“My love, for you and your reputation, I have submitted a plea to the judge,” Shi Men lied.
“I requested that he not be tortured and be released immediately. And after he comes out, I will continue to help him so he can trade. And all this I do for you.” Lian Cu, of course, was overjoyed, and while crying, embraced Shi Men. “I am so grateful. As long as he can be released, the rest is up to you. And I will order him not to indulge in drink again. He can find another woman to be his wife. After all, I can't belong to him forever.”
“Perfect, my sweet. And I will buy a quaint house for you, that cottage will be our love nest. Now, don't be sad, my love, if you grieve it will diminish your beauty.” With this persuasion and lie, Shi Men got sweet service from Lian Cu who was grateful and who thought that her master was truly a loving and good-hearted man. Shi Men's behavior earned trust in Lian Cu's heart who, of course, expressed her joy by telling the other servants. And this gossip also reached Mong Yu Lok's ears, Shi Men's third wife, who immediately sought Kim Lian to convey the news.
"Just imagine," the third wife said to Kim Lian,
"He was persuaded by Lian Cu and will help to free her husband soon, and he will give that shameless woman a new house with three rooms, buy her a servant, and give her full jewelry, in short, he seems to be elevating Lian Cu to our level!” Of course, the news delivered by Mong Yu Lok to Kim Lian had blown out of proportion.
“Hmm, is that so?” Kim Lian sneered with a cold smile. “Let the woman believe and assume so. But do not call me Lady Kim Lian anymore if I cannot prevent him from taking Lian Cu as his seventh wife!” That night, while Shi Men was sitting in the cottage where he worked on paperwork, in the spacious garden, writing a letter of leniency for Lai Wang to be sent to the chief justice, Kim Lian suddenly appeared. Peeking at the contents of the letter over his shoulder, hugging his neck from behind in a flirtatious manner, she asked,
"What are you writing?" Shi Men was surprised by the sudden arrival of his fifth wife. Since it was already visible, he had no choice but to tell her about his intention to write a letter of request to the chief justice so that Lai Wang could be pardoned and released. Hearing this, Kim Lian quickly sat in front of her husband and spoke passionately with a serious demeanor.
"You truly aren't worthy to be called a real man! Every breath of wind can make you waver and change your mind quickly. Once again you let yourself be persuaded and deceived by that slave! Can't you see how she still loves and clings to her husband, even though you shower her with sweetness every day? Have you considered it thoroughly and don't you see how her husband will only become a big obstacle once he is released, when you want to have fun with his wife? If he is free, you are not free anymore to approach his wife, and you will just become a starving person, the laughingstock and mockery of the servants.
You are truly mistaken! If you want to have that woman without fear and without disturbance, you should first get rid of her husband.” The words that came out of Kim Lian's mouth left a deep impression on Shi Men's mind as if he had regained his cunning. He saw the truth in the words of this fifth wife of his. Why should he go to the trouble of helping Lai Wang if in the end the man would only become an obstacle to his pleasure? And if Lian Cu truly loves him, she should be happier if Lai Wang could be eliminated forever so as not to interfere with their relationship. Shi Men then tore up the unfinished plea letter he had written earlier, took a new sheet of paper and wrote a new petition that was different and even contrary to what he initially wrote.
In this petition, he asked the court to punish Lai Wang as severely as possible and to carry out the punishment as soon as possible, at the latest within the next three days. Shi Men's petition caused a slight commotion in the court office. Who among the officers there had never tasted the sweetness of sugar and the sheen of silver generously bestowed by Shi Men? Who dared to oppose and not fulfill his request? It was fortunate for Lai Wang that secretary Yin, the main assistant to chief justice Cia, was a humanitarian and he was the one who disagreed if Lai Wang, who had not been proven guilty, received severe punishment and torture as desired by Shi Men. Judge Cia felt conflicted.
He dared not reject Shi Men's request, nor did he feel comfortable ignoring secretary Yin's protest. So, Judge Cia took the middle path. He ordered that Lai Wang be given forty more lashes, and then he was to be exiled to his place of birth, which was in Se-Couw. On the day of his departure, Lai Wang was taken out of his cell. His body was still bruised from the lashes, his clothes were in tatters, and his body felt weak and frail. His neck was fastened with a kang (a wooden board around the neck). Accompanied by two prison soldiers, he embarked on his journey to a very distant place, heavy-hearted due to grief and resentment. Not a single penny was in his torn pocket, and he faced such a difficult and far journey.
“Brothers, have mercy on me who has such a tragic fate,” he persuaded his two guards.
“Let's first take me to my master's house, where my wife lives. I will ask my wife to provide clothes and money, so we won't lack food during our long journey.”
“Have you gone mad?” the guards answered. “Do you think your master, who has reported you to the court, will be pleased to allow your wife to open the door and give you money? Don't you have any other family?”
“Brothers, at least give me a chance to stand and wait for a while in front of the gate of Master Shi Men’s house. There might be visitors or servants who see me and help me call my wife and persuade my former master to have mercy on me.”
