Hang Zhi sobered somewhat and slowly sheathed his sword. Duanfang’s words were correct—right now, he was at a disadvantage. He had thought Xing Muzheng would be highly sensitive to the suspicion of rebellion and thus give way. Who would have thought the man would openly choose to play the hero before a woman? If this truly escalated, and his beloved wife was in Xing Muzheng’s hands, what if he took his anger out on her…
Hang Zhi took a few deep breaths. When he lifted his head again, he was smiling. “Marquis Xing, there’s no need for this. This official is merely carrying out an imperial investigation. His Majesty spoke to me in person—because of the assassination attempt on you in Minghu Prefecture, I thought perhaps there might be a spy among your people. But since Marquis Xing swears to protect this person, I will let it go. I’ve no wish to play the villain, after all.”
Truly—his change of face was like the fickle skies of June. No wonder he’d become a high official. Qian Jiaoniang clicked her tongue in amazement. Xing Muzheng, seeming to know exactly what she was thinking, glanced at her as if to say—don’t you put on this same insufferable act often enough yourself?
Since the other had put away his sword, Xing Muzheng naturally would not press further. He raised a hand, and the marquis’s guards instantly sheathed their weapons in unison and returned to position. Duanfang was quietly impressed—so this was the famed discipline of the Xing family troops.
“Since Minister Hang is willing to believe me, then might you allow us to pass?” Xing Muzheng said.
“Of course. After you, Marquis.”
“After you, Minister.”
Crash—no sooner had the words left their mouths than the sky opened and rain began to fall. Xing Muzheng raised his own cloak to shield Qian Jiaoniang, escorting her back to the carriage. Hang Zhi stood unmoving, raising a hand to order the Imperial Guards to let them through. The wheels rolled over the wet bluestone, mingling with the sound of rain—somehow carrying a note of desolation. Hang Zhi stood at the side, hands clasped behind him, staring fixedly as the two carriages of the marquis’s household passed him by. Even as the rain soaked his clothes, he did not notice. Duanfang, unable to find an umbrella, used his own cloak to shield him. “My lord—let’s go back!”
Hang Zhi did not respond, still staring until the carriages disappeared into the distance. A spark had been kindled in the heart he’d thought long frozen, searing the deepest softness within him. Was his wife truly seated inside? Whether yes or no—it left him restless, unable to eat or sleep.
Qingya wept silently, stealing a glance through a narrow gap. The gentle and refined husband from her memories stood there in the rain, looking so very fragile. Pressing a hand to the ache in her chest, she had thought all bonds of affection had long since blown away with the wind—yet seeing this man again, the heartache burned all the more.
***
“My maiden surname was Di, given name Qingya. I am the late wife of Hang Zhi,” Qingya revealed her true identity to Qian Jiaoniang after returning to the courtyard in Prince Alley. “It is not much different from what you heard in the Crown Prince’s residence. My nursemaid and I truly had nowhere left to turn, so we went to the Hang family, who had a large household and great wealth, and would not mind one more pair of chopsticks at the table. But my husband, Hang Zhi, was eight years older than me, and had taken care of me since I was a child. I was used to his pampering and depended on him greatly. Later, on the day I came of age, he came to me at night and… kissed me, asking me to marry him. At first I laughed at him for being so old and still unmarried, but later I learned he had been waiting for me to grow up… I was just awakening to feelings of love then, and with such a handsome elder brother who always catered to me by my side, how could I not be moved? But because of the gap in our status, I dared not show my feelings. When I learned he also cared for me, how could I not be overjoyed? I agreed without much thought. It was only after I became his wife that I learned his mother had opposed the marriage, and that it was only through his stubborn insistence that it happened.”
At this point, Qingya sighed and gazed faintly at the rain outside the window. “After I married, he still treated me well. If I wanted a star, he would not give me the moon instead. At that time I was immersed in the joy of being spoiled, never realizing that his mother—my mother-in-law—hated me to the bone. His mother had always been a strong-willed person, and he was a filial, kind man. He treated everyone well, and everyone liked him.”
Hearing this, Qian Jiaoniang tilted her head slightly. The Hang Zhi she had seen today did not seem like a man who treated everyone well.
