Chapter 9: Wanting to be a Whore and Set Up a Memorial Arch. Hypocritical!

Lin Qingyue dropped her chopsticks and turned to leave, not giving Lin Xiao any face at all.

Lin Xiao was trembling with anger: "Evil obstacle! If I

How could he know that the gentle, filial Lin Qingyue, who once longed for her parents' love, had long since been indirectly killed by them? The one who has returned now is their retribution and their debt!

And everything has only just begun!

Leaving the dining hall, Lin Qingyue wandered around the Hou Mansion, and as she walked, she arrived at the East Courtyard.

The East Courtyard was the residence of the eldest daughter-in-law of the main branch, Liu Shi, and from afar, one could smell a foul odor of medicinal herbs.

When Lin Qingyue reached the doorway, she saw Liu Shi holding a bowl of pitch-black medicinal soup, her brows furrowed and her face full of resistance.

The nanny beside her urged: "Young Mistress, this is medicine brewed from a new prescription the Madam found; it is very effective. Many women have used it, and it is said that taking it for a month consecutively will lead to pregnancy."

Liu Shi asked: "Why is there a ring of ash floating on the edge of this bowl?"

The nanny said: "It is incense ash the Madam begged for from a temple; that temple is also very effective for those seeking children."

Liu Shi unhappily set down the medicinal soup.

To make her bear a child, her mother-in-law truly stopped at nothing!

The nanny was one of Zhou Shi's people, specifically sent over to watch Liu Shi take her medicine.

Seeing her refuse to drink, the nanny's expression turned cold: "My Madam has worried endlessly over the years for the sake of the Young Mistress's health. If you do not drink it, wouldn't that be a waste of the Madam's painstaking efforts?"

Having said that, she directly picked up the bowl of medicine, about to force it back into Liu Shi's hands.

But just at this moment, her wrist felt a sharp pain and trembled; the medicine bowl shattered crisply on the floor, and the soup spilled out completely.

The nanny panicked: "Young Mistress, this servant will go brew another bowl for you. You must not tell the Madam that I spilled the medicine, otherwise, it might be hard to answer to her!"

After saying this, she hurried away.

And only then did Lin Qingyue stroll in leisurely.

Seeing Lin Qingyue, Liu Shi hurriedly came over to invite her to be seated.

Married into the Hou Mansion for three years, her mother-in-law was harsh, and her sister-in-law was kind in face but wicked in heart. Her husband not only lacked any affection but also frequently resorted to physical violence.

In the past, only the simple and kind Lin Qingyue could speak a few words with her.

Therefore, today, when Lin Qingyue returned to the mansion, Liu Shi was the only one who was happy. Yet, because she spoke out of turn at the main gate, she had been driven back to the inner quarters by a slap from her husband.

She affectionately pulled Lin Qingyue to sit down and ordered the servants to bring tea and pastries.

"I was feeling a bit unwell earlier and failed to go out to welcome you; do not blame me." She handed a piece of pastry to Lin Qingyue, "Eat, there is no need to worry about etiquette here; just eat to your heart's content!"

Lin Qingyue saw the slap mark remaining on her face and asked: "Did he hit you again?"

Liu Shi only smiled without a word.

Lin Qingyue asked again: "Have you never thought about leaving?"

"Leaving?" Liu Shi gave a bitter smile, "If I dared to mention a divorce, let alone your brother beating me to death, even my maiden family would not agree. The world has always been harsh to women; unless the man has committed a major fault, for a woman to speak of divorce is to be unvirtuous and to be despised by the world. It would even cause my maiden family to be pointed at and bring shame upon their house."

"Is his hitting you not a major fault?" Lin Qingyue unceremoniously pulled back her sleeve, revealing bruises and scars of various sizes.

The bruises were from pinching, and the scars were from candle burns.

Liu Shi said with a numb expression: "What does hitting someone count for? If a woman hits her husband, that is called overturning the heavens! But if a man hits his wife, outsiders will only say the wife did not do well. Even if he beats her to death, he is only imprisoned for three years."

It was not as if Liu Shi had never resisted before.

The first time she was beaten by Lin Rufeng, she returned to her maiden home in a fit of anger.

But she hadn't stayed for two days before she was sent back to her husband's family by her own kin.

Her father said: "A married daughter staying at her maiden home will affect the reputation of the sisters in the family. Do not run back for some trivial matter and cause your parents to lose face."

Since then, no matter how hard Lin Rufeng hit her, she never returned to her maiden home again. She only hoped to give birth to an heir soon to secure her position; perhaps if there were an heir, he would stop hitting her.

Unfortunately, things went against her wishes.

Liu Shi lowered her eyes: "I also blame my own belly for being uncooperative; I've been married for three years and haven't had the slightest reaction."

Lin Qingyue said: "Why do you blame yourself for the mistake?"

Liu Shi looked puzzled: "What does sister mean by that?"

Lin Qingyue said: "You have the physiognomy of someone who will have many children and grandchildren, while Lin Rufeng is the exact opposite. Therefore, even if one needs to seek medical treatment and medicine, it should be him."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shi hurriedly peeked outside the door, and seeing no one else was listening, she lowered her voice and said:

"You must never say this outside! If the mother-in-law hears it, she will be angry with you again. Although you are now a Princess, you still need to maintain a good relationship with your maiden family so that you can have support in the future."

