“I can, absolutely! I’ll go right now!” Jiangjuan replied and immediately ran to the back courtyard to find their mother.
Jun Qiluo patted her belly and whispered to the sky, “You were right! I never let anyone who wrongs me off easily. If I’m this way even with someone I love, how could I be lenient with a mere penniless scholar? If you knew someone was insulting our sons like this, you’d probably grab a whip and start killing again!
Honestly, compared to you, I have much more grace…”
Looking up at the northern sky, she smiled gently. He had always loved to see her smile, but unfortunately, she had never smiled genuinely in his presence.
Ah! Only after separation did she realize the bitterness of longing; only after parting did she discover that her love for him was deeper than she had ever imagined. For a woman as seemingly indifferent as her to harbor such deep and intense feelings… how strange it was!
But—there was no turning back!
* * *
Three days later, Jun Chengliu learned that his daughter had cut off all financial support for her second brother-in-law and reclaimed the estate they were living in. She had also sent her second sister off with their mother to Suzhou under the pretext of a leisure trip, completely unaware of the real situation. Additionally, she had quickly arranged for Zheng Shuting’s concubine to be married off. In a flash, Zheng Shuting was left with nothing but an empty house full of books.
"Qiluo, you’re clearly making life difficult for him!" Jun Chengliu, known for his kind and gentle nature, knew that his son-in-law had been somewhat reckless lately, but to suddenly cut off all support seemed to be an act of deliberate cruelty.
Jun Qiluo gently helped her father to a seat and said softly, "Bitter medicine is hard to swallow, but if we don’t temper his arrogance, he’ll never pass the imperial exams in his lifetime. He spends his days idling away, indulging in pretentious elegance; a scholar who doesn’t produce anything is bad enough, but it’s worse if he can’t even fulfill his duties as a scholar. We agreed to marry my sister to him without looking down on his humble origins; we did so because our family is generous, and we saw that he was filial and ambitious. Though a bit arrogant, he had talent, and we wanted to give him a comfortable environment to study and prepare for the exams. His disdainful remarks toward me are typical of men, and though I’m angry, I don’t seek revenge for that alone. However, if we continue to let him live this carefree life, it will ruin him, and it won’t be good for Xiukun either. Father, you must have noticed this long ago, but perhaps you were reluctant to speak up; as for me, I won’t tolerate his behavior. He must either settle down as a true scholar or learn to be self-sufficient. If he can’t manage either, at least he needs to understand that the Jun family has no obligation to support him for free. I’ve reviewed the accounts—our family’s monthly expenses are 500 taels, including the servants’ wages and various allowances; yet their expenses are more than double that. He’s constantly hosting gatherings, renting out entire restaurants, reciting superficial love poems about longing and separation, and spending lavishly on courtesans and entertainers. Even if we had mountains of gold and silver, it wasn’t meant to be squandered like this."
Jun Chengliu couldn’t win an argument with his daughter, especially when she knew everything so well. But if word of this got out, he feared it would damage her reputation even further.
"But what about your reputation…?"
"I don’t care. I only do what needs to be done. And as for personal grievances, I won’t let anyone who wrongs me off lightly. Zheng Shuting needs to know who runs the Jun family; he also needs to know the consequences of crossing me. I’ve instructed the accountant that any future support for him must be approved by Jiangjuan. She knows market prices well, so I trust she’ll handle it appropriately. If Xiukun comes back crying, she can come to me."
"Sigh! That girl Jiangjuan worries me too! Your stepmother always complains that I’ve given her too much freedom.
But I can see that the child has a knack for business, even if she lacks your steadiness and composure; she’s still quite immature!" Chengliu sighed, both worried and pleased.
Seeing his youngest daughter so happy when deeply involved in business affairs, how could he bear to have her bind her feet and sit idly in a sewing room every day? But then, could a girl like that even find a husband? He couldn’t bear to see his eldest daughter’s youth wasted, leading her to today’s unfortunate situation, so he didn’t want his youngest to repeat the same mistake…
Jun Qiluo reassured him, "Jiangjuan is a spontaneous and good-hearted girl; she’ll find her destined match in time. I certainly don’t want to find her a husband in haste. She doesn’t care for scholars or literary men, and her temperament isn’t suited to being a wife."
"Very well, very well! I’ve never forced anything on you girls; I only ask that we act with a clear conscience. If heaven is just, it should grant my three daughters a good match."
"Father…"
"Don’t be too harsh on Shuting, at least don’t let him starve. As for you, take care of yourself. Sigh! Your belly is so big, but you don’t seem to be gaining any weight. You must have a safe delivery! It would be even better if it’s a boy, then the Jun family will have an heir."
