Chapter 61 Evidence of Illicit Affair

Facing Qin Bao'er's advances, he always kept her at a distance, neither agreeing directly nor bearing to outright reject her.

Torn back and forth in this emotional tug-of-war, the innocent young lady Qin Bao'er was finally completely captivated.

In the end, she went back to persuade General Qin and Madame Qin to let her marry him. Naturally, General Qin and Madame Qin were opposed to the match.

However, Qi Guangyao was quite resourceful. After putting on a good performance before the couple, he actually managed to change their minds.

And so, their marriage was finalized.

Yet on the day of the grand wedding, a hitch occurred.

When it was time to enter the bridal chamber, Qi Guangyao did not show up. After waiting for a long time in vain, Qin Bao'er naturally set out to look for him.

The residence they lived in had been purchased beforehand by Madame Qin. Believing that Qi Guangyao possessed some talent and might pass the imperial examinations in one go to secure an official post and a promising future, Madame Qin did not want him to become a matrilocal son-in-law to avoid any future resentment. Therefore, she had bought the estate in advance as part of her daughter's dowry, allowing the newlyweds to live there.

Since everyone in the manor was their own trusted staff, Qin Bao'er had no misgivings and left the bridal chamber to search for him on her own.

Never could she have imagined that she would discover a scene in the adjacent courtyard that would haunt her for the rest of her life—

Qi Guangyao was actually dallying with his cousin, Zhao Chunlan, in the neighboring courtyard!

Qin Bao'er caught them red-handed in bed on the spot!

This Zhao Chunlan had suddenly appeared after the marriage was finalized, claiming that all her family members had died and she had no relatives to turn to, tearfully begging Qin Bao'er for shelter.

Calling her "cousin-in-law" at every turn, she had acted remarkably affectionate.

Without suspecting anything amiss, Qin Bao'er decided to let her stay, planning to find her a suitable match once her own wedding ceremonies were concluded.

Once settled, Zhao Chunlan would have had a reliable home and family, but who could have foreseen that she would repay kindness with enmity?

Or to put it another way,

this entire affair had been a trap from the very beginning.

Though furious at the time, Qin Bao'er retained her composure and ordered both Qi Guangyao and Zhao Chunlan to be bound and brought out for interrogation.

A basin of cold water woke Qi Guangyao up, whereupon he stammered that he had been too drunk, mistaken the person, and was deeply sorry to Qin Bao'er.

Zhao Chunlan, however, told a completely different story.

Shamelessly, Zhao Chunlan claimed that she and her cousin had shared intimacy long ago, and that Qin Bao'er was merely a homewrecking interloper.

In the end, she brazenly used threats of suicide to demand the status of a concubine to Qi Guangyao, declaring that otherwise, she would have no way out.

And if she died, it would entirely be Qin Bao'er's fault.

Since her cousin-in-law had been so kind to her, she might as well be a little kinder still.

Instead of flying into a rage on the spot, Qin Bao'er asked for Qi Guangyao's stance.

Whether due to lingering intoxication or the belief that the marriage was secure and Qin Bao'er was now entirely within his grasp—viewing her as an easy pushover—Qi Guangyao actually tacitly endorsed Zhao Chunlan's words.

Although gentle and submissive in front of Qi Guangyao, Qin Bao'er was General Qin's daughter and possessed a fiery temper by nature.

Her previous complete obedience to Qi Guangyao stemmed entirely from her affection for him. But upon realizing that the entire romance was a scam and that she had been played for a fool, her fury erupted instantly.

Right there on the spot, she drew her sword and hacked them both down!

That was correct—Qin Bao'er had killed them both.

Such a matter was by no means trivial.

Although Qi Guangyao lacked a prominent family background, he was nonetheless a provincial graduate with official scholarly status.

For Qin Bao'er to have slain him outright was a scandal that could never be covered up.

Although there were extenuating circumstances, murder—especially the murder of one's own husband, and a current imperial scholar at that—resulted in Qin Bao'er's immediate arrest by the Capital Magistrate's Office.

Having served as an official at court for so many years, General Qin inevitably had enemies. Taking advantage of the situation to kick them while they were down, his adversaries managed to have Qin Bao'er transferred to the Ministry of Punishments.

