Chapter 822 - 824: The City Lord’s Divorce_1
Bai Ruozhu hurried to her second brother’s room and saw that he was already sitting up in bed. She rushed over, reproaching him, "Second Brother, why have you gotten up? You better lie down quickly, be careful not to tear open your wound, and waste my catgut sutures."
Bai Zepei couldn’t help but smile, but as soon as he did, it pulled at his wound, and he grimaced in pain, not daring to laugh anymore.
"See, just be honest, wait until your wound has healed, and remember, you have internal injuries too, you must take good care of yourself," Bai Ruozhu said.
But Bai Zepei did not lie down, his expression suddenly became serious, and he said, "Little Sister, is there any way I can recover more quickly?"
Bai Ruozhu sighed, Jiang Yichun was right; Second Brother was still determined to go to Jiangnan.
"During the rescue, I used a very precious pill that is very potent. You shouldn’t take any other medicine. You will recover quickly, but you must not be impatient," Bai Ruozhu sighed and said.
"Thank you and Yichun for this time," Second Brother suddenly said.
Bai Ruozhu looked at her second brother in surprise. She remembered that for a good while, her second brother wouldn’t mention Jiang Yichun’s name or Chang Sheng and wouldn’t greet him. Him calling him "Yichun" like this was the first time.
Bai Zepei probably felt a little embarrassed, coughed lightly, and said, "I am going to rest; you should also go back to your room and rest well. Don’t exhaust yourself."
Bai Ruozhu hurriedly helped him lie down, as more sleep would be beneficial for his wounds to heal.
...
Inside the Meng Residence, Wang Miaoshuang angrily smashed two teacups and grabbed the collar of the nanny beside her, demanding, "Didn’t you say that he was shot in the chest and not even a mighty Immortal could save him? Could it be that Bai Ruozhu has become a goddess if she’s not an Immortal?"
"Madam, please calm your anger. The Bai Family has not announced any mourning; the Study Palace merely granted a leave of absence, but that does not guarantee his survival," the nanny said, wiping her cold sweat.
"Stop giving me those excuses. If he were dying, the Bai Family would already be in disarray. In the end, it’s your incompetence. Couldn’t you have asked Zhuifeng to poison the arrowheads? Good for nothing, what’s the use of a killer being so sanctimonious?" Wang Miaoshuang cursed furiously.
The nanny, frightened, knelt on the ground. "Madam, please keep your voice down. Heaven forbid someone overhears. Now that the second lady manages the household, who knows how many in this yard have already betrayed their master."
Wang Miaoshuang’s face grew even uglier as she released the nanny’s collar. It was all Bai Ruozhu’s fault; she was the reason she had come to this.
At that moment, an announcement from a maid arrived, saying that Nanny Lu from the old lady’s side had come.
Wang Miaoshuang’s expression tightened. Nanny Lu’s arrival surely meant no good news.
Nanny Lu entered the room with an air of respectful submission toward Wang Miaoshuang, stealing only a brief glance at the shards on the ground with the corner of her eye, pretending as if she had seen nothing.
She felt scornful inside. Was the head lady dragging out the divorce proceedings, unwilling to go with the patriarch, just to spend a few more days in the Meng Residence, smashing a few more teacups?
"Head lady, the master has sent me to inquire when you will proceed with the divorce?" Nanny Lu asked.
Meng Liangshen was surrounded by stewards and servants, and there were no prudent nannies by his side. It was not appropriate for a steward to discuss matters with Wang Miaoshuang, so he had recently borrowed Nanny Lu from You Ran Residence for the task. Nanny Lu had watched him grow up, and although she was a servant, she was held in high esteem by Meng Liangshen.
"I’ve said I’m not feeling well, can’t Meng Liangshen wait a few more days? Is he so eager to drive a respectable woman to her death? Even if he has no regard for our over a decade of marriage, shouldn’t he at least acknowledge the hard work I put into bearing and raising his children?" Wang Miaoshuang shouted in anger.
Nanny Lu still stood with her hands at her sides, her demeanor unchanged. She spoke respectfully, "The master said your marital fate has ended. It would be better for you to go your separate ways soon, lest he must divorce you by the severe clause of ’The Seven Outs.’"
Wang Miaoshuang slammed her hand on the table and shouted fiercely, "How dare he! On what grounds can he divorce me? I am a noble lady..."
She didn’t finish her statement before Nanny Lu interrupted, "The madam has violated the first rule: being disrespectful to one’s parents. And it’s not just a simple matter of disrespect toward the old madam, but poisoning her. The seriousness of this offense means that not only divorce but jail would be fitting. The master and the old madam, out of consideration for the young master and young mistress, have not sent you to the Government Office. If you really care about the young master and young mistress, it would be best to agree to the separation quickly and retain some dignity for yourself."
"You old thing, who are you to talk to me like this? Have Meng Liangshen come himself, is he afraid of me or what?" Wang Miaoshuang suddenly acted nonchalant, grabbing a teacup and hurling it at Nanny Lu.
Nanny Lu couldn’t dodge in time, and the teacup hit her leg before falling to the ground and shattering. Fortunately, there was no hot tea in the cup, so Nanny Lu was not badly hurt.
She let out a cold snort and said, "If the madam won’t listen to reason, then so be it." Having said that, Nanny Lu turned and left, completely ignoring the cursing Wang Miaoshuang behind her.
That very evening, a divorce paper was delivered to Wang Miaoshuang’s yard, brought by a steward who left promptly after dropping it off. Wang Miaoshuang, furious, tore up the divorce paper into pieces and, with her people, rushed crazily to Meng Liangshen’s study room.
"After more than a decade of marriage, you must push me to my death? Won’t you think of the children?" Wang Miaoshuang waited for Meng Liangshen and began to question him.
"When you were committing evil, did you think of the children? Haven’t you thought of accumulating virtue for them?" Meng Liangshen countered.
"They forced me to it!" Wang Miaoshuang could never see her own faults, "I will take my people back to the Capital, saying the climate here doesn’t suit me. Even if we must separate, at least wait until Jinse is married. You’re not in such a hurry to welcome a new wife, are you?"
Meng Liangshen hadn’t even seen the shadow of a new wife, and he shook his head, resigned, "No, whatever you’ve done in the Capital, others will only blame it on the Meng Residence. I can’t bear that risk. I’m fed up too. The matter of you drugging my mother can’t just be let go. Either we separate amicably, or I divorce you. It’s your choice."
The two of them had a huge argument, and in the end, neither made any concessions. The next day, Meng Liangshen went to the registrar’s office to record the divorce, removing Wang Miaoshuang’s name from the Meng Family.
He also wrote to the Family elders, asking them to remove Wang Miaoshuang’s name from the Wang Family genealogy, so she was no longer part of the Wang Family.
When Wang Miaoshuang received another divorce paper, she ripped it up furiously, but this time it changed nothing. Meng Jinse and Meng Hanhong went to see her, and the mother and children cried together.
"Mother, you must control your temper when you return to the Capital; you can’t be so wilful anymore," Meng Jinse said as she dried her tears, unable to help but give a word of advice.
Wang Miaoshuang immediately became displeased, "How am I not good-tempered? I am a noble lady, and it’s only right for me to show them my displeasure."
Meng Jinse sighed and said no more.
To Meng Hanhong, Wang Miaoshuang said, "Hanhong, once I return to the Capital, I will help you find a suitable match among the Capital’s noble ladies. After you marry, you will take over the authority of the Meng Residence. Make sure to drive out that second brother and his wife and never be deceived by your grandmother, that old vixen. She talks about keeping a low profile, but she’s the most sinister of them all."