The moonlight shifted westward.
In the tranquil town, some had already extinguished their lamps early, enveloped in silent stillness.
At the end of the street, candlelight flickered within the medical clinic, and from time to time, sharp, biting accusations rang out.
"Chun Jingshu, you shameless slut! You seduced my husband and made him forget all about coming home. What, you dare to do it but not dare to admit it?"
Madam Li gazed at Chun Jingshu's skin, fairer and more delicate than her own, and jealousy gnawed at her heart.
"Chun Jingshu, I've invited the village chief here today as a witness. If you confess, we might consider giving you a quick end. But if you remain stubborn and unrepentant, we'll have no choice but to drown you in the pond to uphold the Chun family's honor!"
In this era, a married woman committing adultery was a disgrace to the world.
Old Mrs. Chun had lost her husband early in life and had lived as a widow ever since. Recently, she had been nominated as the town's paragon of chastity, and she could not abide any hint of impropriety.
Yuchu clenched his little hands into fists, staring nervously at his mother, his cheeks puffed up with indignation.
"Madam, I don't know Li Luo. You've got the wrong person."
Seeing that Gu Yujing was not involved, Chun Jingshu felt even less burdened.
She sat down beside her son and calmly took a sip of tea.
"I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Men, bring up the evidence!"
Madam Li immediately ordered her servants to place a bright yellow woman's undergarment before the village chief and Old Mrs. Chun.
The village chief turned his face away uncomfortably.
Old Mrs. Chun's face flushed with embarrassment.
"This garment was found in my husband's study! Embroidered at the hem is the character 'Shu.'" Madam Li gnashed her teeth.
Ever since Li Luo had returned from a consultation at the medical clinic, he had stopped sharing the marital bed with her.
No matter how alluringly she dressed, no matter how hard she tried to arouse him, he would ultimately refuse her.
When a man loses interest in his wife, the only explanation is that he has someone else.
This morning, he had once again pushed her away, panting heavily.
She had ransacked his study, searching for evidence.
In a hidden compartment, she had found this undergarment.
She confronted him with the garment, but he flew into a rage and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
A servant had secretly followed him and discovered he was heading toward the medical clinic.
She had been so furious she wanted to kill them both on the spot.
Old Mrs. Chun saw the undergarment and instantly turned crimson. Her fingers trembling, she pointed at Chun Jingshu. "You…"
She did not live with Chun Jingshu and did not know the style of her undergarments, but the character on the garment made her heart race with alarm.
Among everyone she knew, only Chun Jingshu had the character "Shu" in her name.
Moreover, the fact that Chun Jingshu treated male patients as well as female ones had long been a thorn in her side.
It was only because her son had always protected her that she had refrained from speaking out.
"That garment isn't mine."
Chun Jingshu glanced at it and shook her head in denial. "I don't own an undergarment of that color. You've got the wrong person."
"The evidence is conclusive! Denying it is useless!"
"If you don't believe me, why not call your husband here to confront me?"
"You know very well he won't come home now because of you!"
Madam Li was beside herself with rage. "This morning, my people saw him waiting at the door of your clinic!"
"So you mean to say, since you couldn't find him, you decided to come after me instead?"
Chun Jingshu raised an eyebrow and stepped forward. "Sister, if you can't keep your own husband in line, why blame me? I've had better men than him. A couple of rotten melons and cracked dates like that—I wouldn't even look twice."
"You vile woman! Do you have to be caught in bed before you'll admit it?"
Most women, upon being confronted with an affair and having the aggrieved party come knocking, would wish to flee into the earth and immediately confess.
Madam Li had not expected Chun Jingshu to be so thick-skinned, refusing to admit it to the death, and even uttering such shameless words.
"Mother says there is none, so there is none. You wicked woman, do not slander my mother!" Yuchu planted her hands on her hips and bared her teeth at Madam Li.
"What would a child like you understand? Your mother is a miracle-working physician in public, but in private she carries on as a lover—"
"Smack!"
Before Madam Li could finish her words, a slap landed across her face.
She turned in shock to see Chun Jingshu's raised hand.
"How dare you strike me?"
"Why would I not dare? You woman are utterly unreasonable, bursting into my clinic to shout and curse, trying to pin the crime of 'adultery' on me with a single undergarment."
Chun Jingshu's eyes turned icy as she stepped in front of Yuchu. "They say you must catch adulterers in the act. If you insist I have taken a lover, then produce more direct evidence. Otherwise, I will go to the authorities and charge you with defaming an innocent woman's honor."
