My Dearest Sister-In-Law, I've Been Waiting For You To Get A Divorce For A Long Time - Chapter 4

Chapter 4

◎ “What causes a person’s personality to change?” ◎

Mo Shuqing was taken aback.

The cool fingers of Gu Wenyao rested on her cheek. Gu Wenyao’s lips were smiling, but her eyes were cold, giving Mo Shuqing the feeling of a long, cold thing inching upward, trying to entangle her ceaselessly.

Before Mo Shuqing could react, Mama Liu’s heart leaped in her chest. Startled, she immediately pulled Mo Shuqing away.

“Mama…” Mo Shuqing was hustled forward by Mama Liu.

The overlapping umbrellas parted, and Mo Shuqing almost brushed shoulders with Gu Wenyao.

Gu Wenyao turned her head, watching Mo Shuqing’s red figure disappear into the rain. Only then did she smile and retract her hand.

The medicine from the morning had barely worked. A tickle in her throat made Gu Wenyao unable to resist. She grabbed her handkerchief, put it to her lips, and coughed twice.

The faint scent of cold plum blossoms seemed to linger on her fingertips from Mo Shuqing’s hair.

This familiar scent caused Gu Wenyao’s fingers to tremble slightly. She concealed the tremor by curling her hand into a fist and began to cough softly again.

After walking for some distance, far from Gu Wenyao, Mama Liu said with lingering fear, “I’m so glad I was quick on my feet and pulled you away. From the way Miss Yao looks, it doesn’t seem like she wants to get along with you at all.”

“Mama, tell me,” Mo Shuqing interrupted Mama Liu. She glanced back through the rain, lost in thought. “What causes a person’s personality to change?”

“What do you mean, my lady?” Mama Liu asked. She still affectionately called Mo Shuqing “my lady” when they were alone.

“She wasn’t like this when she was little,” Mo Shuqing frowned, thinking for a moment before offering a few words. “When she was little, she used to cry a lot, she’d pout, her heart was very soft, and she didn’t like smiling at everyone.”

None of these words could describe the current Gu Wenyao.

“How would I know that?” Mama Liu said. “You two have been out of touch since you were children. After so many years, of course, a person’s personality will change.”

“That was a childhood friendship. If Miss Yao doesn’t want to maintain it, why should you dwell on it?” Mama Liu said. “If she really had a soft heart, how could she not have replied to a single one of your letters for so many years?”

Hearing this, Mo Shuqing’s mood visibly changed.

Mama Liu saw her lower her eyes and couldn’t help but add more. “My lady, when our family was exiled, it was understandable that the Gu family didn’t want to associate with us out of fear of being implicated. Although Miss Yao was young and didn’t understand these things, she must have been influenced by those around her. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have cut off contact with you so cleanly.”

She saw that Mo Shuqing didn’t want to listen, so she decided to use strong medicine. She spoke plainly, “Let’s not even talk about the letters. You came back to the capital for her seven years ago, but did she ever agree to see you?”

Her lady, who was such a proud person, had been in such a pathetic state back then.

Mo Shuqing paused for a moment before continuing to walk.

Mama Liu encouraged her. “Since Miss Yao doesn’t care about you, why should you keep bringing up old matters? We are in the Marquis manor now. We should be thinking about how to establish ourselves here.”

The Gu family had disrespected them so much yesterday. If they couldn’t reclaim their dignity today, how would they ever be able to hold their heads up again?

As they talked, the party arrived at the front hall.

When Mo Shuqing arrived, the hall was already packed with people.

Before she even stepped inside, she heard the Marquis shouting at the Little Marquis, Gu Shufeng.

His voice was so loud and full of anger that it seemed as if he was deliberately yelling for her to hear.

“How could I have fathered such a rebellious son?” Marquis Gu’s voice was booming and powerful. He pointed at Gu Shufeng’s head. “Get down on your knees!”

Marquis Gu’s index finger jabbed at Gu Shufeng. “It was bad enough that you had your sister stand in for you at the ceremony, but after you sobered up, you went to your concubine’s place. What you did… how is the new bride supposed to feel? How am I supposed to explain this to your father-in-law?!”

“Explain what? If his family isn’t happy, just send Mo Shuqing back! It’s not like anyone was begging to marry her. I think you just saw that the Mo family has a chance to rise again now that they’ve returned to the capital and you want to win over the scholarly officials, which is why you forced me to marry Mo Shuqing.” Gu Shufeng yelled back, his neck stiff.

He continued, “I never liked Mo Shuqing! You were the ones who forced me to marry her! My original plan was to wait for Chunshui to give birth to a son and then elevate her to a wife!”

