Chapter 1 Divorce and Abandonment

"This is a letter of divorce. Take it and leave with your daughter. There is no possibility between us anymore. Don't bother me and annoy me."

“I am now the invincible Marquis of Anping, while you are just the daughter of a scholar with no skills. If I keep you at home, I will be ridiculed by everyone forever. You and your mother will only drag me down. Be smart and take the divorce papers and leave. Don’t tarnish my family’s reputation and block my way.”

Su Chang'an threw the letter of divorce at Qin Shi and spoke with a look of disgust.

He was once a simple countryman, and marrying the daughter of a scholar was considered a step up for him; at that time, Qin was a good match for him.

However, after joining the army, he made outstanding contributions and never suffered a defeat. After this battle, he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Anping. A minister arranged for his daughter to marry him. Seeing that his career was going very well after entering the capital, he could no longer let this mother and daughter implicate him.

Madam Qin picked up the letter of divorce, her face ashen. It read that she was ill-fated and had not had a child in five years.

The words stung her so much she felt suffocated.

"Daddy's bad, Daddy's bad, I don't like you anymore, I'll never protect you again!"

Su Dai, who understood what was happening, was furious. Her face turned red as she yelled, and then she burst into tears.

She was physically weak, and could only cry for a few minutes before feeling breathless.

Old Man Su remained silent, watching everything unfold in quiet contemplation.

"You unlucky thing, go die somewhere else, don't die in my house and dirty my home. You old hen that can't even give birth to a son, you've produced this one money-losing thing in five years, and you keep fainting and getting seriously ill. You don't look like you'll live much longer, so get out of here!"

Old Madam Yang immediately turned hostile and started cursing. Everyone in the Su family knew that Su Dai was in poor health.

Now that her son has taken this step, she is determined to stand on his side.

Even though Su Dai was usually well-behaved and always made her happy, and the auspicious words she spoke seemed to have some power, in the end it was still because their family was blessed. If Su Dai had been born into another family, she would have died of illness long ago, so she did not hesitate to abandon her.

The fact that she couldn't give birth to a son was the crime the Su family had accused Qin of.

Qin had nothing to say. There was a law in the Great Jin Dynasty that allowed a wife to be divorced and remarried if she did not leave the palace for three years.

However, ordinary families would not do this. Some couples would not be able to have children for five or eight years, and they would adopt a child from their clan to raise. Very few wives would be divorced because of this.

Qin Shi never expected that she would be divorced because of this. She looked at Su Chang'an and asked, "You planned this day all along, didn't you?"

"There's no point in saying all this. It's a fact that you haven't had a child in three years. I can't just let you die without an heir. Even if your father, Qin Tianhai, came, he would have to acknowledge it."

Since Su Chang'an wanted to divorce his wife, it was perfectly justified.

Qin was unwilling but had no choice; this was her fate.

Qin was filled with despair. She wasn't afraid of being divorced, but they had a child together.

Thinking of the frail Su Dai, Qin Shi pleaded through her tears, "I can leave, but can you leave my daughter behind? She's not well, and it's too hard for her to suffer with me."

The Su family has become wealthy over the years and is no longer an ordinary farming family, but a large and powerful household.

Su Changsheng and Su Changshui were very successful in business; whatever they did made them money.

The daughter was in poor health, so she stayed with the Su family so they could afford expensive medicine.

Even though she knew her daughter would suffer cold looks if she stayed, what did cold looks matter as long as she could live?

The daughter is the eldest daughter, and even if Su Chang'an remarries, it won't change that.

Su Chang'an frowned; he hadn't even said no yet.

Old Madam Yang spat on Madam Qin: "Pah! You still want to take advantage of my family! What a black-hearted wretch! You want to leave bad luck in my house and prevent my grandson from entering the family! Pah! We don't care whether you, this good-for-nothing, live or die. If you don't take her with you, kick her out. We don't care if she starves to death or freezes to death as a beggar!"

