Red Mansion Huacai

Chapter 398 Divorce
Mrs. Xing was very decisive this time. The next day, she arrested Shan Jie'er and threatened her. Shan Jie'er immediately said, "It was me who served her. That day, I followed the Second Madam's order to go to her room to wake her up. When I pushed the door open, she was already fully dressed and dead on the kang. I don't know what happened... Later, the imperial physician examined her. If she was really poisoned, he would have told me long ago."

Madam Xing threatened, "Are you really telling the truth? But if you say even a single lie, I'll sell you out!"

Shan Jie'er was so frightened that she was trembling with fear and racking her brain, but she never dared to say anything about the harsh treatment she had shown You Erjie in private.

Mrs. Xing had no choice but to send Shan Jie'er away and take Wang Shanbao's wife to the meeting room.

When they arrived at the meeting room, Jia Zheng smashed the teacup. It was because Wu Xindeng was particularly corrupt. He had embezzled tens of thousands of silver coins over the past ten years! Just when the Grand View Garden was being renovated, Wu Xindeng had embezzled more than three thousand taels. Wu Xindeng saw that he could not avoid it, so he simply brought up Shan Daliang, saying that Shan Daliang had embezzled at least five thousand taels when the garden was being renovated.

Jia Lian was so angry that he went up to Wu Xindeng and beat and kicked him. Jia Zheng was so angry that he was shaking all over. He shouted, "How can you still respect your master? Forget it, forget it, confiscate all of them and send them to Shuntian Prefecture! We can't keep such a servant in our family!"

Jia Lian ordered his servants to take Wu Xindeng to search his house. Mrs. Xing watched with rage and regretted it deeply. If she had known there was a bigger fish behind this, why would she have rushed to find out what Feng Jieer had done wrong?
Seeing that Jia Lian was about to get the upper hand, Mrs. Xing hurriedly said, "Lian'er, let the subordinates take care of the confiscation. You stay here. I have something else to say."

He then gave a look to Wang Shanbao, the housekeeper, who understood, stepped forward, spat at Wu Xindeng, cursed him, and pushed Wu Xindeng out.

Mrs. Xing came in and said, "I just asked Sister Shan, and she said that Second Sister was not so strange. Could she have been poisoned? Sister Shan swore and it was exactly what she said before."

After a pause, Mrs. Xing looked at Jia Lian and said, "Lian'er, let me ask you, what's going on with Miss You?"

When Jia Lian heard Mrs. Xing talking about the past, it was inevitable that his old pain was evoked. If she had miscarried, why would he still worry about his son? So he replied, "My son really didn't know. Maybe she couldn't get over it and ended her life herself. Madam, don't listen to Aunt Zhao's fanning the flames. She can't produce any evidence and is just making up stories."

Jia Zheng also felt that this was inappropriate, so he advised, "I dare not say that none of our people have made mistakes, but no matter what, we cannot investigate our own people."

Since Mrs. Xing had decided to deal with Feng Jieer, how could she give up? If she couldn't drive Feng Jieer away this time, how could she survive in the future? Mrs. Xing said stubbornly, "That's not what I meant. We don't need to deal with ordinary minor mistakes, but how can we tolerate murder and arson? If you harm You Erjie today, how can you know that you won't harm others in the future? We must investigate this matter thoroughly!"

Jia Zheng frowned and said, "It is common for women to be jealous. Maybe Feng said something unpleasant, and she couldn't bear it and committed suicide. It's not Feng's fault, but her own fault for being so weak."

Mrs. Xing suddenly had an idea and said, "How could a pregnancy be aborted? Someone must have done something bad. In my opinion, the doctor was invited by Feng'er and deliberately instigated him to do so. Otherwise, the doctor had no grudge against my second sister, so why would he do such a cruel thing?"

When these words came out, Jia Zheng and Jia Lian were shocked. The more Jia Zheng thought about it, the more it seemed that this was done by Feng Jieer. But after all, Feng Jieer was married in a formal way, and You Erjie didn't even have a status. If it was really a big deal, Jia Lian secretly married during the period of national mourning and family mourning, it would be a crime if it was spread out.

Jia Zheng said, "There is no real evidence. It is just a random guess. It cannot be taken seriously. I think it is better to forget it. Human life is at stake. If Feng girl goes to jail for this, it will be a loss for the sake of a small thing. We don't have enough people in our family to take care of things. Let's just turn a blind eye for the time being."