Marquis Gu was speechless. He poked Gu Shufeng’s forehead with his finger, seething. “That Chunshui is of low status. It was a kindness to let her be a concubine. How could she ever be worthy of being the head wife of my Marquis manor?”

Gu Shufeng stood firm on his “true love” and whined, “What’s wrong with Chunshui’s low status? You even took a merchant’s daughter as a secondary wife. When you went to Jiangnan to fight bandits, you saw Miss Gu Wenyao’s beautiful and wealthy mother and married her, elevating her to a secondary wife. If you could do it, why can’t I?”

His son publicly exposed his old scandal in front of an entire room of people. Marquis Gu’s face was a sight to behold. He was so enraged that his hands trembled. “You’re not even fully grown yet, and you dare to compare yourself to your old man? Someone, bring the family punishment rod! If I don’t beat this scoundrel to death today, I won’t have the face to go out and see people!”

Marquis Gu rolled up his sleeves. He was clearly getting serious now, unlike his previous bluster.

Seeing that he really meant to strike, Madam Yu couldn’t sit still. She immediately got up from her chair and tried to stop him.

In the hall, one person truly wanted to hit, and the other truly tried to stop him. They were in a chaotic state like a comedy.

Mo Shuqing stood by the door, watching with a cold eye. Seeing that the servants were slow to bring the punishment rod, she immediately felt the play had lost its appeal.

She glanced at her maid, who timely stepped in and curtsied. “My Lord, my Lady, the young lady has arrived.”

Everyone turned to look at the door. There stood Mo Shuqing, in a red dress, poised and serene. Her temperament was cool and her beauty was exquisite, like white snow and red plum blossoms. All who saw her were stunned.

“Shuqing is here, come in quickly,” Madam Yu said as if she had seen a savior, quickly waving Mo Shuqing over.

Seeing her, Marquis Gu also took the opportunity to calm down. He pointed at Gu Shufeng who was kneeling on the ground and said to Mo Shuqing, “Shuqing, what happened yesterday was truly his absurd doing. Let him properly apologize to you here today.”

Gu Shufeng scoffed disdainfully, not even bothering to look at Mo Shuqing. Even if he hadn’t been drunk last night, he would have no interest in consummating the marriage with a woman like her.

Mo Shuqing simply lowered her eyes and scanned Gu Shufeng.

Gu Shufeng looked nothing like Gu Wenyao. His face was full of a hoodlum-like swagger. If he hadn’t been born into a good family, he would have been a street scoundrel with none of the noble aura that comes from a prestigious family.

“My Lord, you overstate the matter,” Mo Shuqing did not change her form of address. She only looked at Marquis Gu, clasped her hands together and bowed gracefully and formally.

“My father once told me that when you were young, you, a single man with a horse and a large sword, single-handedly wiped out a mountain of bandits in one night. Your heroic bearing was truly admirable. I’ve admired you for this since I was a child, and I still do.”

Being praised so suddenly, and by a young person, Marquis Gu couldn’t help but smile. His mood instantly brightened. He waved his hands repeatedly. “What is Yanhe doing, telling such stories of fighting and killing to a young girl like you?”

Yanhe was Mo Shuqing’s father’s courtesy name.

Marquis Gu using Mo Shuqing’s father’s courtesy name showed the intimacy in his words.

Mo Shuqing withdrew her hands and placed them in front of her lower abdomen. She raised her face, lowering her eyes to look down at Gu Shufeng, just as she had been looked down upon by him many years ago when she returned to the capital to see Gu Wenyao and was stopped at the gates.

“If the Little Marquis had done something like you did when you were young, like going to the mountains to fight bandits all night long, and delayed his great day for such a matter of great national and public importance, I would naturally understand. He would not need to apologize to me. On the contrary, I would have to honor him.”

The moment Mo Shuqing spoke, the faces of everyone in the hall became a little unpleasant. They all understood why she had first praised the Marquis.

She had built the Marquis up, making him a benchmark.

If Gu Shufeng couldn’t give a reason as righteous as fighting bandits, Mo Shuqing would not let the matter go.

They had thought she was here to save him, but who would have thought that her words were a death sentence?

In the dead silence of the room, Mo Shuqing lowered her eyes and asked Gu Shufeng in a light, cool voice, her words sharp and clear. “Tell me, Little Marquis, what did you do last night that can be compared to the Marquis’s act of fighting bandits in the mountains?”

Even if Gu Shufeng were a fool, he would know that nothing he did could compare. He had been drunk and slept with his concubine. Neither of those could be said.