When she said this, she remembered the conversation between Lin Xiao and Lin Ruzhen earlier and felt it was somewhat inappropriate.

She then sighed: "We sisters-in-law are both pitiful people."

Seeing that she did not believe her, Lin Qingyue did not say more.

After all, in this era, the status of men and women is vastly different. The blame for not being able to have children has always been borne by women.

Even if it is the man's problem, they will shamelessly dump the blame on the woman.

And Lin Rufeng is the eldest son of the Lin family and the only son and hope of Zhou Shi; she would absolutely not believe that there is a problem with her son's body. She would only intensify her torment of her daughter-in-law.

While feeling sad, Liu Shi comforted herself: "Although your brother is not very considerate and always likes to hit people, every time the mother-in-law suggests he take a concubine, he refuses. I think, deep down, he still cares about me a little, right?"

"The only person he cares about is himself!" Lin Qingyue said unceremoniously, "He doesn't take a concubine only because he has a penchant for men and has no interest in women."

Once these words were spoken, Liu Shi was stunned, "Is this true? You, how do you know this?"

"If you don't believe me, you can send someone to inquire at Shuangyanxiang; he is a regular there."

"Shuangyanxiang" is the gathering place for male-favored houses in the capital, and young masters with a penchant for men love to go to that place the most.

Once, when Lin Qingyue was passing by the entrance of that alley, she happened to see Lin Rufeng coming out from inside.

His satisfied and dazed demeanor was like a different person from his usual fierce appearance.

When he turned his head and saw Lin Qingyue, his expression changed instantly, and he rushed over to warn her viciously:

"You are not allowed to tell anyone that I have been here, otherwise I will not spare you!"

At that time, Lin Qingyue had only just returned to the Hou Mansion and had no idea what kind of place that was.

Since Lin Rufeng didn't let her speak, she didn't say anything.

But a few days later, Lin Rufeng's special hobby was discovered by Lin Xiao, who gave him a severe beating.

Zhou Shi and Lin Ruzhen both knew about this, but only Liu Shi was not told the truth; Liu Shi still thought her husband was punished for contradicting his father.

Lin Rufeng was convinced that Lin Qingyue had snitched. The first thing he did after his wounds healed was to grab Lin Qingyue by the collar and slap her a dozen times.

Lin Qingyue's mouth was bleeding before Zhou Shi arrived.

Lin Ruzhen was still saying in a tea-like manner on the side: "Brother has always been loving to his siblings; how did sister provoke him to anger? Quickly apologize to brother; as a family, we must never hold grudges."

After Zhou Shi scolded her son a few times, she turned to admonish Lin Qingyue: "The elder brother is like a father; even if his methods were a bit intense at times, it was for your own good. You must never speak nonsense outside and ruin your brother's reputation. Do you remember?"

And the innocent Lin Qingyue didn't even know how she had offended Lin Rufeng; it was truly absurd that she was the victim yet had to appease the perpetrator!

However, the current Lin Qingyue has experienced all sorts of dirty and filthy things, and with a little reflection, she understood what kind of place Shuangyanxiang was back then.

The reason Lin Rufeng is infertile is most likely because he played too wildly and ruined his own body.

After Liu Shi heard all this, she was initially surprised and couldn't believe it, but she soon understood.

"No wonder in the three years since we married, he has rarely touched me. The few times we shared a bed, it was always a hasty affair. Afterwards, he would even bathe several times in disgust. He has no maids around him, but he has several delicate young servants. I always thought he was self-disciplined."

"You said he is infertile; at first, I didn't believe it. But now, I have to believe it."

"How ridiculous!" She said it was ridiculous, but tears fell uncontrollably.

"Clearly, everything was his problem, but for these three years, everyone has accused me of being unable to bear children and treated me like a sinner! Even my parents at my maiden home think I owe the Lin family and have been fawning over them, fearing they would divorce me."

"And I, in order to get pregnant, drank bitter medicine for two and a half years. I ended up ruining my stomach... in the end, it turns out to be like this!"

She wiped away her tears, held Lin Qingyue's hand, and said gratefully: "Sister Yue'er, thank you for telling me all this, otherwise I wouldn't know how much longer I would be trampled upon! In the Lin family, you are the only good person."

A good person? She, Immortal Qingyue, hadn't been called that for a long time.

Unfortunately, she is not a good person at all.

The reason she told Liu Shi all this is because Liu Shi is a key figure.

Lin Rufeng has committed many evils and should have received retribution, but unfortunately, Liu Shi's existence caused the retribution to be delayed.

"So, now that you know the truth, what do you plan to do?" Lin Qingyue asked.

If Liu Shi remains obsessed, even if she is a person of good fortune, she will be implicated to death.

Liu Shi lowered her head, seemingly in thought.

A moment later, when she raised her head again, her usual cowardice was gone.

"I absolutely cannot stay in the Lin family any longer. I will return to my maiden home first and tell my parents everything. Once I have collected evidence, I will divorce him!"

