Chapter 102

Chapter 102

"What's wrong with your eyes? And then you tell me to excuse you? Is that any way to talk?! You open your mouth and call me old—your wife has better eyesight and a better mouth than you!"

Pretending not to understand, Qi Cheng replied, "I'll thank you on my wife's behalf for the compliment. It's true—my wife not only has better eyesight and a better mouth than I do, but she excels me in other ways too."

Lu Yuan pressed her lips together, stifling a laugh.

She had never expected Qi Cheng, usually a man of few words, to be so cutting when provoked.

Yang Baozhu had always been doted upon, never before so thoroughly dismissed by someone she had just set her sights on.

She clenched her handkerchief and suddenly turned to the woman: "Think carefully about what we discussed. I’ll come find you later."

Then, turning back to Qi Cheng, she raised her chin and declared, "Your looks have captivated me. I'll overlook your harsh words today."

With that, she turned and left. Her maid hurriedly gathered the table mat and cushion, then snorted at Lu Yuan before following her mistress, chin held high.

It was clear she was accustomed to throwing her weight around, leveraging her mistress's status.

Only after they had left did Hu Qiniang dare complain to the master: "Mr. Qi, you wouldn't believe it—that portly woman brought a chest of silver ingots, saying she wanted to give it to the mistress to persuade her to divorce you."

Hearing this, Qi Cheng turned to look at Lu Yuan.

Once again, she had been right.

First Huang Li, now the daughter of Scribe Yang.

Qi Cheng nodded and said, "I’ll discuss it carefully with my wife."

He turned to Lu Yuan: "Let’s go back first."

Lu Yuan nodded and told Hu Qiniang, "Keep an eye on the stall for a while. I’ll be back in under half an hour."

Hu Qiniang nodded in agreement.

Walking side by side on their way back, Qi Cheng wondered aloud, "Before I was married, nothing like this ever happened. Why is it that after marriage, these things keep coming one after another?"

Lu Yuan glanced at him and said, "Perhaps it’s the 'married man' aura—it makes you more attractive."

Qi Cheng frowned slightly: "Don't kid around."

Lu Yuan thought to herself that she wasn’t joking.

"Though I don’t know what you were like before, prior to that accident, you were probably still a young bachelor. Afterward, with a wife and child, you’ve definitely become more mature and steady. And now that you have me as your wife, I’ve put effort into your grooming and wardrobe. Not to mention you usually travel on horseback."

"Look around Guangkan City—how many handsome, masculine men riding horses do you see?"

Even she herself would pause to admire such a man if she saw one on the street.

Qi Cheng fell silent—he had no comeback for that.

Once inside the courtyard, Qi Cheng went to heat up the porridge and brought out some side dishes to the table.

He said, "I don’t know how I attracted that woman’s attention. I only saw her once today when I went to the yamen."

Lu Yuan picked up her chopsticks: "So you have seen her. I really thought you hadn’t."

Qi Cheng said, "I saw her at the yamen this morning when I started my shift. Didn't pay much attention."

"But not long after, a colleague said she had taken a liking to me and warned me to be careful, saying she’s unreasonable and does as she pleases."

Lu Yuan thought—wasn’t this just a gender-swapped version of a spoiled second-generation rich kid?

"Do you think someone like that might actually trash my stall?"

Qi Cheng thought carefully but couldn’t guarantee anything.

"I don’t know much about her. I’ll ask around."

Lu Yuan: "What if she really wants to trash it?"

Qi Cheng said, "I’ll go talk to the local authorities and ask them to keep an eye on our stall."

Lu Yuan sighed: "That’s not a lasting solution. Isn’t there a more permanent fix?"

Qi Cheng frowned, pondering for a long while, then suddenly had an idea. He looked at her: "There is a way, but you can’t get mad at me for it."

Lu Yuan looked at him skeptically: "What way?"

Qi Cheng thought for a moment and said three words: "Dirty, ugly, bad."

Lu Yuan was even more confused.

Dirty and ugly—she'd seen him do that twice already this year. But how could he be "bad"?

When Constable Ji saw Qi Cheng report for duty in the morning, he felt there was something different about him but couldn’t quite place it.

Qi Cheng said to him, "Yesterday, Scribe Yang’s daughter came to my wife’s stall."

Constable Ji exclaimed, "Did she give your wife a hard time?"

Qi Cheng nodded: "She brought a small box of silver ingots and tried to persuade my wife to divorce me or become a concubine."

Constable Ji fell silent.

"Scribe Yang’s daughter is really that bold?"

Qi Cheng nodded, then realized it wasn’t Constable Ji who had spoken.

Both turned around and saw Deputy Magistrate Yang standing behind them. They hadn't noticed him at all.

Deputy Magistrate Yang looked at Qi Cheng with interest: "Tell me, how did Scribe Yang’s daughter take a liking to you, and what did she do?"

Qi Cheng replied, "This was only the second time I’ve seen her. Perhaps my looks are decent enough, and she saw me somewhere and set her sights on me."

"Last night, she brought silver ingots to my wife’s stall and tried to bribe her—either to divorce me or become a concubine."

Deputy Magistrate Yang smiled: "That’s quite different from the usual behavior of women from respectable families."

Constable Ji and Qi Cheng both looked at him in surprise.

