Chapter 109: Bethlehem (4)

The woman might have recognized Cesar, or she might not have. She didn't give him a second look. The Bishop shook his head, thinking this woman was too unruly. But then again, if she were the kind of submissive woman, she wouldn't be standing here launching a challenge for "divorce by duel."

When facing the knight and the Bishop, the man was exceptionally submissive. He took off his hat, placed it on his chest, and didn't even dare to raise his head, so Cesar had to wait until he was put into the pit by the guards to see his face—he had a beard, which looked like a messy patch, and his hair was greasy and matted, but most commoners at this time were like this.

From his appearance, he didn't look like the kind of fierce person, and was even a bit dull, but all this changed when he saw his wife. He immediately turned purple, cursing through gritted teeth. He cursed her as a witch, a devil's prostitute, a base thief. He cursed her for being ungrateful. When she fell on the side of the road and was about to starve to death, it was he who saved her, gave her food, and gave her a bed.

He even married her!

The woman retorted, cursing the man as a shameful liar, a cowardly bastard. He was deceived and mocked outside, and only knew how to beat his wife at home. If that were all, he was also a loser in bed, an unbaked dough, a shriveled seed! "Stop talking about taking me in," she shouted loudly, "If it weren't for the fact that people here know you're a waste who can't make a woman pregnant, how would you have picked up a wife from outside the city!?"

People laughed when they heard this, and the husband's eyes were so full of poison that they were about to shoot arrows. And his wife didn't seem ready to let him go: "You put a grass ring on my finger, and I became your wife. Now it's good, cattle and horses have them, slaves have them, and you can swing your fists to amuse yourself when you have nothing to do. And me? I have to work in your workshop every day, no money, no clothes, and no bread. Every day, except beans, it's beans..."

She spat, "I'm not like those idiots before. If I don't act again, I'll die by the millstone like them."

Cesar and the Bishop were both blessed people. They could clearly hear the whispers from the crowd. What the woman said wasn't a lie. Marriages of commoners at this time were very simple, needing only two or three witnesses, and then shouting "We are married" in public, which was enough—it wasn't as complicated as people in later generations thought—and this man, besides his own defects, had indeed had several wives die before, and none of them had children.

But if this woman was originally a pilgrim or beggar wandering in Al-Asar, the people of Bethlehem wouldn't come forward to testify for her. Even prostitutes would only stand on her husband's side. She chose "divorce by duel" which seemed to be a desperate move, but it was also a good idea to burn her bridges.

A cleric rang a bell, and the duel began.

The crowd buzzed. Some were urging them to place bets. Gambling was one of the extremely rare entertainments for commoners. Some bet that the husband would win, and some had the opposite view.

However, the wife's winning odds were indeed much lower than the husband's. Besides the husband being a baker in Bethlehem, it was also because the wife was too thin. If the husband was a cocky rooster, she looked like a malnourished chick.

As soon as the husband heard the bell, he immediately became energetic. He straightened his back. The edge of the pit was below his ribs, which didn't hinder him from turning and swinging the wooden stick. He shouted with bared teeth, "Come on, come on," he yelled: "Watch how I drag you into hell!"

The wife, however, was unhurried. She walked around the husband, like a weasel on tiptoe. The husband stared vigilantly at the cloth bag she was holding, turning his body with the smallest amplitude, so as not to waste his strength too early. After about thirty breaths, people became noisy, thinking this kind of repeated drama was truly ugly, and the cleric was also reminding the wife not to waste the nobles' time.

Under the husband's malicious gaze, the wife stopped, and then she suddenly jumped like a spring, jumping to a farther place at once, which was also the husband's blind spot. Before the man could turn his head, she swung the cloth bag, and the stone inside the cloth bag leaped high, hitting the husband's temple with lightning speed.

This blow was truly heavy and fast. The husband's head tilted to one side. His reaction was also very fast, immediately swinging the stick to try to entangle the cloth bag, but the wife had already pulled it away. He missed, and blood sprayed from the wound. His hair and beard were immediately covered with a large dark stain, and one of his eyes was also blurred by blood. He tried hard to blink, but how could the wife let go of such a good opportunity?

She swung the cloth bag, once, twice, three times... some hit, some didn't. She ran nimbly around the husband, and the more times the husband was hit, the angrier and more chaotic he became. He wanted to wipe the blood off his face, but failed several times. The blood was thick and not easy to clean, especially the blood flowing into his eyes.

"Eh?" the Bishop made a regretful sound, "It seems the husband has lost this time."

And as if to verify his words, the husband fell headlong into the edge of the pit, and even the wooden stick fell from his hand. The wife carefully bent down to check. People let out irritable shouts. Those who bet on the husband of course hoped he would stand up and continue fighting, while those who bet on the wife were laughing loudly.

The wife walked up. According to the rules, she had to drag the husband out of the pit to win. She wrapped the cloth bag around her arm and kicked the wooden stick away with her toe—the husband was still motionless. Only then did she bend down, wanting to grab the husband's arm exposed outside. That arm suddenly grabbed her and dragged her toward him!

Accompanied by the woman's scream, the crowd erupted into a greater roar. Cheers and curses were endless. Countless arms rose, waving wildly. The previous joy and frustration were suddenly reversed. But what made them even more surprised was that the woman encountered such a surprise attack, but instead of being panicked, she braced herself as if she had been prepared and lay across the pit.

And while the man was still desperately pulling her, she had already raised the cloth bag wrapped around her arm and smashed the stone inside toward the man. From her words, Cesar knew she had once ground flour like cattle and horses, and now this strength was truthfully repaid to her husband and master—people watched the husband's face immediately sink in.

The woman's feet kicked the edge of the pit forcefully, one hand holding the man's arm tightly, and the other hand raising the cloth bag, smashing it down one after another. In fact, by the third time, people didn't need to wait for the outcome. No one could survive with half a head missing.

Amidst a rising mist of blood, the Bishop leaned back slightly. The winner of this life-and-death battle had emerged. People let out disappointed sighs. The woman dragged her husband out of the pit. On the side, the executioner still carried out the last procedure of the duel without discount, which was to cut off the husband's head.

"What will happen to her from now on?" Cesar couldn't help but ask.

"From now on, she will be blessed," the Bishop said: "Perhaps she will freeze to death, or perhaps she will starve to death, but she is free, isn't she?"

For a moment, Cesar didn't know if the Bishop was joking or predicting the woman's future. He just glanced at Longinus under the platform, and Longinus immediately understood and walked away.

This was the last case the court needed to handle. People slowly dispersed. Cesar returned to his mansion in Bethlehem. This mansion was next to the Church of the Nativity and originally belonged to the merchant Jacques, who dedicated it to Cesar—this kind of thing didn't count as bribery, because according to canon law and customary law, Cesar had the right to live in all the buildings in this city.

Of course, as a merchant, Jacques could be said to have done his best. The food, decoration, and layout in the mansion, as well as the servants, were all available, and even some horse gear and weapons that wouldn't touch the reverse scale of the King's confidant. In addition, I don't know how he did it, but in such a short time, he even embroidered and painted Cesar's coat of arms on cushions, tapestries, and wall panels.

So, when he brought a Saracen merchant to visit Cesar the next day, Cesar found it very difficult to refuse his visit.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 110 =====