She went to court today without telling her parents; otherwise, she would never have escaped the wolf's den of the Xu family.
She proclaimed loudly, "Your Honor, I have the knowledge that my miscarriage was not only confirmed by the servants in my household, but also by the medical records left by the doctor who examined me that day. The seven grounds for divorce are completely fabricated. My husband, Xu, is of mediocre talent but is arrogant and often takes my dowry to indulge in debauchery. Whenever I try to persuade him, he and his mother scold me for not adhering to the virtues of a woman."
Tears welled in Zhu's eyes, revealing that she had been oppressed for a long time and that her emotions had finally erupted today.
"According to the laws of our dynasty, commoners are not allowed to take concubines. Yet he brought a courtesan home and forced me to drink the concubine's tea. Although my family is in business, I still know the four virtues of propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame. I advised him to send the woman away, but she was already pregnant. He was afraid of taking the blame, so he insisted on divorcing me to make room for that prostitute!"
The people were in uproar again.
"My God, Xu Kun is no human being. He's willing to divorce his first wife for a prostitute."
"The most righteous are often the lowly butchers, while the most ungrateful are often the scholars. This saying is so true."
"No wonder Zhu took this to court. This mother and son are heartless and deserve to be drowned in a pig cage."
"Yes, drown them in a pig cage."
As the people talked, they became increasingly indignant, their words sharp as knives, wishing they could tear Xu and her son to pieces.
Grandma Xu originally thought that as an elder, she could keep Zhu, that taciturn woman, in check. But she never expected things to develop to this point, and she was a little flustered.
Even the coward Xu Kun was terrified, his face turning red with fear. "You're lying!"
Zhu sneered and pulled out a contract from her bosom. "Sir, this is the woman's indenture."
Grandma Xu stared wide-eyed at her son.
How could such an important thing be stolen by the Zhu family?
Xu Kun was also extremely panicked.
"It's fake, it's fake."
He made a move to grab it, but suddenly his body lunged forward and he fell flat on his face.
The people were taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter.
Old Mrs. Xu could no longer care about accusing Zhu, and hurriedly went to help her son.
Jiang Shumiao turned to look at Wen Zhixuan, who had appeared beside her at some point. It was he who had used magic to make Xu Kun fall over.
Wen Zhixuan communicated with her using his divine sense.
Is the princess going to confront and punish Wen?
Jiang Shumiao had warned him many times not to use magic to harm people again.
But he felt that Xu Kun was worse than a beast and didn't deserve to be called a human being.
Coincidentally, Jiang Shumiao felt the same way.
【well done. 】
Wen Zhixuan lowered his eyes, a faint smile curving his lips.
The evidence was now in Zheng Han's hands, and he was furious. "How dare you! Xu Kun, you actually dared to patronize prostitutes!"
Xu Kun knocked out a front tooth, but ignoring the pain, he quickly knelt on the ground again and protested, "My lord, I am innocent! That vile woman framed me on purpose..."
"The evidence is right here, how dare you try to deny it!"
Zheng Han ignored his sophistry, "You mistreat your wife and conspire with your mother to seize her dowry; it's truly despicable. Guards, give him twenty lashes!"
Xu Kun's face turned deathly pale.
Old Mrs. Xu was even more panicked, "Sir, my son is innocent, Zhu Shi, she..."
"Shut up!"
Zheng Han was already impatient. "I am not blind or deaf, and I can distinguish right from wrong."
Grandma Xu was intimidated by his official authority, and she shrank back, not daring to say a word.
Xu Kun was pressed onto the bench, and the board pounded on him, causing him to scream in pain.
"My lord, spare me! Mother, Mother, save me..."
Old Mrs. Xu tried to rush over, but was stopped by a constable. Tears streamed down her face as she turned around and angrily rebuked Zhu, "That's your husband! A woman's husband is her heaven! How dare you sue your husband and mother-in-law? What family would tolerate such a wicked woman?"
Zhu's face was cold and indifferent; she had long since lost all affection for Xu Kun.
“Even if the world cannot tolerate me, it is better than being humiliated and abused to death by you and your son.”
Grandma Xu was speechless, "You..."
"good."
Zheng Han admired Zhu's decisiveness. He had noticed something was wrong when Xu Kun fell down for no reason and knew that the little goddess was on the side of the aggrieved party. He immediately said, "Since you are no longer on good terms with Xu Kun, I will grant you a divorce and you may take all your dowry with you."
Zhu was overjoyed and quickly kowtowed, saying, "Thank you, Your Excellency, for standing up for me."
Old Mrs. Xu's eyes widened in fury. "Those are my Xu family's things, why should they be awarded to her..."
Zheng Han frowned and scolded, "Xu Kun has been taking prostitutes as concubines and has been unkind to his wife. His eligibility for the imperial examinations is hereby revoked."
This sentence directly ruined Xu Kun's future.
Grandma Xu rolled her eyes and fainted.
After Xu Kun finished receiving the beating, upon hearing the verdict, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and was filled with remorse.
If I had known this would happen, why did I make things difficult for the Zhu family?
The Zhu family is large and influential, with many connections. When they married their daughter to him, wasn't it because they wanted to use him to climb the social ladder? Naturally, they would spend money to help him in the future.
However, she listened to her mother and, for the sake of the child whose gender was still unknown, completely offended Zhu.
He never expected that Zhu, who was always tolerant and reserved, would dare to openly sue him at the yamen.
It's not a divorce, it's a mutual separation.
The generous dowry was also gone.
He also lost his eligibility for scientific expeditions…
It's over, everything is over.
Zhu was overjoyed and returned home.
Zheng Han went to the back room and knelt down in front of Jiang Shumiao with a thud.
"My lord, please forgive me and grant me a word."
Faced with overwhelming power, only by being honest and confessing can one have a glimmer of hope.
Jiang Shumiao didn't tell him to get up.
"Then tell me, why did you possess a mortal's body?"
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