Chapter 40: Forceful Retaliation
This novel is translated and hosted on BCATranslation.
Late at night, the calm of the capital city was shattered by a blood-curdling scream, echoing through the streets and reaching the Marquis Zhongyong’s household as they sat down for dinner.
“What is happening? That scream was terrifying… Ying Xue, can you check what’s going on outside?” Madam Xu, visibly shaken, urged her servant.
The matriarch of the house frowned at her daughter-in-law’s concern. “You are the lady of the Marquis’s household. Should you really concern yourself with every disturbance outside? Is this what the Xu family considers proper upbringing?”
Before the conversation could continue, Ying Xue returned, excitement barely contained. “There’s a commotion outside, madam! A scandal has erupted in the northern part of the city!” Her eyes sparkled with the thrill of gossip. “An official was caught in a compromising situation with his concubine by his wife. It’s quite severe.”
She continued, “The concubine has two children with the official, including Lu Jing Huai, the prodigy. He’s been beaten severely. And there’s also a baby, hardly seven or eight months old, involved in this… It’s quite dramatic.”
The room fell silent, and the sound of porcelain shattering echoed as the old lady and the Marquis’s expressions grew grave.
“Who was beaten?” Lu Yuan Ze, the Marquis, asked, trying to stay calm despite his rising anger.
“In the northern alley, a woman—or rather, a seductress,” Ying Xue clarified with disdain. “She’s rumored to be the Minister of Rites’ concubine. She has a son and a daughter. The daughter, only eight months old, cursed Madam Qin, the official’s wife, and insulted her openly.”
“Madam Qin slapped the girl across the face,” she added.
The old lady’s voice quivered with emotion, “We must go see, we have to see…” She was clearly worried about her grandchildren caught up in this scandal.
“Mother, you shouldn’t sully your eyes with such a disgraceful spectacle. You are the mother of the Marquis, how can you demean yourself by witnessing such vulgarities?” Madam Xu interjected, echoing the matriarch’s earlier rebuke.
“The concubine has shamelessly had children with another man. Why should you witness such debauchery?” she added, appealing to the old lady’s sense of propriety.
But the old lady, her eyes bloodshot with a mix of anger and worry, pushed Madam Xu aside. “Let go! I must see this for myself!”
As she stormed off, Madam Xu retreated with a smug smirk.
“Take me with you! I wanna see it too!” Chao Chao struggled to rise from her cradle, gripping the edge of the bed firmly. Her tiny, plump legs shook with effort.
“Oh, my dear little one, this commotion is no place for you,” Deng Zhi remarked, guessing her intentions.
“Wuwuwu, if you won’t take me, I’ll just go myself…” Chao Chao then made a beeline for the door, her quick crawling startling the dogs in the yard.
“Someone quickly pick up Chao Chao; the ground is too cold for her. Let her watch from a safe distance,” Madam Xu agreed, feeling a mix of resignation and tenderness.
The Marquis’s household set off towards the incident in the north of the city with urgency. Madam Xu couldn’t help but notice Lu Yuan Ze’s familiarity with the path they took, inwardly sneering at the thought.
Upon reaching the alley, they found it crowded with onlookers, each wearing expressions loaded with insinuation. Thirty minutes had passed since the scream.
“Strip her clothes, strip her clothes! Expose the shameless harlot!” some among the crowd shouted, whistling and fueling the fervor.
“No wonder she was struck by lightning before. Even the heavens detest her,” the bystanders mocked.
Inside, Pei Jiao Jiao’s cries were loud but insincere, overly theatrical.
Madam Qin’s anger boiled over. “You lowly woman, flaunting your indecency! Can’t bear to be without a man’s touch, can you? How dare you go after my husband? To think you’ve birthed a son and daughter! You utterly shameless slut!”
“While I’ve been managing our home and serving our elders, he’s been indulging with a concubine! This slut is living off the wealth that isn’t hers! Lu Jing Huai, you offspring of a mistress, presume to call yourself a genius? You’re nothing but a stain!”
