Chapter 267 The Painful Price
Wen Tingkuan hurriedly stepped forward and firmly supported Old Yu, who was swaying slightly.
"Mother-in-law, please sit down and relax."
His expression was calm, with an unquestionable strength.
"Let them kneel. A few days ago, that Luo family lady forced you to kneel in the snow. Did you ever consider whether your nearly 70-year-old body could withstand it? Did you ever consider whether the children could withstand the cold?"
Old Yu was helped by her son-in-law to sit down again, tears in her eyes and full of worry.
"Tingkuan... I've lived to this age, the earth is almost buried up to my neck. Suffering a little humiliation... is nothing. Isn't it said that the Liu family belongs to the Duke Wen's Mansion? And they are the emperor's saviors? If we anger the emperor, what will Shahua do? Quick... quickly invite them in. If there is anything to say, it will be better to talk it out face to face."
"mother!"
Liang Yuhe looked at her mother's worried expression and held her cold hand tightly.
"The injustice you've suffered is nothing in itself. That Liu family daughter bullied you, your brothers and their wives, and our children! My heart aches just thinking about it! Now they're kneeling outside the mansion, it's only their own fault, they're afraid of bringing even greater disaster upon themselves!"
Wen Zhiyan also nodded: "Grandma, you have a kind heart, but not everyone in this world has your kind heart. If I let you go so easily, how can I be worthy of the humiliation you suffered in the snow?"
Several uncles and cousins of the Liang family nodded in agreement.
Everyone discussed it for a while, and finally their eyes fell on Wen Li'er who was silent.
Wen Tingkuan asked, "Li'er, what do you think?"
Wen Li'er sat upright in the chair, thinking about this matter carefully.
After hearing everyone's questions, she was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "My daughter also believes that they are kneeling to plead guilty and to save themselves. Grandmother's grievances should not be in vain."
"But..." Old Yu looked at her granddaughter, hesitant to speak.
Wen Lier smiled at her soothingly and said:
"But we can't really let them kneel down and cause any harm. Duke Wen is even older than my grandmother. If anything goes wrong while kneeling, we in the Wen Mansion will be unforgiving."
Upon hearing this, the others fell silent.
Wen Li'er suggested, "How about... we spread the word that the Wen Mansion, in gratitude to Duke Liu for saving the emperor and sympathizing with Minister Luo's difficult job, invite the two of them and any children under ten in. As for the others, they should continue to kneel with Liu Zixuan. As for how to punish Liu Zixuan herself, we should let the Luo and Liu families decide for themselves. If the punishment satisfies us, there's no need to send them to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office."
Everyone nodded in agreement after hearing what she said.
Wen Zhiyan looked at his sister and smiled. The little girl has become more calm and composed now.
Outside the Wen Mansion.
The biting cold wind blew up snow foam, which hit the faces and bodies of the people kneeling on the ground.
My knees were numb from the cold, and the biting cold penetrated into the bones.
Liu Zixuan and her mother Zhang were almost unable to hold on and were supported by the maids beside them.
The other female members of the family were also kneeling precariously.
They were born into wealth and grew up in pampered condition. They had never experienced such suffering and humiliation before.
At this moment, they all glared at the culprit, Liu Zixuan.
Liu Zixuan was glared at by everyone, and her originally crooked body straightened up again, with her head lowered to look at the snow puddle under her knees.
Thinking about what happened that day, she felt so regretful now.
Liu Bingwen supported his body with one arm, his back was straight, his face was a little pale, and his lips were tightly pursed.
Luo Fuyang's body was trembling slightly under his official robe, and he was extremely anxious and tormented.
The tightly closed door of the Wen Mansion finally creaked and slowly opened from the inside.
Wen Li'er followed her brother to the door, glanced at the people kneeling in front of the door, and waited for her brother to speak.
