Chapter 2: From Now On, Spend More Time at the Brothel

It had only just turned autumn. Liu Huaixu was busy at home planting Chinese cabbage when her neighbor Wu Qiuqiu called out to her.

“Sister Huaixu, did you hear? Something’s happened to Yu An!”

Liu Huaixu heard some version of this every couple of days, so at first the words didn’t register—she went on scattering seeds in the vegetable plot.

Wu Qiuqiu stood at the courtyard gate. Seeing no reaction, she hurried in and grabbed Liu Huaixu’s hand. “Yu An’s being chased all over the village by the Village Head right now!”

“I’m sorry—what did you say?” Even as she spoke, Liu Huaixu’s attention fell on the hand clasped around hers.

Though Wu Qiuqiu was still Unpresented, she was already a grown girl, and tangling hands with Liu Huaixu—a Omega with a Alpha of her own—meant certain distances still had to be kept. Liu Huaixu quietly withdrew her hand.

Having forgotten propriety in her urgency, Wu Qiuqiu realized she’d been rather rude. She awkwardly clasped her hands behind her back and repeated what she’d said.

Liu Huaixu’s brow knotted deeply.

Wu Qiuqiu watched her without another word. She’d heard of Yu An’s “deeds” no less than Liu Huaixu had—more, even—and naturally had no fondness for the woman. If anything, she thought Yu An a sheer waste of Liu Huaixu.

Here was a Lord Alpha, yet apart from that face, nothing about her was worth mentioning. Forget lifting a finger for even the smallest household matter—Liu Huaixu had to worry over her instead.

Getting beaten was routine for Yu An, but usually she only came home covered in bruises after the fact. Being beaten out in the open, in the village itself, had never happened before.

Even if everyone knew Yu An was a lost cause, a public thrashing in the village would mean Liu Huaixu was the one who couldn’t hold her head up.

Liu Huaixu quickly set down the seeds, changed into a clean set of clothes, and headed out with Wu Qiuqiu.

The moment they stepped out of their alley, they ran into several neighbors—clearly also bound for the spectacle. When those eyes landed on Liu Huaixu, some showed contempt, others pity.

Wu Qiuqiu was furious at those looks.

“Sister Huaixu, look at them…”

“Pay them no mind.”

With that, Liu Huaixu quickened her pace, and Wu Qiuqiu could only hurry after her.

Reaching the crowd, the first thing Liu Huaixu saw was her good-for-nothing Qianjun pinned to the ground.

Pushing through the onlookers, Liu Huaixu said calmly, “Uncle Cao, what wrong has my Qianjun done to warrant such an uproar?”

The moment the woman’s voice fell, Cao Biao’s face stiffened—then his beard bristled and his eyes bulged as he jabbed a finger at Yu An on the ground. “Madam Liu, you of all people know exactly what your Qianjun is like!”

Pinned to the ground, Yu An snapped back to her senses at the words “Madam Liu.”

She’d been too busy silently marveling at the woman’s beauty to catch how she’d been addressed. Only now, hearing that surname-bearing form of address, did it hit her.

Liu…

Liu Huaixu!

Of everything in that smut novel she’d “studied,” the character who had left the deepest impression was this very second female lead—Liu Huaixu.

The original text hadn’t dwelt much on gambling or brothel-hopping, but bullying young wives and toying with young widows—that, it had.

It hadn’t even spared the Village Head’s daughter, toying with her from time to time until the springtime-yearning girl vowed to marry no one but Yu An, convinced she was the only one for her.

And that was how things had come to this.

Yu An had only read the first few chapters; after realizing something was off, she’d merely skimmed ahead. All she knew was that, by the original plot, Liu Huaixu was destined to fall too…

Ah, what a pity.

Yu An’s expression was a touch dramatic. Liu Huaixu had been looking at her—only to catch her shaking her head with a face full of regret.

Combined with Yu An’s usual behavior, Liu Huaixu’s lovely brows knit. What fresh nonsense was she dreaming up this time?