Deputy Magistrate Yang waved his hand: "Not that I’m praising her. I’ve seen spoiled young men, but never a spoiled young woman. I’ve never thought much of such spoiled types."

Then he added, "I never expected Scribe Yang to have such a daughter. Tell me, what else has she said or done?"

Having been in this profession for over a decade, Constable Ji was adept at reading people. He sensed something unusual.

—It seemed their Deputy Magistrate wasn’t just planning to tackle Guangkan’s bandit and thief problem but also to clean up the yamen's atmosphere.

The confrontation at Anping Town during the New Year festival had deterred the bandits, bringing some temporary peace.

Now that the bandit suppression is on hold, if I’m not mistaken, the next step should be to clean up the public office's act.

Constable Ji said, "Scribe Yang’s daughter is the sixth child in her family, with all older siblings being brothers, so Scribe Yang has spoiled her rotten. She has been married twice, and both ended in divorce."

"Her first husband was a handsome low-level clerk in our public office. After she set her sights on him, he was promoted to clerk supervisor. But over the past couple of years, he got fat from good eating, and she divorced him."

"After the divorce, he was transferred to a town to work town security."

"Her second husband was a scholar who initially refused to marry her. But when Yang Baozhu was dead set on marrying him—even going on a hunger strike—Scribe Yang threatened to ruin his scholar career and even got his father fired, including the scholar’s own work copying books for bookstores. Only then did he agree."

Qi Cheng and Deputy Magistrate Yang frowned upon hearing this.

Deputy Magistrate Yang asked, "How did that marriage end in divorce?"

Constable Ji said, "I heard that after the scholar married her, not only was he pushed around, but his parents were also treated like doormats. They were even afraid to eat at the same table when their daughter-in-law was around. The scholar couldn’t bear it any longer and threatened to become a monk—even shaving his head. Since Yang Baozhu had no intention of staying in a marriage with no life in it, she agreed to the divorce."

Deputy Magistrate Yang’s face darkened. "This is outrageous! How is this any different from extorting a decent family?"

Constable Ji jumped in to add, "Now she has her eyes on Stockade Official Qi. This matter is far from over. If Stockade Official Qi and his wife don’t budge, Yang Baozhu will likely go on another hunger strike. Scribe Yang, out of pity, will then try every trick in the book to pressure Stockade Official Qi."

Hearing this, Deputy Magistrate Yang glanced at Qi Cheng, noticing his wrinkled and messy clothing, as if guessing his intentions.

"What, are you trying to ruin your own image to make Yang Baozhu back off?"

Qi Cheng cleared his throat and asked, "Is it that obvious?"

He had intended to ease into it but didn’t expect to be found out on the very first day.

Deputy Magistrate Yang said, "You’re careful and steady. When have you ever shown up to the public office a mess, unless you had no other choice? You wouldn’t dress like this without a reason."

Constable Ji finally understood—no wonder Stockade Official Qi seemed different today.

Qi Cheng explained, "I’m just worried her family might cause trouble for my wife, maybe even wreck her shop."

Deputy Magistrate Yang raised an eyebrow. "Let them wreck it. Any losses will be charged to their family, and they’ll have to compensate you double. Just make sure your wife keeps her distance."

Qi Cheng and Constable Ji looked at each other.

Was Deputy Magistrate Yang planning to go after Scribe Yang?

Deputy Magistrate Yang looked Qi Cheng up and down disdainfully. "Go iron your clothes now."

Resigned, Qi Cheng took a pot of hot water to the back room and ironed the clothes he had deliberately wrinkled.

On his way home after his shift, Qi Cheng was suddenly stopped by a man.

"My mistress invites you for a drink, sir. Please do her the favor."

Without even seeing the person, Qi Cheng knew exactly who the man was referring to.

The man glanced toward a nearby carriage. Following his gaze, Qi Cheng saw Yang Baozhu leaning out the window, waving and smiling when she caught his eye.

Qi Cheng turned back and said, "Men and women should keep our distance. I am a married man—it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to meet. Please tell your mistress no."

The man clasped his hands pleadingly. "Sir, please don’t make this difficult for me. My mistress said if I fail to bring you, I’ll lose my job as a coachman. I have a family to support—if I lose this job, we’ll have nothing."

"Please, sir, cut me some slack. Just meet her briefly, even if it’s only to reject her in person."

Qi Cheng, seated high on his horse, looked down at the coachman, not budging an inch. "What does your job have to do with me? Don’t try to use your misfortune to pressure me."

His expression turning cold, Qi Cheng said no more and rode off.

In the carriage, Yang Baozhu’s face darkened with anger, and she slammed the curtain shut.

Her maid immediately said, "Mistress, this man is such a hardass. What should we do?"

Yang Baozhu replied, "Go ask his wife for a clear answer. If she truly refuses, don’t blame me for playing rough."

The maid nodded.

She knew her mistress well—Yang Baozhu wasn’t particularly fond of the man. To her, he was like a beautiful hairpin, something she felt compelled to possess.

Before obtaining it, she wouldn't take no for an answer, even resorting to hunger strikes or tantrums. But once she had it, no matter how exquisite, she would eventually grow bored.

The maid believed her mistress simply enjoyed attractive people and things, loving the thrill of the chase.

The more unattainable, the more obsessed she became.