To Marry the Elder Brother of One's Late Husband - Chapter 44

Chapter 44: Cuckoldry and Scandals

Jiang Shu had the habit of taking a walk after dinner. On this particular day, after finishing her evening meal, she went to the small garden accompanied by Zhu’er. As luck—or lack thereof—would have it, she ran head-first into Auntie Hu and her niece, Hu Lingshuang.

Not wishing to cause trouble, Jiang Shu stepped aside to signal Auntie Hu and Hu Lingshuang to pass first.

While Jiang Shu was intent on showing deference, Hu Lingshuang was relentless. If it weren’t for the child in Jiang Shu’s belly blocking the way, her own child would be the future Marquis of Xinyang. Whenever she saw Jiang Shu, her heart overflowed with resentment.

She sat heavily on a stone bench by the roadside, her large belly protruding, and sneered, “The Second Sister-in-law sure puts on grand airs. To see an Auntie and not offer a greeting—raised in a petty household indeed, utterly lacking in manners.”

Had the two not already been at odds, Jiang Shu might have endured it. But since reconciliation was impossible, she saw no need to hold back.

She let out a cold laugh and snapped back, “Third Brother’s Wife, those words are truly hilarious. I am a Mistress, and Auntie Hu is a servant. Even if the heavens were to fall, there is no logic in a Mistress bowing to a servant. My not demanding Auntie Hu to bow is already an act of great magnanimity. Should I instead subvert the hierarchy and disregard the natural order?”

As the wife of the Heir Apparent, Jiang Shu was the future Matriarch of the Marquis’s manor. Naturally, her status was superior to that of a concubine.

She spoke with such conviction and logic that even with the two of them combined, the Hu aunt and niece didn’t know how to respond.

Pressing her advantage, Jiang Shu continued to scold Hu Lingshuang: “In terms of status, I am the Wife of the Heir; my position is higher than yours. In terms of seniority, I am your sister-in-law and your elder. By any standard, you should be bowing to me. Not only did you fail to do so, but you also went looking for trouble. Is this how your Hu family raised you?”

Since the aunt and niece came from the same family, Jiang Shu’s words hit both of them. Auntie Hu was reprimanded by the association.

Auntie Hu was not one to be easily handled. Seeing she couldn’t win with logic, she turned to the concept of karmic retribution. She said softly, “I know the Heir’s Wife is of noble status, but no matter how high your status is, you must consider the child in your womb. If you commit verbal sins for the sake of a moment’s spite, it will bring retribution upon your child.”

Fortunately, Jiang Shu was not actually pregnant. Had she truly been carrying a child, hearing someone curse her baby would have made her turn purple with rage.

Just as she was about to rebuke Auntie Hu, she saw Lady Zhao approaching the middle of the path followed by a crowd of servants.

Lady Zhao glared at Auntie Hu and cursed, “Vile servant! You dare curse the Marquis’s grandson? Do you wish for the House of the Marquis to have no heirs?”

Lady Zhao never enjoyed haggling with logic; she preferred action over words. She commanded sternly, “Mama Zhou, slap her face twenty times. Teach Auntie Hu a lesson.”

Auntie Hu came from an official’s family and had given birth to a son for Lu Lin. Although she wasn’t as prominent as Lady Zhao in the Marquis’s manor, she still held a level of dignity.

She hadn’t expected Lady Zhao to actually order someone to slap her. She spoke up, “Madam, surely you have misspoken. I am the Third Master’s biological mother and the blood sister of Prefect Hu. I am not a servant to be handled at will.”

Lady Zhao gave a disdainful snort. “Hu Weizhi holds a mere fifth-rank title. A sesame-seed-sized official like that wouldn’t even be fit to guard the gates of my Zhao family. To think you’d brag about him—how laughable.”

As she spoke, she turned her gaze toward Mama Zhou and raised her voice: “Mama Zhou, proceed!”

Lady Zhao wasn’t exaggerating. The Zhao family had produced two Grand Tutors and four Assistant Ministers. Although they had declined slightly in this generation, their heritage was far deeper than anything the Hu family could imagine.

Mama Zhou waved her hand. Two maids beside her stepped forward, twisting Auntie Hu’s arms and forcing her to her knees.

Auntie Hu had brought two maids of her own, but they were weak and outnumbered by Lady Zhao’s servants. The two looked at each other and knelt before Lady Zhao, pleading for mercy for Auntie Hu.

Lady Zhao remained unmoved, watching as Mama Zhou slapped Auntie Hu. Mama Zhou used her full strength; after just two slaps, Auntie Hu’s cheeks were already swollen.

Her face stung with burning pain, and her dignity was crushed under Lady Zhao’s feet. Auntie Hu glared at Lady Zhao and hissed, “Zhao Yunzhang, I will remember today’s humiliation. The road ahead is long; we shall see.”

