A year later, Wang Changqing participated in the imperial examinations. To everyone's surprise, he passed, though his rank was very low. This was enough to make Wang Yumeng overjoyed.
Today was the day he returned from out of town. As soon as he arrived, he impatiently dragged her to buy clothes. This was the scene Wu Caiwei witnessed when she first arrived.
In that lifetime, the original host truly believed her son wanted to show filial piety and went out with him without any defense. Just like today, he claimed he hadn't brought any money and asked her to wait at the entrance.
Wang Yumeng waited at the entrance with a heart full of joy. An accident involving a startled horse occurred, just like today. The only difference was that when everyone heard the commotion and rushed out to see what happened, they found the groom lying on the ground and Wang Yumeng, already unconscious, not far away.
She was soon carried home. After the doctor examined her, he shook his head repeatedly, telling them to prepare for her funeral. She passed away that very night, and Wang Changqing and his wife put on a good show of being filial children.
As a result, for many years afterward, whenever Wang Yumeng was mentioned, people would say she had no luck in enjoying life. Her husband finally passed the imperial examinations, and she voluntarily divorced him. Her son finally passed the scholar's examination, yet she died in an accident.
But who knew she had endured humiliation for so many years, swallowing all her grievances and unwillingness? In the end, she was killed by the combined scheme of her father and son.
Wu Caiwei stepped forward to examine him and knew that he was luckier than the original host. He was not as seriously injured in this attack as the original host, or perhaps the carriage driver realized he had hit the wrong person and held back. In any case, he wouldn't die, though he would walk with a limp from now on.
The show was far from over; how could she let him die so easily? Wu Caiwei diligently brewed medicine for him and then force-fed it to him.
In the afternoon, Liu Wenwen returned. As she approached her own courtyard, she found it strangely quiet, unlike what she had expected. She was somewhat puzzled. By this time, shouldn't there be white banners hanging for her mother-in-law's funeral? Why was it so silent?
Despite her confusion, she composed herself and returned home as if nothing were out of the ordinary. She opened the courtyard gate and found it looked no different from usual. She thought perhaps today's plan had gone awry and hadn't been carried out.
When she pushed open her own room door, she found her mother-in-law sitting by the bed and her husband lying on it. She was slightly startled, then walked forward anxiously, "What happened?"
Wu Caiwei said with a heavy heart, "Changqing was outside the door today and was hit by a startled carriage."
As soon as she finished speaking, Liu Wenwen exclaimed in surprise, "How is that possible? How could it be him?"
Wu Caiwei, seemingly oblivious to the loophole in her words, quickly comforted her, "The doctor said there's no serious problem, just that his leg might be permanently injured. This is fortunate amidst the misfortune."
The moment the words left her mouth, Liu Wenwen realized something was amiss. Seeing that her mother-in-law didn't suspect her, she breathed a sigh of relief. She hurried forward to check on her husband, not daring to say anything more.
The days passed as usual, except for the constant smell of medicine in the house. Liu Wenwen was busy taking care of Wang Changqing, and Wu Caiwei continued her business as always.
Wang Songlin visited almost every day to check on his sister and worried she might be overcome with grief. Each time, Wu Caiwei would smile and tell him she was fine. At first, he thought his sister was forcing a smile, but as he visited more often, he realized she genuinely didn't seem to care. This puzzled him. Wang Changqing used to be the apple of her eye, and she wouldn't let him suffer even the slightest grievance. How could she be so unfazed after he had suffered so much?
Wu Caiwei saw his confused expression and knew what he was thinking. She couldn't be bothered to explain, believing he wouldn't believe her even if she did. Time would tell.
Meanwhile, the Li family was not at peace. Constantly monitoring the Wang family, they knew that Wang Changqing had met with an accident. Since it was inconvenient for them to appear, they could only fret.
Thanks to Wu Lian'er's intervention, the county magistrate ruled the incident an accident and quickly closed the case.
Liu Wenwen waited and waited for her family from the Li household to visit. Anxious, she took the initiative to go to Wu Caiwei's shop. "Mother, something has come up at my maternal family's place, and I need to go home for a bit. Can you look after Changqing for me?"
"Your maternal family isn't far. What's there to look after for a grown man like Changqing? Go and come back quickly," Wu Caiwei said indifferently while handing goods to another customer.
"He has difficulty moving around now, and I'd feel more at ease with someone by his side. Please go and see him," Liu Wenwen insisted.
"Don't you have money? Spend some money to hire the auntie next door to watch him for a while. Can't you see I'm busy?" Wu Caiwei thought it was quite surprising that Wang Changqing held such a high position in her heart that she needed someone to watch him even for a short while.
Liu Wenwen stood there, stomping her foot. She wanted to say something but held back and swallowed it, finally agreeing grudgingly.
What she didn't know was that the moment she left, Wu Caiwei immediately closed her shop and quietly followed her. She trailed her all the way to the Li family residence and watched silently as Liu Wenwen entered the gate.
There was a sense of "as expected." She had long guessed the outcome. The reason she followed was to verify it.
Just as she was about to turn back, she saw a crowd gathered on the street. Initially, she paid no attention, but the crowd blocked her path. She struggled to squeeze through and slowly made her way forward.
Suddenly, she heard a woman shout loudly, "Huang Shijie, you bastard! When you married me, I was waiting to be the wife of a scholar. After more than ten years, I still haven't seen you become one. Before, you never fought back when I hit you or cursed at you, and now you want to go against me? Do you believe I'll divorce you and leave you to starve?"
"There isn't another woman like you in the entire county. If you want to divorce me, I want to divorce you too. Let's just go our separate ways." Huang Shijie looked at her calmly.
The woman was stunned, feeling her authority challenged. "Fine! Since you want to divorce me, I'll make sure you leave with nothing. The son was raised by me, and he must stay with me. Raising a child costs money, right? This shop is mine."
"Alright, I've had enough of you. As long as we have no further dealings, anything is fine." To everyone's surprise, Huang Shijie agreed readily, as if she were a plague and he was eager to distance himself from her.
"You said it yourself, and so many people heard it. You can't go back on your word." A fleeting look of joy crossed the woman's face, and she quickly seized the opportunity.
"There's no time like the present. Since we can't stand each other, let's go to the yamen and divorce right now." With that, Huang Shijie walked ahead.
As he approached the crowd, an old woman grabbed his hand. "Shijie, you must think carefully. Don't act impulsively. This shop was left to you by your parents, and the son is also from your family. Why should she take everything?"
Before Huang Shijie could speak, the woman aggressively walked up to the old woman, hands on her hips. "Auntie, this is the last time I'll call you that. I don't mean to pry, but why are you so meddlesome? He has already agreed himself."