The bitterness of having only one daughter and no sons at forty-two was a deep wound in Madam Qin’s heart, her eyes brimming with fury.
On the sidelines, Madam Xu could hardly hide her delight, as the harsh words echoed her suppressed resentments.
In contrast, Lu Yuan Ze and the old lady, struck by dizziness, fought through the crowd, desperate to intervene.
By the time they made it through, Pei Jiao Jiao had been partially disrobed, her undergarments exposing her shoulders, her face swollen from the assault, eyes red with misery as she clung to her modesty.
“I didn’t, I was never his concubine!” she protested between sobs, her voice barely above a whisper.
Madam Qin, exuding arrogance, looked down on Pei Jiao Jiao with disdain. “Given your profession, disrobing should come naturally to you, shouldn’t it? Just spread your legs, and you’re showered with affection, gold, and jewels.”
Pei Jiao Jiao, biting her lip, was visibly humiliated under Madam Qin’s scornful gaze.
“Well? If you claim not to be a concubine, then who is your husband?” Madam Qin pressed. Pei Jiao Jiao, trembling, was at a loss for words.
Seeing her silence, Madam Qin’s face twisted into an even harsher expression.
“Die… all of you… must… die!” The words came from eight-month-old Lu Jing Yao, her infantile voice filled with unsettling fury, her cries sending shivers down the spine of those who heard.
Madam Qin’s displeasure grew at the child’s ability to speak. Her anger was evident and deeply unnerving.
A slap was swiftly directed at Lu Jing Yao, striking her down at the doorway and causing a newly emerged tooth to fall out.
“This baby is a demon!” Madam Qin declared, her gaze fixed on the infant with a mix of fear and revulsion.
“Jing Yao! Jing Yao! How dare you harm my child!” Pei Jiao Jiao, restrained and unable to protect her daughter, had eyes filled with rage and desperation. “Jing Yao is not a demon!” Her heart pounded fiercely, aware of her daughter’s potential that others had yet to recognize.
“What’s so frightening? A child born out of wedlock, putting on airs, is laughable,” Madam Qin sneered, looking contemptuously at Lu Jing Huai, who stood with dignity despite the insults, his calm gaze unsettling her.
Pei Jiao Jiao’s children, both caught in this humiliating spectacle, made Madam Qin feel a tinge of unease.
“Break the illegitimate child’s bones, let’s see how resilient they truly are.”
“Strip the harlot bare and parade her through the streets. Give the public a spectacle,” Madam Qin suggested coldly, indifferent to the cruelty of her words.
“No! No!!” Pei Jiao Jiao’s screams of horror cut through the air, her fear palpable.
Lu Yuan Ze, witnessing the scene, felt as though he might collapse. His careful plans for dealing with Madam Xu were now overshadowed by the unexpected exposure of Pei Jiao Jiao.
“Stop this at once!” he commanded, his voice booming. He immediately ordered his servants to bring Pei Jiao Jiao something to cover herself. His heart ached at the sight of his son’s bruised face and his dignity seemingly crushed.
Her hands shaking, the old lady lamented, “This is a sin, such a sin. Children are innocent in this.”
Madam Qin retorted with a sneer, “Old lady, we’re not in some backward village here.”
The reminder of her humble beginnings only deepened the old lady’s disgust.
“Lord Yuan Ze seems quite the protector of beauties. What, do you also share a secret liaison with this easy-spreading woman?”
“Absurd! Madam Qin, mind your language!” Lu Yuan Ze’s frown deepened, his posture embodying both dignity and refinement. He sighed, addressing Madam Qin, “There seems to be a misunderstanding here.”
With a glance, Madam Qin nonchalantly retrieved a document from her clothing and tossed it towards Pei Jiao Jiao with the air of granting a favor, further complicating the already tense situation.