Chapter 38 Scared

For Madam Xu to run away secretly like this, that man must be searching for her like a madman. Judging by his previous behavior, although unreasonable, it showed a deep and profound love for her, no doubt cherishing her into his very bones.

They were originally a pair of kindred spirits deeply in love, yet due to a series of fortuitous mishaps and ironic twists of fate, things had deteriorated to this current state.

"Then do you still have feelings for him in your heart?" Madam Zhou asked hesitatingly.

Xu Chengyue shook her head firmly, speaking every single word with distinct clarity, "My only wish in this lifetime is never to lay eyes on him again."

Painful. It was truly agonizing.

Madam Zhou felt her heart ache in sympathy as another thought crossed her mind.

Lowering her voice significantly for fear of being too direct and reopening old wounds, she weighed her words before speaking, "Did he... ultimately never find out about your pregnancy?"

"...No, he didn't," Xu Chengyue answered in an equally soft tone, lowering her gaze to look at her lower abdomen.

She raised one hand as if to touch herself, but at the very instant before her fingers made contact, they curled slightly and withdrew.

Madam Zhou caught every single movement in her eyes.

Ah, she scolded herself internally for ever bringing up this topic; Madam Xu must be suffering terribly. She surely still harbored feelings for him, though it was likely a tangled mixture of love and hate, and it must have taken her an extremely long time to walk away from it all.

No, perhaps she had not walked away from it even now, merely burying those scars and pains deep within the quietest chambers of her heart, hidden from the gaze of others.

And as for that man, if he ever found out that she had been pregnant only to suffer a miscarriage because of that whole mess, he would surely regret it to his very entrails.

Yet spilled water cannot be gathered up; no matter how heart-wrenching the pain, the past could never be undone.

Though he suffered, it was tolerable for him; he still kept his official post and had two fine wives, taking full advantage of the situation. The other two women, however, had each met a tragic fate.

The former wife had stayed at home serving her parents-in-law through bitter days. When she finally managed to find her husband, he was living a blissful life with another young lady, as envious as Mandarin ducks and carefree as immortals—how could anyone else fathom the bitterness she endured?

Madam Xu's fate was even more wretched. She had simply been an innocent daughter of an official's household, believing she had married a good man, only to discover he was already married. Having followed him for a long time without a proper title, she ended up with nothing in the end, unable to return to her family, living alone in exile, and suffering a miscarriage that ruined her health.

Remembering the purpose of her visit today, Madam Zhou wanted nothing more than to slap herself twice across the face.

*Matchmaking, were you? Matchmaking!* Not only had she poked at someone's deeply painful memories, but she had almost sown the seeds of disaster.

Though Madam Zhou did not know precisely what rank a Commandant of Honoring Virtue was, it sounded like a general's title and must have been a fairly high post. Judging by the general's temperament, he was certainly not a man of tender mercies.

If she had genuinely introduced a gentleman for Madam Xu to meet, and the two had taken a fancy to each other and married—it would have been fine as long as it went unnoticed, but if he had caught them, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

They were ordinary commoners; how could they possibly contend with an official? When the time came, the groom would be held at fault, his household destroyed, and Madam Xu would certainly come to no good end, to say nothing of herself as the matchmaker.

Allowing her imagination to run wild, Madam Zhou envisioned herself narrowly averting a family-ruining catastrophe and drew in a sharp breath of cold air.

"Madam Zhou, what is the matter with you?" Xu Chengyue watched as the expressions on the other woman's face shifted continuously—from sympathy to furrowed distress, and then to absolute shock—having no idea what kind of elaborate scenarios were playing out in her mind.

"Madam Xu is willing to tell me all this because she trusts me. Don't worry, I will certainly keep my lips sealed and never breathe a word of this to anyone," Madam Zhou promised with a grave and solemn expression.

If word of this leaked out, and that man managed to trace her footsteps and track her down, Madam Xu would be in grave danger! And as for herself, the meddlesome busybody who had tried to play matchmaker, her own situation would be hanging by a thread as well!

She must never, ever speak of it! Madam Zhou, who usually could never keep a secret, who loved nothing more than to blabber about whatever she heard to the young wives and aunties on the street corners, made a firm resolution to keep her mouth tightly shut.

"I naturally trust Madam Zhou's character." Completely unaware that she had thoroughly frightened the other woman, Xu Chengyue offered a gentle smile, looking like a pure, white flower swaying in the breeze.

