Chapter 18: Birth (Part 13)

Xu Qianyu’s maidservants gathered in a bustling group in the courtyard.

Just a moment ago, the young lady had said she was going to the home of Wang Changshi and that anyone who accompanied her would be rewarded with ten taels of silver. As soon as she finished speaking, everyone scrambled to line up.

Songbai tugged at Xu Qianyu’s sleeve, urgently advising, “Miss, even though the ban has been lifted, some say they saw shadows of demons last night. It’s best to observe for a while and not go out just yet.”

“Shadows of demons?” Xu Qianyu remained unmoved as she counted the people. “Didn’t they say that Xu Xianjun had eliminated them all?”

Xu Qianyu felt that, rather than relying on “some people,” she trusted her Second Brother and the Lingbo Sword much more.

“Oh, it’s better to be safe than sorry,” Songbai sighed.

Since Xiao Yi left, the young lady had lost interest in the male servants overnight, and they had all been assigned to other duties. Songbai was now running errands under Guang Niang’s command, hoping that Xu Qianyu could safely spend her fourteenth birthday at home.

Xu Qianyu turned to her maidservants and lifted her chin. “Did you hear what Songbai said? There might be demons. If anyone is afraid to go, step forward.”

The maidservants all had expressionless faces, lifting their chins high to show their resolve as if they were willing to face death. None of them moved.

As if joking— the ban was lifted, after all, and it was ten taels of silver.

Songbai glanced at the young lady and then at the maidservants, feeling furious. After a pause, he said with frustration, “Fine,” and then joined the line himself, standing next to the maidservants, stiffly presenting himself as a soldier.

Xu Qianyu stifled a laugh and didn’t speak. She scanned the crowd and beckoned with her fingers, accurately pulling out the maidservant Xiao Dong from the group. “You, come out.”

“Why me?” Xiao Dong clutched her skirt, feeling very wronged. “Miss, I can go with you.”

Xu Qianyu vaguely remembered that Xiao Dong had once been frightened by a demon. Since there were reports of demon shadows, it was better not to take risks, so she decisively made a decision for her.

“There’s no need for so much nonsense,” Xu Qianyu said coldly. “You’re not allowed to go. Stay at home and clean my room.”

Xiao Dong answered with a whimper, emerging from the line and sulking back into the pavilion.

Xu Qianyu asked again, “One more time, which family’s maidservants are you?”

The maidservants answered in unison, “The Cai family’s.”

Xu Qianyu nodded in satisfaction and led the remaining maidservants, marching boldly toward Wang Changshi’s residence.

After all, it was an official residence. The blue courtyard walls of Wang Changshi’s house were taller than those of the Shui family and featured elegant carved bricks on top, smooth and without glass panes. It looked messy and unkempt.

Before getting close, Xu Qianyu could already hear noisy voices from inside.

“You and I are married; I don’t want to make it too difficult for you. Everything is packed. I know your family is poor, and I’ve given you the house deed and money, so let’s leave tonight.”

After a moment of waiting, seeing the other party silent, the cool male voice continued, “What’s wrong? Are you still kneeling? Do you really want me to lock you in the woodshed?”

“…”

“Someone, drag the Lady to the woodshed.”

Then came a series of loud noises, mixed with the man’s dying coughs. The male voice sounded weak: “A bunch of useless fools. Can’t you even drag a woman?”

Outside the courtyard wall, Xu Qianyu shot a glance at Songbai, who immediately squatted at the base of the wall. Xu Qianyu lifted her skirt and began to climb.

“… You’re just a woman, going up the mountain at night, running away from your attendants, and not returning home until dawn. You say you haven’t done anything, but there’s no other evidence. Our Wang family’s reputation cannot afford your kind of disgrace.”

“Who says there’s no other evidence?” Suddenly, a sharp reprimand came from above.

The man standing under the eaves was startled and looked up, allowing Xu Qianyu to see his face: Wang Duan was in his twenties, indeed possessing a refined and handsome visage, which one could imagine being quite charming in his youth while riding through the streets. However, after a month of illness, he looked emaciated and weak, his long clothes loose, and along with his coughing, the veins on his forehead appeared like spider webs, faintly visible, and his eyes were slightly red.

The courtyard was filled with attendants, surrounding a solitary white figure kneeling on the ground— it was Lady Wang.

Seeing someone climbing over the high courtyard wall, the attendants were startled and rushed to grab their weapons to defend the place, but Wang Duan raised his hand to stop them.

Then everyone clearly saw that the figure on the wall was a lavishly dressed young girl who didn’t even cover her face with a veil, and she was sitting on someone else’s wall in her skirt. Wang Duan looked at her, and she did not shy away, staring back at him directly. “That night, your wife wasn’t with anyone else; she was with me.”

“Who are you?” Wang Duan coughed twice, furrowing his brow, presumably worried about losing face, and lowered his voice. “This is my family’s business; it has nothing to do with you.”

“I’m Miss Shui from the Shui family.”

Songbai, standing below, wore a bitter expression, wanting to say something but hesitating, pulling at the young lady’s skirt.

“Wait, aren’t we from the Cai family?”

Xu Qianyu smacked him on the back. They couldn’t see it, but there were a dozen strong attendants standing in the courtyard. At this point, even claiming to be Miss Cai wouldn’t help.

Upon hearing Xu Qianyu’s identity, everyone’s expression changed.

The Miss Shui from the Shui family was notorious in Nanling as a spoiled girl, known by the nickname “Nanling Bodhisattva.” She mixed with wealthy youths and even rode out in the streets without changing her riding clothes. Aside from not killing or setting fires, it seemed like she did everything else. Having done so many outrageous things, it was no surprise to them. And seeing that this girl was young, she appeared adorably arrogant, causing the attendants to stand by, merely watching the spectacle.

