Chapter 184

Chapter 184: Divorcing Her Husband, Female Head of Household

Yu Zhi Yi stared at the certificate in her hand that named her a female head of household, feeling something rare and precious. After two lifetimes, this was the first time life felt real to her. She was a living person in this world, not someone’s adopted daughter, not someone’s wife, not someone’s daughter-in-law. She was simply herself.

Du Zi Heng looked dazed. [How did things get to this point?] He truly did not want to part from Yu Zhi Yi.

Yes, they were parting, but only by mutual separation, the kind called he li. In this dynasty, there had been a few cases of women dismissing a husband, but in the last hundred years only one had truly succeeded: Jia Luo, the Eldest Princess Protector of the Realm, who set the first example. Later women did not have a princess’s power. If they wanted to leave a man, the best they could manage was he li.

Yet Yu Zhi Yi wanted to dismiss him outright. On paper, her status could support it, but most people would not accept it. There was no strong reason. Say he flirted around? In these times, which man did not? That alone was not enough to dismiss a husband. So what they had was only a he li.

Du Zi Heng felt he was yielding to her because he did not want to argue in the street like a market shrew. He also held a hidden hope: [Let her hit some walls outside. Only when she learns how hard life is for a woman after separation will she value her days in Du Manor. When that time comes, I will lower a ladder, and she will climb back.]

Yu Zhi Yi did not know what he was thinking; even if she had known, she would only have given a cold laugh, with no interest in arguing. [How does he still have the face to hope I will come back when he is asking me to save the woman in his heart?]

She said calmly: “Come back to the manor with me to pack. After the accounts are settled, I will pull the yin energy out of your beloved.”

Du Zi Heng pressed his lips and said: “No need to settle accounts. Everything in Windward Pavilion was prepared for you. Even if you empty Windward Pavilion, it is fine.”

Yu Zhi Yi shook her head: “I do not like to owe people anything.”

Seeing she would not bend, Du Zi Heng could only follow her.

Her dowry had never been much. The wedding looked grand, with many carriages, but much of it was for show. Once combined, everything fit into fewer than ten trunks, even counting bulky things like quilts and the items she had later bought herself.

Hearing the noise, the steward hurried over and was shocked: “What happened here? What is going on?”

Yu Zhi Yi had a good impression of the steward. He listened to her mostly out of respect for Chancellor Du and his wife, but at least he had always treated her with courtesy. She smiled at him and said: “Thank you for looking after me these days.” Then she took out a talisman and added: “This Peace Talisman is for you. It can help you avoid one great disaster.”

The steward’s face lit up: “Ay, young madam, how could a small man like me deserve this!” Even so, he took it quickly with both hands.

Du Zi Heng fell silent. [Why does the steward get one for free, while I had to pay?]

Putting away the Peace Talisman, the steward remembered to ask: “Is young madam going on a long trip? Are you taking an assignment?”

Yu Zhi Yi shook her head: “From today on I am no longer the young madam of Du Manor. Steward, please do not call me that by mistake.”

The steward froze. When he saw Yu Zhi Yi lead people past him toward the gate, he slapped his forehead and ran to find Chancellor Du. But by the time Chancellor Du rushed over, Yu Zhi Yi had already left. His chest rose and fell with anger as he snapped: “Unfilial son!” Yet Du Zi Heng was not there, so the scolding went nowhere.

Yu Zhi Yi turned to the people behind her, thought for a moment, then said to Li Rou: “Take the things to Yiluan Charity. I will come once I finish here.”

Du Zi Heng suddenly remembered something and said: “You do not have a place to stay yet, do you? I still have a house you can use…”

“Young Master Du,” Yu Zhi Yi answered lightly, “we are no longer husband and wife. Unrelated men and women do not need to take charge of each other’s lives.” She curved her lips and added: “Even without the Yu Clan and Du Manor behind me, I will not end up on the street.”

Du Zi Heng tried to say “but,” then found he had nothing to add.

He suddenly thought of You Bing Yue. She often called herself an independent woman and liked to say she would rely on her own strength to stand in this world. But in truth, she had done very few things on her own. She had some quick wits and could push back when someone bullied her, but her ability only went so far. For example, she once took a lot of money from Ji Yi Fei to start a business, but it had gone nowhere. She accepted bounty jobs to earn money, yet the person who actually completed the task was Yu Zhi Yi, and You Bing Yue only grabbed the credit. Even the place she now lived in was not hers; it was one he bought. Still, she kept calling Yu Zhi Yi a useless back-courtyard woman living off Du Manor and Yu Manor.

Du Zi Heng’s temples throbbed. Just then Yu Zhi Yi’s voice sounded beside him: “Let’s go.”

“What?”

She looked at him, speechless: “Are we not going to pull the yin energy out of your beloved?”

Du Zi Heng said quietly: “She and I have already broken up.”

Yu Zhi Yi almost laughed. For a woman he had “already broken up with,” he had allowed himself to be dismissed by his own wife. [What does “broken up” even mean in his mouth?] She did not care about Du Zi Heng; she just found the whole thing ridiculous.

Seeing her indifference, Du Zi Heng felt a little anxious, but Yu Zhi Yi ignored him. She only wanted to finish the matter with You Bing Yue quickly and then never get involved with these people again.

She realized she had misjudged earlier. She had thought Chancellor Du and his wife treated her fairly, and since Du Zi Heng had a woman he loved, as long as the two of them did not bother her, she could bear it. What she valued was the quiet that came with the title of Chancellor Du’s daughter-in-law. Sadly, the fact that Du Zi Heng had a beloved meant she would never have peace. If she stayed in Du Manor, for the sake of Chancellor Du and his wife, she would have to hold back and not lay a hand on Du Zi Heng. After the separation, she had no such scruples.

Before long, they reached a small courtyard house. It sat in a part of the Capital where land was worth its weight in gold. It was not on Golden Scale Street where Chancellor’s Manor stood, but everyone who lived here was wealthy or noble. The house covered less than a hundred square paces, and it would cost at least three thousand taels to buy.

Seeing Yu Zhi Yi look over the place, Du Zi Heng felt a bit guilty and explained: “Bing Yue had nowhere to go before, so I let her stay here.”

Yu Zhi Yi had not planned to dwell on the past. They were already separated; picking at old matters felt pointless. But since he brought it up, she gave him a cool look and said: “You do not suffer any wrong receiving the divorce letter. With your lawful wife still at home, you kept a paramour outside.” She smiled slightly, though her eyes were cold: “For Chancellor Du’s sake, I will not expose you. Otherwise, with just this stain, you would not keep your eighth-rank post.”

Du Zi Heng had no words.