Chapter 63 Abandoning the Wife and Following the Concubine
"Go out and close the door. I am Captain Hu." said the man in the woodshed.
However, it was too late. Qian Wei kicked the door open, and the neighbors behind him rushed in with torches in their hands. The firelight illuminated the two people hiding behind the door, exposing their white skin.
A sharp woman's scream came from the woodshed, and the yard, which was noisy a moment ago, suddenly fell silent. The neighbors who were searching everywhere stopped in their tracks, and both Mr. and Mrs. Qian's faces turned black.
"Let them out."
A strong male voice came from the woodshed, but it did not belong to Qian Wei.
It goes without saying what happened in the woodshed.
Someone couldn't help but burst out laughing. This scene of catching a thief was really exciting.
The people in the woodshed retreated, and Qian Wei followed them out. He stood outside the door in a daze, while Brother Qian was busy seeing off the neighbors.
"Who is the man in the woodshed?" As they were leaving, the others asked the man who had rushed into the woodshed with a torch to catch the thief.
"Captain Hu."
"What happened?" The people who arrived later didn't have time to go in. Seeing that everyone had come out, they asked, "Did you catch the thief?"
"We caught him. This thief is really a big deal." Someone laughed evilly.
"How do you say that?"
The people who came out of Qian's house did not leave either. They walked a few steps away and blocked the alley, telling the story of the thief stealing the woman in a vivid way.
"Who shouted first?" someone asked.
"It was the dead of night, how could I see anyone? I only knew it was a woman's voice."
In the courtyard of the Qian family, Captain Hu and Sui Ling put on their clothes and opened the door. The courtyard was pitch black. Due to Captain Hu's status, the people of the Qian family felt very aggrieved, but they could not show it on their faces.
Mother Qian was panting heavily, her breathing sounded as deep as that of a half-dead old cow. Sui Ling looked in the direction of the sound and felt very happy. This old woman had the guts to scold him, which made her so angry that she was about to die.
"Sir Captain, I am willing to go with you." Sui Ling said lightly.
"You have no shame." Mother Qian couldn't help herself. She gritted her teeth and cursed: "You lowly bastard, you stole a man and brought him home. You are a little whore who was raised by a mother but not taught by her..."
Captain Hu was impatient to hear this. He cleared his throat and said to Qian Wei, "One of Captain Zhu's men died. You take his place."
Qian Wei was dizzy with rage, but once he learned the adulterer was Captain Hu, he began to plan. He had longed for the promotion to Captain, but tonight, he despised the position as too low. It wasn't wartime, and while a Captain commanded a hundred soldiers, it was still a figurehead, with no power to command, nor the chance to profit from the lucrative business.
Captain Hu didn't care what he thought. He was used to this kind of thing. He also saw Qian Wei's temperament. He wasn't a hot-tempered person and posed no threat. He pulled Sui Ling over and said, "She will continue to support you at home and remain your wife. If you behave well in the future, I'll promote you to the position of village chief."
"No——" Sui Ling's face turned pale. She shook her head desperately and shouted, "I want to go with you. I don't want to stay in the Qian family anymore."
"Captain Hu, you're in a high position and have great power. We can't do anything to you, but please don't go too far. If you want to take this bitch away, then take her away. If you don't want to, forget it. Tomorrow I'll buy some rat poison and kill her." Mother Qian said firmly. She looked at her youngest son and said, "It's up to you to decide whether to keep her or me. If you're determined to keep her at home, I can't do anything to you. I'll have to poison her to death, and then risk my life to sue Captain Hu for defaming my daughter-in-law."
Qian's mother loathed this woman just as much as Sui Ling loathed her. She was lazy, treacherous, vicious, and a liar. Ever since she arrived, the family hadn't had a single peaceful day. She dreamed of kicking her daughter-in-law out of the house, but her son couldn't bear to see her.
Now that was good, someone had taken over the troublesome Sui Ling. Qian's mother was so happy that she was beating drums. Even if it meant that her son would be laughed at as a cuckold, she would rather drive this stupid and evil woman away.
The yard was quiet for a moment. Captain Hu didn't expect that Qian Wei was such a coward, but he had such a strong-willed mother. He thought that if all else failed, he could only take Sui Ling back to the backyard. Although she was stupid, she had a good face.
Qian Wei was sweating with anxiety. He walked over to his mother and said, "If you can't stand her, I'll move her out in a couple of days. You and my father can continue to live in this small courtyard with my brother and his wife."
