Chapter 108: The Divorce Letter
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
“Men kneel only for gold, yet he has already knelt before you. What more could you want? Shi Yun, you must learn contentment. The vast estate of the Marquis cannot be entrusted to a cripple. You should nurture Jing Huai; he will not treat you unfairly. If blame must be placed, then it can only be blamed on Yan Shu’s misfortune,” the old lady declared coldly, involuntarily touching her sore throat. The pain was so intense that even swallowing was excruciating. Speaking felt like being pricked by needles. Despite numerous prescriptions, the inflammation persisted.
Even though Madam Xu had prepared herself, she was shocked by the old lady’s shameless tone.
“Yes, Yuan Ze erred in keeping a mistress, but he admitted his mistake and knelt before you. He kept Jiao Jiao outside to placate you, to avoid your anger. He was thinking of you,” the old lady advised earnestly, attempting to make it seem as though they were in the right.
Lu Chao Chao, lying at the door, turned green at the disgusting display of words. *[Oh my, the whole family is a bunch of master manipulators. No wonder they’ve brainwashed my mother so thoroughly. With my mother being such a naive fool, wouldn’t they have her completely in their grasp? How shameless, even spiking her drink at banquets.]*
Madam Xu was taken aback, thinking, *Naive fool? Me?*
“Wife, go submit a request to the court to change the heir. If you do, we can still be a harmonious family.” Lu Yuan Ze asked cautiously, attempting to sound conciliatory.
His original plan was to catch Madam Xu in bed with three men, then divorce her for adultery, shaming her. Her remaining children, either crippled or dim-witted, posed no threat. Though Pei Jiao Jiao was not very bright, Lu Jing Huai needed a legitimate mother, and she could be elevated as the second wife. But now… Lu Yuan Ze suppressed his anger, feeling humiliated by Pei Jiao Jiao’s involvement.
“Harmonious? How do you have the face to say that?” Madam Xu’s voice was chilling. “Lu Yuan Ze, I’ve toiled for you all my life, bearing children, serving your parents, and severing ties with my own family. And what did you do?” she demanded, her voice rising with emotion. “You sought to marry me while maintaining a mistress!”
“Slap!” Madam Xu’s hand landed squarely on Lu Yuan Ze’s face, her hand numb from the impact. Five distinct fingerprints immediately appeared on his face, and the old lady, seeing this, was furious, trembling with rage.
Lu Yuan Ze signaled the old lady with his eyes. Barely containing her fury, the old lady turned her back to Madam Xu, her chest heaving with anger.
“Wife, you should hit me. Go ahead, if it can alleviate your resentment, then hit me.” Lu Yuan Ze looked at Madam Xu, his face full of guilt, his gaze deep and earnest.
*[This scumbag father of mine, his eyes can move even a dog to fall for him,]* Lu Chao Chao mocked from outside the door.
Madam Xu scoffed lightly. *Isn’t it true? In her youth, hadn’t she been bewitched by his appearance?* Years ago, at a temple fair, separated from her servants with only a maid, a thug accosted her. At that moment, Lu Yuan Ze saved her. For that reason, her heart fluttered, and just like that, she fell for him for a lifetime.
“To alleviate my resentment? Lu Yuan Ze, you think too highly of yourself,” she retorted. “Lu Jing Huai and Yan Shu are the same age; how could you dare!” Tears welled up in Madam Xu’s eyes, filled with hatred for being deceived for eighteen years. “Not only did I manage the estate while you were away, I also saw off the old Marquis to his grave when you didn’t return. I also tended to your mother’s illness, staying up every night on my own to make sure she was well. And yet you had a house full of children outside!” Madam Xu could hardly fathom what she would have done without Chao Chao’s inner voice.
A hint of mockery appeared on Madam Xu’s face. She raised her eyes slightly, looking at Lu Yuan Ze, “Lu Jing Huai is nothing but an illegitimate child in the shadows. How dare he be listed under my name? Lu Yuan Ze, I demand a divorce!”
Lu Yuan Ze was slightly stunned. He was very confident in himself. Madam Xu had always been devoted to him, never doubting him for all these years. Since marrying her, he had brainwashed her, making her believe the Xu family looked down on him and he feared returning to her family. But in reality, he thrived using the Xu family’s resources. Madam Xu never suspected a thing. When the affair was exposed, he expected her to be furious but never thought she would demand a divorce.
The old lady laughed in anger. “Divorce? Shi Yun, take a look at yourself. In the Lu family, there is no divorce, only a demoted wife!” she proclaimed. “You already have three sons and a daughter, almost a grandmother yourself. To be sent back to your family at this age, don’t you have any shame? Our family’s willingness to change only the heir and not demote you is already a mercy to you!” The old lady was displeased, feeling Madam Xu was ungrateful. “Moreover, Yan Shu is a cripple; with a divorced mother, what kind of future will your children have?” she added harshly.
Madam Xu’s face darkened. “If that’s the case, then Lu Jing Huai shouldn’t think of entering the household!” Madam Xu’s tone carried a hint of ruthlessness. “In six months, it will be the autumn examinations. With his status as a dirty illegitimate child, he will forever remain in the shadows!”
Lu Yuan Ze’s eyelids twitched violently. “Wife, I am kindly asking you, giving you a favor, letting you be Jing Huai’s legitimate mother; don’t be ungrateful!” Lu Yuan Ze pleaded, his voice desperate. “Jing Huai is exceptionally talented, taken in as the last disciple by the head of Tianhong Academy. He is destined for the court!” he argued passionately. “Don’t you dare ruin him!”
Lu Yuan Ze valued Lu Jing Huai greatly. Thinking of the court’s hidden speculations, his eyes showed a hint of fervor. Achieving the top in three royal examinations. The tutor to the crown prince. What an immense honor that would be. Just thinking about it made Lu Yuan Ze’s heart burn with excitement.
“If you want me to step down as the legitimate wife and replace Yan Shu as the heir, then show your sincerity! Otherwise, we might as well all perish in this Marquis’s estate!” Blood trickled from Madam Xu’s eyes, her hatred at its peak. “You deceived me for eighteen years, never truly cared for me! You are unworthy of being the father of my four children!” she declared. “If you want Lu Jing Huai to enter the household, then expel us, remove our names from the family registry, and write a divorce letter. I will even give you the position of the legitimate wife along with the title of heir!” Madam Xu gritted her teeth, glaring at him with intense hatred.
“Nonsense! Dream on!” The old lady was the first to oppose, immediately enraged. “They are Lu family descendants; you cannot take them! If you want to leave, go alone! Children of the Lu family have nothing to do with you!” she asserted.
Historically, women who divorced did not take their children with them. The old lady, though fond of Lu Jing Huai and Lu Jing Yao, did not want Madam Xu to have her way.
Lu Yuan Ze sighed: “Wife, stop making a scene. Historically, women have never taken their children with them when they divorced. Besides…” Lu Yuan Ze’s eyes were filled with mockery. “Jing Huai’s future is limitless. To serve you as the main wife, isn’t that good? And what about them? A cripple, an uneducated one, a dull one, and a baby. You taking them in a divorce, isn’t that self-humiliation?” Lu Yuan Ze was reluctant to belittle his children, but the reality was so.
Madam Xu coldly laughed in her heart. *Cripple? Uneducated? Dull? Baby? Who would fare better? Let’s wait and see!*
Madam Xu looked indifferently at Lu Yuan Ze: “Remove us from the family registry and write a divorce letter, not a single thing less. You have three days to consider!”
Is it gonna be the peak? Maann, the watermelon seeds taste good.