Chapter 6: Heartbroken, she had a lover.

Wan Qing'an stopped kicking, dusted off her clothes, and stood up straight. "Are you blind? This is the wife of the Marquis of Chenghua's heir!"

Lou Yan looked around and saw a young woman wearing a narrow-sleeved half-blouse with a flowing two-tone skirt underneath. Her eyebrows were full of heroic spirit, as if she had the demeanor of a general.

The lecherous man was groveling on the ground in a sorry state, but he was still very stubborn, saying, "Who do we have here? It's the Lou family's wife, who's trying to take advantage of our kindness."

"Stop talking nonsense! It's clear that the Marquis's family initiated the marriage proposal and then broke their promise!" Qingrui's face darkened instantly. She refused to accept this criticism any longer and wished she could slap them both across the face.

But when this person saw that she was a maid and that her mistress was being mistreated by the Marquis's mansion, she said, "What a pipe dream! The young master Sheng was born into a noble family and must be blind to marry a merchant's daughter like you!"

Wan Qing'an chuckled, "They were blind, leaving their beautiful wife alone in an empty room, and were seduced by those brothels outside."

"What a charming daughter of a garrison general! She's utterly uncouth and unrestrained!"

Lou Yanxu looked up upon hearing this and realized that this was the young lady from the Wan family.

Having long heard that Madam Wan was outspoken and free-spirited, she treated the current situation as if she had been bitten by a mosquito, and scoffed, "I'm scolding you for your favorite thing, and you're about to jump off the bed!"

Lou Yanxu didn't know who that scoundrel was, but everyone present knew. His name was Sang Shicheng, who revered Lady Weng as a goddess and never allowed anyone to gossip about her.

The Eight Treasures Pavilion is a place where high-ranking officials and nobles gather. Wan Qing'an has openly defamed Weng Chuchu here. Now, the gossip of a few women will spread throughout the streets and alleys in less than an hour.

Just as Sang Shicheng was about to refute, the pavilion suddenly fell silent as everyone watched a woman enter. This woman was dressed in silk and satin, as beautiful as a spring flower, with azalea hairpins swaying seductively in her hair. Lou Yanxu had seen her from afar; this was indeed the young lady from the Weng family.

"What's wrong?" Weng Chuchu glanced around with her round almond-shaped eyes, then walked gracefully to Lou Yanxu, smiling brightly. "This must be Sister Yanxu, right? I've long heard of your extraordinary beauty, and it's true now that I've seen you."

“That day, the young masters spoke ill of me, and Brother Yuan Zhuo only acted out of anger. Sister, please don’t misunderstand. Since his marriage, we have been like brother and sister.”

Yuan Zhuo was Sheng Yan's courtesy name. People usually address each other by their given names, and it is very rare to call someone by their courtesy name.

Lou Yanxu overheard the conversation briefly and knew that it was a veiled criticism of her for taking away the marriage, causing the lovers to end up as siblings. However, the whole story was clear, and she couldn't be blamed from any angle, so she decided to ignore it.

"So pretentious! If you call him 'brother,' you should also call his wife 'sister-in-law.'" Wan Qing'an retorted, arms crossed. "What good can someone be who gets involved with a married man!"

Weng Chuchu forced a smile, "Sister Qing'an, you misunderstand. Brother Yuan Zhuo is my father's disciple, so our relationship is naturally closer than others."

"Which one is your sister? Don't try to claim kinship with me." Wan Qing'an glanced at her and pressed her directly, "Minister Weng has many students, why are you only close to one of them?"

Weng Chuchu looked dejected.

Lou Yanxu didn't want to drag Wan Qing'an into the public opinion, so she took a break to step forward and thank her, but suddenly heard Weng Chuchu shout, "Sister Yanxu!"

Before anyone could react, Weng Chuchu had already fallen in front of her. Lou Yanxu was slightly stunned, glancing at the indigo figure outside the door. When she came to her senses, Weng Chuchu had already gotten up, clutching her knee, her watery eyes shimmering. "It's not Sister Yanxu's fault, I fell down by myself."

“It was you all along…” Wan Qing’an couldn’t stand this petty behavior and immediately gritted her teeth, wanting to step forward and scold her, but Lou Yanxu gently pulled her behind her and smiled back.

