Chapter Two: How Dare You

“Fetch me a physician, and prepare clean water, fresh clothes, and some food,” Su Zhinen said, gritting her teeth to force the words out despite the searing pain in her chest.

Gu Shijin’s face turned ashen in an instant, his voice laced with fury as he spat out, “Su Zhinen, don’t push your luck! You’ve suffered nothing but a superficial wound, yet Xixi is missing and her fate is unknown, and you still have time to bargain with me? Tell me now—where is she?”

A vein throbbed at Gu Shijin’s temple, his fists clenching in barely restrained rage, as though he might strike Su Zhinen at any moment.

Hatred filled Su Zhinen’s eyes. Three years ago, when Gu Shijin had publicly and grandly asked for her hand, what did he say? “Zhinen, I, Gu Shijin, will have no wife but you in this lifetime. If I betray this vow, may I come to ruin and live a life worse than death!”

Back then, even when she accidentally grazed her hand, he’d been distressed enough to fetch the finest medicine. Fearing her delicate skin might scar, he’d even spent a fortune on the most effective ointment to fade the marks.

Now, she was half-dead from a beating, yet all he cared about was Ren Xixi.

And Ren Xixi was no doubt waiting to see the farce of him regretting his choices, running after his wife in vain.

How foolish she’d been, paying such a steep price only to finally see this scoundrel’s true colors.

Well then, in this life, she’d see to it that he fulfilled his own oath—ruined, his name in tatters, longing for death.

Her gaze icy, Su Zhinen stared at Gu Shijin without a shred of warmth. “If you keep delaying, I can’t guarantee Ren Xixi’s safety.”

“Try laying a finger on her,” Gu Shijin snarled, his eyes bloodshot as his hand gripped Su Zhinen’s slender, pale neck with vicious force.

Her neck was so delicate, it seemed a slight squeeze would snap it.

“Do you think I won’t?” Su Zhinen showed not the slightest fear; she knew Gu Shijin didn’t dare kill her. If she died, then his beloved Ren Xixi would truly vanish without a trace—and that would drive him mad.

How unfortunate, Su Zhinen thought, that Ren Xixi wasn’t actually in her hands. If she were, she’d send both these wretches to their deaths without hesitation.

Sensing her threat, Gu Shijin’s heart lurched and he released his grip on her neck.

“Someone! Fetch a physician! And bring clean water and food!” He barked his orders, shooting Su Zhinen a venomous look.

When had this woman become such a stranger to him? She had once been gentle, virtuous, the very picture of a good wife. Now, just because he’d found someone he truly loved, she refused to understand him.

Besides, wasn’t it natural for a man to have several wives and concubines?

Ren Xixi was willing to give up everything for him, to follow him wherever he went. Was it so much to ask Su Zhinen to accept the position of concubine? He wasn’t discarding her—why couldn’t she be satisfied? Did she not know her husband was supposed to be her whole world?

Outrageous.

While waiting for the female physician, Su Zhinen bathed, ate a little, and changed her clothes. After three days locked up without food or water, physically weakened and battered by Gu Shijin’s blows and curses, she was exhausted in both body and spirit.

In her past life, she’d been so heartbroken she let her injuries drag her down completely. But this time, she would keep herself strong—she needed her strength to send this vile pair to their doom.

The deaths of her parents and kin seemed to play before her eyes, and a wave of sorrow swept through her.

Gu Shijin had meant to hurry her for Ren Xixi’s whereabouts, but for some reason, he felt a pang of guilt. She looked genuinely heartbroken. Then again, Su Zhinen had loved him deeply, willingly tending the general’s manor in widow-like devotion for three years, and had hidden Xixi out of jealousy. It was only natural she’d be in pain for him.

Yet, Gu Shijin frowned—no matter what, Su Zhinen should never have laid a hand on Xixi.

His patience snapped. He bellowed, “Su Zhinen! Must you be so melodramatic? As Xixi said, you’re nothing but a scheming woman. Don’t think you can escape responsibility with this act!”

She was only putting on a show to make him pity her—such a manipulative woman.

Su Zhinen narrowed her eyes. When someone was determined to see you as wrong, even your breathing became a crime. In her past life, she would have been hurt by this attitude; now, she only wanted to slap that face.

“Come here. I’ll tell you where Ren Xixi is,” she said, crooking her finger and speaking slowly.

“At least you know your place,” Gu Shijin sneered and walked over.

A loud, clear slap echoed through the room. Gu Shijin stared at her in disbelief, clutching his cheek.

“Su! Zhi! Nian!” he hissed through clenched teeth. This woman had struck him a second time in one day. How dare she?

“Want to hit me? Go ahead and kill me! If you do, you’ll never know where Ren Xixi is!”

Su Zhinen massaged her stinging palm, thinking to herself how thick-skinned he was—her hand was red, but his face bore no mark.

Gu Shijin’s raised hand faltered, fury making it tremble. Xixi was his weakness—once he found her, he’d divorce this woman and make her regret it for the rest of her life.

“General, Madam, the physician has arrived,” Yushu announced, hurrying in with the doctor as if she’d found a lifeline.

That crisp slap had nearly made her cheer, but she’d been too worried for her mistress to dare linger. Now, seeing her mistress unharmed, she finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hmph!” Gu Shijin nearly choked on his own rage, flinging his sleeve as he threw himself into a chair.

The most painful injuries on Su Zhinen were the handprint on her face and the bruises on her neck from Gu Shijin’s assault.

The physician gasped upon seeing the livid marks on her neck. The general appeared to be a violent man, to have beaten his wife so cruelly.

But just as she thought this, a cold voice cut through the air: “Watch your mouth. If you utter a word you shouldn’t, don’t expect to keep your life.”

“Yes, General!” the physician replied, terrified.

“So you dare to do it, but not let others speak of it?” Su Zhinen exposed his hypocrisy without mercy.

“You—hmph!” Gu Shijin huffed, no longer understanding how Su Zhinen could have changed so drastically from the gentle, pitiful woman she once was to this sharp-tongued, sarcastic creature.

“Yushu, lower the bed curtains.” After the physician examined the rest of her wounds, Su Zhinen began to remove her robe so the doctor could inspect her battered shoulder.

“What are you doing now?” Gu Shijin’s patience was utterly spent.

“What, is undressing forbidden now, General?”

Gu Shijin was left speechless and uncomfortable. Why did Su Zhinen seem different today?

Through the thin gauze of the bed curtain, he could make out Su Zhinen’s graceful silhouette, pale collarbones, rounded shoulders, and then—

His pupils contracted sharply.