Chapter 15 “The Three-Court Trial” [Revised]

Pu Xiang didn't want to talk about this on the street. She smiled and said, "Uncle, let's go back first. My mom called you, didn't she? Have you eaten yet? I'll treat you to a meal."

When Li Dayou heard this, he immediately breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the marriage was not divorced. If it was really divorced, his niece would not be so relaxed now.

"Well, it's rare for my uncle to go to a restaurant, so this is a treat. When a couple quarrels, don't take what they say in anger seriously. Every family has quarrels from time to time. Young couples are companions in old age. When you are a little older, you will know that it is better for a couple to be the original one."

Shi Dafu didn't say anything, and Uncle Zhao didn't know how to respond, so the four of them went back together.

After riding for more than forty minutes, the four finally entered the village.

The busy farming season was over and everyone was at home. The news of the commotion at the Shi family spread to the neighbors in the shortest possible time.

The houses in the countryside are built along the river. The river that Shijia is next to runs east-west, so all the houses are built facing south in a long row.

Shi Dafu's house was located at the innermost part on the west side. The bicycle turned off the road and passed by the doors of every house. Pu Xiang felt like she was walking on the red carpet in the future, with everyone staring at her.

The closer we got to Shi Dafu's house, the more people gathered, especially at Aunt Lin's house next door. Two rows of benches were moved under the eaves, and the aunts and uncles sitting in one row were cracking melon seeds.

There were no mobile phones and telephones were not widely available at that time. Pu Xiang thought that even so, the news of her divorce would spread throughout Shijia Village at the fastest speed and then radiate to the surrounding area. She would become the most popular woman in this area in the shortest time and the topic of conversation in all families after dinner.

Her name, Pu Xiang, will be known to everyone.

The four of them parked their bicycles in the drying field in front of the house. Pu Xiang could see at a glance that the house was full of people... her parents, her brother and sister-in-law, and Shi Dafu's parents.

Uncle Li saw that everyone next door was craning their necks to watch the excitement, so he quickly spread the word to his niece.

"It's okay, nothing."

The crowd eating onlookers immediately said "Oh", but they didn't feel surprised.

Nowadays, there are people who talk about divorce after quarreling, but no one actually gets divorced.

Although there was no more melons to eat, everyone had nothing to do and was idle at home, so they continued to sit and chat and eat melon seeds.

Shi Dafu's family were all sitting together, maybe they would chat about something, and they would listen to it with great interest.

But they probably won't quarrel any more, seeing Pu Xiang smiling while Shi Dafu had a dull look on his face and didn't say a word. This is basically the case for all couples who quarrel and then make up.

If the old men are laughing, well, that means they definitely haven't given in, and it will probably be cold for a few more days.

Pu Xiang and Shi Dafu entered the house under the gaze of their two parents, several relatives and a group of neighbors. It was even more grand than their original wedding.

When Shi Hai heard Uncle Pu Xiang say that everything was fine, he felt much relieved.

It's fine as long as you're not divorced. If you're not divorced, then we can talk about everything.

He finally smiled a little, and immediately stood up and greeted, "My relatives, my third sister's uncle, my eldest brother's wife, and my brother-in-law, are all eating at home today. I'm sorry to have troubled you to run around for the children's affairs. Now we have nothing to do. It's just right that we've finished our farming work, so let's have a couple more drinks together."

Mo A'mei, the mother-in-law, sat there with a unhappy look on her face. It was one thing when she scolded her daughter-in-law, but when her daughter-in-law was really going to leave, she was also worried and uneasy. Now that she felt relieved, she looked at people with a sidelong glance.

She said that her daughter-in-law didn't dare to really get a divorce. Their family was in such good conditions, they had no worries about food and clothing, and no one beat or scolded them. Which woman would be willing to get a divorce? She was just making trouble. Let's see how she would deal with her when all the relatives left. It was really outrageous!

Only Zhao Chunsheng, who already knew the truth, had a bitter face. He failed to accomplish his task and might even be blamed by his brother-in-law.

But we have to say it.

"Brother, wait a minute, hey... I was late for this matter and didn't catch it, hey, what is going on!"

The smile that had just appeared on Shi Hai's face suddenly froze and disappeared.

He turned to look at Shi Dafu and Pu Xiang: "Are you really divorced?"

Shi Dafu said nothing and just stood there like a piece of wood.

Pu Xiang said that he was so scared that he didn't even dare to tell his father about his divorce.

Li Xiaocao, the mother, was really anxious. She quickly stepped forward and pulled her: "You silly girl, tell me, you are not really divorced, are you?"

Pu Xiang was dry and crisp: "Well, I left."

After hearing this answer, Li Xiaocao felt a black screen before his eyes. It was over. He was really gone!

This brave and silly girl, how is she going to live from now on! In the past, she would have been drowned in a pond!

When Pu Xiang's sister-in-law saw this, she hurried over to help her mother-in-law, fearing that she would faint from the anger of her young lady.

Pu Xiang's father Pu Youfu has always been an honest farmer. He is not good at speaking and he talks very little. He just works hard. His strengths are probably that he is tall and strong, and he works like an old ox, working hard without complaint.

Pu Xiang's height was obviously inherited from her father. Her mother is not tall, but of average build.

When Pu Youfu heard the young lady say that she was divorced, his face, which was already full of wrinkles from the wind and sun, became even more wrinkled like a bitter melon.

This girl, why is this girl so willful! She wasn't like this before!

