kingnovel Chapter 2146 The Death of Madam Ding
Chapter 2146 The Death of Madam Ding
Governor Ding's shoulders shrugged slightly, his eyes reddened, and he choked up with barely concealed sobs.
Huo Changhe narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze lingering on his face.
"The person I was worshipping in the back garden in the middle of the night was none other than... my deceased wife."
The air seemed to grow even colder after those words were spoken.
Huo Changhe's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly, but his tone remained calm: "Prefect Ding, didn't Madam Ding die in the water when her boat capsized during a storm, leaving no trace? How come she is now being worshipped in the garden?"
Governor Ding let out a long sigh, a sigh filled with helplessness and bitterness, as if weighed down by a thousand-pound burden.
His voice lowered: "That's just a lie told to outsiders."
"A lie? Tell me more."
“That day, I found a woman whose figure and appearance were quite similar to my wife, and had her perform a scene on the boat. She pretended to fall into the water, and then the woman swam away with the current, took the silver I gave her, and flew away without a trace.”
Governor Ding's voice trembled: "But my real wife was already dead long before that so-called flood disaster."
"How did she die?" Huo Changhe pressed, his gaze sharp as a knife, as if trying to dissect all of Governor Ding's secrets.
Governor Ding's lips trembled, and after a long while he managed to utter a few words with difficulty: "I...I buried him under the old locust tree in the back garden."
Huo Changhe looked at Governor Ding's distraught appearance, his eyes deep: "Why?"
Governor Ding's shoulders trembled violently, and sobs escaped his lips, broken and intermittent, filled with endless regret and pain.
"This...this is all shameful, the greatest sin of my life!"
His face was streaked with tears, and his eyes were unfocused as he stared ahead, lost in distant memories.
"My wife and I met when we were young. We have always had a very good relationship, treating each other with respect and affection."
Governor Ding's voice softened, carrying a lingering affection for the past: "Later, due to court intrigues, I was demoted to Rongzhou. At that time, Rongzhou was remote and conditions were harsh. She said that husband and wife are one, sharing happiness and hardship, and wanted to come with me."
"Our first two years in Rongzhou were tough, but peaceful."
She personally managed the household affairs, showing concern and care without ever uttering a word of complaint. Even when I was busy at the yamen until late at night, I could always find a warm lamp and a bowl of hot soup at home.
Back then, I always thought that when my luck turned around in the future, I would definitely make it up to her and give her a good life.
He paused, then his tone suddenly changed, filled with intense hatred: "But I never expected that everything would change in the third year."
Huo Changhe listened quietly, his gaze remaining calm.
That autumn, the waterways in Rongzhou were exceptionally busy, with many merchant ships coming and going.
One day, my wife went to a cloth shop near the dock to buy fabric, and unexpectedly ran into her fellow townsman, a failed scholar named Shen Wenxuan.
Governor Ding gritted his teeth as he uttered the name: "Shen Wenxuan failed the imperial examinations repeatedly. Disheartened, he turned to small business. He was passing through Rongzhou on a merchant ship when he unexpectedly ran into my wife."
Governor Ding's eyes were full of resentment: "My wife once mentioned to me that we studied together in a private school when we were young and had a deep friendship, but we lost contact after her family moved away from our hometown."
At the time, I thought it was just something from my youth and didn't take it to heart. But I never imagined that this reunion would rekindle our old feelings and destroy our entire family!
He became agitated, his voice rose several decibels, and his chest heaved violently.
"My wife is kind and simple-minded, with a pure heart. How could she resist Shen Wenxuan's sweet talk? Shen Wenxuan has a refined appearance and speaks in a gentle manner, but in reality, he is full of bad intentions."
Knowing his wife was sentimental, he spent his days reminiscing about the past in front of her, talking about their deep youthful love, how fate had played a cruel trick on them, and how he had missed her and suffered setbacks all these years.
"My wife was initially hesitant, knowing that she was already a married woman, and dared not have too much contact with him."
But Shen Wenxuan pressed on relentlessly, frequently visiting him under the guise of being a fellow townsman, bringing him inexpensive trinkets and saying thoughtful words.
Over time, my wife gradually lowered her guard and became increasingly close to him, until eventually, she had no reservations whatsoever.
Governor Ding's voice was full of pain and disappointment: "She started meeting with him behind my back, and sometimes she would secretly send him money and gifts. I was busy with official duties at the time and didn't notice anything at all."
“Until that time.” Governor Ding’s eyes became empty, as if he had returned to that day that caused him unbearable pain. “At that time, I went to inspect with Liu Balang, and we originally planned to stay for three days.”
However, on the afternoon of the second day, some problems arose with the collection process, requiring me to return to the prefectural capital to retrieve documents, so I went home a day early.
"The weather was bad that day, with a light drizzle. I returned to the mansion covered in dust, and as soon as I entered the backyard, I heard the sounds of men and women talking and laughing coming from the bedroom."
My heart skipped a beat, a sense of foreboding washing over me. I tiptoed over, pushed open the slightly ajar door, and the sight before me struck me like a thunderbolt.
His breathing became rapid: "My wife is sitting in front of the dressing table, and Shen Wenxuan is standing behind her, holding a hairpin and putting it into her hair."
The two chatted and laughed, their expressions affectionate, looking just like a loving couple.
"At that moment, I felt a surge of anger rush to my head, my mind went blank, and I lost all reason."
I rushed in, shoved Shen Wenxuan aside, grabbed a nearby stool, and smashed it at him. I hated him, hated him for destroying my family, hated him for seducing my wife!
Governor Ding's voice was choked with sobs: "But I never expected that my wife would protect him! Just as the bench was about to hit Shen Wenxuan, she suddenly rushed over and stood in front of him."
A muffled thud seemed to echo in the interrogation room, and Governor Ding's body trembled violently, his face filled with despair.
"The stool hit my wife squarely on the back of the head. She didn't even groan before falling straight down. I was stunned. I watched her lying on the ground, blood streaming from her forehead, staining the floor red... I..."
"Shen Wenxuan was also terrified. After a moment of stunned silence, he took advantage of my distraction and ran away in a panic. He was never heard from again."
Governor Ding's tears flowed again: "I squatted on the ground, held her in my arms, and called her name over and over again, but she never responded to me again. I killed her, I killed my beloved wife with my own hands!"
He cried his heart out: "My wife died unjustly, but it's too shameful to tell anyone!"
As the wife of a governor, she had an affair and was accidentally killed by her husband. If this were to become public knowledge, not only would her reputation be ruined, but I would also become a laughingstock, my career destroyed, and I would be branded as the murderer of my wife.
"I had no other choice but to come up with this way to deceive everyone."
"Under the cover of night, I buried the body under the old locust tree in the back garden, which used to be her favorite place."
Then I found a woman with a similar build and we acted out a scene of her falling into the water and drowning, making everyone believe she had died.