Chapter 32: Dissolution of Marriage

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Wang Wu stood there in stunned silence, vaguely guessing what might be happening.

As if to confirm his suspicions, the argument between the two people inside the room grew louder and louder.

Huang Wan and Sister-in-Law Wang hesitated several times, wanting to intervene, but Zhao Mu stopped them each time with a shake of his head.

This quarrel had exposed every problem between Wen Zhi and his wife.

What they needed was to release all the resentment that had accumulated in their hearts over the years, not bury it all over again.

Zhao Mu turned to glance at Ma San. At that moment, Ma San was leaning against the doorframe with an utterly bored expression, as though the shameless scoundrel from earlier had not been him at all.

Zhao Mu rolled his eyes and simply walked over to lean against the door beside him.

Ma San lifted his gaze. Seeing that it was Zhao Mu, he made no movement and merely continued watching the quarrel inside.

Zhao Mu took the two ounces of silver Qin Jian had given him from his robes and held it out.

“Brother, point me toward the right path.”

Ma San froze for a moment. The form of address was somewhat unusual, but he could more or less understand what Zhao Mu meant.

What puzzled him was Zhao Mu’s action.

Ma San had come today to provoke them. Even if the whole affair had ended with both sides beating each other bloody, it would have been nothing unexpected. Yet Zhao Mu was actually offering him silver?

“What do you mean?”

Ma San did not accept the money at once. Instead, he regarded Zhao Mu warily.

Their movements drew the attention of Wang Wu and the others. When they saw Zhao Mu take out the silver and offer it to Ma San, they were equally bewildered.

Still, knowing that Zhao Mu had always been measured in all he did, they said nothing and merely watched in silence.

Zhao Mu pressed the silver into Ma San’s hand and said with a smile, “I ask for nothing else. I only hope you’ll tell me who is truly behind today’s affair.”

Ma San accepted the silver without hesitation and asked, “What should I call you, young brother?”

Zhao Mu cupped his hands and replied, “My name is Zhao Mu, courtesy name Mu Zhi. Brother Ma may simply call me Mu.”

Ma San paused again. “You’re a scholar?”

Zhao Mu gave a wry smile. “I’ve only read a few books in a muddled fashion. I can hardly be called a true scholar.”

Ma San asked no further questions. He merely said in a low voice, “The Lady of the Wen household has a distant cousin who was her childhood companion. He now serves at the county office.”

Zhao Mu immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Since Wen Zhi’s wife’s cousin was the one behind this, it meant that the people trying to drive Wen Zhi out of the city were not the powerful officials he had offended before.

If those officials had truly sought to destroy Wen Zhi out of resentment over his past actions, then—

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—with their current abilities, they would have had no means of resisting at all.

They would never again have had so much as a foothold in Taiping County.

He, Huang Wan, Wang Wu, and the others had traveled thousands of miles to reach Taiping County. If they lost even this place of refuge, they had no confidence that they could remain alive long enough to find another place where they could settle and make a living.

Though Taiping County appeared peaceful and prosperous, disasters had already spread throughout the Great Qi realm.

Bones lay exposed in the wilderness, and for hundreds of miles not even the crowing of a rooster could be heard.

It was not merely natural disaster that plagued the land. Human calamity was even worse.

If they had to undertake another mass migration across hundreds or thousands of miles, they would have difficulty coping with the bandits and refugees alone, never mind whether there would be enough food along the way.

But if the scheme had been arranged only by Wen Zhi’s wife and her cousin, matters would be much simpler.

Although her cousin served at the county office, so long as he was not someone of great influence, they could still find a way to deal with him.

“Brother Ma, thank you.”

Zhao Mu cupped his hands once more and offered his thanks with solemn sincerity.

Ma San flashed a grin. “You’re too polite, Mu. I, Ma San, may be a good-for-nothing who does wicked things, but I’m not bad by nature. When all is said and done, I was merely paid to do a job.”

Zhao Mu nodded thoughtfully and cupped his hands again.

At that moment, the argument inside the room was drawing to an end.

Wen Zhi emerged with a dark expression. Wang Wu and the others hurried forward to meet him.

Wen Zhi clenched his fists, then walked up to Ma San.

“I’ve signed the divorce agreement. Where is the IOU?”

Ma San did not produce it at once. Instead, he looked toward Wen Zhi’s wife, who had just stepped out of the room.

She gave a light nod. Only then did Ma San take out the IOU.

“Marquis Wen, don’t blame us. We brothers were only paid to do a job.”

Wen Zhi snorted coldly, took the IOU, and tore it into shreds on the spot.

Then he strode out through the courtyard gate.

Outside the little courtyard, several men in official uniforms immediately gathered around him, surrounding him on all sides.

Wen Zhi frowned and addressed one of them. “Fang De, what do you want now?”

Fang De gave a cold laugh. “Wen Zhi, don’t think yourself wronged. If my maternal uncle hadn’t said back then that you would one day become a general, Lian’er and I would have long since been surrounded by children and grandchildren. If anyone has the right to hate you, it should be me!”

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Wen Zhi seemed to have known this for a long time. He did not grow angry, merely lowering his voice as he said, “Fang De, if I ever learn that you’ve treated Lian’er badly, then even if a thousand mountains and ten thousand rivers stand between us, I will come and kill you.”

Fang De dismissed the threat with a sneer. “Now that the divorce agreement has been signed, you and Lian’er have nothing to do with each other anymore. What happens between us is none of your concern.”

Wen Zhi stared coldly at him, his emotions rising and falling in turmoil.

When he had argued with his wife moments earlier, he had thought that the moment he saw Fang De, he would surely come to blows with him.

Yet now he had forced all his anger down.

Though his relationship with his wife had never been particularly good over the years, he would not have enjoyed so many years of peace without the help of his former father-in-law.

That was simply the kind of man Wen Zhi was: kindness had to be repaid, and debts had to be settled.

The old kindness of his father-in-law still remained. He was unwilling to act at a time like this.

He looked back at the little courtyard where he had lived for seven or eight years. At last, his tightly clenched fists slowly loosened.

“Brother Wang Wu, let’s go.”

Wen Zhi closed his eyes, then opened them again. His voice was far more desolate than before.

Wang Wu immediately gathered his family, and together they left the little courtyard.

Huang Wan hesitated briefly before following them as well.

Zhao Mu pondered for a moment, then walked up to Wen Zhi’s wife and bowed deeply.

“Sister-in-law, since Brother Wen does not wish to say certain unpleasant things, I will not belabor the point either.”

Zhao Mu looked at Wen Zhi’s wife with a grave expression.

“They say that one day as husband and wife creates a hundred days of affection. No matter how many grievances you may have held, you should not have arranged matters this way and driven a married couple into bitter enmity. I only hope that you will not regret it in the future.”

With that, he turned and left.

When he passed by Ma San, he cupped his hands once more.

“Brother Ma, thank you for your help today. If fate allows us to meet again, I will certainly raise a great cup of wine with you.”

Ma San was flattered and hurriedly replied, “Of course. Since you think highly of me, Mu, just say the word whenever you have need of me in the future.”

Zhao Mu nodded and left calmly.

After he was gone, a man approached Ma San and said, “Third Brother, why did you waste so many words on that poor scholar?”

Ma San shot him a sidelong glance.

“What the hell do you know? Mu may be dressed in rags, but he is a scholar. And I know a little about judging people. Mu is destined to rise far beyond his humble beginnings!”

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