Chapter 7: They’ve Come to Catch the Adulterers

That night, the first heavy snow of winter fell silently. After the Embroider Maiden had gone to bed, Wu Wei returned to the Charity Mortuary to fetch her things. Snowflakes drifted down one by one, landing on Wu Wei’s head and shoulders.

Wu Wei paused in her steps and stopped. This was the first time she had ever admired a snowy night scene without any artificial lights around. She watched as tiny ice crystals appeared suddenly out of the darkness, twinkling with flecks of silver light. They floated silently and slowly across her field of vision before settling on the ground.

In no time at all, a thin veil of white blanketed everything in sight. The world was utterly still, silent except for the sound of her own breathing.

Wu Wei took a deep breath, hugged her belongings close, and made her way back to the Embroider Maiden’s old house. The Embroider Maiden was already asleep by then, so Wu Wei stowed her things, ladled out a bowl of hot water, and stepped into the courtyard. Leaning against the courtyard wall, she savored the falling snow.

“I wonder how much time has passed back home. Has anyone noticed I’m missing? Do Mom and Dad know?” Wu Wei murmured to herself. For the past two months, she had deliberately avoided these questions. After crossing over, she had tried every method she could think of. She had even gone diving in the lake every day until the weather turned too cold for it. But nothing had worked—she still couldn’t go back.

Wu Wei had calmly analyzed the situation before: Maybe the lake wasn’t the key to her traversal. Perhaps it was that memorial archway… She had made a special trip to inspect every archway nearby, but she hadn’t found the one from her memories.

She didn’t need to imagine the pain her “disappearance” would cause her parents. She hadn’t gone home in five years already. They might even think she had taken her own life in despair… How guilty and regretful would they feel? And if—if she could never return—what would they do with the rest of their lives?

Two clear trails of tears slid down Wu Wei’s cheeks. She hadn’t cried in years.

“Dad… actually, I stopped hating you a long time ago. I just didn’t know how to face you and Mom. I’m sorry.”

She finished her water as the snow grew thicker. Wu Wei wiped away her tears and turned back toward the house.

She added a few more pieces of firewood to the stove, then tiptoed into the bedroom and lay down beside the Embroider Maiden.

The next morning, when Wu Wei woke, the spot next to her was empty. The quilt had been neatly folded and placed at the foot of the kang. Wu Wei slipped into her shoes and stepped out, spotting steam rising from the big pot in the kitchen—but no sign of the Embroider Maiden.

“Embroider Maiden?” Wu Wei called. No answer.

Wu Wei pushed open the door and stepped outside. Through the collapsed section of the courtyard wall, she saw the Embroider Maiden’s petite figure approaching the house, a shoulder pole with buckets balanced on her shoulders.

Wu Wei hurried over to her and reached for the pole. “You’re just getting over your illness—why aren’t you resting properly?”

The Embroider Maiden’s smile was a little shy. She dodged Wu Wei’s hand and replied, “I woke up early and saw it had snowed outside. I’m worried the roads will ice over in a few days and be hard to navigate, so I wanted to fill the water jars at home.”

“Give it to me!” Wu Wei intercepted her. Seeing the determination in Wu Wei’s eyes, the Embroider Maiden slowly set down the pole, though she tried to dissuade her. “I’d better do it…”

Wu Wei noticed that the Embroider Maiden’s shoe tips and skirt hem were soaked. Frowning, she said, “Hurry back inside, take off those shoes, and get on the kang to warm your feet. Aren’t you afraid you’ll get sick again?”

Shoes in this era were worlds apart from modern ones. Only wealthy noble families could afford double-soled footwear made of leather and thick cloth. The soles on the Embroider Maiden’s shoes were stitched from scraps of fabric—standing in the snow with them was little better than going barefoot. Once they got wet, they were bitterly cold. So many women’s ailments stemmed from catching a chill. How could she be so careless with herself?

The Embroider Maiden opened her mouth, but under Wu Wei’s gaze, she said nothing more. She walked back with many a backward glance. Wu Wei adjusted the pole on her shoulders. She had just straightened her knees when pain shot through them, making her grimace.

Don’t let the Embroider Maiden’s effortless poise fool you. The pressure from those two buckets of water bore down on Wu Wei’s shoulders like torture.

With a clatter, the wooden buckets hit the ground, well water sloshing out.

Wu Wei bared her teeth and rubbed her shoulder. She tossed the pole aside and picked up one bucket in each hand, heading back home. The Embroider Maiden had already made several trips before, and with these two more, the water jar was nearly full.

Wu Wei grabbed the Embroider Maiden, who was already trying to get back to work, and frog-marched her into the house like a wayward chick.

“Take off your shoes and get on the kang! I’m going to give you a lesson in health preservation.”

“…All right.” The Embroider Maiden slipped off her shoes and sat on the kang. Wu Wei pulled over a quilt to cover her legs, then kicked off her own shoes and joined her.

“Look at your hands,” Wu Wei said.

“The joints are all red, aren’t they? And your feet—do they hurt? Are they numb?”

“…A little.”

“See? You don’t even have a cotton-padded jacket. You’re just recovering from a serious illness, yet you go out in such thin clothes to carry water. Your shoes got wet, didn’t they?”

“…Yes.”

“If you keep this up, you’ll get sick. Your hands might develop chilblains next year—painful and itchy. And once chilblains break out, they could recur every winter! And that leg of yours… By the time you’re old—no, it won’t even take that long. Your toes will ache, your ankles will hurt, your knees will throb, especially when it rains. Then your joints will deform, you’ll have trouble walking, and it’ll plague you for life!”

