After more than a month, the woman finally arrived in the capital with her two children. She first found a cheap inn to stay in, and then asked around for news about her husband Xu Zuguang. Lin Dan kindly suggested: "Your fellow villager said he was wearing a green official robe, so he should be an official of the sixth or seventh rank. You should ask people to find out about this area. Asking people everywhere is not a good idea, and it will easily cause trouble. You can spend a few copper coins and ask the beggars on the street to help you find out. They are the most well-informed."
The woman did not respond, but did it silently. She could feel that Lin Dan looked down on her husband, and this alone was enough to create an irreconcilable conflict between them.
Lin Dan's method really worked. The beggars wandered around the city all day long. They heard a lot, saw a lot, and knew a lot. They didn't dare to inquire about officials above the third rank, but they could easily get information about a small official of the sixth or seventh rank. What's more, the man had a name, Xu Zuguang, about thirty-one or thirty-two years old, handsome, and from Tanzhou. They found the man on the same day, and also sent him an address.
"…He is now the director of the Imperial Academy, a sixth-rank official. He has both wives and concubines. His wife is the concubine's daughter of the imperial doctor Wan Zhongliang, named Wan Xiu'er. He has three concubines. One is the daughter of a certain wealthy man in Tanzhou, who died of illness long ago. The other two were the daughter's maids. When Xu Zuguang went to Beijing with him for the imperial examination, they were responsible for taking care of his daily life and were later taken in by him. He has no legitimate son or illegitimate son, but he has a concubine's daughter, who is the daughter of the wealthy man in Tanzhou and is now eight years old." After the little beggar reported everything in detail, he didn't care about the woman's pale face and just stretched out his hand to ask for a reward.
The woman felt a sharp pain in her heart and was out of her mind.
Lin Dan reminded: "Give me the money."
"Oh." The woman subconsciously took out a few taels of silver from her purse and handed it to the little beggar. She only shed two strings of tears after the person left.
Her two children asked in panic, "Mom, what should we do?" They had a father and he was an official, but his wife was taken away by someone else. So what about their mother?
"What kind of official is the Imperial Envoy?" the woman asked silently in her heart.
"From the second rank, he is responsible for supervising all officials and can be promoted to prime minister, which is very prestigious. Your husband has indeed climbed up the social ladder. If I were you, I would think that Xu Zuguang is dead, and return home with my two children to live a peaceful life. I would never get involved in this muddy water. Xu Zuguang will not recognize you now, because you are already his..."
Before Lin Dan could utter the words "a serious concern", the woman interrupted him anxiously: "Why should I go back? I am my husband's legally married wife, and I have given birth to a pair of children for him. It is impossible for him to disown me! I want to find him and ask him clearly!" As she spoke, she asked the children to pack their luggage and prepare to visit.
Lin Dan wanted to persuade her again, but the woman angrily shouted "Shut up". It can be seen that she was already anxious because of Lin Dan's heart-wrenching remarks and didn't want to listen anymore.
Lin Danyan said nothing more and followed her.
That afternoon, the woman knocked on Xu's door, but was driven away again and again by the doorman, who thought she was a crazy woman. The woman took her two children and waited at the entrance of an alley not far away. Finally, in the evening, she saw Xu Zuguang returning from riding a horse, and shouted "Husband" in the street.
Xu Zuguang was horrified and hurriedly took the three people away, placing them in a villa on the outskirts of the city. He also assigned several strong old women and servants to guard them and not allow them to move around. A few days later, he sent someone to deliver a letter of divorce and five hundred taels of silver, and wanted to send them back without even showing his face.
The woman had endured for many days and was in great pain. When she saw the divorce letter, she could no longer control herself and burst into tears, "I raised his children, took care of his parents-in-law, and managed the household. Now there is no one in my family, and my parents-in-law are buried. I met three of the three reasons for not leaving. What right does he have to divorce me?"
The so-called three things not to leave are: if you have something to take but nowhere to return it, don’t leave; if you have to mourn for three years after your husband’s death, don’t leave; if you were poor before and rich later, don’t leave. According to the law, no matter who a woman married, as long as she fulfilled these three requirements, that man would not be qualified to divorce her. Otherwise, he would inevitably be criticized by others, and the official would be more likely to be impeached by the censor.
The servant who came to deliver the divorce letter ignored the crying woman and the frightened children, and just rummaged through their luggage and searched it.
"Where is the marriage certificate? Where did you hide it? Hand it over now!" A servant grabbed the woman by the collar and asked fiercely. They searched everywhere but they didn't dare to touch the two tablets. After all, they were their master's parents and they had to show some respect.
The woman sneered repeatedly, but tears hung from the corners of her eyes. She really regretted that she shouldn't have disobeyed the remnant soul's words, otherwise she wouldn't have ended up like this. Xu Zuguang is no longer the Xu Zuguang who used to give her sweetness and warmth. He is now a jackal, a tiger and a leopard, and he doesn't even recognize his wife and children.
The servant slapped her hard, called her a bitch, and took away all the things, taking them back for the master to check personally, but only left two tablets.
Unable to find the marriage certificate, Xu Zuguang came in person after all, and with him came his current wife, Wan Xiuer, the concubine daughter of Yushi Wan. Come to think of it, everything Xu Zuguang has now was given by Censor Wan. With such a big thing happening at home, he couldn't hide it from Wan Xiu'er at all.
