The husband I snatched halfway through his life is strange.

Will Chapter 148 feel awkward?

The window was half-open, revealing the grove of winter plum trees that Wei Fengxing had planted for her before his death.

Time flies like water, and now she stands tall and beautiful, blooming in full glory and exuding a wonderful fragrance.

The interior layout is elegant and has remained unchanged for ten years; even the four nanmu wood and primrose-colored carved glass screens in the distance have never been changed.

Lady Shunguo slowly turned around and looked at the calligraphy and paintings hanging on the opposite wall.

Wei Fengxing taught her step by step after they got married.

When she was still a young girl, she really couldn't understand why the Wei family would come to ask for her hand in marriage.

She was a complete stranger to Wei Fengxing.

Although they both lived in the capital, she was a noblewoman from a prominent family and had been disciplined since childhood, always following the rules and never interacting with men outside the family.

The few times we met were either at palace banquets or feasts hosted by various aristocratic families, and I could only catch a glimpse of them from afar.

The first time they truly had a conversation was on the day the Marquis of Zhongyong got married.

She and Lady Zhongyong were very close friends.

Wei Fengxing accompanied the Marquis of Zhongyong to welcome the bride.

As the newlyweds knelt to bid farewell to the bride's parents and offered tea, the crowd cheered and firecrackers went off outside, creating a joyous atmosphere.

She was watching the ceremony from a corner when she was pushed by a mischievous child who appeared out of nowhere. She lost her balance but was caught by someone.

"Miss Ning, stand firm."

Wei Fengxing's voice, like everyone else's, was gentle and refined.

She thanked him softly, then subtly distanced herself from him.

Lady Zhongyong, upon learning of this later, had a glimmer of light in her eyes.

"You mean Wei Fengxing helped you up?"

“That shouldn’t be the case. He never gets close to women. You know how outstanding the Wei family’s sons are; so many women are eager to marry them, but he always avoids them like the plague.”

Unlike the easily startled Lady Zhongyong, she had a calm and serene demeanor.

"I'm different."

Lady Zhongyong agreed: "Yes, you are so beautiful, and your figure is so graceful..."

"What nonsense?"

She said calmly, "I mean I'm engaged and we're getting married next year. It's not in the eyes of outsiders that he should lend a hand, and it won't cause him any trouble."

But ironically, she still married him a year later.

Sitting on the wedding bed, it would be a lie to say I wasn't uneasy.

He lifted her veil, and she drank the nuptial wine with him. The two cut a lock of hair from each other, braided it into a love knot, and placed it by the bedside.

His eyes were gentle and tender.

"Would it feel awkward to call you 'wife'?"

This was the second sentence the two of them spoke.

awkward.

Very awkward.

But she has always acted prudently and never made any mistakes.

At such close range, she met Wei Fengxing's eyes, a perfectly timed smile playing on her lips: "No."

Wei Fengxing didn't know whether he had received the letter or not.

The candles inside the room crackled and popped, and he lowered the curtains over the wedding bed.

The view dimmed.

"Su Chan, tell me if it hurts."

This was the third thing he said to her.

From Miss Ning to Madam, she was affectionately called by her name at the end.

It looks very organized and step-by-step.

But the process is very fast.

Ning Suchan immediately sensed that this man was no ordinary person.

It looks gentle, but its presence is so strong that it's impossible to ignore.

It's precisely because it doesn't make people feel disgusted.

They're a married couple who've already gone through the wedding ceremony, so whatever he calls out is perfectly acceptable.

After she became pregnant, the wife of the Marquis of Zhongyong came to visit her.

"what's up?"

“I got married earlier than you, but there’s still no news.”

"Su Chan, your man is amazing."

Even though she was already a wife, she still couldn't stand such vulgar talk and spent half an hour explaining the rules and conduct to the Lady of Zhongyong. After giving birth, little Wei Zhao cried the most.

Even Wei Fengxing's embrace was useless.

But once in her arms, he became incredibly obedient.

She held the tiny baby in her arms, unwilling to let go.

Until the late emperor passed away and the new emperor ascended the throne, Wei Fengxing's brothers died on the border.

With her black hair disheveled, she lay beside the cradle, looking at her two-year-old child with a worried expression.

If only I were a girl...

Later, when Wei Fengxing died, she was in a daze, feeling as if the sky had fallen. Everyone told her to take care of herself and not to grieve too much.

She really needs to take care of herself.

Gui Zhi was not yet married.

She couldn't let it go.

But right now...

What is it that she can't let go of?
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Unlike Beijing.

The sun shines brightly in Zexian County, and it's rare to have a windless day, so the sunlight feels warm and comforting.

The smog that had accumulated in Ze County for many years was dispelled, revealing a thriving scene.

Everyone is talking about the punishments that the imperial censors who came to the capital have been administering to the prisoners in the jail these past few days.

"All the death sentences were tried yesterday. The day before yesterday was the same."

"Those people are actually afraid, saying they'll never dare to do it again, begging the magistrate to forgive them this time, and promising to turn over a new leaf. Bah! Save those words for when you're reincarnated and tell the King of Hell."

"I knew it! How could the magistrate of Ze County dare to mine privately? Turns out he ended up giving the money to the prefect."

"How greedy must they be?"

"Those people aren't short of money, so how can they keep increasing taxes on us poor people?"

The taxes on land, people, corvée labor, and military service were suffocating everyone. Not to mention the extra travel permit fees in Ze County.

Especially in the countryside.

How much oil and fat does a person eat in a year?
It turns out that it all ended up in the pockets of those corrupt officials.

Someone was wiping away tears.

"The number of corpses buried under the western mine has become countless over the years. The Imperial Censor sent people to dig up a lot of human bones. The mine is now sealed off, and no one can go in or out. My brother had his accident there, and now he can go to the post station to collect his compensation."

Some people are particularly excited
"Do you remember the constables who collected the travel permits before? How did they kill people back then? The censor said to let them die the same way."

"I definitely have to go see it!"

Someone is confused.

"It's strange, really. Those people must have embezzled countless amounts of money. But when the Censor sent people to search, they couldn't find a single copper coin. I wonder where they hid it!"

“They were subjected to torture, and even as they cried and wailed, they pretended to be innocent, saying it was impossible and that they didn’t know anything about it.”

"Pah! Does money have legs and run away on its own?"

"Do they think those nobles in the capital are fools? They're about to die, and they still don't know what's good for them."

This story is not just circulating on the streets.

It's being talked about in the alleyways too.

Yu Tingwan hugged the hand warmer and cracked sunflower seeds.

She's on her period and has been feeling a bit lazy these past few days.

Zhao Niangzi: "You may not know, but that Dong family! The Dong family that wants to ruin young girls' lives and force them into marriage."

Yu Tingwan: ...

She knows all too well.

Zhao Niangzi: "We interrogated him yesterday."

"Perhaps Mr. Dong was old and afraid of death, or perhaps he was frightened by the bite on his finger; in any case, he confessed everything."

"They say he's involved in human trafficking, kidnapping boys and then selling them to families who can't have sons, and selling pretty girls to brothels or giving them away as favors. He's utterly heartless."

"They kowtowed until their heads were bleeding, saying that besides the secret house, they also buried their ill-gotten gains from all these years in several anonymous villas."

“He has bribed officials in all four cities. Over the years, he has given away tens of thousands of taels of silver.”

Madam Zhao: "Those few villas, the Imperial Censor immediately ordered people to dig them up. Guess what happened?"

Yu Tingwan: ...

"I guess... they're all empty."

The ending of Chapter 146 has been slightly modified.
(End of this chapter)