But right now, she had no choice but to step in.

Her gaze slid off Yu An, and she walked unhurriedly toward Cao Biao.

“Uncle, you watched Yu An grow up. You know her nature as well as anyone—she’s merely a little too fond of play.”

A little too fond of play?

Yu An wasn’t a toddler. Could the things she’d done really be called “play”?

“Do you hear yourself, Madam Liu?”

Cao Biao was thoroughly angered, his look toward Liu Huaixu turning unkind. Unable to rein in her own Qianjun, letting her run wild—Liu Huaixu was pitiable, yet also detestable.

But Liu Huaixu’s expression remained placid, which infuriated Cao Biao all the more.

Exasperated, he pointed at Yu An. “My daughter—”

Before he could finish, another stir ran through the crowd. The villagers parted to reveal a young girl running toward them, crying as she came.

The newcomer was none other than Cao Biao’s daughter—the very girl who had wept by the river and urged Yu An to run.

The girl called for her father as she ran, but her eyes never once left Yu An.

Cao Biao could vent his fury at Yu An, or at Liu Huaixu—but his own daughter? How could he lose his temper at her in front of all these people?

“Guan’er, come here to your father.”

Cao Biao reached out and yanked Cao Guan to his side, shooting her a vicious glare. In a voice only the two of them could hear, he growled, “Stay away from her. Haven’t you disgraced me enough?”

Liu Huaixu cast a placid glance at Cao Guan’s reddened eyes, then at Yu An, still pinned to the ground. A flicker of disgust passed through her gaze.

But disgust aside, this standoff could not go on.

She stepped up to Cao Biao. “Uncle, may we speak in private?”

Cao Biao glanced after Liu Huaixu as she walked off, then at his own daughter. After a moment’s hesitation, he followed.

“Madam Liu…”

“Uncle Cao, today’s affair was entirely my Qianjun’s fault. But if this drags on, it won’t do Miss Cao’s reputation any favors either.”

Liu Huaixu dipped into a slight bow—her bearing carried both an apology and a warning.

Cao Biao had indeed been blinded by rage. He’d barely woken that morning before his wife told him their daughter had run off after Yu An again.

A few days prior, Yu An had kept coming to their house under the pretext of “sponsoring impoverished households.”

At first Cao Biao had thought her merely lazy and gluttonous—neglecting the family’s dozen-odd mu of poor farmland in favor of handouts. He’d never imagined her designs were actually on his daughter.

Cao Guan was only fifteen this year, freshly presented—right at the age for marriage talks. But with Yu An stirring up all this, which respectable family would still want her?

Liu Huaixu’s words, then, had struck Cao Biao precisely where it hurt.

“Niece… to be honest with you, your uncle was beside himself with anger.”

If he hadn’t been out of his mind with fury, would he have chased Yu An back and forth across the whole village?

Yu An’s disgrace was his disgrace too.

Yu An, pinned to the ground, had been watching Liu Huaixu and Cao Biao talk off in the corner—when Cao Guan appeared from who knew where and shoved aside the men holding her down.

Those men were either Cao family kin or toadies of the Village Head, and the moment Cao Guan arrived, they all let go.

Yu An had been held down so long her neck had gone stiff. She loosened it up, then looked at the girl, who had started crying again.

She sighed, utterly resigned. She didn’t know exactly what had happened, but judging by the original novel’s description of Yu An…

This Yu An’s looks carried a woman’s soft beauty along with a Alpha’s dashing spirit, and those peach-blossom eyes could set hearts fluttering.

Looking at the girl before her, Yu An figured that part was probably true.

Otherwise, how would the pretty Miss Cao have fallen for Yu An—a woman who already had a wife?

“Sister Yu, I’ll beg Father to spare you, I promise.” Cao Guan clutched Yu An’s hand, tears streaming down without end.

Yu An didn’t understand the situation, but she still wanted to wail: What a sin!

