The old woman was barely clinging to life, and Qi An came to see her off on her final journey.
Qi An stood in front of Han's mother's bed and described to her the miserable state of her own son. He then read her the letter of divorce word by word.
Han's mother's eyes were bloodshot, and tears streamed from her dry eyes, as if she wanted to fight Qi An to the death.
Although her son was unfilial, she still wanted him to live a good life, to live a bright and glamorous life, full of vigor and spirit.
Han's mother soon found herself unable to breathe; her chest felt like a broken bellows, and each breath was incredibly difficult.
She knew her time was up, and in her final days she lived a life that was neither human nor ghost, suffering endless torment, all because her son had married this wicked woman.
She caused the Han family to be destroyed, their lineage to end, and they will have no way to face their ancestors in the afterlife.
Her eyes widened, stubbornly refusing to breathe her last. Qi An leaned down and grinned sinisterly.
"Don't force yourself. Your son will be here to keep you company soon, because... the imperial edict is on its way. Guess what it's for?"
Han's mother was panting heavily, her eyes wide open as if they were about to pop out of their sockets.
A moment later, her last breath finally came out, and her expression froze on that scene.
He died with his eyes wide open in disbelief.
At the entrance of the Han residence, Song's father paced anxiously back and forth, his eyes filled with longing.
His servants carried banners made of fine silk that read, "Welcome Miss Song home."
Upon seeing his daughter emerge, Mr. Song waved his hand with delight, and dozens of strings of firecrackers went off simultaneously, followed by festive music.
Just as Qi An was about to get into the carriage, Song's father stopped her, pointing to the brazier beside him: "Lanlan, wait a minute, step over the brazier first to get rid of the bad luck from the Han family..."
Qi An: "..."
Ata burst out laughing: "The old man is a man of principle. Boss, let's have a drink."
The old man's expression was so earnest that Qi An had no choice but to comply.
After stepping over the fire basin, Song's father couldn't stop smiling; anyone could see how happy he was.
Qi An got into Song's father's carriage, and Song Xingchen hugged her arm, her dimples showing as she smiled.
"That's great, I can see my older sister every day from now on."
Qi An pinched his cheek and stuffed a piece of candy into his mouth.
Yuan Qing and Hongdou and Lüzhu directed the servants of the Han family—no, now the Song family—to load the luggage onto the carriage and then follow behind it.
The long queue once again attracted the attention of the crowd.
In this dynasty, it was not a respectable thing for a woman to leave her husband's home and return to her parents' home; in serious cases, she would be regarded as an unlucky person.
Therefore, even the rare exceptions are extremely low-key, trying to hide them from others for fear of being discovered. This is the first time that people have seen such a high-profile event.
With firecrackers going off and music playing, you'd think it was a wedding celebration.
By doing this, Song's father clearly told the people of the capital that his daughter had nothing to hide and that she would always be the most precious treasure of the Song family.
Inside the carriage, Song's father stroked Qi An's hair, his eyes red, and said, "It's good that you're alright. Don't be afraid, Lanlan. Dad will take care of you from now on."
Song Xingchen squeezed in as well, presenting Qi An with a key as if it were a treasure:
"Sister, this is my little savings. You can spend it all. I'll earn more for you when it's all gone."
Ata couldn't help but sigh, thinking that if Song Xinlan had been able to successfully divorce in her past life, she would have been just as happy.
That son of a bitch Han Xiuzhe!
Han's mother is dead, Zhang Yanyan will receive the punishment she deserves, and the culprit Han Xiuzhe will soon go to hell. They have done right by Song Xinlan's request.
No sooner had the carriage arrived at the Song residence than a group of people arrived at the Han residence with an imperial edict.
After the female demon had left, Han Xiuzhe had just tidied himself up and was about to go out when he saw a group of people who had come to deliver an imperial decree in the courtyard.
The eunuch's high-pitched voice rang out: "Han Xiuzhe, receive the imperial decree."
Han Xiuzhe was overjoyed and hurriedly knelt down to receive the imperial decree, unaware of the contempt in the eunuch's eyes.
After hearing the decree, he stood frozen in place, as if he couldn't believe his ears.
He thought that his period of self-reflection had ended and the emperor wanted to recall him to court.
Unexpectedly, he was stripped of his official position and demoted to a commoner.
Thanks to Qi An, Han Xiuzhe and his mother's reputations are worse than dog shit.
