Chapter 497 - 497 Divorce
497 Divorce
The personal butler said, “Madam, it’s not what you think. Miss Shen Ruojing resolved this matter, and Mr. Chu Cimo only received a punishment of ten lashes…”
Shen Wanying immediately exclaimed, “This is impossible!”
The personal butler sighed. “It’s true… we have confirmed it…”
Shen Wanying sharply shouted, “How could Valor Gate listen to Shen Ruojing? Valor Gate hates the four great families meddling in their affairs the most! If Shen Ruojing charged in, she would only anger Valor Gate, so this is impossible!”
But just as she finished speaking, she heard the laughter of Old Master Bai from outside. “Excellent! Marvelous! I didn’t expect that Shen Ruojing would be Valor Gate’s junior martial uncle! Our previous concerns were all needless worries! The Valor Gate and Shen family have a natural alliance! The Shen family’s situation is going to have a big change!”
Shen Wanying was stunned. “What does that mean?”
The personal butler’s expression froze, and he explained, “The junior martial uncle of Valor Gate is the next generation head of Valor Gate, a legendary figure. More than half of Valor Gate’s disciples are her fans… But I never expected this person to be Miss Shen Ruojing…”
Shen Wanying showed an expression of disbelief. “This is utterly ridiculous! Impossible!”
On the mountainside, in the suburbs of the capital, the queen lazily sat in her mansion, waiting for her appointed butler to bring her news.
If the Shen family and Valor Gate were at odds, she could take advantage of the situation. As she contemplated, the appointed butler ran in. “Your Highness, the result is out!”
“How is it?”
The appointed butler lowered his head, not daring to look into the queen’s eyes. “It turns out that Shen Ruojing is Valor Gate’s junior martial uncle, so the tense atmosphere between the Shen family and Valor Gate disappeared in an instant. Old Hong, who never got involved with the four great families, actually went to the Shen family in person, saying that he wanted to visit Old Master Shen.”
The queen’s face suddenly turned black.
The appointed butler was frightened and didn’t dare to speak, trying to reduce his presence as much as possible.
The queen took a deep breath. “Although Valor Gate’s power is strong, it is only in martial arts. They only thwart our future attempts to barge into their residences, but the ultimate battlefield between us and the Shen family is in the business world. Hmm, that delicate young lady is actually Valor Gate’s little martial uncle? Interesting, this girl is becoming more and more interesting. I like her!”
The appointed butler heard this and twitched his mouth.
The queen immediately lowered her head again. “The four great families are united, and last time when we pressured the other three families, they agreed on the surface but acted against my orders secretly. Bring the head of the Xu family to me.”
Although the Bai family was the weakest among the four major wealthy families, the Xu family was not that far off from them.
In fact, the Bai family was showing signs of surpassing the Xu family this year, but it had not been officially confirmed.
But… were the four great families really that united?
After receiving the news, the Xu family had immediately sent their eldest daughter-in-law back to Shen Manor. This was actually a sign of surrender.
Since that was the case, she would use the Xu Family as a weapon.
To divide the four families, she would start with the women within their families.
–
At this moment, Shen Ruojing had no idea about the queen’s conspiracy.
She only looked at Old Hong who insisted on coming with her to the Shen family, and she twitched her lips. “Do you have to go to the Shen family?”
Old Hong said, “In order to cut ties with the four great families, Valor Gate has never visited the four major families for so many years. I just want to see the Shen Manor. I heard that it is built beautifully, so I want to appreciate it. What’s wrong with that?”
Shen Ruojing. “…”
After Old Hong finished speaking, he coughed and said, “By the way, I heard that your three children are also in the Shen family, right?”
Shen Ruojing immediately became sensitive and wary. “What do you want to do?”
Old Hong just smiled. “I just want to see if they are good materials for practicing martial arts. You started practicing at the age of twelve, which is relatively late. Your children naturally have to be taught from a young age. Am I right, Mr. Chu?”
Chu Cichen who was driving and trying to reduce his presence. “???”
He hadn’t spoken yet, but he felt the sharp gaze of Shen Ruojing shooting toward him. He immediately coughed. “Old Hong, our family affairs are all decided by Jingjing.”