But Jia Lian had a different idea. After You Erjie came into the house, Jia Lian's mind was on Yaotao. Now he thought of You Erjie's goodness and the child who slipped away, and his heart was suddenly broken. Moreover, the relationship between Jia Lian and Feng Jieer was becoming more and more estranged. Since the birth of the second sister, they had never been close. Usually, when he asked her to borrow some money, she would refuse. How could Jia Lian tolerate it?
Yin gritted his teeth and said, "Uncle, don't worry about it. The first wife and I will investigate this matter. If she is wrong, we will teach her not to be too cruel in the future. This will also be a warning and punishment for her."

This was said in a tactful way. Besides, this was a family affair of the first house, so Jia Zheng of the second house could only say, "Yes, you guys can handle it. But don't let the servants know and spread it around."

The two agreed and left the meeting room together.

Along the way, Jia Lian thought: "Don't go to the house to ask first, just go to the servants' room to ask, otherwise if Feng Er knows, no one will dare to tell."

Madam Xing nodded and said, "That's right."

Jia Lian recalled, "I remember that year when You Erjie was ill, and Doctor Wang happened to have something to do at home, so the servants invited another doctor named Hu to give You Erjie an abortion drug. I was so angry at the time that I found out who invited the doctor named Hu and beat him half to death. He just said that he invited him. I thought this was strange, so why not go back and ask him? But this person has already left the mansion and has no whereabouts. How can I find out?"

Mrs. Xing thought about it for a while, and then she became smart, so she whispered in his ear: "How about this——"

Jia Lian nodded as he listened.

After returning home, Jia Lian called Wang'er and said, "The servant who asked Hu Junrong to give Second Sister the drug that year has returned to his hometown in Daxing. Go and find him. I want to check his old accounts carefully."

Wang'er was startled, not knowing why this was brought up today. He agreed without thinking and hurriedly went to report to Fengjie secretly.

But they didn't know that just as Lai Wang left, Jia Lian sent someone to follow him. At this time, Feng Jieer was in Yihong Courtyard, and not only the servant who followed him, but even Lai Wang was not allowed to enter. The servant only saw Lai Wang find a maid, and then talked to Ping'er who came out, and then the servant went back to find Jia Lian to report.

Mrs. Xing laughed when she heard this and said, "What did I say? Isn't this a lie?"

Jia Lian gnashed his teeth, slammed the table and said angrily: "No need to follow, I already understand most of it. Call Wang Er's servant Yangzi and see what he says this time!"

A little later, the servant brought Lai Wang in. Lai Wang was so frightened that he knelt down and trembled. Jia Lian's eyes turned red and he said, "Wang'er, why did you go to report to the Second Madam when I asked you to find someone? Did your Second Madam instruct you to do it? Just tell the truth! If you tell a lie again, I will not forgive you!"

Lai Wang kowtowed and said, "I am not looking for a second wife for this reason. I am looking for something else."

Jia Lian said coldly: "Don't try to quibble. You can't escape today. If you don't tell the truth, I will break your legs!"

Mrs. Xing also sneered, "Tell me why you went to see your Second Madam. I'll ask her again. If she says something different, she'll be exposed! Tell the truth quickly. I guarantee your Second Madam won't dare to hit you."

Lai Wang saw that his plan had failed, so he had to tell the truth: "It was indeed Second Mistress who ordered someone to invite Hu Junrong that year. It had nothing to do with me. Please spare my life, Madam."

Jia Lian said: "It's not over yet, there's more..."

At this time, Yao Tao came in with almond tea and said, "Second Master, I know something about this. Qiu Tong said privately that Second Mistress instigated her to curse her with dirty words every day, and let Shan Jie treat Second Sister with leftovers every day. Second Sister couldn't bear it anymore, so she committed suicide."

Jia Lian laughed angrily and said, "Good, good, very good! I was wondering why she was so virtuous. It turns out that she is sweet on the outside but bitter on the inside, secretly harming people!"

Since You Erjie left, Qiu Tong was full of pride and started to dislike Yao Tao. Yao Tao initially relied on Jia Lian's favor to resist, but soon Jia Lian got a dirty disease. Qiu Tong got angry and cursed Yao Tao every day for passing the dirty disease to Jia Lian.

Yao Tao also had a temper, but this time it was not directed at Feng Jieer, but at Qiu Tong. Yin then said, "Second Master, you don't know that Zhang Hua, who filed the complaint earlier, was also told to Qiu Tong by Second Madam in private. Qiu Tong used money to file the complaint against our family!"

Lai Wang saw that the plan had failed, and dared not hide it any longer, so he told Jia Lian everything that had happened that day. Jia Lian was so angry that he stood up and stamped his feet, took down the sword hanging on the wall and said angrily: "Shrew! Birds of a feather! Wait until I chop off the heads of these two people to avenge my second sister!"

