Chapter 49 She Suffered Injustice

Chapter 49 She Suffered Injustice

Jiang Wanrou looked at Lu Feng anxiously and said, "My fifth sister is behaving erratically, suddenly coming over to say some inexplicable things. I am deeply troubled."

"Is a madwoman really worth your fear?"

Lu Feng patted her shoulder comfortingly and said in a gentle voice, "The children are causing a ruckus. Go to the backyard to soothe them. Let me handle this."

His voice, deep and soothing, exuded a compelling charm. Jiang Wanrou felt slightly reassured. She was about to leave when she glanced at Jiang Wanying, who was lying on the ground, and said, "Husband, I cannot endure this without defending myself. Since I married into the Lu family, I have been filial to my in-laws, friendly with my sisters-in-law, and strictly adhered to the virtues of a wife. I have never once acted inappropriately! I don't know if my fifth sister has lost her mind or been deceived by someone, but she has slandered me like this. I am indifferent to others' judgments, but I only ask you, my husband, to believe me."

She feared that Jiang Wanying might say something even more outrageous later, so she decided to take the initiative. She had always conducted herself with integrity, and Lu Feng was not one to believe things without evidence. Without witnesses or proof, how could mere words tarnish her reputation? It's preposterous!

Sure enough, Lu Feng's expression softened, and the corners of his lips curled slightly, showing no sign of anger.

He said, "Don't talk nonsense. Escort the Madam back to her chambers."

Jiang Wanying had sent Lu Feng a note that read: Your wife has long harbored feelings for another and has been involved with him. She has been married to you for five years, but it was all for wealth and status, with no true affection. Please come to the flower hall, Commander Lu, and witness a grand spectacle.

It was a poorly contrived plot. Given Lu Feng's temperament, he ought to have promptly detained her and subjected her to the Forbidden Dragon Bureau's eighteen tortures, exposing all conspiracies.

This time, however, even the resolute Commander Lu found himself hesitating.

There were many reasons for this. For instance, this pertained to a private family affair, and too much involvement might damage his wife's reputation. Or perhaps he wanted to play along and see which little devil was causing trouble under his nose... Apart from these seemingly justified reasons, deep down, Lu Feng himself was hesitant.

He informed no one and, as written in the note, ventured alone to the flower hall.

Then he witnessed the so-called "grand spectacle." The madwoman spoke of past lives and present lives, which he derided. He had spent three years on the frontier, where fields of carnage and rivers of blood were the norm. On the battlefield, the one with the fastest blade was the king. None placed faith in deities, spirits, or the wheel of karma.

In Lu Feng's view, gods, demons, and Buddha were merely tools to pacify the people and facilitate rule.

He dismissed the notion of "past lives," and Jiang Wanying's claim of being "husband and wife in a past life" was even more absurd. But then he heard Jiang Wanying say that his wife had suffered many wrongs since marrying into the Lu family.

Lu Feng found himself unable to contest that.

At the very beginning, he truly harbored no affection for this bride he had yet to know. He married her only because he had touched her, and those small, animal-like eyes had captured his heart. The emperor had repeatedly tried to dissuade him, saying such a woman was unworthy of being his wife, but he still wed her amidst grand ceremony.

Marrying a wife was nothing special to him. The Lu estate was vast, and assigning her a courtyard was a trivial matter.

When did he start caring for her? He couldn't remember. Perhaps it was when she gave birth to his firstborn son, or when she sewed warm knee pads for him, or when he returned late at night and saw the candlelight she had left burning for him. Or perhaps it was even earlier, on their wedding night, when she trembled with fear but still used her shaking hands to undo his buttons.

Even someone as strict as Lu Feng had to admit that she was good.

He also admitted that, at first, he had not treated her well and had caused her much suffering.

At that moment, Lu Feng felt a sense of helplessness. He fixed his gaze intently on Jiang Wanrou, shrouded in the shadows, wanting to know how she would respond.

Did she harbor any resentment?

She said: My feelings for my husband are as true as they can be.

She said: Even if the mountains crumble and the heavens and earth merge, I will never part from you.

It was as if something exploded in his ears. Lu Feng heard the sound of his heart pounding in his chest. The last time he had felt this way was when the Duke of Lu called him to the ancestral hall and told him about his origins.

When the madwoman was about to touch her, Lu Feng could no longer hold back and emerged from the shadows. He didn't say much to her; this was not the moment for amorous exchanges. When they returned to their chamber, they would have plenty of time.

...

As Jiang Wanrou departed, looking back repeatedly, Lu Feng's gentle demeanor entirely disappeared. Jiang Wanying, who had been shouting earlier, suddenly fell silent. She lay on the ground, clutching her injured wrist, muttering incoherently.

Lu Feng approached slowly, while Jiang Wanying retreated with each step, her eyes filled with fear and awe.

"Pei Zhang's wife?"

His black official boots stopped before Jiang Wanying. Lu Feng had interrogated countless criminals, many feigning madness to escape punishment. Her eyes betrayed fear, a sign absent in the truly mad.

