xie Weian said. “He simply doesn’t want the Wei family to worry, so he keeps the truth from you.”
“The dead Miss Chang had a straightforward personality. She and her cousin, who came to the capital for the imperial examination, loved each other deeply. They had already promised to marry in secret. However, her father’s cloth workshop was doing badly and urgently needed money.”
“Her cousin couldn’t provide the money, and the Chang family was under great pressure. Their marriage kept being delayed. Then Wei Xinian’s servant appeared and gave the Chang family a sum of money in exchange for letting Miss Chang become Wei Xinian’s concubine.”
“During the Spring Festival celebration, Wei Xinian wanted to get closer to Miss Chang. But she still loved her cousin and refused to marry him. In the heat of the argument, she angered Wei Xinian. In a fit of rage, he accidentally killed her.”
The more Li Zhenchun listened, the deeper she frowned.
“That doesn’t make sense. Before Wei Xinian left for the festival, he knelt down and swore that he would never take a concubine. Even if he met Miss Chang that day, they shouldn’t have argued over that.”
“He knelt and swore?” Xie Weian looked at Yue Jingque. “He is so timid and weak, yet you were still willing to marry him?”
Li Zhenchun: “…”
“Weren’t we supposed to be discussing how to save him? Why does your tone suddenly sound so jealous?”
“Can we focus on the important matter? Wei Xinian is still locked in prison,” Li Zhenchun reminded him kindly.
Xie Weian looked away.
“No one outside the Wei family knows that he swore not to take a concubine. Only the Wei family members can testify to it. But everyone knows his servant gave money to Boss Chang. That fact alone cannot clear his name.”
“Besides, his case is already difficult to defend. Do you know where the murder weapon came from?”
Li Zhenchun looked at Yue Jingque.
Yue Jingque asked,
“Was the dagger his?”
“As expected of Jingque. You are very clever.”
Xie Weian gently waved his folding fan.
“Wei Xinian often visited brothels and entertainment houses. Last year, he won that dagger at Drunken Red Pavilion in front of many courtesans and wealthy young masters. The handle is decorated with rubies, the blade is sharp enough to cut iron, and the sheath is carved with a unique sundial pattern from the Western Regions.”
“There is only one dagger like it in the capital. Such a valuable weapon would never be given away, especially not to a concubine who hadn’t even entered the family. The dagger could only have been brought there by Wei Xinian.”
“It wasn’t him,” Yue Jingque replied calmly. “He wasn’t carrying a dagger when he left the house.”
Before leaving, Wei Xinian had hugged her arm and even knelt down while holding her waist. If he had been carrying something as hard as a dagger, she would have noticed it.
Unless he had hidden it inside his boot.
But Wei Xinian was a spoiled young master. There was no reason for him to hide a dagger there.
“It doesn’t matter what you say,” Xie Weian replied. “Family members cannot testify for him in court. This case will be very difficult to overturn.”
…
Wei Xinian stared silently at the ceiling of his cell.
Outside the cell, Li Zhenchun became anxious.
“Will you hurry up and tell us? We bribed the guards to let us in. They’ll chase us out soon!”
“This fool! Doesn’t he know that visiting time in prison is bought with money?”
“Hurry up! Where did the money you gave Boss Chang come from?”
If the wooden bars weren’t between them, she would have gone inside and beaten him herself. Even now, he was still hiding the truth about his private savings.
Wei Xinian glanced at Li Zhenchun’s worried face, then at Yue Jingque, who remained silent, before looking back at the ceiling.
Yue Jingque looked at him.
“If you don’t want to speak, then I’ll leave.”
“Sister-in-law, let’s go.”
She didn’t even give him time to react. She turned and left with Li Zhenchun. By the time Wei Xinian looked back, they were already gone.
“Hey!”
“Wait! Come back!”
He hurried to the bars and waved at Yue Jingque.
“I’ll tell you! Isn’t that enough?”
Yue Jingque stopped and turned around.
“Go ahead.”
Wei Xinian hesitated. He looked toward the prisoners in the next cell. His sense of shame suddenly returned.
“Come closer. I’ll tell you quietly.”
Yue Jingque walked over.
“The money for taking the concubine…” he whispered, “was borrowed from Lian Er.”
“The second young master of the Lian family, Lian Chengbi?”
Yue Jingque asked.
Wei Xinian nodded.
Li Zhenchun couldn’t help complaining.
“You actually borrowed money just to take a concubine? Aren’t you embarrassed?”
He didn’t dare argue with Yue Jingque, but he wasn’t afraid of arguing with Li Zhenchun.
“Shut up! I wasn’t the one who wanted to borrow money! He offered it to me!”
