After transmigrating into the book, I helped my mother reconcile with her divorced husband.

"It's been a few days, and my cousin is still as glib as ever." Xie Chaoyun entered the room and glanced at Ji Wanwan: "Qingzhi, slap her. Let her stop talking nonsense in front of Mother."

Qingzhi responded with two sharp slaps, leaving Ji Wanwan seeing stars.

She covered her cheek, her voice hoarse, and said, "Xie Chaoyun, do you have no regard for the law?"

"The law? My cousin knows about the law?" Xie Chaoyun sneered. "Article 246 of the Northern Liang law stipulates that wantonly spreading rumors to defame others may constitute the crime of insult or defamation. If the circumstances are serious, the offender shall be sentenced to up to three years of hard labor. My cousin has no evidence and spread rumors that I have an improper relationship with someone else in an attempt to humiliate the Marquis. Giving you two slaps is too lenient."

“Aunt, look at my sister. Wanwan just told the truth, and she humiliated me like this.”

"The truth?" Xie Chaoyun scoffed. "What you said is the truth?"

"That manager's name is Lu Yong, that's true, right? She was promoted by my sister, that's true, right? He wanted to marry my sister and forced Brother Huai to sign a divorce agreement, that's true, right?"

"Forced Huai'er to sign a divorce agreement?" Old Madam Lu clutched her chest: "You... how dare you humiliate my Huai'er like this?"

“Aunt, if my sister hadn’t pushed me so hard, Wanwan wouldn’t have told anyone. Wanwan knows you feel sorry for Brother Huai, and Wanwan also has a son. Parents all over the world have the same heart; what mother can tolerate her daughter-in-law doing such a thing outside?”

Xie Chaoyun chuckled, which was seen by Old Madam Lu, who pointed at her nose and said, "You still have the nerve to laugh? No wonder you always go to the neighboring county, it turns out it's to see your lover outside. Guards, I'm going to the yamen to file a complaint and have the government arrest you two shameless bastards."

"Aunt, we can't report this to the authorities!" Ji Wanwan hugged Madam Lu. "Family scandals shouldn't be aired in public. Brother Huai still has to live a decent life. Since it's a family scandal, it should be dealt with according to family rules."

"Family rules? Yes, family rules. Come on, bring me my family rules. I'm going to beat this shameless person to death."

Qingzhi was about to step forward when Xie Chaoyun stopped her: "Mother is really easy to coax and deceive. A few words from others have made her dizzy and confused, and she doesn't even care about the century-old reputation of this Marquis's mansion."

He picked up a stool, sat down, straightened his clothes, and took out the divorce agreement from his sleeve: "This is the divorce agreement my cousin mentioned, but she only knows one side of the story."

"What's the second one? Could it be that you have some other dealings with Lu Yong?" Ji Wanwan curled her lips: "If you hadn't reminded me, I would have forgotten. Lu Yong is a bandit from Luoxia Mountain who is colluding with the people of Nan Chu. And it seems that your father and brother are also colluding with the people of Nan Chu. Poor Brother Huai, he has been tricked by your whole family."

Xie Chaoyun laughed, amused by Ji Wanwan's baseless accusations, fabricated stories, and affected manner. She had originally intended to explain things clearly to Old Madam Lu, given their relationship as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, even if they were divorcing, to make it all transparent and unambiguous. Now, however, she felt it was unnecessary.

One of them is stupid, and the other is malicious; they can think whatever they want. When the truth comes out, they'll be the ones who get proven wrong.

"Whether the Xie family colluded with the bandits of Luoxia Mountain is a matter for His Majesty to decide. As for the divorce agreement that my cousin mentioned, my mother's Huai'er and my cousin's Huai-gege will personally explain it to you." Xie Chaoyun stood up. "Yunniang has other matters to attend to, so I will take my leave first."

"Stop!" Old Madam Lu suddenly stood up.

She was still hesitant, unsure whether she should divorce Xie Chaoyun, her daughter-in-law.