Lu Feng, having just heard Jiang Wanrou's "heartfelt confession," was in a good mood and did not use the boots that had crushed countless skulls to step on the wrist that had nearly injured his wife.

He had previously heard from his wife that this stepsister did not get along with her. The petty jealousies and rivalries among women were of no concern to him, nor did he wish to inquire.

He casually drew a chair and sat with an air of command, scrutinizing her. "You claim to have lived a past life. In that life, I became the emperor?"

His origins were a closely guarded secret. Had Pei Zhang somehow guessed and sent his wife to test him? Was this cooperation, a threat, or an attempt at submission?

Lu Feng's mind raced through countless schemes, yet "past lives" was not among them.

Jiang Wanying, her hair disheveled, lowered her head, her expression hidden in the shadows.

Silence hung between them. Jiang Wanying attempted to stall, but Lu Feng remained composed. The hall stood eerily silent. After a prolonged silence, Jiang Wanying spoke:

"My husband is Pei Zhang."

"The first scholar in this dynasty to achieve the triple crown of top honors, former prefect of Jiaozhou, imperial envoy appointed by the emperor, and now the Minister of Personnel, deeply favored by the emperor."

Her gaze remained fixed downward, too fearful to meet Lu Feng's eyes. "I am the wife of an imperial official. You cannot kill me."

Lu Feng raised an eyebrow. "When did I say I would kill you?"

"A drought could spark a fire, or a misstep by the river could lead to a fall. Some, driven by despair, end their lives with a white silk rope in their chambers. Lady Pei, I value human life little."

"My patience wears thin. Answer my questions."

Pei Zhang was somewhat of a nuisance, but only somewhat. Upon hearing Jiang Wanying's treasonous words, Lu Feng had already deemed her as good as dead.

Facing Lu Feng directly, Jiang Wanying, recalling past rumors, trembled uncontrollably, her earlier feigned madness forgotten.

The founding emperor passed the throne to Emperor Wu, who ruled with an iron fist. After ascending the throne, he drastically changed the "rest and recuperation" policies of the founding emperor, vigorously supporting the silk and textile industry and overseas trade, amassing vast military funds, stockpiling grain, and manufacturing weapons. He raised fierce armies in the north, west, and south, launching large-scale military campaigns.

Emperor Wu particularly loved leading expeditions personally, capturing cities, plundering treasures, enslaving those who surrendered, branding them with official seals, and selling them. Those who resisted were slaughtered, their cities burned. Wherever his iron cavalry passed, sorrow was endless, and corpses littered the fields.

Historians advised that the emperor's excessive campaigns and growing ferocity were ominous signs, but Emperor Wu harshly rebuked and demoted them, even abolishing the position of the remonstrance official. He enacted harsh laws, weakening the power of officials. All matters, big and small, were decided by the emperor. Over time, except for the Chief Grand Secretary Pei Zhang, no one dared to defy the emperor's authority, nor to express their own opinions.

The court officials were as silent as cicadas in winter, and the common people lived in constant fear. The Forbidden Dragon Bureau's spies were everywhere, and no one dared to speak ill of the emperor. He was a tyrant, having killed countless people, stubborn and intolerant of the slightest dissent. In his presence, the slightest misstep could cost one's head.

Yet he was also a wise ruler. Under his reign, the Qi dynasty prospered. The founding emperor ended the era of chaos and division, and Emperor Wu, standing on the shoulders of the founding emperor, expanded the empire's borders, plundering treasures until the treasury overflowed, melting them into gold to distribute to the common people.

Under such extreme authority, the atmosphere was oppressive. No one dared to criticize the emperor. In everyone's heart, there was a mix of respect, awe, and fear for Emperor Wu, and Jiang Wanying was no exception. Emperor Wu was too distant from her. When she died, Emperor Wu was about to embark on another expedition, this time to the vast desert, where an ancient tribe was said to hold the secret to immortality. The Imperial Astronomer predicted it was a "great misfortune," and the emperor, enraged, beheaded many...

Only in the direct presence of Lu Feng did Jiang Wanying, despite her past life's experiences, truly confront the threat of death. Combined with the natural aura of "Emperor Wu," under the extreme suffocating fear, Jiang Wanying had a moment of clarity.

She still did not dare to look up, saying, "What I said earlier is all true. I... I am someone with past-life wisdom."

Jiang Wanying knew she was not clever. Lying to Lu Feng was courting death, and she dared not speak of "past lives" again. Whether it was the present Lu Feng or the past Emperor Wu, neither believed in such things.

She changed her approach. "One day, my mind suddenly became clear, and I could foresee future events. I saw my sixth sister marrying Pei Zhang, Pei Zhang achieving the top scholar position, and rising through the ranks. I became envious..."

Commander Lu let her speak without interruption. His expression shifted from initial indifference to increasing gravity. If she was making this up, the story was too detailed and flawless. The woman before him... she likely wasn’t clever enough for it.

