Marquis Dingbei had never seen her like this before and was momentarily speechless.
Jiao, on the other hand, clutched her stomach and cried pitifully, yet she still managed to make her presence known through her words.
"Waaah, my lord, how are you? Don't worry about me, quickly call the guards in."
Marquis Dingbei snapped out of his daze and flew into a rage. "Cui Jinrou, are you out of your mind? How dare you lay a hand on me?"
"Yes, I'm crazy." Madam Cui nodded readily, her smile colder than a thousand-year-old glacier.
"After everyone in Kyoto moved away, after hundreds of people in the Marquis's mansion fled, and not a single person remembered me, when the barbarian cavalry chased me like a dog, when my vision was black from the fever and I could only hide in the mountains to fight wolves and black bears for my life, I went mad!"
Marquis Dingbei felt a little uneasy and wanted to refute, but nothing was a reason to abandon his wife and flee for his life alone.
Lady Jiao reached out to protect Marquis Dingbei, her face streaked with tears.
"Sister Cui, you can't say that about the Marquis. He was protecting the Empress Dowager and the Emperor as they traveled south. He didn't sleep for days and nights and had no time to think of you. Do you think the Emperor and the Empress Dowager are less important than you? You can't have both family and country, or loyalty and filial piety!"
“Yes,” Marquis Dingbei was overjoyed, finally regaining some confidence. “I am a military marquis. Protecting my country is my responsibility at all times. Not to mention you, even my parents, I would choose to be loyal without hesitation.”
Madam Cui raised her hand and clapped her hands, praising, "Well said, very well said. Among the generals of Tianwu, you are the most adept at scheming. Anyone who hears these words would be moved to tears and praise you for your loyalty and righteousness."
She pointed to the courtyard, "But look at you, your whole family, concubines, children, even maids and the little dog you keep, have all taken Xindu with you, but you haven't taken your first wife. Taking your first wife is considered disloyal and unfilial! Do you even believe your own words? Should I go for a walk in Xindu and let the whole world praise you?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the maidservant who was watching the commotion in the courtyard was so frightened that she hid behind her, and the puppy she was holding fell to the ground.
The puppy ran happily into the house and ran around Dingbei Hou.
Marquis Dingbei, having been thoroughly humiliated and with nowhere to vent his anger, kicked the puppy several miles away.
The puppy yelped in pain and ran away pitifully.
"I was blind back then!" Madam Cui couldn't hold back her tears as she recalled the past.
The Marquis of Dingbei, annoyed by what he heard, yanked Jiao Shi away and retorted with a question.
"Then tell me, what exactly do you want? For so many years, you've ignored me completely and haven't fulfilled your responsibilities as a wife at all. I'm not even asking you to leave me; I just want you to be a secondary wife, and you're still so relentless. Do you still have that gentle and dignified demeanor you once had?"
At this moment, Old Master Liu couldn't help but speak up, "Fu Qingrong! Don't think that just because Grand Secretary Cui is dead, you can bully Jinrou so recklessly. Jinrou still has this old man behind her! Her rightful wife, whom you abandoned in the capital, endured so much hardship to get here, and now she wants to be treated as a concubine. What right do you have! If you dare to argue again, we'll go to the Emperor and tell him! Perhaps if the Emperor knows that you abandoned your wife to protect him, but didn't forget to bring your maid and dog, he might even promote you!"
The Marquis of Dingbei's mind was buzzing. He was a member of the Empress Dowager's faction, and the Emperor only recognized Ye Chengyi. If he were to go to the Emperor's side, it would probably give the Emperor an excuse to remove him from his military power.
Jiao was nearby and saw that his forehead was covered with a thin layer of sweat. She gritted her teeth, threw herself down in the middle of the ground, knelt in front of Madam Cui, and cried pitifully.
"Waaah, sister, please don't make things difficult for the Marquis! It's all my fault, I shouldn't have married into this family. Waaah, the Marquis is too tired, living in the imperial court, walking on thin ice. Even a day as husband and wife is worth a hundred days of kindness, please, sister, for the sake of our past relationship, don't make things difficult for the Marquis anymore."
Marquis Dingbei was moved by his new wife's virtue, and when he looked at his first wife again, his eyes were filled with resentment and disgust.
Madam Cui was so angry that her heart was about to shatter. She looked down at Madam Jiao and asked directly.
"So, it seems the Marquis has truly married a wonderful woman who is devoted to him. Well then, since you feel sorry for the Marquis's predicament, why don't you take the initiative to leave and request to be divorced? That way, the Marquis will no longer be in a difficult position."
"No!" Madam Jiao objected instinctively. "No, I am the Marquis's wife. I was married into the family through proper channels!"
"Look, you feel sorry for the Marquis, but you're putting me above all else. How kind of you are!" Madam Cui sneered.
The light in her eyes pierced Jiao's heart, making her furious and ashamed. "Why can't we sacrifice you? You should die out there and never come back! The barbarians have been occupying Jiangbei for so long. Who knows how many barbarians have violated you? You've lost your chastity. What face do you have to come back as the Marquis's wife!"
"Smash!" Madam Cui grabbed a teacup and smashed it hard on Jiao's head. Jiao turned her head to avoid the teacup, but the tea spilled all over her.
"Shut your filthy mouth! Do you think everyone is like you? You're not even twenty yet, and you've married a man as old as your father, all for the sake of your family's benefit. Do you think you're any different from a courtesan? You're all cunning foxes, so stop pretending to be a refined lady!"
After giving a good scolding, Madam Cui turned to Marquis Dingbei, no longer glancing at the screaming Madam Jiao, and declared, "We must divorce, and the divorce papers must be signed immediately!"
"No!" Marquis Dingbei frowned, not bothering with any pretense of loyalty or righteousness. "Just as Lady Jiao said, you have lost all your innocence, and I want to divorce you!"
"Alright, then let's go to the Emperor and file a petition. Let the Emperor and the whole world hear whether it's time to divorce or to have a proper separation!"
"You, you are truly unreasonable!" Marquis Dingbei was so angry he wanted to kill someone.
Old Master Liu slammed his teacup down. "Fu Qingrong, you'd better accept the face I'm giving you, or you'll regret it later. You think you can rest easy just because you've tied the Jiao family to your side? Hmph, in Weizhou, the Jiao family has no right to speak loudly in front of the Liu family! If you don't believe me, let's see!"
The other two old men chimed in, "The Jiao family comes from a merchant family; everyone in Weizhou knows them. They are a true scholarly and noble family. No one would marry a daughter of the Jiao family. Only someone as short-sighted as you would treat her like a treasure!"
Jiao had originally wanted to make a scene, but upon hearing this, she felt guilty and could only weep pitifully, not daring to interrupt.
After a long pause, the Marquis of Dingbei gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, let's get a divorce, but I have one more condition."
“Tell me,” said Madam Cui, her face expressionless, which made Marquis Dingbei uneasy. “From now on, you should tell others that we divorced when we were in the capital.”
Madam Cui laughed in anger, yet felt it was all expected. "Fine, the Marquis of Dingbei cares about his reputation and doesn't want others to know that he abandoned his first wife and fled for his life alone, nor does he want others to know that he divorced his wife and remarried! I will show mercy and grant your wish!"
Marquis Dingbei gritted his teeth in anger, "Sign the divorce papers immediately, and then get the hell out of here!"
Old Master Liu took out two pre-written divorce papers, which Liu Zhiheng personally delivered to Marquis Dingbei.
Marquis Dingbei examined it carefully before signing his name and pressing his fingerprint.
Madam Cui also stepped forward to sign her name, her fingers trembling as she pressed the button.
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