Chapter 110: Severing Ties in the Ancestral Hall
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation
“Shi Yun, we’ve been married for eighteen years. This is your final chance! Acknowledge Jing Huai and Jing Yao as your own, appoint Jing Huai as heir, and you can remain the mistress of the Marquis’ estate. As a divorced woman with three sons and a daughter, what kind of life could you expect? Yan Shu is disabled, and your entire family is a burden. The Xu family won’t support you forever,” Lu Yuan Ze sighed, looking at Madam Xu with a mix of frustration and pity.
“Jing Huai has great potential and will bring honor to you in the future. Admit your mistake, and the Marquis House will not pursue a divorce. Yuan Ze is sentimental and willing to give you another chance,” the old lady interjected, glancing at Madam Xu. Seeing her mocking expression, she couldn’t contain her anger.
To the old lady, Madam Xu, an aging woman expelled from the Marquis’ estate, had no right to mock them.
“Enjoy your wealth, old lady. Don’t come crying with regret later!” Madam Xu sneered with a defiant glint in her eyes.
“Deng Zhi, have the clan elders arrived?” she asked, her voice firm and steady.
“They have. The Lu clan’s chief and all the elders have been invited back,” Deng Zhi replied promptly.
Soon, the clan elders entered the Lu family estate with grim faces, a heavy silence hanging in the air.
“Lu Yuan Ze, you still owe us a thousand taels from your previous promise of three thousand taels. Don’t forget it!” the Lu clan chief reprimanded as he entered, his voice booming with authority.
Lu Yuan Ze’s face darkened, avoiding an argument at this critical moment.
“You’ve gone mad! You want to divorce such a good wife? Yan Shu is the blood of our Lu clan, the eldest son of your branch! Aren’t you afraid the old marquis will rise from his grave to slap you?” The clan chief, furious at the prospect of disowning a clan offspring, scolded harshly, his words cutting through the tension.
Lu Yuan Ze remained silent, his face sullen and unyielding.
“You must’ve lost your mind from living too well! You will regret this divorce!” The clan chief remembered the frugality and disrepair of the Marquis mansion before Madam Xu’s marriage, contrasting it with the prosperity since. Even the fruit they sent back to the village during the new year was rotten!
“Regret? My Marquis’ estate can’t be at the mercy of one woman! Jing Huai is far more promising than those worthless children!” The old lady was displeased, her voice rising in indignation.
“Sorry to trouble the clan elders. This is a small token of my appreciation,” Madam Xu said, handing them generous red envelopes for their long journey, her face calm and composed.
Holding the red envelope, the clan chief sighed softly, his expression softening slightly.
Lu Yan Shu, sitting in a wheelchair, nodded to the clan chief, “Grand Third Uncle.”
The clan chief felt immense pity for this child. Though crippled after the pond incident, he had excellent character, much favored and pridefully acknowledged by the old marquis before his passing.
“You are a good child. Your father is truly foolish,” the clan chief said, his eyelids twitching with pent-up rage over the ludicrous situation.
Who would disown the eldest son? Not just the eldest, but three sons and a daughter!
“Yan Shu is good but disabled. Clan Chief, I can’t possibly let him be the heir. Since they wish to leave with Shi Yun, let them go.”
“Have you seen Jing Huai yet?” the old lady asked, her face lighting up with excitement. “Jing Huai is truly talented. Compared to Yan Shu, he is much more fortunate. His writings are famous throughout the capital,” the old lady beamed with pride, her eyes shining with delight.
Soon, Madam Pei entered the estate with two children. Lu Jing Huai, in a blue robe, holding his sister Lu Jing Yao’s hand, bowed to the old lady.
“Grandmother,” they chorused in unison.
“My dear hearts! Finally, I can hear you call me grandmother and raise you by my side…” The old lady wept with joy, helping the children up, her voice trembling with emotion.
This display of affection and conceit didn’t go unnoticed. Madam Xu and her children watched in cold indifference, while the clan elders and chief were very annoyed by Lu Jing Huai’s lack of respect. Not only did the young man ignore them, but he also dismissed their presence, judging their shabby clothes at a glance.
The chief huffed in displeasure, thinking children raised outside cannot compare to Madam Xu’s in terms of grandeur. Madam Xu’s children are academically gifted and of excellent character, respectfully bowing and sending gifts annually.
On the other end, Madam Pei smiled triumphantly at Madam Xu, her eyes full of victorious joy. What did it matter if Shi Yun had good fortune and was born into a wealthy family? Her sons are not promising, while mine are!
“Is everyone here?” The old clan chief sighed deeply, sensing impending regret for Lu Yuan Ze.
“Everyone is here. Open the ancestral hall,” Madam Xu said calmly, her voice steady and resolute.
“Very well, open the hall,” the old clan chief ordered. Several clan members pushed the doors open with a solemn air.
The family genealogy from Clear Creek Village was placed before the ancestral tablets. The old clan chief, holding a brush, felt troubled. Removing names from the genealogy was unprecedented.
“Are you really going to remove the names?” the old clan chief asked repeatedly, his voice filled with hesitation and disbelief.
Lu Yuan Ze turned to Lu Yan Shu, “Are you really going to leave with her? Following a divorced woman, you will lead a hard life.”
Despite everything, Lu Yuan Ze felt a bit reluctant towards his son.
Madam Pei’s expression changed slightly, eager for Madam Xu to take the children away.
Lu Yan Shu remained indifferent, “Father dislikes seeing me bedridden, so I won’t be a burden.”
Lu Yuan Ze hesitated, but he nodded reluctantly upon seeing Madam Pei’s glance.
The old clan chief sighed and tightened his grip on the brush.
“Lu family eldest son Lu Yan Shu, born in… age seventeen, removed.”
“Lu family second son Lu Zheng Yue, born in… removed.”
“Lu family third son Lu Yuan Xiao… removed.”
Lu Chao Chao wasn’t even listed in the genealogy, so her name wasn’t mentioned.
[Divorce letter! Divorce letter!! We must write a divorce letter! What if my brothers become successful? He might come back to take advantage of the family again! Or uses my brother’s name to gain favors?] Lu Chao Chao’s mind raced with ideas and screamed inside.
The brothers straightened up, their faces set with resolve.
Madam Xu smirked, “Since the Marquis despises the children as burdens, let’s make a clean break and write a divorce letter!”
Lu Yuan Ze jolted his head and stared at Madam Xu, while Madam Pei could barely suppress her smile of satisfaction.
Writing a divorce letter would truly make them strangers.
“Is it necessary? Even with a divorce, Yuan Ze is still their father,” the old clan chief said, his heart sinking with the gravity of the situation. A divorce letter would leave no room for reconciliation.
“Sister Shi Yun, consider the children. When Jing Huai achieves high office, he can help his brothers,” Madam Pei said, trying to hide her smile with a handkerchief.
“Marquis, ask your sister not to write the divorce letter,” Madam Pei deliberately provoked Lu Yuan Ze, making him angry, and his eyes reddened with frustration.
“Write! Severance it is; we don’t need them in the Marquis’ estate!” Lu Yuan Ze ordered paper and ink with a finality that echoed through the hall.
The three children each came forward and pressed their fingerprints on the document. Lu Chao Chao also pressed her finger, sealing their fate with a solemn air.
Finally!!! *eating popcorn*