Chapter 144: Divorce or Separation?

es inside and outside.Men were drinking and chatting in the main hall, while women were eating and taking care of children inside.Mrs. Liu, Mrs. Cui, Hui'niang, and Wu Da's mother all congratulated Ta...Ding Beihou had never seen her like this before, and for a moment, he was taken aback.

As for Jiao Shi, she clutched her stomach and cried pitifully, her mouth still desperately vying for attention.

"Oh, my lord! What's wrong with you Don't worry about me, quickly call the guards!"

Dingbei Hou came back to his senses and was furious, "Cui Jinyu, are you crazy You actually dare to do this"

"Yes, I'm crazy." Mrs. Cui nodded with a chilling smile colder than a thousand-year-old ice sculpture.

“After I moved out of the entire Kyoto, after hundreds of people in the Duke’s Mansion all fled, no one thought of me. When the barbarians' iron cavalry chased me like a dog, when I was blinded by the flames and could only burrow into the mountains to fight for my life with wolves and black bears, that's when I went mad!”

Ding Beihou's heart sank slightly upon hearing this. He wanted to retort, but there was nothing he could say that justified abandoning his wife and fleeing alone.

Jia reached out and shielded Dingbei Hou, crying with pear blossoms in the rain.

"Sister Cui, you can't speak to the Marquis like that. He was trying to protect the Empress Dowager and the Emperor when they fled south. He didn't sleep for days and nights, he had no time to think about his sister at all. Do you really think the Emperor and Empress Dowager are less important than you One cannot have both their country and family, one cannot be both loyal to the state and their parents!"

“Yes,” General Dingbei’s heart leaped with joy, regaining some of his composure. “I am a military marquis, and defending my country is always my duty. It doesn't matter who it is, even my parents, I would choose loyalty without hesitation.”

Mrs. Cui clapped her hands and began with praise, "Good, well said. Among Tianwu's generals, you are the best at flattering. With these words, anyone who hears them will surely be moved to tears and praise your loyalty."

She pointed with her finger at the courtyard, "But look, your whole family, concubines, children, even the maidservants and the little dogs you keep are all in Xindu. Only your legal wife is missing! Bringing your legal wife would be considered unfaithful and disobedient! Do you believe what you're saying Should I go for a walk in Xindu and have everyone praise you"

As soon as she spoke, the maidservants who had come to watch the commotion in the courtyard were startled and scurried back, dropping the little dog they were holding.

The little dog dashed into the house and ran around Dingbeihou.

The Marquis of Dingbei was humiliated and had nowhere to vent his anger, so he kicked the little dog away.

The little dog whimpered in pain and pitifully ran back out.

"I was blind back then!" Madam Cui, remembering the past, couldn't hold back her tears.

The Marquis of Dingbei listened impatiently and tugged at Jiao Shi, asking back.

"So what do you want All these years, you've ignored me completely, not fulfilling your duties as a wife at all. I'm not asking you to leave the house, just for you to act like a proper wife, and yet you're still so stubborn. Look at yourself, have you forgotten your former gentleness and grace"

At this moment, Master Liu couldn't help but speak up, “Fu Qingrong! Don't think that now that Grand Scholar Cui has passed away, you can be so arrogant and bully Jinerou. Jinerou still has me, this old bone! A proper wife is being abandoned in Kyoto, suffering countless hardships to get here, and you want her to become a concubine How dare you! If you try to argue again, we will go before the Emperor! Perhaps the Emperor knows that you abandoned your legal wife to protect him, but didn't forget to bring your mistress and dog, and he even promoted you!”

Ding Beihou's head buzzed. He was from the Empress Dowager's faction, and the Emperor only recognized Ye Chengyi. If he went before the Emperor, he'd likely give the Emperor a reason to revoke his military power.

Being close to Jiao Shi, he could see a thin layer of sweat on his forehead. With gritted teeth, he knelt directly in the middle of the floor before Madam Cui, crying piteously.