She’d never even been in a relationship, yet here she was, transmigrated into such a fickle, faithless creature. None of it was her doing, but she was wearing this body’s identity, and without knowing the specifics, she didn’t dare say one word more than necessary.

Terrified that a single wrong syllable would incur everyone’s wrath.

When Liu Huaixu had come over earlier, Yu An had discovered the woman was precisely her type—so entrancing that she’d gone completely speechless.

And thank goodness for that. Otherwise, even Yu An couldn’t have vouched for what might have come out of her mouth.

Just like now—facing Cao Guan, she couldn’t get a word out. She could only quietly slip her hand from Cao Guan’s grasp and put on what she considered a very sincere smile.

As for why “sincere”…

Yu An reckoned it was entirely that name-sharing rogue’s own frivolity that had made the girl fall for her. As long as she herself seemed sincere enough…

“Sister Yu! What are you doing? Do the things you once told me mean nothing now?”

Cao Guan stared at her discarded hand, heart aching with humiliation.

If Yu An hadn’t come to find her again and again, she never would have…

How could she, knowing full well the woman had a wife, still have…

…still have given her her whole heart?

“Sister Yu, can you truly be so heartless?”

The accusation left Yu An completely floored. Had she done anything so terrible?

All she’d done was separate their clasped hands and show a smile. This, this, this…

Cao Biao and Liu Huaixu returned to precisely this scene—the former beside himself with rage, the latter’s face a mask of indifference and disgust.

He glanced at the surrounding crowd, then at his daughter and Yu An crouched on the ground, swallowed the words he’d been about to say, and stepped over. After another vicious glare at his daughter, he helped Yu An to her feet.

“Niece Yu An, your uncle misunderstood. I hope I didn’t hurt you just now?”

Yu An rose with the pull of Cao Biao’s hand. At his words, she stared at him in disbelief, then at Liu Huaixu.

So what exactly did those two go and discuss? Wasn’t the Village Head’s turnaround a bit too fast?

She didn’t know the specifics, but when handed an out, taking it could never be wrong.

“You’re too kind, Uncle.”

Cupping one hand over the other fist and bowing slightly in a pose learned from TV dramas, Yu An performed a fumbling formal salute.

She had no idea if this was correct, but the astonishment on Cao Biao’s face suggested she couldn’t be too far off.

Even Liu Huaixu was stunned. Since when did Yu An know such manners?

Cao Biao gave Yu An an appraising look. So she does know some sense of shame and propriety after all—every step he’d extended, she had caught. Then he turned to his good-for-nothing daughter and lectured, “Guan’er, I know you and Yu An have been close since childhood, but now that you’ve presented, you must learn to keep proper distance.”

In one sentence, he’d written off Cao Guan’s behavior as youthful foolishness.

Add to that the villagers’ general familiarity with the Yu family’s circumstances, and no one said much more. Cao Guan, however… would not stand for it.

Her bond with Yu An was plainly mutual love—how could it be dismissed as mere childhood closeness?

“Father! Sister Yu and I—”

“Hold your tongue!”

Cao Biao glanced at Yu An standing beside him. She kept her eyes perfectly forward, as if his daughter’s words had nothing to do with her.

When it came to her own affairs, quick to wash her hands clean—yet with his daughter she’d always been so smooth-tongued, leading his dutiful girl astray.

Utterly… heartless!

Cao Biao’s feelings were truly conflicted. He should have been relieved at the thought of his daughter having nothing to do with Yu An—yet Yu An’s swift self-extrication stung. His daughter was precious beyond measure; how could she count for so little in Yu An’s eyes?

The shift in his expression let Liu Huaixu read his thoughts at a glance.

Yu An’s actions were, for the purposes of settling the matter, entirely proper.

But with Cao Guan being so emotionally unrestrained, Yu An came across as terribly cold-hearted. That Cao Biao couldn’t stomach it was understandable.

“Uncle Cao, Guan’er is still young, and she and Yu An have known each other since childhood—their bond runs deep. It’s only natural she doesn’t think things through.”

