After dinner, everyone gathered in the main room. The adults, each with their own thoughts, wanted to break the silence, but didn't know what to say. They just watched the three children playing in silence.
"Hahaha, come on, chase me!" Guo Yu grabbed a few bells and ran around the tables and chairs, turning his head frequently and making faces at his cousin. "If I catch up, I'll give you the bells to play with."
Gong Baozhu had grown stronger and bolder, and she chased after him, saying, "Brother Yu, wait for me!"
Guo Ye was one and a half years old, white and chubby, jumping up and down to join in the fun. He followed with all his might, his body always swaying when turning, but always able to keep steady. He shouted anxiously: "Brother, brother! Sister, wait, wait for me!"
The wet nurse and the maidservants did not dare to stop them. They rushed back and forth, protecting them while advising them, "Be careful, go slowly."
"You've been running for a while. Are you tired? Want to sit down and rest for a while?"
"Ouch, watch out for the chair legs!"
Wang, with her head full of silver hair, leaned back on a pillow, leaning on a low couch, her mind heavy with worry. But in front of her two grandsons, she never showed any signs of distress. She pulled herself together, reached out her hand, and beckoned to her eldest grandson, saying kindly, "Yu'er, come on, come on, don't run away. Look how tired your brother is."
"Grandma!" Guo Yu took advantage of the situation and snuggled into his grandmother's arms.
Gong Baozhu then rushed to the bed, stopped obediently, and panted.
"Brother!" Guo Ye was the slowest to come. He hugged his cousin's arm and asked excitedly, "Run, do you want to play?"
Wang opened her arms, hugged her two grandchildren, and lovingly said, "Good children, it's late, you should go to bed, otherwise Yu'er will not be able to get up to study tomorrow morning. Play with them when you are free tomorrow." After speaking, she ordered the nanny, "Take them back to their rooms immediately, go to bed early and get up early."
"Yes." The wet nurses breathed a sigh of relief, picked up their children, bowed and took their leave.
The three children were having a great time and didn't want to separate, some looking disappointed and some pouting. Guo Yu was unhappy and muttered, "But I'm not sleepy at all."
Gong Baozhu opened her mouth but didn't dare to say anything.
Guo Ye was young and struggled hard, trying to get down and continue playing, "Brother——"
Seeing this, Jiang Yushu hurriedly coaxed: "Be good, Ye'er, it's late, you should go back to your room and sleep. When it's dawn tomorrow, mother will play with you."
Guo Honglei frowned, slammed the teacup onto the table with a stern thud, and said solemnly, "Follow the elders' instructions!"
The three children all turned their heads. The older child instinctively stood in awe of the authority of their parent and subconsciously obeyed. The younger child was completely clueless and was quickly carried away by the nanny.
Gong Yipeng and Liao Xiaodie stood up at the same time and said tactfully, "We won't disturb the old lady from resting. We'll come and pay our respects to you tomorrow morning."
Wang replied kindly, "Go."
In a blink of an eye, the servants also took their leave, the old servant stood guard outside the door, and only the Guo family members were left in the hall.
"Alas." Wang no longer concealed her worry, and asked directly, "Honglei, Azhe, and Xuan'er, have you three brothers come to a conclusion?"
"There is one."
“But I don’t know if it’s appropriate.”
Wang urged, "Hurry up and tell me."
Guo Honglei's expression was solemn. After calming himself down, he slowly said, "My eldest brother is gone, and my eldest sister-in-law has committed an unforgivable mistake. As brothers, we must not ignore it. Since my eldest sister-in-law can't keep her chastity, she shouldn't continue to be the eldest daughter-in-law of the Guo family. We should make a decisive decision and divorce her to appease my eldest brother's spirit in heaven."
Wang's wrinkles were thick, tears glistened in her eyes, and she sighed and nodded, saying, "Yes, Hongyao is gone, we must make the decision for him. Divorce letter, divorce letter... What name do you plan to use to divorce her? You must protect Yu'er. Poor my eldest grandson, his father is gone, and his mother has to leave too."
Adultery is the most unbearable of the seven grounds for divorce. Jiang Yushu was overwhelmed with emotions, thinking to herself: There are couples in this world who are extremely loving, but after one of them dies, the other mourns and remembers them, and will never remarry again; there are also couples whose love is average or even cold, and after one of them dies, the other can remarry after observing the time stipulated by etiquette.