"Oh my, look at the time! Chatting away has made it this late, I should take my leave so as not to disturb your work." Madam Zhou rose to her feet.

"Not at all, not at all. Won't Madam Zhou finish her tea before leaving?" Xu Chengyue offered a polite courtesy.

***

"No, no, I've already imposed on your family for so many cups of tea, I haven't the face to drink another drop." Madam Zhou was speaking the truth; listening to Madam Xu's past had made her drink quite a bit without realizing it, and she now urgently needed to use the latrine.

After a brief exchange of polite remarks, they saw Madam Zhou out the door. Xu Chengyue finally relaxed, feeling as exhausted as if she had just fought a pitched battle.

"Young mistress, do let's rest for a moment, this maid will massage your shoulders." Qiulu felt a pang of guilt for not having been able to help, and wanted to ease her tension.

"Ah, good—yes, right there, a bit lighter." Xu Chengyue enjoyed the massage, finding it immensely comfortable.

"You are so clever, young mistress, wrapping Madam Zhou around your little finger with just a few words and leaving her completely dumbfounded." Qiulu offered some flattering praise.

She herself had been startled at first, but upon realizing what her young mistress was actually doing and observing Madam Zhou's reactions, she had had to pinch her own thigh hard to suppress her laughter.

"Of course, just look who you're talking about," Xu Chengyue said, tossing her head proudly.

As a result, she nearly gave herself a whiplash and hastily pulled her head back, keeping still.

It seemed one shouldn't get too full of themselves; it was always best to remain humble.

Xiahe stood nearby in a daze like a statue. From her unfocused eyes to her slightly parted lips, she radiated an air of total bewilderment, as though her brain had short-circuited from processing too much information at once.

Since she hadn't understood a word of the conversation between the two, she moved her lips and asked in a dazed, dreamy voice, "Young mistress, did this maid catch some sort of amnesia? Otherwise, why don't I remember any of the things the young mistress was talking about? In this maid's memory, we ran away because the eldest branch's mistress tried to force a marriage on you."

Goodness gracious. In fooling an outsider, she had ended up completely bamboozling her own insider as well.

*You really are willing to believe anything, aren't you?*

Xu Chengyue exchanged a glance with Qiulu, and no longer able to hold it back, they burst out laughing. Yet, fearing that Madam Zhou—who had just left the house—might hear them, they both quickly lowered their voices.

***

Leaving the Xu residence, Madam Zhou had not walked two steps before bumping into an auntie with whom she usually gossiped. Under normal circumstances, she would have been burning with eagerness to go over and chat for a while.

Yet the sensation of suppressing a massive secret that she was forbidden to share was utterly agonizing. The moment she started chatting, she would want to blurt it out, and the moment she wanted to speak, she had to bite her tongue—a cyclical torture that drove her mad.

Losing all appetite for gossip, Madam Zhou hurried through a few perfunctory greetings and brushed the woman aside.

This left the enthusiastic auntie—who had originally wanted to catch up on the latest neighborhood news—completely baffled as to why Madam Zhou was suddenly giving her the cold shoulder.

Madam Zhou tossed and turned restlessly throughout the night, her reason and emotions locked in a frantic tug-of-war, until she finally broke and patted her husband's shoulder. "I need to tell you something, turn around."

Her husband groaned with annoyance. "I'm half asleep in the middle of the night, what on earth can't wait until daylight?"

Yet, since he was already wide awake, he figured he might as well listen quickly so he could go back to sleep.

Just as he rallied his focus, he heard Madam Zhou speaking at breakneck speed, her words mumbled and thoroughly jumbled together in a rush of gibberish.

Before he could make heads or tails of it, Madam Zhou finished everything she wanted to say, flopped back down, and instantly fell asleep.

Having finally expelled the secret weighing on her chest, Madam Zhou felt immensely relieved. Disregarding whether her listener had understood a syllable, she drifted off almost immediately, emitting a soft snore.

Her husband: *Wait, what on earth did she just say? Is she out of her mind?*

***

That little ripple passed as it came, and Xu Chengyue gave it no further thought, though one particular matter remained firmly on her mind.

"Tell me, should we consider moving to a different place?" Xu Chengyue pondered the feasibility of relocating.

Hearing this, while Xiahe remained indifferent, Qiulu—who possessed a more sensitive nature—paused mid-action. "Is the young mistress frightened by what Madam Zhou said?"