Old Hong immediately said, “As a man, how can you let Jingjing bully you like this? Mr. Chu, don’t worry, this old man is on your side! The big affairs in the family should always be decided by men!”
Chu Cichen sighed and showed an expression that seemed to say that things were difficult. “But Jingjing hasn’t married me yet.”
Shen Ruojing. “…”
She rubbed her forehead.
Suddenly, she missed Chu Cichen’s domineering and difficult-to-deal-with demeanor from when they first met.
The group soon arrived at the Shen Manor.
Shen Yuansong then greeted them at the gate and was happy to see Old Hong. He walked up to him and greeted him warmly.
The two old men hit it off at first sight, and Shen Yuansong had prepared a dinner for Old Hong to make him stay.
Not wanting to be bothered by the young people, they went to Shen Yuansong’s private courtyard to chat and play chess together.
The family was flourishing, and even the eyes of the surrounding servants were filled with awe when looking at Shen Ruojing.
In addition, all the married daughters who had received the news came back to the Shen Manor.
This time, they returned only after receiving confirmation from their families.
The four great families were large and had important businesses, so they always needed bodyguards wherever they went.
Previously, the Valor Gate firmly refused to have any contact with them, but now, this contact had been established.
Therefore, Old Master Bai, the Rong family, and even the Xu family, except for their main lineage, dared not neglect the matter anymore. They directly sent their daughters-in-law back to their maternal family to improve their relationships.
Now, everyone gathered around Shen Ruojing, and the gloomy atmosphere from yesterday was swept away. “You really boosted the prestige of our Shen family! Yesterday, my mother-in-law didn’t even look at me kindly, and my sister-in-law was sarcastic, but today they’re trying to please me!”
An aunt laughed and spoke, while everyone praised Shen Ruojing.
On the other hand, Shen Tingyan stood outside the crowd, smiling but there was a hint of bitterness in her smile.
In the midst of this lively atmosphere, a butler came over to announce something. “Miss, Matriarch Xu has arrived.”
Everyone immediately looked at Shen Tingyan, and someone smiled. “She must have heard that Ruojing is the little martial uncle of Valor Gate, so she came to take you back home!”
“Tingyan, even if you go back this time, you must be firm and not let yourself be bullied again, do you understand?”
Shen Tingyan looked at the people around her. But knowing her mother-in-law’s personality, she understood that things might not be that simple…
Sure enough, when Matriarch Xu entered, her first words were. “Tingyan, I brought Xu Hao along today and came here to sign the divorce agreement with you.”
As soon as she said this, everyone immediately fell silent. Shen Tingyan was also stunned. After that, she bit her lip and said, “Okay.”
Shen Ruojing narrowed her eyes and stood behind Shen Tingyan, looking at the divorce agreement together.
After seeing the first clause of the agreement, Shen Tingyan suddenly looked up and said, “Moth…Aunt Xu, is this written correctly? I have to leave with nothing, and the Shen family has to compensate Xus with 30 million?”
Matriarch Xu said, “Correct, you held my son back for three years and didn’t give birth to a child for us. The 30 million yuan is the cost of our youth lost. As for your dowry, our two families negotiated the terms of our union, and the amount you brought over is related to the interests of the Shen and Xu families. It has nothing to do with you personally. Think about it carefully. If you agree, we will divorce properly. If you don’t agree and we end up making a scene, it won’t be us, the Xu family, who lose face.”
After speaking, she arrogantly said, “But before any of the girls from the Shen family marry again, shouldn’t they take a medical exam? If they can’t even do what a woman can do, who would dare to marry a girl from the Shen family in the future?”
The words were infuriating.
However, Shen Tingyan couldn’t say anything.
In wealthy families, not being able to have children was indeed a woman’s biggest disadvantage. Shen Tingyan did feel guilty about this.
She then clenched her fists and looked toward her mother, Third Madam Shen.
Third Madam Shen could only bite her lips and nod. She had 30 million and she would use it to help her daughter.
Shen Tingyan then looked at her husband who was standing beside Matriarch Xu. He was obediently standing there and not saying much, obviously listening to Matriarch Xu’s arrangements.
She smiled wryly and nodded, about to agree when her wrist was suddenly grabbed by Shen Ruojing.