The Fugitive's Wife (2)
The Man’s Heart
That night, I sat alone, crouched before the earthen stove. Inside the hearth, flames crackled as they devoured dry firewood. On the shelf above, three jars of fine aged liquor I had bought at great expense for Liu Bang stood untouched. Neither opened nor tasted. After all, their owner had not returned.
I stared at them blankly for a moment, then let out a deep sigh and buried my face between my knees.
“What an idiot… I am.”
A self-mocking voice slipped out before I could stop it. The same bitter, sticky sensation I had felt that morning in Xiao He’s office clung to me. Even though I knew better, I had still held onto hope. My mind understood that history was already written, yet I had wished for that man to come bursting through the door covered in dirt, sit across from me, and act like nothing had happened. In this chaotic age, I had dared to expect at least one small, happy variable.
‘…I’ve gone soft.’
I hugged my knees tighter. The night air at the end of December was bitterly cold. When Liu Bang had been here, I had held his hand every night as we slept. At first it had felt repulsive, but before I knew it, I had grown used to that rough, burning warmth. Now that warmth was gone. The blanket felt as cold as a corpse, the night stretched on like eternity, and my heart felt like an empty tin can.
I didn’t want to admit it, but the emotion I was feeling right now was unmistakably loneliness.
‘I must be losing my mind…’
To think I felt lonely without that drunken, middle-aged scoundrel. If the old me from my previous life had heard this, he would have been horrified. “Wow, you’ve really gone completely insane,” he would have said.
But this was my reality now.
I was Lü Zhi. I was Liu Bang’s wife. And… I was a twenty-year-old young woman feeling desolate because he was gone.
“…Haa.”
I exhaled and rose to my feet. Slap, slap. I struck both cheeks hard to snap myself out of it.
‘Enough self-pity. It’s time to survive.’
I walked to the window and looked outside. The dirt path on the outskirts of Peixian would normally be deserted even by ants, but now five torches swayed steadily closer through the darkness.
‘They’re here.’
I shoved the jars of aged liquor deep into a drawer, then checked the bedding that covered the pile of straw sandals and ropes. I deliberately tousled my hair a little more, loosened the neatly tied sash of my robe, and wiped the cold sneer from my face, replacing it with an expression of terror and tragic sorrow.
And before long—
“The County Magistrate has arrived!”
A rough shout rang out, followed by the heavy stomp of military boots filling the courtyard.
‘The magistrate himself came?’
Plan A-1-2. The situation was heavier than expected. I had thought he would send at most a minor clerk. I bit my lip lightly to drain the color from it and clasped my hands in front of me.
“P-please, come in.”
Making my voice tremble wasn’t difficult. I really was afraid.
Soon the thick hemp curtain covering the entrance was yanked aside violently, and a man barged in.
“…Hm.”
A corpulent man in his mid-fifties. Greasy skin glistening from rich food, small eyes clouded with lust, and a sagging chin like a toad’s. He was the very picture of a corrupt official.
‘That must be the magistrate.’
Behind him, armed guards stood radiating killing intent. Without hesitation, I prostrated myself on the floor. The cold of the earthen ground felt especially piercing.
“My lord. What brings Your Honor to this humble dwelling at such a late hour?”
I pressed my forehead to the floor in supplication. My voice was properly laced with fear, and my slender shoulders trembled like leaves.
“So you are Liu Ji’s wife.”
The magistrate looked down at me and spoke in a low voice. He remained three paces away, arms folded, appraising me like merchandise.
“Your husband has fled.”
“……”
“He released all the prisoners he was escorting and disappeared like a rat. There is no room for excuses—this is high treason.”
“…I am aware.”
“You are aware?”
The magistrate’s eyes narrowed.
“Then does that mean you knew and kept silent?”
“T-that is not what I meant!”
“Then what exactly do you mean? Speak clearly!”
“J-just now, I heard it from a man named Xiahou Ying. That my husband… that the shameless man had run away.”
“……”
“That is why this humble girl intended to present herself at the yamen at first light to confess her guilt…”
“…Present yourself at the yamen?”
The magistrate’s eyebrows twitched. It seemed he hadn’t expected that response. Normally, the standard reaction would be to deny everything with “My husband would never do that!” or to be so terrified as to be unable to speak. But I was not an ordinary girl.
What I had learned from that brutal corporate life in the 21st century—Chapter One of How to Confuse Old Men: Instead of running away, walk straight toward the gun barrel of your own accord.
“Yes, my lord.”
I bowed my head once more.
“This humble girl never dreamed that my husband was plotting such a heinous scheme. However, as a wife, I was taught that my husband’s faults are my own. Since he has abandoned his duty as an official who receives the state’s salary and fled, how could I possibly wash away that sin?”
I pulled out a silk pouch I had prepared in advance and offered it with both hands.
“This… is the entire family fortune my husband entrusted to me before he left.”
“Hmm.”
“I planned to offer this to the yamen and enter prison of my own free will to await judgment. Therefore, I beg Your Honor to look with mercy upon this pitiful woman.”
