Chapter 167 The Scholarly Family is All About Action, Martial Arts...
"Your Highness is joking. Yunzhao and his wife have been deeply in love since their marriage, and they are about to have a child. How can there be talk of such a life-long event?"
Pei Xian patiently dealt with Prince Gong until Madam Ma stepped down from the second carriage and walked over arrogantly. Only then did his expression change naturally. "Why are you here again? Wasn't I clear enough last time?"
"My lord, this is the Xie family's sincerity." Madam Ma, confident in having Prince Gong's backing, said righteously, "Prince Gong is Prince Pei's maternal uncle, shouldn't you listen to his words?"
Pei Xian seemed to understand the purpose of Prince Gong's visit. Without saying a word, he turned and strode into the mansion.
"In that case, let's talk in my mother's courtyard."
Prince Gong followed at a leisurely pace, even having time to chat with Madam Ma: "Marriage is a major event that should be decided by the elders, and it is only right to pay respects to the Grand Madam."
The last time he saw Madam Pei was more than a decade ago. In his memory, she was an ignorant old woman who loved to put on airs and bullied the weak. When his sister was alive, she didn't dare to act like a mother-in-law. But after Pei Xianxu married a woman from a less prestigious family, she started to act arrogantly and domineeringly in the backyard all day long.
Prince Gong was very confident that this kind of old lady was the easiest to deal with. She had always doted on Pei Jingyi, her eldest grandson. As long as he told her that he could find a younger, prettier, and more noble young lady for his nephew, wouldn't she clap her hands and agree with both hands?
Soon, the group arrived at Songhe Hall.
A short while later, Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai also arrived, sitting on either side of him with reluctance.
Prince Gong feigned greetings to the Dowager Lady, then explained his purpose, even producing a letter in the handwriting of Princess Qinghe as proof.
Pei Xian probed calmly: "Yun Zhao and Miss Zhou were betrothed by His Majesty. She has been married into the Marquis's mansion for three years without any mistakes. May I ask how Your Highness intends to resolve this issue?"
Upon hearing his question, Prince Gong assumed that Pei Xian was interested and hurriedly replied, "Leave this matter to me. I will go to the palace and explain it to my brother. My brother has always loved Qinghe and grieved for her early death. He will certainly not refuse."
He snorted, completely unconcerned, and said, "What's a mere Zhou family? Yunzhao, quickly write her a divorce agreement and send her home!"
“Mrs. Ma, I thought I made myself very clear last time.”
Pei Jingyi's patience had reached its limit. His gaze darkened, and he spoke bluntly: "What does it matter to me if Miss Xie is a fairy descended from heaven? You have repeatedly come to provoke me and sabotage my marriage. Is this what the Xie family calls noble character? I think you are nothing but a bunch of scheming and despicable people!"
"you--"
"Yunzhao, how dare you be so rude!" Prince Gong slammed his hand on the table and stood up, reprimanding him with a stern face: "I am your maternal uncle, and I should naturally make the decision regarding your marriage. How can you face your mother's spirit in heaven like this?"
Pei Jingyi retorted without hesitation, "His Majesty is also my uncle. He bestowed this marriage upon me, so naturally I must obey him. Why don't you go to the palace to ask him to rescind his decree, instead of coming to the Pei family to force me?"
Prince Gong was speechless, his eyes darting around, and he shouted, "Where is Zhou Shi? Tell her to come out and see me! The husband is the head of the household, if she is truly virtuous and filial, she should consider her husband's future and ask to be divorced!"
"Is Your Highness looking for me?"
Yan Yi, with one hand supporting her lower back, calmly pushed open the door and entered.
Prince Gong's gaze fell on her already showing belly, and for a moment he felt uncomfortable, then he clenched his fists tightly.
“Zhou, you know why I’ve come here today. I advise you to be sensible.”
Yan Yi smiled faintly, her gaze towards Pei Jingyi filled with a hint of sadness and reluctance, which then turned into indifference.
"Then let's get a divorce."
Pei Jingyi's face turned deathly pale instantly. Even though he knew Yan Yi was faking it, his heart felt like it was being squeezed tightly, the pain making it hard to breathe. He staggered back two steps, the veins on the back of his hand, which was supporting him on the coffee table, bulging and trembling slightly.
"That's right, a divorce!"
Shen Lingyue chased into the room, helped Yan Yi up, and angrily shouted at everyone in the room: "Fine, fine, so this is the good family that His Majesty carefully selected for us! Today you all dislike my sister-in-law because of her low birth and want to force her to leave. If my father is demoted in the future, will I suffer the same fate? Since that's the case, I don't need you to kick her out. I'll leave on my own!"