"You want to be a cuckold, but I still want to have dignity. Do you think your father's face is just a butt?" Mother Qian stretched out her face, raised her hand and slapped herself, saying, "I have no face to live with such a useless son. I might as well die early with your father so that I can face our ancestors in the underworld."
She was determined to get rid of Sui Ling. She understood Captain Hu's intentions and refused to let Qian Wei get involved in such a dirty business of exchanging women's buttocks for official positions. Once he got involved, he would be trapped. She usually loved to take advantage of small things, but she only dared to save small amounts of money. She was afraid of the big profits that could not be seen at the bottom, so she would not let her son touch them.
Qian Wei was helpless. He couldn't just ignore his parents' life and death.
"Forget it, I'll take her away." Captain Hu gave up his previous plan.
"The position of centurion..." Qian Wei was afraid that he would not agree.
"I'll give it to you." Captain Hu grasped Sui Ling's chin and stroked it, saying, "I've always been generous. If I sleep with your wife, the position of centurion will be my overnight fee."
Qian Wei's face turned blue and purple.
Sui Ling was happy. She chose to forget what Captain Hu had said before. She was happy that he could take her away from this home. Finally, she didn't have to wear coarse cloth and eat coarse grains every day, she didn't have to squat in the dirty and smelly toilet, she didn't have to wash dishes and cook, and she didn't have to chase after chickens to sweep up feces.
She sighed deeply and said, "If I'm a concubine, then I'm a concubine. A poor man's wife is no better than a rich man's concubine."
After the matter was settled, Captain Hu did not leave. He occupied the bed that Qian Wei had slept on before and pulled Sui Ling to sleep on it as well.
The Qian family stayed up all night, trading Sui Ling for a centurion position so the family could move to a bigger house. The eldest brother and his wife were the happiest. Mother Qian was also beaming, thinking that she wouldn't have to see Sui Ling again, and she felt the night breeze was sweet.
Thinking of this, Qian's mother changed her stingy nature. She went to the chicken coop and grabbed an old hen. She asked her eldest daughter-in-law to boil water, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law stewed a pot of chicken soup overnight.
At dawn, a pot of fragrant chicken soup was served. Captain Hu drank two bowls to fill his stomach, then walked out of the Qian family with Sui Ling in a swagger.
The morning risers carrying firewood and water stared in amazement. Lord Hu, boasting of his beautiful concubine, prided himself on his romantic ways, oblivious to the glances of passersby. Sui Ling, however, also had a rosy complexion. She faced the gazes without flinching, her chin held high, a look of arrogance. Even before she left the alley, she already despised the people who lived there.
What a shameless person! Lord Hu found it funny. He deliberately patted Sui Ling's butt in a frivolous way in front of everyone. Seeing her shy face, he sneered.
A shameless couple walked out of the alley, and the people in the alley were in an uproar and started cursing at them.
"Poor Mr. Qian, the adulterer ran into the house, and he couldn't hit him or scold him, and in the end, his wife ran away with the man."
"Mrs. Qian scolds her daughter-in-law for hooking up with strange men every day, and this time she really hooked one up." Those who have conflicts with the Qian family laughed at the joke.
"Sui Ling is definitely not a quiet person. I've seen her come back from outside several times and she always looks strange. She has a face that..." The little sister-in-law was embarrassed to say something so she made an expression that made people guess, "I guess they hooked up at that time."
"She's quite capable. I've lived here for three or four years and I still don't know what Captain Hu looks like. She's been here for less than a year and she's already hooked up with the captain." Someone clicked their tongues, implying that Sui Ling was a frivolous and dissolute person at heart, and that rotten meat attracts flies.
"I heard that Captain Hu likes this kind of thing and he also likes to seduce young wives." The man lowered his voice.
“…”
When Tong Huaer woke up, she heard that Sui Ling was taken away by Captain Hu. She was so angry that her stomach hurt. This damn thing had a really good life. He was not beaten to death even for having an affair.
Uncle Niu saw her holding her stomach, so he walked out the door and forced someone to come in, warning her, "Playing is fun, but you hurt my son, and you're not going to get any better."
Tong Huaer lowered her eyes and nodded meekly, "Okay, I just feel that God is unfair."
"God will take care of God's affairs. Don't worry about him." Uncle Niu touched her belly and said, "In two or three months, my baby will be born."