"It's not because of her. Although Madam Zhou is a busybody, she hit upon one true point: the three of us living together without any men in the household easily attracts the covetous eyes of petty villains." Xu Chengyue took this concern very seriously.

Women living alone faced greater risks, and various means of self-defense were essential.

This residence was merely a temporary dwelling rented in haste when they first arrived here. While it had seemed safe enough thus far with no major incidents, the surrounding area was inhabited mostly by ordinary commoners working odd jobs in Luoyang City. Though there were night patrols in the ward and occasional patrols by bailiffs during the day to guarantee basic safety, Xu Chengyue was earning a considerable amount of money and frequently spent lavishly. It was only a matter of time before she caught the eye of someone with malicious intent, meaning moving house had to be brought onto the agenda.

Still, there was no need for extreme haste. Xu Chengyue leaned toward neighborhoods inhabited by wealthy and influential families, where public security and living conditions were superior to the current area. However, Luoyang being the secondary capital, the prime locations had long since been snapped up; they were matters of serendipity rather than certainty, and even if available, the rent would undoubtedly be substantial.

This matter had to be approached gradually and could not be rushed.

Xu Chengyue decided to ask Master Lü for assistance. After all, his family was wealthy and well-connected, so he naturally knew far more than she did.

She would inquire about it the next time she delivered her manuscript.

"Master Lü, it has been a while. How have you been lately?" Xu Chengyue greeted him with a smile.

"Madam Xu is a noble person who easily forgets; we only saw each other a few days ago," Lü Hongzhuo teased her. "Speaking of which, Madam Xu's book has stirred up quite a massive wave of reaction."

The new volume released just a couple of days prior was proving equally sensational, sparking widespread discussion whose fervor had not abated even after two days, with animated debates echoing endlessly through teahouses and taverns.

In this volume, the Wang family, having successfully extorted the recipe for big plate chicken, joyfully prepared to set up a stall and make a fortune just like Wang Erlang. However, their business was not as booming as they had imagined; while there were customers, the numbers were modest, and their earnings barely covered their capital with only a sliver of profit.

Unable to figure out the reason, they even suspected Wang Er of playing dirty tricks and were preparing to go pick a fight with him.

"The Wang family are truly shameless! Not a single word of thanks for taking someone else's property, and they even have the audacity to go back and cause trouble."

"Wang Er is at fault too; if he had been willing to yield such a lucrative recipe to the Wang family, this whole incident could have been avoided."

"You speak falsely. Remember the saying: a handful of rice breeds gratitude, a basket of grain breeds enmity. They were greedy to begin with and their appetites have been whetted; troubles were bound to follow."

"The upper beam is crooked and the lower beam is bent. Wang Xiaoliu has inherited his family's fine tradition: first bullying Erwa earlier, and now trying to take advantage of her again."

He was referring to an encounter between Erwa and Wang Xiaoliu on her way home from the village school, where he noticed she was dressed more cleanly and decently than ever before, with an exquisite book satchel slung over her shoulder.

Back when she lived with the Wang family, everything had to be prioritized for him alone, and any fine item Erwa received had to be surrendered to him. Accustomed to acting imperiously, Wang Xiaoliu had never taken her seriously, and instantly demanded in a commanding tone that she hand over her satchel.

Yet, having experienced parental affection and gained the backing of her celestial master, Erwa knew the Wang family could no longer harm her, and stubbornly refused to yield.

Seeing her defiance, rage flared in Wang Xiaoliu's heart and he reached out to snatch it directly. During their scuffle, the cord hanging around Erwa's neck slipped, revealing the ring hidden inside her garments.

"Quick, quick, hide it! Such an important object mustn't let Wang Xiaoliu see it! He's trying to rob her of a mere satchel, what if he steals her master away too?"

"Utterly overbearing! A dog truly cannot break the habit of eating dung."

Sure enough, Wang Xiaoliu caught sight of the ring, his eyes lighting up as he abandoned the satchel entirely and lunged for the ring instead, which clearly looked much more valuable.

Having suffered years of mistreatment, underfed and underclothed, Erwa lacked the physical strength of the well-fed and robust Wang Xiaoliu, and her neck was choked so tightly she could barely breathe.

"Good heavens! Is one act of malice not enough, he wants to harm her a second time? Such a beast ought to be thrown into the dungeons!"

"Will the ring be stolen?! This is driving me mad, won't someone hurry over and help her?!"