Chapter 41 "I'm alive, and I'll get a divorce?"...
Upon arriving at the small courtyard where Jiang Liangxu was staying at the government office, the servants carried his belongings inside one after another.
Jiang Heng had already made an excuse to run away halfway there.
Zhao Xian sat down, and before the tea brought by the servants had cooled, someone came to report:
"Master, Madam, the Prefect's wife heard that you have arrived and brought the women of her household to pay her a visit."
Jiang Liangxu frowned slightly, but since it concerned matters of the inner quarters, he looked at Zhao Xian and said, "Would Madam like to see them? If they are too tired, I will have Qin Da send them away and tell them to come another day."
Zhao Xian withdrew her hand from the teacup. "Go ahead and meet them. They came all this way, and besides, when you really think about it, they're the ones in charge."
Jiang Liangxu nodded: "Alright, then I'll handle things in my study."
Since they were all women, Jiang Liangxu avoided them.
"This old woman, Liu Duanshi, along with her daughters-in-law, granddaughters-in-law, and granddaughters, greets Madam Jiang."
The prefect's wife was around fifty years old, dressed in a crimson brocade blouse embroidered with five auspicious symbols and wide sleeves, with a six-auspicious pleated skirt underneath, looking dignified and composed. In her hair, she wore a gold-threaded hairpin with eight auspicious symbols and pearls, with three gold-threaded jade hairpins on each side of her hair bun. On one wrist, she wore a jade bracelet and a coral bracelet, and in the other hand, she held a string of old Buddhist beads and an agate bracelet, looking extremely wealthy.
She arrived surrounded by maids and servants.
Behind him were several women and unmarried girls, each with several servants standing behind them.
The formation was extremely grand.
The reception hall was small, and it was quickly filled with them, making it feel almost overflowing and a bit crowded.
Zhao Xian stood up and returned the greeting.
The prefect's wife introduced Zhao Xian to various people.
It was easy to tell the master and servants apart from their clothes and headdresses. Apart from the prefect's wife, she brought four daughters-in-law, six granddaughters-in-law, and three granddaughters.
Looking at these people, Zhao Xian couldn't help but sigh, "What a large and prosperous family!"
When meeting a younger person, it is customary to give them a gift.
Zhao Xian couldn't tell her generational status for a moment. According to the official positions of the men in each family, she and the prefect's wife should be considered to be of the same generation.
"Peony, go and fetch Golden Lotus, and distribute it to the ladies and young ladies."
Jinlian was inspired by Yu Wang's son and worried that he would use the agate lotus to cause trouble later, since Li Lianniang's name contained the character 'lotus'.
She didn't want to overthink it, but the villain in the book actually used a lotus prop to frame the female protagonist when he teamed up with the female supporting character.
Because she changed the plot, she no longer knew whether it was the agate lotus.
After returning to the Jiang family from Huguo Temple, she ordered that the golden melon seeds and golden peanuts be replaced with golden lotus flowers, and also had people carve lotus flowers made of jade, agate, and coral.
We prepared in advance.
Zhao Xian had come in a hurry, and since she wasn't visiting relatives, she didn't bring anything to give as a gift. If only one or two people came, she would have just taken out some bracelets and hairpins from her person and given them away, but there were too many people.
Even if you remove everything from her body, it won't be enough; she'll still be prone to developing ecchymosis.
The prefect's wife repeatedly tried to dissuade him.
Zhao Xian pointed to the stools: "Madam Prefect, please sit down, everyone please sit down."
After taking a seat, the prefect's wife smiled and said, "I was wondering what kind of wife Lord Jiang, who is so young and promising, must be like. But seeing your beautiful face today, I am amazed. You and Lord Jiang are a perfect match, truly enviable."
"The Prefect's wife is too kind." She needed to learn how to flatter.
The prefect's wife's eldest daughter-in-law chimed in, "This residence in the prefectural government is small. I wonder if Madam Jiang is comfortable with it?"
Zhao Xian hadn't seen any other rooms since arriving at the place, and only vaguely said, "How could that be? It's fine."
The eldest daughter-in-law continued, "To be honest, Madam Jiang, the government office is currently full of people. Although many officials are away on official business, a lot of disaster victims have been temporarily housed in the alley near the back of the government office. It's a bit chaotic there, and I'm worried about it, Mother-in-law."
