The Wife of a Loyal Servant - Chapter 34

“‘Sell my wife’?” The man gave a derisive snort. 

“Back then, she was merely a servant in our employ. The crime of abducting a young mistress, that alone would see her severely punished. I am choosing to overlook it only because she did, after a fashion, raise my niece to adulthood unharmed. As for this marriage contract, she arranged with your family… A mere servant—what right does she have to arrange a marriage for her mistress? Who gave her the audacity?!” Were he not concerned about containing the scandal, he would sooner set fire to the entire village and wipe away every last trace of this affair.

Cheng Shaotang saw the murderous intent in the man’s eyes. Without a flicker of expression, he stepped forward, placing himself between the stranger and his family, shielding Ling Yu and the others behind him.

“I care not who you are, nor what her status may be. The fact remains that from beginning to end, my brother has been wholly innocent in this. Now, the wife he wed with all due ceremony and betrothal gifts suddenly demands a divorce. She won’t grant him even the simplest meeting, sending only a stranger like you as her messenger. Isn’t this going too far, both logically and emotionally?”

“Then what do you propose?” the man asked, his tone dripping with menace.

Cheng Shaotang met the man’s gaze squarely, his voice low and firm. “Let my brother speak with her face to face. If she still insists on the divorce after that, we will accept it without another word, and from then on, our paths will never cross again.”

“Elder Brother!” Cheng Shaoan cried out in protest.

“Be quiet!” Cheng Shaotang turned and silenced him with a sharp command.

“And if I refuse?” the man asked, his eyes glinting dangerously.

“If I were you, I would agree. Otherwise, without our full cooperation, you’ll find it impossible to erase every trace of her life here,” Cheng Shaotang stated calmly.

The middle-aged man’s gaze sharpened, the murderous intent within it thickening. Yet Cheng Shaotang neither flinched nor looked away, meeting it with steady calm.

After a long pause, the man gave another cold laugh. “Very well. I’ll grant you a meeting, so you can abandon your futile hopes once and for all. Tomorrow at noon, I will send someone to fetch you.” With that, he swept a contemptuous glance over everyone in the room before turning on his heel and leaving.

“Elder Brother, why did you say that? Qiaorong is my wife! I will never agree to a divorce!” The moment Cheng Shaoan recalled his brother’s words, anger and wounded pride surged within him, and he lashed out.

Cheng Shaotang replied coolly, “If her mind is truly made up, would you force her to stay against her will? The purpose of this meeting is to determine the truth: is she leaving of her own free will, or is she being coerced? If she is being forced, then I will not allow anyone to take her away.”

Only then did Cheng Shaoan breathe a sigh of relief. “Elder Brother, don’t worry. She never meant any of that talk about divorce. She must have been coerced.”

Coerced? Ling Yu glanced at Madam Sun, whose face was ghostly pale, then at Madam Wang, who seemed dazed by the relentless shocks. She found little cause for optimism in Cheng Shaoan’s words.

At noon the following day, true to his word, the man sent an escort. The Cheng brothers set off with him to see Jin Qiaorong. Ling Yu, Madam Wang, and Madam Sun watched them go. “Nothing bad will happen, will it?” Madam Wang fretted anxiously.

“Set your mind at ease, Mother. Since he agreed to the terms, he’s unlikely to resort to trickery now,” Ling Yu reassured her.

Madam Wang sighed. A perfectly good daughter-in-law, only to be told out of the blue that she wasn’t a daughter-in-law at all, and the marriage was void.

Madam Sun’s guilt deepened. “I’m so sorry. I never imagined they would actually find her. Madam Su had made such careful arrangements back then. I have always regarded Qiao… the young lady as my own daughter Qiaorong. Betrothing her to Shaoan was done with the sincerest intentions. Who could have foreseen…?”

Ling Yu understood well that Madam Sun could not be blamed. The very fact that Madam Sun had dared to arrange the marriage proved she had genuinely considered Jin Qiaorong her own daughter and had sought a good match for her. No one could have predicted things would spiral to this point.

Cheng Shaoan had approached the meeting, his heart pounding with anticipation to see his wife after her long absence. Yet, the moment he was told she was just beyond the door, that a single push would reunite him with the one who had filled his thoughts, an inexplicable wave of trepidation washed over him.

