Chapter 15 Separation and Reunion
"What are you making a scene about now?" Zhou Lao Er didn't believe she really wanted a divorce. After all, although he had disliked her for being shrewish and unreasonable over the years, he could also see that her feelings for him were genuine.
“No trouble, Chengzhu, go and call the people from the old house over. Let’s talk this out today.” Song Yushu really didn’t want to stay in the Zhou family any longer, and this matter suited the wishes of the people at the Zhou family’s old house just fine.
After Old Mrs. Zhou arrived with the people from the first and third branches of the family, Song Yushu once again directly stated that he wanted to divorce Zhou Lao Er.
"Second sister-in-law, how many times have you brought this up over the years? But I've never seen it actually end in a divorce. Are you trying to use the divorce issue to manipulate my second brother again?"
"Is what the eldest daughter-in-law said true? If so, let's go back now. No one has time to play along with your pretense." If it weren't for her grandson Zhou Chengli, Old Mrs. Zhou really wouldn't have wanted to make this trip.
"Please wait a moment, in-laws. I'm a bit late. I was worried she wouldn't explain things clearly, so I came here on purpose. I didn't expect that the child really didn't explain things clearly," Mother Wei and Father Wei said as they entered from outside the door with their eldest and second eldest sons, Wei Erge, looking quite imposing.
"What are you doing here, in-laws? Your sudden visit has made us, the Zhou family, feel uneasy and impolite," said Old Mrs. Zhou, seeing that Song Yushu had even brought her family members. However, she couldn't afford to lose face.
“It was indeed abrupt of us to come here, but things happened suddenly. We came here because of my daughter’s divorce. Anyway, she’s not well-liked in the Zhou family, so why don’t you two just agree to a quick divorce?”
Mother Wei came here this time to let the Zhou family know that the Wei family is not easy to bully, and that Song Yushu will not be taken advantage of by the Zhou family.
"Second son's wife, are you really going to get a divorce?" Old Mrs. Zhou now had to realize that Song Yushu might be serious this time.
“Of course it’s true. As long as you agree, I can sign the divorce papers with Zhou Lao Er right now,” Song Yushu said without hesitation.
"Are you divorcing me because I've neglected you lately? Chengli's marriage this time cost a lot, and he'll be taking the imperial examination in a couple of years. I need to earn more money outside, so it's inevitable that I've neglected things at home. If you're angry, just tell me directly. So many years have passed, why make a fuss again?"
Although Zhou Lao Er did not marry his wife sincerely, Song Yushu had at least borne him two children, so he did not want to divorce her.
"If you ask me, you're just being nosy. Among all the men in this area, only the second brother has a good temper and has tolerated you for so long. You're already lucky to have married the second brother. You won't find anyone better if you divorce him!" Qian Yue is still unwilling to give up because she hasn't gotten the braised meat recipe yet.
"Whoever wants this blessing can have it, I'm not worthy of it. I've lived like a widow all these years, it's better to separate and go our separate ways sooner rather than later, and you won't have to worry about me causing trouble all the time." Song Yushu thought of the original owner's past life and felt that this widowed life was really better off ending things sooner rather than later.
"Since you've made up your mind to divorce the second brother, I won't stop you. However, the second brother is having a hard time right now and can't give you anything else."
"Mother! I don't want to..."
"Alright! You've suffered so much these past years, and it's all my fault for forcing you to marry Wei Shi. It's better that you're divorced now. As long as Chengli does well and passes the imperial examination, your life won't be bad. Second son, listen to your mother and sign this divorce agreement."
Old Mrs. Zhou didn't give Zhou Lao Er a chance to refute. She had long disliked Wei Shi, and now that she had the opportunity, she naturally wanted to seize it.
"I can do without anything from him, but I'm taking Zhou Chengyu and Zhou Chengzhu with me!" Since he wants to leave with nothing, he has to find something else to compensate him for.
"Impossible! Chengzhu and Chengyu are both my children, absolutely not!"
"They have the Zhou family blood in them, why should they follow you Wei people?" Old Mrs. Zhou objected without hesitation.
“Zhou Lao Er, you have never put any effort into Zhou Chengyu and Zhou Chengzhu. All the money you earn is spent on Zhou Chengli. Do you think you are worthy of being their biological father? In the future, Zhou Chengli will have to take the imperial examination, which will probably cost even more money. Do you think you can afford to support Chengyu’s education and prepare a generous dowry for Chengzhu?”
"You can't. You'll only make them suffer, so why shouldn't you let me take them away to live a better life?"
Zhou Lao Er's face turned red from Song Yushu's words, and he couldn't utter a word for a long time.
Seeing that he didn't speak, Song Yushu turned to the twins who were standing there dumbfounded and asked, "Do you two want to come with me?"
"If I go with you, will I still be able to continue studying at school?" Zhou Chengyu asked hesitantly. During this time, he had come to understand that everyone in the Zhou family would unconditionally favor his eldest brother and wouldn't even help him pay his tuition. It would be better for him to go with his mother.
"Of course, as long as you never skip school again, I promise to continue supporting your studies!" Song Yushu never actually expelled him from school; he just wanted him to realize his mistake.
"Is Mother really preparing a generous dowry for me?" Zhou Chengzhu was a money-loving girl who only cared about her marriage and dowry. She knew that Song Yushu had earned a lot of money and was willing to buy poultry for them to make some private money, so she naturally favored Song Yushu.
"As long as you come with me, I will fulfill all these promises," Song Yushu didn't mind their materialism; she would have plenty of time to correct them later.
“Then we’re willing to go with Mother!” The twins didn’t hesitate any longer.
"The Zhou family will never agree to you taking the two children away. Even if they wanted to leave with you, it wouldn't work! Forget about it!" Old Mrs. Zhou glared at the twins, reiterating her stance.
“Mother-in-law, how about this? We’ll offer ten taels of silver to sever the relationship between these two children and the Zhou family. What do you think?” Mother Wei offered her sincerity at this point.
“They are my own grandsons. How can you buy off our relationship with money? What do you take our Zhou family for?” Although Old Mrs. Zhou also loved money, she valued face even more. She wasn’t particularly kind to Zhou Chengyu and his sister, but she just didn’t want to be gossiped about.
“I advise my mother-in-law not to refuse too soon. You don’t know, do you? Your granddaughter-in-law’s father, Zhao the Cripple, owes fifty taels of silver at the gambling den. Today, he even brought people to harass my daughter’s shop and shamelessly asked my daughter to pay off the gambling den’s debt. If the officials hadn’t arrived quickly, we don’t know what would have happened to us!”
"We didn't ask him for compensation, we only proposed a divorce, which is already giving you face. If you keep dragging this out, you won't even get these ten taels!"
"What...what's going on? Zhao Yuzhi! Is your father a gambler?"
The old lady of the Zhou family almost fainted from Wei's mother's words. Holding her breath, she turned her anger on Zhao Yuzhi.
"I don't know either, waaaaaaah..."
Zhao Yuzhi was also startled and quickly hid behind Zhou Chengli, shedding tears.
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