Wen Zhiyan said, "Grandmother is kind-hearted. She is grateful for Duke Wen's contribution in saving the emperor, and she also sympathizes with Minister Luo's difficult job. I cannot bear to see you two kneeling in the snow for so long. Please get up quickly and come into the mansion for a cup of hot tea."
His voice was clear and powerful, penetrating the cold wind and reaching everyone's ears, as well as the ears of countless onlookers around him.
Wen Li'er instructed Qingmei, Qingzhu and others to bring the children under ten years old into the mansion first.
When the onlookers saw this, they immediately burst into a buzz of discussion, most of whom praised the kindness and fairness of the Wen and Liang families.
Liu Bingwen and Luo Fuyang were invited into the Wen Mansion, while the others continued to kneel.
Luo Shuxian was just half a step behind his father. He heard Wen Zhiyan's voice, but all his senses seemed to be captured the moment Wen Li'er appeared.
He was still kneeling with his back straight, but his eyes were involuntarily fixed on the beautiful figure.
She was not dressed up, and could even be said to be plain.
She wore a moon-white plain brocade jacket and skirt with silver pear blossom patterns, and a smoky mink fur cloak. A circle of snow-white fox fur at the collar made her palm-sized face look even whiter.
She still loved pear blossoms so much that she only wore a pear blossom hairpin made of white jade and inlaid with pearls in her hair, without any other pearls or jade.
A few strands of hair were blown by the cold wind, sticking to the smooth forehead, adding a bit of agility and gentleness.
She just stood there quietly, like a pear blossom quietly blooming on a branch, pure and beautiful, making his heart tighten and tremble.
However, from beginning to end, her gaze never stayed on him for a moment.
Luo Shuxian slowly lowered his eyes, and a barely perceptible, extremely bitter curve appeared on his lips.
Liu Bingwen and Luo Fuyang were led into the flower hall.
As soon as he saw Mrs. Yu, Liu Bingwen bowed deeply.
"Madam Liang, our family is unfortunate to have such a bad boy! I failed to discipline him properly and I feel guilty towards Madam Liang! Don't worry, the Liu family will never condone the bad boy's actions! I came here today to give Madam Liang an explanation!"
Luo Fuyang also kept expressing his opinions.
The Wen and Liang families did not speak ill of these two people.
Only hot tea and cakes were served.
When night fell, he invited the two of them and several young children from both families to have dinner at the Wen Mansion.
Reports came from outside that two women from two families had fainted, two in succession, and Liu Zixuan was one of them.
Wen Tingkuan took charge and ordered Uncle Liu, who had now been promoted to the position of housekeeper, to take a few servants and drive a horse-drawn carriage to take people from both families back to their respective homes.
The gifts brought by the two families were sent back intact, and the Wen family did not keep any of them.
When Liu Shuhe and the servants who had gone to see someone off returned home, they brought back two pieces of news.
The servant originally wanted to send Liu Zixuan back to Luo's house, but he didn't even succeed in entering the Luo family's door. Luo Shuxian sent her back to Duke Wen's house along with the divorce letter.
Liu Zixuan has failed to cultivate the virtues of a woman, is disrespectful to her elders, bullies the weak, harms the innocent, and even offends the Imperial Noble Consort! She has violated many of the Seven Grounds for Divorce!
The Liu family was not surprised at all that the Luo family would give Liu Zixuan a letter of divorce.
But Liu Zixuan herself refused to agree. Her legs and feet were inconvenient, and she kept crying, making a fuss, and even threatening to hang herself.
Duke Wen decided to remove Liu Zixuan from the family tree and sent her to a nunnery overnight.
Green lamp and ancient Buddha, repent your sins!
Divorce! Expel her from the family! Send her to a nunnery!
Liu Zixuan paid a heavy price for her words and actions.
The people from the Wen and Liang families sighed deeply after hearing this, but they didn't linger for too long.
As the night watchman's bell rang at dawn, everyone in the Wen Mansion, who had just made their way to their beds, hurriedly got up and began to prepare for today's wedding ceremony.
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