Repudiating a Good Wife Is Out of the Question

137. Dividing up the Family

Translator: Sissy That Walk

In Cunxi Hall.

No one dared to inquire about how Dowager Xiao fell in a swoon, all they knew was it happened after Marquis Valour paid her a brief visit.

Lady Lu was feeding Dowager Xiao decoction when Cao Mo and Xiao Yi arrived at Cunxi Hall, she threw the bowl on the table like she had seen her enemies on seeing Cao Mo and Xiao Yi walking into the room, “How filial are you, Young Madam! Why don’t you stay in Cunxi Hal and wait on your grandmother?”

Cao Mo rolled his eyes in frustration, he wished he could come up with something to turn Lady Lu down.

Xiao Yi grabbed Cao Mo’s hand and replied, “Madam, Yi suffers a lot in Dingzhou, Imperial Physician Zhang says he needs some rest quietly to recuperate. Please reconsider that.”

“You call yourself an educated man? Some education you got! That’s your grandmother lying in bed.” Lady Lu denounced Xiao Yi angrily, “How dare you ask me to reconsider it when I ask your wife to wait on your grandmother who is sick!”

Xiao Yi replied coldly, “Madam, please choose your word carefully. Mo suffers so much in Dingzhou, but he rushes here to see grandmother as soon as he has heard grandmother fell in a swoon. I’m just worried some people might talk about you behind your back, madam, how you mistreat your son-in-law.”

“That accusation is too great for me to handle”, replied Lady Lu indignantly, “I’ve handed our household to him, but he made a false countercharge against me! And now you are saying I’m mistreating him, do you want me to die?”

What Lady Lu said was too harsh, Xiao Yi lifted up his robe and together knelt down with Cao Mo, “Madam, please withdraw that, I cannot bear the misunderstanding.”

Lady Lu trembled with rage, and as luck would have it, Xiao Yugui walked in at that moment, he asked, “Why are you kneeling down? What’s happening now?”

Cao Mo pursed his lips and whispered, “Great timing you have chosen.”

Xiao Yi picked Cao Mo up from the ground resignedly, “Lady Lu asked Mo to stay in Cunxi Hall to wait on grandmother, but Mo is a male wife after all, so I begged Lady Lu to reconsider it to avoid any inconvenience.”

Lady Lu fumed on hearing that, ‘You used a different excuse when your father wasn’t here, and now you are saying it’s because Cao Mo is male! You set me up!’

Xiao Yugui replied when Lady Lu was about to explain, “That’s not necessary! Imperial Examinations is just around the corner, plus Cao Mo is just back from Dingzhou, you both go back to your Magnolia House, the best way to fulfill your filial piety is to become a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations!”

“I won’t disappoint you, father.” with that Xiao Yi kowtowed to Xiao Yugui and together he left Cunxi Hall with Cao Mo.

Xiao Yugui glared at Lady Lu, “Stop meddling! You are just discharged from prison, I hope you know your place in this manor, keeping an eye on Jin is all you need to do.”

Lady Lu clenched her fists and withdrew the room after she bowed slightly to Xiao Yugui.

Dowager Xiao had come to her sense a long for a while now, she had heard all the conversations taken place in her room, tears trickled down her cheek, she knew Xiao Yugui was determined to declare war with the Lus.

… …

Xiao Yuzhen had got the message of Dowager Xiao falling in a faint on the way to Dingzhou, he soon asked for leave and came back to visit his mother.

Dowager Xiao was able to sit up when Xiao Yuzhen arrived, she was still pretty weak and looked rather pale.

“Mother, you were fine just days ago, what has happened to you?” Xiao Yuzhen asked with his brows furrowed.

Dowager Xiao sent all the servants with an excuse, she grabbed Xiao Yuzhen’s hand and cried, “Yuzhen my son, you are my youngest among my three son. I’m going to be honest with you, I’m partial to your second brother because he has been serving the country for over a decade now, he suffers a lot, so I have been giving him my private money. Your big brother blames me for that, he blames me!”

Xiao Yuzhen was not in the know about what had happened between his two brothers, “What happens to my second brother? And why does my big brother blame you? That’s your own money, your have every right to give it to whoever you want to. My big brother isn’t supposed to blame you for that! You know what, mother, I will talk to him now!”

Dowager Xiao wiped her tears, “Your big brother insists on dividing up our family!”

“Dividing up our family?”

Xiao Yuzhen lapsed into silence, he could understand where Xiao Yugui came from now, he wouldn’t have come back if he had known what this was about, because he didn’t want to get involved.

Dowager Xiao thought Xiao Yuzhen’s silence meant he didn’t want to divide up their family either, she grabbed Xiao Yuzhen’s hand and continued, “This is killing me, you need to convince your big brother! I love you three equally, I don’t want anyone to live apart!”

Xiao Yuzhen frowned, “Mother, that’s not such a bad idea. My two sisters-in-law are potential dangers, they have been embezzling our money for Lu Jianzhong! Lady Lu even leaked Mo’s prescription and said it was the cure, so many people died because of that, our entire family almost were thrown into the jail as well! Lu Jianzhong is still slandering us, saying us Xiaos have set him up about the grains, I have to explain to my fellow officials that the fact is Lu Jianzhong has embezzled the allocated grains for Dingzhou.”

Xiao Yuzhen explained it to his mother and expressed that he supported his big brother on this.

Dowager Xiao fumed, she counted on Xiao Yuzhen for the opposite opinion, but now Xiao Yuzhen told her that he thought dividing up their family was a great idea, “Get out! I don’t want to see you, you unfilial son!”

Dowager Xiao clasped her hand on her chest and looked even more pale.

Xiao Yuzhen had to compromise, “All right, mother, I will go persuade my big brother.”

Liu Heng who was waiting on Dowager Xiao on the side stormed out when he heard his husband agreed on not dividing up the family.

Seeing Liu Heng’s retiring figure, Xiao Yuzhen felt so wronged, ‘This is not my decision to make, why give me a hard time?”

Xiao Yuzhen hurried to see Liu Heng after Dowager Xiao fell asleep, “Heng, you know how I feel, I was just worried about my mother.”

Liu Heng sneered, he looked around and whispered at Xiao Yuzhen’s ear, “Your mother is hale hearty! Why big brother insists on diving up the family is because your second brother is in prince Ning’s camp now… …”