Li Zhenchun paused.
“He offered you money so you could take a concubine? Don’t tell me he even chose the woman for you.”
Wei Xinian looked guilty and stayed silent.
Li Zhenchun sighed.
“So someone else picked the concubine, someone else paid the money… Why don’t you let him spend your wedding night for you too? Then when the child is born, it can even take his family name.”
Wei Xinian clicked his tongue.
“It’s not like I really wanted a concubine.”
He had only wanted to make Yue Jingque jealous. He never expected things to become this serious.
If he had known, he would have burned Lian Chengbi’s letter, gone to his house, beaten him up, and thrown the money back in his face.
“The dagger?”
Yue Jingque asked.
“Why was it there?”
The moment Wei Xinian heard the word “dagger,” he became excited.
“She took it out! I accused her of stealing my dagger, and she told me to check whether it was really mine. The moment I pulled the blade out, she grabbed my hand and stabbed herself in the stomach!”
He had been completely stunned.
He had never seen anyone frame another person in such a terrifying way.
“If I had known she’d do that, I wouldn’t have pulled the blade out. I would’ve left it in the sheath and let her run into that instead!”
At the time, he had been too shocked by the accusation of murder.
Now that he thought about it, someone had clearly set a trap for him.
Li Zhenchun looked at him.
“When we left the city, you were still walking behind us. How did you end up alone with her in such a deserted place?”
She remembered that Wei Nancheng had also been behind them at first before disappearing.
“First, an official recognized my brother and stopped him at a pavilion outside the city to chat. I listened for a while, got bored, and was about to leave when that woman came over.”
“When I recognized her, I actually wanted to avoid her.”
After all, Yue Jingque wasn’t far away. If the tigress saw them together, he would have to kneel and apologize again.
“But she said she was returning my money.”
He spoke very seriously.
Li Zhenchun: “…”
That really was a difficult reason to refuse.
Yue Jingque: “…”
Being framed over such a small amount of money was honestly embarrassing.
Wei Xinian looked at them hopefully.
“You believe me, don’t you? When I told the officials yesterday, none of them believed me.”
“Silly girl… no, Sister-in-law. We’ve known each other for so long. You know what kind of person I am. Go talk to my brother and get me out of here. There are rats in this prison. They keep me awake all night.”
“Yue Jingque, we’ve been husband and wife, after all. One day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of affection. Your father is the Right Chancellor, and your brother is also an official. Ask them to help save me. Once I’m free, I’ll bring good wine to visit them!”
Even after Li Zhenchun and Yue Jingque left, Wei Xinian was still waving behind them.
“Remember to think of a way to get me out! This prison is really awful!”
…
Wei Nancheng and Xie Weian stood together.
Xie Weian slowly waved his folding fan.
“Lord Wei, what brings you to Shuntian Prefecture today? I thought the Prefect had given you permission to work from home.”
Wei Nancheng looked at him.
“There has never been any grudge between us. There’s no need to test me like this.”
Xie Weian stopped fanning himself.
“Only now do we have no grudge. Before this, you and I were rivals in love.”
Of course, that grudge had now fallen onto poor Wei Xinian.
Wei Nancheng replied calmly,
“Marriage is either based on mutual love or arranged by one’s parents. You and Miss Yue had neither mutual affection nor a formal engagement. It was only your own wishful thinking. How could she ever have been your wife? And how could Wei Xinian be guilty of stealing another man’s wife?”
Xie Weian tightened his grip on the fan.
“How do you know we didn’t love each other?”
Wei Nancheng answered,
“So, in Young Master Xie’s eyes, ‘mutual love’ means a woman can calmly marry someone else. Your understanding has truly broadened my knowledge.”
Standing straight like a sturdy pine tree, Wei Nancheng looked at him as though he weren’t speaking to a normal person.
“There is a physician in West Alley who is famous for treating mental illnesses. Young Master Xie should visit him sometime.”
“I don’t need that,” Xie Weian replied with a fake smile. “Wei Xinian is the one who needs treatment. He caused such a disaster just by trying to take a concubine.”
“My younger brother may be reckless and careless,” Wei Nancheng said, “but I believe he is innocent.”
He looked directly at Xie Weian.
“You have served as an official for several years. Though your rank is low, you should still understand the difference between public duty and personal feelings. Don’t let private grudges interfere with official matters, or you may lose your position.”
Just then, Li Zhenchun stepped out of Shuntian Prefecture.
The moment she saw Wei Nancheng, she froze and instinctively wanted to step back inside.
Yue Jingque noticed and called first.
“Brother.”
“Jingque.”
