Husband And Wife Fallout

Lv Mingyue disappearing at this juncture in the investigation seemed fishy. As though…

…There was someone out there who was trying to stop them from cracking this case.

Zhao Zhi was immediately on high alert as he sent his subordinates to search the city for Lv Mingyue. Any possible traces had to be investigated and protected. He got Song Caitang to pay the Lv house a visit and see if she could gather any information from Lv Mingyue’s room.

He, on the other hand, was not wasting time either. He brought Qi Yan to Zuo Xiuwen’s house.

The Lvs were not court officials and Song Caitang had visited them with Zhao Zhi before. When she showed up again and said that she was representing Zhao Zhi, they dared not be uncooperative and allowed her to do whatever she wanted.

But that was not the case with Zuo Xiuwen’s house. Zuo Xiuwen was a high ranking official who was constantly on the lookout for opportunities and traps, plus this was his own house, so he wasn’t going to bother with being nice. After all, being questioned about his affair would definitely put him in a bad mood. Of course, Zhao Zhi could handle all of that. But he didn’t want to bring Song Caitang along because he didn’t want her to end up having to hear or see anything that was inappropriate.

Zhao Zhi and Qi Yan arrived very quickly at Zuo Xiuwen’s place. They didn’t bother to wait for the servants to inform him and lead them in, but marched straight in and headed for the main living room.

Their presence was domineering and arrogant.

Zhao Zhi was known as the King of Chaos, a notorious figure in Bianliang ever since he was born. At the same time, he was the emperor’s favorite nephew as well as the crown prince’s closest childhood playmate. Even though he hadn’t succeeded his late father as prince yet, nobody dared to take him lightly.

The servants in the Zuo household didn’t dare to hold them back and quickly ran to get everything in order. Some went to inform the head of the household, some went to make tea, some quickly led them to a comfortable seat in the living room.

The tea had just arrived and they hadn’t even taken a sip when Zuo Xiuwen arrived.

Zhao Zhi held the teacup in his right hand and the cup lid in his left hand. He raised an eyebrow and said, “Mr. Zuo, you’re quite the Casanova. You’ve got a model wife at home, a young mistress out there. Life must really be like the spring breeze blowing past your face—”

“Commandery Prince Zhao, what are you talking about? I don’t understand a word.”

Zuo Xiuwen stopped him from going on before coming to a stop and greeting Zhao Zhi with a bow.

But while his greeting was polite and his stance was serious, it couldn’t wipe away the shock and panic in his eyes.

Pak! The lid in Zhao Zhi’s left hand landed on the teacup in his right hand. It made a crisp and high-pitched sound that seemed to strike Zuo Xiuwen’s heart.

“You don’t know what I’m talking about? I’m sure your wife does.”

He put the teacup on the table, then looked properly at Zuo Xiuwen. He raised a finely trimmed brow and looked like he was smiling when he wasn’t. “Please ask your wife to come here as well.”

Zuo Xiuwen looked dismayed, but he didn’t dare to say no. He waved a hand and a servant immediately ran to his wife’s residence.

Madam Yu came very quickly and bowed in an equally polite and serious manner. “Greetings, Commandery Prince Zhao.”

Zhao Zhi told her to get up, then looked at her with some interest, and proceeded to ask her directly, “Your man has been secretly snacking when he shouldn’t. Did you know about that?”

His words not only stunned Zuo Xiuwen, but it also confused Qi Yan.

Why was Zhao Zhi describing Zuo Xiuwen’s actions like that? Secretly snacking? What?

Unlike the men, Madam Yu appeared a lot more steady. Her gaze did not flinch and she did not even glance at Zuo Xiuwen as she bowed politely. “My lord, you must be mistaken. My husband does not fool around outside.”

“Does not fool around?” Zhao Zhi chortled. “You mean, he doesn’t dare to, right?”

As he spoke, he casually threw Qi Yan a glance.

Qi Yan caught his glance and realized what he needed to do. He quickly added fuel to the fire, “In the past he wouldn’t have dared, since your father and brother had helped him so much. But now, Mr. Zuo is in a high position and has his own connections. Why should he still be afraid?”

He spoke these words with a lecherous, yet antagonistic, mocking and disdainful expression on his face. His eyes sparkled brightly too, so it wasn’t hard for someone to imagine what he was insinuating.

Zuo Xiuwen immediately narrowed his eyes. He felt humiliated, like someone had pressed his face down and rubbed it against the ground.

He hated it when people talked about his past!

But Madam Yu felt even worse. It was true that her family was no longer doing as well as they were before, and it was also true that her position in the Zuo household seemed more and more unstable. But precisely because all of this was true, she didn’t want to hear any of it! She didn’t want to accept any of it!

“You need to have proof to say such things!” She straightened her sleeve with a wave of an arm and glared furiously at Qi Yan.

Qi Yan wasn’t afraid of her. He burst out laughing, “You want proof?”