“… His mother would secretly torment me under the guise of a mother-in-law’s authority, but in front of her son she always acted as if she treated me like her own daughter. When I told him, he thought I was being overly delicate, and never believed that such a good mother could treat me badly. I was foolish then. Faced with her schemes, all I could do was quarrel, and after a while he no longer took my words seriously. Whenever I got angry, he would coax me into happiness, but never took it to heart. I also knew he was caught in a difficult position between us, and later I felt sorry for him, so I bore it myself.” Qingya paused, then went on, “Later, after years without conceiving, his mother grew even more dissatisfied. She brought her own niece to the house and pressured me to allow him to take her as a concubine. I knew that for a man like him, it was inevitable he would have concubines, but I just could not stand it! He also said he would not take a concubine and would only be with me. His mother believed I was the one blocking it, trying to make her son childless, and the look she gave me in secret truly frightened me! I didn’t even dare be alone with her. But then his grandmother died, and we had to return home for the funeral. He was too busy with state affairs to go himself, so he told me to go back with his mother. I was truly terrified. I don’t know why, but I had a bad feeling. I told him, but he only laughed, saying I was imagining things, and guaranteed his mother would never harm me.”
Qingya let out a bitter laugh. “But he truly did not know his mother. Nor did I. I never imagined she could be so vicious. On our journey back to Nanling by water, she had men pretend to be river bandits, causing chaos just to kill me! I was forced to the bow by two masked men waving sabers, yet the guards acted as if they didn’t see, only protecting her or fighting for themselves. Not one came to save me. My maid Ruyu, who had been with me since childhood, was cut down before my eyes while protecting me. Then I saw my mother-in-law’s eyes watching from the shadows, and I understood everything. Despair filled me, and before the blade fell, I leapt into the river. I only thought—having come into this world clean, I would leave it clean as well, without blood on me.”
By the time she reached this part of her story, Qingya was in tears again. Qian Jiaoniang sighed and handed her a handkerchief to wipe them away.
Qingya shook her head lightly. “It was only by fortune that my life was not yet meant to end. I was swept away by the current and rescued by people on a pleasure boat. Strangely enough, the owner was a Xili noblewoman named Duo Lu, disguised as a man. Her father was the general who had taken the Lingjiang area, and they lived in Shazhou. She had sneaked out for fun, being deeply enamored with the Xie dynasty’s scenery and clothing. I dared not reveal my identity, so I made up a story. She believed it, took me in, and asked me to teach her the Xie language. Later I returned to Shazhou with her, waiting for the right opportunity. When the Marquis led troops to retake Lingjiang, Duo Lu had no time for me. In the chaos of war, we became separated, and I was later taken for a captured Xili servant and taken in by the Xing family’s army. I thought of sending word to him, but feared his mother would intercept it and send someone to kill me again. So I stayed hidden in the camp doing odd jobs, and when Marquis Xing returned to the capital, I followed.”
“You were still thinking of returning to the Hang family at that time?” Qian Jiaoniang asked.
Qingya looked up at her, nodding slowly. “Yes. I had still hoped we could be reunited. But when I arrived in Yongan, I learned the Hang family had long since considered me dead, and he had taken his cousin as concubine. I heard that because of me, his cousin could not enter as a formal wife, but once she bore the eldest son, she would surely be made the main wife. Jiaoniang, it was only then I understood—there was not a single person in the Hang family who wanted me to share his life to the end. Perhaps even he no longer wanted that. I had only made things hard for him, caught between me and his mother, and gotten in the way of his three wives and four concubines… I thought to myself, perhaps it would be better if I were truly dead.”
Qingya looked at Qian Jiaoniang. The rest of what happened, Qian Jiaoniang already knew—how Qingya, disheartened, had gone with her to Yuzhou, and on the day she truly meant to drown herself, she met Qian Jiaoniang. She stopped her, and taught her that a woman living alone should still hold her head high.
Qian Jiaoniang could not help but sigh. Truly, one cannot have everything—she herself got along with her mother-in-law, but her husband did not love her; Qingya got along well with her husband, but her mother-in-law disliked her. Why was it always the women who suffered?
“Today I saw Minister Hang. He seemed to still have feelings for you—otherwise he would not have acted so recklessly just from seeing your back. I think he will not let this go. Besides, you… do not seem entirely without feelings for him.”
Di Qingya smiled bitterly. “Feelings or not—what of it? Are they worth more than life? In the end, I am but a solitary woman. If I go back, and his mother wishes to harm me again, it would be like crushing an ant. And he, being a filial son, would never suspect his good mother. Besides, he now has a beautiful concubine, and perhaps soon a cherished wife. As for that trace of lingering feeling… I would rather not have it.”
Qingya’s final “Forget it, then” was said lightly, but firmer and more resolute than ever before.
Qian Jiaoniang clapped her hands and said, “That’s the way! Anyway, I’ve always thought that men with three wives and four concubines are no good. Better to be free on your own than to wade into that muddy water! Later, when you’ve thought things through, you can find a good man to marry. If that really doesn’t work out, the two of us can just partner up and get by together—at least we won’t starve to death!”
Hearing this, Qingya finally broke into a tearful smile. “Isn’t that the truth!”
“What truth?” A deep male voice suddenly cut in as Xing Muzheng strode in from outside.
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