The Embroider Maiden bit her lip, her hands resting on her knees, clutching the quilt there. She stayed silent.

Seeing this, Wu Wei softened her tone. “I know our circumstances are tough right now. Some things… we have no choice but to do. But we need to be smart about it. For example: conserve water, carry it on a warmer day, wait until the snow on the ground has melted—or at least do it during the warmest part of the day. Since we don’t have proper winter clothes, we should work with the weather, not against it. Besides, there are two of us now. You could call me along—we could make fewer trips together.”

How could the Embroider Maiden let Wu Wei do such rough labor? But she didn’t dare voice it, so she just nodded.

“That’s more like it. Don’t think you’re still young and can neglect your body. Girls are different. Otherwise, just the monthly pains alone… Well, no matter what happens, your body is yours in the end. Got it?”

“Mm. I’ve got some porridge stewing in the pot…” The Embroider Maiden’s words were cut off by a burst of raucous noise. This remote spot near the Charity Mortuary had never been so “lively.”

“I’ll go check it out. It might be people delivering a body to the mortuary. You stay in the house—don’t come out.”

“Mm.”

At the door, Wu Wei caught a few harsh words. Realizing this might not be what she thought, she tucked the dagger into her bosom, repeatedly warned the Embroider Maiden to stay put, and went out.

The little courtyard was half-surrounded by people. Beyond the walls stood a crowd of burly men gripping cudgels, their faces hostile. Wu Wei looked more closely and saw that someone had even brought two pig cages…

Combining that with the phrases like “adulterous man and whore” and “shameless spectacle” she’d faintly overheard from inside, Wu Wei understood completely. So… these people had come to catch adulterers?

Wu Wei sneered inwardly. Leaving aside that she was a woman—even if she were a man, neither she nor the Embroider Maiden was married. How did that make them an “adulterous pair”? The Embroider Maiden had already split off from the family and was head of her own household. Couldn’t she decide her own marriage?

Hah. Outnumbered and aggressive, even bringing a pair of pig cages. Did they plan to punish her and the Embroider Maiden on the spot?

Wu Wei’s appearance caused an uproar. The crowd shouted and cursed, brandishing their cudgels.

Wu Wei stepped out of the courtyard gate, keeping a safe distance from the mob. She cupped her hands toward an elderly man in the center who seemed to be in charge. “Elder… may I ask what brings you here?”

The old man cleared his throat lightly, and the crowd fell instantly silent. He sized Wu Wei up and down before countering, “You’re from out of town, aren’t you? This is the Liu Family Old Residence. What are you doing here?”

“I was passing through when the weather turned cold and the roads impassable. The Embroider Maiden took me in.”

“See? The adulterer and his pregnant whore!”

“Shameless, utterly shameless! Village Head, we should deal with this dog of a couple right now to set things straight!”

“Grab them!”

The crowd surged with fury again, and the old man’s face grew darker. But he was an experienced Village Head, after all. Wu Wei wore coarse cloth garments, yet her skin was fair and her speech refined. Surrounded by so many people, she showed no fear—perhaps she had backing.

“Young one, state your name and background.”

“My humble name is unworthy. Are you the Village Head, sir?”

“Indeed!”

“This junior sees that you carry yourself with such dignity, sir. Surely this must be a land of heroes and geniuses, a place of upright righteousness and profound fortune!”

The Village Head coughed. Wu Wei pressed on, “What person is the Village Head seeking to arrest?” She knew full well but asked anyway.

“Let me ask you: Is Liu Sanniang inside?”

“Please forgive me, Village Head, but the Embroider Maiden is ill and abed. She cannot come out to pay her respects.”

The Embroider Maiden was huddled just inside the door, peeking through the crack, ready to rush out if needed. By now, she had pieced it together—they had come to catch adulterers. She felt both wronged and amused. Two women… what could they possibly “catch”? Convinced Wu Wei would be fine, she held back.

“No mistake then—bind them!” The Village Head waved his hand.

“Hold on!” Wu Wei stepped back and barked the words.

“What is it?”

“Village Head, the Embroider Maiden and I have been living together for some time now. I can vouch that she has had no dealings with any man.”

The Village Head laughed in disbelief. “Aren’t you—”

Amid the crowd’s gasps of shock, Wu Wei yanked off her hair tie. Her black locks cascaded down like a waterfall. “I am a woman…” As she spoke, she viciously pinched the soft flesh at her waist. Her nose stung, and tears flooded her eyes in an instant.

Just as the crowd was still reeling from the bombshell of Wu Wei’s sudden gender reveal, she flung herself to the ground. Curling into a pitiful huddle, she covered half her face with her sleeve and choked out through the pain, “I… I can’t go on living!”

Her waist was her Achilles’ heel, and the fall sent tremors through her entire body. The quiver in her voice came naturally, but to the listeners’ ears, it twisted into the raw fury and utter despair of someone pushed beyond endurance.

Wu Wei fought to keep her expression in check as she wailed, “I’m a pure and innocent young maiden, untouched and chaste, not yet married—and now all you men have come barging in with clubs to catch me committing adultery! I… I can’t live like this anymore! I’ll beat the Grievance Drum! I’ll roll across the Nail Board all the way to the capital to file my grievance with the Emperor! Then I’ll find a crooked-neck tree and hang myself to end it all! Sob sob sob… You’ve ruined my entire life! Oh heavens above… Won’t someone stand up for me?”