“Why aren’t you going in?” Cheng Shaotang asked from behind him, puzzled.

“I… I am, I am going in…” Cheng Shaoan stammered, but the hand pressed against the door seemed to have lost all its strength.

Cheng Shaotang frowned, about to speak, when the door suddenly creaked open from within. The next instant, Jin Qiaorong stood before them, clad in luxurious silks and fine brocade.

“You’ve come,” Jin Qiaorong said, her gaze resting on them with unnerving calm.

Cheng Shaoan’s vision blurred for an instant. He focused again on the woman before him, his eyes drawn to the phoenix hairpin nestled in her elaborate coiffure. It was wound with gold filigree and studded with rubies, jadeite, and countless other gems whose names he didn’t know but whose worth he could scarcely fathom. 

Then his gaze fell to her gown. He worked with fabrics, after all. How could he fail to recognize that the cost of that single ensemble likely surpassed his earnings for an entire month? And that was without considering the exquisite, translucent jade pendant suspended from the ornate silk sash at her waist.

Was this truly the woman who had shared his bed and pillow? He suddenly found it impossible to believe. The face, now adorned with exquisite makeup, was unmistakably hers. And yet, it was not.

From the moment Jin Qiaorong appeared, Cheng Shaotang’s gaze remained locked on her. He scrutinized her every movement and utterance, parsing each subtle shift in her expression, searching desperately for the faintest hint of reluctance. In the end, he found none.

“What is fated cannot be avoided. Go in and say what must be said.” He gave Cheng Shaoan’s shoulder a reassuring pat, cast one last deep, inscrutable look at Jin Qiaorong, and then turned and walked away.

“It’s all right now, let’s go home! Last time was my fault. I shouldn’t have argued with you. Elder Brother and Mother have both scolded me for it. Don’t worry, from now on I’ll do everything you say. Whatever you want. If you don’t like us sharing space with Liufang Hall anymore, I’ll find another shop. They can mind their business, and we’ll mind ours.

“Oh, and Mother and your mother have cooked all your favorite dishes, they’re waiting for us! Look, it’s getting late, we should hurry! The food will get cold and won’t taste good if we’re too late.” Cheng Shaoan’s mind was in utter turmoil. He had no idea what he was saying. He had only one driving thought: Take his wife and leave this place!

Jin Qiaorong listened quietly to his frantic, disjointed torrent of words. When he reached out to take her hand, she sidestepped the gesture with gentle finality. Cheng Shaoan grasped at empty air, his face paling further, but stubbornly tried again. Once more, she evaded his touch. “Shaoan,” she said, “let’s sit down and have a proper talk about our…”

“We can talk about anything once we’re home. I’ll listen to everything you have to say then,” Cheng Shaoan cut her off.

“If that’s your attitude, then we have nothing more to discuss. Leave. I am not going back with you. I am not Jin Qiaorong. I have my own true family now. My uncle will soon take me to the capital to meet my birth father.”

“What madness are you spewing?! You know nothing! That man is sinister. He’s deceiving you! You are Jin Qiaorong! You are Aunt’s daughter, Jin Qiaorong! You are my wife, Jin Qiaorong!” Cheng Shaoan’s temper finally snapped, and he roared the words at her.

“I am not! I am NOT! You’re the one who knows nothing! I am no peasant girl, and I do not belong in this wretched place! I am sick to death of stitching day and night for a pittance! Sick of watching those clearly beneath me live in comfort and ease! Sick of living on others’ sufferance, watching their ever-changing mood! SICK OF IT ALL!” Jin Qiaorong shrieked, unleashing the torrent of bitterness that had festered within her for years.

With every searing “sick of it,” the color drained further from Cheng Shaoan’s face, until he stood there, pallid and trembling from head to foot. He hadn’t known. He had never once glimpsed the depth of his wife’s discontent. Had she concealed it so well, or had he, as her husband, been that blind?

“Shaoan. For the sake of the marriage we once shared, please… let me go. The world is vast. Let me live the life I was meant to have. Consider it… Your final act of kindness to me. Please?” He didn’t know how much time had passed before he heard her voice again, strained now with a forced calm.

“Let you go? So staying with me in the Cheng family was such a painful thing for you?”

Jin Qiaorong’s lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to explain, but in the end, she only bit her lip lightly, offering no further explanation.

