Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 369

In the evening, Gu Ye returned home, seething with anger.

As he entered the room, he followed his usual routine, sipping from a cup of hot tea before slamming it heavily on the table. His small fists clenched in frustration, teeth gnashing in irritation.

Gu Yin, assuming he was already aware of Mrs. Qin’s poisoning, asked, “Do you know?”

Gu Ye was momentarily stunned, wondering what she meant.

Gu Yin proceeded to inform him of what the guards had uncovered.

Suddenly, Gu Ye exclaimed, “So, it was that old… that old lady. But Xiao Feng is unharmed. It’s not this that has me so upset; it’s something else.”

After a pause, he continued, “I encountered Feng Yu today, and he’s in a dire state.”

Gu Ye and Feng Yu typically met nearly every day due to their association with the elderly couple from the Ge family. While Feng Yu was under close family supervision, he was, after all, a young boy, and slipping out for some fresh air wasn’t too challenging.

Their meetings were usually brief, lasting only a quarter to half an hour. However, in the past two or three days, Feng Yu had been conspicuously absent.

On the day Gu Ye arrived at their usual meeting spot, he found Feng Yu there, looking disheveled. He was clad in rough, shabby clothing typically worn by the impoverished, and his face was still smeared with dirt. Gu Ye couldn’t help but jest, “Why do you look like this, crawling out of a dog’s hole?”

Feng Yu responded with a quiet “um” and a weak chuckle, confirming Gu Ye’s guess. However, when Gu Ye noticed the swollen half of his face, his laughter subsided.

Concerned, Gu Ye asked, “Who did this to your face?”

Feng Yu confessed, “My father.”

Since Feng Yu had sought Gu Ye’s company while bearing an injury, he didn’t withhold any details and shared the story of his family’s predicament.

On the day they exited ‘Food of Heaven,’ they engaged in an argument with Feng Yuan because Ge Zhu was insistent on acknowledging her parents. Furthermore, Feng Yu later expressed his refusal to be a companion to the prince born to Concubine Feng, a statement that enraged Feng Yuan, leading to physical violence.

Unable to endure the situation any longer, Ge Zhu eventually proposed a divorce.

Feng Yuan was taken aback and hastily left.

However, Ge Zhu’s residence was infiltrated by individuals planted by Mrs. Qin, and within a short span of two quarters, Mrs. Qin was informed of the developments.

She promptly summoned Ge Zhu and Feng Yu together.

Mrs. Qin, in stark contrast to the enraged Feng Yuan, remained considerably calmer. She pointed at Ge Zhu and berated her, saying, “What sort of family is our Feng family? You’ve been blessed for several lifetimes to marry into such a prestigious household! Since you fail to appreciate your good fortune, you may leave. But Ah Yu is the eldest son and grandson of our Feng family. Do you intend to take him with you? Don’t even think about it!”

Ge Zhu and Feng Yu had already anticipated this outcome. Feng Yu discreetly grasped his mother’s hand under his sleeve, squeezing it firmly to assure her that he was genuinely unharmed, thereby giving her the confidence to leave.

Ge Zhu found herself deeply conflicted, contemplating her parents’ situation, her son’s declarations, and even Gu Yin’s words of advice.

Finally, after a prolonged silence, Feng Yu heard his mother say, “Very well, then Ah Yu shall remain in the mansion, and we will finalize the divorce at once…”

Mrs. Qin sneered, “Do you think that once you’re gone, my Ah Yuan will remain a bachelor for life? Of course he will remarry—a daughter from a noble family, far superior to you! But rest assured, I’ll make this clear right now. Ah Yu is the eldest son and grandson of our family, exceptionally outstanding. If his future wife dares to mistreat him, she will answer to me first!”

“Is that so?” Ge Zhu asked, her uncertainty still evident.

Mrs. Qin snorted dismissively, asserting, “Of course, it’s true.”

Mrs. Qin cherished her reputation and had made a bold statement in front of a crowd of servants. If Feng Yu were to face any bullying in the future, it would be akin to a direct affront to her pride.

With her concerns alleviated, Ge Zhu nodded resolutely and said, “Then we shall draft the Heli (mutual consent divorce) immediately, and I will leave overnight.”

Mrs. Qin, showing no intention of prolonging the conversation, responded with a sneer, “Heli? What Heli? It shall be a letter of Qichu.”

While both Heli and Qichu represented separations, they were fundamentally distinct. Heli implied mutual consent and an amicable parting of ways, whereas Qichu suggested that one party was at fault, a verdict usually reserved for women who had violated the seven rules.

Ge Zhu had no intentions of remarrying, but there was a significant difference between divorce and being cast aside. Feng Yu’s reputation was at stake. If his mother were deemed to be abandoned, it would undoubtedly invite gossip and tarnish his standing in society.

Mrs. Qin’s behavior contradicted her previous claims of affection for Feng Yu, revealing the shallowness of her professed love.

Outraged, Ge Zhu cried out, “I’ve been married to Feng Yuan for over ten years. I’ve given birth and raised his child, managed household affairs, and fulfilled the three-year filial piety period for my late father-in-law. Upon our arrival in the capital, despite my personal feelings, I adhered to etiquette, exchanging greetings every morning and evening. I have not once transgressed any of the seven rules. I even qualify for two of the three exceptions under Qichu. I observed three years of mourning for my father-in-law, accompanied my husband through both humble beginnings and prosperity. How can Feng Yuan unilaterally divorce me (Qichu)?”

[Unilateral divorce is forbidden in case of three exceptions:

1. 1. 1. 1. She has no family to return to.

1. 1. 1. 1. She observed mourning for her parents in law.

1. 1. 1. 1. Her husband was poor when married and later got rich.]

Mrs. Qin responded with a smirk, “I’m just a mother-in-law. You, as a daughter-in-law, have quite the verbose tongue, don’t you? Too much talk can lead to misunderstandings.”

A “talkative wife” referred to a wife who engaged in excessive and often divisive chatter, sowing discord among family members and disrupting harmony in the household. Such an accusation was baseless and unfounded in this case.