He glared at Mo Shuqing. Disliking her, he lifted his knee, planted one foot on the ground, and was about to stand up. “You—”

Mo Shuqing was holding a handkerchief. She placed her fingers on Gu Shufeng’s shoulder, pushing down firmly through the cloth, pinning him in place.

Years ago, she had been pinned down like this, pushed out of the Gu manor and into the rain, where she fell to the ground.

Mo Shuqing bent down and looked at Gu Shufeng. “Gu Shufeng is the Little Marquis of the Gu manor. Even if his bravery is not equal to his father’s, he cannot bring shame to the Marquis manor, can he?”

Marquis Gu’s expression had already changed. He gave Gu Shufeng a grave look.

He scowled, not saying a word, but Gu Shufeng felt as if he were being crushed by a mountain. He lowered his head and properly returned to his knees.

Madam Yu couldn’t bear to see her son wronged. Just as she was about to go forward to plead for him, Mo Shuqing withdrew the hand she had placed on Gu Shufeng.

She took the handkerchief that had touched Gu Shufeng, tried to stuff it into her sleeve twice, but couldn’t overcome her disgust.

She looked up, scanning the room, her gaze resting on those who were eager to mediate and smooth things over. She said in a gentle tone, “Do you all want others to talk about the Marquis’s son getting drunk on his wedding night and disrespecting his new bride, rather than his deeds of fighting bandits?”

“I can, of course, choose not to hold a grudge over this. But my Mo family values its honor. As a daughter, I cannot abandon my parents. Now that I’ve married into the Gu family and become a daughter-in-law, I must, of course, protect the Gu family’s honor and the Marquis manor’s reputation.”

After Mo Shuqing’s voice fell, the room was silent. All eyes were on Mo Shuqing, each person looking at her in a different way.

Marquis Gu, however, raised his hand, signaling a servant to bring a chair for Mo Shuqing. He then sat back down on the main seat, his gaze returning to the kneeling Gu Shufeng. But his words were directed at Mo Shuqing. “What do you think is a good punishment for him?”

Mo Shuqing now looked as if she had no opinion. She casually placed the handkerchief on the table, picked up a teacup, and scraped the lid against the rim. She gave a slight nod. “I will listen to my father-in-law’s decision.”

“Although he is my husband and we are newly wed,” Mo Shuqing sighed. “The Marquis manor comes before any individual. I will not feel bad for him or plead for him.”

Madam Yu, “…”

Of course, you wouldn’t plead for him! You want him dead!

Madam Yu felt as if she could devour Mo Shuqing’s heart! She wouldn’t feel bad? She’s probably overjoyed!

But every word Mo Shuqing spoke was based on reason, and every sentence hit the core of the Marquis’s pride. Over something as simple as not consummating the marriage on the wedding night, she was acting as if she wanted to kill her own husband.

This showed just how ruthless, cold-hearted, and malicious she was!

“Father,” Gu Shufeng finally felt afraid. “Father, I was wrong.”

At this point, it was no longer a question of the family punishment rod.

“You know you’re wrong now? But your new wife is right. If I don’t punish you today, what will outsiders think of my Marquis manor?” Marquis Gu’s eyes were heavy. “You’ve been a scoundrel for so long. It’s time you suffered a bit and learned a lesson. Otherwise, how can I hope for you to pass the imperial exam this autumn?”

“Someone, drag him out! Twenty strikes with the military rod!” Marquis Gu paused. “Strike him in the center of the courtyard, don’t cover his mouth, and let everyone watch.”

The servant came in. “Yes.”

Two servants held Gu Shufeng and dragged him outside. It was no use no matter how much he struggled and begged for mercy.

Marquis Gu had previously indulged Gu Shufeng’s behavior as a wastrel because he knew his son. With a body like a white-plucked chicken, how could he ever be like him, fighting bandits with a sword?

Now that the court valued civil officials, and they had allied themselves with the Mo family’s scholarly faction, it was a good opportunity to use today’s incident to discipline Gu Shufeng and make him take the imperial exams.

So, Gu Shufeng couldn’t escape the beating today.

“T-twenty strikes with the military rod…” Madam Yu collapsed into her chair, covering her face and crying.

That vile woman! Gu Shufeng turned to curse Mo Shuqing, but he met his father’s warning glare and didn’t dare to open his mouth. He could only clench his jaw and curse under his breath.

As Gu Shufeng was dragged out, Mo Shuqing only glanced at him, her expression as indifferent as if she were casually dealing with a servant. The look of him didn’t even register in her heart.

The grudge from the Gu manor gates years ago had been repaid today.

When the miserable screams of Gu Shufeng being beaten in the rain echoed from the courtyard, the respectful tea ceremony had only just begun.