The whole court and the public had heard about the bizarre and unbelievable things that had happened between the mother and son, and the emperor himself was disgusted with him.
Han Xiuzhe knelt on the ground and raised his head, his face full of disbelief.
What does it mean to be morally deficient or unworthy of one's position?
He just brought a woman home, what's wrong with that?
He was clearly the victim; he was nearly killed by that female demon, Song Xinlan.
He wanted to explain, to plead, but what came out of his mouth was "I'm not convinced."
Then he suddenly stood up, snatched the imperial edict, and tore it to shreds in a few quick movements.
The group of people who came to deliver the imperial decree were all stunned by his audacity.
First, he spoke rudely and disobeyed the imperial edict, and then he tore up the edict. This is a great disrespect to the emperor and will cost him his head.
In fact, Han Xiuzhe was even more terrified than they were. He looked at the torn imperial edict in his hand in disbelief, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.
No, that's not how it is. He dared not disobey the imperial decree, much less tear it up.
He was trying to explain and plead for leniency; he wanted to say that Song Xinlan wanted to harm him and had poisoned him.
But for some reason, he couldn't control his mouth and hands, as if he were possessed.
The eunuch delivering the imperial decree pointed at him coldly and ordered in a shrill voice: "Han Xiuzhe disobeyed the imperial decree and tore it up. This is a grave crime of disrespect. Seize him."
As the Imperial Guards approached him, Han Xiuzhe felt a sudden rush of energy in his mind, and he clearly felt something collapse.
It's all over.
When the news reached the palace, the emperor was furious and immediately sentenced the entire Han family to death.
When they made the arrest, they discovered that only Han Xiuzhe and his mother remained in the Han family. Han's mother had died sometime earlier, her eyes wide open and her body stiff.
Song Xinlan severed ties with the Han family with a letter of divorce. Her father spent enough money to ensure the letter was successfully registered with the government and became effective.
The servants all followed Song Xinlan and left; they were no longer part of the Han family and all escaped unscathed.
Therefore, this imperial edict ordering the execution of the entire family only applied to one person: Han Xiuzhe.
Everyone exclaimed that the Song family girl was incredibly lucky.
If she had left the Han family even a few hours later, she would have been sent to the guillotine as well.
The servants, too, were lucky enough to escape with their lives because they followed the right master.
Still shaken, Song's father pulled Qi An to burn incense and pray to Buddha, repeatedly saying that it was his wife in heaven who was protecting their daughter.
Qi An had no choice but to comply. She couldn't very well tell Song's father that she had arranged all of this.
Three days later, Han Xiuzhe was taken to the execution ground.
Even as he was being led to the guillotine, he was still shouting that he had been wronged and that someone had framed him.
However, no one paid him any attention; nine out of ten people who were beheaded claimed that they were innocent.
"It's noon. Execution is here."
With a single stroke of the executioner's blade, the head fell to the ground, and the body slowly collapsed.
The head rolled on the ground, covered in blood and dirt, filthy.
Finally, the body was thrown into a mass grave and eaten by wild dogs.
They died without a burial place.
Even until the moment of his death, Han Xiuzhe couldn't understand it.
Not long ago, his future seemed bright, so why did he die a horrible death less than a month after returning to the capital, his family destroyed and his body left unburied?
It seems that everything is because of Song Xinlan.
He thought to himself, "If only I hadn't provoked Song Xinlan back then."
Or, if you provoke her and then treat her well, don't let your mother bully her, and don't bring Zhang Yanyan back, the outcome might be different.
He didn't know that Song Xinlan had thought the same thing before she died in her previous life.
I wish I hadn't married Han Xiuzhe.
It can only be said that cause and effect are cyclical, and retribution is inevitable.
Qi An didn't care what he was thinking. The mission was complete, and she planned to relax and be a happy couch potato for the rest of the time.
After a month of fun, Ata suddenly remembered: "Boss, did you forget something?"
Qi An was comfortably leaning back on the chaise longue, with Hongdou massaging his shoulders, Lüzhu feeding him peeled grapes, and Yuanqing reading him a storybook.
Upon hearing this, she dismissively replied, "Huh?"
Ata: "Zhang Yanyan."
Qi An: "..."
Damn, I was so busy enjoying myself that I completely forgot about her.
Qi An stood up: "Let's go see her."
She wanted to see if that self-important but actually stupid time-traveling woman could survive in the ancient world she looked down upon after losing her cheat code.
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