20 Cesarean Sections Twenty

The three gentlemen looked at Father Li with rather strange expressions. While it was true they had associated with Madam Yao and had, in their own ways, been infatuated with her, they had never once thought she could compare to their own wives at home.

Standing there, each of them had arrived fearing they were being blackmailed. They were willing to spend some money to buy peace, but if the price were too high, they had already planned to go home and apologize to their wives. In the end, a woman on the side was merely a diversion for their leisure, while their wives were their true family. To cause trouble with their wives over some wild flower—were these men insane?

Mother Li looked at her husband. "If you still don't believe it, then wait a little longer. I have already sent someone to fetch Aicao. We shall confront her face-to-face!"

Father Li was stunned, blurting out, "You've lost your mind!"

He already believed it. The men before him were all prominent figures in the city; if they had not been involved with Aicao, their first reaction to being threatened would have been fury, not immediate compliance. The worse his face looked, the more gratified Mother Li felt. "I think you are the one who has lost your mind!"

As the couple argued, the others sat on pins and needles. In truth, several men who had slept with the same woman standing together felt particularly awkward, as if nothing they said could be appropriate. Father Li felt this keenly, especially since he was the most foolish among them, and the sensation was complex. Thinking of the other gentlemen who hadn't come, he spoke up: "I believe you. Gentlemen, please return home." He paused, then added, "Let's treat today as if it never happened. When I have some free time, I shall invite you all for a drink to apologize."

"Don't bother!" Master Wang waved his hand. "Just seeing you two makes me fearful. Let's not meet again!"

Master Zhou added, "That's right! You should find another source of goods from now on. I won't be selling my silk to you anymore."

Father Li grew anxious, wanting to step forward to salvage the situation, but Master Zhou hurried away as if chased by dogs. Li Huaping chased after them to see the guests out personally.

When Father Li returned, his expression was hideous. "Are you satisfied now?"

"Blame me?" Mother Li pointed to her own nose, sneering. "If you hadn't stubbornly insisted that Aicao was chaste and loyal, why would I have gone to the trouble of inviting them here? If you had kept things clean with Aicao from the start, even if you had taken a couple of concubines into the house, we wouldn't be in this position today."

Father Li slapped the table in anger. "Sophistry!"

Chu Yunli coughed lightly. "Well, the show is over. I have other things to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave."

The Li couple were speechless. Did she really think she was just here to watch a play?

Hu Yi'an sat still, holding onto Chu Yunli. "Madam Yao is on her way here. I want to see how they break things off."

Chu Yunli realized, "That makes sense." She sat back down.

Mother Li was at a loss.

Father Li could take no more. "Get out!"

Chu Yunli raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to treat me like this?"

Mother Li realized what was happening and stepped forward urgently. She seemed to want to smile, but perhaps she was too furious; her face twisted into a hideous grimace, though her tone was gentle. "Meiniang, you and Hualin were husband and wife once. My heart aches to see things come to this. Even if you cannot be husband and wife, don't become enemies... For the sake of the child, let him off this once! As long as you are willing to let this go, everything is negotiable." She was clearly hinting at paying to resolve the disaster.

"Enemies?" Chu Yunli rose abruptly, looming over her. "He sliced open my belly and wanted my life; we are already enemies. I have already stated my condition for forgiveness: if he is willing to be sliced open himself, I will let him go!"

Mother Li turned pale, her lips trembling. "How can you be so cruel?"

Chu Yunli found it amusing. "Only when the blade cuts one's own flesh does one feel the pain. I am the one who was cut." She touched her lower abdomen. "There is a long, ugly scar here, as thick as a loach. Do you want to see it? Will you be afraid if you do?"

Mother Li retreated in fear. Father Li frowned deeply.

Li Huaping returned from seeing the guests out and said helplessly, "Sister-in-law, why don't you change your condition?"

"I cannot." Chu Yunli tilted her chin slightly. "Either Li Hualin rots in prison for the rest of his life—and he may even be sent away for hard labor—or he undergoes the same surgery. Only then will I forgive him. If he survives that, I will not pursue this further."

Mother Li looked heartbroken. "You were husband and wife, how could it come to this?"

"You should ask him that." Chu Yunli sat back down, playing with her fingernails while waiting for Aicao. Finding it boring, she said to Hu Yi'an, "My nails are a bit short; I must let them grow. When we get married and I apply henna, they will look beautiful."

Hu Yi'an held her slender hand. "They would be beautiful even without henna."

The Li family noticed that when he said this, his eyes were full of affection and his tone was gentle; it looked entirely sincere. Mother Li felt as if she were split in two—one half wanted to humble herself before her former daughter-in-law to save her son, while the other half felt it was a fantasy, filled with the resentment of a mother whose son's life had been ruined. She could bear it no longer. "You said yourself that you have such an ugly scar on your belly and have already borne a child. Do you truly believe a man will fall in love with a woman like you?"

Her eyes were filled with malice. "The Hu family only has one son, right? You can no longer bear children. Do you really believe a man would choose to have his family line end for a woman like you?"