“Oh, so it’s Miss Shui.” Wang Duan’s tone softened a bit, as Shui Rushan was the richest man in Nanling with widespread business. “You… you sitting there isn’t quite proper. If you want to speak with someone, let someone bring you in for a discussion.”

As the attendants opened the main door, Miss Shui had already jumped down from the wall, followed by a line of ten maidservants who entered in a neat procession, making their presence felt.

Xu Qianyu tilted her head and glanced at Lady Wang, who was looking down at the ground with a calm expression, not looking at her.

Wang Duan said, “So, go ahead and say it now.”

“You wanted to lock your wife in the woodshed just because she didn’t want to leave,” Xu Qianyu immediately cursed, “Wang Changshi Steward, are you even human?”

Not only were the servants shocked, but even Lady Wang couldn’t help but look up at her, though her expression was somewhat unreadable.

Wang Duan’s face changed, and he coughed violently. Once he finally caught his breath, he clutched his chest and weakly said, “Miss Shui, you’re young, so I won’t hold it against you. Our families have nothing to do with each other, and you, an outsider, have no right to interfere in matters between my wife and me.”

“If you had married someone else, I’d naturally be an outsider. But your wife is my elder sister,” Xu Qianyu huffed. “If you dare to tarnish my sister’s honor for no reason, of course I have to stand up for her and bring justice.”

“Oh?” Wang Duan was stunned. After a moment, he turned to Lady Wang with a slightly cold tone, “When did you and Miss Shui become family?”

Seeing Lady Wang about to speak, Xu Qianyu, fearing she’d say something inappropriate, quickly interrupted, “We recognized each other as family that night.”

“Well then…” Wang Duan looked at Lady Wang, a slight, cold smile forming at the corner of his mouth. “Our Wang family can’t accommodate such a great presence. Since Miss Shui and Yueyin share such deep affection, why don’t you take your ‘sister’ back to the Shui family?”

Xu Qianyu hadn’t expected to encounter such a shameless man who, instead of admitting any fault, dared to provoke her outright. Her eyes widened, and after a moment, she lifted her chin, responding coldly, “Fine.”

Wang Duan: “…”

Shen Suwei: “…”

Shen Suwei had spent a long time setting up a plan at Wang Changshi Steward’s residence, with only one last step to go. Who could’ve expected a girl like this to come out of nowhere, demanding to take Lady Wang away at such a critical moment?

Songbai tugged frantically at Xu Qianyu’s skirt from behind. What was she doing trying to take on such a burden?

Ignoring Songbai’s hints, Xu Qianyu stood her ground, unmoving. After a long pause, Wang Duan’s forehead vein twitched, and then he laughed in frustration, “Fine. Everything’s packed. Then, go ahead.”

But Xu Qianyu stretched out her hand toward him, “Bring me the divorce document.”

Xu Qianyu suddenly felt Songbai was about to tear off her skirt with how tightly he was pulling it.

Songbai could barely stand anymore. “They say it’s better to break ten temples than a single marriage. If Lady Guan knew that the young lady went to another’s house out of nowhere and forced a married couple to separate, would he even survive? Besides, once the divorce document is issued, Lady Wang can’t return. She’d truly become a burden they can’t send away.”

Wang Duan stood under the eaves, half his face shrouded in shadow, his expression unreadable. After a moment of thought, he actually gestured for someone. “Bring the divorce document.”

The document landed in Xu Qianyu’s hands.

She glanced at it. Wang Duan had signed and stamped it in the lower left corner, but the space beside it was blank, presumably left for Lady Wang. This document was prepared and signed in advance, showing Wang Duan’s intention to proceed with this for some time. Xu Qianyu’s expression filled with disgust, and she immediately decided for Lady Wang: no one needed such a heartless, worthless man.

Her own male attendants were all far better than this!

Since it was hard to verify, she handed the document to Songbai after reading it. Songbai, unable to make sense of it, pretended to inspect it, nodded with a look of profound understanding, and passed it to the other maids. Most of the maids were illiterate, finding it challenging but remembering Miss’s instructions to hold her up. They each studied it for a while and then nodded in imitation of Songbai.

The divorce document of the Chief Steward and his wife passed through everyone’s hands, making Wang Duan’s face so dark it could drip water, until it finally returned to Xu Qianyu. She folded the paper, slipped it into her sleeve, and without looking at Wang Duan again, walked up to Lady Wang, extended her hand, and said, “Let’s go.”

Seeing this, Wang Duan remained silent and turned back to his room, gesturing for the servants to step aside. In an instant, the courtyard emptied, leaving only Lady Wang sitting on the ground, next to her stacked boxes and belongings. The Shui family maids stepped forward and began loading them onto the carriage.

Shen Suwei looked up at the slender, snow-white hand extending from beneath embroidered golden sleeves. Under the sunlight, this young lady, meticulously dressed, shone with a radiant face like the moon, snow falling from blossoming trees, a red dot at her brow, and an expression of impatience in her indifferent, proud eyes.

In truth, leaving or staying wasn’t significant to him. Leaving meant he could still come back.

However, yesterday she had fabricated her identity to deceive him, and he’d let her go without exposing her. Today, why would she reveal her true identity and walk right into his trap?

Xu Qianyu saw those pure, distant eyes looking at her for a long time, yet she couldn’t discern any emotion within them.

Then, Lady Wang lowered her eyes, slowly placed her hand in Xu Qianyu’s outstretched palm, and unexpectedly, gently gripped her hand in return.

Qianyu: Suwei!!

Suwei: … (Speechless)

Suwei: Sister?

Qianyu: …

Suwei: Where are you running? (Expressionless) (Grabs the skirt and yanks her back) (Dare to call but not recognize?)