Chapter 81 Pei Duo: "Don't cry, you still have me."

Zhao Zhixue glanced at Jiang Ninghui in the courtyard, then walked straight past her, his tone icy: "Come in, I have something to say to you."

Jiang Ninghui turned to look at her husband's indifferent back, her heart completely calm.

She entered the house and saw her husband standing there, looking at her with cold eyes filled with disgust. He bombarded her with questions: "Jiang Ninghui, did your Jiang family collude with the fortune teller to deceive our Zhao family?!"

Jiang Ninghui was stunned; she never expected her husband to bring this up.

How could he know about this?

Only the Jiang family, the fortune teller, and... Pei Duo knew about this.

Jiang Ninghui did not believe that Pei Duo had told her husband about this; he was not a gossip.

Who could it be?

Various speculations flooded her mind. Before Jiang Ninghui could think further, she heard Zhao Zhixue say sternly, "Don't try to deny it. I specifically sent someone to the Jiang family to interrogate them. Your parents have already admitted that they bribed the fortune teller to deceive our Zhao family!"

Jiang Ninghui's eyelashes trembled several times in succession. The string that had been taut in her heart snapped with a snap. For more than a year, she had been living in constant fear that the Zhao family would discover the truth, and her heart was suddenly at peace.

She lowered her head, pursed her lips, and remained silent.

Zhao Zhixue looked at Jiang Ninghui, who had lowered her head, and felt increasingly annoyed.

Fortunately, she foolishly believed his nonsense.

In fact, he did not send anyone to the Jiang family. He did not know whether the fortune teller's story was true or false. However, he had thought a lot since arriving in the capital. He was able to pass the imperial examinations all the way because of the essays Pei Duo gave him, and he was able to pass the palace examination entirely on his own merits, which had nothing to do with Jiang Ninghui.

Perhaps that fortune teller really was a fraud!

Whether it is or not, it doesn't matter now.

This was just a pretext for him to divorce her.

Zhao Zhixue: "Your Jiang family deceived the Zhao family and deceived me. If it weren't for you, how could I have married a country girl like you who can't even read a single word? How dare you let a fortune teller utter such a fallacy as your birth chart being auspicious for me!"

His gaze was fixed on Jiang Ninghui: "I should have married a talented and intelligent woman, not a clumsy and ignorant woman like you. It's all because of your Jiang family's desire to curry favor with our Zhao family that I've ended up like this!"

Zhao Zhixue demanded sharply, "If I hadn't sent someone to investigate this matter at the Jiang family, how much longer were you planning to lie to me?!"

Jiang Ninghui trembled at his loud, stern questioning voice.

She bit her lip hard, her fingertips clenched tightly inside her sleeve.

She remained silent, enduring Zhao Zhixue's anger in silence.

The Jiang family was at fault first, and she had no way to refute it. She had always known that this matter could not be kept secret forever and would be exposed one day. However, she never expected that she would be so despicable in her husband's eyes.

She thought that her husband had returned this time to talk to her about divorce and to tell her about marrying the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

I never imagined it would be like this.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

A moment later, Zhao Zhixue took out a letter of divorce from his sleeve and placed it on the table: "I will not hold the Jiang family's deception against me, but I will never tolerate this matter! This is the letter of divorce. Take it and go back to the Jiang family. From now on, I will have nothing to do with you, Jiang Ninghui. Do not bother me again and make me disgusted!"

He had previously considered divorcing her to put Li Fu at ease.

But he was afraid that if he divorced Jiang Ninghui then, this country woman would cause a scene in the capital, which would definitely affect his imperial examination, so he delayed until today.

Jiang Ninghui glanced at the letter of divorce that Zhao Zhixue had slammed heavily on the table, and tears instantly welled up in her eyes.

She wanted to ask him why he didn't tell her that he was divorcing her because he was going to marry the daughter of the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, and why it was a divorce agreement instead of a letter of divorce. However, since the Jiang family had deceived her first and he had already made it clear, she couldn't bring herself to question him.

As Sister-in-law Mu said.

She and her husband finally reached this point.

Zhao Zhixue glanced at Jiang Ninghui, who was weeping alone, and found her even more irritating.

He took a string of coins and threw it on the letter of divorce, saying coldly, "I was the one who hired the real estate agent for this courtyard house, and the agent only recognizes me. I'll go to the agent to return this courtyard house in a bit. You can pack your things and leave now."

After saying that, Zhao Zhixue walked past her and left.

He returned and left again within 15 minutes.

Jiang Ninghui squatted down, hugged her knees, buried her face in her arms, and cried uncontrollably.

She cried for a long time, until her eyes ached.

The day has finally come.

Jiang Ninghui wiped away her tears with her sleeve, got up and walked to the desk to open the letter of divorce that Zhao Zhixue had given her.

When Jiang Ninghui saw that the letter of divorce stated that she was being divorced by Zhao Zhixue because of her affair with another man, she felt as if she had fallen into an icy pool, feeling cold to the bone from head to toe.

He didn't even leave her a way out after divorcing her.

Did he know that if this letter of divorce reached Hongshan Village, she would be drowned?

Zhao Zhixue is bullying her!

He took advantage of her illiteracy and made up all sorts of accusations against her!

Can……

Jiang Ninghui stared blankly at the words "having an affair with another man" on the letter of divorce.

Isn't that what she and Pei Duo are?

