Lotus in a Bottle - Chapter 7

Section 11

After we returned, I began carrying out my plan for a divorce in earnest.

Since disrupting his work hadn’t done any good, it was time to become suspicious and jealous.

I transferred every maidservant out of Qinglian Courtyard.

That evening, Tan Lian returned from work and fell into contemplation as he gazed at his deserted courtyard.

I cleared my throat. I might not have had reason on my side, but that didn’t stop me from acting righteous.

“You’re the one who said the men of the Tan Family have taken only one wife for generations, with no concubines and no visits to brothels. So why do you keep so many beautiful maids around?”

Tan Lian gently tried to reason with me. “Someone still needs to attend to my wife’s daily needs. If you didn’t like the previous ones, we could replace them with a group you find more… pleasing to the eye.”

I couldn’t help feeling suspicious.

He was being far too accommodating.

Could he owe my father money or something?

Though I felt a little guilty, that didn’t stop me from playing the part of a proper jealous wife.

I continued haughtily, “I don’t care. It’s either your maids or me. You decide.”

My shrewish act was so convincing that even I found myself grinding my teeth in irritation, yet Tan Lian somehow maintained his smile.

“If my wife dislikes them, they can be sent elsewhere. Such a trivial matter should naturally be handled however you please.”

I was dumbfounded.

Wasn’t he the White Lotus? Wasn’t he supposed to be a kindhearted, softhearted living Buddha? Why wouldn’t he stand up for those innocent maids and give me an excuse to make a scene?

“I’m going to drive away every last one of your maids. Aren’t you…” The least bit angry?

Tan Lian softly interrupted me. “My wife is more important than anyone else.”

Wait. What?

I hesitantly studied Tan Lian’s beautiful, smiling face.

Could this irresistible heartthrob be the type who lost all reason when he fell in love?

The possibility shook me so deeply that I overlooked something strange.

The maids I had transferred to other courtyards didn’t seem to have merely left Qinglian Courtyard.

After that night, not a trace of them was ever seen anywhere in the Tan Family again.

Section 12

Ever since I transferred those maids away, the task of attending to Tan Lian’s daily needs had fallen to me.

Tan Lian was fastidious about cleanliness. Every day after returning from work, he had to bathe and change his clothes. Since I’d forbidden him from going near any other woman, heating and carrying his bathwater somehow ended up becoming my responsibility.

If I were one of those deranged male supporting characters from the original novel, I would naturally have been delighted. They might even have secretly drunk every drop of Tan Lian’s bathwater.

But I was clearly no pervert, nor did I covet Tan Lian’s body.

After half a month of this torment, my hands were practically cramping beyond use.

Who knew being a jealous wife was so difficult?

I was forced to abandon that part of the plan and had the steward bring back a group of maids.

When Tan Lian returned that evening and found Qinglian Courtyard bustling once more, however, he made no attempt to hide his disappointment.

“I still prefer being alone with Baoping. We don’t actually need them to serve us. Baoping doesn’t like me speaking to other people either, does she? Why don’t we send them away again?”

I waved my hands in alarm. “No, no, no! I prefer a livelier atmosphere after all. Having more people around is wonderful. Really, it is.”

Tan Lian gave an inscrutable smile. “Is that so? As long as Baoping is happy.”

At least he didn’t mention sending the maids away again.

After putting myself through all that, I was utterly drained for quite some time.

I obediently lay around doing nothing for a while, until Shen Huaihuan brought me a new idea.

The third day of the third lunar month was almost here.