Chapter 29: One Must Not Sell One's Wife, Even If It Means Selling Oneself

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Chapter 29: Even If He Sold Himself, He Must Never Sell His Wife

But this was hardly the time to curse anyone. He regretted bitterly that, merely because he found it troublesome to have someone following him, he had not brought a servant into the courtyard. Now he was truly calling to Heaven and Earth, with neither answering.

“Is anyone there? Help! Somebody—”

He shouted at the top of his lungs, panic rising within him. He was trapped at the bottom of this deep pit, and since it lay in the rear courtyard, anyone in the front courtyard might not hear his cries.

He had lived a life that could be called glorious. From a penniless scholar to the master of a vast estate, he had wielded power in the Qian household and obtained whatever he wished. He still had countless blessings to enjoy and ambitions yet to fulfill. Could it be that retribution had come at last, and that he was destined to drown in this foulest of cesspits?

Outside the latrine, someone approached on silent feet. The figure poked his head in, took a look, then quietly withdrew.

The shadow hurried back to the eastern side room of the front courtyard, where Yun Jiao was waiting solemnly outside the door.

Jian Jia’s hands were clenched so tightly they were nearly numb. The moment she saw Gu Youzi return, she rushed forward and asked in a low, urgent voice, “How did it go?”

“We succeeded!” Gu Youzi grinned broadly. “That bastard has both feet hooked over the rim of the cesspit. He hasn’t fallen all the way in yet, but I doubt he can hold on for long.”

Yun Jiao’s tightly clenched fingers relaxed at once, and the taut string in her heart finally loosened. She asked softly, “Is everything outside arranged?”

“It is.” Gu Youzi stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I told his two brothers that they could deal with his legs however they pleased, but they must spare his life. They agreed.”

“Good.” Yun Jiao nodded.

It was not that she did not want that vile scoundrel dead. But her grandmother was still alive. If her granddaughter’s husband died before her, would that not make it seem as though her grandmother were lacking in blessings?

“Go call Cousin Xianglan. Then gather some fresh flowers from the garden and bring them here.”

After giving her instructions, Yun Jiao returned to her grandmother’s room.

Qian Xianglan arrived shortly afterward. In recent days, she had often come in the evenings to visit their grandmother and chat with Yun Jiao. The two cousins had grown much closer, no longer as distant as they once were.

The two of them chatted and arranged flowers in the room, enjoying themselves immensely.

Meanwhile, Shen Changdong was still suspended over the cesspit, struggling desperately and crying for help in vain. He decided to save himself. Drawing upon the strength in his abdomen, he tried to raise his head, seize the wooden boards covering either side of the pit, and climb out.

Had he been young, he might perhaps have managed it.

But now he was old, and after so many years of living in comfort and luxury at the Qian household, the strength he had once possessed was long gone. After several attempts, he not only failed to haul himself up but slipped at the feet, sending his head plunging straight into the cesspit.

“My life is over…”

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he toppled headfirst into the pit.

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He clenched his teeth, feeling the reeking filth force its way into his eyes, nose, and ears. The sensation was beyond description. He wanted to breathe, but all he could see before him was murky sewage. If he opened his mouth, it would flood inside. How could he dare draw breath?

Then he suddenly remembered that one passage in this latrine led outside. For ease of cleaning, the cesspit outside was shallower. If he could hold his breath and swim through, perhaps he might preserve his life.

Of course, there was no guarantee. The outer cesspit might also be filled to the brim. Whether he could survive remained uncertain.

But there was no time left for hesitation. He gritted his teeth, shut his eyes, and swam toward the edge of the pit, groping wildly with both hands.

Fortunately, luck was on his side. After only a few attempts, his fingers found the passage.

With great effort, he struggled until he could thrust his head above the surface, then opened his mouth and sucked in a deep breath. He had no time to care that filth was flowing into his mouth. Holding his breath, he plunged down once more and swam along the passage.

The journey was a true struggle through every obstacle, but at last he made it safely to the outer cesspit.

