Thirty-Six Stratagems for Divorcing a Wife (GL) - Chapter 34

Fifteen days later, Lu Wang arrived in Chuzhou just in time.

Lu Jianzhou was already dressed in women’s clothing, looking as delicate as a lotus in water. Compared to her previous carefree and handsome appearance, she now carried a sense of maturity and brightness.

“My Jianzhou has finally grown into a proper young lady!” Lu Wang said, tears welling in his eyes as he looked at his “long-unseen” daughter. “These past days, you’ve suffered on behalf of the Lu family…”

Lu Jianyi looked at Lu Wang, who she hadn’t seen in a long time, and found it impossible to hold a grudge. “Father… Jianyi has grown into a proper young man too. Jianyi missed you so much!”

Lu Wang, however, looked irritable. “It’s only been half a month! A seven-foot-tall man, and you’re crying?”

Lu Jianyi: “……”

The family spent several happy days together in Chuzhou before they had to part again.

Unable to bear the separation, Lu Wang offered to personally escort Lu Jianzhou to Zhigeng Valley.

Zhigeng Valley was the ancestral home of Lu Wang’s wife, a notorious bandit stronghold in Chuzhou.

Although Lu Wang was a top-ranking general in the court, he was not particularly respected here; if not for his status as a son-in-law, the local heroes would disdain to associate with a government official.

However, once Lu Jianzhou arrived, the men in the valley became visibly restless.

Most of the people in Zhigeng Valley were young and strong men, so unlike Lu Jianyi’s earlier encounters where he was brushed off, the presence of a graceful young lady naturally drew their attention. They swarmed around her, asking about her wellbeing and making connections.

Lu Jianzhou found such enthusiastic attention overwhelming, but after a few days, she became familiar with her surroundings. The valley’s birdsong and flowers made it a truly pleasant place to live.

Three days later, Lu Madam descended the mountain.

Watching them fade into the distance, Lu Jianzhou’s spirits sank. The third matron, noticing her low mood, brought her to an open space in the backyard and taught her to build a bamboo shelter herself.

“Third Matron, I’ve always heard from Mother that Zhigeng Valley hides many talents. What extraordinary skills do you all possess?” Lu Jianzhou asked once they were familiar.

“There are many! For example, your Third Master is one of the best in lightness skill in the martial world. The Chief’s Vajra Mace is indestructible, the youngest sister of the accounting family raises deadly poisonous insects, I can disguise myself, and your brother learned a unique magic trick during his few days here…”

“You’ll have to teach me when you have time!” Lu Jianzhou said, then bent down to chop bamboo. Ever since she had seen Lu Shiqi, she knew that the legendary断想草 (a mystical plant) really existed. She felt a growing need for quiet places to think, and Zhigeng Valley suited that purpose perfectly.

===========================

On the way, Jin Qingqin ran into some trouble and lost track of the carriage.

She finally arrived at Chuzhou prefecture, only to be told that the Lu family had already gone up the mountain.

The mountain was a notorious bandit hideout. Even the prefect usually dared not go up there, let alone the daughter of the Prime Minister. They tried to block her.

As Jin Qingqin argued heatedly with the officials, Nian Anshi, hidden under the eaves, wondered whether Lu Jianzhou had really run into trouble on the mountain and whether she should reveal her identity to help.

Jin Qingqin, a young lady, spoke openly about being the Prime Minister’s daughter. Nian Anshi, recalling Lu Jianzhou’s parting instructions, had to stay close and protect her secretly, which caused her to arrive late and miss seeing Lu Jianzhou immediately.

When the carriage descended from the mountain, Lu Madam had just finished explaining the recent events in the capital. The curtain was lifted, and Jin Qingqin almost fell into Lu Jianyi’s arms, crying, “Sob, cousin, do you know how much suffering I endured to find you?”

For the first time, Lu Jianyi realized how important he was to Jin Qingqin. Seeing her like this, he empathized: “I suffered too. I missed you so much!”

As the two disembarked from the carriage, Nian Anshi nearly jumped off the roof in anger.

However, Jin Qingqin’s loud voice of grief reminded her: “Cousin, why did you go up the mountain? It’s already so dark!”

Lu Jianyi, recalling the story fabricated with Lu Madam, replied, “Chuzhou is famous for hunting, so we stayed outdoors during this period. We went up the mountain to find some wild game.”

“What did you find? Coming early isn’t as lucky as coming at the right time!” Jin Qingqin laughed, linking her arm with Lu Jianyi. She still thought he was Lu Jianzhou, so there was no sense of gender distinction.

Nian Anshi observed the two entering and realized that this Lu Jianyi, not only had rougher skin but, on closer inspection, also looked more rugged compared to Lu Jianzhou.

Was she imagining things?

=============================

“Three days and two nights without rest, Jianzhou, how much do you like building houses?” the Third Matron asked, bringing tea, seeing Lu Jianzhou still drenched in sweat. “You should rest or Mother will scold me.”

“No problem!” Lu Jianzhou said, chopping another bamboo. Whenever she was quiet, countless troubling thoughts surfaced. Unable to make decisions, this was her way of venting.

The Third Matron was about to speak again when a bandit reported, “Third Matron, a young woman forcibly entered Zhigeng Valley and was caught. She claims to be looking for Miss Jianzhou.”

The Third Matron repeated this to Lu Jianzhou: “She’s reckless. Zhigeng Valley is full of dangers. One misstep, and a few lives could be lost. How dare she come?”

