Chapter 37: The Qiu Family’s Forced Marriage

An Chunfeng knew she was telling the truth, and she did indeed need someone’s advice, so she began at the beginning and recounted everything the Qiu siblings had done on the Double Seventh Festival.

Whenever she thought of it, An Chunfeng could only laugh bitterly.

That night, the drunken man had been taken away by the patrolmen, and no one in Pear Blossom Alley mentioned the matter again. It was as if nothing had ever happened.

Had Madam Qiu simply withdrawn and stopped pestering her, An Chunfeng would not have wanted to make any further trouble. But this morning, just after she finished practicing and had put everything away, someone knocked on her door.

When she opened it, she found Madam Qiu and her stammering younger brother waiting outside.

Madam Qiu was carrying a food box, while Qiu Rong had two buckets of water hanging from a shoulder pole. He stood there with a foolish, ingratiating grin on his face.

An Chunfeng was already irritated whenever she saw the pair. She was about to shut the door when Madam Qiu shoved it open and squeezed inside with a smile.

“Madam An, good morning! We’ve brought you some water. My brother specially carried it here from Jade Spring Mountain outside the city. It’s excellent water—perfect for brewing tea or washing your face!”

An Chunfeng looked at her coldly, not even bothering with a polite response.

“Madam Liao, do you feel no shame at all?”

They were all adults. What was the point of playing coy and pretending?

Madam Qiu’s expression stiffened for a moment. Then her eyes shifted, and her face returned to normal as though nothing had happened.

“What do I have to be ashamed of? I don’t know anything. The officers yesterday didn’t do a thing to me, so don’t you dare accuse me unjustly!”

An Chunfeng had no desire to become entangled with someone like her. She shoved Madam Qiu out the door.

“Whether you’re innocent or not is for the authorities to decide. Yesterday, they said they could summon you at any time. They never said you were free of suspicion.”

Yesterday, in order to calm the disturbance, the Military Office had taken away only the drunken man. They had not detained An Chunfeng or the three members of the Qiu family, but they had left instructions that everyone was to cooperate with the investigation.

At the mention of the Military Office, Madam Qiu finally changed color. Even so, she remained defiant.

“My conscience is clear, so I’ve nothing to fear. That drunk mistook someone else for me. Madam An, you can’t just believe every wild tale you hear.

“Madam An, I spoke up for you that day, and only then did the neighbors testify that you weren’t a courtesan. You can’t repay my kindness with ingratitude.

“Even if I did something wrong, it was because I thought you were a decent woman and hoped that one day we might become family.

“And don’t go on about mourning and refusing to remarry. The mourning period can be long or short. As long as you sincerely wish to marry, three months is enough to show your devotion to your husband’s family...

“You needn’t be shy, either. A widow with no one to depend on, living in a pleasure quarter like this, is bound to encounter all sorts of disreputable men. We can still clear your name for you now, but after too much time passes, you may not be able to explain yourself.

“My brother may not be good with words, but he’s an honest man, and he’ll dote on his wife. Once the two of you settle the matter, he can move in and keep you company.

“With a man in the house to stand guard and protect the place, you’ll be able to live in peace.”

Madam Qiu had been holding all this in for days, and now that she had begun, she poured it all out in one breath.

The more she spoke, the more pleased she became. She paid no attention to An Chunfeng’s darkening expression or to Qiu Rong, whose head had drooped almost to his waist. She acted as though arranging for her brother to marry this widow were a perfectly natural match, requiring no one’s consent but her own.

Seeing that Madam Qiu had apparently gone mad, rambling on without the slightest consideration for the wishes of the people actually involved and single-handedly trying to settle their marriage, An Chunfeng was too astonished to feel angry.

If she had possessed such shamelessness and such a sharp tongue from childhood, she might have monopolized the flower-child and begging trade in the most prosperous part of Demon Capital. Perhaps then she would never have been sold into an underground circus troupe.

An Chunfeng had no intention of continuing to reason with Madam Qiu’s deranged mind.

The best way to deal with a snake was to strike it at its vital point—or better yet, cut off its source entirely. She would make Qiu Rong understand that he had no chance and retreat of his own accord. Then the siblings could go home and sort things out between themselves.