The textbook plea. Victim cosplay combined with voluntary cooperation. And above all, a solid dose of financial therapy.
Right now, I was not playing the role of “the rebel’s wife,” but “a pitiful woman who was deceived and abandoned by her husband yet still strives to uphold the law.”
In any case, there could be no evidence that I had known about Liu Bang’s escape. Simply confessing would remove any justification for torture. Few madmen would apply hot irons to a cooperative witness.
‘I’ve lowered myself this much; it would be awkward for him to push further. Besides, the money I’m handing over is untraceable dirty money that he can pocket without consequence.’
The amount inside the pouch was roughly two hundred coins. It was more than enough to be considered emergency funds left behind by a low-ranking chief for his wife.
The magistrate, who had been staring at me, clicked his tongue.
“For a mere woman, you grasp the situation quite quickly.”
He unfolded his arms and looked around. His gaze swept over the shabby room before returning to me.
“Raise your head.”
His voice was softer than I had anticipated. It seemed I had cleared the first hurdle. I felt a wave of relief as I slowly lifted my head.
“It is a humble home, so I am ashamed, but if you wish, I can prepare some warm tea.”
“Tea? There is no need.”
The magistrate snorted as he faced me.
“Perhaps some ledgers or weapons that Liu Ji left behind…”
But his words were cut off mid-sentence. His pupils suddenly doubled in size, then narrowed sharply.
“……?”
I blinked quietly, trying to read his intention. A chill suddenly gripped my chest.
‘…Did he notice?’
Perhaps a smile had slipped through. After all, everything had been flowing exactly according to my plan until now.
“I-I am sorry. This humble girl has been rude, staring at Your Honor’s noble face…”
I hurriedly lowered my head.
“It is nothing. Never mind.”
But the magistrate did not press further. Instead, with an increasingly strange expression, he looked me up and down. Finally, his voice dropped low.
“You.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Seen up close… you are quite a fragrant woman.”
“…Pardon?”
My brain momentarily buffered at the unexpected input. But the magistrate nodded and stepped closer. The stench of alcohol, meat, and a revolting body odor washed over me.
“That fool Liu Ji, what an utter idiot. To run away and leave a woman like this behind.”
And then… a large, thick hand reached out. A hand that looked as slimy as a toad’s tongue approached my cheek.
‘This crazy…’
Reality finally crashed over me. I reflexively recoiled as if to avoid the hand and sat back.
“Hic…”
I covered my face with both hands. The magistrate’s hand barely grazed the empty air where my shoulder had been.
“Husband… why have you left me behind and placed such hardship upon this girl…”
Thus began my performance with every ounce of acting skill I possessed. But inside my head, my thoughts were spinning faster than ever before.
‘We’re fucked, we’re fucked, we’re fucked.’
That voice just now. That gaze. And the hand that had tried to touch me. The conclusion those three things pointed to was painfully obvious. So clear that my vision began to blur.
‘Why… why didn’t I consider this possibility?’
I was Lü Zhi. Within all of Peixian, I possessed beauty that could be counted on one hand—the greatest product of the Lü family. And now I was “the wife of a criminal,” a woman who had lost her husband’s protection both legally and socially.
‘I let my guard down because of Liu Bang…!’
This was not 21st-century South Korea. There were no CCTVs, no police, no human rights commissions—this was a barbaric era. A rotten age where women were treated like spoils of war and the wives of criminals received not even a shred of sympathy.
Moreover, the man before me was the county magistrate. He held absolute power over both judicial and administrative authority in this region. If he so desired, he could turn me into a slave, lock me away in a secret annex, and make me “disappear” without a trace.
“Raise your head.”
“Sob… Husband…”
“I said raise your head.”
“Hic… Hiccup…”
I desperately pretended to cry, buying time. Perhaps because there were witnesses, the magistrate did not forcibly lift me or tear my clothes. Instead, he scratched his head roughly and squatted down in front of me.
“Then listen to me like that.”
A low whisper followed.
“You are beautiful. You possess the dignity befitting a daughter of the Lü family. You are far too good for a scoundrel like Liu Ji.”
His outstretched finger brushed ever so lightly against the ends of my hair.
“Let us become close. If you do, I will believe in your innocence. Of course, I will also protect your family.”
‘…Fuck.’
Become close. There was no need to interpret the meaning hidden within those words. This pig was demanding my body. He was essentially blackmailing me by holding the weakness of being a fugitive’s wife hostage.
‘You crazy bastard!’
Rage boiled up inside me. In my previous life, I had been a man. And now I was Liu Bang’s wife. To offer my body to a decrepit old pig like this was utterly ridiculous.
‘But…’
I also needed to stay calm. If I provoked this man now, it was over. If I refused? He would immediately pin the crime of treason on me and drag me to the torture chamber. Or perhaps to the annex of his residence. There were no lawyers in this era, so no matter what he did to me, there would be nowhere to plead my case.
Therefore, I could not provoke him now. I had to buy time. I had to endure at least until my media play took effect and Xiao He could make his move.
