Chapter 68: Return Home

Chapter 68: Return Home

Today, the Jiang family was particularly lively, with many people gathered outside the mansion, watching curiously.

"What is the Jiang family doing, pulling dozens of carts filled with trunks and furniture?"

"Haven't you heard? The Jiang family's daughter has been divorced from the Marquis jingan's household; this is her moving her dowry back home."

"Divorced? The Jiang family sure knows how to handle things."

"Sister, we're home." Jiang Ning jumped off the carriage and turned to help Jiang Shu down.

Jiang Shu wore a veil, so the onlookers couldn't see her face, only guessing from her figure that she was a beauty.

Jiang Ning escorted Jiang Shu quickly into the mansion, shielding her from the prying eyes.

"Shu'er." Mother Jiang and Father Jiang came out to greet her, tears of joy streaming down their faces upon seeing Jiang Shu.

"Father, Mother, I'm back." Jiang Shu hugged Mother Jiang, tears welling up in her eyes.

"It's good to have you back, it's good to have you back." Father Jiang patted Jiang Shu's back, his voice choked with emotion.

The family reunion had much to be said, but the most pressing matter at hand was to settle in first.

"Your Shu Tong Courtyard has always been kept ready; I've already had the servants clean it up. Go take a look and see if there's anything amiss." Mother Jiang wiped away her tears and accompanied Jiang Shu to her quarters.

Jiang Ning followed behind them like a happy little tail.

After six years, stepping back into her own chamber, Jiang Shu felt a myriad of emotions.

"Take a look, is there anything missing? I'll have it added." Mother Jiang pulled her around to check everything.

Jiang Shu shook her head. "Mother has done a wonderful job, there's nothing missing."

"Gurgle—"

"What's that sound?" Jiang Ning perked up his ears to listen carefully.

Jiang Shu felt a bit embarrassed as her stomach uncontrollably made another noise.

"Gurgle—"

Jiang Ning recognized the source of the sound and exclaimed, "Sister's stomach is singing."

Mother Jiang laughed, playfully slapping Jiang Ning. "Your sister is hungry, go tell the kitchen to prepare a meal quickly."

"I'm hungry too, I want to eat." Jiang Ning laughed and ran off swiftly.

Half an hour later, the family sat together for a somewhat haphazard reunion dinner.

Not having eaten lunch and after all the commotion, Jiang Shu was starving, finding everything delicious.

"This is also what Sister likes to eat." Jiang Ning placed a plate of spicy river shrimp in front of Jiang Shu.

Jiang Shu couldn't stand the fishy smell, so the shrimp she ate had to be prepared with white wine and various spices to remove any trace of it.

"Is it good?" Jiang Ning asked expectantly.

Jiang Shu nodded. "It's good, but peeling the shells is such a hassle. I'll eat something else first and come back to the shrimp later."

"I'll peel them for Sister." Jiang Ning volunteered.

He remembered when he was young, he found eating shrimp troublesome, and Sister would always peel them for him. Now it was his turn to do the same for her.

"Ning'er has grown up, knowing how to care for others." Mother Jiang smiled contentedly.

Father Jiang looked at Jiang Shu with loving and sympathetic eyes, placing a piece of sweet and sour pork on her plate. "The twenty-sixth of August is an auspicious day. I want to hold a welcome-back banquet for Shu'er."

"Ah?" Jiang Shu was surprised, swallowing the food in her mouth. "Isn't that a bit too ostentatious?"

Women who were divorced or separated usually returned home quietly, without fanfare.

But in her case, they wanted to hold a grand banquet, which would make everyone in Shang Jing aware.

"It needs to be ostentatious, to let everyone know that it's not the Marquis jingan's household that we look down upon." Father Jiang said indignantly.

"Yes, it should be grand." Jiang Ning strongly supported the idea.

"Mother." Jiang Shu looked at Mother Jiang, seeking her opinion.

Seeing the determined looks on the father and son's faces, Mother Jiang said gently, "Let them do it. It will help vent some anger, better than bottling it up."