Tong Huaer had a complicated expression on her face. She touched her belly and thought of her daughter who had frozen to death on the road.
God is so unfair, she thought to herself.
…
Sui Hui learned about this on the third day. Captain Hu had sent his steward to transfer the household registration, but it was Captain Hu who personally handled Sui Ling's registration. After the transfer, someone informed him. In the evening, after finishing his shift, he went to Sui Hui's courtyard and, as soon as he sat down, he said, "Your sister is quite capable. She actually managed to get into Captain Hu's backyard."
Sui Hui felt something was wrong and asked in surprise, "Isn't Sui Ling at the Qian family?"
Lord Hu scoffed. He sent someone to find out the whole story. He said cryptically, "She and Captain Hu fell in love at first sight. They couldn't help but meet at the Qian family's house at night and were caught red-handed."
Sui Hui's face turned pale and blue. She felt ashamed to have such a shameless sister.
A few days later, Sui Hui received a letter from Sui Ling. She didn't even read it and asked the maid to take it away as firewood.
As for Sui Wen'an, Sui Ling had no idea where he lived, so no one showed up when she invited her family members to the banquet.
…
Sui Wen'an finally recovered from his injuries. On June 20th, he put on his only new set of clothes and went out with the two pheasants he had caught with his trap.
"Wenan, where are you going?" the neighbor asked.
"To see my sister." Sui Wen'an confessed honestly. He only found out this month that his movements were under surveillance. Whenever he went out, someone would ask about him. If he came back late, the village chief would come to his house to question him.
After he left the camp building the Great Wall, he was sent to the village where the farmers lived by Lord Hu's men that same day. He was given a small courtyard and went out every day to work in the fields with the volunteers.
Based on the village chief's usual attitude towards him, Sui Wen'an concluded that the village chief did not know his background. It was obvious that the person who ordered the surveillance of him should be that Lord Hu.
Sui Wen'an went to see Sui Hui this time. He subtly asked her about it, but found that this was not her intention. He wondered if Lord Hu had asked the village chief to keep an eye on him because of the newly minted household registration. Perhaps he was afraid he would run away, or cause trouble? He still couldn't figure it out.
"When can the baby be born?" Sui Wen'an asked.
"Probably in the twelfth month." Sui Hui touched her belly. It was three months old, but her belly was flat without any curve. If the doctor hadn't felt her pregnancy pulse, she would even have suspected that there was no baby in her belly.
"Brother, Sui Ling left the Qian family. She hooked up with Captain Hu and abandoned his wife to become his concubine." Sui Hui looked indifferent, but spoke with disgust.
Sui Wen'an paused while drinking water. He shook his head and said, "Let her do what she wants. Everyone has their own destiny. You should take good care of yourself."
"Hmm." Sui Hui hesitated for a moment and asked, "Have you seen Sister Yu?"
"I went there once, but she didn't want to meet me." Sui Wen'an stood up and said, "That's it. I won't disturb her peace. Take care of yourself. I'm leaving."
After leaving Hu's house, Sui Wen'an took away a pheasant that was left at the gatehouse. He went to the market and used the money he had earned from selling wild animals in the past two or three months to buy five dou of rice and five dou of flour from the grain store, and sent them together with the jar to Shisantun.
Sui Yu returned from fetching water with her camel. She saw the jar and the fluttering pheasant in the yard. She was surprised and asked, "Who sent this? Uncle Niu?"
Sui Liang shook his head, gestured with his hands, and jumped up and down. Sui Yu didn't understand.
"You lip-sync, tell me who it is, and I'll watch your lip sync."
Cousin——
Sui Yu imitated his mouth shape and said, "Cousin?"
Sui Liang nodded in surprise, and then he opened his mouth and said silently: I don’t want it. He put it down and left without saying anything.
"Sui Yu, a man came to your house just now, and he seemed to be carrying a pheasant. Who is it?" The neighbor asked curiously. She strode in to look at the things on the ground, and then looked at Sui Yu's face. This was a beauty who was even more beautiful than Sui Ling. She had a gorgeous and generous appearance, like a flower in full bloom. Anyone passing by would want to take a look and smell it.
"My cousin, not my adulterer."
The neighbor choked and explained, "That's not what I meant."
"It's better if you don't mean that." Sui Yu waved his hand and said, "Come, lend a hand and help me carry the jar in."
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