Chapter 8.2

When Qi Tianlei returned to the New Garden in the evening, he immediately sensed something unusual. Coming back from inspecting the business, he entered the New Garden through the back door, unaware of the situation in the front yard, but he could clearly feel that something was off.

Silently stepping into the room, he saw a table set with food and wine, and his unusually beautiful wife. He was taken aback, staring at her in a daze.

“What special day is it today?”

Yuhu was dressed in a red and white abstract patterned outfit, her beautiful face adorned with plum blossom makeup, and a red mark on her forehead adding to her charm. She poured two cups of warm wine.

“We haven’t had a drink together in a long time.” She handed him a cup, sending him a flirtatious glance before drinking her own.

Qi Tianlei hooked his arm around her waist, thoughtfully observing her strange behavior and worrying about her health.

“Can you drink in your condition? Did Liu brother prohibit it?”

She smiled. “I drink supplements every day, which contain a little alcohol. Liu brother only said not to overdo it, not that I couldn’t touch it at all. If I drink a little now, our child will be born with a high tolerance.”

He raised an eyebrow, helping her sit down at the table.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Do I not look good today?” She smiled weakly, almost unable to hide under his scrutinizing gaze.

“You look good; you have something on your mind.”

“Hmm.” She served him some food. “Eat something, you must be hungry. These dishes won’t taste good if they get cold.”

“Yuhu, you’re making me uneasy.” He grabbed her hands, forcing her to look at him.

“Do you love me?”

“I love you.”

“Would you do anything I ask because you love me?”

He didn’t nod or shake his head, simply saying, “I will do everything that’s best for you, agree to anything that will make you happy, but not something foolish.”

“I want you to marry Du Bingyan.”

Qi Tianlei lifted her chin, his tightly pressed lips remaining silent, but his gentle eyes turned sharp, exerting a peerless pressure for more explanation. She actually proposed something she had vowed against!

Yuhu softly said, “She was originally meant to be your wife. The Du family found her, and with the matchmakers not daring to take responsibility, everyone is attacking her. I failed her, letting her bear all the humiliation for me! General Yuan did not treat her well!” She held back tears, choking out, “I have been deceiving myself because I wanted to have you all to myself, to have this happiness all to myself! I convinced myself that Bingyan would also be safe and happy, just to ease my conscience! Now the Du family has come to beg the Old Madam, to beg me to save her reputation. Willing to marry you as a concubine is already a great injustice to her. If you don’t take her in, she will only prove her innocence by dying.”

“You want her to be happy?” He asked indifferently, but it wasn’t about whether to marry her or not. Yuhu knew what he was asking.

“You will make her happy, won’t you?” She asked, swallowing her sorrow.

“Unless you want me to stop loving you, a man can only have one heart.” He looked at her intently, waiting for her decision.

“What if I want you to treat her well? She is a good girl, and she and I are like sisters…”

“Even if it means I no longer love you?”

She choked on her words, then nodded after a long silence, unable to meet his piercing gaze. He was angry, but she had to do this.

“No!” He kissed her, painfully crushing her lips.

“Tianlei—”

“You silly girl! So generous, you can even give your husband away! I should really spank you.”

In every couple, one person must stay calm and clear-headed. His wife, driven by guilt, was putting righteousness before reason, a move that would only drag all three of them into hell. Suppressing his anger and pity, he could only express his love and determination through his embrace.

No matter what she said, this time he would rather die than comply with her absurd decision. So he used endless passion to stop her from persuading him further.

Let the night’s intimacy be a silent declaration of love…

At the fifth watch, before dawn, Yuhu dressed for travel, carrying a bundle with a few light clothes and some money. She sat at the table, grinding ink to write a short note: “Tianlei: I’m leaving. I will return only on the day you marry Miss Du. Before then, you won’t find me. I hope to see you before the child is born.”

Yuhu wrote this so he would marry Bingyan, even if she had to lie for it. She would not return to the Qi family! She believed Bingyan would bring more children to the family, and she would live her life with the one in her belly.

Before disappearing, she had to return to Yangzhou to apologize to Bingyan in person. Then, she could never appear again!

No matter, she was Li Yuhu, a strong and resilient woman, capable of adapting anywhere, even without a husband!

Resolutely grabbing her bundle, she didn’t dare linger, giving Qi Tianlei one last look as he slept. She hurriedly left the New Garden, heading for the stables! As long as she didn’t reappear, Tianlei would start to treat Bingyan well, making up for the past half year of suffering! As long as she didn’t have to see another woman in her beloved man’s arms, the pain wouldn’t be too deep.

She was a woman who had taken someone else’s husband, not deserving of any joy or sorrow. She had to leave! She wasn’t one to cling. She had the courage and righteousness to stay detached in matters of love. Yes! Leaving quietly now was the right decision!

She led out a fast brown horse, mounted it, and in the emerging light, took one last look at the Qi household.

Goodbye! To everything.

The rapid hoofbeats were the only solitary sound in the quiet morning, raising dew-laden dust, mixed with a few clear tears! Without a trace, in the blink of an eye, she and the horse vanished.

The Qi household remained silent and still.

It was only to be expected that Li Yuhu’s disappearance threw the entire Qi household into chaos! The real issue wasn’t just that she left without a word, but the fact that she ran away while pregnant was an unforgivable offense! At least all the elders in the Qi family were both anxious and furious because of the unborn child.

Three days had passed! Qi Tianlei didn’t have time to listen to any form of complaints or anger from the elders, nor did he have time to drown his sorrows in alcohol to show his despair. He calmly thought about where Yuhu might have gone. He immediately set off for Daiyun County, hoping she would seek refuge with Madam Shu, while also dispatching more people to search every corner of Quanzhou, and notifying Liu Ruoqian to use his connections in the martial arts world to find her.

He would not marry any woman other than Yuhu! But he instructed his family to start decorating the house, making it look like they were preparing for a wedding. Meanwhile, he also sent people to look for her in Yangzhou at Li’s house, knowing that the Li family had long since left, but not wanting to miss any possibilities.

Liu Ruoqian met up with Qi Tianlei in Daiyun County. Originally, after the situation at the Qi family was resolved, Liu Ruoqian, who loved traveling, had already packed up and was ready to set off, planning to travel outside the Great Wall to see the sights of foreign lands. However, before he could leave the Jiangnan area, something happened at the Qi family again, so he rushed back! He loved to be where the excitement was!

“What? That girl actually couldn’t think it through? The spirit of self-sacrifice should be applied based on the situation! She wasn’t too dumb, but in this matter, she acted so foolishly,” Liu Ruoqian released the carrier pigeon, shaking his head repeatedly. He could never have imagined that someone as strong and shrewd as her would suddenly do something so foolish!

Qi Tianlei’s usually gentle face showed signs of exhaustion. He wiped his face, tiredly saying, “She’s afraid of living with a guilty conscience for the rest of her life and isn’t strong enough to watch me marry another woman. She’s decided to give me up.”

“So she has no intention of coming back? The note she left was just to trick you into taking a concubine?”

Qi Tianlei nodded. He understood Yuhu’s thoughts, no matter how complicated. The decorations at home were just in the hope that Yuhu would feel unwilling to stay away and come back to take a look, though the chances were slim.