“Is that man really your uncle? The world is a dangerous place. What if he’s lying to you? Going with him like that would be like throwing yourself to the wolves!”

“He didn’t lie to me. I’m not an ignorant woman. In such a serious matter, I wouldn’t easily believe something without solid evidence.”

“Even if he really is your uncle, after so many years apart, the familial bond will naturally weaken. And what about your biological father? Has he had other children with him all these years? If so, how can you, who hasn’t been by his side since childhood, compare…”

“Enough! These are my matters, you don’t need to worry about them!” Jin Qiaorong interrupted him, took a deep breath, placed the prepared divorce papers on the table, picked up a brush, dipped it in ink, and handed it to him, pleadingly saying, “Consider it my fault. I will never go back to the Cheng family. Sign the divorce papers!”

Cheng Shaoan’s hand holding the brush trembled uncontrollably. Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar woman before him, he bit his lip hard, wrote the words, threw away the brush, turned, and walked out without looking back.

Cheng Shaotang, who was outside, hadn’t gone far. He silently observed everything around him until he saw Cheng Shaoan rush out with red eyes and a pale face, running away from him. He knew then that Cheng Shaoan had finally accepted reality.

He cast one last, deep glance at the tightly closed door behind him. From beginning to end, the person inside never came out again.

After the Cheng brothers left, Jin Qiaorong sat there in a daze, holding the divorce papers. The papers were right there in her hand. She had achieved her goal. Soon, she would be free to return to her birth father’s side and live the life that should have been hers.

But for some reason, she felt a hollow emptiness in her heart, as if she had lost something important.

Quickly, she pushed all these thoughts aside, telling herself inwardly: It’s all over. All the bad things are over. From now on, I won’t have to work day and night doing needlework to earn money. I can live well, better than Ling Yu, better than the daughter of the village head!

The moment she saw only the two brothers returning, Ling Yu felt a complex mix of emotions.

She understood what this meant: it meant that from now on, Jin Qiaorong was truly no longer their Jin Qiaorong, but a stranger with no further ties to them.

But was she really a stranger? Ling Yu shook her head, denying the thought.

Whether it was Cheng Shaoan, who had shared a husband-wife bond with her, or Madam Sun, who had shared a mother-daughter bond with her, or even Madam Wang, who had been through the mother-in-law relationship with her, no matter who, none of them could ever possibly forget her.

But she understood even more clearly that that person truly wanted no more connection with any of them. That was why she had left so resolutely.

“Shaoan has been truly wounded to the core this time. I fear he won’t recover from it any time soon. Pitiful that Jin… that person was so easily dazzled by wealth and status. How could she know the vicious infighting and the appalling, sinister evils that lurk within such grand households… Life there is nothing like what she imagines.” 

That night, back in their room, Cheng Shaotang let out a long sigh.

Ling Yu also sighed softly. “What more can be said now? She chose her own path. Whether the future holds fortune or misfortune, I’m afraid she alone must endure it. I only hope that her blood relatives, out of pity for her years of wandering, will at least show her a little more care and consideration.”

In her past life, after the woman stole the money and vanished, Ling Yu had resented and hated her. When she was starving, yet still had to clench her teeth and tighten her belt to find ways to feed her mother-in-law and son, she even wished for the woman to come to a bad end out there! Yet, in those initial days after she had finally settled into that life, she had been thankful more than once that, by her side at least, there was still a Jin Qiaorong to share her burden a little.

In this life, however, it was better. No need for resentment, no need for hatred. They had severed all ties with each other long ago.

“Her so-called uncle agreed to let the husband and wife meet so readily; he must have had conditions. Did he mention any?” After a moment, she thought of this again and asked uneasily.

Cheng Shaotang gently stroked her long hair and nodded. “He did. He hopes we will cooperate with him to stage an accident, so that Jin… that person can fake her death and leave.”

“He certainly intends to cut all ties cleanly,” Ling Yu said with a cold snort. Then, suspiciously, she asked, “Since he already plans for her to fake her death and leave, why did he still make Shaoan sign the divorce papers?”

“Perhaps he wants a backup plan, or perhaps he has other schemes in mind.” By now, Cheng Shaotang was filled with disgust for Jin Qiaorong and had no desire to speak of her affairs any further.

