Blissful Days After Widowhood - Chapter 370

Ge Zhu, naturally, refused to admit it, bluntly stating that Mrs. Qin shouldn’t deceive people to such an extent.

However, Mrs. Qin held her ground, and if Ge Zhu and Feng Yuan weren’t willing to compromise, divorce was their only option.

Seeing Ge Zhu’s increasing anger, Mrs. Qin finally remarked coolly, “Didn’t you tell Ah Yuan that you’ve found your parents? Since you recognized them, why not let your parents have a conversation at our door?”

Traditionally, decisions about divorce and the matter of “Heli” were made by the woman’s in-laws. Of course, if the woman’s family had enough influence, both families could sit down and negotiate.

But the elderly Ge couple were simple street vendors and lacked the resources to engage in discussions with Duke Lu.

Mrs. Qin’s comments were meant to taunt Ge Zhu.

The situation remained at an impasse, and both Ge Zhu and Feng Yu were essentially grounded. Mrs. Qin firmly stated that they would be released once they figured things out.

After two days of silence, Feng Yu still felt that he couldn’t simply let things go. He exchanged clothes with a servant and slipped out.

Awkwardly, Feng Yu explained the situation, saying, “This is a matter concerning my family, and I don’t want to burden your household. But my grandparents are outside, and I don’t know what’s happening here. I’m concerned that my grandmother might find them to make trouble. If you have any ideas, please keep an eye on them and try to persuade your mother to agree.”

Gu Ye reassured him, “Your grandparents aren’t the type to wander around; they’ve been staying at our house these past few days. You can rest assured that they are safe.”

Relieved by Gu Ye’s response, Feng Yu let out a long sigh.

Afterward, he didn’t linger any longer and returned to his own home.

Gu Ye, however, was angry. Watching his friend endure suffering was no different from enduring it himself.

Although he was still young, he had encountered many people, and he found Feng Yu’s grandmother and father more repulsive than anyone he had ever seen.

“Tomorrow, I will go to the palace to speak to His Majesty,” Gu Ye declared seriously. “If His Majesty intervenes, Aunt Ge and the Feng family will certainly obtain a divorce through ‘Heli’.”

Gu Yin sighed and said helplessly, “Since ancient times, only the emperor has given marriage decrees. When have you ever seen the emperor decree ‘Heli’? It’s rumored that if His Majesty interferes in family affairs, it will not be good for his reputation.”

Gu Ye jumped out of his chair, went to his mother’s side, and implored, “Mom, I know you must have a solution. Save Aunt Ge. I can’t bear to see her like this.”

Gu Yin laughed and replied, “Do you really see me as a living Bodhisattva? But you’re right. Aunt Ge helped me, Feng Yu is your friend, and he was beaten for agreeing to be your companion. This is not something unrelated to our family. In this way, you go and invite Xiao Feng over. I’ll ask him what he wants, and if he agrees, then my plan should work.”

Although he didn’t know why his mother had something to do with Xiao Feng again, Gu Ye refrained from asking any more questions and immediately left the house.

Xiao Feng declared that he had lost his voice and wouldn’t perform that day. He allowed others to take the stage, and the theater owner could no longer control him.

Gu Ye personally received Xiao Feng.

After Gu Yin and Xiao Feng had an open conversation, Wu Qingyi returned.

It was already late, and everyone else had gone to sleep. Gu Yin was still waiting for him, and when she saw him, she got up, smiled, and said, “Your meal is in the kitchen, but even Ah Ye doesn’t like cold food. What would you like to eat?”

Gu Yin didn’t have to toil in the kitchen day and night to make a living. Cooking was a rare occurrence, typically happening when ‘Food of Heaven’ introduced new dishes or when she was in a good mood.

Wu Qingyi replied, “Don’t trouble yourself. Prepare a bowl of chicken noodle and two side dishes, and I’ll just have a bite.”

Gu Yin went to the kitchen, and after a while, she served a bowl of freshly rolled, smooth, and chewy chicken noodles. It was accompanied by shredded chicken, crispy cucumber slices, prepared bean sprouts, and choy sum. Although simple, it was very refreshing.

After Wu Qingyi finished a large bowl, he pushed the bowl away, wiped his mouth, and asked, “What can I do for you?”

 ……. 

The next morning, Gu Yin and Mrs. Wang took the old Ge family with them, along with some other people, as they headed to the entrance of Duke Lu’s mansion.

Mrs. Qin was already awake at that time, while Zheng Mama was combing her hair.

Zheng Mama began talking to Mrs. Qin, “My godson informed me yesterday that the task had been completed, and Xiao Feng can no longer perform in those melodramas. With him by our side, no one dares to act in those vile mother-in-law abusing daughter-in-law dramas. We now have control over the theater owner and Hua Dan’s role, and we can use this to promote our restaurant. The scripts must pass through our scrutiny first… My godson was out for leisure yesterday and hasn’t returned home yet. I can only seek your forgiveness and hope that he is pardoned for completing his errand.”

Zheng Mama rambled on, but Mrs. Qin was not paying much attention.

In her view, dealing with a small actor was no different from crushing an ant. It was a routine task, and it would be a joke if it couldn’t be handled. As for what Zheng Mama mentioned about her godson, it was a character that Mrs. Qin had little impression of.

“The servant didn’t return home all night, and according to our family’s rules, he should receive twenty lashes. However, since you have requested this, I will pardon him just this once, but there will be no more chances,” Mrs. Qin responded.

Zheng Mama thanked her repeatedly and continued to ponder other matters, while Mrs. Qin’s thoughts remained focused on Ge Zhu.