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Although Zheng Qiao had made a lot of money, he didn’t spend lavishly. In the past few months, he had only renovated the house and hadn’t bought a large mansion.
Late at night, with no extra rooms for the group of brothers to stay, everyone dispersed after drinking.
It was already past curfew, but these drunkards, emboldened by their recent success, no longer paid attention to such rules or cared about proper conduct.
Once the others had left, and Song Lin had also gone to rest, Liu Suqing finally called the servants to clean up the mess in the house.
She personally helped Zheng Qiao back to their room to rest.
Inside the room, only the couple and Liu Suqing’s newborn daughter remained.
After helping Zheng Qiao wipe himself down, Liu Suqing sat beside the bed and said,
“I heard everything you all talked about earlier. Husband, I think we shouldn’t get involved in these things. If something goes wrong in the future, what can a woman like me do? Our daughter has just been born—if we ever have to flee for our lives, she won’t even be able to run.”
But Zheng Qiao didn’t want to listen.
“When have I ever made a wrong decision? Women are always indecisive and timid. How can you accomplish anything great with that mindset?”
Liu Suqing pursed her lips, looked down at her belly, and said,
“If not for me, then think of the child. You lived recklessly in your younger years, but now that you have a family and have managed to save some silver, you should think about a sustainable livelihood and preserving this wealth.”
Zheng Qiao grew annoyed.
“You think I haven’t thought about that? When I rise to greatness, you’ll enjoy the benefits too. Isn’t all this for you? If I become a prince someday, you’ll be the princess consort.”
By the candlelight, Liu Suqing looked even more beautiful. Zheng Qiao, dazed and tipsy, got up again, wanting intimacy.
But Liu Suqing turned her face away, put off by the lingering smell of alcohol and meat, even though she had already wiped him down.
“Princess consort? I don’t think I have that kind of fate. I’m advising you—none of your money was earned on the straight path. Now that you’ve got some silver, you should find a proper business. You’ve done no good in the past, and if something bad happens in the future, you’ll lose your life too. And here you are, still in the mood for this.”
She got up and sat on the nearby couch.
Liu Suqing knew clearly that though Zheng Qiao had some small fortune now, she had managed to secure her place as his wife by relying on her beauty. If she bore two sons in the future, her position would be even more stable.
But even if Zheng Qiao truly became someone powerful, she knew that the position of princess consort would never be hers.
Let alone princess consort—given her background, even being a concubine in such a future might be out of reach.
Zheng Qiao was a little pissed, thinking,
“You really don’t understand anything.”
He thought about it again—being this drunk, his “stick” probably wouldn’t cooperate anyway—so he lost interest.
He threw himself onto the bed and quickly passed out.
In his daze, he murmured,
“Water, water,”
—likely thirsty.
But Liu Suqing, still angry and frustrated, ignored him. Seeing him sleeping like a dead pig and being unpersuadable, she just sat by the table and continued her embroidery.
She could sell the embroidery later and save some money. After all, taking care of this man wouldn’t necessarily guarantee her a good life—she could end up dragged down with him.
Rebellion? That could wipe out an entire clan!
If Zheng Qiao really had a plan, he should’ve made arrangements to send her and the child away first.
But instead, he recklessly made decisions, leaving her in constant anxiety.
Zheng Qiao, not hearing any response and not getting water, groggily woke up.
He got up, staggered to the table, and saw Liu Suqing sitting there, unmoving. A sudden rage flared up in him.
“Are you deaf? Didn’t you hear me say I wanted water?”
Unable to hold back his anger, he slapped her across the face.
Liu Suqing was stunned, covering her cheek, her eyes filling with tears, looking utterly pitiful.
But Zheng Qiao believed he still treated her well, thinking he hadn’t hit her hard.
He thought it wasn’t a big deal—he never hit his wife. He only struck her this time because she was being defiant. As a man, he couldn’t let a woman walk all over him.
He figured Liu Suqing was just angry, and he could coax her back later.
But she had to obey him. When he asked for water, she should have brought it to his lips.
Zheng Qiao, of course, didn’t understand how wronged Liu Suqing felt.
Covering her face, tears like pearls rolled down onto her embroidery.
Their baby daughter, awakened by his shouting, started crying again.
Liu Suqing wiped her tears and hurried to soothe the child.
Zheng Qiao poured himself a cup of tea, downed it in one go, then flung the cup aside and staggered back to bed.
By chance, the thrown cup knocked over the candleholder, which landed on Liu Suqing’s embroidery. There were many clothes piled on the table, and the falling embroidery caught the curtain on fire.
In an instant, the flames spread.
Liu Suqing had no idea. She was still up front soothing the baby.
By the time the baby finally fell asleep again, the fire had grown large.