As for Pu Xiang's eldest brother, he sat with her father, a copy of them, with exactly the same expression and the same dumbness of mouth, unable to utter a word.

This explosive news caused silence in the room, and Uncle Li and Uncle Zhao didn't know what to say.

The marriage is over, what else can they do? Beat him up or scold him?

Amidst everyone's silence, Mo A'mei was the first to explode. She pointed at Pu Xiang with a shaking finger and started cursing.

"I knew you were a restless person, you bastard, you troublemaker! How have we in the Shi family wronged you? We have provided you with good food and clothing, and we are almost ready to make you a Bodhisattva. If you leave, don't even think about taking the children away! And don't even think about taking away the money and things in our Shi family!"

Mo A'mei was so angry that she gasped for breath, and she covered her chest with her hands, looking like she was about to faint.

But no one was bothered to comfort her at this moment.

But even so, she kept on cursing there, and no one could stop her mouth even if they were out of breath. The cursing became more and more unpleasant, and Shi Hai's forehead veins throbbed as he listened.

Normally, I asked her to swear less, but she just wouldn't listen. Now that she's divorced, she still keeps swearing. Does she think she's getting the upper hand?

"Shut your mouth!"

Shi Hai raised his voice and stopped his wife. In just a moment, he had thought about the whole thing, looked around at the people present, and finally looked at Pu Xiang, trying to keep his voice as gentle as possible.

"Third sister, you have been married for six years. Time flies. I, as your father-in-law, have seen how you behaved at home in the past few years. It is Dafu who is unreasonable. Can you ask him to apologize to you? We still have to live our lives. I know you have worked hard and he has wronged you. In the future, you should ask him to change. Every man is brought up by his wife. Think about the child. Can you bear to give him up?"

Li Xiaocao followed up and advised: "Yes, yes, Third Sister, your father-in-law has said so much, if you are still dissatisfied, hurry up and agree to it, let's not get divorced, okay?"

Pu Xiang held his mother down and pulled her hand hard, saying, "Let Shi Dafu change? If he doesn't go out and find a mistress, he will be asked to share the several acres of land at home and do all the big and small jobs? How can he do that?"

A father knows his son best. Shi Hai, as a father, should ask himself, Shi Dafu, can a dog change its nature of eating shit?

Shi Hai said decisively: "He can definitely do it!"

He stretched out his hand and grabbed his son, who was as stiff as a stick, and shouted angrily: "Why don't you promise your wife quickly! You are really crazy because you have eaten too much. You want a good wife to divorce you. What do you want? A woman who has a man but still has an affair with you? Aren't you afraid of being cuckolded?"

Pu Xiang raised her eyebrows and said, "Look, isn't this all very clear?"

Shi Dafu was still afraid of his father. In fact, he started to feel guilty when he met his uncle after getting the divorce certificate.

He has been wanting to divorce for more than a day or two. No, it should be said that he doesn't want to get married at all. He is disgusted by Pu Xiang's big and strong figure, like a tomboy.

But his father made him get married, and if he divorced, his father would definitely not treat him well and would not let him live a good life.

Shi Hai pressed his son's head and asked him to apologize. At this point, Shi Dafu still resisted passively and kept silent.

He snorted twice as a response.

I don't know what he is responding to.

Shi Hai, however, acted like a master translator and immediately said, "Third sister, you see Dafu knows he was wrong. You should just go on with your life and pretend that what happened today never happened! In-laws, what do you think? We are all doing this for the good of the child. You should give him some advice."

He turned the conversation to Pu Xiang's father Pu Youfu.

Pu Youfu frowned and looked at Pu Xiang with a bitter face, "This marriage cannot be divorced, Third Sister, you are not a three-year-old child anymore. Husband and wife quarrel, and let it go. Divorce cannot be counted."

Getting a divorce certificate is not the end, but a new beginning.

But the beginning was not good and it was more difficult than Pu Xiang had imagined.

She had heard countless advice not to get divorced, but this time she had already divorced, and she wanted to say what she had kept to herself before.

She said, "Dad, I work all day and all year long at the Shi family, and Shi Dafu has a mistress outside, leaving me a widow. I've had enough of this kind of life. I feel miserable and unhappy. I don't want to live like this anymore."

Pu Youfu's brows were about to be knotted, and he spoke incoherently, stammering: "Who, whose family is not busy all year round? They don't beat you, don't scold you, and treat you well, why are you unhappy? It's normal to be diligent in your husband's family! As for Dafu's affairs, you should pay more attention to him. My father-in-law also said that he won't do this again in the future, so don't make a fuss!"

Pu Xiang interrupted him: "I'm not making a fuss, I just can't live with him anymore. I don't want you to support me even if we get divorced. I have hands and feet, I can support myself."

Pu Youfu was so angry that his face turned red: "How can you support yourself? You have no land, and you can't even afford to eat! If you go back to your parents' home, you will still rely on your brother for support! If you get divorced, how will others look at you, your brother, and us as parents? It's a disgrace to have a second marriage in our family!"

After divorce, she was bound to face storms and strong winds, but she didn't expect that the first storm to hit her face would come from her parents.

Not surprising, but it still hurts.

Women, especially rural women born in the 1990s, why are there only cases of people taking drugs and jumping into the river, but no one getting divorced?

Because of the divorce, I have nowhere to go. I lose my husband's family and my own family too. I have no place to sleep and no money to eat. Everyone pokes at me and spits at me.

Divorce is just seeking death.

Since I'm going to die if I go around in a circle, I might as well just die.

Pu Xiang was very calm and said, "Then I want to leave too!"