He stole a glance at Zhao Zhi, but Zhao Zhi was seated with a solemn look on his face and was clearly not going to stop him, so he continued, “The willow tree street that leads to a dead end. The third house as you walk eastward. The one that faces the mill directly. Mrs. Zuo, I believe you are very familiar with this place, am I right?”

Madam Yu remained standing up straight and did not speak.

But Zuo Xiuwen’s eyes instantly widened and he raised an eyebrow real high.

Qi Yan chuckled, “Take a look, Mr. Zuo. Your wife knows what place this is, and so does Commandery Prince Zhao and I. Everyone already knows what’s going on, but you’re still trying to pretend there’s nothing? Don’t you think it’s meaningless?”

Zuo Xiuwen narrowed his eyes and glowered at his wife. “What have you done?”

It was clear that this husband and wife of nearly 20 years knew each other well enough.

Madam Yu bowed her head and stared at her hands. She did not look at him and did not speak.

But Zuo Xiuwen understood better than anyone else what this small gesture meant.

This woman really knew about this matter and had done something! She had done something behind his back!

Zuo Xiuwen’s scowl made him look fairly frightening.

But just a second later, his lips suddenly curled upward and he burst out laughing.

Qi Yan was right. Zhao Zhi had boldly marched into his house and the both of them confronted him with an exact address, which meant that they already knew the whole truth. There was no point in hiding this anymore…

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve been in intimate contact with a woman of late, but I have never acknowledged her as my mistress.”

Qi Yan was stunned by these words.

Did that mean… they weren’t that close yet?

Or Zuo Xiuwen was just enjoying himself without giving her anything in return? He was just playing with her?

What an asshole! What a bastard!

Madam Yu became even angrier after hearing her husband’s response. She glared at him from the corner of her eyes and scoffed loudly. “You’re already sleeping in the same bed and you dare to say she isn’t? Zuo Xiuwen, you’re so shameless!”

Zuo Xiuwen’s stare grew sinister as he glared straight at his wife. “Did you see me sleeping with her? Are you very jealous?”

“How dare you humiliate me like this!”

Madam Yu flew into a rage and reached over, only to grab hold of his sleeve.

But judging from her angle, she had probably intended to grab hold of his collar.

Zuo Xiuwen shoved her aside. “In the past, I tolerated your father and your family. But don’t you dare push me too far. If you push me too far, I’m not going to put up with any of you anymore!”

Madam Yu collapsed onto the floor from how hard he had pushed her. The pain in her heart was compounded by the physical pain she felt and she needed to let it out. “You—”

“What?” Zuo Xiuwen didn’t feel bad for her at all. He stood with his back straight and was even more arrogant now. “Which man in this world doesn’t have more than one wife? What’s wrong with having a mistress? You’re the one who hasn’t been considerate enough, guarding against others as though they’re thieves and making the atmosphere in the household so grim. Go out and take a look yourself! Which wife is like you?!”

“I went through the full, proper procedure to marry you as my official wife, so I’ve tried to give you respect and teach you patiently, but you’ve refused to change your ways all these years, and you dare to cry now? Fine! Cry yourself to death right now and I’ll marry a new wife tomorrow!”

Madam Yu’s lips were pale as she stared straight at him. “My father will not spare you…”

Zuo Xiuwen snorted, “Oh? Get out of the house and go home now then! Tell your father to come here! I want to see what he will do to me!”

It was hard to say if it was because they had both been suppressing their true feelings for too long or because they happened to step on each other’s pain points, but the fight between this husband and wife suddenly escalated and turned physical.

Qi Yan instinctively took two steps back, afraid that he might accidentally get hurt in the fight.

Suddenly, a voice rang out from behind, “Father, stop!”

It was Zuo Xiuwen’s daughter, Zuo Shanshan.

She ran and cried, her face still pale from how ill she was. She ran straight for her mother and stretched her arms out to protect her.

Zuo Xiuwen hit the roof, “Who wasn’t doing their job properly and allowed her to come out of her room! Drag them out and discipline them right now!”

Zuo Shanshan was so frightened that she instantly stopped crying and started hiccupping instead.

Zuo Xiuwen was still gentle toward his daughter and felt bad for her, so he tried to soften his voice, “Why did you come out instead of resting in your room?”

Zuo Shanshan noticed that while his expression was scary, he clearly did not intend to get physical, so she relaxed a little. She looked at him, then at her mother, and pleaded, “Father… Mother was just concerned about you, that’s all… don’t chase her away, please? Please? No matter how… good someone is out there, she can’t compare to Mother, who’s been with you for nearly 20 years…”

Zuo Xiuwen had a scowl on his face and he did not promise his daughter anything. But he also stopped yelling at his wife.

Madam Yu seemed afraid now and dared not provoke him any further.

Zhao Zhi was pleasantly surprised that Zuo Shanshan had come running out by herself. He could now get answers to his other questions.

“Your name is Zuo Shanshan, correct?”