…

Two brothers stood watch in the grass outside. They appeared to be no more than fifteen or sixteen years old, close in age and both rather handsome in a plain, youthful way.

The elder was named Shishan, the younger Shihai.

The brothers came from a village outside Laizhou City.

Their father was a bricklayer, diligent and honest, known by everyone as Old Fool Stone. Their mother, Madam Li, tended several thin plots of land while raising her two sons. The family had once lived in harmony, working peacefully and prospering as best they could. They were not wealthy by any means, but they had more than enough to get by.

In another two years, when the brothers married and had children of their own, their household would surely have grown more prosperous still.

Yet just when life seemed to be filling with promise, disaster struck.

The Qian family’s house in the village had grown too old, and they decided to tear it down and rebuild.

Old Fool Stone was among the bricklayers hired for the work.

Shen Changdong normally never visited the village. Such a minor matter did not warrant his personal attention.

But perhaps it was fate. It happened to be spring, and Shen Changdong had leisure at home. He decided to visit the village, treating the outing as a spring excursion.

As luck would have it, on that very day Old Fool Stone’s wife, Madam Li, had made dumplings filled with shepherd’s purse. Spring was the season for such dumplings, which people praised as “the taste of fresh spring.” Madam Li brought some over so that Old Fool Stone and the other old hands working alongside him could enjoy them.

It was an entirely ordinary thing to do. The trouble was that Shen Changdong happened to be there as well.

Madam Li was not particularly beautiful. At best, she could be called fair and pleasant-looking. But the generous curves of her bosom were impossible to overlook.

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Shen Changdong decided that Madam Li was a rare prize. His thoughts turned at once toward possessing her, and desire gnawed at him. Yet with Old Fool Stone and the other workers present, he could only force himself to endure it.

When evening came, Shen Changdong deliberately stayed behind. He ordered a lavish feast of food and wine to entertain the bricklayers.

The men were flattered and startled by the honor, repeatedly insisting that they hardly dared accept it.

Shen Changdong was in no hurry. He simply invited everyone to drink.

After three rounds of wine, the usually reserved bricklayers relaxed. The atmosphere finally grew lively. Some chatted merrily, while others began trading coarse jokes.

Seizing the opportunity, Shen Changdong brought up a rumor that someone in Laizhou City had sold his wife for a thousand pieces of gold.

Everyone exclaimed, “A wife for a thousand pieces of gold? If I could sell mine, I’d be spared this hard life day after day.”

Only Old Fool Stone continued drinking in silence.

Shen Changdong glanced at him and said half-jokingly, “Brother, why so quiet? I take it your thoughts differ from everyone else’s?”

Old Fool Stone gave a simple, honest smile. “Our family may be poor, but my wife is virtuous. That is how we have lived together in peace all these years. Even if I sold myself, I could never sell my wife.”

The others immediately burst into laughter and began teasing him.

Shen Changdong laughed along with them, but in the midst of it, he gave one of his servants a meaningful glance.

That very night, as Old Fool Stone was crossing the bridge on his way home, he stumbled and fell into the small river running through the village. He drowned.

Every neighbor said he had drunk too much and thus met with such misfortune. His family accepted the same explanation. Though they were overcome with grief, they could only endure their sorrow and arrange his funeral.

Yet before the forty-nine days following Old Fool Stone’s death had passed, Shen Changdong took advantage of the two brothers’ absence and went to the Stone family home, where he forced himself upon Madam Li.

When her sons returned, Madam Li wept as she recounted the humiliation she had suffered.

The family gathered together to discuss the matter. Only then did Shishan recall how suspiciously his father had died. The brothers’ eyes immediately reddened. One seized a kitchen cleaver, while the other shouldered an iron spade, and together they prepared to rush out and avenge their father.

Madam Li desperately restrained them, nearly falling to her knees before her sons. She pleaded with them at length, explaining that the Qian family possessed both wealth and influence. Even if they wanted revenge, they had to devise a foolproof plan. If they rushed out in a fit of rage, they would only throw their lives away for nothing.

End of Chapter

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