If Qiu Rong’s fragile heart was wounded in the process, there was nothing to be done. Adults had to bear the consequences of their actions.

With that thought, An Chunfeng turned her gaze toward the man cowering beside them, who did not even dare meet her eyes.

Qiu Rong was not actually old. He appeared to be in his early twenties, with a small frame, narrow shoulders, and a hunched back. His habitual timidity and lowered head had given him forehead wrinkles at a surprisingly young age, especially noticeable whenever he peeked upward without lifting his chin.

Sensing An Chunfeng looking at him, Qiu Rong rubbed his thighs and trouser legs vigorously with both hands, looking like a frightened young wife.

Madam Qiu gave him a hard shove.

“Qiu Rong, look! Madam An is looking at you. She likes you!”

The push sent Qiu Rong staggering, and he nearly fell into An Chunfeng’s arms.

To him, An Chunfeng looked like a tiger that might devour him alive. He hurriedly darted aside, his face flushing all the way to the roots of his neck. His eyes flicked wildly from side to side, and his feet seemed ready to bolt at any moment.

An Chunfeng remained perfectly still. She did not deny Madam Qiu’s words, but merely gave a mocking laugh.

“So you’re Qiu Rong, are you? Don’t listen to your sister’s nonsense. She’s deceiving you.

“There’s nothing wrong with liking someone, and there’s nothing wrong with taking a fancy to someone. But before you set your sights on another person, you should first consider whether you’re worthy of them.

“I could never like you. You’re inferior to me in every way.

“If you insist on marrying me and taking me home, I’ll beat you three times a day—nine times in three days. I won’t let you eat or sleep...”

As An Chunfeng spoke, Qiu Rong’s face changed from red to white and then to green. His shy, panicked gaze gradually turned blank, then terrified. He remembered the drunken man who had been clutching his hands and feet and crying out in pain.

When An Chunfeng said, “I can break your hands and feet whenever I please,” Qiu Rong let out a shriek and ran for his life.

Qiu Rong had been frightened away by An Chunfeng!

Madam Qiu had never expected An Chunfeng to frighten her brother, much less that he would prove so cowardly. She hurried after him, clapping her hands and shouting, “Rong, she’s only trying to scare you! Don’t be afraid! Your sister is here. Even if you marry her and bring her home, she won’t dare hit you!”

But Qiu Rong had already been scared witless. The more Madam Qiu shouted, the faster he ran, and in the blink of an eye he vanished around the mouth of the alley.

An Chunfeng shook her head, feeling that the man was both pitiful and hateful.

He clearly knew what his sister was after, yet he had still dared come to her door and pressure her into marriage. He had not even considered his own worth.

Once Qiu Rong had fled, Madam Qiu was furious. She chased after him for two steps, then turned back and pointed at An Chunfeng, cursing bitterly.

“You little harlot, what a shameless, unreasonable woman you are! You’re nothing but a worn-out, secondhand whore who has already been married—no one would want you even if you threw yourself at them.

“My brother is still untouched, a clean young man who hasn’t even held a woman’s hand. I’m only letting you become his wife because I think highly of you!”

An Chunfeng had felt a little pity for Qiu Rong and had let him off after merely frightening him. But toward this woman who had schemed against her from behind the scenes, she had no courtesy left at all.

Without saying a word, she stepped forward, seized Madam Qiu by the throat, and pinned her against the wall. Lowering her voice, she said, “You dared to send someone here to humiliate me. Do you believe I’ll strangle you unconscious, strip you naked, and throw you into the street so that everyone can see the color of every inch of flesh on your body?”

Madam Qiu had been speaking freely with her chin thrust high, but in the space of a blink, An Chunfeng had seized her by the neck and crushed her against the wall. A numbness spread across her back, and her body went limp, unable to move.

She was a well-known figure in Pear Blossom Alley. Even after being exposed publicly the previous day, she had still stubbornly refused to yield, betting that An Chunfeng—newly arrived from elsewhere—would not dare truly offend her.

Even now, with An Chunfeng’s fingers clamped around her throat, she still wanted to take one more gamble.