Repudiating a Good Wife Is Out of the Question

31. Fire in the Utility Room

Translator: Sissy That Walk

In the utility room.

Cold wind made its way into the room through in creaks on the door.

Cao Mo was leaning on the firewood listlessly, suffering hunger and cold.

Cao Mo knew chances were he wouldn’t see the sunrise the next day if he had to spend the night in this icy cold room, a cold would take a person’s life away in this time and space.

Cao Mo ripped his cotton-padded jacket off and took a piss on the cotton, then he drilled wood to make fire, with that he put the wet cotton on the burning wood, soon billowing smoke rose.

Cao Mowouldn’t dare to set this place ablaze because fire was dangerous to play with and hard to control, he didn’t want to commit a crime.

Seeing the smokes, Cao Mo smiled in satisfaction and he climbed on the widow and ran away.

Cao Mo jumped out from the window and sneered, “You think you can ground me in that room, good luck!”

Cao Mo ran all the way back to Magnolia House but he dared not to alarm the guards at the gate, so he made his way into the yard over walls and roofs.

Qingxue who was brewing medicine for Xiao Yi in the yard was startled when she saw Cao Mo, “Young Madam, you are back! Amida Buddha, you are back! Young Master had an attack of his old illness when he heard Dowager Xiao locked you in the utility room.”

Cao Mo panicked, “Is he all right?”

With that Cao Mo hurried back to the room, Xiao Yi’s voice was shaking when he saw Cao Mo, “Mo you are back, come here let me see you!”

Xiao Yi caught hold of Cao Mo’s hands and rested his head on Cao Mo’s shoulder, it was Cao Mo, it was the familiar feeling, familiar aura, familiar everything.

Cao Mo squeezed Xiao Yi’s hand as a comfort, “How could a shabby utility room ground me? They have underestimated me.”

“Do you know there was a fire in the utility room, everything was burned down.” Xiao Yi’s voice tight, controlled.

Cao Mo exclaimed, panic-stricken, “How is that possible! I just set some billow smoke, no way would it turn into a fire!”

Xiao Yi frowned and asked, “You mean you are not the one who set the utility room on fire?”

Cao Mo explained, “It’s not me, I just make a fire and covered it with wet cotton to create some heavy smoke.”

“Hmm, it looks like someone has started the fire and tried to make you the scapegoat!” analyzed Xiao Yi, then he asked Moqi to look up who had been around the utility room.

Xiao Yi handed Cao Mo a handwarmer, he rubbed Cao Mo’s cold ears and said, “I was worried sick, didn’t I tell you to watch out and pay attention what you are eating. I wish I had dragged you back with me.”

Cao Mo sighed, “I don’t know what happened, I know your stepmother Lady Xiao hats me, but I have no idea your grandmother Her Ladyship Dowager Xiao also hates me, no, she was very moody with me, she was giving me presents and praising me last second, and she was joining Lady Xiao on framing me up the next second.”

Xiao Yi cuddled Cao Mo tighter, “Well, I should have warned you earlier, grandmother and father aren’t on good terms since father was born, and things had gotten worse when my Second Uncle was born, grandmother had favored her second son since day one. Grandfather had complained this multiple times when he was alive, Second Uncle volunteered to garrison the frontiers to resolve family conflicts, grandmother couldn’t see her favorite son so she had been venting the spleen on father. Plus father didn’t inform grandmother about our wedding ceremony in time, grandmother for sure wasn’t happy about that.”

Cao Mo sighed, “I don’t want to comment on our elders, but I’m feeling so much better knowing you care about me so much.”

Resting on Xiao Yi’s shoulder, Cao Mo felt so safe and comfy, soon the tiredness swept through him and he fell asleep.

Xiao Yi ask a maid to burn a Tranquil Incense to make Cao Mo feel more relaxed.

Moqi came back when he found out who had been to the utility room, “To reply to Young Master, pages and maids saw the Third Lady sneaked out of the gate and walked around the utility room.”

Xiao Yi frowned and his tone became livid, “It’s Xiao Li again! I cannot believe how she fails to distinguish right from wrong, Mo has saved her and her sister’s life, but she insists Mo has killed her mother! What a stupid girl!”

Moqi added, “Xiao Li might have something to do with Young Madam’s brother Cao Le as well, it was her who has incited the Second Young Master to harass Cao Le, but on the plus side, the Young Madam would have drunk the wine if not for the Second Young Master.”

Xiao Yi sneered, “What a vicious plan, a jug of wine implicated so many people. Moqi, go tell Qiushuang the story, I think Lady Xiao needs to know who has been hiding behind the scene the whole time.”

… …

Qiushuang ran into Osmanthus House to tell Lady Xiao that Cao Mo had run back to his house, hearing that, Lady Xiao threw her teacup on the ground and fumed, “He is lucky that he isn’t burned to death in the fire.”

Mammy Wang comforted Lady Xiao, “Madam, please pay that bastard no attention, the priority here is to change His Lordship’s mind on naming the Young Master the heir.”

“Don’t I know that? My hands are tied! Have you seen that Cao Le yesterday, he and his mother were so greedy, hmm, no way I will allow Cao Le to be my son’s wife!” Lady Xiao sprang up from the chair and gnashed her teeth.

Qiushuang thumped on the ground and begged, “Lady Xiao, please have mercy, please allow to to come back to Osmanthus House to serve on you.”

That set Lady Xiao’s nerves on edge, “Why bother?”

Qiushuang lowered her head and said, “I’m pregnant, it’s Second Young Master’s.”

Hearing that, Lady Xiao almost fell in a faint.

Mammy Wang, however, was very collected, she raised her eyebrows and grabbed Qiushuang’s shoulders, “Good girl, say it again, whose baby is this?”

Qiushuang was transfixed, “Mammy… this baby… Young Madam Cao Mo?”

Mammy Wang nodded at Qiushuang in encouragement, then Mammy Wang turned to look at Lady Xiao, “Madam, Young Madam has married to the family for over a month now.”

Lady Xiao looked at Mammy Wang’s crooked face and gave her a cold smile, “You are right.”

Lady Xiao walked to Qiushuang and changed her tone, “Good girl, you are my good girl, now tell me this baby belongs to Magnolia House, it’s either Cao Mo’s or Xiao Yi’s.”

Qiushuang knew she would be courting death if she claimed the baby is Xiao Yi’s so she had to slander Cao Mo.

Lady Xiao pressed her forehead with a victory smile, “Mammy Wang, go get that bastard, this is huge, I need to interrogate him.”