On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

In the east of Hu County, there is the Wang family residence.

The dusk was as dark as blood, hanging heavily on this vast mansion covering an area of ​​ten acres with carved beams and painted buildings.

This is just one of Wang Youde’s properties in Hu County, where many of his beautiful wives and concubines live.

The vermilion lacquered gate was tightly closed, and two stone lions with bared fangs and claws in front of the gate cast ferocious shadows in the darkening sky, as if foreshadowing something ominous.

The towering walls block out the noise from the outside world, but they cannot block the panic that is growing like a plague inside the mansion and is almost suffocating.

The scent of cosmetics and the melodious sounds of stringed instruments that originally filled the air had long been replaced by a desperate atmosphere mixed with the smell of sweat, tears, and dust from broken porcelain.

The news was like a poisoned arrow, rapidly passing through the winding corridors, exquisite pavilions, and luxurious warm rooms, accurately nailing the deadly fear into every corner.

"Oh no! The master has been captured by the prince! He's been fired and investigated! He's been thrown into a prison van!"

"A notice was posted at the entrance to the county government office, accusing the master of embezzling state funds and exploiting the people! He's disregarding human life! His crimes are heinous!"

"It's over! The Wang family is going to fall!"

"Soldiers! There are soldiers everywhere outside! They are a huge mass! Wearing black armor! Holding swords! They have surrounded our house like an iron barrel! Not even a fly can fly out!"

Desperate cries, terrified screams, suppressed sobs, mixed with the sharp and crisp sound of precious porcelain being accidentally smashed, echoed one after another in the backyard that was once filled with laughter and competition for favors, interweaving into a tragic symphony of the coming of doomsday.

Nuanxiang Pavilion, the main house in the rear house

This is the residence of Wang Youde’s wife, Wang. In the past, it was the most prominent and majestic place of the Wang family.

The rosewood furniture exudes a cold luster, the jade antiques displayed on the antique shelves exude a warm yet cold color under the candlelight, the Persian carpet on the floor is thick and soft, and the precious agarwood incense still lingers in the air, but it can no longer bring any peace.

At this moment, this magnificent warm room was as freezing cold as an ice cave.

Wang, the mistress of the house who was about forty years old, well-maintained, and known for her dignity, prudence and sharp means, was now slumped in despair on the rosewood Luohan bed covered with a gold-thread peony brocade cushion.

The bright red jacket with gold peonies all over it, which symbolized the supreme authority of the wife, was now wrinkled on her slightly plump body. The bright red color made her face look even paler, as if it were as pale as paper, without a trace of blood.

Her carefully drawn willow-shaped eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and her nails painted with bright red nail polish were digging into the expensive brocade cushion beneath her body, almost tearing the golden peony pattern apart.

Her phoenix eyes, which used to be shrewd and sharp and could see through every little movement in the house, were now staring blankly at the carved window frame in front of her. Deep in her pupils was a surging fear and incredible confusion.

A few strands of hair fell out of her carefully combed bun, sticking to her sweaty temples, making her look even more disheveled.

"Madam! Madam! Please make a decision quickly!" A young woman wearing a pink flowered skirt, with a charming face and a slim figure, threw herself on the carpet in front of Luohan's bed, crying bitterly. She was Wang Youde's most beloved seventh concubine.

Her hair was loose, with several gold and kingfisher-embellished hairpins hanging askew. The carefully applied rouge and powder on her face were washed away by the surging tears, revealing her face that was twisted and blue with extreme fear.

"Master... Master... Wuuwuwu... What should I do? That Lin Zhen, I've heard he kills without blinking an eye! Will we, the women in the inner house, be implicated? Will our property be confiscated and our entire family be exterminated? Wuuwuwu... I don't want to die! I don't want to be sold to the Music Bureau!"

The more she spoke, the more frightened she became. Her voice was as sharp as an owl crying blood at night, her body was shaking like catkins in the wind, and her slender fingers were tightly grasping the hem of Wang's skirt, as if it was her only life-saving straw.

"Shut up! Why are you crying?" Wang slammed the edge of the bed and shouted harshly, trying to suppress the annoying crying with her former majesty.

But her voice was clearly trembling, a weak undertone beneath the surface. "The Master is an official appointed by the Imperial Court, the father and mother of Hu County! Even if he made a minor mistake due to a momentary oversight, that's common practice in the officialdom. What official doesn't take advantage of the situation? Your Highness is such a noble person, how could he tear his face apart and resort to murder over such a small matter?"

She tried to convince others, but it was more like she was desperately trying to convince her own already panicked heart.

"Besides, the master has connections in Yangzhou and the capital, and he has connections too! Sun Shiji, Prefect Cui, and Minister Liu! They've all received valuable gifts from our Wang family! Golden Buddhas! Jade horses! Night-shining pearls! Which one isn't priceless?! Can they just watch the master get into trouble? Can they watch the Wang family fall?!"

"Don't worry, the master might come back in a couple of days! Stay calm!"

She forced herself to straighten her back and try to maintain the dignity of a mistress, but her slightly trembling fingers and the fine beads of cold sweat oozing from her forehead betrayed the turmoil in her heart.

Her words, like the last piece of driftwood a drowning man grasped, barely ignited a faint glimmer of hope, like a candle in the wind, in the eyes of the other concubines in the warm room who were also pale and trembling.

The Third Aunt (a gentle woman in a light green Hangzhou silk gown, once the daughter of a down-and-out scholar) timidly wiped tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. Her voice, as soft as a mosquito's, held an uncertain tone of comfort: "Madam is right. Master is a man of good fortune, and he will surely turn misfortune into good fortune. Besides, Magistrate Cui and his men will not stand idly by."

Her voice was weak and sounded more like self-hypnosis.

"Turn danger into safety?!" A slightly hoarse voice, filled with sarcasm and despair, pierced the false calm like an ice cone.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman standing in the corner. She was wearing a plain moon-white fine cloth skirt, with a beautiful face but an expression of unrelieved sorrow between her brows. It was Wang Youde's fifth concubine, whom he had forced into marriage in his early years, and who had always been depressed and unhappy, like a canary in a cage.

There were no traces of tears on her face, only a near-death calmness and a cold despair that saw through the world. She looked coldly at Wang's forcedly calm face, her gaze like a poisoned silver needle: "Madam, please stop deceiving yourself! Wake up!"

Her voice was low, but every word was like a knife, piercing the crumbling fantasy. "Who are those surrounding the palace? They are the Jinwu Guards from the Regent's Palace, and the personal soldiers of the Crown Prince Lin Zhen!

Prefect Cui of Yangzhou? Minister Liu of the capital? Who are they in front of His Royal Highness?! How dare they fart?! Who is His Royal Highness? He's the man who even the Emperor would cuddle with, the man who dared to uproot even the top official Gu Yunting! He came to Hu County in person, clearly intending to use the master as an example, to make an example of him! He'll confiscate the property and exterminate the entire family, haha..."

She uttered a mournful, sharp sneer, which was particularly piercing in the dead silence of the warm room. "I'm afraid it's just around the corner! We're all fish on the chopping block! Just waiting to be slaughtered!"