Although Qi Guo does not explicitly forbid male-favored relationships, it does not conform to the mainstream concepts of the world.

Therefore, even if one has such a hobby, it is played quietly and must never be brought to the table.

If beating one's wife is just a family matter, then the "sleeve-cutting" habit would cause Lin Rufeng to lose his reputation and ruin his future.

And Lin Rufeng's marriage was merely to cover up his special orientation.

That day, Liu Shi packed her things and returned to her maiden home.

When she was leaving, the nanny happened to arrive with the new medicinal soup.

Liu Shi said hatefully: "Tell the mother-in-law that I will never drink this medicine again!"

Lin Qingyue watched Liu Shi's departing back and curled her lips in a smile: "The long-awaited retribution should come tonight."

Having stirred up enough trouble, she was just about to leave the Hou Mansion when she learned that Dongfang Yan had arrived.

Because of the matter regarding Princess Qing'an, Dongfang Yan was in low spirits, and after explaining the cause and effect to the Emperor, he returned to the Wangfu.

Thinking that Lin Qingyue had also helped Princess Qing'an the previous night, Dongfang Yan thought it was only right to thank her.

At the same time, he also wanted to ask how Lin Qingyue knew those mystic arts.

But he learned that the Princess had returned to the Hou Mansion.

Only then did Dongfang Yan remember the matter of the three-day return visit.

In Qi Guo, the three-day return visit is a very important matter.

Not only must the husband go together, but he must also prepare generous gifts to formally cement the union between the two families.

Dongfang Yan's absence would both embarrass the woman's side and leave room for criticism, making the man's side appear ignorant of etiquette.

Thinking of this, Dongfang Yan ordered his subordinates to select gifts from the treasury and personally carried them to the Hou Mansion.

And when the Lin family heard that Dongfang Yan had arrived, they immediately supported the old and led the young, and the whole family warmly welcomed the noble Prince to the main seat in the living room.

After Dongfang Yan exchanged pleasantries with Lin Xiao, he looked around but did not see Lin Ruzhen's shadow, so he couldn't help but ask: "Why is the Second Miss not out?"

Zhou Shi explained: "Zhen'er is feeling a bit unwell and is resting in the inner quarters."

"Did she catch a cold after falling into the water that night?" Dongfang Yan showed a look of concern, almost forgetting why he had come.

After saying this, he realized he had been a bit presumptuous.

Lin Rufeng couldn't help but badmouth Lin Qingyue to Dongfang Yan: "My sister was originally fine; during lunch, she was even trying hard to repair her relationship with the Princess. But the Princess repeatedly spoke harshly, and Zhen'er is weak, so she was angered into illness, wasn't she?"

Upon hearing this, Dongfang Yan glanced coldly at Lin Qingyue: "Is that true?"

Lin Qingyue sipped her tea and said indifferently: "Since you are so concerned, why not go see for yourself?"

Dongfang Yan stood up immediately; he still had some sense of shame and knew that meeting his sister-in-law privately was against reason.

So he said to Lin Qingyue: "Since you are free, why not take this Prince to tour the garden."

Touring the garden was a pretense; wanting to take the opportunity to visit was the truth.

Heh, wanting to be a whore while setting up a memorial arch. Hypocritical!

Zhou Shi quietly gave a wink, and the nanny beside her retreated without a sound.

Lin Qingyue saw it all and smiled in agreement: "Good."

On the way, Dongfang Yan walked hurriedly with a worried look on his face.

Lin Qingyue couldn't help but think: On their wedding night, he must have been just as eager to visit Lin Ruzhen, right? Yet he abandoned his newlywed wife.

If not for his absence, how would the fake Princess have had the opportunity to commit the crime?

Just as they reached the back garden, the sound of a zither entered their ears, melodious and winding.

Dongfang Yan took a few quick steps, turned around a rockery, and saw a beauty sitting alone playing the zither by the lakeside pavilion.

Lin Ruzhen's skirt swayed, her pearl hairpin hung askew, and her slender hands plucked and twisted the strings.

The zither sound was like a complaint and a sob, as if telling of a young girl's feelings.

She played with such concentration that she seemed unaware of the approaching footsteps.

Until Dongfang Yan called out carefully: "Zhen'er..."

"Dong—" The zither string snapped at just the right moment.

She came to her senses faintly, raised her eyes, and upon seeing Dongfang Yan, she murmured, "Your Highness... am I missing you too much? I'm actually hallucinating."

As she spoke, her mouth hurt again. She tried hard to endure it so as not to ruin the atmosphere.

Dongfang Yan hurried forward: "How could it be a hallucination? It is this Prince who has come to see you. Zhen'er, I heard you are unwell; where are you unwell? This Prince will have the imperial physician come to check on you."

"Your Highness, is it really you?" Surprise appeared in her eyes, "I thought that since Your Highness is newly married, you would have long forgotten about Zhen'er."

"I wouldn't. You saved this Prince's life, and this Prince promised you that I would never fail you in this life."

"Your Highness, Zhen'er saving you that day was not because I wanted to hold a favor for a reward—ah!"

A sharp pain accompanied the lie, and it was more intense than before.