If it were the Yu Huilan of the past, she would have anxiously rushed forward to check on her husband’s condition.
But now, Ji Yingliang… no, he should now be called Dou Yingliang.
Dou Yingliang had been separated from the Ji family by her mother-in-law and was no longer her husband, so there was no need for her to abide by his set of moral principles.
However…
Just as the word “however” surfaced in Yu Huilan’s mind, her mother-in-law’s voice came from beside her.
“A-Ming, fetch paper and a brush for Dou Yingliang to write the Divorce Agreement.”
Upon hearing her mother-in-law’s words, Yu Huilan felt as though an invisible chain binding her had instantly snapped and vanished the moment Dou Yingliang finished writing the Divorce Agreement.
Dou Yingliang watched Yu Huilan eagerly take the Divorce Agreement and gritted his teeth, saying, “Yu Huilan, you will regret this!”
Regret betraying him today, regret divorcing him today, regret staying by his mother’s side, this shrew!
Holding the Divorce Agreement in her arms, Yu Huilan smiled at her former husband and said, “No, I won’t.”
“You wretch!”
Just as Dou Yingliang spat out these words through clenched teeth, a letter was thrown at his head.
Dou Yingliang picked it up and saw the words “Letter of Repudiation” clearly written on the envelope.
When Dou Yingliang looked up at his mother, Ji Jinyu stared coldly at him and said, “Dou Shichang entered into a Matrilocal Marriage with our Ji family back then, so this is the Letter of Repudiation I am giving him.”
“Mother!” Dou Yingliang looked at his mother in disbelief.
How could a woman ever repudiate her husband in this world?
All sorts of rebellious words were on the tip of Dou Yingliang’s tongue, but upon seeing his mother’s sinister glare, he swallowed them back.
For a moment, Dou Yingliang felt as though his mother wanted to kill him.
Ji Yingcai, seeing the sinister look in his mother’s eyes as she gazed at his eldest brother, was so frightened he dared not even breathe heavily.
“Ji Yingcai, now it’s your turn.”
When Ji Yingcai heard his mother call his name, he felt an inexplicable fear, as if he were about to mount the executioner’s block.
Prostrating himself on the ground, he spoke to his mother with genuine sincerity, “Mother, my loyalty lies solely with you, without a trace of disloyalty!”
“I will not go seek refuge with some official father—I recognize only you!”
This was the decision Ji Yingcai had reached after observing everything that had happened since entering the room.
Compared to his biological father, who had been absent for nearly fifteen years without any news, even if he had now become a court official, Ji Yingcai did not believe such a cold and indifferent man would place much importance on him, the second son.
But Ji Yingcai understood his mother.
Although his mother was famously known throughout Cuiyang City as a shrew, it was undeniable that she was a responsible and capable person. Moreover, she was his mother, and staying by her side would certainly not put him at a disadvantage.
Beyond that, Ji Yingcai had another small thought.
With Dou Yingliang gone, he would become the eldest son on his mother’s side.
Thinking this way, perhaps the attention his mother had previously given to his eldest brother might now fall upon him.
Following this line of thought, Ji Yingcai grew even more determined to stay by his mother’s side.
As the saying goes, it’s better to follow a begging mother than an official father. His decision was definitely correct.
Ji Yingcai’s decision left Dou Yingliang and Fang Yourong in the room astonished, but the most shocked person was Ji Jinyu.
How could he possibly choose her?
Although Dou Yingliang had forced her to head north at the cost of his life back then, Ji Yingcai had certainly not been idle in fanning the flames.
But why had he chosen her this time, instead of his father who held an official post far away in the capital?
“Second Brother, Father is an official in the capital!”
Before Ji Jinyu could voice her question, Dou Yingliang, having lost his ally, shouted at Ji Yingcai, who was kneeling on the ground, “Have you lost your mind!”
How could he choose to stay by the side of this fierce woman who only knew how to slaughter pigs, instead of seeking refuge with his own father, an official in the capital, and abandoning such a promising future?