“I’ll go see her,” Lu Jianzhou said, but the Third Matron blocked her: “You’re going to see her dressed like this?”

==========================

“Is Lu Jianzhou here…” Nian Anshi repeated weakly, struggling against the ropes binding her, “Let go of me… take me to her. Do you know who I am? I am the most favored daughter of the current King Yao, and the wife of Deputy General Lu, Nian Anshi!”

“Haha, if you’re the Princess, then I’m the Crown Prince!” a soldier escorting her laughed. “Although you’re as beautiful as rumored, a princess running into our little mountain! It’s laughable!”

“Your humble servant greets the Princess!” Another respectful greeting made Nian Anshi almost think Lu Jianzhou had arrived. But when she saw the person, her expression relaxed again, showing no interest.

“I am the Seventeenth Chief of Zhigeng Valley, Lu Shiqi, also a third-rank court official and envoy of Zhigeng Valley,” Lu Jianzhou recited, slightly awkwardly, crouching to untie Nian Anshi. Seeing the bruises on her hands, she scolded, “You people don’t even treat a girl gently. No wonder you haven’t found wives!”

The two soldiers were startled, retorting, “Seventeenth Chief works for the court and still comes back? And you haven’t even found a wife yourself! How dare you scold us!”

The Seventeenth Chief was famously single, often caught in the middle at Zhigeng Valley.

The Third Matron judged for a while and felt that only Shiqi’s figure closely resembled Lu Jianzhou. Raised as a boy from childhood, trained as an assassin, and still unmarried, disguises were hard to detect.

“I… enough. You may leave now!” Lu Jianzhou dismissed the two impudent men, then told Nian Anshi, “Sit up, it’s cold on the ground. Lu Jianzhou isn’t here.”

Nian Anshi looked up at her coldly: “Then where is she?”

Lu Jianzhou softened internally but didn’t move: “She went down the mountain with Madam.”

“Is that so…” Nian Anshi buried her face in her knees, “I don’t think so.”

“What doesn’t feel right?” Lu Jianzhou crouched down, wanting to lift her, but refrained.

“Everything…,” Nian Anshi said stubbornly, unable to explain.

Lu Jianzhou stuck to the script: “I’ve been sent by the court to escort you down the mountain. The area has been thoroughly searched. Lu Jianzhou is indeed not in Zhigeng Valley. You’re just overthinking.”

Nian Anshi suddenly grabbed her clothes, pleading: “I don’t believe it! She must be here! Where else could she go? The Lu family only came here. She promised she would return! She told me to wait at the General’s Mansion! But I lost track and then she disappeared!”

Lu Jianzhou felt guilty but couldn’t reveal any emotion, silently listening to her pour out her heart.

=============================

Nian Anshi searched Zhigeng Valley for three days but saw no sign of Lu Jianzhou.

Only then did she believe Lu Jianzhou really wasn’t there.

When Lu Jianzhou found her in the bamboo forest, Nian Anshi was staring blankly at the drawings on the stone table.

“I recognize her handwriting,” Nian Anshi murmured, running her hand over it.

“This is indeed something she left behind. This letter urging you home was also left by her,” Lu Jianzhou said, handing over a copied letter. “She… anticipated you would follow, so while still in the capital, she gave this letter to me to have it waiting in Zhigeng Valley, fearing something might happen to you and urging you to return home.”

Nian Anshi took the letter. It still mentioned a family gathering at home, but it was incomplete and full of gaps.

How could one really believe it? “Why must she hide from me like this?”

“Perhaps she doesn’t truly want to hide from you,” Lu Jianzhou replied. She wasn’t sure why she was avoiding the issue, but that’s what she said.

“How do you know her thoughts?” Nian Anshi asked, looking Lu Shiqi directly in the eye for the first time. She bore some resemblance to Lu Jianzhou in temperament, but they weren’t exactly alike.

“Shiqi was taken in by Madam Jin Chici from a young age and has secretly protected Jianzhou. So she knows everything about the Princess and Jianzhou. When Jianzhou had the accident at ten, Shiqi saved her in time, preventing her death,” Lu Jianzhou explained, repeating the Third Matron’s words verbatim. Even after the disguise, she had learned what Shiqi looked like—a famously elusive person—but she could consider her a lifesaver. “At that time, Shiqi had just reached marriageable age and could only watch Jianzhou be taken. When she found her again, she had only half a life left.”

Nian Anshi listened and could imagine how terrible the situation had been. “I knew all that… but I was still too young, couldn’t do anything… and they didn’t tell me. It was only when Fen Hao had an accident that my nanny let it slip.”

“She didn’t blame you,” Lu Jianzhou said, thinking of the断想草 incident and growing more sorrowful. “She was just afraid you would revert to your old self, and then all her efforts would be in vain.”

“My old self? Has she already remembered?” Nian Anshi asked. Her old self would occasionally relapse, enduring unbearable pain, loneliness, darkness… Only when Lu Jianzhou came to play could she breathe.

Lu Jianzhou nodded: “She survived, so the curse between you still exists. If you two are together, you might fall into the same nightmares, perhaps even die… Jianzhou doesn’t want that for you.”

“If she doesn’t appear, I’ll become that way too,” Nian Anshi said firmly. “Tell her with my own mouth, let her hear my apology for what happened, okay?”

Lu Jianzhou looked at her solemnly. Nian Anshi’s sorrow tugged at her heart, but in the end, she said: “No. You cannot.”