Qin Xiaoniang felt very sorry for Ruizhen's experience. After all, these things were nothing compared to what she had gone through. Although Song Xiaoqi was ruthless, he had never deprived her of food and drink during the years she spent in the General's Mansion, and had always treated her well.
The man before me, who seduced and abandoned his lover, spent his days indulging in pleasure with prostitutes; he was a despicable person and deserved to die.
“Ruizhen, don’t be afraid. Take this opportunity to get a divorce agreement from this man. From now on, you will have nothing to do with each other. If he wants to stay with a prostitute until he’s old, then let him be. Also, get the money that’s supposed to support his mother. Otherwise, send it to that prostitute so she can support her.”
Ruizhen was a timid woman; without the encouragement of these people, she would never have done such a thing.
"I... I also want to leave this den of wolves and tigers. I hate him so much and I haven't wanted to see him for a long time!" Ruizhen became more and more angry as she spoke, and her sobs became more and more uncontrollable.
Song He'er stepped forward and took Ruizhen's hand. "Auntie, once you've entered a dead end, you should turn back in time. Don't wait until you're exhausted and regret it later!"
Ruizhen took a deep breath, as if someone had opened her heart. The timid expression on her face disappeared, and she mustered her courage to walk to the side of the rogue.
"You love that prostitute very much, don't you? I'll give you a chance to make her your legal wife, Zhao Changming. Let's get a divorce!"
The man called Zhao Changming, though unable to move, did not lose any of his arrogance and remained shameless.
"Divorce? You're dreaming! When I married you, I gave you a generous dowry. Now you want a divorce? Then return all my money and jewelry!"
It would have been better if the topic of betrothal gifts hadn't been brought up. As soon as it was, Ruizhen's anger flared up, and she grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it hard at Zhao Changming's face.
"You still have the nerve to mention betrothal gifts to me? Bah! Your entire Zhao family is full of shameless and greedy scoundrels! When I married into your Zhao family, my dowry alone was already worth tens of thousands of taels of gold! But less than half a year after I married into your family, your mother took it all to cover the deficit in the household. Those accounts can't be denied. Even if we take it to the authorities, it's still the property of my Xiao family!"
"Zhao Changming, I've seen through you all this year! I've tolerated you for the sake of my reputation! But today, you disgust me. You still have the nerve to mention money to me? Didn't you use all that money to philander, drink, and patronize prostitutes?"
Originally, if Ruizhen hadn't said anything, Zhang Xiue and the others wouldn't have known that such a thing could happen. Men who use women's dowries are the most worthless men, even more disgusting than Song Xiaoqi.
Despite General Song's ill intentions, Qin Xiaoniang's dowry remained safely stored in the mansion's storeroom, untouched by anyone.
It was nothing more than Madam Li being envious and eager to get her hands on the "Business Secrets" from Qin Xiaoniang's mother's family.
"Zhao Changming!! So you are such a shameless scoundrel! You have ruined the reputation of all the literati in the capital, and now you still have the audacity to claim that you are an official of the imperial court! I wish I could kill you right now!"
Song He'er had never seen Song Xiaoyu so angry. In the past, he was always a scholarly man, but he was never this irritable.
Zhao Changming sneered, already prepared to go all out. "What? You want to kill me? Fine, go ahead and do it. The moment I die, those soldiers will know. If you're not afraid of getting punished even more severely, then go ahead and do it."
Song He'er knew what he meant by saying that. He had been in Xinzhou for a long time and had already bribed the soldiers. If something happened to him, those who had harmed him would not have a good end either.
There's really no benefit in breaking ties with him now. We need to come up with a compromise that can both save him from his predicament and allow us to live in peace.
Seeing his attitude, Ruizhen was at a loss. After all, they had lost their official status and were no longer even considered ordinary people. They had nowhere to appeal. This kind of deadlocked case could only be solved by their own wits, and they could not be too forceful.
After thinking it over, Song He'er suddenly had an idea. She then quietly walked over to Li Qiang and whispered a few words in his ear.
Li Qiang nodded, turned around, and walked towards the mountain.
Qin Xiaoniang pulled Song He'er aside and asked, "You silly girl, don't come up with some bad ideas again."
"Mother, when have I ever given a bad idea? You underestimate me..."
"Alas, we've been driven to a dead end by this scoundrel! It's truly hateful!"
Song He'er comforted him, "It's alright, I've already thought of a way. He'll obediently sign the divorce papers in a little while!"
Qin Xiaoniang retreated to the side, half believing and half doubting, and stopped talking.
After a while, Li Qiang came down from the mountain and threw the object in his hand to Zhao Changming.
Upon seeing this, Zhao Changming's face turned pale instantly, his lips moved but he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
"So? Are you going to get a divorce or not?"
Zhao Changming retorted angrily, "You bunch of despicable people! What did you do to them? Be careful someone comes looking for trouble for you!"
Song He'er sneered, "Uncle, I'm afraid you don't understand the laws of our dynasty. Your beloved concubine is probably a woman of low social status, isn't she? Even if she's dead, ran away, or lost, who would care too much? What's worth caring about is how you, a demoted official, managed to bring this woman of low social status into Xinzhou. If I'm not mistaken, after you were demoted, you arranged for this woman to hide somewhere else, didn't you?"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Changming's face turned pale. Clearly, Song He'er had hit the nail on the head.
Ruizhen looked Song He'er up and down with a strange gaze, as if she were looking at some rare object.
"girl......"
"Don't speak."
Song He'er took the white paper and black pen from Qin Xiaoniang and threw them next to Zhao Changming.
“Write a divorce agreement, or you will never see your beloved concubine and those two adorable children again.”
A hint of defiance flashed in Zhao Changming's eyes. "I really underestimated you, you little brat. I'm just unlucky to have fallen into your hands today!"
Zhang Xiue kicked him again, "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up and write!"
Having exhausted all other options, Zhao Changming could only pick up a pen and write a few lines of crooked, illegible handwriting...
......
Hey everyone, I haven't been giving out enough recommendation votes lately~~ Please send some more votes and leave some positive reviews~
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