At this time, Madam Xing said, "Lian'er, don't be reckless. Just report this matter to Shuntian Prefecture and let Shuntian Prefecture handle it."

Jia Lian immediately became hesitant upon hearing this: "Why should such a family secret be made known to everyone?"

The two of them couldn't make up their minds, so they went to Jia Zheng for advice. Jia Zheng got a headache when he heard this! At first, the incident with Lady Wang was still a joke, but now there's Sister Feng, will the Jia family's reputation still be preserved?

Seeing that Mrs. Xing was determined to report to the authorities, Jia Lian was also very angry. Jia Lian knew that he could not persuade her, so he could only say: "Why should she go to jail again? Now just write a letter of divorce according to the rules of the mansion and let her go back to her parents' home. Her uncle is also an official in the court, so you can't act rashly."

Mrs. Xing then remembered Wang Ziteng and stopped talking about suing the officials. Instead, she advised Jia Lian to divorce his wife. Jia Lian was really angry this time. All his old and new hatreds came to his mind. He immediately went to Yihong Courtyard in a rage.

Fengjie was discussing the garden with Ping'er in the house when she heard Jia Lian shouting outside the door. Just as she stood up, Jia Lian and Mrs. Xing came in. Seeing that they both looked angry, Fengjie's heart skipped a beat. She remembered what Ping'er had just told Wang'er, and she felt something in her heart.

Then Jia Lian sneered, "What else do you have to argue about, you evil woman? Take advantage of the warm weather today and pack up your things and go back to your parents' home. I will write a letter of divorce right away."

He hurriedly ordered Ping'er to grind ink, but Ping'er was so surprised that she didn't dare to move.

Feng Jieer calmly pulled out a chair and asked Madam Xing to sit down. She said calmly, "Where did you get this from, Second Master?"

Mrs. Xing sat down and snorted coldly, saying, "You don't know? I'll tell you clearly." Then she told her word for word about how Feng Ji plotted against You Erjie.

After hearing this, Sister Feng laughed and said, "He secretly married someone during the period of national mourning. If the news gets out, I don't know if the Second Master will still be alive. I dealt with the trouble for the Second Master, but now it's my fault? Well, why not report this to the government office and see who is guilty!"

Sister Feng was always so powerful that she glared at Jia Lian with her triangular phoenix eyes. Jia Lian was choked and speechless: "You... a fierce woman!"

Feng Jieer felt very aggrieved. If she had been born a few years earlier, how could she have married such a loser as Jia Lian? She said angrily, "Am I a shrew? Oh, although I nagged a few times when the Second Master was sleeping with prostitutes outside, did I really stop him? Besides, the Second Master has been bringing Ping'er, Qiutong, Yaotao, and You Erjie home a lot, did I stop him? You Erjie thinks she is the new Second Wife, if I don't fight her, she might really become the old Second Wife!"

As the saying goes, even an honest judge cannot judge family affairs. Mrs. Xing's mind is biased, so her words are naturally biased. She said, "No matter what, no one can be killed."

Sister Feng turned her head and looked at Madam Xing and said, "Don't you think everyone knows what the eldest lady is thinking? You kicked me out just now, so how can you know that the second master won't marry Xia Jingui next time?"

Mrs. Xing's heart trembled immediately. Everyone knew that Xia Jingui was a fierce person. If such a person really came into the family, she would be in trouble. But then she thought again, she chased Feng Jieer away because the head of the family embezzled money. With the money, where can she go?

At this time, Sister Feng said, "I admit that I harmed Sister You's child, but I don't admit anyone else."

Jia Lian gritted his teeth and shouted, "That's a boy!"

Sister Feng said sarcastically, "Second Master is in bad shape. If he can't have children in the future, can you blame me?"

Jia Lian was so angry that he drew out his sword with a clang. However, Feng Jieer was not afraid at all and approached him with a smile: "If you are really capable, just chop me down today!"

"You--" Jia Lian was just angry and humiliated, but he was not stupid. If this matter got out, he would be in trouble. How could he dare to chop Feng Jie?
But Jia Lian's face changed, sometimes green, sometimes white, and suddenly he dropped his sword and sneered, "Okay, okay, tit for tat, I can't afford to offend you, let alone serve you! From now on, Second Madam can go wherever she wants, but you can't stay in the Jia family!"

He immediately picked up the paper and pen on the table, bit his fingertip and wrote a divorce letter. After writing it, he threw it on Feng Jieer, turned around and went to find Qiu Tong.