Pei Jinghuai jumped up and shouted, "No way! I don't have that nosy, meddlesome uncle with sores on his head and pus on his feet. Who said we're kicking you out?"
"I won't listen! I won't listen!" Shen Lingyue perfectly portrayed the spoiled and arrogant behavior of a young lady from an official family, stomping her foot hard. "Pei Jinghuai, we're finished! I'm going to divorce you first!"
After speaking, he helped Yan Yi and left quickly, so fast that even Prince Gong, who had prepared a whole bunch of drafts, didn't have time to react.
Is it really that easy?
He looked at Madam Ma incredulously: "Then how did you get kicked out last time?"
Madam Ma was also stunned as she watched Yan Yi's receding figure.
Did she just agree to a divorce so readily?
"Pei Jingyi, give me back my wife!"
Pei Jinghuai yelled and rushed forward, grabbing Pei Jingyi by the collar. He gritted his teeth and cursed, "You can't even keep your own wife, and now my wife has run away too! I'm not finished with you!"
The two brothers started fighting, from inside the house to outside, smashing things all over the place.
Bang!
It's unclear whose punch went astray, but the pestle struck Prince Gong squarely in the chest.
Bang!
Prince Gong got kicked in the buttocks again and fell flat on his face.
He scrambled to the corner of the room, clutching his head and yelling, "What's going on? Huh? You guys should at least watch your fight!"
"Stop hitting him, stop hitting him."
Pei Xian wanted to step in and break up the fight, but the two brothers were fighting so fiercely that he couldn't get involved.
Just then, Pei Yuzhen screamed from behind, "Brother, something terrible has happened! Mother has fainted from anger!"
"ah?!"
Prince Gong, lying on the ground, struggled to turn his head and saw that the Dowager Lady's face was flushed, she was making hoarse noises, her hands were clenched into chicken claws, she was trembling incessantly in Pei Yuzhen's arms, and there was suspicious white foam at the corner of her mouth.
"Mother, Mother, what's wrong? Someone, quickly go and fetch a doctor!"
Pei Xian and Meng Wanyin rushed over, shouting loudly and softly, causing chaos in the room.
Pei Yuzhen darted to Madam Ma, pulled her out from behind the flower stand, and slapped her hard across the face several times.
"You worthless bastard who talks big but doesn't deliver a copious message! If anything happens to my mother, I'll make you pay with your life!"
Madam Ma was stunned by the scene and had no intention of resisting. Pei Yuzhen seized the opportunity to scratch and kick her, ruining her makeup and making her hair a mess, leaving her in a very disheveled state.
Screams, cries, and sounds of fighting filled the room. Prince Gong, having been punched and kicked several times, was terrified and scrambled out of the room.
What kind of nonsense is this?! He just wanted to help Yunzhao find a new wife.
Pei Xian wiped away his tears and wailed, shouting at the fleeing figure of Prince Gong.
"The Pei family has been thrown into chaos. Is Your Highness satisfied now? What marriage alliance? I think it's more like making enemies! Let's all meet at the Censorate!"
Pei Yuzhen was also going all out, grabbing Madam Ma by the collar and dragging her out the door, pointing at the servants and shouting, "Throw her out! If she dares to come back again, I'll break her legs!"
Madam Ma, her face covered in snot and tears, staggered as she caught up with Prince Gong.
"Your Highness, wait for me, wait for me..."
The two fled for their lives to the gate of the Marquis's mansion, just in time to see Shen Lingyue and Yan Yi leaving in a carriage.
Shen Lingyue, clutching her delicate bundle, pinched her thigh hard to stifle her laughter, then spat at Prince Gong and Madam Ma.
"You snobbish bastard, I'm not putting up with this anymore, get out!"
The carriage rumbled away into the distance, and Shen Lingyue crawled into the carriage, finally unable to hold back her laughter as she clutched her stomach.
"Hahaha, Yan Yan, you didn't see how badly Prince Gong and Madam Ma were beaten... Everyone really went all out, hahaha! This is truly the biggest spectacle I've ever put together!"
She laughed so hard her cheeks almost cramped, rubbed her face vigorously, and stretched. "Alright, let's go hide at my dowry estate for a few days and wait for my older brother to come and beg you to come home, okay?"
She winked at Yan Yi.
Yan Yi forced a smile and responded softly.
