At the second household, Lady Xu, realizing her children disliked the smell of cow dung on her face, felt a chill in her heart. She went to the cave entrance alone and, under the rain, washed herself vigorously. Her clothes still smelled strongly, but she didn’t want to get soaked. She removed her outer garment in front of everyone and rinsed again with the rainwater.
On her way back to the cave, she saw Su Niyue’s cow and lifted her leg to kick it. Sanhu, seeing this, quickly picked up a stone and struck her raised leg. Losing her balance, Lady Xu fell again. This time, she was in serious trouble: the cave floor was full of rocks, and her face scraped the ground, bleeding profusely. The exiles, who had already mocked her for making herself undress publicly, now watched her try to kick Su Niyue’s cow with disgust. Seeing her fall badly, no one sympathized; instead, many felt satisfaction.
Feeling both clean and injured, Lady Xu hobbled over to Nangong Ping and kicked his leg. “Move over, let me sit for a while?”
As the saying goes, it’s the last straw that breaks the camel’s back. For Nangong Ping, that straw was Lady Xu. His long-suppressed anger finally erupted: “Get out! Get far away from me!”
Startled by the sudden rage, Lady Xu swung at Nangong Ping’s face.
Nangong Ping, furious, kicked her down. Lady Xu, eyes wide, was shocked by this man who usually endured everything silently. She couldn’t react to his sudden outburst.
Nangong Shuang and Nangong Ling turned their heads, refusing to look at Lady Xu. During the past few days of exile, they had quietly realized their mother’s constant provocation and scolding of their father, while he remained silent. They had merely felt sympathy in secret.
Even though Nangong Ping had been submissive at home, he was still a man of eight feet, a former general who had fought valiantly on the battlefield. Three years ago, a back injury had left him unable to fulfill marital duties. Out of guilt, he had endured Lady Xu’s constant torment. Lady Xu had leveraged the secret of his injury to pressure and insult him behind closed doors. Nangong Ping, unwilling to disgrace the family, silently endured.
At the start of the exile, Lady Xu had tried to coerce him to stay away from the main household. Although he didn’t want to, he couldn’t oppose her. After all, her dowry came from her family, and he had no right to control it. Furthermore, Lady Xu and Wu had been implicated and exiled with him. He couldn’t risk a conflict. Lady Xu kept trying to create trouble for Su Niyue, but he begged her not to. Seeing Su Niyue care for the family well, he felt guilty but also relieved.
Wu had also just realized that Nangong Ping’s previous coldness toward her was for her own good. Whenever Lady Xu was unhappy, she vented on Wu and her son. Nangong Ping always shielded them, even giving his own portion of food to them when Lady Xu withheld theirs. Slowly, Wu discerned his genuine care despite Lady Xu’s insults.
Suddenly, Lady Xu pointed at Nangong Ping, shouting: “You coward! How dare you hit me? If I hadn’t kept your secret, everyone in the capital would know you’re useless! I’ve had eight lifetimes of bad luck marrying a loser like you. Why didn’t you die on the battlefield? People say it’s glorious to die on horseback, but you—useless—come back alive? It’s shameful!”
Her words halted all the exiles. They finally understood why the second young master feared his wife, but none mocked him. Instead, Lady Xu seemed despicable.
Nangong Ping stepped forward and slapped her, causing blood to seep from the corner of her mouth. “Xu Qiu, three years! I’ve endured your nonsense for three years. Yes, I am injured, yes, I am a failure! I tolerated you not out of fear, but so my mother and children wouldn’t suffer. You think I did it for myself?
I am a soldier who protects the nation. I got injured protecting those I must protect. So what if I am damaged? I am still a man, still the father of my children, still the son of my mother. I thank our ancestors for letting me live. Xu Qiu, you disgusting woman, shaming the Nangong family—today, I divorce you!”
His words moved everyone! No one thought he was weak; instead, they felt injustice on his behalf.
“You dare! Even if you divorce me, you won’t have it easy!” Lady Xu still didn’t fully grasp the situation, thinking Nangong Ping would yield.
“Xu Qiu, my mother is sitting right there. Did you ever serve her for a single day? No! And you forbid me from serving her too. Look at the new daughter-in-law, she takes care of grandmother, mother-in-law, and younger siblings. You? You’re worse than a child! Foolish woman!”
After speaking, Nangong Ping approached Liu Quan. “Official, please lend me paper and brush.”
“Certainly! Such a wicked woman deserves divorce!” Liu Quan handed them over.
Using a stone as a desk, Nangong Ping wrote the divorce papers and threw them at Lady Xu’s face. Without looking back, he went to his mother, knelt, and kowtowed three times: “Mother, I am sorry!”
Now, the Nangong family understood everything. The matriarch wept freely. “My son, you’ve suffered!”
Nangong Shuang and Nangong Ling rushed over, imitating their father’s kowtow. They understood how much their grandmother cared for them and why their father had endured. Together, they cried: “Grandmother, your grandsons are unfilial!”
Ruan Mingyu stepped forward to lift the children, comforting them softly. They were not inherently bad; having realized their mistakes, forgiveness was natural.
Wu also knelt beside Nangong Ping, kowtowing to the matriarch. She had to admit the Nangong family’s kindness. Since entering the household, no one treated her as a concubine; her treatment in food, clothing, and living standards was equal to the primary wife.
In Dayun Country, concubines were always inferior. In the eyes of servants, they were barely considered masters. Even concubines had to bow to the primary wife’s children. But in the Nangong family, this was not the case. Even Nangong Yunteng respectfully called her “Aunt.”
Su Niyue thought: What a mess! Such a good family, yet made to suffer like this!
Nangong Yunteng, knowing the truth, couldn’t help clenching his fists.
“Mother, I know Niyue has taken such good care of you all. From now on, I will do my utmost to care for you. Please forgive me!”
Nangong Ping, a general who knew the Nangong family’s achievements, had retired from battle due to injury, but the emperor still hadn’t spared them.