Chapter 40: Divorcing the Wife
Fu Shi returned after nightfall.
Her face was pale, her eyes swollen red, and her pearls and jade ornaments and magnificent robes could not conceal her exhaustion and unease.
The Daoist Ling Xu’s lies were exposed, and the vicious curse of “seven calamities and a malevolent star” against Xue Liu from years ago all rebounded upon her. Everyone in the Xue Mansion avoided her gaze, feeling flustered and uneasy.
Every noble household’s inner chambers have their unsavory affairs, but it is rare to find someone like Fu Shi who racked her brains to harm a concubine’s daughter and then tried to paint herself in a good light…
In private, even the most difficult maids and old women said that the First Madam was malicious.
Qian Shi received the news. The white gauze wrapped around her head had not yet been removed when she specifically went to Fu Shi, speaking with a tone of sour jealousy and mockery.
“Oh, Eldest Sister-in-law is back? Did the True Man Ling Xu perform a ritual to summon you back?”
“The mother of the Eight Auspicious Star has graced the mansion with her return. Is it perhaps an auspicious sign from heaven today?”
Fu Shi glared at her with heavy eyes.
A merchant’s daughter dared to speak to her like this; it was truly a reversal of heaven and earth.
She did not retort, walking past coldly, as if she hadn’t seen her.
Qian Shi scoffed behind her, “Putting on airs. What kind of noble-born daughter, pure and chaste? No different from the vicious whores in that establishment…”
Fu Shi’s back stiffened, wishing she could turn around and tear Qian Shi’s mouth apart.
But she couldn’t do that.
With her schemes exposed, she was in the wrong and had to tread carefully…
–
Xue Qingzhi was in the Old Madam’s room at Shou An Courtyard.
A glazed lamp was lit, and he was chatting with his elderly mother while eating a late-night snack.
Fu Shi entered with her maids and servants, and the previously warm atmosphere turned cold.
“Why have you returned?” Old Madam Cui was determined not to give her any face, not even bothering to pretend. She heavily placed down her teacup and said irritably:
“If I were you, I would simply stay at my maternal home and wouldn’t dare to shamelessly return to my husband’s family.”
Fu Shi glanced at Xue Qingzhi, “Master, are your mother’s words your intention?”
They had been married for over twenty years, and she understood Xue Qingzhi’s character.
He cared about face, and even more about the Xue family’s reputation.
Let alone if she and Liu Shijuan had an affair, even if they did, Xue Qingzhi would not bring it up publicly. With the Marquis Yongding’s Mansion and Princess Consort Duan, her position as the First Madam could still be secured.
Who else could she be if not the biological daughter of Marquis Yongding and the biological mother of Princess Consort Duan.
As expected, Xue Qingzhi did not respond.
Seeing this, Old Madam Cui’s expression grew even more displeased.
“Fu Shi, for years you’ve been domineering in the mansion, spreading gossip, and mistreating concubine’s daughters. I turned a blind eye, giving you, my daughter-in-law, face. But this time you’ve targeted my third son, and I cannot let you off…”
The First Madam’s lips curved slightly, with a sense of utter despair. Her smile was full of self-mockery, devoid of fear.
“Old Madam speaks the truth. But who made me the Minister’s Wife? No matter how wrong I am, outsiders will only say the Xue Mansion has improper family conduct and a collapse of etiquette! Otherwise, as a mere woman, with all my might, what waves could I possibly stir? If I am malicious, it is because I live in this malicious environment, which has forced me into this state! The beam is crooked, so the lower beams are crooked!”
The Old Madam was choked back by her words, her chest feeling tight. She pressed her chest, her finger pointing at Fu Shi trembling slightly.
“Eldest Son, I want you to divorce her! Divorce her immediately! I, an old woman, can no longer rely on this noble daughter-in-law! The family is unfortunate! To have produced such a troublemaker! The reputation of my Xue family for generations will be ruined by her alone!”
Xue Qingzhi quickly stepped forward to support the Old Madam, his eyes sternly fixed on Fu Shi.
“Why don’t you kneel down quickly! Apologize to Mother!”
Fu Shi was silent for a moment, then slowly knelt before Old Madam Cui.
“Mother, your daughter-in-law was ignorant and spoke carelessly.”
Xue Qingzhi’s expression improved slightly, and he softly comforted, “Mother, please don’t take her words to heart.”
Old Madam Cui’s breathing became rapid with anger.
“This wicked woman harmed my third son and also had an affair with that fake Daoist. You can tolerate it, but I, as his mother, cannot. If you don’t divorce her today, I will disown you as my son!”
“Mother…” Xue Qingzhi frowned, stopping her from continuing.
“There is no evidence for this matter yet, so please do not jump to conclusions.”
Finding Fu Shi’s silk scarf on Daoist Ling Xu, of course, could not directly imply Fu Shi was having an affair with the Daoist. At least, Xue Qingzhi did not believe that was the truth.
How his marital relationship with Fu Shi was, was not important.
But Fu Shi’s reputation was also his reputation.
“Preserving the Xue family is paramount right now.”
Xue Qingzhi stroked the Old Madam’s back. Once she calmed down, he persuaded her again, “We shouldn’t make a spectacle for outsiders. Fu Shi has made mistakes, but she is, after all, the birth mother of Eldest Sister and Lan Ge’er… Mother, even if you don’t think of others, you must think of their future.”
Old Madam Cui also cared about her grandchildren’s futures.
Seeing Fu Shi’s indifferent demeanor, as if she were a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, she sighed deeply.
