A peasant girl travels through time with a hospital, rising to become an empress.

Tang Jincheng casually ordered, "Someone, go and find the resident doctor to examine and treat Old Madam Nie."

Seeing that this trick was useless, Old Mrs. Nie wisely took a deep breath and slowly woke up.

"My lord, no need, my old woman is awake."

Tang Jincheng was unwilling to watch her act any longer. "The case is quite clear. Old Madam Nie falsely accused Nie Qianqian of stealing money, caused trouble, and disrupted the court. She is fined 500 wen as a minor punishment. If there are no other reasons, she may leave the court to receive her punishment."

500 coins?

Grandma Nie felt a pang of heartache, the pain causing her to convulse. She had truly lost both her wife and her army.

Nie Erzhuang was indignant. He had been beaten by his wife and daughter, and they were just going to let it go like that? They were getting off easy.

Nie Qianqian's cold voice rang out, "My lord, there is one more matter that I would like to ask you to do for me. Please be my witness. My mother, Liu Yan, wants to divorce Nie Erzhuang."

Nie Erzhuang immediately exploded. He hadn't even settled the score with Nie Qianqian for being beaten, and she dared to bring up divorce. This wretched woman had raised such a good daughter, so disobedient and unfilial. He was determined to divorce her and make her a divorced wife, so she would never be able to hold her head up in the village again.

These days, divorces are rare in the village. Women have low social status. If a woman marries into a man's family and the man's family is dissatisfied, the woman is often divorced. A divorced woman is considered to lack virtue and be of bad character, making it difficult for her to remarry. If she does remarry, she usually ends up with a widow or widow to make do with.

Divorce? That's for wealthy families in town or the provincial capital when their daughters are getting married. Both families are respectable, and if they really can't make ends meet, they'll give each other some face. Who does Liu Yan think she is? Does she deserve that kind of respect?

Nie Erzhuang shouted angrily, "Divorce?! My lord, I want to divorce my wife! I want to divorce Liu Yan!"

The village head was somewhat embarrassed. How dare they bother the county magistrate with such trivial family matters as divorce and separation from one's wife?

Liu Lizheng stepped forward and advised, "Qianqian, Erzhuang, let's go back to the village and talk about these things. Why bother the adults here?"

Tang Jincheng waved his hand, "It's alright. Now that we're at the county government office, let's make our demands clear."

Nie Erzhuang spoke first, waving the white bandages wrapped all over his body. "Sir, look at all these injuries I have. They were all inflicted by Liu Yan and Nie Qianqian yesterday. This brat even slashed my back with a knife! She disrespects her elders and defies my mother. It's bad enough that this woman can't even give birth to a son, but she can't even teach a child properly. I want to divorce her. Please, sir, make the decision."

Nie Qianqian's face instantly turned cold. "We only acted to protect ourselves. Over the years, how many times have you hit my mother?"

Gu Xiao: "Your Excellency, you are unaware of the fact that Nie Erzhuang has a long history of domestic violence, constantly beating and verbally abusing Liu Yan and Nie Qianqian, leaving them physically and mentally scarred. Since the late Emperor, our dynasty has been a model of deep affection and mutual respect between husband and wife, serving as an example for all the people. The late Emperor once said that a husband's respect for his wife includes five things: first, treating her with courtesy; second, maintaining dignity; third, providing her with food and clothing as needed; fourth, maintaining her dignity at all times; and fifth, entrusting her with household affairs. He further emphasized that one should not bully or humiliate her with force or violence, and that a true man should do what is right and refrain from doing what is wrong."

Tang Jincheng nodded. Because the late emperor and empress had a deep affection for each other and treated each other with respect, a trend of imitation swept through the capital. In particular, officials all loved and respected their wives and families. If anyone's family was not peaceful or they were not on good terms with their wives, they would be ridiculed for being incompetent in managing their households.

Tang Jincheng gave Gu Xiao an approving look, surprised that the villagers had such knowledge and experience. "That's right."

Gu Xiao had a handsome face and a slender but upright figure. Since entering the county government, he had always been calm and composed, showing no sign of unease. His every move exuded confidence and even nobility, making him seem unlike an ignorant villager.

After Gu Xiao finished speaking, a strange light flashed in his eyes, and he continued, "I have heard that there was a case in the capital where the daughter of a high-ranking official married the son of a vice minister of the Ministry of War. After the marriage, the vice minister's son frequented brothels and often abused the daughter of the high-ranking official. When the late emperor learned of this, he ordered the two to divorce and marry other men. He also punished the vice minister's son by prohibiting him from taking the imperial examinations for five years. Is this true, sir?"

This matter caused quite a stir in the capital, and Tang Jincheng had also heard about it.

Gu Xiao said calmly, “The late emperor has already made judgments on domestic violence by men. It is precisely because of this precedent that I dare to ask Your Excellency to grant the two a divorce.”

Nie Qianqian turned her head to look at Gu Xiao. At this moment, her husband, whom she had taken for granted, had grown taller. No wonder he suggested yesterday that they come to the county government office to quickly resolve the divorce. It turned out that he had already planned this all along.

Once Gu Xiao said these words, probably no official would dare to go against the late emperor's judgment, and the outcome of the matter would be decided with a single stroke of the hammer.

Tang Jincheng knew perfectly well the purpose behind Gu Xiao's words, and couldn't help but think more highly of him; this young man was quite shrewd.

He wasn't angry; he had a deep disdain for men who committed domestic violence. He had a harmonious relationship with his late wife, but fate had other plans. She passed away from illness seven years ago, and he hadn't considered remarrying during those seven years, always remembering her.

Tang Jincheng: "The late Emperor and Empress were a perfect couple, growing old together in harmony, a truly beautiful story. The new Emperor has been on the throne for 6 years, and he and the Empress are also in a loving and respectful relationship. Nie Erzhuang, if you have indeed been abusing your wife for a long time, I will definitely order you to divorce Liu Yan."

Nie Erzhuang's words were completely incomprehensible. What did the emperor, empress, ministers, and vice ministers have to do with this matter?

He only knew that it was perfectly normal for men to beat their wives behind closed doors in the village. He was just beating them more frequently and more severely because his wife couldn't even give birth to a son.

He understood one thing: if he admitted to domestic violence, his plan to divorce his wife would fall through.

He vehemently denied it, "I didn't!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yan, who had been kneeling on the ground without saying a word, suddenly raised her head, stared intently at Nie Erzhuang, and her eyes instantly filled with tears.

He gritted his teeth and forced out a question through gritted teeth: "Nothing???"

What has she endured every day for the past 10 years? What are her nightmares every night? What are the physical injuries she has suffered?

She bit her lip hard, trying not to cry. She couldn't show the slightest weakness in front of this man. Today, her daughter and son-in-law were doing their best to give her a dignified departure, so she had to be strong.

Liu Yan was trembling all over, and the trembling grew stronger and stronger. She shakily pulled open her left sleeve, then her right sleeve, and then, disregarding the men present, slowly rolled up her left trouser leg, then her right trouser leg, until her limbs were exposed.

With a trembling voice, she shouted at Lord Tang with all her might, "My lord, look!"

What a horrible sight this body is! The exposed skin is covered with countless scars of all kinds.

There are taxis for sale, taxis for smoking, new taxis, and old taxis.

The old wounds resembled centipedes, having seeped into the body, while the new wounds were pale pink, some even just beginning to scab over.

Everyone present was deeply moved; even strangers felt sorry for him. Tang Jincheng looked closely at the battered body and couldn't bear to look away, feeling a pang of sadness in his heart.