Lu Ying knocked on the door of her family’s retreat. The old gatekeeper opened it: “Fourth Young—” Then seeing two strangers behind her, he quickly changed his words: “Young Master has returned.”

Lu Ying said: “Don’t make a big fuss. Bring three ladders to the pond.”

The three entered the retreat, as if entering a Jiangnan garden. There were artificial mountains made of Taihu stones, layer upon layer of Moon-Inviting Pavilions, two ponds connected as one, with winding wooden bridges like long snakes. Under the bridges were green lotus leaves that could be picked by bending down.

The Wang family, being middle-ranking nobility, didn’t have such exquisite courtyards. Wang Daxia was curious and even abandoned his gardenia flower basket, picking several tender lotus pods to eat.

“So sweet, even the lotus hearts aren’t bitter.” Even at this moment, Wang Daxia still had the mood to eat lotus pods.

At the eastern end of the pond was the Duke of Yansheng’s retreat, separated only by a wall. Since both were prominent noble families who didn’t usually live here but only came occasionally for leisure, they guarded against petty thieves but not gentlemen. Neither the Kong family nor the Lu family had anticipated that one day neighbors would climb over their walls, so the inner wall wasn’t built high—an ordinary bamboo ladder could reach the top.

All three changed into black night clothes and climbed the bamboo ladder to the wall top. Today was May 5th, Dragon Boat Festival, with a crescent moon like a hook that was frequently buried in clouds. The moonlight was basically nonexistent.

Wang Daxia stretched out his palm: “It’s almost like you can’t see your hand in front of your face. It’s pitch black—where do we look for Ding Wu?”

Lu Ying said: “Our two families’ retreats are neighbors, and we visit each other. I’ve toured the Kong family retreat several times. The Kong family has deep heritage—this retreat was granted during the Yongle reign and has been here for a hundred years now. The goldfish pond in the garden has skilled craftsmen’s waterwheel mechanisms that use waterwheels to draw water from the goldfish pond to high places, pouring it on the roof of the pavilion in the water pool. The pond water flows down from the four corner eaves like heavy rain, so it’s called the Self-Rain Pavilion.”

“The Self-Rain Pavilion has artificial rain for cooling. Even without ice blocks in summer, it’s very cool. Someone who fears heat like the fat Yan Shifan would definitely be in the Self-Rain Pavilion.”

Wang Daxia looked like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden, clicking his tongue: “You people close to the emperor really know how to have fun. We Wangs, guarding our ancestral five-generation four-courtyard mansion by Shichahai, thought we were something special—turns out we were frogs in a well.”

Wei Caiwei’s heart was entirely focused on Ding Wu: “If Yan Shifan is in the Self-Rain Pavilion, given his usual caution, Ding Wu should be near him so he can threaten at any time.”

Lu Ying nodded: “Exactly. You don’t know martial arts, so stay on the wall to support us. Wang Daxia and I will go in. Whether or not we can successfully rescue Ding Wu, with me there, Ding Wu at least won’t die. I’ve already sent a carrier pigeon to Father—he’ll come to support us at any time.”

When it came to the crucial moment, Wang Daxia lost his earlier composure while eating tender lotus pods and became frightened: “What about me? Breaking into the Duke of Yansheng’s retreat—even my father couldn’t cover for that.”

Lu Ying said: “You’re my person. I’m the one ordering you to climb the wall. If something happens to you, just say everything was my idea—I’ll cover for you.”

With Lu Ying’s promise, Wang Daxia felt relieved and forcibly encouraged himself: “Nothing will happen to me. I’m a very lucky person.”

He also said to Wei Caiwei: “I will definitely bring Ding Wu back and return him to you.”

Wei Caiwei didn’t know martial arts. She knew that if she went along, she would definitely hold Lu Ying and Wang Daxia back. Staying here to provide support was the best choice.

Wei Caiwei took out two oil paper packages from her pouch: “If you encounter an emergency situation, like being surrounded and really can’t fight them off, open these and scatter the powder inside toward their eyes and noses.”

Wei Caiwei had always presented herself as someone who hung a pot to save the world. This was the second time she revealed her ability to use poison, after plucking five fire crane pistils to create the illusion of Ding Rukui being mortally ill.

Wang Daxia tremblingly accepted the paper packages: “Will it poison them blind?”

He hadn’t expected Dr. Wei to have such a vicious side.