“Shaoan is in no state to do anything now, and Mother and Auntie need constant care. I must trouble you to look after them carefully these next few days. As for the arrangements that person wishes to make, I will handle them myself. You will only need to cooperate when the time comes to hold a funeral, and thus put a final end to this ill-fated bond.”

In truth, Cheng Shaotang also harbored some resentment towards Madam Sun. If she hadn’t deliberately concealed that person’s true identity, how could such a thing have happened?

But as the other party was now a pitiable woman with no one to rely on and no children of her own, even if he was fuming inside, he wouldn’t take it out on her. He simply no longer held her in the same high esteem as before.

A few days later, the villagers of Cheng Family Village all learned that Cheng Shaoan’s beautiful and capable new wife had died in an accident. Immediately, among the many villagers who had previously envied and resented him, some took pleasure in his misfortune, while others expressed deep sympathy.

“I could tell back then that she had the look of someone destined for a short life with little fortune. But you just wouldn’t believe me, thinking I was jealous and couldn’t bear to see your Shaoan doing well.” As Ling Yu emerged from the kitchen, she heard the voice of her aunt-by-marriage, Madam Zhong, tinged with smugness.

Her face immediately darkened. She was just about to raise her voice and retort when, unexpectedly, she heard the furious cursing of Madam Wang.

“Out! Get out! You vicious, foul-mouthed wretch! Aren’t you afraid of retribution? Do you take me for a fool who doesn’t know what you’re scheming? You just want to force that niece of yours, the one who was cast out by her husband’s family, into our household! Let me tell you, you can just put that notion to rest right now! Your whole family is nothing but mean-spirited, ill-mouthed trash! Anyone who marries into your lot will be cursed for eight lifetimes! Out! If you don’t get out this instant, I’ll chase you out with a broom!”

“Fine, I’m leaving! What’s the big deal? It’s just that you have a few more stinking coins in the house than others!”

“Out!!”

…

Ling Yu stood with her mouth slightly agape in astonishment. This was truly remarkable, her mother-in-law, with her typically gentle disposition, had actually flown into a rage and driven someone out.

It wasn’t that she had never seen Madam Wang angry before. In fact, in her past life, on several occasions when she had been harassed by ill-intentioned ruffians, Madam Wang had grabbed a stick and beaten those men until they fled in all directions.

As the saying goes, even a clay figurine has a spark of temper. Even the gentlest disposition can harden when pushed. This adage fits Madam Wang perfectly.

After hastily conducting Jin Qiaorong’s “funeral,” and because he was worried about Madam Wang and Cheng Shaoan, Cheng Shaotang specifically requested several extra days of leave to stay home. Whenever she had a free moment, Ling Yu would also bring Xiao Shitou to keep Madam Wang company and chat.

With her eldest grandson present, no matter what, Madam Wang would manage a smile, cradling Xiao Shitou in her arms and listening to his childish prattle.

Cheng Shaoan, however, grew more despondent with each passing day, as if all his fighting spirit had drained away. Cheng Shaotang had tried everything; he had scolded him, he had reasoned with him, stopping just short of using his fists to knock some sense into him.

“Look at the state he’s in now! She discarded him like a pair of worn-out shoes, yet he still clings to the memory, wallowing in self-pity! He neglects his mother, he abandons his business—he’s utterly despicable!” Cheng Shaotang’s face was still etched with anger as he returned to their room.

Ling Yu tried to console him. “She was, after all, someone he genuinely loved from the bottom of his heart, and they had been a loving couple for all these days. How could he not feel utterly wretched, with her leaving so abruptly? Give him a little more time. Once he has slowly thought it through and gained some perspective, he’ll be all right.”

Cheng Shaotang was fully aware of this logic. He just couldn’t stand to see his brother in this state, acting as if nothing in the world mattered to him anymore.

“Enough. Let him do as he pleases; I can’t control him anyway. I have to return to duty at the county office tomorrow. I leave everything at home in your hands.”

Ling Yu naturally agreed.

What Ling Yu hadn’t anticipated, however, was that on the very day Cheng Shaotang returned to his duties at the county office, Cheng Shaoan also vanished.

At first, she thought he had simply gone out to clear his head, and even considered it for the best—better than him staying home surrounded by reminders of her. But when he still hadn’t returned by dinnertime…

Right at that moment, Madam Wang rushed in, frantic and breathless. “Shao… Shaoan is gone…”

“Gone? What do you mean, ‘gone’?” Ling Yu asked, bewildered.

