"Returning to Before Husband's Castration" 《回到老公自宫前》Chapter 33

 Wang Da Xia’s brain was filled with money, everything was about money.

Wei Cai Wei remembered when Wang Da Xia set up this “accidental encounter” at the altar tonight he had said Lu Bing had gone to the underground prison to see the convict Ding Ru Kui early this morning, ordering the jailors to set up an altar in the courtyard tonight.

Just now they had “accidentally encountered” Ding Ru Kui, Ding Ru Kui had held a remarkably written thousand word speech and read it aloud as a eulogy, offering sacrifices to an old friend, she heard the eulogy was written for Wei Nan Shan and his wife.

Ding Ru Kui had been locked underground for ten years, cut off from the rest of the world, of course he wasn’t aware Wei Nan Shan and his wife had passed away within a day of each other.

So, the clever Wei Cai Wei guessed what Lu Bing had said to Ding Ru Kui this morning.

Wei Nan Shan was just a retainer who looked after Ding Wu, Lu Bing wouldn’t have gone to find Ding Ru Kui for an insignificant person.

Lu Bing must have discovered the name “minor official Ding Wu” on her household record, then he followed the tendrilled vine to get the melon to investigate “me”.

It didn’t matter if he investigated me, my identity is faultless, Lu Bing wouldn’t do anything to me, at most he would threaten me or use words to try to trick me.

Wei Cai Wei had a plan, using the crutch she stood up, “I’m going to see Lord Lu now.”

Wang Da Xia also followed her.

Under the miraculous skills of the imperial physician, Lu Bing’s condition had been stabilised, Lu Ying held a bowl of medicine, feeding Lu Bing spoon by spoon— he still had problems holding things with his hands, he couldn’t hold the bowl of medicine steadily.

Lu Bing drank the medicine, gargled, Lu Ying then fed his father a piece of food preserved in honey to get rid of the bitter taste, Lu Bing slowly shook his head, “I’m not a child, it doesn’t matter if it’s a little bitter, it’s better to taste the bitterness, it’s a lot better than not being to sense anything.”

Wei Cai Wei heard Lu Bing’s speech was still a bit slurred, like he had rice in his mouth as he spoke, but he was able to express himself clearly, people could understand him, she was immediately astonished by imperial physician Song’s amazing medical expertise, it was beyond her reach, her adopted parents and Ding Wu had been right, the capital was a place of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, there were many capable people.

“Help me up.” Lu Bing said.

Seeing his awe-inspiring father become like a weak and powerless baby, Lu Ying felt sad but he didn’t show it on his face, to cheer himself up he kept telling himself his father will definitely recover, he helped his father sit up, stuffing a few pillows behind his back.

Blood was thicker than water, Lu Bing comforted him instead: “I’ll be better soon, don’t worry, I’m old so I will fall ill.”

Lu Ying now understood why his father suddenly started asking him everyday if he had his three meals a day on time, and repeatedly urged him to not stay up late, sleep early and so on, it was because his father’s health had deteriorated, he hoped he wouldn’t follow in his footsteps.

Lu Ying nodded, “I understand, I already ate dinner on time, I even added an extra bowl of rice.”

“That’s good, such an obedient child.” Lu Bing pacified Lu Ying, then he looked away, he saw Wei Cai Wei leaning on a crutch, “Sit down and speak.”

Wei Cai Wei sat on the rose chair next to the bed, Wang Da Xia had also moved the light chair about to sit down but was halted by Lu Bing, “You don’t have to, such a young man as yourself wouldn’t have a problem standing for a bit.”

Lu Ying also said: “You had the time to climb up a tree and cut down a branch to make a crutch, you must have left over energy, you don’t need to sit.”

Wang Da Xia stood up straight.

Lu Bing looked at Wei Cai Wei, “Do you know why I called you over?”

He wants to play bluff with me.

Wei Cai Wei said: “This woman doesn’t know.”

Lu Bing asked: “I heard you saw Ding Ru Kui just now— Why did you hide that you knew Ding Wu? Your purpose for coming to the capital is to build a bridge between the father and son?”

Of course it is! Wei Cai Wei calmly said: “This woman never intentionally hid it, when I was previously in Tieling, people didn’t ask me so I had no need to say anything? Since coming to the capital, I have indeed been trying to find a way to pass a message between the son and father, to pass on the news that he was safe. However I needed to wait for the chance, I didn’t expect to see Ding Ru Kui so soon.”

The relationship between Wei Cai Wei and the Ding family, Wang Da Xia had already found out when he carried her just now, it was Lu Ying who was the last person who found out about this, he said: “You really aren’t an ordinary widow.”

“She may not be a widow.” Lu Bing might be ill but he didn’t forget to share his experience with his son, he said: “One may know a person for a long time without understanding his true nature, to find out the ins and out of someone you must set your sights on those around them, according to the embroidered uniform guards in Tieling who have been watching Ding Wu, Ding Wu and her are not married, when did she become a widow?”

Lu Bing’s gaze was like a torch, flashing ferociously, it wasn’t obvious he had just had a stroke, “You took the name of the real Wei Cai Wei, so much so you may have very well even killed Wei Cai Wei before she entered the capital, taking her household record, pretending to be her.”

The atmosphere became tense.

Wang Da Xia jumped up in shock, “Lord Lu! Murder requires paying with one’s life! This lord shouldn’t say anything without proof!”

Between Wei Cai Wei and his father, of course Lu Ying was on his father’s side, he felt his father made sense, he said: “Wang Da Xia, if you interrupt again, you can leave.”

