Chapter 3: Demoting a Wife to a Concubine

“I see. Poor child, you have suffered so much!” Madam Lin shed tears, putting on the appearance of a compassionate mother. “It is good that you have returned, it is good that you have returned!”

The Fourth Miss of the Lu family, Lu Yunxiu, said, “Sister-in-law has returned, then… what about Eldest Brother’s wedding?”

The crowd looked at one another in dismay. With Xie Zhaolan still alive, Lu Feng’s marriage became very awkward. Furthermore, she had returned on the very day of his wedding; with the ceremony not yet completed, the new bride’s situation became extremely delicate.

“Husband, I am still alive, yet you are taking another as your wife. What does that make me?” Su Qingwan covered her face and wept bitterly. “When you married me back then, you swore that you would never take a concubine in this life. Have you forgotten all of that?”

“You are still my wife.” Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Lu Feng hurriedly swore an oath. His wife had returned from the dead, and he had acknowledged her in front of the guests. If he were to abandon his wife of humble beginnings, the news would spread throughout the capital by tomorrow, and the Lu family’s reputation would be completely ruined. His future career would be difficult; he would not do something that would destroy his own prospects.

Li Xueying, who had remained silent from the beginning, lifted her bridal veil and flew into a rage. “Lu Feng, I am the legitimate wife you married through a formal matchmaker and welcomed with an eight-bearer sedan chair. How dare you…”

As Li Xueying was scolding Lu Feng, she caught sight of Su Qingwan’s face. Her expression paled in terror, and her legs nearly gave way. “How is this possible? Xie Zhaolan, you were clearly dead. You… are you human or a ghost?”

She had thought this was a farce. Xie Zhaolan was clearly dead—she had killed her with her own hands, and her entire face had been ruined beyond recognition. How could she have come back to life? After seeing Su Qingwan’s face clearly, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

Su Qingwan smiled faintly. “My husband and mother have already acknowledged me, and I have no acquaintance with you, Miss Li. Why are you so insistent that I am dead? Could it be that you saw me die with your own eyes?”

“You were clearly dead!” Li Xueying was terrified to the extreme, muttering to herself. How could someone return from the dead? Could it be a vengeful spirit seeking its life? No! She did not believe in ghosts. “She cannot be Xie Zhaolan! Lu Feng, she is an impostor! Kill her at once!”

Lu Feng fell into a dilemma: one was his first wife, with whom he had shared hardships; the other was his new wife, for whom his feelings were currently intense. He hesitated, unable to make a choice.

This was a family matter for the Lu household, so the guests merely watched the spectacle without interfering. If Xie Zhaolan had returned a day earlier, the Lu family could have closed their doors and handled the matter easily. Now, returning on the day of the wedding with all the guests present, there were too many eyes and tongues; whatever the Lu family did would be seen by everyone and would spread throughout the capital in no time.

Lu Shaoqing cast an inscrutable look at Su Qingwan. She didn’t return early or late, but chose this exact moment—she certainly knew how to pick her timing.

If it had been a day earlier… the Lu family could have hushed this up, and such a scandal would never have occurred.

Su Qingwan, however, did not argue, choosing instead to advance by retreating. “Husband, you and I are a couple joined by marriage, having shared years of affection. Zhaolan is already content. It was a misunderstanding that you believed me dead and remarried; it was a twist of fate, not your fault. Miss Li has also been wronged. I do not wish to make things difficult for you. I request to step down; give me a letter of divorce, and I shall leave the manor on my own.”

Lu Feng was secretly delighted. Zhaolan was still sensible. He was a newly minted *jinshi*, and having a wife from a merchant background was a laughingstock that offered him no benefit. If he married the legitimate daughter of the Earl of Anping’s estate, with the Earl’s help, he would surely rise in his career. Under the public gaze, he naturally could not be the one to suggest a divorce, so Xie Zhaolan suggesting it herself was for the best.

The crowd sighed with regret. Such a perfectly good, loving couple, yet separated by a twist of fate—truly a case of having the affinity but not the destiny.

