Madeline Quinn Pays a Visit

Liu Ru was just making up her mind when she heard someone knocking on the courtyard door.

Mrs. Zhao put down the child and went to open the door. To her surprise, it was Qin Sanniang, the new bride from Zhang Zhuzi's family.

Mrs. Zhao glanced at the flamboyantly dressed Qin Sanniang and, recalling Qin's background, felt quite displeased.

Mrs. Zhao, proud of being a virtuous woman and feeling superior to a courtesan, looked at Qin Sanniang with disdain and blocked the doorway: "Oh, isn't this Zhang Zhuzi's new bride? What are you doing at our house? Families like ours with proper values don't associate with people like you."

Qin Sanniang rolled her eyes at Mrs. Zhao and said, "You and your 'proper values'? That's hilarious! Everyone knows your family is disliked by the whole village. Your men have even been punished with flesh torture and branded on their faces. And you still pretend to be so pure, acting like your own backside is spotless."

Mrs. Zhao, stung by the jab, angrily pushed Qin Sanniang toward the door: "Still better than you, a woman with a bad reputation who sleeps around. Get lost, don't dirty my home's ground!"

"I spit on your face!" Qin Sanniang grabbed Mrs. Zhao's arm, stepped back, and Mrs. Zhao fell flat on the ground.

Qin Sanniang placed her hands on her hips and said, "Your ground? Is this your house? Your whole family is living under someone else's roof. And you call me a courtesan, saying I'm unclean? What about your daughter-in-law Liu Ru? Is she clean? And your runaway concubine, Tofu Beauty? Which one of you is clean? You all treat the children born of courtesans like treasures, yet you pretend to be so high and mighty. Now get lost, good dogs don't block the way!"

Saying that, Qin Sanniang strode forward and kicked Mrs. Zhao aside.

Qin Sanniang swayed as she walked into the courtyard, looking around disdainfully at the shabby home. She waved her hand in front of her nose and headed toward Liu Ru's room.

Liu Ru was sitting on the bed; upon seeing Qin Sanniang enter, her face darkened.

"Oh, Sister Ru, didn't you redeem yourself and marry a rich young master? How did you end up like this?" Qin Sanniang said, clearly amused, watching Liu Ru's misfortune like a spectacle.

Liu Ru's face turned pale and then flushed; she felt a sharp pain in her chest but couldn't say a word.

She was indeed living miserably—so miserably it was beyond words. And it was all because she had been blind, mistaking a poor fraud for a rich young master. She could only grit her teeth and swallow her disappointment.

Qin Sanniang plopped down on the edge of the bed, looking at Liu Ru with a mocking expression: "Tsk tsk, you're living in this broken house? Is this a place for people to live?"

Liu Ru's face turned deathly pale as she coldly said, "Sanniang, if you're here to mock me, then you've seen enough. Just get lost quickly. I have no mood right now. Don't make a scene and embarrass us both."

Qin Sanniang chuckled, "Tsk, you sure know how to act tough with me. Oh, we're sisters after all. I'm just saying a few words. No need to get so worked up. I also married into this village. The villagers surely look down on our backgrounds, and probably no one wants to associate with us. From now on, it'll just be us two sisters who can talk."

Hearing Qin Sanniang's words, Liu Ru's expression softened a bit and said, "I really didn't expect you, Sanniang, to also marry into Haizi Village."

Qin Sanniang stood up and walked around the room, then looked at Liu Ru's child and asked, "Where's your husband?"

Liu Ru clenched her teeth in hatred as she thought of Su Shimao: "Who knows where he's off gallivanting. Haven't seen him for over ten days. Hmph, a poor useless man. Maybe he's dead out there!"

Qin Sanniang covered her mouth and laughed, "Dead out there? Oh Sister Ru, I'm here today to tell you about your husband. He's living it up, leaving you to suffer in this broken place!"