Lady Zhao didn’t even bother to respond. She glanced at Mama Zhou, who began swinging her hands left and right again.

After twenty slaps, Auntie Hu’s face was bruised and battered. Her once-charming features were now swollen like a blue steamed bun, revolting to look at.

Having lost all face, Auntie Hu collapsed weakly to the ground, lacking even the strength to stand. Hu Lingshuang, supporting her large belly, pulled her up and helped her toward the Bihua Building.

Lady Zhao looked at Jiang Shu, offering a rare smile. “You did well just now. As the Wife of the Heir of the Marquis of Xinyang, you must have the bearing of one. In this house, aside from the Marquis and myself, no one is allowed to give you grief. If anyone is so insolent as to disrespect their superiors, you just go ahead and teach them a lesson. If they dare to be unruly, come to the Yanxi Hall to find me. I am your mother, after all, and I won’t let anyone bully you.”

Because Concubine Lin was weak and Jiang Rong was young, Jiang Shu had been worrying about them since she was a child. Because her mother was fragile, she had to be strong; because her sister was naive, she had to be mature.

She had been forced to mature prematurely to shield her mother and sister. She had always been the one taking care of others. Now that Lady Zhao had suddenly stepped forward to back her up and protect her, her resilient heart softened. Her gaze toward Lady Zhao held a touch of genuine warmth.

She said to Lady Zhao, “I will keep your words in my heart, Mother. I will not fail your expectations.”

Lady Zhao nodded and changed the subject. “I just received a chest of fabrics. Go and pick a few rolls you like to make some clothes for my grandson. Though the manor doesn’t lack seamstresses, their skills aren’t as fine as yours. My grandson must wear the best, even when it comes to his clothes.”

Jiang Shu softly agreed and followed Lady Zhao to the Yanxi Hall to choose the materials.

…

Back in her room, six rolls of fabric were neatly stacked on the small couch by the bed. Jiang Shu felt a headache coming on just looking at them. Since she was putting on an act, she had to do it thoroughly. She couldn’t just neglect it because there was no actual child.

She took out her scissors, cut a piece of pale yellow fabric for a bellyband, drew two red carps on it, and began to embroider diligently.

The late summer heat was intense. The bright sun made it hard to keep one’s eyes open. By noon, not even a cat or dog dared to venture out under the sun, let alone a person.

Zhu’er pushed the door open and rushed to the bedside in three quick steps. “Miss! The Third Young Madam ditched her servants and headed toward the Listening Rain Pavilion in the back garden. She’s acting suspicious—she must be meeting her lover! Quick, change your clothes and put on a bamboo hat. Let’s go to the garden and catch them in the act. We have to make her lose face completely!”

Zhu’er grew more excited as she spoke, her eyes shining as if she couldn’t wait to fly to the garden to watch the drama.

Jiang Shu smiled helplessly and said softly, “The adultery must be caught, but it’s not for us to step forward. We should let the Third Master catch them himself.”

“Let the Third Master catch them?” Zhu’er was confused. “The Third Master was beaten so badly he can’t even get off his bed. How can he go to the garden?”

Jiang Shu replied, “Have Chu Xia go to the Bihua Building. Tell the guards that the Third Young Madam has had a pregnancy scare at the Listening Rain Pavilion and tell the Third Master to hurry over.”

Chu Xia was the daughter of the farm manager. She had entered the manor today to deliver autumn gifts, and almost no one in the house recognized her.

Lu Changfeng was a profligate man; three out of five days were spent in brothels. His body was already hollowed out, and he finally had one pregnancy to show for it. He valued that child immensely and would surely rush to the garden to check on Hu Lingshuang.

Zhu’er realized the plan and ran out like the wind.

Following Jiang Shu’s instructions, Chu Xia went to the Bihua Building. She didn’t enter the courtyard but rushed straight to the gatekeeper, shouting frantically, “This is bad! This is bad! The Third Young Madam went to the Listening Rain Pavilion to enjoy the shade, but she slipped and is bleeding heavily! Tell the Third Master to go see her quickly!”

The gatekeeper, knowing the Third Master valued that unborn child more than his own eyes, didn’t dare delay and ran into the main room.

“Third Master!” The gatekeeper panted as he repeated Chu Xia’s words.

Lu Changfeng’s head was wrapped in gauze, his right leg was in a cast, and his back was covered in bruises from his beating. There wasn’t a single uninjured spot on his body. Hearing that something was wrong with the child, he was consumed with anxiety. He rasped to the gatekeeper, “Quick, get a sedan chair! Carry me to the Listening Rain Pavilion!”

Since Lu Changfeng couldn’t move, two servants lifted him—one holding his upper body and the other his legs—and placed him on the sedan chair.

Half-lying on the chair, he constantly urged the carriers. They didn’t dare stop for a second and sprinted all the way to the Listening Rain Pavilion.

