The gambling god's wife in the Duke's Mansion is getting divorced again

Zhaoyun Courtyard was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop.

The walls and the courtyard had been filled with armored soldiers standing silently without anyone noticing.

In the main hall, a man in a bright yellow robe shone like the sun. Pei Jinzhi knelt in front of the hall, holding a wooden box.

The official was in his prime, his thick eyebrows like swords, his eyes as sharp as blades, and he was intimidating without being angry.

The eunuch flicked his whisk, took the wooden box and presented it to the emperor.

"I am incompetent, Your Majesty, please punish me." Pei Jinzhi said nothing more.

The Ming Huang Imperial Edict slowly unfolded in the official's hands. The lower right corner had been burned into a small hill with a large hole in it.

I have received the favor of Heaven. The rivers within the country are clear, the world is peaceful, the people are content, and all nations are subservient. My virtue surpasses that of the sages before me, and my achievements are the legacy of future generations. I now pass the throne to yyyy, a man of noble character who closely resembles me. He will surely inherit the throne. I order you to succeed me as Emperor. All ministers should diligently assist me and support the country. September 16, the ninth year of the Tianbao era (Shen)

The fire happened to burn the position of the throne, XX, completely, leaving only a sun character.

The official's eyes flashed, his hands trembled and he shed tears of excitement:

"Back then, the late emperor and I conquered this country together. We were brothers, united in purpose, with the heavens and earth as witnesses, the sun and the moon as illumination. The late emperor bestowed upon me the title of King Zhao. My royal brother, you entrusted me with the throne and the country long ago!"

The eunuch knelt down and kowtowed at the right moment: "How sad for the late emperor! Your Majesty, please accept my condolences!"

The official covered his face and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes: "Prince Pei, get up and talk."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Pei Jinzhi stood up, still bowing his head slightly.

"A loyal father is a good son, and Jinzhi is both brave and resourceful, truly living up to my trust. But how did this imperial edict fall into the hands of those in the Tianxuan Sect?"

The official asked a very profound question.

"Your Majesty, allow me to report. According to remnants of the Tianxuan Sect, this edict was written by the late emperor in the Imperial Garden. After writing it, the late emperor hid it in a secret compartment in the Imperial Study, where it was stolen by a Tianxuan Sect operative lurking in the palace. The operative then handed it to a contact outside the palace, intending to deliver it overnight to Jiangnan to be handed over to Chai Jue. However, he was met by bandits on the way and died in the wilderness. The edict vanished without a trace. Consequently, members of the Tianxuan Sect have been searching for the edict for the past ten years. I traced it to Fengshui Town and learned that the Tianshengtang Pharmacy here was a Tianxuan Sect hideout. Therefore, under the pretext of treating an illness, I conducted an in-depth investigation."

"I heard that the woman who burned the imperial edict was your wife who came to celebrate the wedding? What is her relationship with the Tianxuan Sect? Why did the imperial edict end up in her hands?"

One question after another, every sentence went straight to the point.

"My wife, Sang Wan, was abandoned in a brothel and adopted by the Sang family. Her adoptive father, Sang Jun, was the head of the Jiangnan Dao Hall of the Tianxuan Sect. The imperial edict left the capital and ended up in his hands. Sang Jun concealed the incident and secretly gave it to his daughter, Sang Wan. My wife, Sang Wan, is kind, gentle, and simple-minded. She wanted to hand the imperial edict over to me, but was blocked by Chai Jue and others. The Tianxuan Sect killed the Sang family and forced her to poison me. In her despair, she was confused and burned the imperial edict. Your Majesty, my wife was shot by an arrow and fell into the river. Her body has not been found. I beg for your forgiveness!"

"She sounds like a woman of affection and righteousness. Unfortunately, she is still a remnant of the Tianxuan Sect. I heard that your marriage was arranged by auspicious luck? Now that she is dead, I will annul this marriage and choose a suitable match for you."

"Your Majesty, I was assassinated that day and was on the verge of death. It was my wife Sang Wan who sacrificed herself to save me from danger. Although she was raised in the Tianxuan Sect, she is sincere to me. I don't want to let her down. I am willing to remain single for the rest of my life to show my determination!" Pei Jinzhi knelt down and kowtowed.

"How dare you! Pei Jinzhi, I didn't hold you accountable for marrying a rebel, but you're taking advantage of me. You are the eldest son of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, how could you take a rebel as your legal wife and even enshrine her tablet in the ancestral temple?" The emperor was furious.

"I have made up my mind! I will only accept her as my wife, and I will never regret it in this life!"

"Good, good. The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion actually has a lovesick person. Your father spent half his life in the military and helped the late emperor create this prosperous era. But you don't want to make progress. How can you take on the important responsibility of being the prince? How can you be a descendant of the Pei family?" The emperor was furious.

The eunuch knelt in fear and said, "Your Majesty, calm down."

