Noble Lady

The story of Nian Susu and Zheng Duoqi can only be said to be no different from the infatuated woman and the unfaithful man described in the storybooks.

A famous singer and a failed scholar.

Heartbroken and in love, love at first sight.

Nian Susu not only used up all her savings to support his studies, but also left the music house out of deep emotion and rented a house to live with him.

Except for the lack of parental consent, they are husband and wife in name only.

But since ancient times, most unfaithful people have been scholars.

He took the exam for three years but failed repeatedly, so he said he wanted to go and seek refuge with his mentor.

Before leaving, he vowed to ask Nian Susu to wait for him to come back.

But he left without any news for three years. Nian Susu became pregnant with his child, gave birth to the child alone, and raised him until he was three years old.

"Peace every year" was something they had agreed upon beforehand, and Nian Susu had tied a longevity lock early in the morning.

But until the child died of illness, Zheng Duoqi never showed up, and didn't even reply to a letter.

After taking care of the child's funeral, Nian Susu set out to find him.

The only place I know is where he wrote his last letter.

She was a stubborn person and at least wanted to know why he had not been heard from for three years.

But when she got there, she found out that Mr. Lu was no longer there and had returned to the capital a long time ago.

Since there is no school, there will be no students coming to study.

Everything is a lie.

When Nian Susu was disheartened and wanted to leave, she saw Zheng Duoqi and a beautiful woman going out together, looking very happy.

Her heart was broken, but her pride prevented her from tearing it apart in the street.

Afterwards, she secretly made an appointment with Zheng Duoqi, and only asked him to write a divorce letter.

But this well-dressed fellow, in order to enjoy the best of both worlds, deceived her with sweet words, saying that he and the woman were just having a casual affair and he would leave with her when the matter was over.

Nian Susu believed it, but was deceived again.

Half a year passed in a flash. After waiting and suffering day after day, she finally saw the man's true face and went to Zheng Duoqi's house to make trouble.

The conflict was naturally unpleasant, and she hurt her face during the scuffle, but in the end she got the divorce papers and broke off all ties with that heartless man.

As for how he persuaded the wife he later married, Nian Susu had no idea, but this shameless guy had pestered her again, and then she followed the caravan south to Lingnan.

She was nearly kidnapped by bandits and taken to the mountains, but they gave up when they saw that she was disfigured. Later, she was rescued by Chu Yao and came to the orphanage to help take care of other elderly, weak, women and children there.

"Actually, I should have seen through that man's true face earlier. He appears to be righteous on the surface, but in reality he's hypocritical and selfish. He's willing to do anything for his own future."

"It's really satisfying to see him reaping the fruits of his own labor." Nian Susu let out a breath, feeling relieved after having felt the same way for so many years.

Chu Yao returned the longevity lock to her. Nian Susu held it close to her heart, but she couldn't help but feel heartbroken and burst into tears.

Just pity the kid.

Xue Chenyu thought about it and said to her what he wanted to say, "Miss Nian, there are some things I hesitated to tell you before coming here, but now I think I should tell you."

Nian Susu stopped crying temporarily, wiped away her tears, and said, "I'm sorry, I lost my composure. Miss Xue, please speak."

"As far as I know, Zheng Duoqi was kicked out of the Xu family long after you, Miss Nian, caused trouble at the Xu residence."

"But the Xu family is also a prominent family, and they also want to save face, which is why they didn't disclose the whole incident to the public."

"Zheng Duoqi exploited this to scam people everywhere. He even tricked Mr. Lu into intervening on his behalf, securing the opportunity to come to Haicheng County and run a free private school funded by the Datong Trading Company."

"Even the great scholar Mr. Lu couldn't escape being fooled by his sweet words. Miss Nian doesn't think that he is more remarkable than the great scholar, does he?"

Nian Susu shook her head repeatedly. How could she dare to have such an overestimating idea?

She had only read a few books of poetry, and compared to ordinary women, she could be considered to have some talent and knowledge.

But compared with the famous scholars of the time, she has no face.

