"No, no, my daughter is still young. Whatever the magistrate asks, Madam Qian will answer."
Madam Qian quickly pleaded for mercy, knowing her daughter was already looking at her with a strange gaze. She had no other retreat.
"My husband went to Menghua City in March this year to prepare a wedding banquet for someone, bringing a few chefs. When he returned on the fifteenth of March, he felt unwell. Within twenty days, his eyes started to turn red. I thought it was due to overwork, so I advised him to rest well.
He refused and went to Menghua City again on the fifteenth of March for another wedding banquet. This time, he disappeared. Twenty days passed, and I informed my father-in-law, and we went together to search for him. Unexpectedly..."
"Speak quickly, what happened?" the magistrate urged.
"Unexpectedly, I found him in bed with another woman, and it was the new bride of the wedding banquet host."
Madam Qian's words caused a stir in the entire hall.
"There's such a thing."
"Qian Youjin didn't seem like that kind of person usually."
"Yes, although he has a shop in the city and has earned a lot of money, he has never looked down on anyone. When people were in difficulty, he would even help them."
"Exactly, I didn't expect him to be that kind of person."
"Silence!" the prefect shouted, and the surroundings instantly calmed down.
A Jiu frowned. After Madam Qian was bought by Li Dachang, she had indeed accompanied him to the city.
That Gao family was a prominent household, sons of officials. If she remembered correctly, their daughter-in-law was also from a well-matched family. She heard that she was the daughter of the Menghua City prefect.
A Jiu remembered that when the Gao family's son got married, Li Dachang had even received an invitation.
However, she wasn't qualified to attend.
But how could the prefect's daughter fall for a cook? And have an affair with him? How many people would believe such a story?
"I am just a village woman. Knowing I couldn't argue with him, I left and took my Hui'er back to our ancestral home in the countryside, no longer relying on the Qian family for a living."
Madam Qian's voice grew calmer as she spoke, as if the past hurts were long gone.
"Later, about four months ago, Qian Youjin, my husband, suddenly found me. He was so thin, saying he owed our mother and daughter too much. He seemed to have been harmed, so he gave me the deed to their only shop as compensation.
I didn't want it. I felt it was an insult, so I took a knife and cut him. I hated him... I hated him for abandoning us, mother and daughter."
"It's common for men to have three wives and four concubines, why take it so seriously?"
"Yes!"
The crowd began to stir.
"Heh heh, common?" Madam Qian, now withered, laughed a desolate laugh. "Do you know how I left my home, defied my family's opposition, and gave up my life as a young lady to marry him? How did he pledge his vows to me, saying he would only have me in this life?
So, I ate the piece of flesh I cut off. How about that... I ate it."
As soon as she said this, everyone fell silent.
"Are there no other hidden matters?" Even the magistrate took a sharp breath.
"My father-in-law knew I had injured his son and was enraged that I ate a piece of his flesh. He came to confront me, wanting to send me back to my maternal home, but I had no way back. The moment I decided to marry Qian Youjin, I had severed ties with my family. After several arguments, and with Qian Youjin dying in the restaurant not long after, my father-in-law was heartbroken and died soon after."
"Died of anger?" the voice was very soft.
No one dared to discuss loudly now. The whispers in private were still heard by Madam Qian.
"You don't need to discuss me in private. The old man died of excessive grief. I carried his coffin up the mountain alone to bury him. Who among you helped me then? But I did my best."
As she said this, not a single tear fell from Madam Qian's eyes. It was as if she felt she had a clear conscience and had no need for hypocritical tears and self-reproach towards others.
"Guards, investigate this matter thoroughly and see if it matches Madam Qian's testimony," the magistrate, his spirit flagging, gave the order.