Preparing to take on apprentices

Upon hearing this, Pei Qingwu immediately became anxious and stood up abruptly: "Quick, take me with you!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Heng said, "Master, please take me with you. I will protect you."

The people that Sun Laizi fears most right now, besides the officials from Qin Prefecture, are Gu Heng. Bringing along a strong young man is better than going alone.

"Okay, come with me."

Just to be on the safe side, Pei Qingwu instructed Yin Lan again: "Go find the village head, report to the authorities, and say... there's going to be a murder case."

Upon arriving at the dilapidated courtyard, Pei Qingwu heard a woman's shrill scream from afar, and his heart skipped a beat.

She knew that voice all too well.

During my senior year of college, I interned at the district court and assisted my mentor in presiding over a criminal case. The defendant was a domestic abuser who had beaten his wife to death. During the police investigation, they discovered that he had installed surveillance cameras in his home, which clearly captured the entire process of the violence.

Therefore, this surveillance video became irrefutable evidence in court and was played during the trial.

In the video, the woman is first kicked to the ground by the enraged man, then grabbed by the hair and rained down punches on her. At first, she could scream and beg for mercy, but her voice gradually weakened...

Later, she stopped breathing, but the man still wouldn't let her go. He grabbed her hair and slammed her head against the corner of the table, the dull thud sending chills down one's spine.

This video became the source of Pei Qingwu's nightmares. For a while, whenever she closed her eyes, this tragic scene would automatically appear in her mind.

The neighbors gathered outside, pointing and whispering, their faces showing reluctance, but they were clearly used to this kind of thing happening, or rather, they didn't want to meddle in other people's business to protect themselves.

Seeing Pei Qingwu about to go inside, an older woman reached out and grabbed her, saying, "Young lady, you'd better not interfere. That Sun Laizi is crazy. After all, they are a couple, and Jinniang is stubborn. What if they reconcile later..."

Pei Qingwu pursed his lips, met Nianci's pleading gaze, and gently brushed the old woman's hand away before leading Gu Heng into the house.

Just then, the government officials arrived.

The silence of the night was shattered by chaotic footsteps.

Sun Laizi was straddling Jinniang, slapping her with a ferocious expression. Upon seeing this, Pei Qingwu immediately shouted, "Stop!"

Gu Heng, in perfect unison, rushed forward before she could even finish speaking and flipped Sun Laizi over.

"You bitch, you dare call for help—"

Before Sun Laizi could finish speaking, Gu Heng knocked out half of his teeth with the hilt of his knife.

"You deserve to be beaten for using such foul language!"

The constables swarmed forward and tied up Sun Laizi. The one in the lead was none other than Wu Hou, who had thrown him into prison that day. He took a torch and, upon recognizing the man, said with disgust, "It's you again! Haven't you had enough of being in there? You're truly lawless!"

Pei Qingwu helped Jinniang up and sat her down on the couch. Nianci immediately stepped forward, took her hand, and called her "Mother" with heartache.

Jinniang's eyes were bruised and her cheeks were red. Half of her face was swollen, and blood seeped from her forehead, sticking her hair to it. She walked with a limp.

"Thank you so much for your kindness today..."

"You should thank your daughter," Pei Qingwu said in a deep voice. "Now that things have come to this, do you still think he'll change?"

Jinniang remained silent.

“Although Sun Laizi has been taken away by the officials again, it’s not a serious crime for a husband to beat his wife. He’ll be out in a few days. I can’t be here to protect you all the time. Aren’t you afraid that one day he might hurt you and take your life?!”

"I'll ask you one last time. I'll give you a chance to start over. Are you willing?"

Upon hearing this, Jinniang burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably: "What can I do... My parents are gone, my brother and sister-in-law have moved away, and there's no one to support me. No matter how bad he is, he can still support me, I..."

Nianci panicked and tiptoed to wipe away her mother's tears: "Mother, don't cry, Mother, don't cry..."

Pei Qingwu said, "It's easy to support yourself. I'm the owner of Sushan Market. The shop is short-handed. I can pay you wages and provide you with accommodation. If you don't want to work for me anymore, I can recommend you to other places. Isn't that better than being beaten here?"

Jinniang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is it alright?"