To persuade him, Jiang Wanying racked her brain and brought up another incident as proof. "This winter is going to be brutally cold. In a small town up north, many commoners will go hungry and freeze, selling themselves as slaves to the rich. These families are brutal, whipping their slaves. A group will rise up, kill the wealthy, and start a rebellion."

The real reasons were surely more complicated, but she didn’t know the details. She only knew that after the Jiangnan water bandit case, a northern town exploded into chaos. It was an unprecedented slave rebellion.

In her past life, Pei Zhang skipped Jiangnan and made his name in the Slave Rebellion, gradually gaining the emperor’s favor.

Jiang Wanying’s rambling shouldn’t have convinced Commander Lu. But the Imperial Astronomers had forecast a harsh winter. Winter was months away, and the astronomers wouldn’t commit. Commander Lu was there when the Chief Astronomer reported to the emperor. The emperor ordered more calculations and kept it quiet to avoid panic.

Even Pei Zhang shouldn’t have known about this.

Commander Lu thought for a while before saying cryptically, "Madam Pei, you’re quite the strategist."

He couldn’t kill her now.

Jiang Wanying understood the subtext in Commander Lu’s words. Ignoring her wrist pain, she raised her hand and swore, "I swear to God, everything I said is true. Winter’s just months away, Commander Lu. You’ll see."

"If I’m lying, I’ll take care of it myself."

As time passed, Jiang Wanying thought of many things under the threat of death.

She was so foolish, so very foolish! She had been granted a rare opportunity but remained trapped in the inner chambers, clueless about how to use it.

The man before her was the future emperor! If she could demonstrate her abilities to him, using her knowledge from her past life to help him ascend to the throne, what would she have to fear from her mother-in-law or her cousin?

What did her sixth sister matter? The Martial Emperor was never one to be swayed by love; he loved the empire!

Even Pei Zhang—if she wanted him to love her, he would have no choice but to love her!

A glimmer of hope! If Commander Lu weren’t here, she would have burst into laughter. Jiang Wanying struggled to her feet, brushed the dust off her skirt, and walked slowly toward the door.

She said with certainty, "I’ll wait for you to come to me."

Jiang Wanrou returned to Jinguang Courtyard and had the children brought over. From afar, she could hear their wailing cries.

"My little darlings, what’s wrong? Come here, let me hold you."

***

Jiang Wanrou quickly pushed aside her earlier displeasure and hurried over, taking the swaddled babies into her arms. The infants’ cries were like piercing screams. She soothed one after the other, finally calming both down.

The older brother’s big, round eyes blinked, glistening with moisture. The younger sister’s nose was red from crying, her little nose twitching, pitiful yet adorable.

Jiang Wanrou placed the siblings in the cradle and said with concern, "They were fine just a moment ago. Why are they crying so much now?"

"Did you think they were small and couldn’t speak, so you neglected them?"

Jiang Wanrou was usually gentle and kind, but her sudden sternness carried an air of authority. Upon closer inspection, there was a hint of Commander Lu’s demeanor in her.

"Madam, you wrong us!"

The nanny immediately knelt, nearly crying herself. "This old servant has devoted herself to the young masters. To speak out of turn, I’ve treated them more dearly than my own son."

"Only after the young masters had slept did I dare bring them to the front hall. But for some reason, they’ve been crying ever since. The wet nurses thought they might be hungry, but the young masters wouldn’t take any milk."

The little ones couldn’t speak, and it was difficult for them too.

Jiang Wanrou carefully inspected the blankets and undergarments wrapped around them, finding nothing amiss. After crying their fill, the two children now squinted their eyes and flailed their limbs, showing no trace of their earlier fussiness.

Jiang Wanrou, both exasperated and amused, lightly flicked each of their foreheads, teasing with a smile, "You two, just keep tormenting me."

The wet nurse chuckled, "The little ones must be missing their mother. It's just about feeding time, why not trouble the Mistress to do it today?"

In wealthy households, the mistress does not breastfeed. Firstly, the children's crying can be bothersome, disturbing the master's sleep; secondly, breastfeeding can cause the breasts to sag, which is seen as unattractive.

Jiang Wanrou followed this custom and hired six wet nurses for the two children right away. However, as a woman's milk is abundant after childbirth, she had to use tools like cow horns to forcibly express it, which was very painful. Later, when Lu Feng discovered this, he consumed it all himself.

Today, by coincidence, it wouldn't hurt to occasionally feed the children herself.

The two children were very well-behaved in front of their mother, dozing off right after feeding. Jiang Wanrou looked at their tender little faces, kissed each one, and then reluctantly let the wet nurse take them away.

This was a small matter, and Jiang Wanrou didn't pay it much mind. Until that evening, under the ambiguous light of the red silk bed curtains, Jiang Wanrou's face flushed, biting her lip in discomfort as Lu Feng lay on top of her, complaining:

"Why is there less of it today?"