Chapter 366 Past Life: Letter of Divorce
"There are gods watching over you, you're not allowed to talk nonsense!"
Sheng An, her previous aggrieved expression gone, covered the man's mouth, clearly displeased: "You said before that you would pass the imperial examination, get an official title for me, and let me live a good life."
Xu Jinnian took her hand, held it in his palm, and gently stroked it, feeling the roughness of her palm. His throat became dry without him realizing it: "Yes, I keep my word and will never break my promise to my wife!"
Sheng An snorted, barely satisfied with his attitude: "Alright, you should study properly. I'll go to the kitchen and stew the fish I bought today. Eat more tonight to nourish your brain."
A smile appeared on Xu Jinnian's face as he took her hand and stood up: "Your eyes are tired from reading all afternoon, let's make dinner together."
Sheng An did not refuse and happily followed him to the kitchen.
Regardless of what outsiders might speculate, the young couple is an enviable couple among their neighbors.
However, his good fortune was short-lived. As soon as winter began, Xu Chenglin's condition deteriorated rapidly, and he eventually passed away due to incurable diseases.
With his only son having found a wife to spend his life with, the old man had no worries and passed away peacefully with a smile on his face.
According to custom, one must observe a three-year mourning period after the death of both parents.
In reality, even if it was a whole year back then, the actual period of mourning was two years and one month.
Therefore, Xu Jinnian's mourning period for Xu Chenglin would not affect his participation in the provincial examination three years later.
During the mourning period, the couple were forbidden from eating meat and from having sexual relations.
As a result, Sheng An had no children to rely on, leading Liu Huazhi and others in the village, who were eager to see her suffer, to believe that she would soon be ruthlessly kicked out of Xu Jinnian's home.
However, they waited and waited, until Xu Jinnian finished her mourning period, until Xu Jinnian passed the imperial examination with top honors, and until Sheng An held a grand banquet to celebrate her triumph, but they still couldn't wait for her to be kicked out of the Xu family.
Liu Huazhi was furious. She ran to the snack shop and lashed out at Sheng An, accusing her of being unworthy to stand by Xu Jinnian's side and demanding that she step down and give way to a more capable person, so as not to ruin Xu Jinnian's promising future.
These mindless and shameless remarks opened the eyes of the diners, who all thought this woman was mentally unstable.
Finally, Liu Huazhi was chased back to the village by the shop's helper with a large broom, and at the village entrance, she recounted what she had done in front of the villagers.
In no time, Liu Huazhi's reputation was ruined.
Peng Chunlan couldn't afford to offend Sheng An, and worried that Liu Huazhi would do something foolish again and bring trouble to the family, so she quickly arranged a marriage for her.
Liu Huazhi, filled with resentment, was having a terrible time. Not only was she frequently beaten by her husband, but she also had to work like a slave in her husband's family, with endless chores to do every day.
In just six months, she was worn down to a state of being unrecognizable, and looked several years older than her mother, Peng Chunlan.
Harboring resentment towards Sheng An, Liu Huazhi struggled and persevered in the mire, hoping that one day Sheng An would be abandoned by Xu Jinnian and fall to a worse state than her.
She waited and waited, and finally the good news arrived!
Xu Jinnian won the title of Tan Hua in the imperial examination, but instead of returning to Qingzhou, he sent a letter of divorce from afar, divorcing Sheng An, his wife who had accompanied him through the most difficult years!
"Hahaha, I won, I won, hahaha—"
Liu Huazhi acted as if she had gone mad, shouting and yelling all over the yard. Her husband slapped her hard several times, until her mouth bled and her teeth fell out, but she couldn't control her excitement.
When Sheng An received the letter of divorce, her first reaction was disbelief!
Upon opening the envelope and seeing the familiar handwriting, her mind went blank, and she instantly lost all reaction.
After sitting there for an unknown amount of time, Sheng An gradually regained control of his body and carefully read the contents of the letter of divorce word by word, as if trying to find some clues.
The day after she married into the Xu family, Xu Jinnian began teaching her to read and write.
Sheng'an is very smart. Over the years, he has been able to read and write most of the characters.
Upon seeing the end of the divorce papers, her gaze fixed on the very last word.
"No, the last stroke doesn't have a hook, this wasn't written by my husband!"
Sheng An was so excited that she cried and laughed at the same time, tears streaming down her face like broken beads: "Something must have happened to my husband. I have to go to the capital to find him. I want to see him safe and sound..."
What outsiders don't know is that Xu Jinnian has a habit when writing: he adds an inconspicuous little hook to the last character he writes.
Besides Master Jiang, only Sheng An discovered this.
No matter how perfectly the handwriting was imitated by the person who forged the letter of divorce, they could never have known Xu Jinnian's habit.
Despite her worries about Xu Jinnian's safety, Sheng An did not lose her composure and travel to the capital alone.
She first brought a letter of divorce to the Jiang residence, hoping to obtain useful information and help from Master Jiang.
Unfortunately, Madam Jiang suddenly fell ill, and her illness was quite serious. Master Jiang took her to another place for medical treatment the day before yesterday, and their return date is uncertain.
Sheng An had no time to wait and hurriedly went to the Zhang family to express his concerns to Xu Cuilian.
Xu Cuilian was extremely anxious and, without saying a word, immediately asked Zhang Daikui to accompany her to the capital to find someone.
At this time, Zhang Daikui had already married Zhang Zhaodi, and their second son had been born.
After hearing the whole story, Zhang Zhaodi agreed without hesitation to let Zhang Daikui accompany Sheng An to the capital. She even took out five taels of silver from her savings and gave it to Sheng An to take with her on the way.
The journey to the capital was long and arduous, and it was not safe for just two people to travel. So, Sheng An shamelessly went to the Fang and Ye families to borrow people, managing to get four guards in total.
It wasn't that she was unwilling to spend money to hire a security escort agency; it was simply that the cost was too high for her to afford.
And so, the group of six drove two horse-drawn carriages day and night toward the capital.
Sheng An was unaware that on the very night she set off, several assassins sneaked into Huai Shu Village under cover of darkness, brutally murdered her sleeping grandparents, and set the village on fire before leaving.
Watching the raging fire, the leader of the assassins sneered: "Hmph, daring to snatch the person the princess has her eye on first, you overestimate yourself!"
Sheng An was unaware of the gravity of the situation, unaware that the moment the letter of divorce was handed to her, someone had already sealed her fate.
Even if she hadn't discovered the flaws in the letter of divorce, she wouldn't have survived.
The person who set up the conspiracy did not expect Sheng An to react so quickly. Not only did he discover that the letter of divorce was forged immediately, but he was also bold enough to go to the capital to find someone himself.
Before the assassins could even make a move, she had already left Qingzhou.
When the assassins discovered this, they immediately gave chase at full speed.
There are official roads and side roads leading to the capital.
Sheng An was unfamiliar with the road conditions, but the guards from the Fang and Ye families knew them very well and devised the best route for him.
That's why the assassins couldn't catch up with them for a while.
On the sixth day, in a narrow valley, Sheng An and his group encountered the assassins by chance.
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