Casting Nets to Catch a Husband

Chapter 200: Struggle

On the long street in the twilight, Liu Dalang stared intently at the woman’s back in front of him, his gaze laced with venom. However, seeing Lu Chengxiao beside Liu Yu, he didn’t dare get too close.

He was waiting, waiting for a moment when Liu Yu would be alone.

Liu Yu acted as if she was unaware of being followed. She used herself as bait, luring Liu Dalang toward the tavern where Wu Shi was.

She was so calm that even Lu Chengxiao couldn’t help but take notice.

When they were about ten paces from the tavern, Liu Yu stopped, glanced at the sign, and turned to Lu Chengxiao. “Haven’t we tried this place yet? Why don’t we have dinner here?”

Her brows arched, lips curling into a faint smile, even a bit of laughter in her voice. To Liu Dalang, watching from behind, this casual exchange only deepened his hatred.

“Sure,” Lu Chengxiao replied indulgently, playing along perfectly.

The two walked into the tavern hand in hand, but had barely set one foot inside before they quickly turned back.

Liu Yu had pulled Lu Chengxiao out, her face showing slight discomfort. “What’s wrong?” he asked, puzzled.

Liu Yu looked a bit strange. “Don’t ask. Let’s find another place.”

As she dragged him away in haste, Liu Dalang, still following them, grew curious. What made her so flustered? He couldn’t resist looking through the tavern window—and that single glance made his gloomy eyes widen.

Wu Shi, who was supposedly at her family’s house, was actually in the tavern, sitting with another man. The two were drinking intimately at a small table, with Wu Shi leaning close, practically pressing half of her chest against the man’s muscular arm.

Liu Dalang felt his blood rush to his head.

At that moment, Lu Chengxiao’s slightly shocked voice drifted over. “Isn’t that…”

Liu Yu looked embarrassed and said, “It’s none of our business. I haven’t had any connection with that family for ages, and that man doesn’t look easy to deal with. Let’s just leave it.”

As their voices grew distant, Liu Dalang was left simmering in a mixture of shame and rage. Even Liu Yu, as his sister-in-law, found it embarrassing to witness Wu Shi’s infidelity, and he, the legitimate husband, could hardly bear it.

However, Liu Yu’s last remark kept him from barging in. He assessed the man’s build, and despite his fury, he had to admit that he was no match for him. Charging in now would only end badly.

Liu Dalang told himself to endure. Besides, causing a scene now would alert Liu Yu to his stalking. He took a few steps back, hiding out of Wu Shi’s sight, and fixed his gaze on the two inside, deciding not to follow Liu Yu further.

With Lu Chengxiao by her side, it was hard for him to get a chance to strike. He could always look for another opportunity later, but this matter with Wu Shi might end up with him wearing a green hat. Remembering the past year of constant insults from Wu Shi, Liu Dalang clenched his hand against the wall, veins bulging.

—

Once out of Liu Dalang’s view, Liu Yu’s smile faded.

She didn’t stay to watch the aftermath but quietly started walking home.

Lu Chengxiao’s mood was heavy, too. Even though Liu Dalang wasn’t targeting him, Lu Chengxiao could feel the poisonous hatred radiating from him.

When they returned home, Xu’er had already prepared the meal. Liu Yu seemed fine, though at dinner, she only took a couple of bites—unlike her usual single bowl—before putting down her chopsticks, telling Lu Chengxiao and Xu’er to eat slowly while she went to her room.

Xu’er was surprised. “Did the food not suit her taste?”

Lu Chengxiao shook his head. “No, it’s not that. You eat; I’ll go check on her.”

He set down his own bowl and followed her to the inner courtyard.

Inside, Liu Yu was working on an embroidery sketch, looking as composed as ever.

Lu Chengxiao sighed and remarked, “I wonder what’s happening with those two now.”

Liu Yu paused her brush, then replied, “Nothing will happen. Liu Dalang is very calculating. Since he’s no match for you, he wouldn’t dare try anything with me while you’re around. And similarly, he wouldn’t act tonight because he knows he’s not that man’s match either.”

Lu Chengxiao was not someone who missed details; Liu Yu knew this well. If she could understand the situation, how could he not?

He took the pen from Liu Yu’s hand. “Then why are you so anxious?”

Because she was afraid. Because it was her first time doing something so ruthless.

Liu Yu looked at Lu Chengxiao but said nothing.

For the first time, her routine was disrupted. Instead of practicing dance or reading with her husband as usual, she went to bed early.

And for the first time, she didn’t nestle into Lu Chengxiao’s arms but turned her back to him.

The room was silent. Liu Yu lay still, unable to sleep, but unwilling to let Lu Chengxiao know.

She didn’t know how to face him, nor how to face the dark thoughts within herself, fearing he might ask more questions.

Flashes of her past life and the wrongs she endured crossed her mind. In those darkest times, she had vowed to make those who harmed her pay if she ever had the chance.

But now, having survived and built a new life, things had changed. Liu Dalang and Wu Shi—she had hoped that karma would take care of them, and she would have no need to get involved. If Liu Dalang hadn’t come after her with such malice, she would have preferred not to deal with them at all.

But he had sought her out, filled with venom, and she could get her revenge without dirtying her hands. Liu Yu felt justified in her response.

She repeated to herself that there was nothing wrong with her actions. After a long time, she finally fell into a deep sleep.

When her breathing became even, Lu Chengxiao finally moved slightly.

That night, it wasn’t only Liu Yu who struggled to sleep. Lu Chengxiao lay awake as well.

It was one thing to be on guard for danger, but it was impossible to always be prepared.

