Zhao Yuntian pressed a hand to his jaw and rubbed his face a few times.
Damn it, how could this woman hit so hard? His teeth felt loose!
He straightened his expression and stepped forward to bow.
“Your son-in-law greets you, Mother-in-law.”
“What mother-in-law? Don’t talk nonsense! Mother, I refuse to marry him!”
“Li’er, don’t make a scene!”
Li Mingyue scolded her, then whispered, “If you don’t marry him, you’ll be sent into exile with the rest of us. Be good!”
“Mother, I’d rather be exiled than marry him! He wants his concubine and me to enter his household on the same day!”
Bai Li deliberately didn’t lower her voice. It wasn’t loud, but it was enough for all the onlookers to hear.
The moment she spoke, the surroundings fell silent.
Zhao Yuntian’s face alternated between pale and flushed. He never imagined Bai Li would bring what had been discussed privately out into the open.
How dare she!
Everyone was looking at him as if he were a naked monkey on display for all to see.
Zhao Yuntian clenched his fists, eyes blazing, wishing he could sew that chattering little mouth shut right now!
But thinking of A-Zi waiting anxiously at home, and his parents’ instructions, he held himself back again and again.
“Mother-in-law, I was only joking with her just now. I didn’t expect her temper to be so fierce. But this only shows she has me in her heart—that she cares about me. Your son-in-law is greatly comforted.”
Bai Li: Ugh!
She nearly vomited up last night’s dinner!
Seeing the look on his face, which plainly read: torn between knocking her out and coaxing her onto the bridal sedan, Bai Li wanted to beat him into a pig’s head.
She turned and bowed deeply to Eunuch Li.
Then she turned to face the crowd of onlookers.
“Just now, Commandant Zhao clearly said that his concubine and I were to enter his household on the same day. Now he claims it was a joke. Could everyone here help me bear witness—was he telling the truth or lying?
Though the Bai family has suffered calamity, we will not let others mold us like clay!
The Zhao Residence is at the end of this street, just a few steps away. I beg you all!”
The moment she finished speaking, the crowd answered in unison: “Yes! We’ll all go bear witness for you!”
The common folk were warm-hearted, and moreover, General Bai’s Residence was famous for its good name.
Hearing that someone had so humiliated his lawful wife, and seeing Bai Li lower herself to beg for their witness, everyone’s blood boiled. Forget the soldiers blocking the way—they were united in their determination to help.
Zhao Yuntian was dumbfounded. He had only been thinking of getting her onto the bridal sedan first—he never expected her to pull this stunt.
“No—this is your own husband you don’t even trust! This marriage would be better off not happening at all!”
Zhao Yuntian blurted it out in his fury, and the moment the words left his mouth, he knew it was over!
“Did everyone hear that? Commandant Zhao said it himself—the engagement is void!”
“No, I never said that!”
Damn it, why was this woman so difficult to deal with?
He had already arranged everything with A-Zi. As soon as the bridal sedan arrived here, that side would set out. With both sedans entering the gate at the same time, his parents wouldn’t have time to object.
Now that things had blown up like this, what was he supposed to do?
If only he had quietly knocked her out and stuffed her into the sedan earlier—it would have been so much simpler!
“See? This is what a man who breaks his word looks like.
Everyone heard what you just said. It’s too late to deny it now!”
Bai Li pressed him step by step, giving him no face at all.
With matters in such an uproar, Eunuch Li had no choice but to call out Bai Zongren, head of the Bai family, to handle the situation.
In truth, with all the commotion outside, everyone trapped in the front courtyard had already heard everything.
Bai Zongren came out, first frowning at his daughter, then looking at his wife, using his eyes to discuss how to handle the matter.
Li Mingyue shook her head, then nodded.
Bai Li was completely baffled, not knowing what riddle her parents were playing. Surely they weren’t still planning to make her marry this scumbag?
“Dad~”
Bai Li grew anxious and hurriedly shot her father a meaningful look.
Bai Zongren glared fiercely at her, his gaze carrying too much for Bai Li to understand.
“Commandant Zhao, this marriage arrangement was my oversight. Please forgive me.
You see, everyone in the Bai household is now under criminal conviction—we truly cannot aspire to match the Zhao Residence. Let this engagement be called off!”
“Hold on, General Bai, an engagement is no trifling matter.
The Zhao Residence has already sent out the invitations. Canceling the betrothal now—wouldn’t that make us a laughingstock among the court officials?”
“Oh? You invited the court officials?”
Bai Li seized on something and interjected.
“Of course!”
Zhao Yuntian held his head high, that sense of superiority returning.
“Then do they also know that today you’re taking your wife and concubine through the door at the same time?
Guess what they’ll say when they see that?”
At this, a chill ran down Zhao Yuntian’s spine, cold dread rushing from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
He had been so focused on satisfying his beloved’s wishes that he’d forgotten the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
The law stipulated that a man could take a concubine, but only three years after marrying his principal wife.
Violating the law meant dismissal from office at best, imprisonment at worst.
Now he was caught in a dilemma. On one side was the generous dowry, which included things his father had specifically demanded.
On the other side was his beloved, who was carrying his child.
He had originally planned to blur the lines—wife and concubine entering the household on the same day, then later claiming the child was born of the principal wife, making it his legitimate heir, elevating the child’s status so they would be honored and exalted for life.
Zhao Yuntian’s hesitation made it obvious to everyone that what he’d said about taking wife and concubine through the door together was true.
Bai Zongren’s face turned cold, his tiger-like eyes glaring at Zhao Yuntian with menace.
The latter’s breath caught, feeling an enormous pressure bearing down on him, nearly suffocating.
What a powerful presence!
Zhao Yuntian’s mind in chaos, he was forced to make a choice.
“In that case, Miss Bai and I were never fated to be together. Let this engagement be dissolved.
However, my word alone is not proof—the dissolution must be approved by my parents at home.”
Unbelievable—he was still trying to scheme against her?
He knew perfectly well that today she would either board the bridal sedan or be sent into exile. Where would she find the time to wait for his parents’ approval?
Bai Li sneered and said, “No need for all that trouble. Write a divorce agreement on the spot, and we’ll both sign and seal it.”
Li Mingyue was about to stop her, but then thought that a broken engagement and a divorce carried about the same reputation anyway.
Their family were all convicted criminals now; there was no hope of marrying into an official’s household.
If her daughter could later find a suitable farmer’s son and live a quiet, peaceful life, that would be good enough.
With no way out, Zhao Yuntian had no choice but to write the divorce agreement on the spot and sign it with his mark.
Bai Li seized the opportunity to heap flattery on Eunuch Li, asking him to serve as a witness.
With the marriage between the two families falling through, the dowry prepared by the Bai household would be confiscated by the state—and Eunuch Li stood to skim quite a profit from it. Why not?
So after putting on a bit of a show, he readily agreed.
Seeing that matters had reached a point of no return, Zhao Yuntian spat viciously at Bai Li before leaving: “You’re the daughter of an exile—who knows how much humiliation and abuse you’ll suffer on the road. From now on, you’re nothing but a pile of dog shit—you wouldn’t even deserve to lick my toes!”
“Thank you for the warning, but I won’t let you live to see that day.”
“You! You ungrateful wretch! Sooner or later, the day will come when you regret this!”
Having successfully driven Zhao Yuntian away in a rage, Bai Li lowered her head as she entered the front courtyard, thinking about the dangers of the exile journey and the supplies and money her family would need.