“Oh, sister, please don't make things difficult for the Marquis! It’s all my fault, I shouldn't have married in. Oh, the Marquis is too tired, being in court is like walking on thin ice. A day of marriage is a hundred days of kindness, please sister, consider our past affection and don't make things difficult for him anymore.”

The marquis of Dingbei was moved. His new wife was so virtuous, and when he looked at his old wife again, his eyes were filled with resentment and disdain.

Lady Cui's heart was filled with icy rage, she looked down at Jiao Shi and asked directly.

"Well then, the Duke really has married a woman he adores. So why don't you do this Since you care so much for the Duke and feel his predicament, why not take the initiative to leave Request to step down from your position. That way, the Duke certainly wouldn't be put in an awkward situation."

"No!" Jiao shi instinctively retorted, "No, I am the mistress of this household, I entered through proper marriage!"

"Look, you feel sorry for the Marquis, aren't you stepping on me to do so You are truly kind!" Mrs. Cui sneered.

Her eyes blazed with anger, "Why can't you be sacrificed You should just die outside and never return! The barbarians have occupied Jiangbei for so long, who knows how many barbarians have defiled you, your innocence is gone, what face do you have to come back and be the Madam of a Marquis"

“Bang!” Mrs. Cui grabbed the tea bowl and smashed it hard on Jiao’s head. Jiao turned her head to dodge the tea bowl, but the water splashed all over her.

"Shut your stinking mouth! Do you think everyone is like you You're barely twenty, married to a husband as old as your father, all for the sake of securing a good future for the family. You think you're different from those courtesans You're both just thousand-year foxes, pretending to be proper ladies!"

Mrs. Cui cursed with such gusto that she no longer looked at the screaming Jiao Shi. Turning to the Duke of Dingbei, she said, "Our divorce must be finalized immediately! We need to sign the divorce papers right now!"

"No!" Dingbeihou frowned, not putting on any show of affection or righteousness. "As Jiao said, you have already lost your innocence. I will divorce you!"

"Very well, then let's go before the Emperor and file a formal complaint. Let the Emperor and all under heaven hear it for themselves – whether we should divorce or separate!"

"You, you are utterly unreasonable!" the Duke of Dingbei was so angry he wanted to kill.

Old Master Liu slammed his teacup down heavily, "Fu Qingrong, I'm giving you face now. You better back off or you'll regret it in the end. You think by tying the Jiao family to your side, you have nothing to worry about Humph, in this Zouzhou region, the Jiao family doesn't even have the right to speak loudly in front of my Liu family! Don't believe me Let's just try!"

The other two old men also chimed in, "The Jiao family is known for being merchants, who in the entire region of Xu Zhou True scholarly families and noble clans would never marry a woman from the Jiao family. Only someone as short-sighted as you would treat her like a treasure!"

Although Jiao initially wanted to argue, upon hearing this, his heart sank. He could only weep softly and dared not speak.

Ding Beihou's face changed for a long time before he gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, let's divorce, but I have one condition."

"Just say what you have to say." Madam Cui's face was impassive, leaving Duke Dingbei feeling uneasy. Still, he said, "From now on, we should tell everyone that we separated when we were in the capital."

Mrs. Cui laughed angrily, but it was also within her expectations. "Very well, Lord Dingbei wants to save face and doesn't want others to know that he abandoned his wife and fled alone, nor does he want others to know that he divorced her to remarry! I shall be generous and fulfill your wish!"

The Duke of Dingbei gritted his teeth in anger, "Sign the divorce papers quickly, and then get out of my sight!"

Old Master Liu took out two divorce papers that he had prepared in advance and Liu Zhiheng personally delivered them to Hou Dingbei.

After carefully looking over it, Dingbei Hou signed his name and pressed his seal.

Mrs. Cui also stepped forward and signed her name, her finger trembling as she pressed it down. originally thought that my senior brother’s father was just a bit rigid and demanding, with higher expectations for my senior brother. Who would have thought…” Madam Cui wanted to scold him, but held...