Thirty-Six Stratagems for Divorcing a Wife (GL) - Chapter 23
Lu Jianzhou returned home and immediately began looking for his mother.
Madam Lu, upon hearing the news, could no longer stay at her own family’s home, so she returned with Jin Qingqin.
She had been spending the past few days at the Prime Minister’s residence, trying to console Jin Qingqin, who had been melancholic and withdrawn over Lu Jianzhou’s supposed death.
Jin Qingqin had grown up under Madam Lu’s watchful eye and was considered the best choice for a daughter-in-law. Beyond family ties, Madam Lu treated her like her own daughter.
Lu Jianzhou almost ran into Madam Lu’s arms. “Mother, what should we do now?”
Madam Lu, flustered but needing to comfort him, said, “Fear not. When the enemy comes, we face it; when trouble comes, we deal with it. Come with me to your room first.”
She led Lu Jianzhou away. Jin Qingqin stayed alone in the room, feeling bored. She hadn’t visited the General’s residence in a while and, since she wasn’t in a hurry, decided to take a stroll for some fresh air.
Passing through a few flower beds, she recalled the times of her childhood with the Lu siblings. At the time, it had seemed ordinary, but now, in just three short years, so much had changed.
First, Lu Jianyi, who had been betrothed to her, had married the woman he had longed for—Nian Yanshi. Then there was Lu Jianzhou, who had perished on the battlefield.
Thinking of Lu Jianzhou, Jin Qingqin regretted never having confessed her feelings to him—her greatest sorrow.
Lost in thought, her mind filled with his image, she found a grapevine and carefully moved aside the intertwined branches.
She remembered how Lu Jianzhou had loved sitting here alone to think.
Once, when the three of them played hide-and-seek, she had accidentally fallen nearby, crying.
Lu Jianyi laughed at her, but Lu Jianzhou helped her up and teased, “The plants must be used to watching us play and want to join in too!”
Jin Qingqin admired him greatly, thinking him remarkable for being able to understand even the feelings of plants, which deepened her respect.
“That’s just weeds trying to compete with us? Ridiculous!” Lu Jianyi snapped, angrily breaking the vine that had tripped Jin Qingqin.
The plants personified by Lu Jianzhou were thus mercilessly harmed, and Jin Qingqin cried again.
Lu Jianzhou reproached Lu Jianyi: “Are you crazy? Why do you always have to oppose Qingqin?”
Lu Jianyi said nothing, threw the broken branches to the ground, and walked off in a huff.
Later, Lu Jianzhou coaxed Jin Qingqin into replanting the broken vines, and only then did she stop crying.
Years later, Jin Qingqin still remembered that event, recalling Lu Jianzhou’s serious expression and gentle movements as he tended the new leaves, murmuring, “Does it still hurt?”
“Plants are inanimate. How could they feel pain?” came a pleasant voice from nearby.
Jin Qingqin was surprised to see Nian Yanshi appear. “After the first autumn rain, the air is crisp. What brings the Princess here for an evening stroll at Qiuxingju?”
Qiuxingju had been Lu Jianzhou’s bedroom. Since his “death,” the room had been kept as it was by the General’s order, with attendants maintaining it. Nian Yanshi had married Lu Jianyi, so normally she wouldn’t have any reason to come here.
In truth, Nian Yanshi had long wanted to visit but had never had the time. Today, feeling frustrated over her quarrel with Lu Jianzhou, she happened to pass by and, upon seeing Jin Qingqin, realized this was Qiuxingju. Seeing Jin Qingqin’s wistful expression, it was clear she was reminiscing about someone: “Why has Qingqin come alone here at dusk, talking to plants as if they were alive?”
“I just thought of an old friend and wanted to walk the path she once took,” Jin Qingqin said with emotion. “But seeing all these places associated with her only brings unnecessary sadness.”
Nian Yanshi frowned slightly. “Could this ‘old friend’ be the one you mentioned last time as your beloved?”
She didn’t want to know the answer, or perhaps even without Jin Qingqin nodding, she already knew who it was: “This was all Lu Jianzhou’s. I only guessed before because both of you were girls, so I didn’t dare be sure. But now…”
“Yes. The person Qingqin likes… is my cousin,” Jin Qingqin finally admitted, though not to the person she wished to speak to. Her mood did not lighten.
Nian Yanshi felt a tightness in her chest as well. She knew Lu Jianzhou was not dead, yet she could only watch Jin Qingqin mourn. Love, after all, is inherently selfish: “Lu Jianzhou’s death is a fait accompli. This matter has lasted some time. Qingqin, you are a good girl with your whole life ahead—why play the widow? Besides, one may have a lover without the lover reciprocating…”
She rushed to advise Jin Qingqin, unaware that her words were selfishly motivated.
Even Nian Yanshi herself, upon hearing of Lu Jianzhou’s death, had chosen to marry into the Lu family to seek the truth, and had no intention of letting go easily.
