Qian Xiao Qi asked herself how did she ran from the table to the bed in the middle of the night. She glanced at Son Liang Zhuo and felt relieved he was asleep.
In a corner of the bedchamber was a chest Qian Xiao Qi opened yesterday. It was full of many things big and small like rabbit fur gloves and books. No matter how big or small, she wasn’t going to leave them behind.
‘Official Song,’ Qian Xiao Qi called shyly.
‘There’s nothing valuable in my chest, I want to take it away,’ Qian Xiao Qi said.
‘I want to take it home,’ Qian Xiao Qi said. ‘Today I’m going home. I’ll talk to my father about our situation. I’m not coming back here.’
‘Why not?’ Qian Xiao Qi asked. ‘You don’t love me.’
‘Yes, I have an ulterior motive why I married you,’ Song Liang Zhuo said. ‘But I can’t divorce you.’
‘I need money to build dykes in Ha Dun,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
‘That sly old man!’ Qian Xiao Qi cursed her father.
‘Did you marry me for my dowry?’ Qian Xiao Qi asked.
Qian Xiao Qi turned around and continued packing. She comfortably packed everything including her makeup and clothes.
‘I can see it’s necessary to protect places surrounded by rivers to prevent flooding,’ Qian Xiao Qi said. ‘But if you need money, you don’t have to keep me here. Now you’re preventing me from leaving.’
Qian Xiao Qi didn’t believe Song Liang Zhuo’s deceitful words. ‘I believe there’s a way to deal with my father.’
‘Why did the rivers stop flooding years ago?’ Qian Xiao Qi asked. ‘So it’s unlikely to flood soon.’
‘Then build dykes next year,’ Qian Xiao Qi said.
Qian Xiao Qi didn’t believe Song Liang Zhuo’s good person act, but she wasn’t a stingy person.
‘I didn’t borrow, I traded,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
‘Not necessarily,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
‘He’s planning for the future,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
‘What you said is true,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
Song Liang Zhuo shook his head. ‘Your father said he’ll bring the money here after you’re pregnant.’
Song Liang Zhuo nodded his head.
‘Then keep waiting until I’m pregnant,’ Qian Xiao Qi said.
‘Of course a divorce letter is necessary,’ Qian Xiao Qi said and smiled sweetly. ‘Why don’t we make a deal? We’ll both win.’
‘Do you want to make a deal or not?’ Qian Xiao Qi asked.
Qian Xiao Qi sat down at the table. ‘You’ll write me a divorce letter, and I’ll help you bring money here. After you receive the money, I get to leave. In the future we won’t sleep in the same bedchamber again. You’ll stay at the Song Manor and be your usual Official Song, and I’ll return to being Qian Xiao Qi instead of being your wife. What do you think?’
‘Good,’ Qian Xiao Qi said. ‘Don’t worry, the old man will help build the dykes. I’ll make certain my father won’t give you grief.’
‘It’s the truth!’ Qian Xiao Qi said. ‘If you don’t believe me, today I’ll go home and make my father give you money to build the dykes.’
‘Then quickly write a divorce letter,’ Qian Xiao Qi said. ‘Later I’ll leave after I eat a meal, and you’ll receive money soon.’
‘Are you going to agree to the deal or not?’ Qian Xiao Qi asked. ‘Even if you don’t agree, I’m lazy to play games.’
Song Liang Zhuo got out of bed and walked toward the table.
‘Of course,’ Qian Xiao Qi said. ‘If I don’t know how to read then how can I help father manage his business?’
Qian Xiao Qi happily prepared ink and passed Song Liang Zhuo paper and an ink brush.
Qian Xiao Qi rolled her eyes. ‘It’s up to you whether you believe me. I’m not as uneducated as you think!’
‘Are you certain this is a divorce letter?’ Qian Xiao Qi asked.
‘You’re right,’ Qian Xiao Qi said. ‘Where’s your seal?’
Qian Xiao Qi patted her chest. ‘Don’t worry. I, Qian Xiao Qi have always kept my promises. You’ll receive money soon.’
After a meal, Song Liang Zhuo and Qian Xiao Qi travelled by horse carriage together. She regretted she couldn’t jump off the horse carriage and run home by herself.
Song Liang Zhuo and Qian Xiao Qi travelled to the Qian Manor on a day close to the end of the autumn harvest. It wasn’t a hot day, but he saw many people trading grains. He was proud he helped Tong Hua Province prosper.
‘I prepared a gift for your father already,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
‘I prepared gifts for your big sisters too,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
‘Xiao Qi, do you want to go for a walk outside?’ Song Liang Zhuo asked.
‘Wait until we return home, we’ll go sightseeing together,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
‘Then you need to promise me that you won’t cause trouble,’ Song Liang Zhuo said.
Song Liang Zhuo thought Qian Xiao Qi was actually a patient person. She waited for him outside the magistrate court for two years.
End of Chapter Five