Meng Shuhe shook off Meng Wang’s grip on her wrist, her voice growing increasingly cold.
“Brother, who exactly is the one losing face here? Today, the Shizi and I are still husband and wife, yet Sister Ruoli was so eager that she put on her wedding dress and climbed into the bridal sedan. I’m afraid the one losing face is her…”
Furious at her words, Meng Wang raised his hand to slap Meng Shuhe’s face.
Meng Shuhe quickly raised her hand to block the strike. “The grand Shizi of Pingyuan Houfu, actually hitting a weak woman? Truly impressive. Big Brother, you are certainly bringing great honor to the Meng family.”
Meng Wang’s face turned ashen with rage.
At that moment, a noble lady in silken robes emerged from the Zhenguogong Fu.
“Shuhe, why have you come running back instead of recuperating properly at the manor?”
Madam Shen couldn’t help but frown deeply. How could those servants at the manor let Meng Shuhe come to the gates of the Zhenguogong Fu to cause trouble on such a critical day?
They clearly hadn’t kept a close enough eye on her. Had she not told them that Meng Shuhe was not to leave the manor without orders?
“Qian’er, you and Ruoli go inside to perform the wedding ceremony first. Do not miss the auspicious hour.”
Hearing Madam Shen’s words, Shen Qian dismounted from his horse.
Meng Shuhe sneered. “Go ahead and perform your ceremony. I shall head straight to the Chang’an Fuyin Yamen to sue Shen Qian, the Shizi of Zhenguogong Fu, for taking two wives, which is a violation of the laws of Dasheng.”
Madam Shen said, “Did you not receive the Xiushu sent to you by the servants?”
Meng Shuhe replied, “Shen Qian’s Xiushu does not count. I have not violated the Qichu, and even if I had, the Sanbuchu still applies. I observed three years of mourning for Grandmother and accompanied her on her final journey. Your Shen family cannot divorce me.”
“Sister.”
A woman dressed in magnificent wedding robes emerged from the bridal sedan. She covered her face with a round fan, her voice sounding extremely pitiful.
“Sister, I know you still hate me for taking away your sixteen years of wealth and luxury, but in the end, this marriage contract was originally between me and the Shen Shizi. Why must you insist on forcing a marriage that only leads to resentment?”
Meng Wang looked at Meng Shuhe with contempt. “Look at that, your sister is far more sensible than you. I know you grew up in the countryside and don’t know the rules, but you’ve been back for over three years now; you should have learned how a noble lady of a great family behaves! Meng Shuhe, what other noble lady would be so shameless as to speak of the bridal chamber in public?”
Meng Shuhe heard a voice coming from her womb: This uncle is so disgusting. Pfft! No wonder he dies early! How can this man be my uncle?
Hearing that Meng Wang would die early, Meng Shuhe’s anger subsided significantly.
Meng Shuhe looked at Meng Ruoli, who was still hiding behind her fan. “Since when was this marriage contract yours?”
Meng Wang said, “If it weren’t for Ruoli’s good reputation, the Shen and Meng families wouldn’t have arranged this marriage so long ago.”
Meng Shuhe laughed. “Is that so? If the marriage was arranged because of Meng Ruoli’s reputation, then why did the Shen family’s grandmother insist that I be the one to marry into the Shen family? Why was I the one she recognized as her grandson’s wife?”
Meng Ruoli sobbed quietly at the side, looking the picture of grievance.
Seeing Meng Ruoli weeping, Shen Qian comforted her softly, “Ruoli, I will definitely marry you today.”
“Brother Qian, but Sister refuses to be divorced… I don’t want you to be in a difficult position, nor do I want you to become a laughingstock,” Meng Ruoli whispered. “I am willing to withdraw. I don’t want your reputation to suffer because of me.”
Shen Qian gripped Meng Ruoli’s hand tightly. “Ruoli, I will marry you today no matter what.”
He glared at Meng Shuhe. “No one shall stop me from performing the ceremony with Ruoli today.”
Meng Shuhe walked up to Shen Qian. “As of now, I am still your legally wedded wife. Even if you perform the ceremony with her, she will not be your wife but a concubine. If Sister wants to be a concubine, I will naturally fulfill your wishes.”
Meng Ruoli’s eyes flashed with hatred as she looked at Meng Shuhe. This woman was truly arrogant.
Madam Shen frowned at Meng Shuhe, her voice full of disdain. “Meng Shuhe, don’t be too arrogant.”
Meng Shuhe replied, “The arrogant ones are clearly your Shen family. You thought that because I came to Chang’an Cheng from afar, you could bully me as you please. Today, don’t even think about divorcing me for no reason.”