The pavilion was quiet. The main door was bolted from the inside. The servant pushed several times but couldn’t open it.

Lu Changfeng had no idea how dire Hu Lingshuang’s situation was that she had to bolt the door. His panic surged. “Smash the door open! Hurry!”

Just as the words left his mouth, Lu Lin’s personal attendant rushed out from the side, pleading anxiously, “Third Master, you mustn’t! You mustn’t!”

The attendant kept winking at Lu Changfeng while he spoke. Usually, Lu Changfeng was quite sharp, but now, blinded by worry, he ignored the signals and insisted his servants break the door.

The attendant paced in circles but had no way to stop them. He watched helplessly as the wooden door was smashed open.

“Mei’er, I’m here! Are you feeling better?” Mei’er was Hu Lingshuang’s pet name.

Lu Changfeng spoke while looking toward the bed. When he saw the scene on the bed, his pupils dilated in shock, and he was rendered speechless.

Lu Lin was standing by the bedside, fastening his belt. His expression was calm, but his face was as dark as water, looking as if he were about to kill someone.

Hu Lingshuang sat huddled in the corner of the bed, her hair disheveled, covered only by a silk quilt. At the foot of the quilt lay a bright red undergarment embroidered with Mandarin ducks.

The room was suddenly crowded with people. The affair between the daughter-in-law and the father-in-law had been exposed to the world. Hu Lingshuang knew she was completely ruined. She lowered her head in wretched helplessness, her gaze unable to find a place to rest.

It felt as though a hand was gripping Lu Changfeng’s throat, tightening inch by inch until he could barely breathe.

Summoning strength from somewhere unknown, Lu Changfeng leaped from the stretcher and lunged onto the bed. He grabbed Hu Lingshuang by the throat and cursed, “You bitch! You shameless bitch! You’ve thrown all my dignity away! Your reputation is gone—why are you still alive? You might as well go to hell and see the King of the Underworld now!”

He acted like a madman, striking without restraint, ignoring even the child in her belly. He throttled her until her breathing became ragged and her eyes began to roll back.

“Are you trying to strangle your own child?” Lu Lin’s voice suddenly rang out, pulling Lu Changfeng back from his frenzy.

Lu Changfeng let go and turned to look at Lu Lin. By then, Lu Lin had finished dressing. He sat leisurely in a chair, staring straight at Lu Changfeng with a calm face, showing not a hint of shame.

Lu Changfeng’s teeth ached with hatred, but he didn’t dare utter a single harsh word.

That man was his father, the ruler of the Marquis’s manor. With a single flick of his finger, he could cast Lu Changfeng from the clouds into the abyss. How could he dare to defy the Marquis?

He slumped onto the bed and began to sob quietly.

…

Jiang Shu, estimating that enough time had passed, took Zhu’er to the garden to watch the excitement. From a distance, she saw the Listening Rain Pavilion surrounded by people. The mistress and servant smiled at each other and slowly strolled over.

As they got closer, they realized the person guarding the door was Xiao Wei, the Commander of the Manor Guards, who took orders only from Lu Lin. Jiang Shu hadn’t expected that Lu Changfeng’s attempt to catch an adulterer would involve the Marquis himself.

She didn’t want to force her way in just for the show, so she turned around, intending to take Zhu’er back to the Xinchun Courtyard.

But Zhu’er wasn’t having it. She tugged at Jiang Shu’s sleeve and whispered mischievously, “We’re already here! Stay and see what happened! That lover must be something special to lead the Third Young Madam into adultery while she’s pregnant. He must be quite extraordinary.”

Zhu’er grew more excited. “The Third Master always acts so high and mighty, constantly annoying you. Don’t you want to see him getting cuckolded and looking miserable?”

Jiang Shu didn’t have much interest in seeing Lu Changfeng suffer, but she was curious about who the lover was. Since Hu Lingshuang was able to meet him frequently in the garden, it suggested the person was from within the manor. She wondered which servant had the audacity to covet a mistress of the Lu family.

Driven by curiosity, Jiang Shu and Zhu’er hid in a room near the water pavilion. There was a row of lattice windows on the wall that allowed them to see everything outside clearly.

Just as they hid, the door to the Listening Rain Pavilion opened. Lu Changfeng came out first, lying on a stretcher, his eyes bloodshot and his fists clenched as if he wanted to eat someone alive.

Next came Hu Lingshuang. her face was a dark, bloated purple, and there were faint red marks on her neck—evidently, she had been beaten severely.

After Lu Changfeng and Hu Lingshuang left, Lu Lin also strolled out of the door. Jiang Shu and Zhu’er ignored Lu Lin, waiting for the guards to drag out the “lover”—whether to be killed or beaten, there had to be a result.

