Zhao Juan screamed and cursed, but all that answered her was the even quieter courtyard and the whispers and pointing.
Zhao Juan desperately pounded on the Chen family's door, but the thin wooden door felt like a cold wall, ruthlessly keeping her out.
She began to regret her actions, regretting that she had acted so impulsively. Why did she have to stoop to the level of that old hag? Why did she have to argue with Chen Danian?
Now that the Zhao family is gone, if the Chen family doesn't take her in either, where can she go?
Thinking of her miserable situation of being homeless, Zhao Juan panicked. She frantically pounded on the Chen family's door, her earlier toughness long gone, and she pleaded:
"Da Nian, I was wrong. Please let me in. I'll never do it again!"
Zhao Juan's voice was choked with sobs as she pleaded desperately, hoping that the man who had once been so devoted to her would soften his heart.
Inside the Chen family courtyard, Chen Danian listened to the knocking on the door, his face grim.
It wasn't because of the harsh words Zhao Juan uttered, but because he remembered what the officer had said when he was searched at the Zhao family's house.
He hadn't figured it out before, but the words of that official reminded him.
"Even Master Zhao has been arrested. You're his son-in-law; whether you can keep your scholar's status is another matter entirely..."
When Chen Danian recalled those words, he broke out in a cold sweat!
Yes, it seems that apart from the confiscation of his property, Master Zhao's matter has not implicated anyone else. But as a scholar, how can I be proud if I have a father-in-law who has been exiled?
Wouldn't this create an extra stumbling block on the road to future success?
Chen Danian glanced at the door that was being banged on, and almost immediately made up his mind, turning around and walking into the house.
He walked straight to the table, picked up the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and began to write furiously.
Granny Lü looked at her son's actions with some confusion:
"Da Nian, what are you writing at a time like this? That crazy woman is shouting and cursing outside, ruining our reputation for no reason. I think we should report her to the authorities and have her arrested!"
Chen Danian ignored her. He dried what he had just written, walked straight to the courtyard gate, and suddenly opened the door.
The pleas for forgiveness and admission of wrongdoing stopped abruptly. Zhao Juan looked at the open courtyard gate and felt a surge of joy.
"Da Nian!" Her face lit up with joy, and she was about to rush into Chen Danian's arms when he pushed her away.
Zhao Juan staggered a few steps, looking at Chen Danian in disbelief: "What are you doing?"
Chen Danian threw the paper in his hand at Zhao Juan's face and said coldly, "Take a look for yourself!"
Zhao Juan didn't react for a moment. By the time she reached out to take it, the paper had already fluttered to the ground. She had to bend down to pick it up, only to see two big characters written on it: Divorce Letter!
When she saw those two words, her mind went blank, and she almost collapsed to the ground!
Having finally regained her balance, Zhao Juan looked at the person before her with tears in her eyes, her voice trembling as she spoke:
"You...you're going to divorce me?"
She couldn't believe that Chen Danian, who had been showering her with sweet words just a few days ago, was now divorcing her!
“That’s right.” Chen Danian sneered.
"You clearly said how much you loved me before, and now you want to divorce me?"
Even just now, when the news of the confiscation of the Zhao family's property first arrived, he was still by her side comforting her!
Zhao Juan couldn't understand why he seemed like a completely different person as soon as he returned to the Chen family.
While her thoughts were in turmoil, she saw Granny Lü gloating in the courtyard. Something flashed through her mind, and she felt she had found the reason for Chen Danian's sudden change of attitude. Pointing at Granny Lü, she said sternly:
"It's her! Isn't it? It must be that old hag. She's always looked down on me before, and now she's going to make my life miserable!"
Her words startled Granny Lü—how did this young widow know that she had looked down on her because she was a widow? No wonder she wouldn't take her to the Zhao family to enjoy a life of luxury, even though she had never offended her!
When Chen Danian saw Zhao Juan's unreasonable and irrational behavior, he felt extremely disgusted and thought she was stupid.
The reason he had flattered her in the past was because of the Zhao family's wealth. Now that the Zhao family had fallen, he had nothing left. If he didn't run away, was he supposed to wait to be implicated?
Of course, he couldn't say that aloud, so he snorted coldly and loudly rebuked:
"You still have the nerve to ask why? Look at your attitude now! Now that you're married to me, my mother is your mother-in-law, right? Yet you boss her around and insult her all the time. Is this the attitude of a daughter-in-law?"
As the saying goes, loyalty to one's country and filial piety are often at odds. Since you look down on my mother, I can't let her suffer. Therefore, I have no choice but to sever all ties with Miss Zhao!
"You..." Zhao Juan trembled with anger, but was powerless to refute, since the whole incident was caused by her arguing with Granny Lü.
As Granny Lü watched her son's retreating figure, her eyes welled up with tears of emotion, feeling that she had raised her son in vain!
She completely forgot about the fact that she hadn't fully recovered from her broken leg, and that Chen Danian was worried that taking care of her would upset Zhao Juan, so he could only move around with difficulty to take care of himself.
Meanwhile, Chen Danian, watching the onlookers, was still genuinely playing the role of a filial son.
"As you all have seen, Zhao Juan is unfilial to her mother-in-law, and as her son, I absolutely cannot tolerate it!"
I hereby declare, in the presence of all my fellow villagers, that I, Chen Danian, have divorced my wife. From this day forward, I have no further connection with Zhao Juan, and her actions are none of my business!
However, no matter how high-sounding his words were, the neighbors were not fools. Given their previous experience, they immediately saw through Chen Danian's scheme.
The onlookers in the neighborhood, who had been watching the commotion, began to look at Zhao Juan with a shift from disdain to pity, and finally couldn't help but start cursing Chen Danian:
"Pah, you're putting on an act like a dutiful son. When your mother broke her leg and couldn't get water, she had to beg us to help her fetch water. Where were you, this dutiful son, then?"
"That's right! They talk a good game, but frankly, they just think the Zhao family is in trouble and you can't benefit from them anymore, so they're turning their backs on you!"
"That's right! You abandoned your wife and daughter to curry favor with the Zhao family, and now that the Zhao family is in trouble, you're kicking them while they're down. You're heartless and ungrateful!"
Hearing these accusations, Chen Danian's face turned ashen. He wanted to retort, but how could one mouth possibly stand against so many? In the end, he could only cover his face and flee, not even bothering to close the door!
Granny Lü limped forward to close the door, but Zhao Juan forcefully blocked it. Unable to do anything else, she had to call her grandson for help.
"Yaozu, come quick! Close the door, or if we let this woman in, she'll definitely refuse to leave!"
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