Right in front of Wei Nancheng, Xie Weian walked over to Yue Jingque.
“Why is your face so pale? Was the prison too cold?”
Li Zhenchun looked at Wei Nancheng in the distance and then at Xie Weian standing nearby.
She thought to herself:
“His name is Weian (‘Peace’), but he really seems to enjoy stirring up trouble.”
Was he acting so attentive because he was afraid Wei Nancheng hadn’t yet discovered their relationship?
What if Wei Nancheng misunderstood and reported everything to Old Madam Wei?
That wouldn’t do.
Even if it wasn’t for Wei Xinian, she still had to protect Yue Jingque’s reputation.
She quickly stepped between them.
Looking seriously at Xie Weian, she said,
“Young Master Xie, it wasn’t cold inside. But there were rats. Huge rats.”
“There was even rat droppings in the cells. You should send more officers to clean the prison. Since we have nothing else to do today, I’ll take Jingque back home. We’ll meet another day.”
She grabbed Yue Jingque’s hand and tried to walk around him.
But Xie Weian stretched out his fan and blocked their way.
“I heard from Jingque that my sister-in-law isn’t from the capital. Since it’s already evening, why don’t I host a dinner at Chunxi Restaurant and welcome you properly on Jingque’s behalf?”
Li Zhenchun: “…”
For the first time, she honestly couldn’t tell whether Xie Weian loved Yue Jingque…
…or hated her.
Maybe he hated her enough to ruin her reputation.
“No need.”
Standing behind Li Zhenchun, Yue Jingque looked calmly at Xie Weian.
“Since Wei Xinian cannot fulfill his duties as a son while he is imprisoned, I should take care of his mother in his place. Thank you for your help today, Young Master Xie. Nanzhi, please deliver my gift of thanks.”
With only a few sentences, she clearly drew a line between herself and Xie Weian.
She then looked at Wei Nancheng.
“Brother, did you come here on official business?”
“No.”
“My second aunt heard that you came to visit Wei Xinian, so she asked me to pick you up.”
Wei Nancheng’s voice was calm.
His sharp eyebrows and dark eyes made him look as steady and majestic as a mountain cliff.
As Yue Jingque was about to board the carriage, Xie Weian spoke with bitterness.
“During the first few days after your wedding, I kept waiting for your letter.”
Li Zhenchun was about to speak, but Xie Weian pointed his fan at her.
“You be quiet. I already know you won’t say anything nice.”
“…?”
She hadn’t even opened her mouth yet.
“Get in the carriage, Sister-in-law,” Yue Jingque said.
Li Zhenchun still felt uneasy.
She whispered into Yue Jingque’s ear,
“My mother always told me that you should never choose a man who is petty and overly jealous.”
Although Wei Xinian was also petty, at least he wasn’t so jealous.
Compared to the man before them, who seemed to be drowning in jealousy all by himself, Wei Xinian was a little better.
Li Zhenchun had barely sat down in the carriage when she heard a woman’s voice outside.
“Jingque.”
She lifted the curtain and saw an elegantly dressed noblewoman getting down from another carriage.
The woman walked over and held Yue Jingque’s hand.
“As soon as I heard about Wei Xinian, I went to the Wei residence to find you. They told me you were here, so I hurried over.”
“Jingque, come home with Mother. Your grandmother misses you very much.”
Resting her chin on one hand, Li Zhenchun watched as Yue Jingque slowly withdrew her hand from Madam Yue’s.
“Now that I have married into the Wei family, I am a member of the Wei family. Wei Xinian is in danger, and I cannot abandon him.”
“Nanzhi. Jingxin. Please escort Madam Yue back.”
She turned and got into the carriage beside Li Zhenchun.
Li Zhenchun glanced at her, then at Madam Yue, who was being gently stopped by Jingxin and Nanzhi.
“Jingque! I know you were unhappy with this marriage! But why ruin your entire life out of anger? You know I never wanted this either!”
Madam Yue’s voice became softer as the carriage rolled farther away.
Only after she could no longer hear her did Li Zhenchun ask,
“Do you have someone you truly love?”
Yue Jingque looked at her.
“You didn’t want to marry Wei Nancheng, so you switched bridal sedans and married Wei Xinian instead. But you make Wei Xinian sleep on the floor, which means you don’t like him either.”
“As for Young Master Xie, you’re so cold toward him. Then who do you like? Is there really a man in the capital better than Wei Nancheng and Xie Weian?”
Li Zhenchun thought that if there really was such a man…
…then he could only be a prince or a royal duke.
But even those princes were not necessarily more handsome than Wei Nancheng or Xie Weian.
Their only advantage was their noble birth.