After being publicly reprimanded by the old master and then interrogated by a stranger, Third Madam Du was already displeased. Assuming an air of superiority, she refused to meet the other woman’s eyes. “This is a private matter of the Du family. It would be inappropriate for an outsider to inquire.”
Yun Yaoyao let out a cold laugh and turned to Lord Du, stressing each word. “Lord Du, do you think I, as an outsider, have the right to interfere?”
Lord Du’s fists clenched beneath his sleeves.
If this matter were viewed lightly, it could be called a minister’s dereliction of duty and discord within his household. Viewed more seriously, it could even be linked to harboring Xiongnu Death Riders. No matter how one looked at it, his reputation was doomed today.
Lord Du found this Third Madam increasingly displeasing. Back then, he had been attracted by her beauty. Who could have known that, with age, her judgment and intelligence would fade along with it?
He barked, “Answer whatever you’re asked! Answer what should be answered!”
The unspoken meaning was clear: Don’t answer what shouldn’t be answered. Cover it up properly and don’t bring shame upon the Du residence!
Clearly, Third Madam Du lacked the wits to understand. She lowered her head aggrievedly. “Yesterday, she disobeyed me and left the residence without permission…”
Yun Yaoyao’s brows drew together even more tightly. “As the legitimate wife of the young master of this household, why is she not allowed to leave?”
Third Madam Du answered reluctantly, “Though she is the legitimate wife, she is also a criminal.”
Unwilling to be questioned like a prisoner, Third Madam Du simply laid everything out.
“When she married my son, she was already marrying above her station. Otherwise, how could the daughter of a lowly merchant family ever have entered the gates of the Du family? Who would have thought that only half a year after marrying my son, she would fall into the water while out one day and be rescued by another man? A married woman who has been touched by an unrelated man becomes sullied!”
At this, Third Madam Du’s anger rose. “Not only did she stain the reputation of my Du family, she also humiliated my son. The fact that I didn’t sink her into Pure Spirit Lake was already merciful! I merely ordered her never to leave her courtyard again. Who would have thought that she would disobey me yesterday?”
“Who knows whether she went to inspect the distillery or secretly rendezvoused with another man…”
Yun Yaoyao had never expected that the reason a woman had been treated this way would be so utterly absurd.
She asked instinctively, “If she wasn’t allowed to be rescued by a man, then should she have been left to drown?”
Third Madam Du gave a cold snort. “If she had drowned then, it would have proved that she upheld feminine virtue and possessed integrity. Today, she would not be suffering like this. Instead, she would have a chastity arch erected in her honor for other women to praise!”
A furious fire suddenly flared in Yun Yaoyao’s heart.
She knew that in ancient feudal society, the saying “death preserves a woman’s chastity; even death is an honor” had been written in the blood and bones of countless oppressed women.
But witnessing it with her own eyes was still shocking. It made her scalp prickle.
A woman’s life was worth less than the mere words “purity and chastity”—and in this case, that so-called purity had been lost simply because she fell into the water and was rescued.
Yun Yaoyao knew that changing a situation like this would be a long and difficult road.
Especially in imposing, rule-bound households such as this one, where the souls of countless married women had been swallowed and ground away.
A chill entered Yun Yaoyao’s eyes.
Then today, she would start by cutting into the Du family and make them a cautionary example for all to see!
Behind her, after hearing the whole story, Lord Du did feel that saying such things in His Majesty’s presence was somewhat inappropriate. Still, he did not think there was anything wrong with it.
After all, this was precisely what displayed the noble purity of the Du family and the bearing of an illustrious clan.
Yun Yaoyao almost cursed aloud, but stopped herself. She began plotting how she would use this exemplary case to strike at them later.
Tu Shanjin lightly patted her palm, signaling for her to step aside and let him handle it.
It had been a long time since he had taught someone a lesson.
Tu Shanjin walked step by step toward Third Madam Du. His figure appeared slender and delicate, but the pressure radiating from him was overwhelming.
“You keep saying that she stained the reputation of your Du family. Is your family’s reputation really so lowly that a woman falling into the water and being rescued by a man is enough to sully it? If that is all it takes, then what use is there for a family reputation at all? Even the family reputation itself would call it a miserable disgrace!”
“And your son supposedly suffered humiliation because of this? Even more laughable! He was incapable of saving his own wife, and now he claims to be humiliated because of it—unable to hold his head up. So fragile, so utterly incapable of holding his head up, and you still call him a man? He might as well cut off that useless, filthy thing of his and become a eunuch who can never raise his head again!”
“I had no idea a woman’s role was so tremendous. Falling into the water and being rescued could sully the reputation of an illustrious clan and make a man unable to hold his head up for the rest of his life. Is that truly the power of a woman, or is it merely an excuse invented by weak, fragile, incompetent people to shift every fault onto women?”
That tirade left Yun Yaoyao thoroughly satisfied.
My beloved Consort, what a scolding! How many more surprises do you have in store that I don’t know about?
The forceful rebuke drove Third Madam Du backward again and again. Her chest heaved violently as she seethed with rage. “You vicious shrew! You brazen harridan! How dare you!”
“Enough!” Lord Du felt as though an invisible slap had struck him across the face. Hadn’t Consort Miao’s tirade been a roundabout way of cursing him as well?