It is true that the Xie family was besieged, but the reasons are still speculation. What if the Xie family did not plot a rebellion? What if the emperor did not besiege the Xie family because of this? What if it was just a false alarm and the Xie family did not fall? Wouldn't it be a loss to divorce Xie Chaoyun?

That letter of divorce made Old Madam Lu make up her mind.

Huai'er couldn't have divorced her without reason. The fact that they signed the divorce papers meant that what Wanwan said was true. Although married daughters weren't implicated, if the Xie family really plotted a rebellion, how could the Pingnan Marquis's mansion, as related by marriage, possibly have a good life?

After much deliberation, Xie Chaoyun was determined to stay.

"You should have heard about what happened to your Xie family. They are suspected of treason and colluding with bandits. Our Marquis's mansion can no longer keep you here. If you know what's good for you, you can ask for a divorce and save some face for your Xie family. If you don't want to, wait until Huai'er finishes court and then have him divorce you."

"Mother wants Yunniang to request a divorce because of the rumors circulating outside, and because of my cousin's unsubstantiated and untrue words?" Xie Chaoyun raised her head: "Mother, have you thought it through? Or should we wait until the Marquis finishes court before discussing it?"

“Aunt, Brother Huai is soft-hearted. When she cries and makes a scene, she will definitely not be able to bear to divorce him.” Ji Wanwan urged the maid to bring pen and ink: “Aunt, this Marquis’s mansion is entirely dependent on you.”

After thinking it over and over, Madam Lu couldn't resist Ji Wanwan's persuasion and signaled the maid to bring the brush and ink to Xie Chaoyun.

"Write it, lest it implicate our Marquis's mansion and Yuan'er."

“Mother wants Yunniang to request a divorce, and Yunniang can agree, but Yunniang has her own demands.” Xie Chaoyun took the pen and ink: “Yunniang wants to take Yuan’er away, wants the Marquis’s mansion, and wants the Lu family to remove Yuan’er from their names.”

"Xie Chaoyun, even tigers don't eat their cubs, yet you want to drag Yuan'er and your Xie family to their deaths. What a good mother you are!" Old Madam Lu pointed at Xie Chaoyun: "Yuan'er is a member of my Lu family, and she will never leave with you."

"And your dowry must remain as well," Ji Wanwan muttered. "That belongs to the Marquis's mansion; we won't let you take a single penny with you."

How ridiculous! Since when did a woman's dowry belong to her husband's family? Xie Chaoyun put down her pen and looked at Ji Wanwan with sarcasm: "Cousin, do you want to take someone else's dowry just because you don't have it yourself?"

Ji Wanwan blushed slightly after her secret was exposed, and said stubbornly, "What nonsense are you talking about? You were divorced by the Marquis's family for violating the seven grounds for divorce. According to the laws of Beiliang, a woman who is divorced by her husband's family cannot take her dowry with her. Aunt, you can't let her ask to be divorced. A woman like her shouldn't be given any face. Brother Huai should be the one to divorce her."

After saying that, she approached Old Madam Lu and said softly, "We can't let her take her dowry away. That's a huge sum of money, enough to support our Marquis's mansion for several years."

Old Madam Lu clenched her hands: "But this divorce—"

Ji Wanwan gritted her teeth: "If we divorce her according to the seven grounds for divorce, even if the Xie family is still around, they can't say anything. It was she who was unfaithful to her husband first, not Brother Huai who wronged her. Besides, the Xie family is about to be ruined, why should Aunt care about her? That's a real shop, real money."

Madam Lu gritted her teeth and said, "Yes, she was in the wrong first. It is our Marquis's mansion that should divorce her."

Ji Wanwan wrote the letter of divorce on behalf of Old Madam Lu and presented it to Xie Chaoyun for her to sign and affix her fingerprint. Xie Chaoyun smiled at just one glance.

"This letter of divorce looks exactly like it was written by my cousin to me."

He turned the letter of divorce around, facing Ji Wanwan's face, and read it aloud, word by word.