Sheng Yan stepped into the Eight Treasures Pavilion, his face solemn and stern, and he reprimanded in a low voice, "Apologize to Chu Chu."

Amidst the whispers of onlookers inside the pavilion, Lou Yanxu remained unfazed as she gracefully approached Weng Chuchu and bowed, saying, "I have offended you greatly, and I hope Madam Weng will forgive me."

Wan Qing was surprised, but she wasn't stupid. She understood that Lou Yan probably didn't want to implicate her. After all, it was someone else's business, so she shouldn't interfere.

"Sister has just misunderstood us." Weng Chuchu's eyes reddened as she twisted her slender fingers sadly. "I'd rather not attend the small banquet at the Marquis's residence the day after tomorrow. We've been friends since childhood, so it's understandable that you can't tolerate me."

Her beautiful eyes were filled with glistening tears. Sheng Yan gently supported her shoulder, flicked his sleeve, and sneered, "Coming from a lowly family, born of adultery, yet you dare to be jealous?"

"What does my husband mean by this?" The seven grounds for divorce are serious crimes. Lou Yanxu felt as if she had been punched in the heart. Her chest heaved with anger. He either wanted her to die a horrible death or to make her wish she were dead.

Sheng Yan, however, spoke in riddles, "Return to the manor!"

A cold wind howled, and dark clouds gathered, threatening rain. Lou Yanxu's heart sank as she followed Sheng Yan to Rongyi Hall.

The moment she appeared, she was struck on the forehead. She saw that Madam Zeng was sitting there, looking displeased. A piece of pine-flower paper landed in front of her. "Look what you've done!"

She silently picked it up, and the familiar Yan style calligraphy came into view, with rounded and pointed strokes, full and plump. The letter began with "My beloved Wanwan," and the words were tender and gentle, ending with "Lu Lang."

Lou Yanxu was both amused and exasperated by the fabricated lover. She immediately knelt down without batting an eye and presented the letter with both hands, saying, "My lady, please understand! I do not know any Mr. Lu, and this letter is not written by me!"

Madam Zeng had no intention of listening to her explanation, convinced that she was involved in a secret affair. She slapped her so hard that her head turned to the side. "I no longer expect you to behave like a noble lady from Chang'an, but your disregard for etiquette is a disgrace to my family's reputation!"

Lou Yanxu's ears were ringing, her jade lips moved, and it took her a while to speak, "Although I am not from a prestigious family, I always follow the rules and regulations, and I would never dare to have an affair with anyone."

She straightened her back, unfolded the paper, and said, "This handwriting does resemble mine nine-tenths, but..."

Before she could finish speaking, a deafening thunderclap boomed in the dark sky. Sheng Yan interrupted her from his high position, "Mother, considering this is her first offense, why not give her ten strokes of the cane? I'm sure she won't dare to be disloyal in the future."

Lou Yanxu stared blankly up at him.

Zeng's mind raced, and she gave him a half-hearted glare, "You're still protecting her!"

Sheng Yan knelt down on the spot, pleading, "She is, after all, my daughter-in-law. I beg you, Mother, to spare her!"

"As you wish."

The two of them easily convicted him with a few words, so what was there for Lou Yanxu not to understand?

If Zeng had truly discovered her affair, he should have arrested her and drowned her in the pond, or better yet, killed her to end it all, rather than showing leniency because it was her first offense.

Sheng Yan's brawl at Manlou could have been a way of repaying his teacher's kindness, but he shouldn't have let his drunken state cloud his judgment and reveal his feelings in public. Less than half a month after the marriage, he abandoned Xiaojun for his beloved, which was turned into a nursery rhyme by someone with ulterior motives and spread throughout Chang'an, damaging the reputations of both the Sheng and Weng families.

Therefore, when Zeng failed to obtain her dowry, he insisted on accusing her of one of the seven grounds for divorce. To avoid further investigation, he punished her with a cane, both to show that she was at fault and to demonstrate the magnanimity of the Marquis's mansion.

But she was, after all, a woman of the Marquis's household. This plan would hurt the enemy a thousand but also harm herself eight hundred. They really had the heart to do that!

A short while later, Lou Yanxu was escorted to the courtyard, where benches had already been prepared and servants were waiting with canes in hand.

"My wife!"

The Zeng mother and son stood under the eaves, coldly watching each other. Qingrui rushed forward but was pulled away by two servants. She watched helplessly as a board fell, her heart breaking, and tears streamed down her face.