He was deeply afraid, terrified that if he looked away for even a moment, Liu Yu might find herself in danger. He was also concerned about her current state.

Her strength and calm were only on the surface. She might not have realized it, but ever since they left the embroidery house that evening, Liu Yu had been tense, unable to relax for even a moment.

In Dongling Alley, at the large courtyard Wu Jin had rented.

By now, all the lights in the rooms had gone out, with only a sliver of the crescent moon occasionally peeking out from behind the clouds.

The courtyard was home to a mixed crowd, and Liu Dalang had followed Wu Shi and her companion all the way there.

He knew where Wu Jin lived. They had met here several times to discuss selling Liu Yu, with plans to bind her and bring her to this place, waiting for a buyer willing to pay. The plan hadn’t worked back then, but now Wu Shi was using the rented room for her trysts.

Late at night, with everyone asleep, Liu Dalang pressed himself against the wall outside Wu Jin’s window. He didn’t even have to eavesdrop carefully; Wu Shi’s suppressed, lewd sounds flooded his ears.

The man in the room enjoyed crude talk and particularly liked making Wu Shi compare his prowess with her husband’s.

Although Wu Shi could sneak out to meet her lover, it wasn’t often she could get away. Being cooped up with Liu Dalang had nearly driven her mad, and once with her lover, she spoke without restraint. The things she usually shouted at Liu Dalang when frustrated were now tossed out with even more vulgar language, as a twisted source of pleasure for her lover. The filthier her words, the more excited the man became, and the rougher he was with her.

Their shameless actions and obscene words echoed not only to Liu Dalang, hidden against the wall outside, but could also faintly be heard by the other residents of the courtyard if they listened carefully.

Liu Dalang was about to lose his mind. His most humiliating secrets, the things he most wished to keep hidden, were being exposed with abandon under his wife’s lover, who took pleasure in mocking him in bed. His blood-red eyes burned with fury, and his hands shook violently. In that moment, if he’d had an axe in hand, he would have burst through the door to hack apart the adulterous couple.

Desperate, his eyes scanned the courtyard for an axe, any weapon…

It was dark, and in a place like this, people stored their belongings well. There was nothing at hand. His mind cleared slightly, and he recalled Liu Yu’s warning: that man was dangerous.

If even someone as capable as Lu Chengxiao was wary of him, what would charging in with an axe achieve other than getting himself killed?

He looked back at the closed wooden window, no light seeping from within. Liu Dalang couldn’t see through it, but he didn’t need to; the sounds were enough to imagine Wu Shi’s current state.

His expression twisted, contorted with rage.

“Adulterous dogs… just wait.”

Liu Dalang pulled his hat low, rose silently, and slipped out of the courtyard, disappearing into the thick night.

Late in the night, Liu Yu fell into a nightmare. The scenes shifted wildly: in one moment, she was in the hands of slave traders, waking to find a companion lying cold beside her; in another, she was forced to watch a runaway girl being brutalized by the thugs of the Liuxian Pavilion. In yet another, Liu Dalang was chasing Wu Shi with an axe; and then, she herself was collapsing against a rock, lying in a pool of blood.

Xu’er stumbled into the room, trembling like a leaf. “Miss… it’s… it’s him. Brother Xu said the lord has arrived, with a team of guards and two enormous black wolfhounds.”

The young girl, just fourteen or fifteen, was visibly terrified, nearly fainting from fear.

Scenes of Xiao Yuniang being carried back to Liuxian Pavilion, her body bruised and broken, flashed again.

“Yu’er, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

Someone was shaking her, but Liu Yu’s dream persisted, bringing an image of Xu’er sobbing and holding her, screaming desperately.

Liu Yu was trapped in a chaotic hell, the scenes looping again and again.

Lu Chengxiao hadn’t managed to wake her yet, but he noticed her whole body trembling. He held her, stroking her back as he murmured softly into her ear, “Liu Yu, don’t be afraid. It’s just a nightmare. Wake up.”

Whether it was his comforting or just time, eventually, she grew calm, her grip on his shirt tight and unmoving.

Lu Chengxiao looked down at her in concern, and he held her like that through the night.

Meanwhile, on a boat traveling from Hongdu to Yuan Prefecture, Liu Yanzheng awoke abruptly from his own dream. Instinctively, he reached for a box at his bedside. Inside was the brow pendant that Chen Fang had brought back for him.

Over the past year, he had noticed something strange. When he was near this pendant, he would repeatedly dream the same violent, torturous scenes, as if witnessing the brutal treatment of several strangers.

He had even connected with Lord Meng and Wei Lianxing from his dreams. Somehow, Lord Meng had learned of him and had, months earlier, reached out through Chen Fang, expressing an interest in the overseas business.

Liu Yanzheng hadn’t agreed, nor had he admitted knowing any overseas merchants. They maintained a distant connection, yet he hadn’t uncovered any further clues from his dreams.

On this trip, he had inexplicably decided to bring the pendant with him, hoping it might lead to more answers or help him see the face behind that haunting voice.

But tonight’s dream was no different from the previous ones. Sighing, Liu Yanzheng put down the pendant and stepped out of the cabin.

The guards on duty saluted as he appeared. Liu Yanzheng acknowledged them and, looking at the faintly brightening sky, asked, “How far are we from Anyi County?”

One of the guards thought for a moment and replied, “We should be there in about five days.”

“Five days?”

Liu Yanzheng turned back to look at his cabin, nodded slightly, and said nothing more.

Sansukini: Lu Dalang and Wu Shi’s end is coming soon. We only have 12 episodes left, so basically 1 month till this novel ends.

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