RWWAI 3

Chapter 3: Scumbag Men Want It All

Just as I finished dealing with Qin Miaomiao and wanted to chase after Doctor Zhou—using an inquiry about her condition as an excuse to chat for a bit longer—I realized he was already long gone without a trace.

I don't blame him.

After all, who in the entire city didn't know that Qi Lu hadn't returned home for three years?

Now that he had suddenly come back with a pregnant woman in tow, who would want to wade into such messy waters? The man was probably kicking himself for not running away faster!

And right while I was busy feeling disappointed, Qi Lu sent someone to summon me to his study.

I knew that what was bound to come would eventually arrive. It seemed that if he didn't get to deliver the passionate speech he had prepared, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.

I racked my brain for a long time, yet couldn't come up with a single logical excuse to decline. Or rather, even if I managed to dodge him today, it wasn't like I could avoid seeing him forever; I had no choice but to bite the bullet and go listen to his performance.

Sure enough, the moment I stepped into the study, I saw Qi Lu standing with his back to me, speaking in a tone that sounded utterly helpless: "These past three years have wronged you. Managing everything inside and outside the estate has rested entirely on your shoulders; how hard you have tried, I am well aware of. You govern the household with proper order, and as the mistress of the Qi family, you have never once shown the slightest lapse in decorum."

I nodded, feeling completely dead inside.

After all, I wasn't the one who had spent three years living like a widow.

He continued, "You have wholeheartedly served the Qi family for three years, and asking you to simply step aside from your position as the legitimate wife is undeniably unfair to you. But now that Miaomiao is carrying a child, we cannot simply let her remain in the estate without a title or status. This matter... in the end, we must give her an explanation."

The fact that he cut straight to the point so directly actually caught me off surprise.

It turned out he hadn't called me here to deliver a grand soliloquy after all?

However, I had no intention of letting him off the hook that easily.

So, playing dumb once again, I replied, "Oh? So... Miss Qin's unborn child belongs to my husband. With my husband away at the Xiazi Pass for the past three years, leaving me unable to attend to your side, it was truly fortunate that Miss Qin was there to take care of you. Put that way, the Qi family indeed owes her a proper expression of gratitude."

Hearing this, Qi Lu instantly panicked.

Spinning around with a flushed face, he glared at me in exasperation and snapped, "You clearly guessed all along that the child was mine, or else why would you have settled her in the Jiaoyue Pavilion? Liang Jingjing, you are a person of great intelligence—did you really need me to spell it all out for you? Things have reached this point, why bother putting on a fake act?"

With an expression of utter innocence, I countered, "Where is husband getting these ideas from? Weren't you the one who explicitly ordered me to properly settle Miss Qin? Seeing that the Jiaoyue Pavilion is secluded and peaceful, ideal for prenatal rest, that was why I had her stay there. You and I haven't seen each other in three years; where on earth would I get the superpower to read my husband's mind?"

Before he could respond, I couldn't resist throwing in a sarcastic jab: "Though I must say, it's hard on my husband. Even after three years apart, you still remember that I used to be a smart person."

The system might be able to convert my spoken words into period-appropriate "dialogue," but it apparently couldn't polish away my personality, which was a far cry from the original owner's.

Looking at me in absolute bewilderment, Qi Lu stammered, "You... were not like this before. It has been a long time—how on earth did you become like this?"

I knew I was supposed to put on a wronged look and mumble a few vague excuses right about now.

Because what a scumbag man wants is for the mistress to adore him while the legal wife remains utterly devoted, refusing to let go no matter what humiliating conditions he hands down, swallowing her broken teeth mixed with blood.

But as a modern person who refuses to endure any internal mental exhaustion, I simply couldn't pull off that kind of performance.

So, I spoke up: "I act precisely as my husband commands—surely there is nothing wrong with that? Or perhaps what my husband truly wanted to see was me flying into a rage, grabbing a broom, and chasing Miss Qin out the front gates? It takes two hands to clap; if my husband truly had no intentions whatsoever, how could she have ended up pregnant? Now that the child is here, and you're the one who brought her back yourself, things have come to this—what more can I possibly do?"

Watching Qi Lu stare at me with his jaw hanging open, I decided to ramp up the "threats": "If husband wishes for me to step down and make room, just say the word. As for what is owed to me, let not a single thing be missing—I will sign the divorce papers today. Once I walk out these estate doors tomorrow, you and I will go our separate ways across mountains and rivers, completely cut off from one another."

I call it a threat because I knew very well that Qi Lu didn't have the guts to do it.

First of all, for Liang Jingjing to have been married into the family through the traditional three letters and six etiquettes of a commandant, her maiden family undoubtedly held some clout.

Secondly, since Doctor Zhou had witnessed Qin Miaomiao's pregnancy firsthand today, even if we actually divorced, outsiders would immediately assume he had forced my hand.

Why is that? In ancient times, wasn't a husband taking a concubine considered completely natural and justified?

Indeed it was!

Precisely because concubinage was common practice in this era, outsiders would never believe that I initiated a divorce simply because Qin Miaomiao got pregnant. Especially since I was the one who personally sent servants to invite Doctor Zhou to check her pulse today.

If we divorced tomorrow, the entire world would assume Qi Lu was a heartless brute who favored his concubine over his wife, casting aside his legally wedded spouse the moment a shiny new toy caught his eye.

As long as he still wanted a future in officialdom, he couldn't afford to lose that face—especially not over Qin Miaomiao, some random country girl of unknown origins.

That was why, in the past life, he preferred to let Liang Jingjing waste away until she died rather than ever considering writing her a letter of divorce.

As for Qin Miaomiao, she had never once kicked up a fuss about being elevated to wife status, likely knowing full well she lacked the qualification to fight for it.

From beginning to start, the only thing the original Liang Jingjing lost was the fact that Qi Lu didn't love her.

And as for me? I couldn't care less about his love.

Therefore, there was zero chance I would ever lose.

Sure enough, through clenched teeth, Qi Lu forced out the words: "You are my lawfully wedded wife, married through proper matchmaking and formal ceremonies, and the rightful mistress of the Qi family. As long as you draw breath, no one will ever snatch the position of commandant's wife away from you. From now on... do not ever speak of stepping aside or getting a divorce again."

See? What did I tell you!

"Today was husband's idea to make me stay, so make sure you remember that," I lifted my chin, speaking with an air of aristocratic pride. "Since there is someone you wish to protect, don't stand quite so tall from now on. Bow your head when you need to, and bend your waist when you must. Otherwise, if your shadow is too short... you won't even be able to protect the person standing behind you."

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