Jun Qiluo was surprised. "Father, this child…?" Did he want her child to be the Jun family heir?
"He’s your child, and you’re the eldest daughter. Who else should inherit? I don’t care about the child’s father; he’ll bear the Jun name, won’t he?"
He lovingly patted his daughter’s hand, his eyes full of understanding. This child had suffered enough—wasn’t it his duty as a father to care for her a little more? By securing the child’s inheritance, he would ensure that the child wouldn’t be ridiculed and would have a solid social standing.
"Thank you, Father. I’m an unfilial daughter for always making you worry."
"Take care of yourself, and you won’t make me worry anymore, understand?"
"I understand, Father."
* * *
Just as Jun Qiluo predicted, Zheng Shuting’s downfall revealed the true nature of his so-called refined friends. Those who once called him brother and claimed undying loyalty now treated him like a plague. Some even dropped their usual polite facades to mock him for being "divorced."
It’s only when one has enough to eat and wear that they can care about honor and shame; when one is starving, they have no choice but to swallow their pride for survival.
For the first time in his life, Zheng Shuting truly understood the ancient saying, "A scholar is utterly useless."
In the first half-month, he still had fine clothes and small silver pieces to maintain appearances, and he didn’t yet know the fear of hunger. Despite his anger, he could still proudly distance himself from the Jun family. He even scorned the small plot of land in front of his little wooden house, originally planted with vegetables, fearing that working it would dirty his refined hands. He had grown up in a poor family, where his parents only wanted him to study hard and never made him do any manual labor, which had led to his skewed beliefs. As a result, the vegetables in that little plot were now withered and dead.
Another half-month later, he had become a regular at the pawnshop, secretly pawning his fine clothes. Garments made by the Jun family’s "Jinzhifang" were worth hundreds of taels, and even if they only fetched thirty or forty taels, it was still quite a sum.
He began to feel the pressure of dwindling funds; where once he had feasted on delicacies at Jun family-owned restaurants, refusing anything but the most authentic and rare dishes, now he found that the silver he thought was plentiful wasn’t enough to buy half a bear paw—yet it was still more than most families’ expenses for several months.
He had truly come to understand how formidable Jun Qiluo was!
The humiliating life he now led was far worse than the mockery and avoidance of his former "friends," making him feel like life wasn’t worth living. He finally saw the cold reality of the world and pitifully realized how naive and laughable he had been. Even a house full of books, once so familiar to him, now felt alien, making him break out in a cold sweat.
Another half month passed, and now he had nothing left—he couldn’t even afford plain rice. The vegetables in front of his house were long beyond saving. He was too proud to beg the Jun family for help because he had been the one to sever ties and swear never to step foot in the Jun household again. How could he now go back? But now, aside from a pile of books, he had nothing. The few coins he had left weren’t enough to buy even a bowl of soup at a restaurant, and he was too ashamed to sit in the streets with commoners, eating coarse food, fearing someone might recognize him and mock him further.
Where had Xiukun gone?
Now, the only comfort he had was in knowing he had married such a virtuous wife. But before, he had taken her for granted and even neglected her for the sake of a concubine. In truth, how could those courtesans compare to her beauty?
She was the only one who truly didn’t care about his status and married him willingly. If he had married Jun Qiluo instead, just thinking of her name made him break out in a cold sweat. That woman was terrifying! And he had repeatedly mocked and provoked her in front of others—there was no way she would forgive him now.
Might as well drink himself to death! He had the pride of a scholar and would never bow to his in-laws. Even if he was at fault, he wouldn’t lower himself by returning to the Jun family in such a wretched state.
If he could stand on his own, he would study even harder and, one day, pass the imperial exams, bringing honor to his family and restoring the relationship with his in-laws. Otherwise, how could he face them and avoid becoming a laughingstock?
With the last few coins he had, he bought a few pounds of cheap wine. The first sip made him vomit—it tasted more like horse urine than wine!
Compared to the exquisite liquors he used to drink… Sigh!
He stood outside the tavern, lost in despair, staring blankly at the jug in his hand. Before he could snap out of it, he was surrounded by a group of ruffians.
"Isn’t this the Jun family’s son-in-law, Scholar Zheng? It’s been a while! Why are you dressed like a beggar? Doesn’t that disgrace your status?"
These were the same people who used to accompany him on his outings, reciting poetry and spending money lavishly. Ashamed and furious, Zheng Shuting lowered his head and tried to leave, but laughter erupted behind him, and the taunts grew louder.
