Lin Jin Lou froze, then burst into laughter, growing increasingly loud until he was doubled over. Everyone exchanged uncertain glances. Hao Qing trembled all over, wetting himself in fear. After Lin Jin Lou finished laughing, though his face was full of smiles, it carried a chilling coldness. He kicked Hao Qing and said: “She says she’s been wronged, which makes you the chief culprit – even being cut into a thousand pieces would be too lenient.”

Hao Qing wailed: “I’m wrong! Lady Zhao has a cousin named Qian Wen Ze who became friendly with me over drinks. He said his cousin Zhao was as beautiful as a celestial maiden, and they had been intimate before her marriage. Now she’s married but sleeps alone, yearning day and night for a man. He wanted to match us up, having me coax Lady Zhao to take out money for lending, then splitting the profits with Qian Wen Ze ninety-ten. He also said Lady Zhao had previously lent out over ten thousand taels of silver. I didn’t believe it, but Qian Wen Ze said most of that money came from the Lin family’s common fund. Lady Zhao used to manage the household and could skim plenty of money. Though she can’t touch silver now, she could still get three to five thousand taels to lend out, earning at least seventy or eighty taels monthly interest…” At this point, he glanced at Lin Jin Lou’s expression. When Qian Wen Ze told him this, he had agreed eagerly, but he couldn’t admit that now. So he gritted his teeth and fabricated: “Even with tremendous courage, I wouldn’t dare seduce the Master’s wife and firmly refused. But because I owed Qian Wen Ze gambling debts, I was forced to agree.”

Lin Jin Lou sneered: “Who are you trying to fool? As a monk, how could you go drinking and gambling?”

Hao Qing cried out: “I’m not a monk! My surname is Hao, given name is Qing, I have a wife and children at home. Qian Wen Ze made me shave my head and stay at this temple to make things convenient with Lady Zhao.” He wailed to heaven: “If Master doesn’t believe me, just bring in Qian Wen Ze – one question will reveal all.”

The Zhao father and son’s faces alternated between red and white. They never imagined Zhao Yue Chan would be so bold as to not only lend out her husband’s family’s money but also keep two men.

But Zhao Yue Chan cried: “Qian Wen Ze forced me! I was foolish back then and made a grave mistake before marriage. He used this to control me. If I didn’t comply with his wishes, he threatened to spread rumors. I… I had no choice…” She buried her face in the blanket, crying as if dying.

The Zhao father and son’s faces turned as dark as the bottom of a pot. The room fell silent.

Lin Jin Lou glanced at Zhao Xue De and said mockingly: “Now that things have come to this, does Father-in-law have anything to say?” He emphasized “Father-in-law” heavily.

Zhao Xue De forced himself to speak: “I am ashamed…” Seeing Lin Jin Lou’s murderous look, he feared he might explode in rage and hurt someone. Knowing this matter couldn’t be glossed over, he asked: “What do you want?”

Lin Jin Lou said: “This matter is simple. There are three paths: First, I give her divorce papers, divorcing her on grounds of adultery.”

The Zhao family members exclaimed in unison: “Absolutely not!” If Zhao Yue Chan were divorced and sent home for this reason, the Zhao family would truly lose all face, their descendants unable to hold their heads high. Zhao Xue De still had two unmarried daughters who might never find matches.

Zhao Xue De persuaded: “Son-in-law, why go to such extremes? The Lin and Zhao families have been on good terms, and this wouldn’t look good for your reputation either…”

Lin Jin Lou sneered and continued: “Second, Lady Zhao dies suddenly, and the Lin family will handle the funeral, but the coffin cannot enter the ancestral tomb.”

This meant taking Zhao Yue Chan’s life. Her eyes suddenly widened as she screamed: “No! No!” Tears rolled down as she begged her father: “Father, you must not agree!”

Zhao Xue De’s expression turned ugly. He glanced at Lin Jin Lou, thinking: “If this rebellious daughter dies, it would end everything, preserve the Zhao family’s reputation, and satisfy Lin Jin Lou’s anger.” But looking at Zhao Yue Chan huddled on the bed, his heart softened – after all, she was his flesh and blood, raised with love since childhood. How could he harden his heart and send his daughter to her death?

Zhao Gang also advised: “Father, this is inappropriate. Though Sister has erred, she shouldn’t lose her life.”

While Zhao Xue De still hesitated, Lin Jin Lou said: “Third, Lady Zhao and I divorce amicably, but since she embezzled from the Lin family’s funds, she cannot take her dowry lands with her. The rest is her business.”

Zhao Xue De clicked his tongue. Because the Lin family was a prominent clan in Jiangnan, immensely wealthy when marrying off his daughter, Zhao Xue De had painfully arranged a large dowry to maintain face, including quite a few farms and properties. He hesitated, hoping for room to maneuver, and said with a forced smile: “Son-in-law, why such haste? Right now, capturing rebels is urgent. After we catch them and you receive primary credit, we can discuss family matters later.”

Lin Jin Lou sat down in a chair, crossing his legs, and sneered: “I’m already showing consideration for our families’ relationship by giving the Zhao family face. If this matter isn’t resolved, I’ll immediately withdraw my troops, and write divorce papers to send to the authorities, and I don’t fear the whole city knowing I’ve been cuckolded. I’ll throw away my face to tear this matter wide open.”

