The daily struggles of divorced women in ancient times

Almost three months passed in a flash, and it was time for Pei Yanxu to return to Beijing.

Before returning to the capital, Pei Yanxu asked the emperor for an imperial decree to grant him marriage, explaining clearly what had happened in Yanzhou before he went to Xia Mianwan.

The emperor was quite straightforward. He had been worried about Zheng Xiaoyun to begin with. Now that his beloved minister had married Xia Mianwan, he naturally became a mortal enemy of Zheng Xiaoyun. Xia Mianwan's family did not have much background, and it was not the first time he had heard of Xia Mianwan. He was a smart man. So, he readily issued an imperial decree.

When the imperial edict arrived at the Xia family, Xia Mianwan was completely stunned. Fortunately, she still knew the etiquette of receiving the edict.

After thanking the emperor for his kindness, the marriage was settled.

Of course, after finding out who Xia Mianwan was, the entire court was in an uproar...

Who could have thought that the emperor's favorite, Pei Yanxu, the youngest prince's tutor since the founding of the Great Chen Kingdom, would actually marry a divorced woman with two children...

This is too crazy. Could it be that... the emperor's appreciation of Pei Yanxu is just a cover?

The ministers were now even more furious. They went back and told their wives about this matter, asking them to take the initiative to invite Xia Mianwan to a banquet to see who this person was.

In the past, when Xia Mianwan was the young lady of the general's mansion, she seldom attended banquets. It was always the mistress of the house, Zhou, who attended, so everyone was relatively unfamiliar with Xia Mianwan.

On the other side, the General’s Mansion in the capital.

When Xia Mianwan returned to Beijing, it became meaningless for Old Lady Zheng and Zheng Lingwan to stay in Yanzhou any longer, so they had already returned to the capital.

General Zheng had already learned about the relationship between Xia Mianwan and Pei Yanxu when Old Lady Zheng came back, but no one expected that Pei Yanxu would actually marry Xia Mianwan and even ask the emperor to grant the marriage.

When Mrs. Zheng heard the news from General Zheng, she was shocked: "Are you serious? Pei Yanxu really wants to marry Mian Wan?"

"It's absolutely true. The imperial edict has been issued and Mian Wan has also received it." said General Zheng.

Old Madam Zheng staggered and took a deep breath, "Ting Yan, there is something I want to tell you."

Seeing his mother's serious expression, Zheng Tingyan straightened up and said, "Mother, please speak."

"This time when I went to Yanzhou, I didn't persuade Xiaoyun. Xiaoyun wanted to use the Japanese pirates to kill Pei Yanxu and Mianwan, and Zhuang was also involved. But who knew that Pei Yanxu learned about the plan in advance, and the Japanese pirates did not succeed. But... Xiaoyun still sent people to kill Mianwan, but they didn't find him. Later, Pei Yanxu's people arrived, and only then... Mianwan was spared!"

As soon as Mrs. Zheng finished speaking, Zheng Tingyan slammed the table and stood up, "How foolish! Even if there is a deep hatred, how can you collude with outsiders and put the people of your own country in an unjust situation?"

Seeing Zheng Tingyan shouting so loudly, Old Lady Zheng quickly scolded, "Do you want everyone to know about this?"

After hearing what Old Lady Zheng said, Zheng Tingyan suppressed his anger and said, "Mother, why didn't you stop it?"

Old Madam Zheng said calmly, "You know, I can't stop it. After Xiaoyun went to Jiangnan, he became... very different. Sasa could still suppress him in the capital, but after going to Yanzhou, she was led by Xiaoyun. Tingyan, I'm afraid the Zheng family is in danger. Otherwise... why not separate the third branch?"

Zheng Tingyan suddenly raised his head, "What? Mother, are you...going to give up Xiaoyun?"

Mrs. Zheng looked sad and said in a deep voice: "How can I be willing to give up Xiaoyun? However, with Xiaoyun's current condition, if something really happens to him, we can't let the Zheng family not have any descendants. After the third branch is divided, we will focus on training Xiaocheng. If Xiaocheng can stand up on his own, then the third branch will have hope. Maybe in the future we will have to rely on the third branch to help our first branch."

Zheng Tingyan knew that his mother was right. From the family's perspective, now was indeed the best time to split up.

"What about Xiaoqi?" Zheng Tingyan asked.

"Xiaoqi...Xiaoyun is still here. The emperor will not allow both of them to stay in the army at the same time. Xiaoqi should try to take the imperial examination." Old Lady Zheng said helplessly.

Zheng Tingyan carefully considered what Old Lady Zheng said, and it did make sense.

"Mother, just do as you say!"

After saying that, Zheng Tingyan handed Old Lady Zheng a box containing 20,000 taels of silver notes.

"Mother, Zhou is not capable of being a mistress. Because of the exile, the wealth accumulated by several generations has disappeared. Although there are farms, silver and treasures bestowed by the emperor, they are not as good as they used to be. This year, the family has huge expenses due to operations. I got these silvers by selling some things. However, under the current circumstances, I can no longer give them to Zhou. Now that you are back, you will be the head of the family, and let Xiaoqi's wife help you."

Old Mrs. Zheng accepted the 20,000 taels of silver notes reluctantly. It was really... there was no one available at home, it was too... difficult.

Just as Mrs. Zheng reluctantly accepted the banknotes, Zhou pushed open the door and rushed in, "Zheng Tingyan, what do you mean? You actually want to deprive me of my right to be a housekeeper? I have worked diligently since I married you. How have I ever let you down? Why do you treat me like this?"

Mrs. Zheng Zhou is going crazy!

Seeing that Zhou was making trouble again, Zheng Tingyan shouted, "Don't make trouble again. The Zheng family is walking on thin ice now. Don't make trouble!"

Madam Zheng's facial expression was distorted. "I am causing trouble? I am making trouble? If you must do this, then I will die completely and let Xiaoyun go into mourning!"

Zheng Tingyan didn't expect Zhou to be so excited. His face turned red with anger. "Why are you like this now?"

"You still have the nerve to ask? You separated my grandchildren from me and didn't allow me to go and get them back. How dare you ask me?" Zhou's expression became even more distorted.

"Isn't he the good son you taught? Don't you see what Xiaoyun did?" Zheng Tingyan didn't want to argue with Zhou anymore.

Old Madam Zheng felt her head hurt. "That's enough, stop arguing! Zhou, if you want to manage it, just do it. There's just one thing. Mian Wan is going to get married to Master Pei. You have to act like a housekeeper and you must not lose our face."

"What? Xia Mianwan is going to marry Pei Yanxu? How dare she do that? What about Chen Ge'er and Yu Jie'er? I don't care. Go and bring them back!"

Zheng Tingyan couldn't stand it any longer. With a "slap", he slapped Zhou in the face. "If you are still confused, go ahead and die! If you are so confused, the son you raised will probably be stupid. Maybe mourning can save the lives of the whole family!"

Zhou was stunned by Zheng Tingyan's slap. She covered her face and was speechless for a long time.

Old Mrs. Zheng didn't want to pay any attention to her and turned back to her own yard.