All Hail Cousin Brother Novel - Chapter 701
Chapter 701: Rejection
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Yu Youyao’s eyes were watery, cold as ice—
“There is the eldest son of the Yu Clan, Zongzheng, and his wife, Madam Yang
Shuwan—”
“I was young and inexperienced. I had been deceived by your flowery words regarding your talent and character, so I’ve arranged three marriages, six betrothal gifts, and eight large sedan chairs to welcome you into the family as husband and wife.’
“You should be doing your duty as a wife. You should respect your in-laws, take care of your husband and children, and look after the house. I didn’t expect you to not know your duties. You were disrespectful, unfilial, displeased, unkind, discordant, and immoral. You’re vicious and guilty of many things.”
“There are seven reasons for abandoning a wife. First, she is not filial and virtuous.
“Second, she is jealous and causes chaos.”
“Third, she is a thief and steals.’
“Fourth, she has a serious disease and cannot be around those who are prosperous”
“Fifth, she spreads gossip and messes up the family!’
“In ‘The Book of Rites: Life’, there are five people you should not marry—”
“No random girl or one from a lower family.”
“No rebellious girl or a cripple too!”
“All kinds of things are clear in my eyes. Every time I read this, my heart burns to the bone. On account of your relationship as husband and wife, I can’t bear to say it explicitly. Please return to where you came from. I have no objections to that so I’m willing to sign this divorce letter.”
Towards the end, Nanny Liu almost lost her grip on her brush. She really did not expect Eldest Miss to ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’ and directly ask her to write a divorce letter for Madam Yang.
Furthermore!
Out of the seven rules, Yang Shuwan had already broken five. However, for each one she had broken, she had carefully schemed to make them sound reasonable and not unjustified.
A divorce was not something that could be settled with just a divorce letter. She would still have to go to the government to settle matters related to the suspension of his wife.
Although the government did not care about divorce, they still needed to go through them. The contents of the divorce letter had to be true. Otherwise, it would easily be exposed. No wealthy family was willing to be vague about this. Yu Youyao said calmly, “Do you have Grandmother’s seal with you?”
Nanny Liu was her grandmother’s personal nanny. In order to make things easier, she usually carried her grandmother’s seal.
Nanny Liu was still in a daze. Cold sweat kept breaking out on her forehead.
“Stamp it!” Yu Youyao instructed.
Nanny Liu received the order and moved as if she was possessed. Whatever Eldest Miss said was right, and she could not resist at all.
After the letter was completed, Yu Youyao took it over and looked at it carefully. Seeing that there were no mistakes, she handed it back to Nanny Liu. “Take it to the front courtyard and get Yu Zongzheng to sign it. Tell him that Matriarch has just woken up and said everything word for word. She asked you to write it for her.”
Nanny Liu did not dare to move. Cold sweat kept breaking out, and her lips trembled. This was an elder’s matter, and it should not be decided by a junior like Eldest Miss.
Yu Youyao clearly knew her scruples, and a smile appeared on her lips. “Grandmother is seriously ill. As a man, Father’s ambition is to be in the royal court. All the matters in the family can only be handled by me, the eldest daughter of the first wife. Otherwise, wouldn’t it be chaotic if no one in this huge family could take charge?”
Nanny Liu’s lips moved. “Should we discuss with Eldest Master first…” Yu Youyao chuckled. “Yu Zongzheng came out of Tranquil Heart all the way and looked for Old Madam angrily, but he didn’t avoid the servants. I think many people in the residence saw him. Even if the servants don’t know what Yu Zongzheng said to Old Madam, they can guess that Yu Zongzheng is involved in Old Madam’s stroke.’
Nanny Liu suddenly realized that she had never understood Eldest Miss in the past.
Yu Youyao continued, “Grandmother was anxious. It was also Madam Yang who caused trouble. I am asking Father to divorce Madam Yang for the sake of Father’s reputation. It’s all Madam Yangs fault. No one will speculate about Father recklessly. He is now an extremely powerful official. Countless pairs of eyes are watching him in the court. I think Father doesn’t mind divorcing his wife for Grandmother and his reputation.”
Even if it wasn’t for Yu Zongzhengs reputation, just based on what Niadam
Yang had said, the Yu Residence couldn’t keep her anymore. It seemed that Yu
Zongzheng had already turned his anger towards Yang Shuwan at this moment.
Nanny Liu’s body went limp. “As for Matriarch…”
Yu Youyao said calmly, “I’ll explain to her myself.”
Nanny Liu sat still.
Yu Youyao said softly, “This family is under my control now. I asked you to write a divorce in Grandmother’s name on my behalf just to be more legitimate. Would it matter who came up with this divorce letter? After all, Yu Zongzheng will want to sign it. She’s already an abandoned wife. It’s fine if they divorce.” The corners of her mouth twitched slightly, and her expression was extremely cold. “I even have the heart to kill her now!”
Nanny Liu’s hands trembled as she stood up with the divorce letter.
The house fell silent.
Yu Youyao sat in the house and drank her tea calmly, as if the person whose reputation had been tarnished was not her biological mother, nor was she the one whose blood had been mixed up.
After an unknown period of time!
Nanny Liu returned and handed a thin page of the divorce letter to Yu Youyao.
“Eldest Miss, Master has signed the divorce letter.”
She had originally thought that it would take more effort.
Unexpectedly, when she mentioned that Matriarch was the one who had written it, Eldest Master vented his anger on Madam Yang and easily signed an autograph.
Yu Youyao took the divorce letter.
Not only did Yu Zongzheng sign his name, but he also added on the last line, “Such a rebellious woman is not worthy of being a daughter-in-law, wife, or mother. It’s only right that she be abandoned and be sent back to cleanse our family.”
He was really ruthless!
Most families usually do not make a big fuss about leaving their wives, but the contents of the divorce letter would be left in the government office and could be easily found out.
People cared about their reputation and the future of their children. It was very rare for them to divorce their wives. The Yu Residence was not a lowly family, and Yu Zongzheng was still a powerful minister. It seemed that the news of the divorce would spread very soon.
Often, the contents of the divorce letter would directly affect the future of the divorcee’s children.
Therefore, men often considered the fact that they were husband and wife once and could not bear to say it out clearly. They were vague about it with no clean cut.
Previously, when she had asked Nanny Liu to write the letter for her, she mentioned that Madam Yang was not a good woman. This was already very serious.
The most important thing for women was dogmatic rules and women’s morals.
When aristocratic families marry, they would have to have a good relationship with the two families. Not only did they have to evaluate each other, but they also had to evaluate their families. The talent and character of the elders were the most basic criteria.
In aristocratic family discussions, virtue was also the most important. Then, talent, appearance, and so on.
No one wanted a daughter of a divorcee. Moreover, this divorcee had already made several huge mistakes. The most serious thing was that she had messed up the family and brought shame.
As the saying went, like mother, like daughter!
Madam Yang was not a good woman, so what kind of good daughter could she raise?
Her divorce letter had directly tarnished Yu Jianjia’s reputation and ruined her future, making her unable to raise her head anymore.
She did not expect Yu Zongzheng to be even more ruthless than her..