Chapter 7
Edward Quan ·
14
When I woke, Cui Yu was holding a short knife to his wrist, about to cut.
Alarmed, I rolled over and lunged for his hand.
“What are you doing?”
His eyes were red. Tears of shame fell.
“I'm unworthy of being human. You took pity on me after those villains harmed me and invited me into your home. Yet I took advantage and violated you. I've ruined your innocence. I deserve to die to make amends.”
Absolutely not.
I still meant to marry him.
“There's no need to die. We agreed last night that you'd marry me. Are you going back on your word?”
“Never mind. Even if you are, I won't blame you. A man marrying into a woman's household is hardly something one hears of.”
Cui Yu looked up sharply, his eyes wide.
“You… you don't despise my flawed character? You still want to marry me?”
“You were drugged. It wasn't what you intended. Why would I despise you?”
I pressed him for the cause.
He said he had gone to a fellow student's house for a feast yesterday. At his elder brother's urging, the student had slipped a drug into his wine.
Only through sheer will had he managed to drag himself back to the Jiang residence.
“It must have been my mother's idea. She doesn't want me to sit the examinations…”
He lowered his head, looking bleak.
I lifted his chin and kissed him softly.
“You belong to me now. No one will hurt you again.”
His ears reddened.
“Yes,” he answered shyly.
After breakfast, I told my parents I wanted to take Cui Yu as my husband.
Both froze.
Father sighed.
“I knew from the start that this little white rabbit had wandered into a wolf's den. Today proves it.”
Mother waved a hand.
“You can't put it that way. Food and love are natural human desires. Our daughter is merely… Oh, never mind. My ancestors never produced a girl this bold. The precedent must be on your side.”
The more she spoke, the more reasonable she found it.
“Ask your ancestors about it next time they visit your dreams.”
I took several strong men, covered our faces, and went to find the eldest Cui son. We beat him thoroughly, poured aphrodisiac into his mouth, and dumped him at Nanfeng House, the male brothel.
Then we put a sack over Madam Cui's head, dragged her to a ruined temple, and pretended to be ghosts and spirits until she was terrified out of her wits.
I did not spare the fellow student who had plotted it either.
In the middle of the night, I climbed onto his roof, jumped down, and knocked out three of his front teeth.
He was now running all over the city, looking for a doctor to replace them.
15
My wedding, in which I took a husband into my household, was a grand and splendid affair.
My sister came all the way from the capital. Seeing Cui Yu beneath his red bridal veil, she secretly gave me a thumbs-up.
During the feast, she leaned over and told me something strange.
Xie Hui had married.
His partner at the ceremony, however, had been a memorial tablet.
Apparently, his parents had been so angry they nearly fainted.
My curiosity stirred.
Hadn't he been about to marry Miss Zhou?
Had she died already?
Xie Hui was rather devoted, to marry a memorial tablet.
After that interesting piece of gossip, my own wedding night was upon us in a blink.
The examinations drew closer. I decided to accompany Cui Yu to the capital myself.
My sister wrote to invite us to stay at the marquis's residence. There were plenty of rooms, she said. It would be convenient.
In my free time, I helped her look after her two children, and we went shopping together.
That day, I went to a restaurant to buy Cui Yu's favorite soy-braised duck.
Hurrying around a corner, I nearly collided with someone.
I looked up.
Xie Hui.
A ghost. I had met a ghost!
My heart missed a beat in alarm.
He was thinner and more haggard, but still strikingly handsome.
His eyes fixed on me, full of shock.
“A-Li?”
He caught my wrist.
“You're alive?”
I frowned.
“You're hurting me, sir. Please let go. My name isn't A-Li.”
He stared blankly and slowly released me, murmuring, “How can you… not be? You look exactly alike.”
My sister immediately stepped in front of me.
“Master Xie, this is my younger sister. She has nothing to do with the A-Li you speak of. She's already married. Blocking a married woman's way like this is hardly becoming.”
Then she took my hand and turned to leave.
Xie Hui's voice came from behind us.
“A-Li, I don't think I ever gave you those five taels.”
I almost stopped.
Well played. He was deliberately testing me.
Luckily, I showed nothing.
My sister tilted her head and whispered, “What five taels?”
My heart tightened. I stammered something evasive and said I could not remember.