Faced with the glamorous Wan Xiu'er dressed in gorgeous clothes, the woman became frightened.
Lin Dan felt sorry for her, so she finally gave her a reminder: "Tell them that you are Madam Lin who offered a prescription to save the whole state of Tanzhou. You were personally commended by the emperor. The villagers also know that you are looking for your husband, and they have sent a caravan to take you to the capital. If you disappear without reason, someone will come to investigate."
"Why are you saying this? Do they want to kill me again?" the woman asked in her heart, with a hint of fear unconsciously revealed in her eyes. Her two children, however, had no sense of crisis at all and were looking at Xu Zuguang with admiring eyes.
"How can this matter be resolved if I don't let you disappear?" Lin Dan sighed.
The woman was startled and hurriedly repeated her words. Sure enough, she saw that Xu Zuguang's expression was stiff, and Wan Xiuer's eyes were more violent, but her murderous intent was frozen.
"Dan'er, let's go in and talk." Xu Zuguang softened his tone.
Wan Xiu'er stayed in the hall, talking to the two children with a kind smile. She was extremely beautiful and dressed elegantly. Judging from her appearance, she looked many times more glamorous than other women. The child, who was fourteen or fifteen years old, was short-sighted and simple-minded. Thinking that Wan Xiu'er was the daughter of a high-ranking official, she was very obedient and answered everything she was asked without hiding anything.
But unfortunately, the woman hid the marriage certificate and the commendation order without telling her two children, and Wan Xiuer didn't find out anything.
Inside the house, Xu Zuguang hugged the woman and began to talk about the difficulties he had faced over the years. He was able to become the top scholar in the imperial examination and was chosen as a son-in-law by Censor Wan. Naturally, he had some eloquence. With just a few words, he dispelled the woman's hatred and moved her to tears. She also promised him many benefits, saying that she wished she could grow old with him. However, he had no way to compete with his powerful father-in-law.
"…So, now I can only make you a concubine. I am sorry for you and the children, but you should understand my difficulties. Studying is not easy, and being an official is even more difficult. All these years, I have survived only by missing you and the children. I will protect you." Xu Zuguang sighed with emotion.
The woman was confused by what he said again. She nodded and agreed repeatedly, saying that being a concubine was fine as long as their family could be together.
Xu Zuguang said some soothing words and gave them enough sweet treats before taking Wan Xiuer away. He also agreed to pick up the three of them home the next morning and told them not to forget anything.
That night, the woman's heart, which had been wandering for a long time, finally settled down. She took out an unfinished purse and continued to embroider it in front of the candlelight. The pattern of orchids and green bamboo was most suitable for Xu Zuguang to wear.
Seeing her longing smile, Lin Dan endured and endured, but finally burst her dream: "You may not know that once you become a concubine, your future life will be more painful than death. Concubines are like slaves and can be bought and sold. If they fall into the hands of the legal wife, she can find any excuse to kill you quietly. Your two children were originally legitimate sons and daughters, but now they have become illegitimate sons and daughters, and their status has plummeted. They can't call you mother, but only aunt. Wan Xiu'er is their mother. They must respect her and kowtow to her every day. In the future, when Wan Xiu'er gives birth to a child, they will have to pay respect to the child and be controlled by him everywhere. Xu Zuguang's property will not be left to them, but only to Wan Xiu'er's legitimate son. If they go out, they will be inferior and looked down upon."
"Even if your son enters the official career, he will be criticized because of his family background. You have no say in your daughter's marriage. You can only let Wan Xiu'er do it. She must marry whoever Wan Xiu'er tells her to marry, and she cannot resist. If Wan Xiu'er has a vicious mind and finds a man of bad character to marry your daughter, you, a concubine of low status, will have no way to deal with it. You should know from her words and deeds today that she is definitely not a good person. If you degrade yourself to a concubine, you are jumping into a fire pit with your two children, and you will definitely die without a burial place."
The woman's face turned pale when she heard this, but she kept shaking her head, refusing to accept this reality.
Lin Dan paused for a moment and continued, "I have taught you to read history books over the years. You should know that illegitimate sons are also called illegitimate sins. Evil sins are sins, which means that illegitimate sons are born with original sins and are not tolerated by the direct line. According to the laws of the dynasty, in an official family, even if the direct line is completely extinct, the family title and property will not be inherited by the illegitimate branch. The elders would rather choose a child from the five mournings to adopt than change the family tree for the illegitimate branch. In the "Biography of Gongsun Zan in Wei Zhi", the "Dianlue" article records that Zan reported Shao's crimes, one of which was that he denounced his mother as a maid, which was really lowly and could not be a successor... Disgracing the Yuan clan, Shao's ninth crime. You see, even a big man like Yuan Shao was considered a illegitimate son as one of his crimes, so what about your son? If you accept the identity of this concubine, you and your two children will be doomed."
Lin Dan stopped talking here, but the woman began to tremble, feeling that she had been deceived by Xu Zuguang again. If it weren't for this remnant soul, she and her two children would have happily stepped into the Xu family, and then at some tragic but helpless moment, they would suddenly discover that this was a hell!
"Then what should I do now? Wan Xiu'er's father is a second-rank official. Even Xu Zuguang can't beat him. What can I do? God, please teach me and my two children!" The woman cried helplessly.
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