Yang Peili opened his mouth to say something, but he was dragged into the yard by Yang Anshi, who had darted out from the house, "Listen to me, this opportunity is rare. In the future, our second son will have a monthly salary of a tael. They will contribute five hundred wen to the household..."
Yang Peili frowned.
"Alright, we’re leaving now." By now, Yang Baichuan had already locked the door of his own house, and the younger ones from the second branch had already squeezed into the carriage without even saying goodbye, fearful that they wouldn’t be allowed to leave.
Yang Baihe was also accompanying them.
The carriage had been hired, and as soon as the coachman heard they were leaving, he didn’t say a word and just cracked his whip to set off.
The whole process was absolutely clean and efficient so that by the time Yang Peili realized what had happened, they were already out of sight.
Yang Anshi was very smug. Five hundred wen a month—that would be enough to provide her Baihe with a decent set of jewelry over the course of a year.
However, Yang Peili sighed, "This family is falling apart..." and with that, he turned and went inside.
But Yang Anshi just pursed her lips. With silver coming in, why worry about the family falling apart? As long as they hadn’t divided the household, she could keep her son firmly in her grasp.
Meanwhile, Yang Baifu returned in a towering rage. He reached his door and kicked it open, startling the Dongshi who was inside, sewing with her head down, and shocking the two elders in the room as well.
"Dong Hongmei, don’t say I didn’t warn you. If you don’t want to be divorced, then accept being the lesser wife," Yang Baifu looked at his wedded wife with disdain, as if offering charity, "Don’t say I didn’t tell you, but it would be better for your face if you suggested it yourself..." At first, he thought there would be no problems since his parents had agreed to let Widow Lu enter their home. But to his surprise, Widow Lu, who had initially nodded in agreement, suddenly changed her mind because an old widower wanted to marry her. So, Widow Lu proposed that if he also took her as his main wife here, she would marry him first; otherwise, they might as well part amicably.
He couldn’t divorce his wife, and his family wouldn’t agree to it. The only way was to have Dongshi become the lesser wife, which is why he formally brought it up with her right now.
Yang Baifu was quick-witted. He planned to sway Dongshi’s thinking before talking to his parents. He thought his words would make her grateful—that, after all, she wouldn’t have to be divorced...
"As long as you behave, I won’t divorce you," Yang Baifu said, looking at Dongshi who seemed somewhat stunned, and then he let out a slight sigh, softening his tone. He sat down beside her and even took her hand, "But if you want to make trouble, then I’ll have no choice but to give you divorce papers..."
Dongshi finally snapped out of it, but she didn’t react with the gratitude Yang Baifu expected; instead, she was utterly shocked and slapped his hand away, "What did you say? You want to divorce me? By what right? Huh?"
"I said I would divorce you if you make trouble..." Yang Baifu suddenly stood up, "Why can’t you understand plain speech?" He paused, "Anyway, you have two choices: be divorced or become the lesser wife..."
"Yang Baifu, you’re going too far..." Dongshi also stood up. Before, when she was upset and made trouble, her mother-in-law said she was unreasonable. Fine, she would be reasonable. She agreed to her man taking a concubine, but she had never expected that Widow Lu also wanted to be the primary wife. It was clear—they wouldn’t rest until they drove her to her death.