"Of course you can. I'm a woman too, and I've supported myself with my own hands. You have hands and feet too, so why can't you?"

For a moment, all was quiet except for the sound of the wind.

After a long silence, Jinniang struggled to kneel down: "I am deeply grateful for your kindness. If I can truly escape this sea of ​​suffering, you will be my second parents and my savior..."

"Don't say that. I can only guide you. In the end, people have to save themselves." Pei Qingwu reached out and helped her up. "Come back with me first. Once you've recovered from your injuries, I'll help you and Sun Laizi get a divorce."

Pei Qingwu was always decisive and efficient, and he began to handle Jinniang's matter the very next day.

Although the laws of this dynasty stipulate that "if husband and wife are no longer bound by righteousness, they shall separate," and "beating one's wife to the point of injury" also falls under the category of no longer bound by righteousness, in practice, the wife's situation remains extremely passive. Government judgments of "amicable divorce" or forced divorce often face numerous obstacles; only the husband's agreement to sign a divorce decree is considered the most secure and effective.

She led Gu Heng back into the Qin Prefecture government office and went straight to the Martial Commander who had led the team to arrest Sun Laizi that day. After thanking him solemnly, she handed him a cloth bag full of copper coins: "Thanks to the timely arrival of the officers yesterday, a terrible disaster was averted. This is a small token of my appreciation, to help the brothers with some wine money. I hope you will accept it."

After considering it for a moment, Wu Houzhang smiled and said, "Madam Pei, you're too kind. It's just my duty."

Pei Qingwu then made a request: "That Sun Laizi has repeatedly refused to mend his ways and treats the law as nothing. Jinniang and her son are truly pitiful and only beg to live. I want to help her get a divorce and escape, but I would like to ask the officer to do me a favor and allow me to discuss the divorce papers with Sun Laizi in person?"

Wu Houzhang naturally understood her intentions. Sun Laizi was notorious and no one in the prison liked him. Moreover, Pei Qingwu was generous and had gained favor with the princess. After a moment's thought, he nodded in agreement and whispered, "Wait a moment, I'll make the arrangements."

In the dark and damp cell, Sun Laizi huddled in a corner, his face still bearing the bruises from Gu Heng's knife handle and the bloodstains from his missing teeth.

When he saw Pei Qingwu and Gu Heng enter, especially when Gu Heng's cold gaze swept over him, he subconsciously shrank back.

Pei Qingwu cut to the chase, his voice low but each word clear: "Sun Laizi, I'm taking Jinniang with me. Sign this divorce papers, and you'll be even. The children will be raised by Jinniang, and you're not allowed to cause any trouble."

"Bullshit!" Sun Laizi retorted, a fierce glint in his eyes. "That's my wife! I paid to marry her! Why should you take her away like that? You want me to release her? No way! Wait until I get out of here..."

"Smack!"

A sharp crack interrupted his taunts. Gu Heng stepped forward and delivered a vicious slap, leaving Sun Laizi seeing stars and completely stunned.

Pei Qingwu looked down at him and said coldly, "Based on your public beating of your wife yesterday, the evidence is conclusive, and there are witnesses! According to the law, beating one's wife to the point of injury is punishable by one year of imprisonment. You decide whether you want to sign this paper now and go your separate ways, or whether I'll let you stay in this jail for another three to five years? Or even..."

She paused slightly, her voice growing colder: "So you'll never be able to leave?"

Gu Heng, standing behind her, cooperated by placing his hand on the hilt of the knife at his waist, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so tightly.

When Sun Laizi met Gu Heng's emotionless eyes, and recalled the excruciating pain of having his teeth knocked out last night and Pei Qingwu's familiar manner with the officials, his previous bluster vanished instantly.

A tremendous fear gripped him, and he had no doubt that the woman meant what she said.

"I...I'll sign! I'll sign it!" He almost cried out, his hand trembling as he pressed his crooked fingerprint onto the divorce agreement handed to him by the military commander.

The document stated: Due to marital discord, the couple agrees to a peaceful divorce, and from this day forward, they will each return to their own clans, with no further disputes. The children will be raised by their mother, Cai Jinniang.

Upon receiving the divorce papers, Pei Qingwu felt a great weight lifted from his heart.

She turned and nodded to Commander Wuhou: "Thank you for your trouble."

