Chapter 34: Discontent

“Win-win?” Lu Fengzhou sneered. “Do you really think a family like the Liang’s would ever accept you?”

Qiao Jiu was unfazed. “As long as Liang Xiucheng accepts me, that’s all that matters.”

She continued, “Liang Xiucheng has an older brother. The weight of the family’s expectations doesn’t fall heavily on him, so he won’t be scrutinized so harshly when it comes to choosing a partner. And from what I’ve heard, Old Madam Liang dotes on her youngest grandson. As long as he stands firm, I refuse to believe the Liang family could be so heartless as to cast aside their own son.”

She raised an eyebrow. “What do you think?”

Lu Fengzhou’s face remained cold. “You certainly have thought this through.”

Qiao Jiu chuckled. “I have no choice. Without any backing, I have to plan for myself.”

Lu Fengzhou fell silent, his expression still indifferent, but his chest rose and fell more noticeably.

Qiao Jiu was rather pleased; rarely did her sharp tongue lose ground.

After a few seconds, she seemed to grow impatient. “Mr. Lu, do you have any other business? If not, I’ll be going. There’s someone waiting to have dinner with me.”

Lu Fengzhou stared at her for a few moments before turning away. “Nothing else.”

Qiao Jiu remained where she was, waiting until Lu Fengzhou exited the Hall of Rebirth before letting her expression drop completely.

She knew, sooner or later, she would have to break things off with Lu Fengzhou, but she hadn’t expected it to be today—much less in such a setting.

Lu Fengzhou had always been sarcastic with her in the past, but he’d exercised restraint, stopping before crossing any lines. Today, for reasons unknown, his venom seemed doubled.

…

The afternoon passed in chanting. By dusk, the abbot led several venerable monks at the head of the procession; Qiao Jiu and Lu Fengzhou followed, circling the temple’s Buddha halls on their knees in worship. With this, the day’s Dharma assembly concluded.

The lay devotees would remain overnight to continue their recitations. Lu Fengzhou, Qiao Jiu, and Liang Xiucheng, not being Buddhist disciples, were to leave before the temple gates closed.

Once the ceremony ended, Qiao Jiu called Liang Xiucheng to the guest hall to fetch something she’d stowed away earlier—a large tub of live fish, nearly a hundred pounds including the container.

Yesterday, Lu Fengzhou’s schedule hadn’t included a release-of-life ritual, so Qiao Jiu had taken it upon herself to prepare it.

She and Liang Xiucheng carried the tub to the pond for releasing the fish. Qiao Jiu didn’t forget to express her gratitude. “If it weren’t for you today, I don’t know how I’d have managed to carry this up the mountain.”

Liang Xiucheng sounded helpless. “You always insist on doing everything yourself, leaving me to find excuses to help.”

Qiao Jiu couldn’t hold back a laugh. “I won’t stand on ceremony with you next time.”

The temple did not officially organize the ritual, so Qiao Jiu did what she could, releasing the fish one by one into the pond according to her own understanding.

Not far away, in a pavilion, Lu Fengzhou stood ramrod straight, his gaze fixed on the two by the pond.

Qiao Jiu knelt, lifting each fish from the tub and gently setting it into the water, her movements reverent. Liang Xiucheng stood quietly by her side, accompanying her in silence.

Out of sight from others, Lu Fengzhou’s expression finally shifted; his brows slowly knitted together.

After two years of marriage, he understood Qiao Jiu...

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Qiao Jiu began to wipe away tears. Liang Xiucheng crouched down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders, likely offering comfort.

Lu Fengzhou drew a deep breath, lips pressed tightly together.

From the moment Qiao Jiu fell for him, to Old Master Qiao proposing the marriage in exchange for benefits, to seizing hold of the Qiao family business as a son-in-law, and finally orchestrating the divorce—every step had gone according to his plans.

He hadn’t made a single misstep. The outcome was exactly what he had wanted.

So why now... did he suddenly find himself so ill at ease?