Before the contract takes effect, Zhang Qiquan has no way to set off for Anshui County.
But staying in the small courtyard felt stifling and uncomfortable.
Liu Cui could still chat with Zhang Xianglian from morning till night, but he could only lean on his crutches and drag Wen Zhiyun's newly bound leg as he wandered through the county town.
Just then, I saw Zhou Zhiqiang inquiring about the whereabouts of Jiang Sheng and his sister in the county.
Without his wife's care, the slovenly man gestured with his hands and feet, saying, "She's just a little girl, seven or eight years old. She's pretty, but she's full of bad intentions. She's obviously a scoundrel."
This description made Zhang Qiquan extremely regretful.
Of course, this also earned him the impatience of the merchants, who said, "Get out, I don't know you."
Zhou Zhiqiang was furious, but he didn't dare do anything to the unfamiliar merchants. He could only walk to a corner, spit a mouthful of phlegm on the ground, and say, "You wretched bastards, when the magistrate comes, I will definitely file a complaint and sue you to death."
Zhang Qiquan shook his head, watched him walk away, and quickly returned to the courtyard.
“The magistrate of Xiyang County will be taking office soon. If he really files a complaint, it will be quite troublesome.” He asked, “Should we…”
Zhang Qiquan's question was whether or not to stop it.
But Jiang Sheng jumped up and chimed in, "Should we just sue him?"
Everyone in the courtyard couldn't help but turn their heads.
The little girl, having grown up on the streets, has an unusual way of thinking and always comes up with novel ideas.
But upon closer examination, her words do indeed have some merit.
By having Zhou Zhiqiang file a complaint, Zhang Xianglian became a runaway wife. Even if she presented various pieces of evidence of being beaten and scolded, it was merely to prove herself.
However, if the case is reversed and Zhou Zhiqiang is sued, then it becomes Zhou Zhiqiang who broke the law, and it's his turn to find evidence, refute, and prove himself.
“But we’ve never had any legal provisions for suing a husband for assault,” Liu Cui sighed. “There are only seven grounds for divorce for women, but I’ve never heard of a man committing any crime.”
After these words were spoken, the courtyard fell silent.
Everyone racked their brains trying to figure out what grounds the woman could have to sue her husband.
Zhang Xianglian looked at the child with a worried expression, then at the child with a furrowed brow, and hesitated to speak.
"I...I just had a miscarriage, is that alright?" After a long silence, she said tremblingly, "A month ago, I was seven months pregnant, but Zhou Zhiqiang made me sift feces, which caused me to miscarry. The baby had grown into a human shape, but it still didn't survive..."
Before this, Zhang Xianglian still had hope that she could live a good life with Zhou Zhiqiang for the sake of the child in her womb.
After she miscarried, when the doctor came to examine her pulse and said that she would never be able to conceive again, Zhang Xianglian's heart died.
Therefore, she gradually dared to argue and contradict Zhou Zhiqiang.
It can also suddenly give you the courage to escape that cage-like home.
“In my life, I have given birth to four children, and each time it was due to exhaustion and miscarriage,” Zhang Xianglian said in a mournful voice. “Whether I was in the third or seventh month of pregnancy, the Zhou family always found work for me to do, whether it was farm work, washing clothes, cooking, or washing dishes. Every single time…”
Jiang Sheng listened with tears welling up in her eyes.
If you do the math, Auntie was already two months pregnant when Zhou Zhiqiang forcibly dragged her to change into a cotton-padded coat last time.
No wonder she said she couldn't leave, no wonder she said she couldn't bear to part with it.
"Sister, you've suffered so much." Liu Cui also shed tears.
She and Zhang Qiquan couldn't have children, but the Zhou family, having a child, didn't cherish it and actually arranged for a pregnant woman to do chores. It was truly a heinous crime.
"Causing someone to miscarry is a serious offense under the laws of the Dayu Dynasty," Xu Mo said slowly as he stood at the door after school.
Wen Zhiyun, who returned carrying a small medicine box, added, "Miscarriages can be detected by pulse diagnosis within three months."
