Chapter 600 Exposure
Qi Changlin and his entourage's carriage rushed back to the village. As soon as they reached the village entrance, the villagers gathered on both sides of the road flocked over, half to watch the spectacle and half out of genuine concern.
After all, Qi Changlin already possessed the scholar's title, and if he were to pass the provincial examination in the future, he could become an official. The villagers were all related to him, and even setting aside distant connections, when the yamen came to collect taxes each year, having a provincial scholar in the village would surely mean the bailiffs would not deliberately make things difficult.
Especially for families whose children were nearing marriageable age, if they could have a provincial scholar escort or attend a wedding, it would be the most glorious event in the surrounding eight villages, and the future in-laws would hold them in higher regard.
"Make way..." the carriage driver shouted loudly. Seeing the villagers move aside, he flicked the whip on the horses' backs again, quickening their pace towards the Qi family residence.
A while later.
Jiao Lianyu helped Qi Changlin, who stumbled as he alighted from the carriage. Knowing his anxiety, she still advised, "Changlin, calm down. It might be a misunderstanding."
Qi Changlin could no longer afford to care about anything else. With a somber face, he strode towards the courtyard gate. If it was a misunderstanding, then so be it, but what if it was true?
The remaining three friends who had alighted from the carriage looked worried and did not rush into the courtyard. Instead, they walked towards Jiao Lianyu, cast a glance at the villagers gathered inside and outside the courtyard, and whispered, "Huaixin was a bit drunk at noon. What if he acted recklessly due to the alcohol?"
If they were to say that Qiu Huaixin had taken a liking to Madam Qi and then harassed her while drunk, they wouldn't believe a single word. This was the young master of the Qiu family; what kind of beauties hadn't he seen? It was estimated that the maids serving in the Qiu mansion were even more beautiful than Madam Qi.
Not to mention a century-old aristocratic family like the Qiu mansion, a scholarly lineage, even for their own humble households, the maids serving in the study had to be both beautiful and talented. When the mood struck, it would be a beautiful scene of a red sleeve adding fragrance to the night reading, a truly elegant tale.
They had all met Qi Changlin's wife today. Her looks were at most considered refined, but due to years of labor, her complexion appeared sallow. Coupled with her frail health, she seemed sickly. They themselves wouldn't fancy such looks, let alone the inherently arrogant third young master of the Qiu family.
A companion who heard this nodded in agreement, his face etched with worry, "I heard my wife say that Madam Qiu has already planned to find a match for Huaixin. It's a daughter of the Gu family."
This news had already spread throughout Qianzhong Prefecture. Everyone who knew envied Qiu Huaixin's good fortune. She was a young lady from the Southern Ling Gu family. Setting aside the saying that a Gu family daughter was suitable for marriage and possessed both beauty and talent, the fifth young lady Gu was the grand-niece of Scholar Gu. If this marriage were to succeed, even if Qiu Huaixin became an official, he could soar to great heights in the future. Which scholar wouldn't envy and be jealous of this?
But at this critical juncture, Qiu Huaixin had this incident, and he was harassing a friend's wife. Regardless of the reason, this marriage was definitely out of the question.
If Master Qiu were to blame them later, they would be the ones to bear the brunt of his anger. If they hadn't invited him, Qiu Huaixin wouldn't have come to this rural area, and this incident wouldn't have happened.
"Let's go in and see the situation first," Jiao Lianyu also looked worried. She nodded at her three friends, and the four of them walked towards the courtyard gate together.
Upon entering, they could hear crying. Without looking, they knew that this sorrowful cry must belong to Madam Qi.
As for the room where Qiu Huaixin had been resting, the door was still tightly shut. Qi family's elder grandfather and the village chief had somber expressions and remained silent. If anyone else had insulted their Qi family's daughter-in-law today, the village elders would have beaten the adulterer to death.
However, upon thinking that the adulterer in the room was the youngest son of Master Qiu, Qi family's elder grandfather's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. He didn't even dare to open the door. If he didn't open it, he could deceive himself into believing that nothing had happened, or he could fabricate an excuse to gloss over the matter.
If they were to drag the adulterer out, in full view of everyone, it would be impossible to conceal it. At that point, they would be in a dilemma.
"Madam, open the door," Qi Changlin called out hoarsely. After entering the courtyard, he only glanced in the direction of the guest room before heading straight for Madam Qi.
The crying inside the room stopped abruptly, followed by a deathly silence.
A few women had tried to persuade her at the door earlier. Now that Qi Changlin had arrived, they all retreated to the side, feeling a little envious of Madam Qi's good fortune. If a man in the village discovered his wife was having an affair with another man, he would surely smash the door with an axe, then give her a severe beating to vent his anger, and finally, issue a divorce letter.
