Chapter 154 out of 513 – It’s better to destroy ten temples than ruin a marriage (1)
For a few moments, Wen Wan felt confused by Nie Sangyu’s words. She had clearly come here to help her. Why would she hate her?
On the side, there was a bowl of murky black medicinal soup. She wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t drink that medicine. Feeling tired, she wrapped the quilt that Nie Sangyu had brought her around herself and leaned against the nearby woodpile to sleep.
Shortly after Ji Man left the woodshed, Ning Yuxuan came over from the other side.
In the end, Wen Wan still had a place in his heart and he couldn’t bear to just leave her alone. After all, they had gotten together despite difficulties, and they also had so many beautiful memories. How could he be willing to abandon her just like that?
As soon as he thought about all of the injuries she had suffered today, Ning Yuxuan still came over with ointment so that he could apply it to her wounds.
However, when he opened the doors, he immediately saw that Wen Wan’s injuries had already been bandaged. She was also peacefully sleeping while wrapped up in a thick quilt.
Ning Yuxuan stood at the doorway and looked at her for a while before tucking the jar of ointment into his sleeve. Thinking about how Wen Wan had truly done something wrong, he decided that he shouldn’t be softhearted. Otherwise, her behavior would become even worse.
After closing the doors, Ning Yuxuan turned around and decided to go to Xuesong Courtyard to visit Qian Lianxue.
—
Prince Huainan’s heir’s wife had requested for a divorce.
This news spread throughout the capital and even entered the palace. After the emperor heard the reason for this request, he was furious. He summoned Marquis Moyu into the palace and told him to give Wen Wan white cloth for her failure to behave as a moral married woman.
(T/N: Giving white cloth means he wants her to commit suicide by hanging herself.)
In actually, the emperor had only summoned Marquis Moyu into the palace as a show for the benefit of Luo Clan and Prince Huainan’s household. The emperor had bestowed the marriage between these two families, so Luo Qianqian and Prince Huainan’s heir naturally couldn’t get a divorce after recently getting married. Moreover, it wasn’t even the heir that wanted to get a divorce. It was his wife.
Since someone from Marquis Moyu’s household was involved with this incident, it wasn’t good for Ning Yuxuan’s reputation. And so, the emperor thought it would be worth it to sacrifice Wen Wan.
Frustratingly, Marquis Moyu wouldn’t agree.
Luo Qianqian also knew that Ning Yuxuan wouldn’t give up Wen Wan. Her only intention in calmly kneeling in front of the emperor was to request for a divorce.
Kneeling next to her, the heir snuck several glances at her. Luo Qianqian didn’t look like she had the intention of changing her mind.
Zhao Kaifeng didn’t actually want a divorce. Although his wife was very fierce, had quite a temper, and wasn’t pretty, she was very good at managing the household. Sometimes, she would be too controlling and he would get angry. But, if she wasn’t there controlling him, he would feel… as if something was empty.
He adored Wen Wan because she gave off an aura that made people want to protect her. Her attractive face was also very likable. He had just wanted to make Wen Wan happy, so he had given Wen Wan’s father a hundred silver taels. How could he have known that the matter would explode into something like this?
He was also too used to acting like a great lord. He could admit to himself that he had acted outrageously be slapping his wife, but he wasn’t willing to lower himself by apologizing to her.
And so, when the emperor, who was feeling quite the headache over this matter, asked him if he was willing to divorce, the heir could only stiffen his neck and reply, “Yes.”
He knew that even if he agreed, his father definitely wouldn’t agree!
Prince Huainan had already spent a long time apologizing to Sir Luo. Hearing his son’s response, he immediately smacked the back of Zhao Kaifeng’s head. “Bastard! You’ve only been married to Qianqian for such a short period of time. How dare you not take any responsibility?”
Luo Qianqian calmly smiled and said, “Your Highness, there’s no reason for you to be angry. Qianqian just isn’t fated to be with him. There’s nothing more that needs to be said. At worst, we’ll just be considered laughingstocks by everyone else.”
Zhao Kaifeng looked at his father in disbelief. Why had his father stopped talking? Was he really going to stop persuading her on his behalf?
Prince Huainan kicked his son’s back and angrily rebuke, “You lost yourself a wonderful wife. Let’s see how you’ll cry about this in the future!”
The emperor’s expression wasn’t good either. He kept staring at Marquis Moyu. A woman had ruined a marriage that he, the emperor, had bestowed, and Ning Yuxuan wasn’t even willing to deal with her. How could the emperor not be angry?
However, the emperor still felt slightly fearful of the consequences of pushing Marquis Moyu too far, so he didn’t immediately have a falling out with him. He only said, “This marriage holds a great importance. The two of you should go home first and cool down for a few days before asking this emperor for a decision. However, a justification for how the culprit will be punished needs to be handled today.”
Luo Qianqian wanted to say something, but her father pressed down on her shoulder to stop her.
—
A rumor was springing up everywhere in the capital that there was a seductress in Marquis Moyu’s household. She failed to act like a proper married woman, seduced other men, and was causing the heir and his wife to get a divorce. This rumor caused quite a commotion.
It was actually good for Wen Wan that she was confined in the woodshed and didn’t leave the residence. Otherwise, if she heard people cursing her name everywhere, she might want to die.
Marquis Moyu had humbly apologized to the emperor. He punished himself with a loss of one year’s salary, as well as promising that Wen Wan would remain a servant for the rest of her life and never be allowed to marry.
This promise was completely blocking Wen Wan’s future. She would never be more than a servant for the rest of her life.
Hearing this news, Ji Man felt secretly happy. It had taken so long, but she had finally gotten revenge for Nie Sangyu. The woman that had stolen away her husband had finally received retribution.
Although her intuition told her that Wen Wan’s ending wouldn’t remain like this, Ji Man still felt satisfied when she thought about what Wen Wan’s expression would look like when she found out about her punishment.
However, the relationship between Marquis Moyu and Luo Clan had become rocky. Luo Qianqian’s father was the Chancellor of Exchequer in the Three Departments. As the person in charge of the country’s treasury, his status was very illustrious. Due to his falling out with Marquis Moyu, the Six Ministries were in a very awkward position.