A silver dragon flashed through the dark clouds, and the rain lashed down at an angle, soaking Lou Yanxu's dress. The bone-chilling cold mixed with the pain from the wound on her buttocks made her convulse, and she almost fainted. She muttered, "The fifth time."

She did nothing wrong, yet she was punished with caning and sudden rain; Heaven is unjust!

Tears streamed down Qingrui's face, her voice hoarse with pain. With her hands bound, she could only kneel down and kowtow, begging for mercy, "Madam, please calm your anger! Young Master, please calm your anger!"

When the torture was over, Lou Yanxu was unconscious, and Qingrui's forehead was covered in blood, which dripped down her hair and onto her shoulders and neck.

The torrential rain had lasted for several hours, and the surging wind had silently extinguished the lamps in the porch, plunging it into darkness. Inside, the fireplace was burning brightly, and Lou Yanxu, wrapped in three layers of blankets, was sweating profusely.

Her face was pale, her eyelids drooped heavily, and she lay on the canopy bed while Qingrui applied medicine.

Qingrui examined the wound and her eyes reddened again. "My wife, this has tarnished your reputation. Are we just going to let this go like this?"

Lou Yanxu's voice was weak, "We have no one to rely on, how can we fight against those two?"

"You heartless bastard!" Qingrui shouted angrily, then sobbed in a muffled voice, "It's just that my wife has been wronged."

Lou Yanxu looked up at the top of the tent, then buried her face in her arms, leaving faint tear stains on the embroidered pillow.

She intended to apply medicine to Qingrui, but the girl had boiled some medicine to dispel the cold and left it to dry on the table, then disappeared in the blink of an eye.

She was in pain and didn't want to think about it anymore. She picked up a book and started flipping through it, but soon her eyes started to hurt, so she put it down. "Qingrui, bring the medicine over."

Qingrui responded and carried a food box inside. "My lady, this was sent by Minister Xu. He only said thank you for keeping it a secret."

Lou Yan's heart stirred, and after careful consideration, she suddenly understood his intention. It turned out that he remembered what he said in his drunken state that night.

She never mentioned that she was trying to protect herself, but since he did so on his own, she accepted his favor, and they would be even from now on.

"What did you give as a gift?"

"A bottle of ointment and a few pastries, it smells so good."

She was surprised. "How did he know what happened to me today?"

Qingrui stared blankly, muttering to herself, "This servant doesn't know."

Lou Yanxu suddenly sighed; she had committed one of the seven grounds for divorce, and the news had probably already spread beyond the Marquis's residence.

In a moment, Qingrui put down the food box, checked the temperature of the medicine, and looked up with admiration, "Xu Situ is two completely different people before and after getting drunk. On his wedding night, he was unrestrained and unconventional, but now he is so gentle and refined. No wonder everyone in Chang'an praises him."

Lou Yan and Xu Qiang smiled faintly, "You just scolded him this morning for going to the Marquis's mansion to freeload."

Qingrui stuck out her tongue and chuckled, "He's good to you, so of course I think he's good!"

Is he good to her? Lou Yanxu disagreed. He was able to maintain his high position by acting solely for personal gain. She just couldn't figure out what was so special about her that was worth worrying about.

Qingrui brought her the medicine, stuffed a handkerchief under her chin, turned around and tidied up the room, put away the rouge and powder in front of the mirror, and sighed again, "Although the lady was born into a merchant family, she was always pampered and never suffered any grievances. She has only been in the Marquis's mansion for a few days, and the madam is already giving her a hard time."

"Qingrui, you've suffered because you're with me."

Lou Yanxu wiped the medicine from the corner of her mouth, gritted her teeth, and leaned back down. Wen Qingrui raised her voice, "This servant did not mean that. This servant was just worried about you..."

She stopped mid-sentence, and Lou Yanxu turned her head to look at her, seeing her open the food box, and stood there stunned.

"What's wrong?"

She silently carried the food box to the bedside.

In the past, after taking medicine, Brother Zizheng would bring a little bit of his homemade freesia sugar cake. Now, Lou Yanxu didn't even need to look; just the aroma of freesia was enough to make her nose tingle, and old memories surged back like a tidal wave.

Her eyes suddenly turned red, and she bit her thumb as a string of tears rolled down her cheeks.