nucmednet Chapter 60: If you don't want a divorce, why don't you kneel down?
Chapter 60: If you don't want a divorce, why don't you kneel down?
Wen Qian was extremely anxious and quickly explained, "Mother, I only had a meal with that man, and there was nothing inappropriate between us."
Aunt Fu sneered again: "I saw that there were only the two of you in the room, not even a servant! If it's just a meal, is it necessary to be like this? I'm afraid you're doing something unsavory in there!"
Lady Hou turned to ask, "Mo Ping, tell me, were you accompanying them?"
"I...the Crown Princess only went to have a meal..." Mo Ping stammered. She hadn't actually gone in and didn't know how to answer.
Wen Qian felt the scrutiny surrounding her and became increasingly flustered: "Mother, Aunt, that man is the Grand Tutor of the court. I have no other relationship with him. We just exchanged pleasantries and had a meal together."
Before she could finish speaking, a sharp, mocking voice came from behind: "Sister-in-law, you really know how to make things up."
She turned her head and saw that the third young lady of the manor, Li Zhenzhen, had come over at some point, with a gloating smile on her lips.
"Sister-in-law, don't you know your place? Why would a Grand Tutor dine with you? You can't even lie properly, you're really useless."
“Mother, I didn’t…” Wen Qian was at a loss and was about to explain when she was interrupted by the Lady Hou.
"Enough! You have no shame! You even dare to try and implicate the Grand Tutor!"
"I really did dine with the Grand Tutor! Mother..."
Her voice was pleading, and her eyes were glistening with tears, but it was all in vain. Her mother-in-law had never given her a kind look.
Li Zhenzhen's lips curled into a mocking smile, her eyes revealing a sense of anticipation for a good show.
"Since you insist on saying it this way, sister-in-law, what is the Grand Tutor's name? Can you tell me?"
"This...I don't know..." Wen Qian's mind was in complete chaos.
She had only heard Jiang Mian mention that the man was the Grand Tutor, but she did not know his name.
When she couldn't answer, Li Zhenzhen burst into laughter.
Wen Qian's face grew increasingly pale, unsure how to explain.
The Lady Hou looked at her coldly, her eyes full of disdain.
"What a useless person! You only bring shame to my household. Why did Zhijing have to get involved with you!"
Wen Qian felt wronged, clenched her teeth, and her hands trembled slightly inside her sleeves. She had been afraid of such occasions since she was a child, and no matter how she tried to defend herself, no one stood by her side in the face of these accusations.
"What are you all doing in the yard?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded.
Everyone turned their heads and saw Li Zhijing walk in. A hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes as he coldly looked at everyone in the courtyard.
"Big brother, you're here! Come and see what she's done."
Li Zhenzhen stepped forward, and Aunt Fu followed suit, adding fuel to the fire: "Young master, you don't know, I actually caught her having a secret rendezvous with a man outside, and Madam is interrogating her now."
Li Zhijing frowned slightly and glanced at Wen Qian.
A private meeting with a foreign man?
"Your Highness, I didn't. How could I do such a thing? You must believe me." Wen Qian bit her lower lip, her lips trembling slightly.
Although Li Zhijing had no feelings for Wen Qian, he knew that Wen Qian was not worthy of such a thing as secretly meeting with a man.
I'm afraid that Aunt Fu is just using some trivial matter to deliberately make things difficult for her again.
He glanced at her and met Wen Qian's pleading gaze, which was filled with anxiety. He felt somewhat flustered.
Turning to his aunt, he said, "If you don't have solid evidence, why make such a fuss?"
Aunt Fu suddenly became agitated: "I have no evidence? I saw it clearly with my own eyes. She was having dinner with a man, and they were very intimate. It was definitely not an ordinary relationship!"
Lady Hou also spoke up: "Zhijing, if you protect her now, and she does this again in the future and people gossip about it, it will be a disgrace to the Hou family."
Li Zhijing's gaze involuntarily fell on Wen Qian, who was pale and clenched her hands, seemingly wanting to argue but unable to utter a word.