Liu Huaixu had been standing slightly apart, but now she spoke from right beside them—exceptionally close to Yu An.

The two of them were wives; standing close was ordinary.

Yet two people found something off about it.

One was Yu An. When Liu Huaixu had walked over, Yu An had caught a whiff of cold fragrance; the closer she stood, the stronger it grew. Yu An’s eyes all but glued themselves to Liu Huaixu, as if she were the only person in the world at this moment—and her heartbeat had picked up several beats.

The other was Cao Guan.

She watched Liu Huaixu drift closer and closer to Yu An, wringing her handkerchief into wrinkles, her eyes turning wronged and disbelieving.

Clearly…

Clearly, Sister Yu had told her before that Liu Huaixu was terribly cold, like a block of wood, without a trace of charm.

Then why—why couldn’t Sister Yu’s eyes leave Liu Huaixu?

Seeing the Village Head and Liu Huaixu reach terms, the spectators knew the matter was more or less settled, and the crowd gradually dispersed, leaving only a few Cao relatives and some fawning lackeys.

Cao Biao shot a look at his younger brother Cao Qing, who shooed the remaining men away.

Once everyone had gone, Cao Biao’s face chilled again. Turning to Liu Huaixu, he said, “Today’s matter ends here. If Yu An pulls anything like this again, your uncle will not be so magnanimous.”

Liu Huaixu knew full well of Cao Biao’s displeasure. He’d only been willing to stage that little performance for face’s sake; now the audience was gone, so naturally his countenance soured.

She bowed slightly, her voice tinged with apology. “Yes. Huaixu will keep a firm watch on her Qianjun. She will stir up no more trouble.”

Liu Huaixu had said these words countless times over countless years. They were worn smooth with use.

Count on Yu An to turn over a new leaf?

She’d stopped counting on that long ago.

This was as far as Liu Huaixu’s words could reach. Yu An she could manage—but Cao Guan was beyond her.

As she tugged Yu An away by the sleeve, Cao Guan glared after her with hatred, as if she’d torn apart a pair of destined lovers.

They hadn’t gone far when they spotted Wu Qiuqiu, who had accompanied Liu Huaixu over earlier.

She’d only meant to tell Liu Huaixu about Yu An—she’d had no intention of gawking at the spectacle.

For all that Yu An philandered, whored, and gambled, she remained terribly possessive of Liu Huaixu. The moment she saw anyone walking too close to her wife, vicious words were guaranteed to follow.

And shameless as this person was—never mind her own scandals—she insisted on latching onto Wu Qiuqiu’s closeness with Liu Huaixu, so those barbs came easily to her tongue. Wu Qiuqiu regarded Liu Huaixu only as an elder sister and couldn’t stand Yu An on the best of days.

Seeing the two of them approaching hand in hand, Wu Qiuqiu’s first instinct was to head home—but Liu Huaixu called her back.

“Qiuqiu, thank you for today.”

If Wu Qiuqiu hadn’t come to warn them, Yu An would surely have made an even greater spectacle of herself.

“It’s nothing, Sister Huaixu.” Wu Qiuqiu didn’t look back, just tossed the words over her shoulder and ran for home.

It wasn’t that she feared Yu An—if the two of them got into a shouting match, it was Liu Huaixu who would suffer for it.

Yu An barely registered Wu Qiuqiu at all; her mind was entirely occupied with her own situation.

So lost in thought on the walk back, she failed to notice that Liu Huaixu had long since let go of her hand.

When they reached a courtyard house, Liu Huaixu paid Yu An no heed whatsoever. She went straight through the gate, changed her clothes, and prepared to return to planting—only to come back out and find Yu An standing blankly in the yard. Everything past surged up at once, and Liu Huaixu’s expression darkened from indifferent to stormy.

“From now on, spend more time at the brothel and stop philandering around the village. I’m the one embarrassed here, even if you aren’t.”

With that, Liu Huaixu took up her cabbage seeds and went on planting, not sparing the dumbstruck Yu An so much as a glance.