Wei Caiwei said: “This is for my self-defense. It’s not as terrible as poisoning them blind—it just irritates the eyes, causing tears and swelling, temporarily blurring vision. If the nose and mouth also inhale this substance, they’ll also be severely irritated and lose their ability to attack. After washing with clean water, they’ll slowly recover. It’s not fatal.”

Just… that’s all?

Wang Daxia thought to himself: Thank goodness I never angered her! If I fell into her hands, wouldn’t it be worse than death!

Actually, Wang Daxia was overthinking. Wei Caiwei couldn’t bear to torture him—at most she’d satisfy herself verbally, fantasizing about cutting off Wang Xiaoxia.

Lu Ying increasingly felt that Wei Caiwei was Second Miss He who had come for revenge. She saw through it but didn’t expose it, accepting the oil paper package: “After this matter is over, name your price—the Imperial Guards will buy your formula.”

Even at this crucial moment, Lu Ying was still thinking about official business.

The two climbed over the wall. Both had practiced martial arts since childhood and were light as swallows, jumping directly from the wall top to the pine tree by the wall, then sliding down the trunk and disappearing into the night.

Another layer of clouds covered the crescent moon, and now it was truly pitch black. Wei Caiwei, lying on the wall top, wished she could tear through the darkness to find Ding Wu.

Lu Ying had been a guest at the Kong mansion retreat and knew the way. Plus, the Self-Rain Pavilion’s splashing rain sounds were particularly loud in the dark night, so the two quickly reached the goldfish pond and saw the Self-Rain Pavilion in the pond.

Indeed, as Lu Ying had predicted, the Self-Rain Pavilion was brightly lit with elegant guqin music drifting out. The heat-fearing fat man Yan Shifan was here enjoying the cool and entertainment.

The rainwater on the Self-Rain Pavilion’s roof was created by two waterwheels in the pond that rotated automatically, pouring pond water into water channels, then gathering it on the pavilion roof to create the scene of rain.

These two huge waterwheels were like two-story round buildings, slowly rotating under the push of flowing water. Each waterwheel had about twenty water buckets that transported pond water through these buckets.

The Self-Rain Pavilion was bright as daylight, illuminating the waterwheels as well, so the two could see a living person firmly tied with ropes to a water bucket on the southern waterwheel!

This person was like a rice dumpling, bound to the waterwheel unable to move, involuntarily rotating with the waterwheel.

The waterwheel was in motion, with half underwater and half above water, operating alternately, so the living person also rotated with the waterwheel—sometimes above water, sometimes underwater!

When above water, they could breathe air. When rotated underwater, if they couldn’t hold their breath, they would choke on water, then spit out the water they’d choked on when rising above the surface. Just as their breathing stabilized, the water bucket beneath them would rotate underwater again, beginning a new round of choking torture.

This was a cruel, slow water torture. It would cause great suffering but wouldn’t be fatal.

The genius Yan Shifan was adept in politics and even more ruthless than the Imperial Guards in studying torture methods.

Lu Ying watched, grinding her teeth in anger: “This is too much.”

Wang Daxia couldn’t bear to watch: “Thank goodness Dr. Wei didn’t come. If she saw this, how heartbroken she would be.”

Lu Ying clenched her fists and was about to rush out to demand Yan Shifan release the person, but Wang Daxia stopped her.

Wang Daxia shook his head: “Yan Shifan killed Wu Mask and framed him for it—such a vicious person who even schemes against your father. Would he listen to you and obediently release Ding Wu from the waterwheel? I have a way to save Ding Wu.”

Wang Daxia explained his plan: “…Anyway, I’m a good swimmer. Enduring it won’t kill me.”

Lu Ying listened: “No, it’s too dangerous. I should do it.”

Wang Daxia said: “I insisted on bringing him to watch the dragon boat race, which led to this disaster. I feel guilty. Besides, my build is similar to his, while you’re relatively small and would be easily discovered. Anyway, don’t argue with me about this. Quickly save Ding Wu and bring him to safety, then help me escape.”

Wang Daxia’s plan was simple—a substitution strategy.

When Ding Wu rotated underwater, they would cut the ropes with a knife to rescue him, then tie Wang Daxia to the waterwheel, pretending to be Ding Wu.

Tonight was very dark. Ding Wu’s hair bun had long since come loose from struggling, his long hair like water grass occasionally covering his head and face. He was bound to the rotating waterwheel, with water grass, duckweed, and other filth wrapped around his body and head. If two people had similar builds, without careful observation, one wouldn’t notice that the person tied to the waterwheel had actually been switched.

Lu Ying was a woman with a smaller build, making it easier to expose the deception.