Shen Qian took a deep breath, stepped close to Meng Shuhe, and lowered his voice. “Meng Shuhe, if you truly love me so much and are so unwilling to leave me, then I shall reluctantly allow you to become my noble concubine and visit your room to conceive a child with you…”
Meng Shuhe felt a wave of nausea.
A little cub’s voice came from her womb: Mother, hit him! Slap him quickly! This Shen Shizi is truly disgusting!
Meng Shuhe looked at Shen Qian. “If you want to smoothly perform the wedding ceremony with Meng Ruoli today, I can grant your wish, but I have two requirements. First, you must return all of my dowry to me.”
“That goes without saying,” Shen Qian said heavily. “You may take your dowry with you.”
Meng Ruoli grew somewhat anxious. The materials used for the dowry the Meng family had originally prepared for her were of the highest quality. That Bobuchuang alone had taken craftsmen fifteen years of hard work to build and carve, and it had later become Meng Shuhe’s dowry. Letting Meng Shuhe take it away now would be a huge bargain for her.
Meng Shuhe continued, “My second requirement is that your residence must give me a hundred thousand taels of silver in cash. If you do this, I will write a Xiufu zhi shu. From then on, I will have nothing to do with you, Shen Qian, and you can marry Meng Ruoli as you wish.”
“A hundred thousand taels?” Madam Shen couldn’t help but cry out in shock. “Do you have any idea how much silver that is?”
Meng Shuhe nodded slightly. “I know. Since the Shizi is so deeply in love with my sister, surely paying a hundred thousand taels to ensure she doesn’t end up as a mere concubine shouldn’t be difficult for your Shen family.”
Shen Qian said, “Mother, if she wants a hundred thousand taels, give it to her. A bad wife ruins three generations. If she refuses to leave the Shen family, our family will suffer for three generations. Consider it paying for peace and quiet.”
Madam Shen said anxiously, “Where would our family get a hundred thousand taels in cash on such short notice?”
“Send someone to the silver shop to withdraw it,” Shen Qian said.
Meng Shuhe added, “There’s no need to make a trip to the silver shop. Silver notes will do.”
Madam Shen’s lips trembled. It wasn’t that she didn’t have the cash, but even coming up with a hundred thousand taels in silver notes all at once was difficult.
Meng Wang frowned. “Meng Shuhe, you really were raised in poverty in the countryside. You have eyes for nothing but profit and money.”
Meng Shuhe only gave Meng Wang a roll of her eyes. The Shen family owed her. Shen Qian looked down on her and didn’t want to marry her, but why didn’t he say so three years ago? He had wasted three years of her youth and left her with the reputation of a divorcee. If it weren’t for the fact that she was currently pregnant and needed to return to Jiangnan, she would stay in the Shen family even for two hundred thousand taels, just to make them miserable.
Madam Shen took a deep breath and ordered the accountant to calculate the funds.
Meng Shuhe whispered an instruction to Lan’er, who nodded and went to the carriage to fetch paper and brush.
The accountant brought the silver notes, and Madam Shen’s personal maid also brought out the lady’s private savings. All in all, they scraped together a hundred thousand taels in silver notes.
Meng Shuhe took the silver notes and did a rough count. She then placed the paper Lan’er had brought onto a stone lion and picked up the brush to write the characters: Xiufu zhi shu.
After finishing the divorce certificate with a flourish, she threw it at Shen Qian.
“Remember, today it is I, Meng Shuhe, who has divorced you, Shen Qian.”
Shen Qian caught the paper. He looked at the divorce certificate where the ink was still wet. The calligraphy was as elegant as a startled swan and as vigorous as a swimming dragon; he was shocked that Meng Shuhe, who grew up in the countryside, could produce such fine writing.
Amidst his amazement, Shen Qian looked at Meng Shuhe and saw her counting the silver notes with her maid, looking completely mercenary. Contempt and disdain once again rose in his eyes.
Meng Ruoli whispered to Shen Qian, “Brother Qian, the auspicious hour is almost over.”
Shen Qian smiled at Meng Ruoli. Only a woman like her—the paragon of a gentle, dignified, and virtuous noble lady—was worthy of being his Shizi’s wife.
As Meng Ruoli followed Shen Qian inside, she glanced from behind her fan at Meng Shuhe, who seemed so obsessed with money, her heart filled with contempt.
Meng Shuhe thought she had gained an advantage, but having grown up in the wild, she would never be able to marry into a noble family again after this divorce. At nearly twenty years old, marrying the nephew of some minor official would be the best she could hope for.
Even if Meng Shuhe was the true young lady of the Pingyuan Houfu, she would never marry as well as Ruoli, and she would always be beneath her as the wife of the Zhenguogong Shizi.
Meng Ruoli looked forward to seeing the day when this arrogant Meng Shuhe, after marrying into a lowly household, would be forced to bow and scrape before her.