Although the two did not go all the way, everything they did during that time crossed the line between a woman and a man.

Jiang Ninghui finally put the letter of divorce inside, and then glanced at the string of coins Zhao Zhixue had left her, which was about thirty coins. It would take more than ten days to travel from the capital to Hongshan Village by carriage, let alone walking. These thirty coins would be gone before she even got back to Hongshan Village.

How she will get back to Hongshan Village will be the biggest problem at that time.

Jiang Ninghui finally saw through Zhao Zhixue completely; how could he be so heartless to the woman he had spent a year with?

He completely disregarded her life or death!

He hadn't even considered whether she would be able to return to Hongshan Village alive.

Jiang Ninghui stood at the table in a daze for a long time before she finally came to her senses.

fine.

She still had more than thirty taels of silver with her.

This was her only way out.

She had no intention of returning to Hongshan Village; the Jiang family would not tolerate a divorced woman like her.

Jiang Ninghui opened the wardrobe, put her few clothes into the bundle, and then squatted down to retrieve the money bag hidden in the corner of the wardrobe. However, no matter how hard she looked, she couldn't find it. Jiang Ninghui even thought she had put it in the wrong place. She turned the room upside down but still couldn't find the money bag.

Suddenly, fear surged like a tidal wave, leaving Jiang Ninghui frozen on the edge of the couch, unable to recover for a long time.

Where is her money?

This was her only way out, her only guarantee.

Jiang Ninghui recalled going out to buy groceries with Pei Duo a few days ago, and then going to see the list of successful candidates for the imperial examination with Pei Duo today. At that time, no one was home. Could it be that the house had been burgled? This alley is remote, and the residents are people from all over the country. There might be thieves among them.

Only this can explain why her purse was lost.

With the money gone, she had no way out.

Jiang Ninghui stared blankly at the only thirty coins on the table, tears welling up in her eyes. Overwhelmed by panic and helplessness, she raised her hand to cover her face and cried out helplessly.

Zhao Zhixue said he would return the small courtyard to the real estate agent later, and Jiang Ninghui did not expect the agent to come so quickly.

In less than an hour, Fang Ya arrived.

He took away Jiang Ninghui's key, leaving her with no choice but to pack her bags and leave.

Before leaving, she glanced at Pei Duo's house, and a deep, aching feeling welled up inside her.

Jiang Ninghui couldn't help but recall everything that had happened between her and Pei Duo since they first met.

He treated her really, really well.

Besides Pei Duo, there was no one else in the world who treated her as well as she did.

They had agreed that after the palace examination, they would go their separate ways, but he didn't want to mention it, so she pretended not to know. For the past three days, Pei Duo and she had spent every day together. She craved the tenderness of these three days and cherished this last bit of warmth.

But now, she should leave.

Jiang Ninghui wiped away her tears, clutched her bundle, and walked out of the courtyard.

Although the alley was narrow, it was still bustling with people in the city of Kyoto, where land was incredibly valuable. Jiang Ninghui was afraid that others would see her red eyes from crying and point fingers at her, so she lowered her head and quickly ran out of the alley. But when she reached the bustling streets, Jiang Ninghui looked around blankly.

She didn't know where to go.

She didn't even know which way she was going to leave Kyoto.

Since arriving in Kyoto, she has rarely gone out, and even when she does, Pei Duo always accompanies her.

Jiang Ninghui looked helplessly at the pedestrians coming and going in front and behind her, wanting to ask others which way the city gate was, but she couldn't bring herself to speak.

She stood alone and helpless on the street, her almond-shaped eyes once again welling up with tears.

Where should she go?

She only had thirty coins on her, where could she go?

Tears streamed uncontrollably from her almond-shaped eyes. Jiang Ninghui noticed that everyone around her was looking at her strangely. Embarrassed, she lowered her head and was about to walk in any direction when a familiar and comforting voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Sui Sui—"

Upon hearing the sound, Jiang Ninghui turned around and looked at Pei Duo, who was walking towards her from not far away, with teary eyes.

The young man wore a scarlet court robe, and the belt tied around his waist made his figure appear even taller and more imposing.

He walked up to her, looked down at the woman's red, swollen eyes, and saw the lines of tears rolling down her cheeks.

Pei Duo raised his hand and gently wiped away the tears on her cheek with his fingertips, his clear and gentle voice both tender and indulgent.

He said, "Don't cry, you still have me."

"Sui Sui, I've always been here."

Jiang Ninghui never expected to see Pei Duo again, especially when she was at her most lonely and helpless.

She tried to hold back her tears, but she couldn't stop them no matter what she did.

Tears streamed down her face, and she choked out, "You...you knew everything?"

Pei Duo kept wiping away her tears: "When I came, I heard from others that Zhao Zhixue was going to marry Li Fu."

For the first time, Jiang Ninghui confided her grievances to Pei Duo. She broke down and said, "He knows that the Jiang family deceived him. He doesn't want me anymore. He kicked me out and didn't care whether I lived or died. My money was all stolen..."

Pei Duo hugged Jiang Ninghui, his arms tightly encircling her waist, his hands behind her head, burying her face in his chest.

Ignoring the strange looks from those around them, the young man whispered soothingly to the woman's ear, "Sui Sui, you still have me."

“I will make you pay for every humiliation you suffered at his hands.”

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Author's Note: (Just so you know, the male lead didn't take the money~)

Update before 6 PM tomorrow~