The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

The two found a gazebo in the backyard and sat down.

The servants followed behind, served tea and snacks, and then left.

For a moment, the pavilion was silent.

Wu Ya was a little nervous and clenched the handkerchief in her hand.

After a long while, he said, "Little brother, you should have guessed it. I came here today to tell you that I want to divorce you. What do you think?"

"My parents told me about this when I just came back. They had a premonition a long time ago. I have no objection. It all depends on you," Zhang Pingan said calmly.

He guessed it when he saw his fifth sister's red eyes in the morning.

"I'm the one who let my parents down," Wu Ya felt a little guilty when she heard that.

Although many women are remarrying nowadays, divorce is not a glorious thing after all.

I have never heard of any divorce among all my relatives and friends, so I have set a precedent.

"I just mentioned it to mother formally, and she said let me do it. But you know the Fang family, they are all very troublesome. When you went to the north, if it weren't for my eldest uncle from the Qian family who came to help and support me, I would have been bullied to death by them. Now that you are so successful, they are just waiting to take advantage of you. I'm afraid it won't be so easy to actually do this, and you have to step forward," Wu Ya expressed her concerns.

She was afraid that the Fang family would turn the tables on her and drag her down, refusing to divorce.

"Fifth sister, actually, divorce is the easiest. With me here, the Fang family won't dare to stir up any trouble. But have you thought about how you're going to live after the divorce? There will inevitably be people outside gossiping about you." Zhang Ping'an asked back.

This is also what he is worried about.

Having been in officialdom for many years, he understood too well the principle of gratitude for a little rice and grudge for a big rice, and that human nature often could not stand the test.

Especially for women, after divorce it is no longer a question of money, but whether they can adapt to the new living environment and the pressure of public opinion.

If this happened to the eldest sister, the second sister or the sixth sister, he would definitely not say more.

But the fifth sister has always been a little confused and not very smart. He is really worried and has to explain the whole thing to her.

"Actually, your family's conditions are good now, and you won't be short of food. Whether you want to stay home or remarry, it won't be difficult. But no one can guarantee that remarrying will definitely make your life better than now. There's no such thing as absolute certainty. What if life is still not good after that? Will you divorce again?"

Wu Ya was a little stunned when she heard this. She didn't think too much about it. After all, the reason why she could be so comfortable all this time was that her mother's family gave her great confidence.

She is not afraid of having nowhere to go after the divorce.

Compared to other women in this world, she is already very lucky!

After thinking carefully with her head down, Wu Ya replied, "If there's a suitable one, I'll marry again. If not, forget it. Anyway, I have some money on hand, and I can do some small business or something. If it really doesn't work out, I can stay at home to serve my parents, or go to a nunnery to practice asceticism. It's all fine."

"Don't glorify the road you haven't walked, and don't say angry words," Zhang Pingan sighed.

We are brothers from the same mother, so how can there be such a big difference in emotional intelligence?

"I'm saying this just to make one point. You have to live your own life, Fifth Sister. You have to figure out what you want and not just follow your own whims. Once you've made a decision, don't regret it, and don't blame anyone. Fifth Brother-in-law is indeed wrong, but don't you have any problems? Just like the concubine incident, you were so desperate to break up with your husband, and how can others help you? Marriage requires careful management."

"You don't have to say anything. I've made up my mind. I want a divorce. I can't live like this for even a day longer. Even if I really become a nun in a temple in the future, it's still better than what I'm living now," Wu Ya said firmly.

"Okay, since you have made up your mind, I will definitely help you. I will talk to the Fang family later. You have been in their family for so many years, and although you have not given birth to children, you still have to get your share of the property," Zhang Pingan nodded.

"Thank you!" Wu Ya bowed her head to express her gratitude, and began to cry again, feeling that her life was miserable.

"Don't cry so easily. Crying won't solve the problem. That's just how you are. You never talk about things openly, but blame others in your heart."

Zhang Ping'an was very helpless. He could guess a little from his fifth sister's expression.

At the same time, I had secretly decided in my heart that I must ask my eldest sister to talk my fifth sister out of this idea, otherwise she would not be able to live a happy life no matter who she married.

"I...I didn't...didn't," Wu Ya sobbed and denied it flatly.

"Ask yourself, your eldest and second sisters, which one hasn't suffered more than you? They've achieved their current lives through their own hard work and efforts. And then there's your sixth sister, with all the sisters-in-law in the family. Are they all good people? I don't believe it. She's the one who made it. Because she's family, I'm telling you these things and teaching you these principles. Try to figure it out for yourself!"

Zhang Ping'an said this in a gentle voice, handed the handkerchief in his arms to the fifth sister, and then slowly walked away.

Mrs. Xu was still waiting in the main hall. Seeing her son come back, she looked up and asked, "What happened?"

"I'm crying now, after finishing the conversation. There are some things that you just have to figure out on your own."

"Or divorce?"