Jiang Sheng's eyes lit up instantly.
With these foundations, filing a complaint is no longer difficult.
Xu Mo wrote the petition, while Wen Zhiyun assisted by taking Zhang Gugu's pulse and also gave her some nourishing medicine to help her weakened body recover.
We've been eagerly anticipating this.
In early July, the new magistrate of Xiyang County finally arrived in a horse-drawn carriage to take office.
Zhang Xianglian, holding the complaint, knelt on his usual route and kowtowed to lodge her grievance.
This was a case of a new broom sweeping clean, and the magistrate of Xieyang County had no choice but to accept the case. Xu Mo, a scholar, then spoke on his behalf, with Zhang Qiquan and Liu Cui serving as witnesses to the Zhou family's reputation in the village.
No matter how much Zhou Zhiqiang cursed and swore, how much he threatened to hit and beat Zhang Xianglian, or even how he openly threatened to kill her in the courtroom, he could not change the final verdict.
"In the case of Zhang Xianglian and Zhou Zhiqiang's beating that resulted in a miscarriage, it is true that Zhou Zhiqiang committed the assault. Therefore, the court ruled that the two should dissolve their marital relationship and go their separate ways, with no further connection between them."
When the verdict and divorce papers were handed down, Zhang Xianglian was already in tears.
Zhou Zhiqiang was still jumping up and down, "I'm not convinced! I'm not convinced! She's the woman I married. Why can she just run away like that? Why can she divorce me? Even if I really don't want her, I can only divorce her."
But nobody paid any attention to him.
Liu Cui happily pulled Zhang Xianglian along, while Jiang Sheng grinned, showing off her big white teeth.
The children were also happy.
Xu Mo was smiling at his sister when he suddenly noticed a prying gaze. He turned his head and met the new magistrate's round, big eyes.
Upon realizing he had been discovered, the new magistrate immediately lowered his eyes and pretended to be studying the case file.
Speaking of which, this new county magistrate is quite young, only in his early twenties. He has a fair complexion, no beard, and a handsome and refined appearance. Even his judgments are so clean and efficient.
To be fair, he should be considered a decent county magistrate.
But his prying gaze was truly unsettling.
Xu Mo forced herself to endure it and took her younger siblings back to the courtyard.
Zhang Xianglian had calmed down and was talking privately with Liu Cui.
The contracts between Zhang Qiquan and Zheng Ruqian have also been formally approved and are now in effect.
Today, the Zhang couple will set off for Anshui County.
Zheng Ruqian knew they were short of money, so he had already prepared fifty taels of silver. "Uncle Zhang, I'm handing over the workshop money to you. You can also use it for your living expenses. Don't be polite with me."
Zhang Qiquan accepted the money, feeling both grateful for his employer's generosity and trust, and heartbroken at his current predicament.
They couldn't even afford to eat.
Thank goodness I met Zheng Ruqian, and thank goodness I signed this contract.
Liu Cui was also saying goodbye to Zhang Xianglian.
"Sister Zhang, we might be staying in Anshui County permanently from now on, helping our employer run a workshop there. If you have nowhere to go, why don't you come with us?" she rambled on.
Just as Zhang Xianglian was about to speak, she looked up and saw Jiang Sheng's nervous expression, and immediately smiled, "Sister, it's certainly good to leave here, but I can't bear to leave the children behind."
There are six little ones in total, the oldest is twelve years old and the youngest is eight years old. It's really worrying.
“I’m not very capable, except for doing some housework,” Zhang Xianglian said softly. “Maybe I won’t earn much money, but I will definitely take good care of my children.”
Jiang Sheng nodded vigorously beside him.
She didn't want Aunt Zhang to go to Anshui County, because then she wouldn't be able to eat the delicious stir-fried chicken with green peppers.
Although her older brother's cooking was alright, compared to her aunt's skills... she chose Aunt Zhang!
Jiang Sheng patted her chest, hoping her older brother hadn't heard what she had just said.
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