“I am old, and I can no longer manage the affairs of your chambers. But I have a condition: if you dare to extend your hand to the Third Branch again, don’t blame me for being impolite. My son’s hand and palm are both flesh. The third son is young. If you, the elder brother, do not look after him, I, as his mother, will support him!”
Xue Qingzhi glanced at Fu Shi.
Fu Shi slowly straightened her neck to look at him.
“Your daughter-in-law and Third Brother’s wife have some disagreements. But I deny any involvement in Third Brother’s affairs.”
Old Madam Cui couldn’t be bothered to watch her quibble, not even wanting to look at her again. She waved her hand.
“I am tired. You may both leave.”
Xue Qingzhi comforted the Old Madam a few more times, then got up, bid farewell, and left Shou An Courtyard with Fu Shi.
Fu Shi straightened her back, her gaze still proud, “Master, I have no feelings for that Liu Shijuan, I…”
“No need to explain,” Xue Qingzhi interrupted her.
He didn’t ask, nor did he listen. He had no interest in her matters with Liu Shijuan.
“I am not divorcing you today for Eldest Sister and Lan Ge’er, and also to give Marquis Yongding some face. But you must understand, our marriage has reached its end.”
Fu Shi’s heart turned cold.
Large tears began to roll down her face.
She sobbed silently, recalling when she was a young lady, blushing as she knelt before the Bodhisattva, hands clasped, begging for a harmonious marriage and a lifetime together with her beloved.
She had married him as she wished and borne him children.
Now, after walking this path together, they had both changed.
Fu Shi wiped her tears with her handkerchief and smiled chillingly, “Master, you don’t need to put on this act. I owe you nothing. Today, my father and brother have already gone to Grand Tutor You’s mansion and the Jingzhao Prefecture to state the facts. My father and brother will handle the matters I have committed!”
With that, she straightened her back.
“I will also tell you, Master, that I am a daughter raised with doting affection in the Marquis Yongding’s Mansion, not a vassal of your Xue family.”
Xue Qingzhi was silent for a moment.
After a while, he nodded subtly.
“Then that is good. We owe each other nothing.”
After speaking, he turned and headed towards Concubine Zhao’s courtyard.
Fu Shi watched his retreating back and sneered.
This was the couple who had been together for over twenty years.
He didn’t care about Liu Shijuan, not because he trusted her, but because he didn’t care.
There were plenty of women to warm his bed, and places to find soft and fragrant beauty. Why should he force himself to smile and deal with her?
Now that he had an excuse not to go to Qing Lan Courtyard, perhaps he was secretly pleased…
Fu Shi, with her tear-reddened eyes, returned to Qing Lan Courtyard and asked the maid Cui Xi in the room.
“When the Eldest Young Lady returned, did she say anything?”
Cui Xi was somewhat afraid of her and stammered for a long time without being able to speak clearly.
“The Princess Consort said that the mansion has greatly mistreated the Sixth Young Lady and asked the First Madam to properly prepare the dowry for the Sixth Young Lady. She also said, she also said…”
Fu Shi felt a chill in her heart, her teeth nearly grinding to dust.
“What else did she say? Tell me truthfully, not a single word wrong.”
Cui Xi lowered her head, “The Princess Consort said that the First Madam has acted biasedly over the years and should not, for her own selfish reasons, implicate the entire Xue Mansion’s reputation and future…”
Fu Shi’s hand dropped, and her handkerchief fell to the ground.
The malevolent fire raging in her chest and abdomen dissipated.
It was replaced by a desolate and suffocating feeling.
After all her painstaking efforts, in the end, even her own daughter was criticizing her…
–
The First Madam fell ill.
Bowl after bowl of medicinal soup was sent in, but there was no sign of recovery. Qing Lan Courtyard was silent, and the entire Xue Mansion seemed to have fallen into a hush.
From the Jingzhao Prefecture, it was unclear how Xue Qingzhi had explained things, as Lord Yin did not trouble her, and Grand Tutor You was appeased by Marquis Dingyuan. However, rumors began to spread in the marketplace and residential areas.
The Xue Mansion’s First Madam used a rather clumsy tactic to have her own daughter climb high, and then in turn, trampled the concubine’s daughter into the mud, ruining her reputation. Abandoned from a young age, this matter became a topic of conversation in street tea houses.
Somehow, as the stories were told, the rumors began to twist.
Gradually, it became that the abandoned concubine’s daughter was the one with the “Eight Auspicious Star” destiny, and the First Madam, upon learning this, found a Daoist to perform a ritual, stealing the concubine’s daughter’s luck to elevate her own daughter…
But a lucky star is a lucky star; the Heavenly Dao is hard to change. Ten years later, she returned, beginning this cycle of karma.
The Xue family’s backbone was almost broken by the gossip.
In Misty Rain Tower, Yaoguang looked at Xue Sui’s face and couldn’t stop laughing.
“What are you planning to do next? Are you still going to get married?”
Xue Sui glanced at the amber-colored wine on the table, which had a scent of green plums, and placed one hand on the table by the window. With the other hand, she picked up a piece of honey-glazed meat from Misty Rain Tower and ate it slowly before uttering two words.
“I will marry.”
If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch its cubs.
The closer she got to that palace, the more it was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
But from the moment she took that step, there was no turning back.
Yaoguang asked curiously, “But Prince Duan rejected you? How will you marry?”
Xue Sui chuckled, “Be patient. Wait a few more days and see.”
