Thinking back on the past, her memories are vague. She only remembers that the two of them, as a young couple, always treated each other with respect. Perhaps because she had not conceived for many years, her husband was worried about being pressured by his family, so he simply moved here with her.
Looking at his delicate wife, Chu Tiankuo was filled with doubt as the same memory flooded his mind. He realized he was overthinking it; how could his wife of many years be fake? He dismissed the thought and, with a smile, led his wife to sit down at the food table.
The family rules have always been that one should not speak while eating or sleeping. His elegant wife suddenly spoke out, and Chu Tiankuo's chopsticks abruptly stopped in mid-air.
"Tian Kuo, how was your work today?"
Chu Tiankuo casually put down his chopsticks, picked up a piece of vegetable heart and put it into Mei Shuwei's bowl, raising an eyebrow and smiling at her.
"This is a bit tricky. Why are you curious about your husband's job?"
Mei Shuwei ignored the chopsticks of bright green bok choy. She remembered that she had always eaten only vegetables in order to maintain her slender waist, but today, she inexplicably wanted to eat meat.
Under Chu Tiankuo's surprised expression, Mei Shuwei put a large piece of meat into her mouth, chewed and swallowed it, before slowly speaking.
"I get a little bored staying in the courtyard every day, so I want to listen to something."
After saying that, she seemed a little embarrassed, raised her sleeve to cover her face, and wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.
"Will my husband find me rude? I suppose I was a little hungry today, which is why I was impolite."
Damn it, who cares what he thinks?
Mei Shuwei frowned deeply behind her long sleeves, but once she lowered them, she returned to her gentle and virtuous demeanor.
“Since Madam wants to hear, I will tell you every day.” Chu Tiankuo thought that Madam had been cooped up in the house for a while and wanted to hear some fresh stories. Coincidentally, the case was interesting enough, so he began to tell her the tale.
"As you know, my case handling has been flawless in the past." Chu Tiankuo could not hide his pride and self-satisfaction when he spoke of this.
"But today, I've stumbled..."
...
...
...
"My lord, are you saying that someone in the county has died under mysterious circumstances, but no suspects can be found?"
"Yes, that's what's bothering me too. That's why the city is under strict lockdown these days. Madam, please be careful at home and don't open the door to strangers."
"I understand."
After hearing the story, Mei Shuwei turned over and fell asleep with her back to Chu Tiankuo, which made him feel a little embarrassed.
Chu Tiankuo calmed the restlessness in his body and slowly fell asleep, unaware that Mei Shuwei beside him was gritting her teeth and restraining something.
She was controlling the urge to cling to the man beside her. Mei Shuwei had keenly realized that something unknown had changed in her life, and perhaps, this body wasn't even hers anymore!
After a good night's sleep, Chu Tiankuo went out to run errands early in the morning, leaving Mei Shuwei to sleep until late morning.
She leisurely got up, moved gracefully to the courtyard, and began to hang the clothes out to dry.
Thinking of Chu Tiankuo's smiling face, she froze again.
The couple lived in harmony and treated each other with respect. There was no heavy work at home; it was just light housework for the two of them, and no one supervised her.
What should have been a leisurely and carefree time turned out to be rather dull and uninteresting for her.
Just then, there was a knock on the wooden gate. Mei Shuwei thought it was Chu Tiankuo returning. She didn't really want to rush over to greet him like a big yellow dog, so she didn't go over.
She only realized that someone was visiting when the door was being knocked on repeatedly.
No, this place is rather remote, with hardly any neighbors. No one has visited since we moved in. At least Chu Tiankuo has kept visitors out of the house and taken them to a tavern on the street under the guise of our humble abode.
Mei Shuwei looked wary, grabbed a kitchen knife, and pressed her ear against the door, listening intently to the sounds outside.
The person outside the door had been pacing back and forth, seemingly having gone through countless hardships to find this place. He was even panting heavily, and there was a constant clattering sound.
"May I ask, is this Madam Mei's house?"
"I've been searching for a long time to get here. I have urgent business with her. If you know her, could you please give me directions?"
What do you want with her?
"Well... there are some things I need to remind her of," the man said vaguely.
“Her home is in the east,” Mei Shuwei replied in a gruff voice, having a premonition.
"Thank you." The tapping sound rang out again, slowly fading into the distance.
Mei Shuwei felt relieved. The road to the east led up the mountain, and that person would definitely get lost if he went in.
It wasn't that she was heartless; this person had inexplicably come at her without explaining anything, and she was currently powerless to do anything about it. Chu Tiankuo had also said that there were thugs in town, so how could she not be suspicious?
No matter what that person does, your own safety is the most important thing.
She quickly forgot about the incident and resumed cooking day after day, waiting for her husband to return by the dim candlelight.
But Chu Tiankuo didn't return until she fell asleep on the food table.
After reheating the food and eating it hastily, Mei Shuwei went to bed to rest, only to see Chu Tiankuo, who was now covered in bruises, the next day.
He looked gloomy, his hair was a little messy, and he had some stubble growing on his chin.
"Several more people died in the county yesterday, and the magistrate was furious and reprimanded us all."
Mei Shuwei gripped his sleeve tightly, her face full of heartache. She opened her lips, but forcibly swallowed back the sentimental words that were about to slip out of her mouth: "My husband has worked so hard. I wish I could relieve your worries."
"Cough... Tiankuo, what do the wounds on the corpse look like?"
"The wound was irregular, resembling both claw marks and gouging, and was jet black in color. The coroner couldn't detect anything in it."
"Describe it in more detail, and I'll try to draw it."
Chu Tiankuo looked up in surprise: "Madam can paint?" Forgive his bluntness, but he had always known that his wife was ignorant of basic agricultural knowledge and had no artistic talent whatsoever.
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