Zuo Shanshan looked up at Zhao Zhi and immediately bowed her head again. She replied softly, “Yes…”

“Then did you know,” Zhao Zhi leaned forward slightly and looked at her, “that your father’s mistress is Lv Mingyue.”

The room was suddenly very silent.

Zuo Shanshan didn’t seem to understand why Zhao Zhi was asking her this question. She took a while to process his question, then started feeling scared, “This Lv… Lv Mingyue… is someone of very high status?”

Was this woman someone whom her father shouldn’t have been involved with, and he was now in big trouble?

Her reaction seemed genuine to both Qi Yan and Zhao Zhi.

Zhao Zhi frowned and observed her for a moment before continuing, “Lv Mingyue was Lin Feizhou’s lover. They had promised to marry one another and her dowry was already being prepared. They were due to get married soon.”

“Promised to marry one another… Get married…”

Zuo Shanshan murmured these few words again and again, then suddenly got very worked up.

“No! No… that can’t be true! Feizhou… No! It’s impossible!”

Her expression told Zhao Zhi that this girl probably never knew about Lin Feizhou and Lv Mingyue at all.

Her reaction also made her parents frown. They smelled a rat.

Madam Yu gently embraced Zuo Shanshan. “What’s wrong?”

But Zuo Shanshan suddenly looked terrified. Her face was pale as she covered her mouth with her hands and dared not say a single thing.

Zuo Xiuwen got angry. “Speak!”

Zuo Shanshan trembled and leaned weakly against her mother as though she was on the verge of collapse.

Madam Yu patted her back. “It’s alright, my dear. Don’t be afraid. I’m here.”

Zuo Shanshan’s teeth chattered. She still dared not say anything.

She wasn’t going to say anything even if she had to be beaten to death!

Qi Yan sighed at this juncture and said, “Love always comes when you least expect it, and once it starts, it’s hard to let go of it. Your daughter fell in love – that Lin Feizhou stole her heart and both of them have been in secret contact with one another. They were pretty close too.”

Madam Yu’s expression instantly hardened as she stared straight into her daughter’s eyes. “Is he telling the truth?”

But Zuo Xiuwen wasn’t so polite. There was a loud smack as his palm slapped Zuo Shanshan across the face. Her skin was soft and she was ill, so her cheek swelled up immediately.

One slap didn’t seem enough. Zuo Xiuwen didn’t even retract his arm as he moved his hand the other way to slap his wife across the face with another loud smack. “I’ve been working so hard out there and this is the way you look after the household? You managed to turn our innocent daughter into a slut? And you dare to raise your voice at me? Aren’t you embarrassed by yourself?”

Madam Yu had indeed been very arrogant and aggressive when she first got married because of her family’s standing, but over the years, she had toned it down. She dared not hit anyone just because she was unhappy anymore. She began to learn how to scheme, how to resolve issues in secret. The pride she used to have was not as important to her as before either, but she still cared about her public image.

When faced with such a matter, she finally had a breakdown. She hugged Zuo Shanshan and wailed miserably, “It’s not true… this can’t be true… my daughter wouldn’t do such a thing… it can’t be…”

Zuo Shanshan called her “Mother” weakly, but her gaze was shifty, her body was all curled up and she dared not look at her mother.

Madam Yu knew that all of this must be true.

“It’s all my fault…” Tears poured down her face. “It’s all my fault for not protecting you, for not taking care of you… I’m old and ugly and I won’t live for much longer, so why did I bother to watch your father? You’re my everything, not him! If something bad happens to you, what am I going to do? How am I going to live?!”

As she spoke, she patted Zuo Shanshan hard on the back several times, then beat her chest hard. “I was wrong… I was wrong…”

Qi Yan turned to meet with Zhao Zhi’s glance.

Madam Yu… seriously didn’t know anything about Zuo Shanshan and Lin Feizhou!

He had snuck into the house before and based on what the servants told him, this mother and daughter were very close and it seemed impossible for the mother to not know about this matter. After all, if Madam Yu knew about it, she wouldn’t have just let it slide and allow her daughter’s heart to be stolen like that. And if Zuo Shanshan were found out, she wouldn’t be speaking to her mother so casually and impatiently anymore. She would sound a lot more guilty.

But Madam Yu was a domineering woman who was also smart. That was why the three of them were quite sure she would have known about this. But now…

They had been wrong. Madam Yu seriously had no idea.

She had focused all her attention on her husband and had neglected the “obedient” daughter living at home. That made sense too.

Zuo Xiuwen was so angry, his body was trembling all over. “Great, just great! So this is what my wife and my daughter are like!” And as if he remembered that Lin Feizhou was already dead, he scoffed, “Good that he’s dead! I’m so glad he’s dead!”

Zhao Zhi raised an eyebrow to look at Zuo Xiuwen. “So… Mr. Zuo, did you know that Lin Feizhou and Lv Mingyue were lovers?”

His voice was quiet and slow as he stared at Zuo Xiuwen for answers. The entire room fell awkwardly silent again as everyone turned to look at Zuo Xiuwen.