Ultimately, it was only after General and Madame Qin had worn out their shoes and exhausted every plea that they managed to narrowly spare Qin Bao'er's life.

Even so, she was sentenced to exile three thousand li away, forbidden from returning to the capital for a decade.

In the end, Qin Bao'er did not survive; she fell ill and died along the bitter road of exile...

General Qin and Madame Qin were utterly shattered by grief.

While General Qin managed to hold himself together, Madame Qin could not accept the agony of losing her daughter. Falling gravely ill for half a month, she soon followed her to the grave.

That vast and formidable General's Manor

was left with only General Qin alone.

The reason Ji Hua knew the details so clearly was because of Madame Qin's desperate actions after the murders.

To save her daughter, Madame Qin had spared no effort in gathering evidence of Qi Guangyao and Zhao Chunlan's illicit affair and preplanned deception, even recovering the letters they had exchanged.

Desperate to preserve her daughter's life and casting aside all pride, she had publicly exposed every single detail of the scandal.

Like a boulder dropped into a calm lake, it caused a massive uproar, arousing widespread sympathy. Numerous noble ladies with daughters of their own submitted a joint petition pleading for mercy, which finally saved Qin Bao'er from execution and reduced her sentence to exile.

It was precisely because the uproar had been so tremendous that Ji Hua had learned the story in such detail, even acquiring the intercepted correspondence between Qi Guangyao and Zhao Chunlan.

And at the present moment.

Qi Guangyao had already successfully entered the Qin household and met the couple, but their marriage had not yet been made official, meaning there was still time.

The couple was still evaluating this prospective son-in-law and remained in a stage of being quite satisfied, though as it concerned their daughter's lifelong happiness, they undoubtedly harbored lingering doubts.

Thus, when Ji Hua had someone approach Madame Qin with evidence of Qi Guangyao's infidelity, Madame Qin readily agreed to her proposal.

The terms of the deal were simple: Ji Hua would provide the evidence of Qi Guangyao's betrayal, while Madame Qin would help Ji Hua by persuading Madame Meng to stage a performance.

The Grand Preceptor's wife had no friendship with Ji Hua whatsoever.

Using her own existing animosity with Liu Qingmei as a pretext to save face, Madame Qin had persuaded the Grand Preceptor's wife to join in provoking Liu Qingmei.

The objective was to stall Liu Qingmei and deny her any opportunity to disrupt Ji Hua's plan.

As for how Ji Hua intended to accomplish her own goals, that was entirely her own affair, and Madame Qin did not press for details.

Even Ji Hua had not anticipated that things would go so smoothly today.

It was all thanks to Madame Qin for keeping Liu Qingmei occupied.

After her initial burst of anger subsided, Madame Qin calmed down, her rationality returning. Drawing a deep breath, she looked at Ji Hua and asked,

"How does the eldest young lady of the Prime Minister's Estate come to know of these matters? As a young lady who rarely steps beyond her boudoir on ordinary days, how is it that you even know who Qi Guangyao is?"

Presently in a state of extreme paranoia after being deceived, Madame Qin found it difficult to trust anyone easily.

Unfazed, Ji Hua calmly delivered the explanation she had long prepared.

"If Madame does not believe me, you are entirely free to investigate the matter privately. I have no personal grudge against Miss Qin, and I have no reason to ruin her marriage."

"It is simply that having happened to learn of this, my conscience would not rest if I kept silent. For a woman, marriage is akin to being reborn a second time; I could not bear to watch Miss Qin fall into a scheme and have her lifelong happiness destroyed."

Hearing these words, Madame Qin's expression softened visibly.

Ji Hua continued her explanation.

"Some time ago, I chanced to see Miss Qin and Qi Guangyao conversing and laughing together. It was evident that Miss Qin harbored feelings for him. Though that was none of my business, I happened to witness it and thus remembered."

"Yet I never expected that just a few days ago, when I went out with my maidservants to purchase fabrics, I inadvertently ran into Qi Guangyao—only this time, the person accompanying him was not Miss Qin, but an unfamiliar woman."