Pei Jinzhi still insisted: "I am indeed unworthy of being a descendant of the Pei family. I beg to be removed from the family tree, to give up the title of crown prince, and to no longer be a descendant of the Pei family."

"Pei Jinzhi!" A man in purple rushed out from behind the screen in the main hall. His hair and beard were slightly white, and his whole body was shaking with anger.

It was Pei You, the Duke of Zhenguo.

"Rebellious son! Do you know what you are saying?!"

"Father." Pei Jinzhi's expression remained unchanged, as if he was not surprised by his appearance. "My wife's tablet cannot be placed in the ancestral hall, and I will not be a descendant of the Pei family."

"How dare you threaten your father?" Pei You knelt before the emperor and said, "I have failed in my parenting. Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

"You have completely forgotten the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, as well as human ethics and etiquette. Pei Jinzhi, I will grant your wish today! I will remove you from your position as Crown Prince and expel you from the Pei family! If you want to be such a lovestruck man, then carry your deceased wife's tablet to the army and suffer some hardship, and think carefully about how to be a good subject and a good son."

Pei You burst into tears: "Your Majesty, please spare Jinzhi. He is weak and frail, how can he endure the hardships of the army? He was temporarily bewildered by the devil, and I, an old minister, will definitely persuade him to change his mind!"

"No need. Father, I am an unfilial son. From now on, I can no longer enjoy your presence. I bid you farewell today. I hope you take care of yourself."

Pei Jinzhi prostrated himself on the ground and bowed solemnly three times to Pei You.

Pei You was so angry that he almost fainted.

"Your Majesty, I have one more request." Pei Jinzhi asked again.

The official's brow darkened, and he was extremely displeased: "What else?"

"My late mother, Zheng Yunlan, was from the aristocratic Zheng family of Xingyang. She was the filial daughter of Marquis Pingyuan Zheng. With my mother's passing, the Zheng family has no descendants, leaving no one to carry on the family line. I earnestly request that Your Majesty, in recognition of Marquis Pingyuan's contributions to the founding of the state, grant my mother's surname, allowing the descendants of the Zheng family to worship and offer incense to Marquis Pingyuan. I am an unfilial descendant of the Pei family and have renounced all ties with them without regret. I also request Your Majesty's permission to bring the tablet of my late mother, Zheng Yunlan, back to the Zheng family for worship."

"They say you're unfilial, yet you're still concerned about your deceased mother and maternal grandfather; they say you're filial, yet you've betrayed the Pei family and insisted on going your own way. Alas!" The official's eyes softened slightly, no longer as cold as before. "Pei Jinzhi, how did you and the Pei family end up like this?"

"Your Majesty, I disagree. Zheng is my legitimate wife. How can she take the tablet away?" Pei You was very excited. "Jinzhi, I know you hate me for taking Kang as your successor after your mother died, but you were young and had no one to take care of you at that time. I did this for you."

"For me?" Pei Jinzhi raised the corner of his mouth and sneered, "So you poisoned me day and night so that I could be reunited with my son as soon as possible?"

The official frowned, and Pei You was shocked: "What did you say?"

"Kang has been poisoning my daily medicine and food for years, causing me to suffer multiple bouts of poisoning and hanging by a thread. If Your Majesty doesn't believe me, please have a thorough investigation. Because of this poison, my wounds have been difficult to heal, and even my archery and horseback riding skills are no longer as good as before. This is what the Duke Zhenguo always claims to be doing for my own good."

"She...she dared..." Pei You coughed violently in anger.

"If it weren't for Sang Wan's painstaking search for the antidote for me, not only would I not have been able to fulfill Your Majesty's trust, I would have died long ago. Your Majesty, the bond between me and the Duke of Zhenguo has come to an end. I hope Your Majesty will grant us this."

The official sighed, and even the eunuch serving beside him lowered his eyes sadly.

"Mr. Pei, you've been so devoted to the country that you've neglected the inner chambers, leading to a rift between father and son, leading to the situation we're in today. I've always been reluctant to meddle in the family affairs of ministers, but today I can't help but sigh for Jinzhi. Back then, at the age of twelve, he single-handedly defeated ten enemies in the suburbs of the capital. He was so youthful and heroic that even the late emperor praised him as a natural born general. But now he's become like this. I'm truly heartbroken!"

He said to the eunuch beside him, "The matter of the Crown Prince being poisoned will be handed over to the Ministry of Justice for investigation and handling according to the law."

"Jinzhi, in recognition of your meritorious service in recovering the imperial edict, I grant you your request and grant you the surname Zheng. I give you three years to serve under the former command of the Marquis of Pingyuan. The northwest is bitterly cold, and the Xu Kingdom is eyeing us covetously, frequently invading our borders. If you can achieve military success, I grant you the title of Marquis of Pingyuan, hereditary and unbroken."

"Your Majesty, I bow my head in thanks for your grace!" Pei Jinzhi kowtowed.

He knocked his forehead hard and never raised it again. Unconsciously, the tears from the corners of his eyes slid down the wings of his nose and silently seeped into the dark ground.