Upon hearing this, Jin Ming froze, slowly putting down his chopsticks and bowl. "Yes, I heard that too."
A suffocating atmosphere permeated the hall.
Kim Young looked at his father with unease, and Kim Shi also bit her lip tightly, her eyes suddenly turning cold.
"You little brat, I'm talking to you, didn't you hear me...?"
Hongying walked into the hall, cursing and swearing, as she smelled the food.
Then, his face suddenly changed, turning deathly pale, and his forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"My lord, my husband, what's wrong, what's wrong..."
"You didn't die out there, did you?" Jin Ming added with a cold laugh, "Sorry, I was lucky enough to escape with my worthless life, but I couldn't do as you wished."
"No, no," Hongying lowered her head guiltily, "We've been husband and wife, how could I not want you to be well?"
“Stop with the nonsense,” Jin Ming shook his head. “It’s good that you’re back. There are some things that need to be resolved.”
"What's up?"
Upon hearing this, Jin Ming immediately turned his head and said, "Yong'er, go and get the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone."
“Father,” he said cautiously, “this is a very important matter. Perhaps we should wait and think it over carefully?”
"There's no need. I've already thought it through very clearly."
He had already thought things through when he learned of his wife's actions, and decided then and there that even if his children objected, he would divorce this wicked woman.
Now that his children support him, he has even less to worry about.
Upon hearing this, Hongying felt a bad premonition and asked through gritted teeth, "Husband, what do you want to do?"
She had always believed that her husband had died far from home, and never imagined that she would see a living person again.
For a moment, I was a little dazed, and my mind felt completely blank.
"Mother," Jin Yong glanced at his mother with a complicated expression before leaving, "you reap what you sow, don't blame Father!"
“Husband,” Hongying’s unease grew stronger, “What do you need the pen and ink for? Let me get them for you, so Yong’er can rest.”
"I wouldn't dare trouble you. Your hands are precious, they're meant to serve Miss. You mustn't roughen them or scratch her skin."
Hearing these familiar words, Hongying awkwardly curled the corners of her mouth, "Just bring some writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, it won't hurt, it's no big deal."
“Mother didn’t say that before,” Madam Jin said slowly. “You said that Miss’s skin is delicate and that those who serve her should also take care of themselves and not do such rough and heavy work.”
I used to really dislike going home.
Just take good care of yourself at the Jin residence. The work assigned to you isn't heavy. There are a lot of chores waiting for you at home, which is much more tiring than staying at the residence.
“You brat, shut up,” Hongying said, concerned for her son but not for her married daughter. “You have no right to speak in this house.”
"Why can't my daughter speak?" Jin Ming sneered. "You're the one who has no right to speak in this family!"
As he spoke, he urged, "Son, hurry up, don't dawdle."
Jin Yong, who had been dawdling and refusing to come out, finally came out with paper and pen in hand.
After Jin got up and tidied the table, she spread the paper on it. "Father, it's all tidied up. You can start writing now."
If before, Jin still harbored a sliver of reluctance towards her own mother, that reluctance has now completely vanished.
Since her mother entered the house, she has been filled with guilt, but she has not shown any remorse, nor has she inquired about her father's health.
It was obvious that Mother had lost touch with them.
Even towards her two children, she showed little warmth beyond scolding, as if she and her brother were merely tools to be used at any time.
"Father," Jin Yong still wouldn't give up, "Aren't you really going to reconsider?"
As she spoke, she winked at her mother, hoping she would quickly admit her mistake.
Hongying saw her son's actions but remained silent.
As the wet nurse of the second young lady of the Jin family, she held a high position and had heard countless compliments. She knew she was wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to admit it.
Moreover, she felt that with her two children by her side, she had nothing to fear.
However, she forgot one thing: everyone has a bottom line.
With his own fate unknown, Jin Ming could accept his wife's lack of help, but he never intended to rely on a woman.
It is absolutely unforgivable that someone could collude with the host family to protect the murderer, harboring ulterior motives and wanting to die far from home without a proper burial.
After laying out the paper, because of the pent-up emotions in my heart, I quickly wrote down two drafts of the divorce papers that I had been pondering over repeatedly.
After blowing the ink dry, Jinming bit his index finger and pressed it onto the paper.
"Press your fingerprint here, and from now on we'll have nothing to do with each other!"
Hongying took the paper and asked instinctively, "What is this?"
Even though she was the lady's dowry maid, she was illiterate. Madam Jin chose her because she was plain-looking, mediocre, and easy to manipulate.
"Divorce papers!" Jin Ming turned his head, his eyes devoid of any emotion as he looked at his wife. "Since you've started this, don't blame me for doing the next thing!"
Upon hearing this, Hongying released the paper in horror. "Are you crazy? How could you do this?"
She may not care whether her husband lives or dies, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care about being divorced.
If he is divorced, his two children will have nothing to do with him, and he won't have anyone to take care of him in his old age or see him off in his final days.
Even within the mansion, he could no longer hold his head high.
Even being a widow is ten or a hundred times better than being a discarded woman!
"Am I crazy?" Jin Ming scoffed. "You're the one who drove me crazy."
"No," Hongying panicked, "You can't do this! Our marriage was arranged by Madam. How can you explain this to her?"
"Have you forgotten that we were released on a contract of indenture?"
Speaking of this, Jin Ming felt a lingering fear.
If the lady hadn't felt guilty and rushed to silence them by releasing their father-son indenture, who knows how much trouble they would have gotten into.
Sure enough, even the most capable matriarch can only stir up trouble in the backyard; when faced with real problems, she panics and loses her composure.
If you hold onto those indentures tightly, you'll be in an invincible position no matter what happens. At worst, you can just put in some effort to sell them to a broker and send them far away.
Fortunately, this way, it benefited their family.
"So what if they've been released from their contracts?" Hongying sneered. "The Jin family is powerful and wealthy. It's not difficult for them to control two newly released servants. Don't think that just because you're free, you can run around like a monkey."
Jin Ming has already broken off all pretense of civility, and Hong Ying is also going all out; she absolutely cannot be divorced.
They can't afford to lose face, nor can they bear the consequences.
"You little brat, your father has no conscience and you have no conscience either. I raised you all these years, and you can't even say a word in your defense?"
“Mother,” seeing his mother’s unrepentant attitude, Jin Yong pursed his lips and said, “You should still put your fingerprint on it.”
“If you don’t want to leave your fingerprints, that’s fine too,” Jin Mingqiang’s suppressed anger was reignited by Hongying’s words, “Since you don’t want a divorce, then let’s just call it a divorce!”
At least a divorce sounds better, while a letter of divorce implies that the woman has committed a grave mistake.
Since Hongying is being ungrateful, Jinming doesn't want to keep her any longer.
“No, absolutely not,” Hongying retorted excitedly, “I bore your children and managed the household…”
Realizing she had never done housework, she swallowed the rest of her sentence, "You can't be so ungrateful!"
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