Hu Yi'an glared at her sharply. "Madam Li, no one is permitted to question my sincerity."

Mother Li was afraid of offending the former daughter-in-law, but she was not afraid of Hu Yi'an; in fact, she hated him. If this man hadn't appeared, the former daughter-in-law might have still had some lingering affection and wouldn't have pushed her youngest son to the brink. It was all his fault!

Thinking of this, Mother Li stopped being polite. "Are you willing to let your family line end? How will you face your ancestors?"

"That is none of your business," Hu Yi'an said dismissively. "You cannot even manage your own affairs, yet you meddle in others'. It is quite laughable."

Mother Li was speechless. She insisted, "Your mother will certainly not agree."

Hu Yi'an gave her a malicious smile. "Do not trouble yourself. My mother is very satisfied with her daughter-in-law."

Mother Li did not believe it. Hu Yi'an made no attempt to convince her; there was nothing to say to such a person.

In the midst of the argument, the steward brought Aicao in. Perhaps the news of her son's imprisonment had dealt her a heavy blow; Aicao looked frail and weak, her face pale and her hair disheveled. She looked as if a gust of wind could blow her away, carrying a delicate, fragile beauty.

Before seeing her, Father Li had many questions he wanted to ask—confrontations! But upon seeing her miserable state, his anger seemed to deflate. He stepped forward. "You..."

Mother Li reminded him, "This woman has deceived you." She pulled her husband away and rushed to Aicao. "I just want to know, whose seed is Yao Qiushan?"

Aicao was startled, stepping back and looking at Father Li for help, her eyes like a frightened rabbit. Father Li felt the urge to embrace her, but he restrained himself. Firstly, his wife and son were present, along with two outsiders. Secondly, he wanted to know if Yao Qiushan was truly his child. So, he stood still, waiting patiently for her answer.

Seeing that he had no intention of protecting her, Aicao's tears fell instantly. "You... with so many people here, how can you expect me to admit it? Are you going to force me too?"

The implication was that Yao Qiushan was still of the Li bloodline. After all, if he were truly Yao's son, she could have admitted it openly as a married woman; there would be no need to be "embarrassed."

If Father Li hadn't seen the other gentlemen earlier, he might have believed her. He looked at Chu Yunli and Hu Yi'an and said, "There are no outsiders here. I want to hear it from you myself."

Aicao's eyes widened, tears rolling down. "Are you trying to force me to my death?"

Father Li remained silent for a moment. "I can take you as a concubine."

"I will not be a concubine!" Aicao cried out, agitated. "If I wanted to be a concubine, I wouldn't have been entangled with you for so many years."

"Indeed!" Mother Li said sarcastically. "You've hooked up with over a dozen men, all of them married. They were willing to be with you in secret, and naturally, they would have been willing to take you as a concubine. Some of those men were wealthier than our master, so naturally, they wouldn't look down on our house!"

Aicao was shocked. After a moment, she reacted. "You lie." She wiped the tears from her face, but more fell. "You shouldn't bully people like this."

Mother Li looked at her husband and sneered. "As long as she refuses to admit it, she's 'chaste'."

Father Li understood. If the Li family hadn't intended to blackmail, they could have just had those gentlemen confront Aicao without spreading the word, and they would have been happy to comply. But he didn't want that; it was too shameful. He sighed. "Master Wang, Master Zhang, and Master Zhou all came this morning. They all admitted that they..."

Aicao turned deathly pale and stepped back. Almost instantly, she realized she had lost her composure and hurriedly shook her head. "I did not."

But her reaction had already revealed the truth. Father Li felt a profound sense of disappointment. He had truly believed Aicao was devoted to him, and hearing her speak of her guilt toward her late husband and her reluctance to leave him had only made him pity her more. And yet? The guilt in this woman's mouth was false, and her affection was fake. That child... was that fake too?

They had been involved for over twenty years, yet he never knew she had hooked up with so many men. Who knew if she had been with others before they met? And with her seeing several men simultaneously, how could she be sure the child was his? He realized with a jolt that he had helped Yao Qiushan with unusual ease in the past. He had thought heaven was compensating the boy for his hard life, but it seemed those were all Aicao's lovers—all of Yao Qiushan's "cheap" fathers.

A wave of nausea rose in Father Li's throat. He tried to suppress it, but couldn't. He vomited.

Mother Li frowned and ordered someone to clean it up. Aicao pulled out a handkerchief, wanting to help, but Father Li pushed her away. She was frail and had no strength, so she fell to the ground. She stared at Father Li in disbelief. "Qiushan is truly your son, I did not lie to you."

Father Li no longer believed it. "Then why doesn't he look like me?"

Aicao hesitated. "A nephew looks like his uncle..."

Father Li waved his hand brutally. "Stop lying to me." He rushed over, grabbed her collar, and slapped her hard. Aicao screamed as she was sent flying into a corner. She shivered uncontrollably, unable to rise for a long time, looking at Father Li with eyes full of fear