Chapter 246 Resolute
Jiang Hongsheng looked down at the woman he had personally chosen for Jiang Lihui. She was a pretty, slender woman kneeling there, exuding a resolute and unwavering spirit. He frowned at her for a moment, then said, "Let's go inside and talk."
He strode towards the study, and Jing Miaojun stood up, clenched her fist, and followed him in. Once inside, she saw Jiang Hongsheng sitting in the main armchair, his brows furrowed tightly, clearly in a very bad mood.
Jing Miaojun bowed to him and said, "Miaojun wishes to divorce; I hope you will grant her permission."
Jiang Hongsheng did not answer her question, but waved for her to sit down, and then said, "I know that what Li Hui did this time really embarrassed you and... hurt your feelings. I understand that you are angry, but you can't act impulsively."
“This is not a decision I made on impulse,” Jing Miaojun said calmly. “Marrying into the Jiang family is a step up for me, but I did not actively seek this marriage.”
Jiang Hongsheng frowned and nodded. Jing Miaojun's father, Jing Mingxi, was a teacher at the Imperial Academy. He was highly learned and his teaching methods were very effective. Many powerful and influential people in the capital wanted to send their children to study under Jing Mingxi. Because Jiang Hongsheng's father and Jing Mingxi's father were close friends, the two families had some contact.
Because of this connection, Jiang Hongsheng sent his son, Jiang Lihui, who was of average talent, to study under Jing Mingxi. Knowing what kind of person his son was, and learning that Jing Mingxi had a daughter who was well-educated, reasonable, and resolute, Jiang Hongsheng decided to propose marriage.
He believed that with the current strength of the Jiang family, arranging a marriage between Jiang Lihui and his family would only be icing on the cake. He was grooming Jiang Lihui as his heir, so Jiang Lihui's wife could come from a humble background, but she had to complement Jiang Lihui's personality.
When he proposed, Jing Mingxi hesitated. Marrying up might benefit her family, but it wasn't necessarily good for her. Marrying up meant losing her independence and wouldn't be comfortable in her husband's family. However, Jing Miaojun agreed.
Jing Miaojun was born to Jing Mingxi's deceased first wife. After Jing Mingxi remarried, Jing Miaojun's life was not good, and she wanted to use marriage to escape that family. So the marriage was arranged.
After Jing Miaojun married Jiang Lihui, she did have some influence on him, and for a time Jiang Lihui became more motivated. However, last year, Jing Miaojun became pregnant but suffered a miscarriage due to the actions of one of Jiang Lihui's concubines. Jing Miaojun seemed to have completely lost faith in Jiang Lihui and stopped caring about him.
“I know your purpose in having me marry him, and after the marriage, I tried my best to please you and guide him onto the right path. But now it seems that I haven't done enough, or rather, I have failed miserably. Therefore, I request a divorce.”
Jing Miaojun spoke each word very seriously, which shows that she had thought about the divorce very carefully.
Jiang Hongsheng frowned and remained silent for a while before saying, "When I proposed to you, I did have the idea of having you guide Li Hui onto the right path, but in the years since you entered our family, I've long considered you part of the family. Child, how will you, a woman, live after a divorce?"
Since Jing Miaojun had thought things through carefully, she had naturally made plans for her future. She said, "I can't go back to my parents' home, but I have two shops and a hundred acres of fertile land. Although these can't make me rich, they can still make a living."
She stood up, knelt down in front of Jiang Hongsheng, kowtowed and said, "I hope you will consider that I have tried my best and let me leave the mansion."
Jiang Hongsheng looked down at her kneeling prostrate before him, and even his hardened heart softened at this moment. However, he still said, "Such a big matter as divorce should be discussed with your father."
“You should know my temperament; my father can’t change my mind,” Jing Miaojun said.
Jiang Hongsheng remained silent. Although he intended to abandon his plan to raise Jiang Lihui's illegitimate son, he didn't want Jiang Lihui to be completely ruined. Having his daughter-in-law there to offer advice was always a good thing.
"I'll make him apologize to you, make him promise he'll never do such a despicable thing again, make him..."
“If you don’t agree, I will take the divorce papers to the yamen,” Jing Miaojun said resolutely.
In the Great Gan Dynasty, if a married couple wishes to divorce, they can negotiate and sign a divorce agreement themselves, and then register it at the government office. If one party wants a divorce while the other does not, the party wishing to divorce can take the divorce agreement to the government office, explain the reasons for wanting a divorce, and the government will decide whether or not the divorce is granted.
If Jing Miaojun were to take the divorce papers to the yamen, would Jiang Hongsheng be able to bear the shame? Of course not, and Jing Miaojun was using this to threaten him.
Jiang Hongsheng's face darkened further, but he also knew that Jing Miaojun was opinionated and very resolute, and once she made a decision, it would be difficult to reverse it.
“Okay, I agree,” Jiang Hongsheng said.
"Thank you so much, Miaojun." Jing Miaojun kowtowed to Jiang Hongsheng again.
Jiang Hongsheng waved for her to stand up, then ordered someone to call Jiang Lihui over to sign the divorce papers. When Jiang Lihui saw the divorce papers, he was completely stunned. He looked at Jing Miaojun and said, "You...you actually want a divorce?"
Jing Miaojun pushed the divorce papers in front of him as a response. Seeing this, Jiang Lihui became even angrier. He said, "How will you live after the divorce? Do you think all women are like Jiang Yu, able to thrive after a divorce? Jiang Yu has the entire Chu State Duke's mansion as her backing. What do you have? Do you think your stepmother will let you come home after the divorce? You…"
“You don’t need to worry about any of this,” Jing Miaojun said resolutely. “Just sign it quickly.”
“I won’t sign,” Jiang Lihui said, throwing the pen in front of him to the ground. His eyes were bloodshot. “Jing Miaojun, you were born a member of the Jiang family, and you will die a ghost of the Jiang family. You can’t get a divorce.”
Jing Miaojun ignored his madness and looked at Jiang Hongsheng instead. Jiang Hongsheng closed his eyes, then picked up a pen and wrote Jiang Lihui's name. He then grabbed Jiang Lihui's hand, pressed it with ink, and then pressed it onto the divorce agreement.
Jing Miaojun picked up the divorce papers, bowed deeply to Jiang Hongsheng, and then strode out.
"Jing Miaojun, you can't leave." Jiang Lihui rushed over to grab Jing Miaojun, but Jiang Hongsheng held her back tightly. "Why did you do this in the first place? If you didn't want her to leave, why didn't you treat her well back then? Did you think that because your family background is higher than hers, you could always be superior to her and that she would never leave you?"
Jiang Lihui collapsed to the ground and wept bitterly. He knew all too well that Jing Miaojun had wanted to live a good life with him and was genuinely good to him. However, he had always looked down on Jing Miaojun's family background and felt that she should bow down to him.
However, he did not expect Jing Miaojun to be so resolute. In fact, he had just said that if she stayed, he would change and live a good life with her in the future.
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