Because Hongdou was pregnant, the He family had specially arranged for the two of them to stay on the first floor. It was late at night, and the scenery couldn’t be made out clearly, but judging by the fragrance of grass and trees occasionally drifting in through the window, the courtyard must have had quite a lot of flowers and plants growing in it.
The guests had left by the dead of night, and the next morning brought no shortage of visitors paying their respects. Hongdou spent most of her time in the room keeping He Yunqin company, while the task of entertaining the female guests fell temporarily to Mrs. He and Duan Mingyi.
Fourth Sister lingered in the room from early morning, chatting with her brother and sister-in-law. He Yunqin’s wound had improved somewhat further compared to the day before. While Fourth Sister was busy talking with Hongdou, he had the steward bring in the newspapers, specifically picking out the headline news to read. Yet after going through paper after paper, disappointment finally showed on his face. Hongdou wanted to ask about it, but with Fourth Sister present, she had to hold back.
Upstairs, He Ningzheng came out of the study holding what looked like a telegram, a vein faintly throbbing at his temple. He stood stock-still at the doorway for a long while before finally striding downstairs.
Reaching the sitting room, he looked up to see Duan Mingyi smiling as she chatted with several ladies and young misses. With guests present, he had no choice but to smooth over his expression. He stood where he was and had a servant go over to pass word to her, then turned and strode quickly down the long corridor back to his own bedroom.
Before long, Duan Mingyi arrived. Hearing movement behind him, he stood by the bed without turning around.
Duan Mingyi pushed open the door, her gaze falling on her husband’s tall, slender silhouette. Just as she was about to step in, she caught sight, out of the corner of her eye, of the object clasped in her husband’s hand, and her heart gave a violent lurch. She paused for a moment, then, forcing herself to appear unconcerned, closed the door and walked toward her husband, saying gently, “What did you call me back here for?”
He Ningzheng slowly turned to face her.
Duan Mingyi immediately felt a chilling, oppressive air bearing down on her. Her husband’s gaze was extraordinarily complex — clearly furious, yet with a note of self-mockery beneath it if one looked closely. She couldn’t help but stop in her tracks, watching him quietly. “What’s wrong?”
He Ningzheng stared fixedly at her — his wife, who even now retained her flawless composure.
Suddenly, a sharp, bitter taste surged up in his chest. He gazed at her steadily for a moment, feeling nothing but the most bitter mockery, then slowly shook his head and gave a silent laugh.
“Married for years, I hoped you might hold even a shred of the affection a husband and wife ought to share. But only now do I realize it was all my own delusion.”
This was the first time she had ever seen him so disappointed and furious. She steadied herself, doing her best not to let panic show on her face, and stepped toward him. “What’s this about? Why are you so angry?”
“What’s this about?” He slowly raised the telegram in his hand and said, word by word, “This is a telegram from Shanghai. Everything the Duan family did in searching for the gold bars is laid out in full — you can’t deny it. And even now, you’re still putting on an act in front of me.”
As she said this, she had already drawn close to him. He raised his arm in disgust; Duan Mingyi reached to grab his sleeve, lost her footing, and fell back onto the edge of the bed. She was silent for a few seconds before looking back up at him. “I already explained to you — Eldest Brother and Second Brother went to the International Settlement to look for a friend, and got caught by a stray bullet by accident because they couldn’t get away in time. You confirmed it yourself, in person, when Eldest Brother woke up. Why won’t you believe me?”
Fury blazed in He Ningzheng’s eyes. He gave a cold laugh. “Do you think no one in the whole world is as clever as you? Do you know that because he oversees the gold bars, Eldest Brother-in-law’s superiors, worried he might be derelict or embezzling, had already assigned people to watch his residence day and night before the fighting broke out? In the days before the war started, everyone he had contact with was investigated without exception. Where your Eldest and Second Brothers went and what they did after leaving Eldest Sister’s house — every bit of it is documented in photographs. Eldest Brother-in-law now faces demotion because of this. Go on, keep making excuses — the Duan family’s troubles are only just beginning!”
Duan Mingyi’s face went pale, and she bit down hard on her lip.
“Eldest Sister suspected you before this — she said that before the fighting broke out, she’d mentioned the gold bars to you, and not long after, your Eldest and Second Brothers went to Eldest Sister’s husband to pry information out of him. She only guessed this had something to do with you. I vouched for you with everything I had, telling her it must be a misunderstanding, that neither you nor your brothers could possibly do such a thing — until this morning, when I received this telegram. The evidence is ironclad; I have no choice but to believe it. Duan Mingyi, has it really come to this — do you need someone to come all the way from Shanghai to confront you face to face before you’ll admit it?”
Duan Mingyi suddenly looked up, tears spilling instantly. “Yes. I admit it. Our family — the Duan family — is already at the end of our rope. We had no choice but to resort to this. Even Eldest Brother-in-law never anticipated being implicated. Ningzheng —”
Her expression remained stubborn even as the tears fell like a string of broken beads, unstoppable. “The Duan family is a century-old distinguished clan after all. Did you expect us to just stand by and watch it go bankrupt? If it were you, what would you have done?”