But whether to abide by it or not should be a personal choice and should not be forced.
Guo Honglei said in a deep voice, "To preserve Big Brother's dignity and Yu'er's reputation, we'll keep the truth to ourselves and use the story we agreed upon back then: The mother-in-law was kind and couldn't bear to see her daughter-in-law widowed at such a young age, so she took the initiative to let her return to her parents' home and allow her to remarry."
"Anyway, this news has already spread, and my uncle and the others all know about it. It's not strange to take action now." Guo Hongxuan said cautiously.
In front of his stepmother, Guo Hongzhe was afraid of making mistakes, so he kept quiet and agreed, "Yes."
Wang gnashed her teeth, slapped her pillow in anger, and angrily said, "We are not unreasonable people. We never meant to force Qiaozhen to remain a widow! Back then, after the mourning period was over, I asked Yushu in person: 'Zhen girl, Hongyao's accident has caused you so much suffering. You are still young, and it is up to you whether to remain a chaste woman or not. If you do, the Guo family will never treat you unfairly. If you don't want to, that's fine too. Your aunt will give you a dowry. While you are still young, find another husband.'"
"At that time, she answered in person: 'I have suffered for several years and was almost exhausted. I don't have the mind to think about other things. I just want to take care of you and Yu'er, and let them live in peace and rest.' When my mother-in-law heard this, how could I not agree? I immediately promised: 'Okay! You can rest. If you change your mind one day, let me know and I will help you arrange it then.'" Wang was extremely sad and disappointed, tears streaming down her face. She turned her head and asked:
"Yushu, tell me, did I have any intention of forcing her to remain a widow back then?"
Jiang Yushu quickly shook her head, "No! I remember it clearly, you did say that, it was very reasonable, sister-in-law -"
"Change your name! You forgot again." Wang was very unhappy.
Jiang Yushu came back to her senses. "Sorry. I'm used to calling you that. I can't change it anytime soon."
"Humph, she's refusing to follow the bright and clear path, sneaking around and willingly committing such shameful and disgraceful acts. She's not worthy of being your 'sister-in-law' at all!"
Wang was filled with rage, her face darkening as she spoke, "Back then, considering her father was my brother, I couldn't bear to see her widowed at such a young age, so I allowed her to make her choice. I was quite generous. Who could have imagined that she would have the audacity to... Alas!"
Guo Honglei comforted her, "Things have come to this point, there's no point saying anything. I hope mother can let it go. My third and fourth brothers and I have drafted a letter of divorce, please take a look at it." After saying that, he glanced at his fourth brother. Guo Hongxuan understood, lowered his head, pulled out the document from his sleeve, and quickly handed it to his mother.
"Oh? Let me take a look." Jiang Yushu handed over the handkerchief. Wang wiped her tears and squinted her eyes to examine it for a moment. Finally, tears began to flow again. She instructed, "Okay, write it like this. Pick a date and find a reason to spread the news. The Guo family has done their utmost for Qiaozhen."
The three brothers nodded at the same time, "Yes."
Jiang Yushu pondered for a long time and asked softly, "Sister-in-law, Sister Zhen is about to give birth. When that happens, what should we do with the child? She's at the frontier, and besides us, she has no other relatives. If we don't help, she lacks the ability to make a living and may not survive."
"She's just a bastard. Let her handle it herself! Also, give her some silver. Send her away immediately!" Wang gritted her teeth and hardened her heart. "As for Yu'er, I will try to coax him."
Jiang Yushu was silent for a moment, then slowly replied, "Okay, I'll see to it."
"While my sister-in-law and cousin are certainly at fault, the real culprit is that beast who deliberately seduced her!" Guo Hongxuan clenched his fists, seething with anger. He asked expectantly, "Brother, have you found out anything? Can you catch the mastermind behind this?"
Guo Honglei calmly replied, "We're interrogating them and searching them. It's no use just arresting Chen Xijin; he's just a pawn. After we catch Qian Laoliu, we're probably still going to have accomplices. We have to track him down step by step."