Liu Suqing stood frozen, staring at her sleeping husband in the blaze.
She waited silently for a while.
Only when the fire reached the edge of the bed and began to block her vision did she grit her teeth, pick up the child, and run outside.
“Help! Fire!” she stumbled out the door.
“Someone, help! Fire!”
The household servants were startled awake and rushed to fetch water.
Neighbors, hearing the commotion, also came running with buckets. It didn’t matter whose house was burning—if the fire wasn’t contained, the whole street could go up.
But Song Lin, who had been staying with the Zhengs, slipped out during the chaos, pulling on a few clothes, covering his face with a sleeve, and sneaking away.
The fire was fierce. Once it reached the beams and pillars, it was nearly impossible to stop.
It burned through the night before it was finally extinguished.
Zheng Qiao, lying in bed, had long since been reduced to charcoal.
His two sisters, both married and living nearby, rushed over in tears upon hearing the news.
“Brother!”
“Oh, my poor brother!”
One brother-in-law stood silently, while the other urged his wife to start preparing for the funeral.
Liu Suqing wept too. After a while, officials arrived.
They took her away for questioning.
The two sisters, worried that their brother would be posthumously accused of harboring a fugitive, used the excuse that the baby needed feeding to pull Liu Suqing aside for a private talk.
Elder Sister Zheng, already done crying, grabbed Liu Suqing and asked,
“Where’s Song Lin?”
Liu Suqing, cradling her baby, looked frightened.
“I don’t know. I didn’t see him during the fire.”
“How did the fire even start?” Second Sister Zheng pulled her aside to ask.
“I don’t know. The baby kept fussing last night, and I was soothing her in the front room. I must’ve dozed off. Then I saw the fire,” Liu Suqing tearfully replied.
Elder Sister Zheng pointed at her, angrily questioning,
“Then why didn’t you wake up my brother?”
Liu Suqing cried harder.
“He drank so much with his brothers last night, he was dead asleep. I tried, I really did, but I couldn’t wake him. The flames had already reached the curtains! The servants can all testify that when I ran out, the fire was already huge.”
“My daughter is only a few months old, and I’m pregnant again. He was our only support. I would’ve rather died myself than see him burn in that fire!”
“You think I did this? I swear—if I set that fire, may I drop dead immediately and never find peace in ten lifetimes!”
The two sisters were surprised to learn she was pregnant again.
They were glad the Zheng family might not die out completely, but also disgusted by Liu Suqing’s tearful, pitiful demeanor.
She truly was a seductress—unpleasant to look at.
But as the mother of two Zheng children, even if she was pregnant with a daughter, no one else would love them more than her. So they didn’t plan on driving her out.
Just then, the impatient officials outside urged them to hurry up.
Elder Sister Zheng quickly reminded Liu Suqing,
“Don’t you dare mention that Song Lin was hiding here. Do you understand?”
Through her tears, Liu Suqing replied,
“Even if you didn’t tell me, I wouldn’t say a word. At the very least, we need to let him escape with some dignity.”
After that, she handed the baby over to a maid and was escorted by officials, along with two houseboys, to the yamen to give her statement.
Seeing that she was just a weak woman who only cried, the officials questioned her briefly, then let her go.
Meanwhile, before Liu Suqing even returned home, both brothers-in-law were already scheming about Zheng Qiao’s business.
Over the past year, they had watched with envy as Zheng Qiao’s life improved, his house was renovated, and new servants were hired. They had planned to have him introduce them to the Heavenly Principle Sect.
But who would’ve thought he’d die at such an inconvenient time?
Elder Sister Zheng’s husband sat down in front of her and said,
“Now that he’s gone, and only a widow and orphans are left behind, we as relatives will have to step in. The family’s paper offerings shop is inherited property—that can be left alone. When the child is born, if it’s a boy, he can inherit it.
But the Heavenly Principle Sect’s business should be passed to us. Liu Suqing is just a woman. What can she do? Now that Zheng Qiao is gone, just look at her—crying and helpless. How can she handle family affairs?”
Second Sister’s husband was outside telling her,
“What, is she supposed to go out and make sworn brotherhood pacts like the men? She’s so pretty—if she goes out and gets seen, won’t it be easy for her to remarry? And when that happens, who’s going to raise their daughter and that child in her belly—us?
Let me be honest: we’ve got our own kids to worry about. I can’t take on your brother’s. Even if I agreed, my sisters-in-law would never be okay with it. If you ask me, we’re the ones who should take over the Heavenly Principle Sect’s business.”
On the surface, they claimed to want to help. But in truth, they had ulterior motives. Once they got the business, not only would Zheng Qiao’s wealth be theirs—but his wife might be too.