Before Nian Yanshi could finish speaking, Lu Jianzhou and Madam Lu were finishing their conversation.
Madam Lu, thinking of Jin Qingqin, instructed Lu Jianzhou to personally fetch her for dinner: “That silly girl is still thinking of you. Spend some time with her; don’t just hang around Nian Yanshi. I told you to divorce her, not to please her.”
Lu Jianzhou couldn’t admit the complexity of Jin Qingqin’s feelings but obediently went to look for her.
After searching for a while, he heard from the servants that she and Nian Yanshi had gone to Qiuxingju, which seemed strange.
Upon arriving, he saw Nian Yanshi and Jin Qingqin standing in the grapevine garden he had loved as a child, talking.
Amused, he approached naturally and spoke: “This [Green Plum] has grown so large!”
Jin Qingqin, hearing the familiar voice, thought for a moment that Lu Jianzhou had returned, but turning around, she saw Lu Jianyi, whose face was like a refined young gentleman, and felt slightly disappointed. “How do you know this grapevine is called [Green Plum]?”
Lu Jianzhou froze.
In childhood, he had comforted his crying cousin and named this grapevine [Green Plum], agreeing it would be their secret. Now he had accidentally revealed it and didn’t know how to cover it up: “Of course, Jianzhou told me…”
“Did he really tell you?” Though it was a promise between children, Jin Qingqin was unhappy that Lu Jianzhou had shared it with someone else, even if it was her own cousin.
Seeing her displeasure, Lu Jianzhou quickly added: “Actually, he didn’t say it directly to me. He just likes to talk to this [Green Plum] when he has nothing else to do, and I happened to hear him.”
“Really?” Jin Qingqin’s previously dimmed mood lit up again. She gently touched the withered vine and whispered, “That guy… isn’t so annoying. Lu Jianzhou, I forgive you. Did you hear that?”
—It was the childhood Lu Jianzhou, speaking the sweetest “words of love” to Jin Qingqin.
Seeing her like this, Lu Jianzhou also felt some pity. He wanted to say more but noticed another gaze, filled with hostility and burning intensity.
“Nian Yanshi…” Lu Jianzhou called anxiously, feeling a dry mouth. “About that matter with Lizi… it really wasn’t my intention…”
Nian Yanshi, furious, replied coldly: “The Emperor meant well. In fact, across the world, only the General himself cannot see his true ‘intention,’ right?”
“I didn’t…” Lu Jianzhou, sensing the sarcasm, became agitated. “Rest assured, I have nothing with Lizi. I won’t marry her.”
“Whether the General marries someone or not has nothing to do with this humble concubine. Nian Yanshi is but a discarded wife; the General still can’t act on her behalf.” Nian Yanshi seemed to confront her.
“Hey, do you have to speak so harshly?” Lu Jianzhou was exasperated. He had lowered himself to explain and apologize, yet Nian Yanshi remained impossible. The more kindly he treated her, the more audacious she became. Her attitude was defiant beyond reason.
“If you find my words harsh, General, then go listen to the new favorite’s words. Lizi is from the pleasure house, and her words naturally flatter more, winning the General’s favor. Nian Yanshi feels inferior.” She mocked him mercilessly, furious that he had agreed so readily. The Emperor and defying an edict were trivial compared to this. If Lu Jianzhou truly cared for her, he wouldn’t have agreed so fast.
Lu Jianzhou, protective of his pride, finally lost patience: “Fine! You know what? I don’t like you at all! Nian Yanshi, you have such grand airs! You’re happy with your husband taking a concubine, right? Fine! I’ll let you have it. Tomorrow I’ll marry Lizi home in full glory—eight sedan chairs carrying her! Not only Lizi, but anyone I like in the future, I’ll bring home. You won’t care, right? Then I’ll truly be the happiest person in the world!”
“Do as you please.” Nian Yanshi didn’t even want to say another word to his childish antics. “Take her or not, marry or not, like or dislike. I’m going back to my room.”
“Nian Yanshi! You said that yourself! Don’t regret it! I really will marry her! Even if you cry and beg me not to tomorrow, I won’t glance at you! Come back! I’ll count to three, this is your last chance to oppose! Three! Two!…”
“Cousin, sister-in-law can’t hear you anymore…” Jin Qingqin couldn’t stand it and tugged at Lu Jianzhou’s sleeve. “You really are the number one idiot in the world. You don’t even know how to win a girl’s heart.”
Lu Jianzhou shouted angrily: “Why are you scolding me too? What did I do wrong? What kind of potion did Nian Yanshi put everyone under that they all speak for her? And why should I try to win her favor! She’s not even my person!”
“She is your lawful wife…” Jin Qingqin couldn’t help laughing and crying. “What are you even saying?”
Mentioning that sensitive title, Jin Qingqin’s smile disappeared without a trace.
Lu Jianzhou realized the true nature of his relationship with Nian Yanshi and felt a sudden daze:
She is my lawful wife…
Could it be that all my recent actions have indeed gone too far?