"Investigate! Get to the bottom of it! Humph, I want to see who's behind this. What deep-seated grudge does he have against the Guo family? Why would he be so vicious and scheme so deliberately to seduce Qiaozhen?" Wang was furious and apprehensive. "Once we find out, we must punish them severely. Otherwise, who knows if they'll continue to harm others?"
Guo Honglei comforted her, "Don't worry, mother. How could I be careless? Even if the mastermind escapes to the ends of the earth, we will try to capture him and prevent future troubles."
"Okay, okay." Wang was old and had little energy. She leaned tiredly on the pillow, unable to think.
The family discussed the matter until late at night.
After several younger generations persuaded Wang to go to bed, they left the main room together.
In the hot summer, the night sky is full of twinkling stars and the flowers and trees in the courtyard are lush.
Jiang Yushu spoke bluntly and whispered, "Put the divorce letter aside for now. Wait until my cousin gives birth to the child, no, wait until the child is a month old, and then give it to her. She's in a trance, very weak, and skinny. She can't stand any stimulation. If she collapses... It's not good. After all, she's Yu'er's mother. What do you think?"
"Things have come to this point, and there's no more than three or two months left. Let's do as you wish." Guo Honglei agreed.
Guo Hongzhe and Guo Hongxuan also had no objection, "Second sister-in-law is right."
Late at night, Heqin County was completely silent.
The next moment, a dog barking suddenly sounded nearby. Not long after, the door of the mansion opened and hurried footsteps came closer and closer.
Guo Hongxuan looked around in confusion, "Who is it, late at night?"
Immediately, two trusted aides arrived, their faces beaming with joy as they whispered, "Sir, we've captured Qian Laoliu! He had fled to Qinzhou and remained hidden for over six months, mistakenly believing no one was pursuing him. Last month, he slipped back to Heqin to visit his lover. We've already had Chen Xijin identify him, and there's no doubt he was the one behind the fraud!"
"Okay!" Guo Honglei was shocked.
Guo Hongxuan waved his fist, "God has eyes, and we've caught another one! Hurry up and interrogate him, and find out the mastermind behind this as soon as possible. The other party is in the dark, and we are in the open. If we don't investigate thoroughly, we will probably be plotted against again."
Jiang Yushu breathed a sigh of relief. "As expected, justice is clear, and evil will be punished!"
However, things are unpredictable, and one crisis after another arises.
Before Qian Laoliu could reveal the mastermind behind the incident, Wang Qiaozhen got into trouble.
That evening, a maid who lived quietly in the suburbs of the county and was responsible for taking care of Wang Qiaozhen returned home, anxious and reported:
"Last night, around midnight, Madam suddenly started labor—" The maid saw Wang's face grow long and hurriedly changed her address. "She was weak, but the baby was large. It was a difficult, difficult birth, and it took too long. As a result, the baby was suffocated and didn't cry or breathe when he was born. It was a stillbirth."
Jiang Yushu was shocked. "What?"
"Dead, stillbirth?" Guo Hongzhe and Guo Hongxuan were dumbfounded.
Wang's face was expressionless. "It's God's will. Bastard, you deserve to die."
Guo Honglei frowned and asked unhappily, "Something happened over there. Why did you just come back to report it now?"
The maid looked at Wang timidly and stammered.
Wang said in a calm tone, "She reported it early this morning, and I made the decision. I gave her some old ginseng and told her to take it back. I've done my best."
Guo Honglei hesitated to speak, and Jiang Yushu leaned over and asked, "You're so flustered, is there something else going on?"
"There's one more thing." The maid trembled, not daring to breathe, and whispered, "She found out it was a stillbirth. She cried and coughed, and the bleeding wouldn't stop. The midwife couldn't do anything, Doctor Fang couldn't do anything, and we servants were even more helpless... The midwife was vague, but Doctor Fang was clear: the situation is critical, I'm afraid she won't make it."
"So, she told me to go back to the mansion and tell the old lady and the second master: Before she dies, she wants to see her son one last time, and she begs you to grant her wish."
Before the younger generation could even open their mouths, Wang flatly refused: "Don't even think about it!"
"When she did that shameful thing, she completely forgot about Yu'er. Now she's thinking about her son? It's too late!"
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