The look Lord Du directed at Tu Shanjin grew hostile. “This is, after all, a private matter of the Du family…”
Before he could finish, Yun Yaoyao wrapped an arm around Tu Shanjin’s waist and interrupted him. “Lord Du, my wife is straightforward by nature. Her words may have been offensive, but she has made a great deal of sense.”
“Even so, her words were far too harsh. They were an insult to the Du family,” Lord Du said, his voice thick with anger.
“Hard to listen to?” Yun Yaoyao’s gaze turned cold. Though a smile still lingered at the corners of her lips, it only made her expression all the more obscure and frightening. “Does the truth become hard to listen to just because it comes from someone you dislike? If you can’t stand hearing it, perhaps you should reflect on why.”
Tu Shanjin took advantage of the moment to lean against her chest and cast a sidelong glance at Du Guanliu.
“Why is he the only one you speak harshly to? Why don’t you look for the reason in yourself?”
Du Guanliu’s old face flushed bright red. Inwardly, he cursed them a thousand times over: adulterous couple! Colluding villains!
Third Madam Du was furious as well. She couldn’t understand why her usually fearsome and respected husband was being bullied so helplessly. Unable to resist fanning the flames, she said, “My lord, they—”
Du Guanliu swallowed his anger and urgently signaled for her to stop talking and leave at once.
Third Madam Du was a fool, however, and asked, “My lord, did the wind get in your eyes? Let me blow it away for you.”
Du Guanliu: “…”
What a stupid woman!
Nearby, Gao Chongguang couldn’t hold back a snort of laughter. “You’re an old cabbage stalk, yet you’re trying to act all young and delicate.”
Third Madam Du was enraged. “Who exactly are you, and how dare you insult me again and again?”
Gao Chongguang arrogantly lifted his chin. “I am an official of the imperial court—the Vice Minister of Revenue! How dare a mere concubine point her finger at me? Apologize to me at once!”
In all her years, Third Madam Du had never encountered a court official with such a vicious mouth. She was simply… simply!
In a fit of rage, Third Madam Du became angry for a moment, then reluctantly offered an apology.
The dark and unhinged version of Yan Qinghong also joined in. He slowly poked his head out and said in a sinister voice, “You unlawfully detained someone, abused your daughter-in-law, and inflicted private punishment, causing serious injury. You have already violated the laws of Yan Chi and could be sentenced to five years in prison.”
“Once this official catches the fugitive, I’ll have you taken to the Ministry of Justice prison as well.”
Third Madam Du was about to explode. “This is clearly a private matter of the Du family! We were enforcing family rules. And who are you supposed to be?!”
Yan Qinghong let out a sinister, cackling laugh. “This official is the Minister of Justice…”
Third Madam Du’s eyes widened once again. Were all the officials of the imperial court this refreshingly unconventional nowadays?
One was even more vulgar than a lowborn nobody who had suddenly gained power, while the other was more sinister than a ghost that had been dead for ten days!
Once again, Third Madam Du became angry for a moment, then immediately backed down.
As for Gao Dexiang, he had long since given up and hidden behind the crowd, minimizing his presence as much as possible in the hope that the flames of war would not reach him.
The Dragon Shadow Guards continued pretending to search the courtyard along with the soldiers from the Ministry of Justice.
Yun Yaoyao had already begun planning how she would publicly make an example of this walking negative case study later.
She looked toward the woman who had been helped into a chair. Niu Xiu’er was applying medicine to the woman’s foot.
Niuniu’s face was scrunched up with pain on her behalf as she muttered under her breath, “What family rules? This is clearly murder…”
The custom of women not casually displaying their feet still existed in this era. But the woman did not care in the slightest. She simply leaned against the chair, her eyes containing nothing but a bleak, ashen emptiness.
Yun Yaoyao understood.
A harsh and abusive mother-in-law, an indifferent husband who refused to protect her, and family rules that devoured people—perhaps she had endured too much suffering and torment, leaving her with no desire to go on living.
“What is your name?” Yun Yaoyao asked.
Mo Xiaozhi froze before realizing that the other woman was speaking to her. It had been a long time since anyone had asked her name.
“My name is Mo Xiaozhi. I am the only daughter of the Mo family, a merchant clan in the capital.”
“Regarding what your mother-in-law did to you just now, what is your opinion?” Yun Yaoyao asked again. “You need not concern yourself with anyone else. Speak what you truly feel.”
Mo Xiaozhi’s lips trembled, and tears glimmered in her eyes.
She was grateful that these officials had spoken up for her, but she also understood that once they left, the punishment and abuse awaiting her would be even more terrifying.
Mo Xiaozhi shook her head. Her trembling voice was filled with bitterness. “My lord, that was a family rule. Without rules, there can be no order. Thank you, my lords…”
“That is not a rule. It is oppression.” Yun Yaoyao looked at her.
“When people have been bound by rules for too long, they stop distinguishing right from wrong. Even when they know those rules are wrong, their courage to break free is gradually worn away.”
“When you are trapped in a quagmire, the only way out is to save yourself and stand on your own.”
Yun Yaoyao walked over to her and stared directly into her eyes, her expression solemn.
“Mo Xiaozhi, today, I can pull you out.”
“Answer the question again. What do you think of what happened to you just now?”