Her fearless demeanor made Madam Li retreat several steps.
Old Mrs. Chun also hesitated—could Chun Jingshu truly be wronged?
As the standoff lingered, a gentle breeze blew in, brightening the candlelight somewhat.
Chun Qizhe's younger sister, Chun Yue, with her sharp eyes, noticed that Chun Jingshu had changed her clothes—they were not the set she had worn when going out that morning.
This outfit shimmered with a faint luster; even under the dim light indoors, one could discern its luxurious watery patterns.
"Mother, Sister-in-law went out to gather herbs, and now she has changed her clothes. I wonder who she changed them for."
Chun Yue disliked Chun Jingshu.
Ever since the mother and son had entered the household, her elder brother's attention toward her had diminished.
He no longer doted on her as he once had.
If not for Chun Jingshu, this fine clothing would have been hers to wear.
After Chun Yue spoke, Old Mrs. Chun's expression darkened abruptly.
"You have even changed your clothes and still refuse to admit it? Chun Jingshu, then tell me—if you did not go to see Li Luo today, who did you go to see?"
"I went up the mountain today to gather herbs and rescued an injured person. My clothes got wet, so I changed. Is that so strange?"
"Then where did you change into these clothes?"
Chun Jingshu paused for a moment, momentarily at a loss for words.
She did not wish to have any further entanglement with Gu Yujing.
"Can't say, can you? You clearly were—" Madam Li said with venom, "Just moments ago you were so confident, so why are you stammering now? I think your guilty conscience is showing!"
She touched the burning pain on her face. "Village chief, if Chun Jingshu cannot produce evidence to refute this today, I suggest we drown her in the pond! And when we catch Li Luo, we drown him too!"
She picked up the undergarment and tossed it before Chun Jingshu, her face full of contempt.
Chun Jingshu caught a faint, elusive fragrance.
This fragrance…
The village chief looked toward Old Mrs. Chun.
Old Mrs. Chun straightened her back. "The Chun family maintains an upright reputation. Whether male or female, all conduct themselves with prudence and propriety, never overstepping bounds. Chun Jingshu, if you cannot give a satisfactory explanation today, this old woman can only consent to having you drowned in the pond to set the record straight.
I will ask you one last time—who did you go to see today?"
"Me." A cool voice carried on the breeze drifted in as a man strode with large steps into the clinic.
He wore a blue robe, his moon-white cloak swaying with each step.
His slightly pallid face bore a flush of red, and his narrow, elongated eyes gained a sense of depth under the lamplight.
He swept a cold gaze across everyone present, and finally, his eyes settled on Chun Jingshu.
Chun Jingshu's brows knitted tightly.
Why had he come?
Could it be that he recognized her?
She hugged Yuchu tightly, showing only the back of her head.
Chun Yue caught sight of Gu Yujing and stared, utterly transfixed.
She had never seen such a handsome and dignified man—one who seemed to have stepped straight out of a painting.
"Surely this young master must be mistaken? My sister-in-law went out to gather herbs today—how could she have treated you?"
Seeing such an elegant gentleman come to vouch for Chun Jingshu, Chun Yue felt a surge of jealousy.
Yet, Gu Yujing did not even glance her way.
He walked straight up to Chun Jingshu.
Chun Jingshu's heart trembled. Her arms, holding her son, grew uncertain.
If he discovered that Yuchu was her son, given the Gu family's ways, they would never let Yuchu stay with her.
The Gu estate was wealthy, but noble households were never short of hidden schemes.
Back then, Gu Yujing, as the heir, had nearly lost his life to such plots. If Yuchu, an innocent child, were to enter the Gu mansion…
At that thought, her entire body tensed.
Yuchu was the child she had fought with all her might to keep—he was her very life.
She would never allow anyone to take him away.
"Physician Chun, just now—why did you refuse to say that you treated me today?"
He stepped closer, looking down at her.
Their sleeves brushed against each other.
She had not expected him to come so near. She stepped back several paces, putting distance between them.
But she stumbled into the chair behind her.
With a lurch, the medicine pouch on the chair fell to the ground, its contents rolling out with a soft clatter.
A red string came into view.
Gu Yujing crouched down and picked it up. His expression shifted drastically.
This was not his.
But the weave—it was exactly the same.
This peculiar weaving technique was known only to one person.
"Physician Chun, you wove this red string yourself, didn't you?"
A storm brewed in his eyes, his deep gaze seeming to pierce straight through her.