"You were the only one foolish enough to provoke the Jun family’s tigress, who just happens to be a god of wealth! Didn’t you once boast that you’d throw her out to avoid tarnishing your reputation? Now, who’s the one thrown out?"
"You… don’t push me too far!" Zheng Shuting’s face flushed with a mix of anger and shame, and his starving stomach ached even more.
"We’re just speaking the truth! Jun Qiluo has been controlling the commercial movements in Jiangnan for quite some time, but only a fool like you would dare challenge her! Now that Jun Feifan is dead and she’s returned to the Jun family, do you think they’ll let you cause trouble? Pathetic!"
The group burst into laughter again!
Zheng Shuting fled in disgrace, unable to endure any more mockery.
Meanwhile, in a second-floor window of the tavern, a man with broad shoulders and a strong build, wearing a black hat that covered the upper half of his face, crushed the cup in his hand when he heard the name "Jun Qiluo." His sturdy body trembled, and beneath the hat, his cold, piercing eyes flashed with anger. His face, usually calm and icy, now showed unmistakable shock and surprise.
The man sitting across from him, also tall and broad-shouldered, nearly fell off his chair at the mention of that name. He didn’t cover his face, and his bold, rugged face, full of northern pride, looked as if he had seen a ghost. However, he still noticed a few undercover officers at a nearby table, discreetly watching them.
"Young… Master?"
"Follow that scholar," the man ordered in a deep, commanding voice.
"Yes!" The other man quickly left the tavern and hurried downstairs.
The man in the black hat raised a freshly filled cup to his lips and muttered softly, "Is it you? Is it really you? You, the woman who tormented me for over six months—should I celebrate with a drink that you’re still alive?
Or should I beat you for escaping back to the south? While you were living carefree, I was in a living hell…" He smiled faintly and drank the wine in one gulp.
Beat her? Could he really bring himself to do that? Then he could only thank the heavens.
Coming to the south had been the right decision. After enduring such soul-crushing pain, the rebellion in the Eastern Dan Kingdom became his outlet for rage. After the rebellion, the Khan, fearing he might take his own life, had confined him within the imperial city until the elders of the eight tribes selected him to lead the fight against the rebels. He had taken the lead in battle with a reckless disregard for his life, and within three months, the Eastern Dan Kingdom was in shambles, forced to surrender. Afterward, he was appointed as one of the eight tribal leaders, but this aroused the dissatisfaction of Duo Luo Zhiwa, who then led a rebellion. Seizing the opportunity, he crushed Duo Luo Zhiwa’s ambitions and replaced him with his younger brother, Duo Luo Zhiwo, as the new tribal chief.
Even after all was settled, he still felt as if something was missing, and that emptiness pointed toward the south.
The Khan had repeatedly tried to dissuade him from making such a rash decision, warning that his identity and distinctive eyes could bring about his death—especially since he insisted on going alone. But he knew he had to make this journey, to come to Hangzhou, her hometown.
He had a deep sense that there was an answer waiting for him in Hangzhou.
When all the grief and anger had settled, he realized that his heartbreak was not as profound as he had imagined. The only pain he remembered was her hatred for him, not her death.
Then, a forbidden hope began to ignite in his heart, a voice persistently urging him: Go south, go to Hangzhou… This relentless urging, day and night, became an overwhelming obsession, driving him to this place. He didn’t know why he felt this way; he only knew that he had to come, and the closer he got to Hangzhou, the stronger the tremors in his heart grew.
It had been three days since he arrived here, and he had yet to muster the courage to visit the Jun family, to see the place where she once lived. The answers were within reach, but he hesitated to uncover them too quickly, fearing that they would only lead to deeper sorrow and despair. Moreover, because he had been under surveillance since entering the Central Plains, he didn’t want to bring trouble to the Jun family. He was waiting for some sign, waiting patiently, and today, that sign had finally come.
She wasn’t dead—something he had hoped for but never dared to believe had actually come true! Even with his strong self-control, he couldn’t help but reveal his true feelings…
She wasn’t dead…
This time, no matter how much she hated him, he would stay by her side for the rest of his life, never leaving her even for a moment! If they quarreled again, he wouldn’t storm off—he would hold her until her anger subsided, and only then would he let her go.
Hmm, how should he let her know that they were about to reunite? Should he surprise her? Or should he simply capture her and take her back to the Liao Dynasty once more? He needed to think this through carefully. She had frightened him once—now, it was his turn to give her a scare!
Yelü Lie broke into the most joyful smile he had shown in six months, downing bottle after bottle of fine wine, all the while plotting his next move…
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