Chapter 67: Unexpected Discovery

With a loud “bang!”, the door was smashed open, and a crowd rushed into the courtyard. “You two little prostitutes, get out right now!”
Yang Zhao was instantly panicked. He tried to struggle to stand up but couldn’t move. He hurriedly whispered to Li Qing’an, “Brother Li, go close the door quickly!”
Li Qing’an was puzzled. What was going on? Did Yang Zhao have enemies who had come looking for him, and they were women at that? He got up and rushed to close the door, but just as he reached it, the door was smashed open again. The two sisters rushed in like frightened deer, hiding behind Li Qing’an on either side, trembling violently.
“You two little prostitutes, where do you think you can run?”
A group of women rushed in through the door—tall and short, fat and thin, mostly maids and servants. Leading them was a woman in her thirties, dressed in embroidered clothes with neatly arranged hair. She was quite beautiful, with snow-white arms adorned with gold rings and jade bracelets, suggesting she was a noblewoman. Yet her demeanor was far from that of a lady—her legs apart, hands on her hips, leaning forward like a wolf ready to pounce. In her fury, her pretty face twisted into a grotesque mask.
She spotted Yang Zhao sitting against the wall. At first, she was stunned, then a murderous intent flashed in her eyes. With a cold laugh, she said, “So Yang Lord is here too. It seems we’ve caught you in the act! Yang Lord, do you think I’m disturbing your ‘pleasant time’?”
Li Qing’an didn’t know who this woman was, but she was extremely rude. Seeing that she knew Yang Zhao and mentioned catching them in the act, he began to understand. He quickly stepped aside to avoid her hostile aura, but the two sisters refused to let go of his clothes and stayed hidden behind him.
Yang Zhao slowly stood up and bowed with a smile, saying, “My lady, what are you talking about? What’s this about catching us in the act? It seems I’ve done something wrong to you outside.”

It turned out this woman was Yang Zhao’s wife, Pei Rou. Although jealousy was theoretically one of the seven reasons for divorce, this principle didn’t apply to Yang Zhao’s family situation. Pei Rou had given birth to four sons for him. When Yang Zhao was down and out, it was Pei Rou who shouldered all the household responsibilities, raising the four sons through hardships, thus holding a supreme position in the family—her word was law. Even when Yang Zhao became wealthy and infidel, she could tolerate it, as long as the women were those she approved of; otherwise, family discipline would be applied. Now that Yang Zhao had been demoted to county magistrate, she didn’t care. What bothered her was the informant’s report that Yang Zhao had acquired another residence outside and kept two charming women there.

Pei Rou was instantly filled with rage. Yang Zhao had really grown bold—daring to keep women outside! As soon as it darkened, she brought a large group of maids to catch these “fox spirits,” only to happen upon Yang Zhao as well.

Seeing strangers in the room, she forced down her anger. Family secrets couldn’t be exposed. With icy eyes and a forced smile, she said, “Lord Yang, I heard you bought another house. I’m overjoyed and came to take a look tonight. Sorry for the disturbance, Lord Yang.”

She forced a smile at Li Qing’an, but when her gaze fell on the two women behind him, that faint smile vanished instantly, and her anger flared again.

Yang Zhao didn’t want to lose face in front of Li Qing’an, so he covered his mouth with his right fist and coughed loudly. “Hmm! If you have nothing else to do, wife, you may leave. General Li and I still have important matters to discuss.”

If Yang Zhao had been sensible, he would have apologized to his wife first, sworn that he hadn’t touched those two sisters, blamed An Lushan, and offered to give up the property. Perhaps Pei Rou would have spared him this time just for getting another house for free. But Yang Zhao was stubborn and refused to lose face in front of Li Qing’an. He didn’t mention the two sisters at all and ordered his wife to leave in a commanding tone, which only added fuel to the fire. Pei Rou’s already blazing anger turned into an inferno. Ignoring Li Qing’an’s presence, she stepped forward and firmly grabbed Yang Zhao’s ears—this move, honed by countless repetitions, was never failed. Yang Zhao was pulled off the bed by her grip.

“Ahh! Wife, let go! Let go!” Yang Zhao cried in pain.

Pei Rou twisted him around and kicked him in the buttocks, causing the wound tosplit open. Yang Zhao cried out in agony as he clutched his buttocks and lay on the ground.

“Hmph! You scoundrel have really grown bold—daring to keep women outside! Watch how I deal with you when I get home.”