"What else can we do if we don't get a divorce? Can we just watch Fifth Sister stay in the fire pit? This is obviously unbearable. I can't guarantee that I will be fine for the rest of my life and stand firm in the officialdom. Let's break up now. I will talk to the Fang family," Zhang Pingan said calmly.

"Oh, okay!" Xu sighed deeply.

"Oh, right, let's get the eldest sister to come and talk to the fifth sister. Firstly, it can comfort her, and secondly, it can teach her some principles of conduct. I just scared her, and she must still be feeling bad!"

"You are useless and yet you still have the nerve to feel bad!" Xu was unhappy.

In the end, he agreed and said, "I'll have someone talk to Daya. Among your sisters, Daya is the most sensible and considerate. Sigh!"

Zhang Laoer found out about this later, but he didn't object.

This matter has been resolved for the whole family.

That night, people from the Fang family came, including all the men except the old grandfather who was too old to walk.

Zhang Ping'an only called his eldest uncle and third uncle's families over.

If Zhang Laoer had not been afraid of being blamed by the first and third wives for not informing them of the matter, Zhang Ping'an might not have called either of them.

He can handle it all by himself, so this matter shouldn't be publicized.

At the beginning, the Fang family naturally begged for mercy and refused to agree to the divorce. The eldest and second brothers Fang helped and said a lot of good things.

Move it with emotion, understand it with reason.

Fang Ziqi himself also took the blame and apologized, his expression looking as if he wished he could kill himself with regret, and the scene was noisy.

Zhang Ping'an had a headache watching this. Wasn't it just that they wanted to take advantage of their numbers and drag them along by crying, making a fuss, and even threatening to commit suicide?

With a "bang", Zhang Pingan slammed the teacup in his hand onto the table and said in a deep voice: "You don't want to drink the toast, so you have to drink the penalty wine, right?"

That's quite rude.

The Fang family members fell silent for a moment, their faces showing unhappy expressions.

After calming down the situation, Zhang Pingan ordered Chibao: "Chibao, take the food over and show it to them. Only speak after they have seen it clearly!"

He nodded after eating and brought over the tray. There were more than a dozen large envelopes on it. He didn't know what was inside.

He had long disliked this family. If it weren't for the fact that their family was still in the seventh day of mourning and it was not appropriate to see blood, he would have taken people to hold these people down.

It's so noisy and not manly at all!

Brother Fang and Fang Ziqi are both worthy of being scholars, and they are also the smartest among the Fang family.

I felt something was wrong when I saw the envelope.

After opening it and looking at it, they almost fainted.

I don't know when Zhang Ping'an collected the evidence of the two people's corruption and bribery. He remembers every piece of evidence, every transaction, when the incident happened, and how many people were involved.

That would have been fine, but it was also discovered that the two men had embezzled wages, materials and money in their respective positions and enriched themselves.

This is a matter of life and death!

Especially since the establishment of the new dynasty, this aspect has been particularly strict in recent years.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you two to be so greedy. But maybe it's not just greed, it's also being clever," Zhang Pingan sneered.

"Let's get a divorce," the eldest brother of the Fang family said immediately, and then looked at Fang Ziqi: "Youngest, write the divorce papers and stop making trouble!"

Fang Ziqi was no fool. He knew that his lifeline had been taken, so he was very decisive: "Okay, I agree to the divorce, but these things..."

"These things are given as exchange, I'll just pretend I don't know," Zhang Pingan said calmly.

"Okay!" Fang Ziqi nodded.

Although he was very unhappy, he still wrote the divorce letter quickly.

It shows that the two parties are not in harmony and are voluntarily divorcing. Wu Ya's dowry should be returned to Wu Ya, and the marital property is willing to be divided in half as compensation.

This result is really good.

The efficiency of the handling far exceeded the expectations of the families of Zhang Lao Da and Zhang Lao San.

If this were an ordinary family, how could the woman leave without being seriously injured?

The two families had a deeper understanding of the power held by Zhang Pingan.

Xiao Yuer was also watching from behind the screen with stars in his eyes, his eyes full of admiration. His father was really awesome!

Zhang Laoer and Xu were naturally full of pride.

After the Fang family and the people from the first and third houses left, Zhang Laoer asked, "Are you really going to let them go like this? That kid got away with it!"

"Let them go? How is that possible? No matter how bad the fifth sister is, she is still a family member. Moreover, she has suffered such a great injustice. How can we let it go so easily?!" Zhang Ping'an looked outside the yard with a somewhat cold tone.

"You're thinking?"

"Right now, Xiaoyu'er's mother is still in the seventh month of high school, and Fifth Sister's divorce papers haven't been registered and sealed with the government yet. It's not appropriate to push them too hard for now. Let's wait until we're done with our business. I only promised not to report them for embezzling wages, enriching themselves, or committing corruption, but I didn't say anything else. They're covered in mud, who can they blame?"