Chapter 228: Even as a ghost, I won't let him go.
Mrs. Hu's emotions had reached their peak, and she could no longer hold back her tears.
In an instant, the crowd outside the prefectural governor's mansion stopped their cursing. They watched silently as the prefectural governor's wife, tears streaming down her face, listened to her heartbreaking sobs.
"Ever since I married you, I've begged you to paint my portrait countless times, but you always made excuses, saying that paints were expensive and that it was a means of making a living, and told me not to be silly. Later, when you became the prefect, I thought that we wouldn't be short of money for paints anymore, but you said that you were too busy with official duties and had long lost the peace of mind to paint. We've been married for nearly thirty years, and you've never painted a portrait of me. Yet you secretly painted a widow on paper, using paints bought from the capital."
Looking at the entire territory of the Jiang Dynasty, the things in the capital city were naturally the best.
Hu Wen was so stingy with his wife of nearly thirty years that he refused her gifts in every way, yet he used the best paint in the world to paint a portrait of the widow.
The people's gazes became mixed, scanning back and forth between Chunzhi and Hu Wen.
Humans are naturally inclined to sympathize with the pitiful, and Madam Hu's tragic emotional situation resonated with many women.
"My husband is the same. When I married him, we only had a bare wooden bed. A few years later, he secretly bought earrings and gave them to widows in the village. When I asked him why he didn't sell them to me, he said it was because I didn't have pierced ears. I don't have pierced ears, couldn't he buy me a hairpin?"
"They say there's a lot of gossip around a widow's door, so the old folks are right. Men like to flirt, but proper young women and wives are all governed by rules, so how can they not get entangled with widows?"
"It's alright if a widow has children; she can focus all her attention on them. But if she doesn't have children, she might be thinking about who to seduce and bring home to warm her bed from dusk till dawn."
...
Human nature is so strange and complex. They were terrified of Chunzhi at first, but now, just because they stand on the so-called moral high ground, they dare to speak out and make arbitrary judgments and accusations.
All Su Zhenzhen can say now is, "There's always a reason why someone is pitiful."
But in reality, the conflicts between women ultimately stem from men.
Hu Wen's true colors were exposed in public, and his expression was quite interesting, first turning red, then bluish-purple, and finally deathly pale.
It's considered romantic for a man to take a concubine, but it's a sign of a problem with his character to mistreat his wife.
Hu Wen had cultivated a good reputation in Yangcheng for so many years. From now on, the people would no longer say that Prefect Hu was just a bit greedy, but was still a good official.
The people will only remember that Prefect Hu made his fortune by painting portraits, but he never painted a portrait of his wife.
Chunzhi looked disdainful, and every word she spoke was full of sarcasm.
"Just because of this? Don't you know that war is not child's play? Don't you know that once the enemy captures Yangcheng, everyone in the city will be lambs to the slaughter? No one will be spared, no one!"
Su Zhenzhen glanced at Chunzhi, who also seemed surprised by Madam Hu's motives.
If it weren't for the overwhelming hurling of insults at the widow by the people, one would have thought that Chunzhi had tacitly approved of everything.
After all, killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of your own is not something a mature general would do.
Madam Hu was still not satisfied, probably knowing she couldn't beat Chunzhi, and just glared fiercely at her.
Chunzhi wouldn't hit a woman, but Madam Hu's behavior was truly appalling. Because of her jealousy, she indirectly caused the deaths of four thousand soldiers.
The longsword was raised again, but was knocked to the ground by an invisible force.
Chunzhi looked at Su Zhenzhen in confusion, "Why are you stopping me?"
"Just because Madam Hu made a mistake, does that mean everything you said and did was right?"
Did Chunzhi not know Hu Wen's thoughts? Didn't Chunzhi want to borrow Hu Wen's seed? She, who usually didn't dress up much, surprisingly wore a new dress on the day Madam Hu came to visit. Which woman wouldn't have some thoughts about that?
If Madam Hu is the evil consequence, then Chunzhi and Hu Wen are the evil cause; no one can absolve themselves of all responsibility.
Chunzhi didn't respond to Su Zhenzhen's words, but instead stood calmly to the side with her arms crossed.
There are people who are even angrier than her about this.
Hu Wen was about to lash out and slap Madam Hu's face, but Hu Yu'er held his hand tightly.
"If Father wants to punish Mother, why doesn't he punish himself first? Mother has never committed any of the seven grounds for divorce. They have been devoted to each other for nearly thirty years. Why should Father hurt Mother's feelings for an outsider?"
"You rebellious daughter!" Hu Wen tried to pull his hand back, but he was no match for Hu Yu'er's strength. When he raised his other hand, Hu Yu'er also held it tightly.
This appearance is quite ridiculous and laughable.
"I am your father. Don't forget your surname. A father is a ruler, and a son is a ruler. Do you intend to disobey your father and ruler?"
"Father himself is a traitor, so what talk of loyalty to the emperor and patriotism?" Hu Yu'er's gaze was firm, her strength unwavering. "A daughter is brought into this world by her mother, and all children in the world are brought into this world by their mothers. Without a mother, there is no child. How can a child allow their mother to be beaten and humiliated in front of them?"
Hu Wen was rendered speechless by his daughter's retorts, and could only resort to verbal attacks on his wife.
"You vile woman, you want to destroy Yangcheng, you want everyone to die with you, you madwoman, so selfish and greedy!"
"Ha—" Madam Hu laughed maniacally, "That's right, I am a madwoman, but it was you who drove me mad! You filthy slut, you had filthy thoughts about your sister-in-law, you have wronged me! No one in the world will stand up for me, so I will stand up for myself. You shameless bitches, I will tear you apart even if I am torn to pieces."
To everyone's surprise, Madam Hu quickly picked up the longsword on the ground and, before anyone could react, decisively slit her own throat.
"Mother!" Hu Yu'er quickly released Hu Wen and barely caught Madam Hu as she fell.
Madam Hu raised her hand in a gesture, no longer able to utter a sound, but her expression clearly conveyed—
I will haunt you even as a ghost.
What does it mean to die and be done with it? This is it.
Madam Hu committed suicide, and the four thousand soldiers who died in battle could not be brought back to life.
Even if someone is to be held accountable, it should be Hu Wen, since he failed to manage his wife properly.
Moreover, from this day forward, everyone in Yangcheng will know that Prefect Hu Wen harbored ulterior motives towards the widowed Lady, thus driving his wife to her death.
The deceased is dead, but the living need to provide an explanation.
Hu Wen's tenure as the Prefect of Yangcheng has come to an end.
The people also had a lot of complaints about Chunzhi. When Madam Hu committed suicide, she was so close, why didn't she stop her?
Besides these two, the most prestigious person in Yangcheng is Su Zhenzhen, the high priest of the Jiang Dynasty who recently revealed her identity.
Therefore, in accordance with public opinion, Yangcheng's government affairs were temporarily handed over to Su Zhenzhen.
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