“I just went to tidy his room and found many clothes missing from his wardrobe! Even all the money he had saved up is gone!” Madam Wang was on the verge of tears, utterly distraught and at a loss.

Ling Yu’s heart gave a heavy thud. This scene felt all too familiar!

Not bothering about Madam Wang’s presence, she immediately began ransacking the room, searching for her own money box.

Finally, when she discovered that her money was untouched, down to the last coin, she let out a sigh of relief.

Thank heavens… Thank heavens that in this lifetime, what he had taken was only his own money…

“Eldest son’s wife? What on earth are you doing?” Madam Wang stared at her, bewildered by this flurry of activity.

Ling Yu was startled. Seeing the displeasure in Madam Wang’s eyes, she felt both embarrassed and guilty. For a moment, she couldn’t come up with a suitable excuse to explain her frantic behavior. She could only hurriedly deflect her mother-in-law’s attention: “Mother, don’t worry. Perhaps he’s gone to the county town. Have you forgotten? He still has his business to attend to!”

Although she offered this reassurance, she didn’t really believe her own words.

Madam Wang thought it over and agreed it was possible, but she was still uneasy. “I’ll go to the county town to look for him.”

Ling Yu initially intended to dissuade her. But then another thought occurred to her: what if Cheng Shaoan truly had left with a large sum of money, just like in her past life? The sooner they discovered it and started searching, the better the chance of finding him and bringing him back.

With that thought, she said, “I’ll go with you!”

The mother and daughter-in-law entrusted Xiao Shitou to Madam Sun and hurried into town. They searched every place he might possibly have gone but found no trace of him. Then Ling Yu knew for certain: Cheng Shaoan had indeed left with money, just as he had in her past life.

The difference was that, in this lifetime, the money he had taken was his own.

She was filled with both hatred and fury. The resentment that had gradually been buried and sealed away finally surged to the surface once more.

She remembered her past life—how, after great difficulty, she had decided to settle down and stop living a fugitive’s life. She had planned to use that compensation money to start a small business, adding some income to the household. She intended to return to Cheng Family Village when the times improved and she had saved enough money.

She had planned everything perfectly. Yet, the very next day, Cheng Shaoan took advantage of her absence to steal all the money. He vanished without a trace, until five years later when she accidentally ran into him on the street.

Cheng Shaotang was also burning with rage, unable to believe his brother had left without even a word of goodbye. He immediately mobilized the constables under his command to search, vowing to dig three feet into the earth if necessary to find him and bring him back.

But one day passed, then two. As the days turned into weeks, Cheng Shaoan remained missing without a single lead.

Madam Wang wept all day long. Cheng Shaotang’s face was perpetually dark and grim, but he stubbornly continued the search. He even wrote letters pleading for help from his former brothers from the escort agency who were now working at Prince QI’s mansion in Changluo City. He shamelessly sought assistance from anyone with whom he had even the slightest acquaintance.

All the while, Ling Yu was seething with a pent-up fury, forcing herself to suppress it as she managed the household affairs.

Finally, a month later, Song Chao sent someone with the message: the man had been found.

The moment Cheng Shaoan’s figure appeared, Ling Yu charged forward ahead of everyone else, launching into a furious assault of punches and kicks.

“I’ll teach you to run! I’ll teach you to steal money! I’ll teach you to abandon your own mother and forsake your wife!”

She showed no mercy with each blow, beating Cheng Shaoan until he howled in pain and fled, covering his head. But Ling Yu’s eyes were blazing with fire. She could no longer distinguish between her past and present lives, knowing only that this wretched scoundrel had ruined her.

“You damned beast! You show no gratitude for your birth mother’s nurturing kindness, no regard for the bond of marriage with your wife, and no respect for the duty owed to your own flesh-and-blood brother! Beast! I’ll beat you to death today!” She slammed a fist hard into his chest, then kicked him several times with all her strength.

“Sister-in-law, sister-in-law! I won’t do it again, never again!… Brother, save me!” Cheng Shaoan cried out in pain, dodging her relentless blows as he pleaded for help from Cheng Shaotang, who was frozen in shock by the scene before him.