Li Zhenzhen added, "Brother, don't be fooled by her appearance. She's not aggrieved; the expression on her face clearly shows the shame of being exposed!"
Li Zhijing frowned, his irritation growing stronger, feeling as if he had been drawn into this pointless argument.
Unable to contain himself any longer, he spoke to the Lady of the Marquis again: "It's just a meal, why make such a fuss? If Mother wants to use this as an excuse to punish her, there's no need to come up with these excuses."
"You!" Lady Hou was speechless. "Fine, since you say I want to punish her, then let her kneel here for a day, and we'll deal with her when Master returns home."
Wen Qian quickly looked up at Li Zhijing and said somewhat anxiously, "Your Highness, Miss Jiang can testify for me that it was because..."
However, before she could finish speaking, Li Zhijing frowned and asked, "Do you want to drag her into this too?"
Then he said—
"But as punishment from his mother, the son went inside first."
After saying that, he turned and walked towards the backyard.
Li Zhenzhen and Aunt Fu exchanged a knowing smile, their eyes brimming with smugness. The servants in the courtyard also whispered amongst themselves.
“Sister-in-law, the Li family values its reputation and does not want to take the initiative to divorce you. If you are sensible, why don’t you propose a divorce yourself? My elder brother will definitely agree immediately.”
Wen Qian's pupils trembled, and she took a step back, muttering, "No..."
She cannot get a divorce. If she does, the Wen family will definitely not want her, and then she will truly have nowhere to go.
Seeing her frightened appearance, Li Zhenzhen sneered: "If you don't want a divorce, then kneel down quickly! Didn't you hear your mother say you were to kneel here?"
A wave of grievance welled up in Wen Qian's heart, and tears welled up in her eyes.
Seeing her frail appearance, as if she could be pushed over at any moment, Li Zhenzhen came over and lifted her by the shoulder: "Kneel properly, keep your back straight, don't be lazy and sit down."
Wen Qian lowered her head, tears finally flowing uncontrollably onto the ground.
She couldn't help but think of many things from the past.
When she was in the Wen family, she was the one who was most easily bullied.
Whenever there were nice clothes or other items in the house, she could only wait for her sisters to pick them out, and then she would get whatever was left.
If there aren't enough items for everyone, then she's definitely one of those who doesn't have them.
She tried to fight for it, but her birth mother died early, her father never cared about his children, and there was no one in the family to support her.
Her aunts and sisters always ganged up on her and isolated her. If she tried to compete for something, she would end up being the one who suffered.
As time went by, she stopped making futile struggles.
She knew her only way out was to get married.
Her original husband was a tea merchant from Qingzhou who supplied tea to the imperial court. Her father wanted to secure this connection, so he arranged for her to marry into the family.
She had seen that tea merchant before; he was an unkempt, rough-looking man, fat and strong.
She had thought that she would accept anything as long as she could leave the Wen family. However, due to a series of unexpected events, she ended up marrying Li Zhijing.
She was actually very happy on her wedding day.
Even knowing that Li Zhijing had someone he loved, she didn't mind. She treated being bullied by everyone after marrying into the Marquis's mansion as a normal thing.
She believed that as long as she behaved properly, sooner or later Li Zhijing would see her good qualities.
Having spent these past few months living together in the Crown Prince's residence, she thought that at least Li Zhijing would know her character, and she hoped that he would stand by her side.
But she realized today that she still couldn't warm his heart...
Tears fell to the ground one by one as Wen Qian sobbed softly.
Lady Hou, complaining of a headache, went inside to take medicine, leaving only Li Zhenzhen and Aunt Fu in the courtyard.
"Stop crying and sobbing, do you think we've done something to you? Haven't you been having an affair? Or have I wronged you?"
Aunt Fu rolled her eyes, walked to the side, and kicked her in anger.
Li Zhenzhen strolled around leisurely, then, as if remembering something, came over and asked, "By the way, Aunt, how was she punished for doing something wrong in the past?"
Aunt Fu's eyes lit up: "Bamboo stick! Would Third Miss like to try it?"