Chapter 56: A Letter of Divorce

The Next Day

Before dawn, the whole family got up to pack their things and move.

While it was still dark, Xingnong and Xingqing first sent Shen Ruoxi to Peach Blossom Village, and then Xingnong came back to pack up and move over. After all, she was stronger.

Village Chief Gu called on several villagers from Peach Blossom Village early in the morning to come over with ox carts and flatbed carts to help.

They loaded the bags of belongings that Xingnong’s family had packed onto the carts.

Madam Gu closed the door, locked it, glanced at the old house where she had lived for most of her life, and then said to the children behind her, “Let’s go!”

They walked out of the alley and saw Village Chief Gu, Shen Wanshan, the village chief of Plum Blossom Village, and several villagers confronting each other.

Shen Wanshan glanced at Madam Gu, his eyes gloomy. He handed her a letter of divorce: “Madam Gu, since you are moving out of the Shen family, moving out of Plum Blossom Village, and not observing mourning for Chongshan, you will no longer be a person of Plum Blossom Village, nor a daughter-in-law of the Shen family! We will remove your name from Plum Blossom Village and from the Shen family genealogy.”

Madam Gu’s face turned pale as she looked at the divorce letter. Was he going to divorce her?

Xinghui’s face also turned pale.

Village Chief Gu glanced at the divorce letter, and his fiery temper instantly ignited: “Pah, Shen Wanshan, you shameless old man! My aunt is just moving, not remarrying. Has she violated any of the seven grounds for divorce? Who the hell are you? What right do you have to divorce someone! Besides, my aunt’s ancestral home is still here. What right do you have to remove her name from the village and the genealogy? Your son and daughter-in-law have moved to the city to live. Why don’t you remove their names!”

Shen Wanshan snorted coldly: “I am the head of the Shen family, and Madam Gu is the widow of my second brother. She has failed to raise her daughters properly, bringing shame to the Shen family and to my second brother. Today, she is moving out of the Shen family and out of Plum Blossom Village. Who knows if she will do something immoral in another village? Or maybe she will remarry! When parents are gone, the elder brother acts as the father. I, as the elder brother, naturally have the right to divorce her on behalf of my second brother!”

Shen Wanshan directly threw the divorce letter at Madam Gu and said sternly, “Madam Gu, whether you accept this letter or not, you are divorced today! From now on, you are no longer Shen Chongshan’s wife, no longer a member of my Shen family, and no longer a villager of Plum Blossom Village.”

A hand reached out and quickly caught the divorce letter. Xingnong sneered: “Old Master Shen, I accept this letter of divorce.”

Madam Gu and Village Chief Gu’s expressions changed, and they both said in unison:

“Xingnong!”

How could she accept it!

Shen Wanshan snorted coldly.

“Don’t worry, Grandma. I’m going to take this letter of divorce to the yamen and ask.” Xingnong looked coldly at Shen Wanshan. “I’m going to ask the County Magistrate why a woman who has been widowed for many years for her husband who died on the battlefield can be divorced? Is it because after being divorced, the Shen family’s eldest branch will no longer have to pay the fifteen thousand taels of tax? Is it because after being divorced, the old house we bought with our own money will become the property of the Shen family’s eldest branch? I also want to ask the County Magistrate if all the widows of soldiers who died on the battlefield in the Chu State can be treated like this by their clansmen! Bullying again and again!”

By the end, Xingnong’s voice was stern and powerful!

Village Chief Gu and the villagers of Peach Blossom Village were filled with indignation. Village Chief Gu shouted angrily, “Well said!”

He waved his hand at the villagers. “Brothers, let’s go! Let’s go to the yamen and ask now!”

“Let’s go ask the County Magistrate, ask the world, why can a woman who has been widowed for many years for her husband who died on the battlefield be divorced?”

“Let’s go ask the County Magistrate if after being divorced, the Shen family’s eldest branch will no longer have to pay the fifteen thousand taels of tax!”