Hearing this, Jiang Shu relented, knowing they wanted to stand up for her.

At the Marquis jingan's residence.

Cheng Jinchu finally felt relieved after seeing the imperial edict.

"That's great, Yan Yang can stay in Shang Jing, and we won't have to be apart."

Shen Changze put away the edict, showing no particular joy. "Rest well, I still have many things to attend to."

Cheng Jinchu knew he was upset about the divorce from Jiang Shu, so she asked, "Husband, do you blame me?"

Shen Changze replied, "It has nothing to do with you, don't overthink it."

Their relationship with Jiang Shu had reached a dead end; whether they divorced or he divorced her, there was no turning back.

While Jiang Shu's departure made him sad, the debts he had to repay troubled him even more.

Shen Changze strolled into Listen Bamboo House and saw the maids tidying up.

He went upstairs and entered the main room, only to find it empty, even the bed had been moved away, leaving nothing but an empty shell.

Shen Changze was stunned, standing there motionless for a long while.

In Huaqing Courtyard, Shen Qingrong and Lu Mingke were having a heated argument.

"I have warned you many times, yet you turn a deaf ear, disgracing the Lu family!" Lu Mingke's face was full of pain and utmost disappointment.

Shen Qingrong, filled with grievance, said, "You beat me for outsiders and blame me for disgracing you. Do you really consider me your wife?"

Lu Mingke snorted coldly, "When you secretly met others behind my back, did you ever think of me as your husband?"

Secret meetings again!

Shen Qingrong, driven mad with anger, unleashed her long-suppressed resentment, "Didn't you grow up with Su Rou, in an ambiguous relationship? On what grounds do you blame me?"

Su Rou was the daughter of the head of the Pingyang Chamber of Commerce, who had grown up with Lu Mingke, and they were deeply in love.

Four years ago, when the Shen and Lu families discussed their marriage, Lu Mingke had resisted and wanted to break off the engagement to marry Su Rou.

But Lu's father valued his word greatly and firmly refused. As a result, Lu Mingke was punished by his family.

After Shen Qingrong married into the Lu family, Lu Mingke still maintained contact with Su Rou. Lu's mother had even suggested to Shen Qingrong that Su Rou could enter the household as a concubine.

However, Su Rou was proud and refused to be a concubine.

At this moment, hearing Shen Qingrong mention Su Rou, Lu Mingke was taken aback for a moment before saying, "You are right; she has been wronged for so many years. After we return to Pingyang, I will choose a date to bring her into the house."

"What do you mean?" Shen Qingrong was stunned.

Lu Mingke said sternly, "Your elder brother can take a co-wife, so can I."

"I won't agree to it," Shen Qingrong gritted her teeth in hatred.

Lu Mingke sneered, "Then stay in Shang Jing and be a young lady of the marquis mansion."

"Are you going to divorce me?" Shen Qingrong's eyes widened, filled with shock and disbelief.

Lu Mingke pondered and said, "For the sake of our fathers' friendship, I will give you a divorce decree to save you some face."

"No, you can't treat me like this. I am your betrothed wife, married with proper rites." Shen Qingrong's eyes turned red, almost deranged.

Lu Mingke frowned in disgust, "Isn't Jiang Shu your elder brother's betrothed wife? How did the marquis mansion mistreat her?"

"But... but I gave birth to your legitimate eldest son. If we divorce, what about Xingyuan?" Shen Qingrong thought she had found a lifeline.

However, Lu Mingke replied, "Xingyuan is still young and doesn't remember much. When he grows up, he won't remember you. Besides, having a mother with such poor morals is a disgrace to him."

"Those who respect others are respected, those who disgrace others disgrace themselves. This is all your own doing, you cannot blame others."

Shen Qingrong stood there in a daze, shaking her head frantically, "No, I don't want a divorce, I don't want to be separated from Xingyuan. I am his mother, no one can separate us."

With that, Shen Qingrong rushed out of the room, ran into the courtyard, and tightly embraced Lu Xingyuan, who was playing.

This was the child she had carried for ten months, her very life!