“Big Brother, it is you who have lost your mind. To abandon the mother who raised us for nearly twenty years for a father who left without a word for over a decade—I am not as heartless as you.” Since Ji Yingcai had decided to stay by his mother’s side, he naturally spared no effort in belittling his elder brother, who stood on the opposite side.
Dou Yingliang, betrayed by his own younger brother, glared at him with eyes wide in fury and roared, “Ji Yingcai! You clearly said you wanted to head north and seek refuge with Father. How can you turn your back on your own words?”
“I never said that.” Ji Yingcai straightened his kneeling posture and said to his mother, “What I said was: wherever Mother goes, I go. If Mother chooses to stay, I will stay with her in Cuiyang City.”
“Ji Yingcai!” Dou Yingliang spat blood-flecked foam, but it did nothing to change his younger brother’s mind.
Fang Yourong, holding her daughter, looked at her husband, who had suddenly changed his mind about going to the capital, and anxiously said, “Husband, didn’tt you agree with Big Brother…”
Her words trailed off under her husband’s cold gaze.
Although Ji Yingcai had always given the impression of being cheerful and smiling, Fang Yourong knew best how much calculation and indifference lay behind that smile.
But why would he make such a foolish decision!
This was the capital they were talking about, and his father was a court official!
If their family went to the capital to seek refuge with her father-in-law, an official, wouldn’t she become the wife of a high-ranking official?
When they met their former masters, it would be them who would bow and greet her. This was a chance to rise to the top in a single step.
“Husband, we…”
“If you wish to go, you can divorce me and follow Big Brother on your own.”
Upon hearing her husband’s words, Fang Yourong’s face turned pale, and she immediately sealed her lips.
Ji Jinyu looked at her second daughter-in-law’s impatient expression and curled her lips into a mocking smile.
Did she really think she would live a good life once she reached the capital?
In her previous life, Dou Yingliang had discarded his wife and turned her into a servant as soon as he arrived in the capital. Ji Yingcai was not much better—within half a year, Fang Yourong had been demoted from wife to concubine, watching as Ji Yingcai married the daughter of a sixth-rank official.
If she knew such an ending awaited her, one wondered if she would still be so eager to go to the capital.
After warning his wife, Ji Yingcai looked at his mother earnestly and said, “Mother, I will not separate from the family, and I will not leave you. I will stay by your side.”
Even though Ji Yingcai was practically swearing to the heavens at this moment, Ji Jinyu did not believe him.
Still, such a pragmatic attitude made it difficult for Ji Jinyu to treat him the same way she treated Dou Yingliang.
Ji Jinyu looked at her second son, whose mind was more intricate than a fishing net, and said, “Since you do not wish to separate from the family, then hand over all your private savings.”
Ji Jinyu looked at her second son, who valued money above all else, with a half-smile and said, “If I remember correctly, back when you became the accountant of Yixing Restaurant, it was my silver that smoothed the way. Didn’t you say you’d repay me double? Where’s the silver?”
How much Ji Yingcai loved money was something Ji Jinyu, as his mother, saw clearly.
In her previous life, the reason she learned that Dou Shichang was procuring for the powerful was from this second son of hers.
Ji Yingcai had a remarkable talent for business. After Dou Shichang discovered his second son’s commercial abilities, he gradually handed over all his shady dealings to Ji Yingcai.
In just a few years, Ji Yingcai had made Dou Shichang immensely wealthy.
Thinking back now, Ji Jinyu felt that the name “Yingcai” was truly a misnomer for him. The character “cai” (才, talent) should have been replaced with “cai” (财, wealth) to be more fitting.
When Ji Yingcai heard his mother asking him for money, he felt as if the sky were about to collapse. But when he caught sight of the shattered cup mixed with blood on the floor out of the corner of his eye, he still managed to smile and said to his mother, “I just gathered four hundred taels of silver these past two days. I was planning to surprise you tonight, but I can give it to you now.”
If it weren’t for the trembling in Ji Yingcai’s voice from heartache as he spoke, Ji Jinyu might have believed his nonsense.
“I want eight hundred taels,” Ji Jinyu said coldly, staring at her second son.
That’s right, she was pushing him—pushing him to abandon her, pushing him to change his surname and head north with Dou Yingliang.