Ye Yunniang turned her head, unable to look at the kindly-faced Old Madam Jiang. Was this even human?
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Ye Yunniang couldn’t bring herself to meet the eyes of anyone from the Jiang Family—including Jiang Mingzhe.
Jiang Mingzhe knew her fear. And it was precisely because she was afraid that he had to speak.
"The Jiang Family is full of wicked people. Don’t foolishly rush to help them. You wouldn’t even realize you’ve been sold out."
"You’re not a good person either," Ye Yunniang snapped at him.
"True, I’m not." Over the years, many had died by Jiang Mingzhe’s hands as he expanded his business.
Occasionally, he wondered if his lack of children was retribution for his sins.
But letting go of the Jiang Family’s business was something he couldn’t do.
"Those maids and servants you’re worried about—I’ve arranged their futures. You, your mother, and your son should live peacefully. Stay out of the Jiang Family’s affairs."
Ye Yunniang listened as Jiang Mingzhe spoke like a man delivering his last words. "What are you planning to do?"
"I have something to settle. If I succeed, I gain my freedom. If I fail, my bones will be lost to the wind."
What began as a fleeting romance, Ye Yunniang had thought would fade once it passed. But now that it had happened, how could it simply vanish?
Her heart raced with panic, worry, and reluctance. She turned to face Jiang Mingzhe. "Can’t you not go?"
"If I don’t, everyone in the Jiang Family will die." Jiang Mingzhe despised his family, but he couldn’t watch them perish. More importantly, he didn’t want to die either.
"Ye Yunniang, wait—"
BANG! CRASH!
The sound of the dilapidated temple door being violently shoved open interrupted the conversation between the two in the pavilion.
Bai Xiuxiu, who had been hiding in the back, rushed forward in delight.
"Mother, why are you here?"
Madam Bai responded to her daughter’s approach with a sharp slap.
"Something this big happens, and you still try to hide it from the family?"
Bai Xiuxiu clutched her cheek. "Mother, I didn’t." She just hadn’t wanted them to worry.
"Our in-laws have arrived," Old Master Jiang stepped forward, his tone polite.
"Don’t call us in-laws." Madam Bai scanned the temple and the people in the courtyard before pulling out a sheet of paper and handing it to Old Master Jiang.
He took it—a divorce agreement.
"In-law, what is the meaning of this?"
"Mother, you want me to divorce him?" Bai Xiuxiu shook her head vehemently. She wouldn’t leave.
"Mother, don’t abandon me." Jiang Fangrui, six years old, understood what divorce meant. She ran over and clung to Bai Xiuxiu.
Bai Xiuxiu held her daughter tightly. "Mother, I won’t go."
Madam Bai frowned. "If you don’t divorce, you’ll keep living in a house with a leaky roof, following a man who knows nothing but useless scholarly talk and can’t even pass the lowest exams. Xiuxiu, you’re still young. Come home, and I’ll find you someone better."
"Mother—"
"I agree to the divorce." Jiang Mingyu stood at the entrance, a bundle of firewood in his arms.
He looked at Madam Bai. "Mother-in-law, I consent."
Bai Xiuxiu stared at him in disbelief. "Jiang Mingyu!"
Jiang Fangrui wailed, "Father, don’t let Mother leave! Mother, don’t go! I can’t bear it—"
Her granddaughter’s tears softened Madam Bai’s resolve.
"If the Jiang Family agrees, the Bai Family can take Fangrui in."
"I don’t want to leave Father! Mother, don’t go! I don’t want you two to separate!" Jiang Fangrui sobbed.
"Fangrui, be good. Go with your mother for now. I’ll work hard to earn money and bring you both back." Jiang Mingyu tried to soothe her.
"Jiang Mingyu, I’ll ask you one last time. Are you really letting me go?" Bai Xiuxiu’s red-rimmed eyes bore into him.
"Xiuxiu, I’ve failed you. I couldn’t give you the life you deserve." Jiang Mingyu hung his head.
"Jiang Mingyu, in your heart, do you think Bai Xiuxiu is someone who only enjoys luxury but can’t endure hardship?" she shouted. Why wouldn’t this man fight for her?
"No. To me, Bai Xiuxiu is the best wife. After marrying into the Jiang Mansion, you fought for every advantage—not for yourself, but for our little family.
Before the Jiang Family fell, you lived comfortably with me. Now that we’ve lost everything, staying would mean eating husks and pickles. I don’t want you to suffer like this." His words sent tears rolling down Bai Xiuxiu’s cheeks.
"I’m not afraid. We pledged ourselves as husband and wife—for a lifetime. I won’t leave. Don’t make me go." She shook her head desperately.
Jiang Mingyu might have been a failure in studies and business, but his love for Bai Xiuxiu was genuine. In the Jiang Mansion, he had supported her in everything she wanted.
"Father, don’t send Mother away!" Jiang Fangrui wept.
The three of them clung to each other, sobbing.
Ye Yunniang couldn’t hold back her own tears. "The Third Master and Third Madam truly love each other."
"Not as well as they rehearsed last night."
Jiang Mingzhe’s dry remark shattered Ye Yunniang’s emotional moment. She blinked away her tears.
"Young Master means… they’re pretending? Why?"
"For the old man’s treasure."
"Wasn’t it meant for Concubine Bai?"
"Bai Yurong wants it all. But Concubine Xue won’t allow it. She served the old man for twenty-five years—she won’t walk away empty-handed." No sooner had Jiang Mingzhe spoken than Concubine Xue’s voice rang out from the temple.
"Madam Bai, I beg you. Don’t take Xiuxiu away. Don’t let Fangrui lose her mother. I’ll work—I’ll earn money. I won’t let Xiuxiu suffer."
Concubine Xue wiped her tears as she pleaded.
"What can a woman who relied on her looks possibly earn? Jiang Mingyu, sign the divorce papers now." Madam Bai pressed, showing no kindness to Concubine Xue.
Jiang Mingyu reached toward Old Master Jiang for the agreement.
"Master, don’t give it to him!" Concubine Xue shook her head tearfully, begging him not to relent.
Old Master Jiang hesitated, looking at his son.
"Father, hand it over." Jiang Mingyu pulled the document from his father’s grip.
Li Mingshu’s ink and brush were still there. He picked up the pen, ready to sign.
"No! Mingyu, you can’t!" Concubine Xue snatched the paper and tore it to shreds, her mind racing—this wasn’t part of last night’s plan.
The Bai Family truly wanted Bai Xiuxiu to divorce and return home.
Realizing this, Concubine Xue played her final card. She dropped to her knees before Old Master Jiang.
"Master, sell me instead. All these years, I’ve lived in comfort. Now it’s my turn to contribute." Her tearful eyes were pitifully persuasive.
Old Master Jiang adored Concubine Xue, and his affection extended to Jiang Mingyu.
"In-law, I refuse to allow this divorce. Yes, the Jiang Family’s assets were seized, and we have nothing now. But this is temporary—we will rise again."
Madam Bai scoffed. "The Emperor himself ordered your family’s downfall. Who would dare do business with the Jiangs now? Talk of rising again? Ridiculous."
Her attitude mirrored most of society’s. The Jiang Family’s revival was near impossible.
"That’s none of your concern," Old Master Jiang said coldly.
"Old Master Jiang, your confidence is your own affair. But I won’t let my daughter suffer in your household." Madam Bai was firm. "Servants, take my daughter home."
