My elderly, disabled father was about to leave for the frontier to fight in a dangerous war. The odds were that he wouldn’t return.
His only remaining concern was my marriage.
He hoped to settle my marriage to Lu Mingyuan before he left.
But just as our family was preparing to sit down to a reunion dinner,
Lu Mingyuan’s new lover, He Wan’er, a courtesan from the pleasure quarter, showed up at our door with a pregnant belly.
Her every word was provocative, and she showed me no regard at all.
My father was shocked and furious.
His old ailment flared up, and his rage left him bedridden.
I was frantic. I sent out twenty groups of people to look for Lu Mingyuan, but none of them could find him.
That night, my father finally succumbed and passed away.
Only after I had taken care of my father’s funeral did Lu Mingyuan arrive, long overdue.
He looked unconcerned and clasped his hands in greeting.
“Miss He is young and doesn’t know proper etiquette. I hope you and the general won’t hold it against her.
“She’s pregnant and her moods are unpredictable, so don’t go looking for trouble with her.
“If you really can’t accept her, she can live in a separate courtyard after we marry.
“But she is carrying my child, after all, so I’ll have to spend some time with her. From now on, I won’t be able to spend my days off with you.”
Listening to Lu Mingyuan speak as if there were no room for discussion, I felt nothing but despair.
I held back my tears, gave a small nod, and quietly agreed.
He already had a concubine before we were even married. If word got out, I’d become the laughingstock of all Bianjing.
Since the promise he made back then had come to nothing,
I would let him go, and set myself free too.