Village Chief Gu pointed his finger at Shen Wanshan: “Old Master Shen, let’s go ask now! If the County Magistrate says to divorce, then we will accept this letter of divorce!”

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After he finished speaking, he nimbly jumped onto the back of the ox and waved his hand. “Let’s go!”

Fortunately, Xingnong was smart; he hadn’t even thought of this!

That shameless old geezer Shen Wanshan!

At Village Chief Gu’s command, the villagers of Peach Blossom Village pushed their flatbed carts and spat at Shen Wanshan: “Simply despicable and shameless! To avoid paying the fifteen thousand taels of tax, he actually thought of divorcing her!”

“Rich and heartless, despicable and shameless, low and vile, that’s exactly the kind of person you are! Pah! I’m not afraid of Heaven punishing you!”

“You profiteer, remember to stay home when it rains, be careful of thunderbolts from Heaven!”

Shen Wanshan’s face turned pale. He didn’t expect his plan to be exposed by Xingnong so quickly. Last night, the few of them in his family had thought about this brilliant plan that killed two birds with one stone all night.

In order to protect their reputation, to protect the Shen family’s property, and for Shen Mingzhu to be able to participate in the imperial selection, and not affect Shen Zhiyuan’s examination to become a Xiucai, divorcing Madam Li and divorcing Madam Gu was the best solution!

Because if they divorced Madam Gu, there would be no division of the family property, and Shen Chongshan would still be a member of their branch. That way, they could still enjoy the tax reduction for families of soldiers who died on the battlefield.

Of course, they were not going to refuse to pay the fifteen thousand taels of tax, but they hoped to pay less, or pay in a more valuable way. At least they could turn it from a penalty into a voluntary donation, which would earn them a good reputation!

However, now that the divorce hadn’t been finalized, if they really went to report it to the officials, wouldn’t their reputation be even worse!

Shen Wanshan quickly stopped them.

Shen Mingzhu was anxious in the courtyard. She hurriedly ran back to find Shen Shihua and Madam Yao to come out and help.

Shen Shihua and Madam Yao were still scrubbing themselves vigorously in the bathhouse. They had been cleaning since midnight last night, and even though they had scrubbed off a layer of skin, they still felt smelly all over. Just thinking about that smell made them nauseous and vomit bile!

Chu Tiankuo and Ren Zilin arrived on horseback. Early this morning, Chu Tiankuo said that the autumn harvest was about to begin and he wanted to inspect the growth of the crops, so they started from the area around Plum Blossom Village.

Ren Zilin believed him. He definitely hadn’t come to this area because he heard that his junior sister was moving.

It was just to inspect the crops, after all, they were followed by a group of constables!

But from afar, they saw the two groups of people in a tense standoff, so they came over.

Ren Zilin pulled on the reins and stopped his horse in front of the crowd. He glanced at everyone and then fixed his gaze on Village Chief Gu: “What is the matter that you want to report to the officials? This official is the County Magistrate of Futai County.”

Shen Wanshan’s heart skipped a beat: Why would the County Magistrate come here?

Village Chief Gu jumped off the ox cart, snatched the divorce letter from Xingnong’s hand, and knelt down in front of Ren Zilin: “Your Excellency! Oh, merciful heavens, you came just in time! You are like a timely rain! Please uphold justice for us! My great-aunt can’t live anymore! The Shen family’s eldest branch, in order to avoid paying…”

The corner of Ren Zilin’s mouth twitched. Where did this loudmouth come from?

Village Chief Gu rattled on, adding fuel to the fire and exaggerating how Shen Wanshan forced Madam Gu to move out, how he wrote a divorce letter to avoid paying taxes, and how he brought the whole village to force her out of the clan.

He said everything he should and shouldn’t say, adding oil and vinegar to it all. He almost said that Shen Wanshan forced Madam Gu into prostitution!

Shen Wanshan was so angry that he couldn’t speak. His old face flushed red, and after a long while, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: “Gu Yangbin, you… you are talking nonsense!”