Except for the brightly lit Self-Rain Pavilion, everywhere else around the goldfish pond was pitch black, with lotus leaves as large as millstones and lotus flowers to hide behind and catch breath.

The two dove into the water, swam to the lotus cluster to catch their breath once, waited for Ding Wu on the waterwheel to be about to rotate underwater, then swam over underwater and cut the ropes. Ding Wu’s hands and feet had been bound so long they were numb and he couldn’t move his limbs, so he sank straight down.

Lu Ying efficiently tied Wang Daxia to the waterwheel first. Ding Wu wore blue clothes that appeared black in the dark night. Wang Daxia’s night clothes were also black. With his hair loosened to cover his head and face, they looked about the same.

After tying up Wang Daxia, Lu Ying dove underwater and pulled up the sunken Ding Wu like digging lotus roots.

Ding Wu had been bound too long with paralyzed limbs, lying motionless like a corpse, which actually made it more convenient for Lu Ying to rescue him.

While swimming underwater, Lu Ying saw that Ding Wu couldn’t even blow bubbles anymore, so she quickly moved close, pressing lip to lip to give him a breath of air.

Swimming to the lotus cluster where “lotus leaves reach the sky in endless green,” they could finally surface under the lotus leaves’ cover to breathe.

Fresh air entering his throat, Ding Wu awakened from his half-dead state and could instinctively tread water.

Lu Ying dragged Ding Wu ashore, supporting him as they passed through the pine forest to the wall.

Wei Caiwei had been waiting here and quickly threw down a rope when she heard Lu Ying’s voice.

Lu Ying said: “Ding Wu doesn’t have the strength to climb the wall with the rope yet. Get the ladder over here.”

Wei Caiwei struggled to get the ladder to the bottom of the wall. Lu Ying tied the rope around Ding Wu’s waist, had him climb the ladder while she pushed from below and Wei Caiwei pulled the rope from the wall top. Ding Wu also gritted his teeth and dragged his half-numb legs up the ladder. His feet wouldn’t obey him and he almost stepped into air several times.

Wei Caiwei pulled hard on the rope, her fingertips nearly cut by the rope: “Wang Daxia, push harder.”

Because it was so dark and they didn’t dare light lamps to startle the grass and alert the snake, Wei Caiwei had been in darkness the whole time and couldn’t see that Wang Daxia hadn’t come with them.

Lu Ying pushed hard on Ding Wu’s bottom: “Wang Daxia is covering the rear—he hasn’t come over yet.”

With the three working together, they finally got Ding Wu over, to be cared for by the old gatekeeper.

Wei Caiwei waved to Lu Ying from the wall top: “Come up quickly… Has Wang Daxia returned?”

Wei Caiwei thought Wang Daxia covering the rear just meant standing watch.

Lu Ying didn’t climb the ladder: “He’s currently… in a bit of trouble. I’m going to rescue him now.”

With that, Lu Ying disappeared into the darkness, her footsteps gradually fading away.

Due to suffering wave after wave of water torture, Ding Wu had choked on too much water and his throat was swollen and hoarse—he couldn’t speak. He wanted to tell Wei Caiwei that Wang Daxia had taken his place and was suffering the waterwheel torture, but he could only make grunting sounds.

When Wei Caiwei heard that Wang Daxia was in trouble, although she couldn’t understand what Ding Wu was saying, from Lu Ying’s behavior she could tell it definitely wasn’t “a bit of trouble” but big trouble!

“Please take care of him, old sir. I’m going to climb over and take a look.” Wei Caiwei was greatly alarmed. She had been reborn to make Wang Daxia’s life better in this lifetime without regrets. Now that Wang Daxia was in trouble, how could she sit idly by?

She naturally had to fight with all her might to save her dead ghost husband!

Author’s Note: Banxia! Daxia has been hanging on the waterwheel for three days!

Will you admit your mistake?

Daxia already choked to death on the first day!

If “Returning Before My Husband’s Self-Castration” were an angsty novel, the summary would probably be written like this hahahaha. Today is another punctual Lanzhou. Today I’m shamelessly asking everyone for comments, because “Returning Before My Husband’s Self-Castration” is just one breath away from making it to the romance homepage monthly ranking. And this book will drop from the monthly ranking on the 28th—only three days left. Lanzhou was originally going to lie down and accept fate, but thinking about it, I still feel some regret. What if… right? Even making it to the monthly ranking homepage for one day would be good—at least Lanzhou tried. So, everyone, you understand what I mean, right? I just want your comments.