She retreated into her room and shut the door.
Even now, safely back at home, Liu Yuan still felt a lingering fear.
“Just a little more, just a little bit more…” Liu Yuan recalled Wen Zhuqing’s kiss—the dizzying rush of emotions, her heart pounding so wildly it felt like it might leap out of her throat.
The feeling had been intoxicatingly sweet. After all, Wen Zhuqing was someone she adored, her heroic savior.
But…
The thought that Wen Zhuqing was now a married man, that if she had truly gone through with it, she would have been engaging in an affair—made her face instantly pale.
Remembering the fates of those she had seen caught in such scandals before, Liu Yuan was terrified.
She didn’t want that.
So, the only thing she could do now was to help “Brother Wen” get divorced as soon as possible, to free him from his misery. Only then could she marry him.
But…
Originally, Liu Yuan had planned to come clean to her parents tonight and tell them everything. Yet after what had just happened, she was too shaken.
“Maybe I should wait a little longer,” Liu Yuan hesitated, no longer daring to broach the subject tonight.
When Liu Ruzhi and Du Juan returned home from work, they noticed their daughter’s unusual behavior.
After all, as the only child of the Liu family, Liu Yuan was the center of her parents’ attention and affection.
Liu Ruzhi and Du Juan had met in their humble beginnings. Even now, with Liu Ruzhi having risen to the position of a county magistrate, despite having only one daughter and Du Juan being unable to bear more children, despite the immense societal pressure around them—
Liu Ruzhi had never once considered divorcing Du Juan or adopting another child.
Their love for their only daughter, Liu Yuan, knew no bounds.
So, they could easily sense when something was off with her.
Lately, they had noticed their daughter acting strangely.
But every time they asked, she insisted nothing was wrong.
“Do you think our Yuanyuan might be seeing someone?” Du Juan speculated.
Liu Ruzhi frowned. “That can’t be.”
As a father, especially one with only a daughter, the thought of her marrying and leaving them to live elsewhere was unbearable.
And since they had no son, he had previously discussed with his wife the possibility of arranging a matrilocal marriage for Liu Yuan—having a son-in-law move into their household instead.
Liu Yuan was well aware of this.
But now…
“If Yuanyuan were seeing someone or had fallen for a boy, she would definitely tell us,” Liu Ruzhi reasoned.
In his eyes, his daughter was obedient and sensible—she wouldn’t hide something as significant as a relationship from them.
“You’re right,” Du Juan agreed.
“Maybe we’ve been too busy lately and haven’t spent enough time with her. She might be feeling lonely,” Liu Ruzhi said.
Both of them were occupied with their responsibilities—one as a county magistrate, the other as the chairwoman of the Women’s Federation.
“Once I finish this round of work, I’ll have more time to spend with Yuanyuan,” Du Juan said.
“By the way, didn’t you mention before that you saw a promising young man from a family with several sons? Someone suitable for our Yuanyuan…”
…
As night fell, Wen Zhuqing returned empty-handed from yet another trip to the county town, earning himself another round of beatings and curses from Bao Shanyan.
The commotion was loud enough that the entire Huaihua Village soon caught wind of it.
But no one dared to intervene.
For one thing, an elderly woman had once tried to reason with Bao Shanyan, only to be immediately accused: *”What, do you fancy Wen Zhuqing? Planning to sneak around with my man?”* The poor woman had fled in terror.
Bao Shanyan felt no shame saying such things, but others certainly did.
If even the older women didn’t dare to speak up, the young girls who secretly admired Wen Zhuqing were even less likely to.
As for the men? Ha. They couldn’t care less about the fate of some pretty-boy educated youth like Wen Zhuqing.
Besides, none of them stood a chance against Bao Shanyan and her mother, Bao Yingzi, in a fight.
And as Bao Shanyan often said—she was disciplining her own man. It was nobody else’s business.
If Wen Zhuqing had a problem with it, he was welcome to fight back.
Now, lying bruised and battered on the bed, Wen Zhuqing stared at Bao Shanyan snoring like a pig beside him, his fingers itching to wrap around her throat and squeeze the life out of her.
But he held back.
He knew that even in her pregnant state, if Bao Shanyan fought back, he wouldn’t stand a chance—especially with the equally strong Bao Yingzi just next door.
He just had to wait a little longer.
Childbirth was the most vulnerable time for a woman—and the easiest time for accidents to happen.
As long as he patiently waited until Bao Shanyan went into labor, he could use some underhanded means to ensure that she… never made it out alive—along with the child!
Wen Zhuqing lowered his eyes, concealing the ruthlessness in his gaze. Enduring the pain in his body, he forced himself to fall into a deep sleep.
The next morning, he was woken early and ordered to cook in the kitchen, with Bao Shanyan naturally supervising while Bao Yingzi went to work in the fields.
In the room shared by Wen Zhuqing and Bao Shanyan, the window—previously left slightly ajar—was pushed open from the outside, and a nimble figure slipped in silently.
The shadowy figure moved stealthily through the room, searching until they quickly found the hidden package Wen Zhuqing had brought back from the county town.
Unwrapping it, Gu Yunzhou immediately saw what was inside.
The first things that caught his eye were two banned books.
His heart sank the moment he saw them.
Why would Wen Zhuqing go out of his way to obtain these forbidden books?
Soon, a possibility occurred to him.
There was no way Wen Zhuqing had gotten these books for his own reading.
That left only one explanation—he intended to use them to frame someone.
Gu Yunzhou had been wondering how exactly Wen Zhuqing planned to target his father and sister-in-law.
His sister-in-law was chosen because she was pregnant.
But why his father? Because he was the head of the household? Or because of his position as village chief?
Now, Gu Yunzhou felt his suspicions might be correct.
Wen Zhuqing was planning to use these banned books to incriminate his father—or even their entire family.
“Wen Zhuqing, you really are ruthless.”
For a moment, Gu Yunzhou considered destroying the books.
But after some thought, he restrained himself.
If he destroyed them, Wen Zhuqing would realize someone had discovered his plan and become even more cautious.
Besides, if this scheme failed, Wen Zhuqing might resort to even more vicious methods to frame his family.
So, it was better to play along—for now.
Then later…
Gu Yunzhou’s eyes narrowed slightly.
Once he had a plan in mind, he set the books aside and noticed a small packet of medicine hidden beneath them.
Leave a Reply