After Jiao Lianyu entered the courtyard, she scanned the crowd. Qi family's elder grandfather and the Qi clan members stood under the corridor in front of the main hall. A few women stood outside the door, while other villagers who had squeezed in to watch the commotion gathered by the wall.
"Why isn't Shisong here?" Jiao Lianyu's question surprised them all. Shisong was Huaixin's attendant. He always stayed by their side during their gatherings. But today, with such a major incident, Shisong was nowhere to be seen.
The four exchanged glances, their faces growing grave. There were only two possibilities for Shisong's disappearance. First, Qiu Huaixin genuinely intended to harass Madam Qi, so he sent Shisong away.
The second possibility was that Shisong was held up by something, causing the drunk Qiu Huaixin to be framed. Jiao Lianyu and the other three were all scholars with titles. They knew without thinking that the latter possibility was more likely.
Just then, a thud came from the room, sounding like a stool falling over.
"Oh no! Madam Qi must have tried to take her own life!" a startled cry rang out. Qi Changlin, who was calling at the door, changed color and then forcefully kicked the tightly shut door.
It wasn't that scholars were useless, but even with Qi Changlin's physique, while he could hold a brush, kicking open a door was difficult.
"Changlin, move aside!" Jiao Lianyu pulled Qi Changlin, who was about to kick the door again. At this moment, his attendant kicked the door with great force.
With a bang, the door was kicked open. The crowd in the courtyard craned their necks to look, and they couldn't help but gasp. Madam Qi had hanged herself!
"Madam!" Qi Changlin cried out in urgency and fear, then scrambled into the room with his hands and feet. Others followed him in.
After a period of chaos, Madam Qi, who had hanged herself, was rescued. A horrifying red mark was on her neck. Fortunately, although she was unconscious, she was still breathing.
"Don't worry, she just held her breath for a moment, there's no major harm. She should speak less these few days and pay attention to her diet." Fortunately, the village's barefoot doctor was also present and immediately examined Madam Qi.
The doctor glanced at Madam Qi lying on the bed. What he didn't say was that even though they had managed to save her this time, they couldn't prevent the next. Madam Qi had lost her reputation, and it was likely she would seek death sooner or later.
Qi Changlin's expression visibly relaxed, but then, as if remembering something, his face turned grim again. He suddenly grabbed the scissors from the small bamboo basket by the head of the bed and darted out of the door.
The women in the room were focused on the unconscious Madam Qi, and none of them noticed Qi Changlin taking the scissors. As for Jiao Lianyu and the others, although worried, they were outsiders and were standing in the courtyard at the moment, so they didn't see the pair of sharp scissors clenched in Qi Changlin's right hand, hidden by his sleeve.
"Changlin!" Qi family's elder grandfather called out. Seeing that Qi Changlin ignored him, he didn't get angry but watched with concern as Qi Changlin headed straight for the guest room.
With a creak, the guest room door was pushed open. Qi Changlin rushed to the bedside. The villagers didn't stop him; in fact, they even deliberately blocked Jiao Lianyu and the other four who were following.
No matter what, it was understandable for Qi Changlin to beat up the adulterer to vent his anger. If this happened to them, they would have flayed the adulterer alive. However, since the adulterer was of noble status, Changlin probably wouldn't get justice, but beating him up to vent his anger was still permissible.
"Murder!"
Suddenly, a sharp cry rang out abruptly. It was an aunt who was watching the spectacle, leaning against the window to look into the room. She saw Qi Changlin "raise his hand and lower his knife," and with a stab of the scissors, a string of blood splattered out.
Jiao Lianyu and the other three's faces changed drastically. Qi family's elder grandfather and the village chief were also terrified. If Changlin beat the man up to vent his anger, even if it reached the imperial court, he would still be in the right. But to kill someone?
When the villagers pulled Qi Changlin out, they saw that his robe was stained with blood, and his face also had splashed bloodstains. The smell of blood then spread from the room.
A bold villager peeked inside. The adulterer lying on the bed, with his back to the door, showed no signs of movement. The bed was covered in bright red bloodstains. It was estimated that before the alcohol had even worn off, Changlin had stabbed him to death with scissors.
"I'll go in and take a look!" Jiao Lianyu wiped his face fiercely and then strode inside. With his back to the door, Jiao Lianyu's originally worried face revealed a look of triumphant laughter. He never expected the dignified third young master of the Qiu family to die so miserably.
(End of Chapter)