Next, she did not slack off. She personally accompanied Jinniang to the government office to register the divorce papers and submitted them to the household registration office for filing, thus completing the legal procedures.

When the village head heard about this, he went to stop him, full of worry: "Master Pei, there's a saying, 'It's better to tear down ten temples than to break up one marriage.' You're advising people to divorce, which is probably against your morals! Besides, what if Sun Laizi comes out and..."

Before she finished speaking, Nianci, who had been timidly hiding behind Jinniang, suddenly mustered up her courage and lifted up her trouser leg, revealing several bruises that had not yet completely faded.

The little girl's voice was choked with tears: "Village Head, Mommy and Nianci are in so much pain..."

The shocking wounds made all the words of reconciliation that the village head wanted to say stuck in his throat, turning into a heavy sigh, and he could no longer speak.

The dust has settled.

Jinniang felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders. A trace of true color finally returned to her pale and haggard face. Holding Nianci's hand, she bowed deeply to Pei Qingwu, tears silently streaming down her face: "Master, your great kindness will be repaid by me, even if I have to serve you for the rest of my life!"

Pei Qingwu quickly helped her up: "Get up. I told you, people should be able to help themselves. You have hands and feet, so work hard in my shop and support yourself and Nianci with your own abilities. That would be the best way to repay you."

She had already instructed Yinlan to prepare a clean side room for Cai Jinniang and her two sons to live in. She also named Jinniang's youngest son Mingyi, which means "to be honest and righteous, to uphold virtue and repay merit"①.

After settling them in, Pei Qingwu sat alone under the lamp, resting her chin on her hand in thought.

Yinlan brought over a bowl of shrimp ball and chicken skin soup.

The amber-colored broth is filled with delicately sculpted shrimp balls, made from fresh shrimp that have been repeatedly pounded into a jade-colored paste. These balls are wrapped around tiny, crisp water chestnut pieces, and the chicken skin, skillfully degreased, is transformed into a translucent veil that wraps around the shrimp, giving it an amber-like sheen.

The broth is a clear golden soup made by simmering chicken legs, and it is filled with the irresistible aroma of ginger and Shaoxing wine.

"What are you thinking about, boss? Come and try my soup, is it good?"

Pei Qingwu smiled and said, "The soup you made is naturally the most delicious one."

As she spoke, she picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful, blew on it to cool it down, and put it in her mouth.

The shrimp balls glide into your lips and tongue, their outer layer as soft as clouds, their inner water chestnut filling crunchy, and their sweet juice bursting forth instantly.

The chicken skin absorbs the essence of the broth, becoming soft and chewy with a gelatinous texture, intertwined with the seaweed's fresh, umami flavor.

The warm soup glides down your throat, the umami flavor transforms into a warm current flowing into your lungs, and the aftertaste still carries the refreshing taste of water chestnuts. In the end, only a mouthful of fresh and fragrant flavor remains.

"Mmm, delicious! Let's send a bowl to Jinniang too. Mingyi is still young and is still breastfeeding."

Yinlan said, "Don't worry, boss. I thought of that a long time ago. I even bought a hen just now to make soup for Jinniang to help her recover."

As she spoke, she sighed, "Poor thing, I was a slave before, and I never saw anyone beaten so badly..."

"Yes, life is never easy for women in this world."

"Thinking back, Jinniang had no choice, after all, she had to rely on Sun Laizi to support her... Speaking of which, there was an aunt in my hometown who was beaten to death by her husband. She was pregnant, but she was still beaten. Her husband beat her like he was hitting a sandbag. In the end, she died with her unborn child. At that time, I thought that people should be more upright. They are all flesh and blood born of parents, why should they suffer like this? But then I thought, after being upright, how should I conduct myself?"

“Yes…” Pei Qingwu stroked the soup bowl and pondered.

Aside from some women who are hopelessly in love, another reason why women dare not divorce is that they simply cannot support themselves without their husbands, leaving them no choice but to remain tied to them.

"Yinlan, what do you think of this? Our business is destined to grow bigger. With just the two of us in the kitchen, how can we possibly manage? Why don't we take some girls as apprentices and teach them how to make pastries? Even if they don't stay with us for long, they'll have a skill to rely on, so that if something happens in the future, they won't only think of suicide."