"So, it's not that Miss Nian trusts people easily, but he has already developed a set of rules to deceive people. He says one thing to one person and another to another."

Nian Susu felt relieved, and the thought that had been bothering her for a long time was finally let go.

"And Miss Nian, there's something I shouldn't say, but Zheng Duoqi has done countless bad things and has let you two down. Are you really going to let him get away with it so easily?"

"He's in jail now." Nian Susu said helplessly. This was the retribution he deserved.

"He abandoned you, divorced you and remarried, ruined your appearance, and ruined your once happy life. Can you really let it go like this? Will you not feel resentful when you think about it for the rest of your life?"

As soon as Xue Chenyu said this, Nian Susu felt her heart beating rapidly in her chest.

"Miss Xue means that I can sue him?"

"In the "Household Marriage" section of the "Yonghui Law Commentary," it is stated that 'Anyone who has a wife and marries another shall be sentenced to one year in prison, and the woman's family shall be reduced by one level;'"

"What this means is that if he is already married and remarries, and his second wife knows about the existence of his first wife and still wants to marry her, the man will have to do hard labor for a year, and the second wife's family will also be sentenced, but the sentence will be lighter."

Nian Susu gasped, "Is that so?"

Chu Yao, who grew up in a bandit's den, didn't understand the law at all.

"No wonder the Xu family quietly kicked him out." Chu Yao thought about it and suddenly realized.

First of all, this kind of thing is shameful.

The second reason is, of course, that if the news gets out, it will be detrimental to the Xu family's reputation in all aspects.

Nian Susu pondered for a moment.

In fact, she guessed that it was Zheng Duoqi who deceived the girl with sweet words, so she didn't want to implicate outsiders if she could get a divorce.

"But there is another situation: 'If a man marries someone by deception, he shall be sentenced to a year and a half in prison. If the woman's family does not accept the punishment, they shall both divorce.'"

Chu Yao looked at Xue Chenyu eagerly.

Xue Chenyu explained, "It means that if a man deceives a woman, he will be sentenced to one and a half years of hard labor, while the woman's family will not be sentenced, but must divorce."

"Miss Nian may not know that Zheng Duoqi has been in Haicheng County for over a month. While he's been pestering Miss Nian, he's also keeping a mistress outside. I'm sure Miss Nian is also unaware of this, right?"

Nian Susu shook her head blankly, "Then the one from the Xu family was..." also deceived?

"When Zheng Duoqi married into the Xu family, he lied and said he had no wife, deceiving the Xu family. Everyone in the Xu family knew about this, and the matchmaker can testify to it."

Xue Chenyu simply finished her words in one breath, "The Xu family naturally has to save face. It's impossible for them to marry their beloved daughter to Zheng Duoqi when they know he's married."

"So, if he were to appeal, he would be the only one to do hard labor, and the Xu family wouldn't be implicated. He also has a reputation for merit, and knowingly breaking the law is a more serious crime."

Nian Susu breathed a sigh of relief, then clenched her fists, "This man is extremely shameless, I will never let him go!"

"The Haicheng County Magistrate is a rare and good official. You can consider it. If you need help, feel free to come to me."

Nian Susu nodded seriously.

If she had hidden all the resentment in her heart before, now she had nothing to worry about.

But now she is alone and has nothing to lose.

She will definitely make Zheng Duoqi, that inhuman bastard, pay the price!

The Yonghui Law Commentary contains a provision on "Household Marriage": "Anyone who has a wife and marries another shall be sentenced to one year in prison, and the woman's family shall be reduced by one level; if he marries by deception, he shall be sentenced to one and a half years in prison, and the woman's family shall not be held responsible, and they shall be divorced."

This means that if a man marries another wife knowingly, he will be sentenced to one year in prison, and the second wife's family will also be sentenced, but the sentence will be reduced. If the man deceives the woman, he will be sentenced to one and a half years, and the woman's family will not be sentenced, but they must divorce.

Speaking of which, the previous marriage law seems more reliable than the current one.