Wang Da Xia covered his bigmouth, he couldn’t leave, if he wasn’t here, Wei Cai Wei would be even more isolated without help.

Lu Ying said to Wei Cai Wei: “All kinds of signs really suggest you’re guilty, I promise we won’t wrongly accuse an innocent person, but, if you don’t cooperate and selectively pick what you tell us in your favour, keeping the truth from us and leading us down the wrong path, the end will be painful, you’ll eat one’s own bitter fruit.”

Lu Bing and Lu Ying played their roles, one had to be the bad guy, and they understood this.

“I didn’t kill anyone.” Wei Cai Wei said: “This young woman is Wei Cai Wei, except for lying about being married, I have spoken the truth, Lord Lu is wise, this woman really hasn’t been married.”

What? Lu Bing and Lu Ying looked at each other, they really did manage to get information out from her.

Wei Cai Wei suddenly called herself from “woman” to “young woman”, the most shocked was Wang Da Xia, he jumped even higher than before, he had forgotten Lu Ying’s warning, he pointed at Wei Cai Wei: “You, you, you! You’re not a widow? You lied to me? Where did your deceased husband’s memorial tablet come from? Why do you keep going on about your deceased husband being in your heart? You even— you even offer food to your deceased husband at every meal, placing a pair of chopsticks in an empty spot, you’re really more real than a widow! You’ve completely fooled me!”

Wang Da Xia was acting like a young woman who had been cheated of her body and mind and had fallen pregnant at the hands of a playboy, and had just found out he was a jerk who had a family.

She had disguised herself in this way to make herself more trustworthy, if being a widow would make her more suspicious she wouldn’t have done so.

“Since Ipretended to be a widow, of course the more realistic I am the better, the memorial tablet, offering food, missing my husband is all a must.” Wei Cai Wei took off the white silk holding her hair in a bun, she said: “When I was in Tieling, my parents were famous doctors of Xiangya mountain, I’ve been assisting them since I was little, all the patients recognise me, I’ve been diagnosing people in my parent’s clinic since I was fourteen years old, most of the local people trust in my skills, and didn’t look down on me because of my age and being unmarried. But when I left Tieling for the capital, on my journey I earned some travel expenses, away from home people are less likely to believe an unfamiliar, unmarried, young woman knows gynaecology, a miracle doctor…”

“I came across too many saboteurs so my business was bad, that’s why when I entered the capital, I disguised myself, I went to a ready-made cloth store and bought some plain mourning clothes, and went to the coffin store to buy a blank memorial tablet to pretend to be a widow, to outsiders, only someone who has been married would know the ailments of a married woman, who would know about pregnancy and giving birth that’s why they would invite me to see them.” Wei Cai Wei’s explanation was seamless. 

Even though it was true she had disguised herself and had lied, it was “pardonable”.

In her last life, Wei Cai Wei was only focused on revenge and indifferent to business, she was always an unmarried woman.

In this life, Wei Cai Wei needed to seek revenge then stop her deceased husband from castrating himself so she had to stay here, that’s why the day after she was reborn she made a plan of practising medicine as a widow.

Wang Da Xia still found it hard to believe, he was scared of ghosts, the night they shared the same house, he had been apprehensive in front of the memorial tablet, repeatedly telling the ghost that he didn’t want to come here, it was the widow who took the initiative to invite him to spend the night.

If I had known earlier I wouldn’t have been so worked up! My sincerity was futile in the end!

Wang Da Xia’s intestines had turned green with regret, pointing at Wei Cai Wei: “On the tablet is written `Deceased husband Wang Erlang`, what’s that about? My surname is Wang, and I am also the second son, what do you mean by that?”

Wei Cai Wei said: “Oh, when I bought the memorial tablet it was blank, that day manager Chen brought me to see the house, I wanted to take it as soon as I saw it, manager Chen said next door was the Wang residence, a five generation Qianhu, kind and charitable, wise and capable, I rented it on the spot, when I returned to the tavern, I took out the memorial tablet, mixed some cinnabar and wrote `Deceased husband Wang Erlang` on it without thinking.”

Wang Da Xia asked: “Why Erlang? It’s also easy to write Dailang!”

Wei Cai Wei said: “I don’t know, I just wrote second randomly, maybe because it’s the easiest to write, I didn’t have any thought on it, if you mind, I’ll buy a new memorial tablet and change it to `Deceased husband Dailang`.”

Before it was Wang Da Xia who would anger someone to have nothing to say, today he finally widened his horizons, Wei Cai Wei’s thoughtless words gave him a headache, he was flustered and exasperated: “You can’t use Wang Dailang either, it can’t have the same surname as me— your disguise as a widow has already been exposed to us, why do you still need to have a memorial tablet at home? Who are you putting on a show for?”

“For my patients.” Wei Cai Wei said: “The married women in the capital are liberal with money, and trust a widow more, I’ve only been here for a few days, I only earned some money, I usually portray myself as a widow, suddenly becoming an unmarried young woman, I would be known as a swindler, how would the patients invite me to see them?”

Wei Cai Wei looked at Lu Bing and Lu Ying, “Lord Lu, leader Lu, I really don’t have any ill-intentions dressed as a widow, I only thought it was more convenient to work in a new environment, I have never harmed anyone. After this matter ends, I will still practise medicine as a widow, I ask the two of you to allow it and keep this little secret for me.”

Wang Da Xia angrily interjected: “Who says you haven’t hurt anyone? You hurt me!”