“Zhaolan, it is I who have failed you.” Lu Feng looked pained. “If you had returned a day earlier, I would never have taken another.”

Lu Feng was muddled, but Lu Shaoqing was clear-headed. If he gave his first wife a letter of divorce on the day of his remarriage, the censors’ spit would drown the Lu family. The family would be branded with the reputation of being cold-hearted, ungrateful, and social climbers.

Lu Shaoqing said, “Don’t be foolish. The Xie woman is the eldest daughter-in-law we welcomed with an eight-bearer sedan chair. She was harmed by villains a year ago, and we did not know she was still among the living. The marriage with the Li family has already gone through the three letters and six rites; it is a settled matter. Since the Xie woman is alive, she and the Li woman shall hold equal status. The Li woman shall be a *pingqi* (equal wife).”

Su Qingwan curled her lips. Li Xueying had gone to great lengths to kill her sister and steal her husband, only to end up with the status of an equal wife. To put it nicely, it was an equal wife.

In reality, an equal wife was still a concubine. How could she possibly endure that?

As Su Qingwan expected, Li Xueying was furious. “Absolutely not! I am the legitimate daughter of an Earl’s estate; why should I sit on equal footing with someone from a lowly merchant background?”

Madam Lin’s face darkened. She cursed Li Xueying inwardly for being ignorant. On such a joyous day, such a scandal should have been minimized. The status didn’t matter for the moment; there were plenty of ways for a mother-in-law to torment a daughter-in-law. At most, in a year or two, Zhaolan would be dead, and she would be the only legitimate wife. What was a little temporary grievance? She was just young, inexperienced, and spoiled by her family, unable to bear any slight.

Su Qingwan said calmly, “Miss Li, if there were no merchants, the wedding dress you are wearing would have to start from the planting of cotton. The phoenix coronet on your head would have to start from mining. The food you eat daily would have to start from sowing seeds. Because of merchants, the people of the world can live normal lives. I do not feel there is anything lowly about being a merchant.”

Li Xueying sneered, “Among scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants are the lowest of the low. You as the legitimate wife and I as an equal wife? You are overestimating yourself and indulging in wishful thinking.”

Chen Lanzhu, who had never liked the arrogant and domineering Li Xueying, mocked, “Xie Zhaolan is the eldest daughter-in-law formally married by the Lu family. You marrying Lu Feng is merely filling a vacancy. Now that Xie Zhaolan is not dead, if her background were any higher, you wouldn’t even get the status of an equal wife—you would only be a concubine.”

Chen Lanzhu’s words hit Li Xueying like a slap to the face. Proud and haughty, she could not bear such a humiliation. “Lu Feng, are you truly going to offend the Earl of Anping’s estate for the sake of Xie Zhaolan?”

Lu Feng looked troubled. He looked at his new bride, then at Su Qingwan. His father was only a fifth-rank official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices; he could not afford to offend the Earl’s estate, as the Li family held real power.

If he divorced, his reputation would be ruined, and his future career would be hopeless.

Lu Feng pulled Su Qingwan aside and said softly, “Zhaolan, we have been husband and wife for many years. I have been devoted to you and never took a concubine. Now, due to a twist of fate, I have married into the Li family. The Lu family cannot afford to offend the Earl’s estate. Can you, for the sake of our years of affection, endure this grievance?”

Su Qingwan sneered, “You… what do you mean?”

“She is the legitimate daughter of an Earl’s estate, pampered and of noble status. Can you… honor her as the superior? Let her be the legitimate wife, and you be the concubine.” Lu Feng felt that since he had his official rank, he wasn’t wronging Xie Zhaolan, and he became righteous. “Even as a concubine, you will be a ‘noble concubine.’ With your merchant background, being a noble concubine to the eldest son of the Lu family is already a tremendous blessing.”

“A noble concubine? A blessing?” Su Qingwan was so angry she laughed. Her sister had entrusted her life to the wrong person; Lu Feng was a selfish, heartless man. “I am the wife you married through a formal matchmaker. Now you want to demote your wife to a concubine?”