"That's exactly right. The reason I've come here is to invite Madam Jiang to stay at the Liu family's residence," the prefect's wife explained her purpose.
Zhao Xian refused directly: "Thank you for your kindness, Madam Prefect, but my husband is injured and needs someone to take care of him. How can I leave him?"
Once she gets the divorce papers, she can go find Master Huineng. She won't be staying here for long anyway. It doesn't really matter where she stays, but there are just too many people in the Liu family, so she'd rather not go.
"Madam's concerns are valid." The prefect's wife nodded. She wanted to invite him, but she knew that it was unlikely to succeed.
"By the way, I was worried that you might not be able to sleep well, so I had someone send over some things. I hope you won't find them offensive."
Zhao Xian quickly waved her hand: "No need, no need, I've already brought everything, there's no need to trouble you."
"Yes, madam is a guest, how can she be neglected?"
The items included soft couches, tables, chairs, bedding, etc., all made of the finest wood and fabrics.
The prefect's wife is quite old, and among the younger generation she brought, her granddaughter-in-law and granddaughter are also quite old, about the same age as Cui Tingyue.
The conversation revolved around the younger generation in the inner quarters, and eventually the topic turned to Jiang Wei and Jiang Heng.
"Madam Jiang is so good at raising children. Look at the two young masters. I had the honor of meeting the eldest young master once. He is truly handsome and dignified, worthy of admiration. The young master has a face like jade and is full of talent."
Zhao Xian thought of Jiang Heng, who was tanned from the sun. Was the phrase "face like jade" appropriate?
"The second young master is not yet twenty, is he? He has already made a name for himself in the city guard at such a young age. I wonder if he is married yet?" When the prefect's wife began to introduce her three beautiful granddaughters to Zhao Xian, Zhao Xian realized the purpose of their visit.
They were probably worried she wouldn't be comfortable there, so inviting her to the Liu family was just a pretense.
He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the now lukewarm tea, and said, "My second son is quite unreliable, but he's already engaged. He has a girl in his heart and keeps urging me to propose. I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me for saying this, but I really can't control him; he's very mischievous."
As she spoke, Zhao Xian looked up at the prefect's wife's granddaughters and praised, "The young lady is the best. She is well-behaved, dignified, and gentle. The prefect's wife is much better at raising children than I am."
Hearing her say this, the prefect's wife knew that the two families' children had no chance.
After chatting for a while, the Liu family members got up to say goodbye.
Jiang Liangxu was still working in his study when Zhao Xian went directly to the side room.
He asked Peony to bring paper, pen, and ink, and began to write the divorce agreement.
She didn't have time to prepare this along the way, so she could only write it on the spot.
She spent half a day without putting pen to paper, because she didn't know how to write a divorce agreement and had never seen one before.
"Madam, Qin Dalai asked if we should bring in the items that the Prefect's wife sent?"
"No need, let him go and ask the master if he wants to move to the study." She won't be staying for long, so there's no need to go to that trouble.
When it was time for dinner that evening, Zhao Xian learned that Jiang Liangxu had all those things moved to the government office's storeroom, and had no intention of using them.
After finishing her meal, Zhao Xian hurriedly returned to her room. She was thinking about how to write the divorce papers. After taking a few steps, she turned back to Jiang Liangxu and said, "Husband, please wait a moment before coming in. I have something to tell you in a little while."
Jiang Liangxu noticed that she wasn't paying attention to her meal, but at this moment she seemed to have figured it out and was quite pleased. Seeing her like this, he smiled slightly and nodded: "Alright, I also have something to say to Madam."
When the maid came to invite him, Jiang Liangxu had just finished questioning Uncle Jiang and learned from him about the things Zhao Xian had encountered on her journey to find him.
Qin Da pushed Jiang Liangxu to the door of the side room. Zhao Xian waved for the servants to leave and then pushed him into the inner room.
This was actually Jiang Liangxu's first time visiting the side room.
He had been making do in the study before, but after falling into the water and being rescued, he stayed at the Xu family's house in Xing'an Village.