Keeping Su Dai around would only make things difficult for the young ladies of the capital. If they have children, the children will always be overshadowed by Su Dai. The difference in social status is already huge. If they can't even handle this simple matter, doesn't that show their lack of sincerity?

She wouldn't let this strain the relationship between her future mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.

Qin has to leave; she's a money-losing asset and has to get out of here too.

"Mother, I want to follow you, I want my mother, I'm not afraid of hardship."

Su Dai's complexion improved for a while, and he nestled in Qin Shi's arms and said weakly.

She didn't want to have a high-ranking official's father because he had no conscience.

Her mother doted on her, and she was willing to eat wild vegetables with her mother.

“Oh, sister-in-law, don’t be stubborn. Although my brother divorced you, he still gave you a hundred taels as compensation. He never spent that much money to marry you. If word gets out, everyone will say that the Su family is kind. If you keep pestering him and annoy him, the consequences are hard to predict.”

Liu, Su Changsheng's wife, said with a light laugh.

Beside her was Su Changshui's wife, Lian, who also smiled and chimed in, "Yes, sister-in-law, continuing this commotion won't do you any good."

Qin remained silent, her heart aching terribly.

"If you can't reason with her, then just throw her out. It's early morning, and I'm starving."

Su Yu'e rolled her eyes and leaned against Old Madam Yang, grumbling under her breath.

Qin looked over. She had taught Su Yu'e embroidery for five years, yet she had been met with such a cruel twist of fate.

Su Yu'e glared back at Qin Shi, her expression showing not gratitude but only annoyance.

"Mother, take me away, take me away! I hate this place, I never want to see them again!"

Su Dai hugged Qin Shi tightly. Her head was spinning, and she had only one thought in her mind: to leave as soon as possible.

Knowing there was no other way, Qin picked up the frail Su Dai and left the main room.

Su Dai was in poor health; at four years old, he weighed less than 20 pounds and had very little flesh on his body.

Qin was heartbroken.

A hundred taels of silver wouldn't buy much expensive medicine, but she dared not let Su Dai stay. Such a cruel family—it would be a mistake to keep their daughter alive.

She didn't have much stuff; it was packed in just two boxes.

The servants of the Su family carried the boxes to the oxcart outside the courtyard, which was the back gate.

"This is an oxcart that the master kindly called for you, but you have to pay the fare yourself."

After the servant finished speaking, he slammed the back door shut.

Qin carried Su Dai onto the oxcart and nervously gave him an address.

She knew she might be looked down upon if she went back, but as long as her parents let her stay and gave her a place to stay, she didn't care how they beat or scolded her.

Sensing her mother's anxious and downcast mood, Su Dai leaned on Qin Shi's shoulder and hugged her tightly, saying, "Mother, don't be afraid. I won't protect them anymore. They won't have a good time soon."

She was originally a koi princess from the divine realm, but somehow ended up in Qin's belly.

She liked the Qin family very much, so she protected her family members as well.

If her father goes to war, she will definitely protect him; if her father dies, her mother will be heartbroken.

Her uncle wanted to do business, so she had to protect him. Since they hadn't separated the family, she wouldn't have a good life if the business didn't go well.

Her aunt wanted to learn this or that to marry the person she liked, and she protected her.

Each of these protections drained her divine power, naturally weakening her body.

But this family has hurt her and her mother so badly that she will never protect them again.

She only protects her mother. She is a lucky koi princess, born with a blessed body. She and her mother will definitely have a good life.

"My dear, you've suffered so much. Go to sleep peacefully and don't worry about anything. Your mother is here for you." Qin felt a warmth in her heart. She didn't take Su Dai's words to heart, but she felt a warmth in her cold heart.

Su Dai was indeed very tired and fell asleep quickly in Qin's arms.

Qin's eyes were filled with worry. As they got closer to the village, her brows furrowed even more. She always told her family good news and never bad news. Her parents and brothers all thought she was living a happy life. Now that she had been divorced and sent back, would they still accept her and her child?