Shen Lingyue realized that Yan Yan was in a bad mood and became nervous. "What's wrong, Yan Yan? Didn't we agree that it was all just acting?"
“I know, I just…” Yan Yi lowered her eyes, carefully choosing her words, and after a long while, she whispered, “I just didn’t expect that I cared about him more than I thought.”
Even though she knew it was all an act for Prince Gong, when she tried to imagine herself heartbroken and wanting to divorce Pei Jingyi, her heart ached unbearably.
And the look of shock and hurt on Pei Jingyi's face when she uttered those three words was as if it were branded into her mind, playing on repeat in disbelief.
"Thank goodness it was just a lie," Yan Yi murmured unconsciously. "If he really changes his mind one day, how can I possibly part ways amicably?"
"Pah, pah, pah! Don't say such discouraging things!" Shen Lingyue hurriedly covered her mouth, pointing to the sky and swearing, "Pei Jingyi is obviously an incurable love-struck fool. You're the only one in his eyes, heart, and mind. He'd never change his mind even if he died!"
Yan Yi: ...You promised not to say anything discouraging?
However, she was still amused and nodded gently, "Okay, I believe you, and I believe him too."
...
Songhe Hall.
The old lady opened one eye and asked softly, "Have they all been chased away?"
Pei Xian nodded, and together with Meng Wanyin, helped her up. He said with lingering fear, "You acted so realistically just now, it gave me quite a fright."
The old lady picked up her teacup to moisten her throat, and waved her hand with a smug look on her face. "Anyone can pretend to be sick. If Prince Gong dares to come to the door again, I'll just lie down on the ground and deny it until he dies."
"I don't think he'll dare to do it again," Meng Wanyin whispered. "Yunzhao and Huaizhou took advantage of the chaos to hit him quite a bit, and his legs are crippled."
The old lady then realized that her two eldest grandsons were still fighting outside, so she quickly called them in.
Pei Jingyi and Pei Jinghuai came in looking disheveled, both with bruises on their faces, indicating they were seriously injured.
"Hey, didn't you say it was just going to be a show? Why are you actually starting to fight?"
The old lady was heartbroken and immediately asked Qian Mama to fetch the medicine box.
Pei Jinghuai casually wiped the corner of his lips. "What Pei Da said is true. The injury should be on your face. It'll be better if you stand in the palace tomorrow and let everyone see it."
Pei Jingyi glanced at him sideways, "Are you sure you're not taking this opportunity to settle a personal score?"
"Didn't you kick me a few times too?" Pei Jinghuai said angrily. "It's all because of the bad romances you caused, and I got scolded as a result."
Pei Jingyi remained silent with a cold expression.
Yan Yi didn't scold him, but she could easily break down his defenses with just the words "divorce".
Thinking back to how he had sworn he wouldn't believe it last night, Pei Jingyi really wanted to turn back time and slap him twice.
He never wanted to experience her jealousy and anger again, not even if it was just an act.
On the other side, Madam Ma lay in the car crying all the way. When she finally got back to the Xie residence, she was about to go to Xie Mingke to complain when she saw that the maids who should have been guarding outside the room were scattered all over the ground.
Her expression changed instantly. She limped open the door and found the room clean and empty.
"Mingke? Mingke, where did you go?"
Mrs. Ma panicked, and when she looked down, she saw a piece of paper under the teapot on the table. She quickly picked it up.
The wild, cursive script reads, "Your daughter is quite lovely; I gladly accept her."
The signature reads: "A flower thief."
Mrs. Ma's vision went black, and in a fit of rage, she swept the table clean.
At the same time, on the official road outside the north gate of the capital.
Zhou Yanling drove the horse-drawn cart loaded with cloth and cotton, successfully passed the inspection by the guards, and headed north at full speed.
Xie Mingke squeezed his head out with difficulty, pressed it against the car window, and breathed in the fresh air. Under the bright sunlight, he smiled radiantly.
Zhou Yanling held the reins, glanced back briefly, and a slight smile appeared on her lips.
The little titmouse, confined in a gilded cage, can finally fly into the distant sky.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Everyone had a great time acting, except for Yan Yan and Pei Da, who were injured. (The last part is a typo and can be left as is.)
Moon Boy: (Heartbroken) You two might as well just get together and be in love!
//Finally, the copywriting was retrieved [crying emoji] I have to fill the hole I dug myself... I never expected you two to be so lovey-dovey (pointing emoji). What white moonlight, black moonlight, green moonlight, Pei's brain has nothing but his darling wife [sprinkling emoji]
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