Since Lai Wang kept begging, the two guards who also hoped that the prisoner they were escorting had enough money for provisions took him in front of Shi Men's house. However, true to the suspicion of the two guards, the gate of Shi Men's house was closed, and no one wanted to open the door for Lai Wang. Lai Wang then went to visit Yi Pong Kui's house not far from there, to ask for help from this friend of his former master to persuade Shi Men to let his wife out to meet him. But Ying Po Kui didn't want to come out to meet him, he had the servant say that he wasn't at home. There appeared two other neighbors who felt sorry for Lai Wang, and they went to visit Shi Men to persuade him.
However, Shi Men ignored this persuasion, even ordered his henchmen to go out and drive Lai Wang away from his gate. Finally, the guards took him to the house of his father-in-law, that is, Lian Cu's father. The old man felt pity and gave him one ounce of silver, a few copper coins, and some rice for provisions. Departed the unfortunate Lai Wang to embark on his very long and difficult journey to Se-Couw. Meanwhile, Lian Cu was completely unaware of all that happened because the servants had been threatened by Shi Men not to disclose about Lai Wang's visit to her. Lian Cu patiently awaited her husband's return and sent food every day for her husband, who she presumed was still in custody.
And because the servants were afraid of Shi Men, they emptied the food tray and returned it to Lian Cu, making the young lady believe that her husband was still safe and would certainly be released in a few days. However, smoke cannot be covered forever. Eventually, she heard a rumor that her husband had been taken out of jail to be exiled somewhere, and that her husband had stopped by in front of the gate before leaving but failed to meet anyone. Upon hearing this, Lian Cu was shocked and asked here and there, but no servant dared to disclose the secret. Finally, she met Siauw Tai and from this young servant, she learned about her husband's condition.
“Lady, your husband has been exiled to Se-Couw. You will never see him again. But please do not tell that I was the one who told you. We were all strictly forbidden to relay this news to you.” After hearing this, Lian Cu locked herself in her room and cried bitterly. Then, when her room door was not opened despite knocks and was eventually broken down, they found that the young lady had become a corpse, she had hung herself in her room.
“Silly woman who doesn’t know to take advantage!” These were the only words Shi Men said when he saw his lover dead in such a horrifying manner. Thus, once again, Kim Lian achieved her victory.
On a particularly hot afternoon, Kim Lian stepped out of her cottage and strolled in the vast garden of her family's estate. She was wearing thin clothes in the sweltering heat and as she walked under the shade of the trees, she was intrigued by the giggling Ciu Hwa, the servant of Lady Peng, formerly Lady Hua or Shi Men's sixth wife. The servant left the small red cottage giggling and seemed very flirtatious.
Seeing this, curiosity arose in Kim Lian's heart to see what and who the flirtatious servant had just left. So she quickly tiptoed to the red cottage located at the end of the beautiful garden. As she peeked, her cheeks turned red. She saw her husband and his sixth wife making love in the open, on a patch of thick grass near the red cottage. Making love in the open and in broad daylight! No wonder Ciu Hwa left the place giggling flirtatiously earlier! With bated breath, Kim Lian continued to peek while listening. “Aihh Koko, don't be too rough! Let me confess, for over a month I have been feeling pregnant. "Aihh! Is that true? My love, why didn’t you tell me so I could be more cautious?” This conversation was enough for Kim Lian. She slowly left the cottage. Seeing her husband making love with his sixth wife was not strange and did not arouse jealousy, but hearing Lady Peng’s confession that she was pregnant, it was like a rusty sword piercing her heart! She imagined how her position would be displaced if the concubine gave birth to a child, especially if it was a boy. And certainly, Shi Men's affection would be more directed to the wife who could give him an heir!
But smartly, Kim Lian held back her feelings so that her attitude towards her husband and Lady Peng was as usual, even though she felt more and more jealous as time went on. A few months later an invitation letter from Prime Minister Cai in the capital arrived to celebrate his birthday. Shi Men understood that a birthday invitation from a dignitary implied a request for a donation. That is why Prime Minister Cai also sent him an invitation, like to other wealthy people. Upon receiving this invitation, Shi Men quickly took out three hundred ounces of silver, sent Lai Pao, one of his trusted men, to buy beautiful and expensive donation items, then sent Lai Pao and Bu Tian Heng, carrying these items to the capital.
Bu Tian Heng was a friend and also a brother-in-law of Shi Men who was now assisting him as one of the trusted officials. They set off on a long and tiring journey to the capital, as it was done in the summer, carrying crate after crate of donation items. Through Chief Guard Ti, they were presented to Prime Minister Cai. Both of them knelt and presented their master's name card while paying their respects on behalf of their master, also showing the list of donation items that they stacked in front of the Prime Minister's feet. Seeing the very valuable donations, Prime Minister Cai's face lit up brightly. However, he frowned and said in a seemingly offended manner,
“I can't possibly accept these items! Take them away from here!” The two emissaries quickly prostrated in an exaggerated manner of respect and Lai Pao who was experienced in such matters immediately said,
“Our master sends these worthless items merely as a token of his respect for you. You can distribute them to your men at your own discretion.”
“Hmm, if that's the case then it's a different matter. Let me accept these gifts for my people.” He then signaled his guards to store the donation items. After that, Prime Minister Cai's attitude became friendlier.
“Your master has repeatedly shown his consideration for me. I don't know how to express my gratitude. Does he hold any rank?”
“Our master is an ordinary citizen, he doesn't have any rank.”
“Is that so? It just so happens I have a few vacancies. I can appoint your master as