Feng Jieer was stunned for a long while. Seeing that the matter was settled, Mrs. Xing breathed a sigh of relief and consoled her, "It's your fault that you are too stubborn. You should learn from your mistakes in the future... Don't make a fuss. If it really gets to the government, no one will be in a good situation!"

Fearing that Sister Feng would vent her anger on her, Mrs. Xing quickly got up and walked out.

Qiu Tong's cries were heard from outside. Jia Lian had been frustrated by Sister Feng, so he took out all his anger on Qiu Tong. No matter how Qiu Tong cried, he kept whipping her with the whip and cursed, "Bitch, I'm going to beat you to death today!"

Inside, Ping'er picked up the divorce letter and immediately became anxious, saying, "Madam, the Second Master must have written this divorce letter carelessly out of shame and anger. Let's go find the Master right now. The Master can always persuade the Second Master."

Ping Er tried to pull Feng Jie'er, but Feng Jie'er stopped her. She looked back puzzled, and saw Feng Jie'er frowning and whispering, "How strange! I should have been heartbroken, but after reading this divorce letter, all the things that happened in the past ten years flashed through my mind. Now I suddenly feel like it was just a dream."

"grandmother?"

Feng Jieer laughed and said, "Didn't you see? Your Second Master has wanted to divorce me for a long time. He didn't dare to do so before because the old lady was still around. Now the first lady wants me to leave, and the master is a fool, so how can anyone persuade him? Well, the love between husband and wife is gone for a long time, so let's just break up. The only thing he can't bear to leave is Qiaojie and Second Sister..."

At this moment, Qiaojie came running in frantically, pulling Fengjie aside and asking, "Mom, what happened to father? I saw Aunt Qiu was almost beaten to death!"

Only when she saw Qiaojie did Fengjie's eyes turn red and she said, "Your father has divorced me. I'm afraid we may never see each other again in the future."

Qiaojie was getting older now. When she heard this, her face suddenly changed. She said, "I don't believe my father is so heartless. I'll go ask him."

He immediately turned around and went to look for Jia Lian.

Qiaojie cried and went to the front. When she saw the people in the room, she cried and shook Jia Lian's arm and said, "Daddy, why are you chasing mom away? Take back your order."

Madam Xing came forward and stroked Qiaojie, saying, "Don't blame your father. It's because your mother has done too many evil things. I will take care of you in the future. Don't be afraid."

Qiaojie cried, "No matter how evil mother has done, I cannot live without her."

How could Jia Lian agree? Seeing that persuasion was fruitless, Qiaojie ran out crying again, all the way to Yihong Courtyard, and saw several maids talking about Fengjie's divorce in private.

When Qiaojie arrived at Yihong Courtyard again, she saw Aunt Zhao and a few maids sitting cross-legged and making sarcastic remarks. Aunt Zhao hated Fengjie the most, so how could she miss such an opportunity to kick someone when he was down?

As they were arguing, Ping'er came out with a basin of cold water and splashed it all over Aunt Zhao, then scolded her, "If you keep on talking nonsense, I'll serve you some foot-washing water!"

Aunt Zhao was so angry that she cursed loudly. It was already the coldest time of the year, and Aunt Zhao could not stand the cold any more, so she left in disgrace.

When Qiaojie entered, she saw Fengjie sitting on the couch in a daze, while Ping'er, Feng'er and others were packing their bags with red eyes. Qiaojie immediately threw herself into Fengjie's arms and burst into tears.

Feng Jieer had just said a few words of consolation when suddenly a maid said, "Madam, the third and fourth young ladies and the wife of the Bo family are here together!"

As they were talking, Daiyu, Tanchun, and Xichun came in together. Tanchun asked anxiously, "Sister Feng, how could it have come to this?"

Sister Feng laughed and said, "Your second brother is getting more and more intolerant of me now. Now that he has finally got the chance, he is going to chase me away, isn't he?"

Daiyu had been taken care of by Sister Feng in her early years, especially after Li Weijian moved into the Jia Mansion, and she was grateful. She also knew that such family affairs were difficult to resolve, so she immediately said, "Second Brother Lian may be angry for a while, and he may regret it later. What are Sister Feng's plans now?"

Sister Feng said, "Let's stay at the farm for now, and then go back to Jinling."

Daiyu said, "It's already afternoon, how can we make it in time? I think Sister Feng might as well stay at my house for a while. Who knows, there may be some time left before this matter is resolved?"

Sister Feng glanced at Daiyu with a strange expression, and after a moment's hesitation, she agreed: "Okay, I'll bother you, sister."

(End of this chapter)