Zhao Xue De paced anxiously. Zhao Gang pulled him into the tearoom at the other end of the dormitory and whispered: “Let’s agree to the last option. Lin Jin Lou won’t budge, and who knows what he might do if angered. Sister has committed such a grave error, that the Lin family will never keep her. An amicable divorce can save face, and leaving the estates to placate the Lin family at least keeps a connection between the families, with future opportunities to marry into them again.”

Seeing Zhao Xue De still hesitating, he added: “Father, that young woman you keep outside, her daughter is almost fifteen now…” He glanced meaningfully at Lin Jin Lou.

Zhao Xue De suddenly understood. He kept a concubine who had borne him a pair of children. The daughter, Zhao Yue E, was indeed beautiful. Though not as striking as Zhao Yue Chan, she was quite lovely when dressed up. He whispered: “Her background is somewhat lacking.”

Zhao Gang sneered: “Father, are you still thinking of a proper marriage? I mean to give her to Lin Jin Lou as a concubine, to save face and maintain our connection to this powerful family rather than turning them into enemies.”

Zhao Xue De pondered this.

Meanwhile, Lin Jin Lou sat leisurely in the chair by the window, rotating his neck. His earlier anger at exposing the adulterers had gradually faded, replaced by satisfaction at the prospect of ridding himself of Zhao Yue Chan.

Zhao Yue Chan clutched the blanket, gritting her teeth through sobs: “How cruel you are… Even though I made mistakes, you want my life!”

Lin Jin Lou’s eyes shot cold lightning at Zhao Yue Chan as he said hatefully: “I want to cut you into a thousand pieces! Whenever I think of marrying a woman like you, I’m filled with boundless regret. Since bringing you into the household, how many misfortunes have befallen us? Earlier, I planned to take Master’s distant relative Furong as a concubine, but you secretly had someone rape and murder her!”

Zhao Yue Chan’s eyes suddenly widened, her face changing instantly, her heart pounding as she dared not move.

Lin Jin Lou smiled grotesquely: “You thought you’d done it without anyone knowing, playing me for a fool? No wall is completely sealed – how could I not investigate such a brutal death? Since then, seeing you has made me sick. I don’t even want to touch you. Whenever I see you, I think of how Furong looked when she died.”

Zhao Yue Chan clutched the blanket tighter – after their wedding when Lin Jin Lou discovered she wasn’t a virgin, though he treated her coldly, they occasionally had conjugal relations. But at some point, Lin Jin Lou wouldn’t even glance at her, no matter how she dressed or what schemes she tried. He always looked at her with disgust. So it was all because of that cheap woman Furong!

Lin Jin Lou mocked: “Later, whenever I looked at or spoke to any maid a bit more, you would either beat or curse them and sell them off. You used family money for loans, forcing Qing Lan to death – two lives lost. Now you’ve even put a bright green hat on my head. I remember every single thing, never to be forgotten… Tell me, who’s more cruel, you or me? Madam Lin, compared to you, I fall somewhat short.”

Zhao Yue Chan said hatefully: “Even if I was unchaste before marriage, I was wholly devoted to you afterward. It was you! Right after our wedding, you took three maids, disgracing me, then treated me with cold disdain, finding fault with everything about me. After you took your childhood sweetheart cousin as a concubine, where would my place be in the household!” Now that the Lin family wanted to divorce her, Zhao Yue Chan threw caution to the wind. With disheveled hair, wrapped in the blanket on the bed, her eyes flashing with venom, she looked somewhat terrifying: “You wouldn’t touch me with a finger, yet you caroused about, embracing women left and right – brothel courtesans, concubines kept outside, household maids, newly married concubines, which did you ever stop? Why should I just suffer in the household? I only regret not giving you more green hats to wear. Taking lovers is your karma! Your karma!”

Lin Jin Lou’s temple throbbed with anger, but he took a deep breath, forcefully suppressing his rage, and said coldly: “After today, you won’t be able to give me any more hats even if you want to. Why not take this chance to perform a live spring palace scene for me, to vent your hatred!” He strode forward and threw Hao Qing onto the bed.

Hao Qing screamed in terror: “Master, I dare not, I’ll never dare again!” Zhao Yue Chan also screamed uncontrollably: “You beast, if you have the guts, just kill me! Kill me!”

The Zhao father and son rushed out from the tearoom, asking repeatedly: “What’s happening? What’s going on?” Seeing the chaos on the bed and Lin Jin Lou’s dark expression, Zhao Xue De wanted to ask more, but Zhao Gang quickly tugged his sleeve, and he fell silent.

Zhao Gang said: “We agree to the earlier proposal – an amicable divorce.”

Zhao Yue Chan cried out: “I won’t divorce! Why treat me like this!” Zhao Xue De struck her face, cursing: “You sinful creature, shut your mouth!”

Zhao Yue Chan fell face-first onto the bed, crying. She was so unwilling! When she married into the Lin family, how many sisters, relatives, and friends had envied her? The Lin family was a famous established clan with abundant wealth, prosperous for at least fifty years without decline. Moreover, Lin Jin Lou had achieved success young and was exceptionally handsome, not some useless heir living off ancestral fortune. Even though Lin Jin Lou didn’t like her, she was determined to stick with the Lin family for life. But facing cold treatment, she developed various resentments, step by step reaching this state. And now Lin Jin Lou could marry another sweet wife, while she, having been married once, would face endless gossip – how would she live her future days?

Zhao Yue Chan’s heart filled with countless hatreds as she thought: “Lin Jin Lou, remember this. I will have my revenge!”