Although Pei Rou hated them deeply, seeing blood seep from her husband’s pants, she couldn’t strike again. Pointing at the two sisters, she ordered the maids, “Bring these two fox spirits away from me!”
“Sir, save us!”
The two sisters were terrified, their faces pale, and pleaded with Li Qing’an from behind. Though Li Qing’an didn’t want to interfere in others’ family affairs, he saw that Yang Zhao’s wife was extremely fierce and realized these sisters would likely not survive in her hands. Feeling a hint of pity for them, he stepped forward, blocking the approaching maids and shouting, “Hold on!”
Li Qing’an was tall, with thick, long arms, exuding a strong presence. Several sturdy women were startled by his intervention and stepped back, staring at his wife.
“General, this is a matter within our Yang family. Please do not interfere!”
Pei Rou glared at Li Qing’an. Not knowing his background, she tried to speak politely.
Li Qing’an bowed and smiled, “Madam, I won’t interfere in your family affairs. But these two women are not from your Yang family. I hope you’ll show mercy.”
Li Qing’an still didn’t know that these sisters were merely gifts raised by An Lushan to be given away, with no freedom or legal status. Once given to Yang Zhao, they became his property and couldn’t leave their master. If caught running away by the authorities, they would be turned into official slaves.
In Li Qing’an’s view, since these sisters weren’t Yang Zhao’s concubines, Pei Rou had no right to harm them. Pei Rou raised her eyebrows, ready to lash out, when Yang Zhao suddenly spoke through pain, “My wife, I’ve told you—these sisters aren’t mine. They belong to General Li. He wants to buy another house for them, so he brought them to see it. Please don’t be reckless.”
Even though Yang Zhao reacted quickly, he finally found an excuse to shift the blame onto Li Qing’an and avoid trouble for now.
Pei Rou was stunned. She glared fiercely at Yang Zhao. “You wretched bastard! How dare you deceive me?”
Now that the words were out, Yang Zhao had to stick to his story. “My wife, I’m not lying. They truly belong to General Li. How would I dare keep women secretly? Ask General Li yourself if you don’t believe me.”
Pei Rou hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and asking Li Qing’an, “Is what he says true? Are these two girls yours?”
“That’s right! They are indeed my women, which is why I won’t allow you to touch them.”
Li Qing’an snorted and turned to the two sisters, “A Feng, A Huang, let’s go!”

He pushed aside the maids blocking the door, placed his arms around the sisters’ delicate shoulders, and strode out. The sisters were terrified, hiding under Li Qing’an’s arms like little chicks, clutching his clothes as they stepped out of the room one after another.

Yang Zhao lay on the ground, filled with hatred, watching helplessly as Li Qing’an took the two of them away. His wife, meanwhile, watched like a fierce tiger, leaving him unable to speak out.

When Pei Rou saw the two women gone, her resentment eased slightly. She folded her hands behind her back and looked around the room, then said with a smile, “This house isn’t bad! Where’s the deed? Give it to me quickly.”

…

Li Qing’an took the sisters away from Yang Zhao’s residence. With no relatives or friends in Chang’an, they had nowhere to go. Li Qing’an had no choice but to rent a carriage and take them back to his place. It was quiet there, and he didn’t hear Li Feiyuanli’s shrill voice, which relieved him a bit—he guessed the guy was still out drinking.

But just then, a slender figure appeared in the courtyard.

“General!”

Li Qing’an was startled. He recognized her—it was Xia Xiaolian, who had been following Gao Wu. “Xiaolian, what are you doing here?”

Xia Xiaolian slowly stepped forward. She glanced at the two young women behind Li Qing’an, bowed to him, and said, “General Li, Miss Wu returned to Anxi this afternoon.”

Gao Wu suddenly left, which surprised Li Qing’an. “Why?”

“Miss Wu came to the capital this time to pick up her mother and sister and take them to Anxi. She was supposed to leave in three days, but this morning her mother received a letter from Anxi, so she changed her mind and decided to leave overnight. Before leaving, Miss Wu came to see you twice, but you weren’t there, so she left you a letter.”

She handed him a letter. Li Qing’an opened it. It was written in Gao Wu’s bold handwriting: ‘Seventh Brother, our father has fallen ill, so I have to return to Anxi early. But I’m worried about you, so I’ve set the following rules that you must follow before returning to Anxi.

Rule one: Do not go to brothels, nor bring brothel women back to your residence.
Rule two: Do not stare at women for too long.
Rule three: Do not attend matchmaking events—nothing related to those people has anything to do with you.
Rule four: Do not take concubines secretly, nor bring women home under the pretext of saving them.
Rule five: …’

There were over thirty rules in total, leaving Li Qing’an stunned. After a while, he put the letter away and asked Xia Xiaolian, “Then why didn’t you go back to Anxi with Miss Wu?”

Xia Xiaolian fiddled with the hem of her clothes, looking a bit shy. “Miss Wu said that since General Li is alone and has no one to take care of him, she asked me to stay and look after him.”