The two waited for nearly an hour before realizing the Listening Rain Pavilion was completely empty. There was no sign of another man.

Zhu’er grumbled in disappointment, “Where is he? Why didn’t we see the lover?”

Jiang Shu’s face turned pale. She whispered, “The lover has already left. It was… the Marquis.”

Other than Lu Lin—the head of the household—no lover could have walked out of that pavilion unscathed.

At Jiang Shu’s reminder, the realization hit Zhu’er. She looked at Jiang Shu and whispered, “I thought ‘cuckoldry with the father-in-law’ only happened in plays. I didn’t expect such filthy things to happen in the grand Marquis’s manor. There are countless beautiful maids in the house; the Marquis could have picked any of them. Why did he have to go for his own daughter-in-law?”

At this, Zhu’er’s eyes darted around. She looked at Jiang Shu and asked seriously, “The Third Young Madam’s belly is as big as a watermelon, yet she still manages to have an affair in that state. Does that count as being ‘naturally gifted’?”

Jiang Shu felt a headache. She rubbed her temples and scolded quietly, “What ‘naturally gifted’? Is that something an unmarried woman should say? Swallow those words today and never mention them again.”

Zhu’er hummed in agreement and said no more as she walked back to the Xinchun Courtyard with Jiang Shu.

…

Fang Yu was waiting at the entrance of the flower hall. Seeing Jiang Shu, she bowed and said softly, “Second Young Madam, there’s chaos over at the Bihua Building. For some reason, the Third Young Madam has suddenly gone into labor. It seems like a premature birth.”

Hu Lingshuang’s child was only seven months along. It was uncertain if the baby would survive being born now.

Jiang Shu’s hands, hidden in her sleeves, clenched tightly. The color drained from her face.

No one knew better than her how important a child was to a mother. Hu Lingshuang had tried to frame her first, and she had indeed intended to teach her a lesson, but she hadn’t expected it to cause this…

Zhu’er knew Jiang Shu best. After Fang Yu left, she took Jiang Shu’s hand and comforted her, “If the Elder of the Ye family hadn’t discovered the tampered necklace, the ‘child’ in your womb would have been lost long ago. You were only giving her a taste of her own medicine. Why be so anxious?”

Despite that, the child was innocent. Jiang Shu still felt uneasy. She told Zhu’er, “Have someone keep an eye on the Bihua Building. If anything happens, report back immediately.”

Inside the Bihua Building, Hu Lingshuang was drenched in sweat, her body feeling as if it were being torn apart. Her screams were terrifying to hear. The midwives bustled about, and basin after basin of bloody water was carried out by maids.

Lu Changfeng sat in the outer room, staring at the inner chamber, incredibly anxious. He hated Hu Lingshuang, but he didn’t want her to lose her life. They were husband and wife, but also cousins who had grown up together. She had made a mistake, but it wasn’t a capital offense. He couldn’t just watch her die.

Lu Changfeng looked at a maid nearby and snapped, “Don’t you hear her losing strength? Go and prepare some ginseng soup!”

The maid hurried to the kitchen.

Time passed. After two hours of agonizing labor, Hu Lingshuang finally gave birth. Unfortunately, because the baby was too premature, it died shortly after birth.

Having just been cuckolded by his own father and now losing his child, the double blow drained Lu Changfeng of his spirit. He slumped onto a daybed, two lines of tears falling uncontrollably.

Suddenly, a flash of realization hit him. He understood that he had been manipulated. He looked at his attendant and shouted, “Bring the gatekeeper here!”

The gatekeeper entered, and seeing Lu Changfeng’s dark expression, he knelt trembling.

“Who was it today that told you the Second Young Madam was having a pregnancy scare?”

The gatekeeper thought hard. He could vaguely recall the person’s face, but he didn’t recognize who she was. Knowing how serious the matter was, he didn’t dare lie. “She was a very unfamiliar face. I didn’t recognize her.”

Lu Changfeng gave a bitter laugh and waved the gatekeeper away. Hu Lingshuang was certainly at fault, but the person who caused him to lose face so publicly was even more detestable. Sadly, that person had come prepared, leaving no clues behind.

…

When news of the stillbirth reached the Xinchun Courtyard, Jiang Shu felt even more guilty. She lost her appetite and sat in her chair, staring blankly outside.

“Second Young Madam, the First Master is here,” Fang Yu announced.

What was Lu Changji doing here? In her current state, Jiang Shu didn’t want to deal with him. She was about to make an excuse not to see him, but Lu Changji entered before she could speak.

Lu Changji looked at Jiang Shu. Seeing her slender figure, her pale face, and her panicked eyes, he could see she was truly shaken.

He walked up to her and said warmly, “You are not the Hu woman, and nothing will happen to your child. I will protect your child and ensure they grow up safely. Put your heart at ease and focus on nursing your pregnancy.”