‘Should I say I need time to prepare my heart? Or… just claim I’m on my period?’
My mind was burning white-hot when—
“My lord.”
A voice of salvation cut into the room.
“What is it?”
The magistrate turned his head with clear irritation in his voice. I, too, slightly lowered my hands to see who had spoken. Standing there was a clerk very familiar to me.
‘Ren Ao…!’
Ren Ao. The clerk who had once received help from Liu Bang when he needed money for his son’s medicine. In the original history, he had thrown himself forward to protect me when the prison guards tried to molest the imprisoned Lü Zhi. And he was also the insurance policy I had secured in advance for this Plan A.
He gave me a very brief glance, then calmly bowed to the magistrate.
“Though she claims ignorance, that is nothing more than the one-sided assertion of the suspect. I believe it would be proper to follow regulations, place her in prison, and conduct a calm interrogation to uncover the truth.”
‘…Nice assist!’
To put me in prison. That meant I would enter the official management of public authority as a “formal suspect.” Paradoxically, in the current situation, there was no safer place to protect my chastity than prison. Even the almighty county magistrate could not privately covet a prisoner in a jail filled with many watchful eyes.
“One-sided assertion? Lady Lü is showing such sincere remorse—how can you speak so heartlessly?”
“However, my lord. There are ominous rumors that insurgents who deserted while heading to Mount Li are forming a faction. If inspectors from the capital come later, they might misunderstand that you showed her personal favor.”
Ren Ao did not back down.
“I believe that thoroughly investigating the matter here and clearly distinguishing right from wrong would be best for Your Honor’s future career as well.”
“……”
Ren Ao’s words were undeniably logical. Liu Bang was not a simple fugitive but the ringleader who had led a mass prison break. This was a matter that could cost the magistrate his own head.
‘Yes, hurry up and drag me to prison.’
I hung my head as if I had no opinion and waited for judgment. After a long silence, the magistrate finally spoke.
“No. That will not do.”
“…Pardon?”
The rejection was so firm that a stupid sound escaped me before I could stop it. The magistrate turned to look at me, his eyes now burning with even thicker desire.
“There is no way such a beautiful lady could have been involved in such a vile plot. My eyes are not so easily deceived.”
“But my lord…”
“Silence! I said I will take responsibility, yet a mere clerk dares to run his mouth! Stop frightening Lady Lü for no reason and get out!”
‘…Oh my god.’
This was completely unexpected. To think that the chief magistrate of an entire county could be a creature so utterly ruled by his lower half. He was willing to gamble his entire political life for a single woman?
‘This insane pervert…’
Once again, the magistrate’s hand reached out. My mind went completely blank. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to bear watching. And then—
“…Tsk. The mood is completely ruined.”
The magistrate withdrew his hand right in front of me. Instead, he clicked his tongue and stood up.
“Two days.”
“…Pardon?”
“I will return in two days.”
The magistrate turned without hesitation. Then, standing at the door, he looked me over once more with eyes still filled with lingering regret.
“By then, make sure you are properly prepared. For the sake of your… safety as well.”
With that, the magistrate left the house. “Let’s go!” came a loud command, and the sound of footsteps quickly receded. In the place where the storm had swept through, only a suffocating silence remained.
“Ha.”
Only after confirming that the magistrate had completely disappeared did I finally release the breath I had been holding. My legs gave out and I collapsed onto the floor. My skirt spread messily across the dirt.
Ren Ao stood by the door, checking the situation outside, then approached me and knelt on one knee.
“Are you all right, madam?”
“Ah… yes.”
I nodded blankly. Ren Ao, fists tightly clenched, lowered his head in self-reproach.
“I am sorry. If I had known this would happen, the moment I saw madam’s face I should have bound you and taken you straight to prison…”
“It was I who insisted that being imprisoned was the worst option. This is not your fault, Lord Ren.”
The best plan had naturally been to deceive the magistrate with bribes and tears and remain under house arrest at home. If I were locked in prison, it would disrupt both the operation of the Lü family’s trading company and the plans for Liu Bang’s welcoming ceremony.
Ren Ao hesitated for a moment, then asked with a grave expression.
“Then what do you plan to do from now on? The magistrate will surely return in two days.”
Two days. A period that could feel long or short depending on how one looked at it. The option of obediently giving my body to the magistrate was naturally not under consideration. The person I would give my first time to… was certainly not that insane pig.
An improvised solution for survival. I racked my brain desperately. Data on the magistrate: greed, arrogance, obsession with authority. And most importantly, the fact that he was a man.
“Ah.”
Finally, one method came to mind.
“Have you thought of something good?”
Ren Ao asked with hopeful eyes. I nodded immediately and spoke.
“Yes. I have come up with a way to prevent the magistrate’s filthy hands from touching me without being dragged to prison.”
There was only one thing needed for this.
‘Scratch his pride…!’
I straightened my clothes and looked straight up at Ren Ao.
“Because I understand men’s desires better than any woman in this world.”