The interior furnishings are average, and the colors of the cabinets and other items are rather dull.
"Madam, I..."
Just as Jiang Liangxu was about to speak, he said that he had regained his memory and remembered things.
A piece of paper was suddenly placed in front of him. Somewhat puzzled, he reached out, took it, and opened it, only to see the words "Divorce Agreement" on his face.
Jiang Liangxu held the thin piece of paper, and before he could even read the contents carefully, the words "divorce agreement" had already made his mind go blank for a moment.
He looked at Zhao Xian and asked, "What does Madam mean by this?"
Zhao Xian handed over the pen and said, "This is what you promised me before you left Jin'an. If we survived the Changzhou incident, we would divorce and go our separate ways in peace."
"I'm alive, and we're getting a divorce?" Jiang Liangxu thought he had misheard.
Is this appropriate?
Besides, he doesn't remember saying such a thing.
But not knowing why she suddenly wanted a divorce, Jiang Liangxu patiently asked, "Why do we want a divorce?"
Zhao Xian sat down at the table. "Because we've grown tired of each other."
Jiang Liangxu: "...But I didn't feel that way. On the contrary, I was very happy to see you, my wife."
"That's because you've lost your memory, my husband. You don't remember." Zhao Xian continued to lie without blinking. "My husband doesn't need to ask the servants for confirmation. In public, we still act like a loving couple, but in reality, we've been sleeping in separate rooms for a long time."
Jiang Liangxu held the divorce papers in one hand and gently tapped the armrest of the wheelchair with his fist in the other, his gaze fixed on Zhao Xian.
From the moment she handed him the divorce papers, she didn't look at him once; she felt guilty.
I also noticed the subtle movements she made when she was lying.
"Do we have some kind of conflict? If there's anything your wife is unhappy with about me, I'll change it."
Zhao Xian unconsciously clenched her thumb and forefinger. "I can't change it. I only just found out that you have someone else in your heart. You've kept it from me for so many years."
Jiang Liangxu was almost laughing in anger. If he hadn't regained his memory, would he really have started to doubt his feelings for someone else after hearing this?
"Oh, who is that person?"
Zhao Xian pinched herself hard, hurting her thumb and forefinger. She rubbed it as she looked up and glared at her. "Do you have to spell everything out? You have amnesia now, and I don't want things to get too ugly between us. The children are grown up, and the eldest son's wife can manage the household now. I don't care if you have someone else in your heart. Let's get a divorce, and we'll be even."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Liangxu made a move to get up, but failed. He looked at Zhao Xian for help, "Madam, could you please help me?"
Seeing that he was injured and had difficulty even getting up, Zhao Xian felt sorry for him and began to question whether she had gone too far in taking advantage of his amnesia to deceive him.
But then she thought, in order to go home, she had to harden her heart; being selfish was better than dying an unclear death.
Despite thinking this, seeing how much effort Jiang Liangxu was putting in, she still got up and went to help him.
As he reached out his hand, he said, "We've been married for so many years, why would I lie to you like this? If I weren't heartbroken, ah—"
Before she could finish speaking, her wrist was suddenly grabbed and pulled hard, causing her to fall onto Jiang Liangxu's lap.
Before she could react and struggle, Jiang Liangxu grabbed both of her wrists with one hand and held her waist with the other to prevent her from getting up.
Zhao Xian was shocked. He had lied to her. She looked up and met a pair of eyes that were both restrained and filled with suppressed anger.
"I had no idea when I had fallen for someone else, or when I had promised my wife that we would divorce after the Changzhou matter was settled?"
Jiang Liangxu's voice was completely devoid of its usual gentle teasing, and instead had a hint of gritted teeth: "Ah Xian, did I ever teach you that if you're going to make up a reason, you should at least make it sound plausible, with a mix of truth and falsehood?"
Zhao Xian tried to break free, but he held her tightly, and he had already gripped her hands beforehand.
Upon hearing the last sentence, Zhao Xian suddenly realized something was wrong, "You...you haven't lost your memory?"
"I had amnesia, but I remembered everything the moment I saw Madam."
Zhao Xian: "..."
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Author's Note: Sorry, sorry. I'll speed up the plot as soon as possible and get back to the main points of the two books.
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