He Ningzheng’s voice turned hoarse in an instant. “For the sake of your Duan family’s dignity, you’d let yourself be this selfish, caring for nothing else? The rise and fall of all things in this world is only natural — that what flourishes must eventually decline is a law no one escapes! How many families in Shanghai have changed their fortunes over the years? If the Duan family can’t weather this, so be it — what’s so terrible about declaring bankruptcy?”
Bankruptcy? Duan Mingyi’s eyes turned suddenly resolute. No, no, no — she was the cherished daughter of the Duan family, the eldest daughter-in-law of the He family, blessed with both talent and beauty, admired by all. She had received the finest education in America, moved only among the daughters of famous clans, and as a professor of music theory at St. John’s, she not only organized Shanghai’s famous ladies’ club but regularly hosted substantive tea gatherings. In the social circles of young Shanghai society matrons, she was a woman of both talent and renown, always the one standing at the very top.
To be truthful, being sisters-in-law with a girl of Yu Hongdou’s background was, to her mind, already something of a humiliation — as for the Duan family going bankrupt, that was something not even to be thought of.
Seeing He Ningzheng’s face nearly twisted out of shape with rage, she suddenly felt her usual confidence grow uncertain. To keep things from getting worse, she forced her voice to soften. “It’s precisely because I care about our marriage that I couldn’t bear to let the Duan family fall into ruin. Don’t forget — I’m not only a daughter of the Duan family, but also the eldest daughter-in-law of the He family. Our family’s reputation reflects on the He family’s dignity as well.”
“Reputation, dignity…” He Ningzheng’s disappointment reached its peak, his face instantly ashen. “Even now, this is all you can think about. It’s not as if I don’t know how things stand with the Duan family — how many sums of money have I already advanced to help in emergencies—”
“Every sum you advance gets recorded at the factory, and sooner or later word will reach Father and Mother’s ears. Besides, there are too many old hands at the factory — this can’t be kept hidden. If it ever came to that, everyone would know our Duan family had to rely on our in-laws to get by. Once one person turns against you, everyone does, and things only get worse and worse from there. Ningzheng, I have my reasons—”
He Ningzheng gave a hoarse laugh. “Yes, and it’s precisely because of your so-called reasons that, for the sake of your Duan family’s dignity, you were willing to let your brothers go chasing after some legendary gold bars, implicating Eldest Brother-in-law in the process — and even now, standing before me, you still won’t tell the truth. Do you understand what it means to be husband and wife — that we’re meant to weather things together? You keep me shut out of everything, considering only your own interests in everything you do. In your heart, have you ever once thought of me as someone you loved? Well — after this whole affair, I finally understand just how much of a fool I’ve been in this marriage!”
Panic surged in Duan Mingyi; she scrambled up to grab He Ningzheng’s hand, only to be pushed away again.
His tone was heavy with gloom. “Mingyi, you know full well how much I love you. I understand better than anyone what a man will do for the one he loves — it’s true, I was the one who pursued you back then. But since our marriage, no matter how much I’ve given, I have never once felt even a trace of love from you in return. Willfulness, stubbornness, vanity — I could tolerate all of that. Bankruptcy, hardship, crisis — a husband ought to face those together with his wife. But the one thing I cannot bear is a wife who will never love me.”
As he spoke, he stepped past her, his footsteps heavy, walking one step at a time toward the door. “I’ll have a sum of money set aside for you shortly — enough to secure the rest of your life. As for matters in Shanghai, I can find a way to help you sort those out too. If you don’t wish to stay in Chongqing, I can have someone escort you to Hong Kong, or abroad — it’s entirely up to you. Tomorrow, we’ll announce our divorce in the papers.”
Duan Mingyi’s expression changed drastically. Watching He Ningzheng walk toward the door, and imagining the kind of life she’d face after a divorce, all thoughts of composure and elegance vanished. She hurried after him in her high heels and seized his sleeve in a death grip, saying bitterly, “Ningzheng — Eldest Brother is crippled in the leg, Second Brother is wounded too. Even if the Duan family was in the wrong, we’ve already paid a heavy price for it. It’s come to this — you can’t just abandon me.”
Only now did the true ferocity show on her face. He Ningzheng looked straight ahead. “I’ve given you countless chances. All of this — you brought upon yourself.”
With that, he raised his arm and coldly shook off her hand, opened the door, and walked out.
Duan Mingyi stared fixedly at his retreating back, her nails digging almost into her own flesh.
Author’s Note: I said before I started this story that it would have three volumes — from Volume One, Hongdou and He Er meeting, to Volume Two, their marriage and uncovering the killer Master Yan, to Volume Three, He Er and the others going to war to find the gold bars. The story is finally nearing its end. Tomorrow or the day after will be the grand finale. This Hong Dou Sheng Min Guo – Chapter has a red envelope.