Matriarch Rules, Scumbag Begs - Chapter 15

Chapter 15: Cannot Divorce Wife

On this day, the Old Madam was so angry that her limbs went numb, and in the end, she was carried back to her room by the servants with great effort.

When Pei Yuanzhou heard the news and rushed back, the Old Madam had already taken a calming medicinal broth, and her complexion had improved significantly.

As soon as she saw Pei Yuanzhou, she beat her chest and cursed,

“This is the good daughter-in-law you married! Look how she’s bullied me, an old woman like me! She’s trying to kill me!”

Pei Yuanzhou supported her and comforted her, “Don’t be angry, Mother. Take care of your body.”

“Body? What’s the point of having a body now?!”

The Old Madam brushed his hand away, “All the family’s assets have been sold off by her, and there are only six copper coins left in the account. She’s deliberately humiliating us, treating us worse than beggars!”

Pei Yingchun also chimed in anxiously, “Talking about this now won’t help. We need to figure out a way to force her to hand over the silver. Without the silver, how can I open a wine shop with my husband?”

Her eyes spun around, and soon she came up with a clever plan.
“Why don’t we do this? Mother, you go to the yamen office and cry, saying that Shen shi is abusing you! If that doesn’t work, you can go to the Shen family’s doorstep and cry, saying that the daughter-in-law is trying to bully you to death! If she doesn’t give us the money, you can hang yourself at her doorstep!”

The more she spoke, the more feasible the plan seemed, and she pulled the old madam’s hand, wanting to rush out the door,

“There’s no time to waste, let’s go now!”

The Old Madam was almost pulled over by her and steadied herself, pushing Pei Yingchun away, “What nonsense are you talking about? If I really do that, where will the Danyang Marquis Mansion’s face go?”

She turned to look at Pei Yuanzhou, gritting her teeth and saying, “That Shen shi is so stubborn, and I think she won’t contribute to the Marquis Mansion’s expenses in the future. Rather than letting her show off, why don’t you divorce her now?”

“I want to see how she, a childless and divorced woman, will be gossiped about behind her back and what kind of life she’ll lead!”

“Impossible!”

Pei Yuanzhou refused immediately, “In the past, I would have kicked her out long ago. But now that her father and brother have saved the emperor’s life and achieved great merit, if I divorce her now, I might offend the emperor and delay the inheritance of the title. It would be a loss.”

He knew his own weight and measure.

If it weren’t for his ancestors’ contributions to the founding of the Qi dynasty and the honor of inheriting the title of Marquis, with his own abilities, he wouldn’t even be able to become a Marquis, let alone a eighth-ranked official.
He would be overwhelmed.

Because this honor didn’t belong to him in the first place, he became more and more cautious.

He was afraid that one day he would lose it, and the life of living off his wealth would come to an end.

Not just him, Pei Yingchun also advised,

“Yes, how can you divorce her? She’s a cash cow standing right in front of our doorstep. Why would we cut her off?”

As she spoke, she turned the conversation around and blamed Pei Yuanzhou, “She used to spend money on the Marquis Mansion without batting an eyelid, but now her attitude has changed so drastically. Brother, haven’t you ever looked for the reason within yourself?”

“My reason?”

“Of course! I’m a woman, and I understand Shen shi’s feelings. Look at you, since Shen shi had a miscarriage, you haven’t slept with her again. Letting her sit alone in her chambers day after day, what’s the difference between that and being a widow?”

Pei Yingchun’s eyes flashed with cunning, and she lowered her voice,

“Even if you don’t love her, you should pretend to be affectionate and make her happy. If that doesn’t work, just treat it as sleeping with her, and she’ll give you silver. That’s all that matters!”

The Old madam was furious, “Women of the night please men to gain benefits and make a living. What are you treating your brother like? A plaything?”
She took a deep breath, releasing the pent-up frustration, and then spoke in a loud voice,

“My son is capable! Why does he need to sacrifice his dignity for benefits?”

“I still have two shops under my name. Let’s take them back and manage them well. We’ll definitely earn silver and won’t have to look at Shen shi’s face!”

Pei Yingchun was so anxious that she stomped her foot, “Even if we manage the shops, earning silver will take time. Now the Marquis Mansion has only six copper coins left. What can I use to open a wine shop with my husband?”

When the Old madam glared at her, she toned down a bit.

“Let’s not talk about me, let’s talk about you. You just signed a contract with Landlord He. Now that you’re breaching the contract, if we can’t come up with 1,000 taels to compensate him within three days, and he really takes it to the authorities, wouldn’t the Danyang Marquis Mansion become a laughingstock in the entire capital?”

“1,000 taels is not a problem for me!”

The Old madam turned around angrily and went to the inner room. After a moment, she came out holding a jewelry box.

The box was filled with gold, silver, and jade, dazzling and dazzling people’s eyes.

She gazed deeply at these jewels and then reluctantly turned her face away, “These jewels are all top-notch. Let’s sell them first. After paying Landlord He the silver, there should be some left over, which will be enough to support the Marquis Mansion’s expenses for a few months.”

Pei Yuanzhou knew that the jewelry in the box was mostly the Old madam’s dowry.

The Old Madam’s maternal family was far away in Jiangnan, so she treasured these dowry items very much.
She rarely wore them, only taking them out when she felt homesick and wanted to reminisce.
Now that these things were taken out, it was like draining the family’s assets.

Pei Yuanzhou felt a pang of heartache and picked up the box, saying to the Old madam,

“Don’t worry, Mother. When I earn money in the future, I’ll definitely buy these jewels back for you.”

But before he could finish speaking, he noticed something was off.

The box was clearly packed tightly, but why did it feel so light?

He took out a golden thumb ring and bit it gently.

To his surprise, the gold paint on the ring chipped off, revealing a layer of black iron underneath!

He quickly rummaged through the box and found that the agate beads had been replaced with glass beads, and the jade hairpin had been replaced with a green fluorite hairpin…

Upon closer inspection, the entire box of jewelry was fake!

“Mother, this…”

The Old Madam was also shocked and began to examine the jewelry,

“How could this be? How could it be fake?”

As she spoke, her gaze fell upon Pei Yingchun, who was standing in the corner, Pei Yingchun’s face was uneasy, and her hands were fidgeting with her clothes.

The Old madam immediately sensed something was amiss.
She slammed the box to the ground and scolded Pei Yingchun, “Is this the good deed you’ve done?!”

Pei Yingchun was so scared that she shuddered, and said guiltily,

“I… I sold your jewelry to support my husband’s family. When we have money in the future, I’ll buy it back for you… ah!”

Before she could finish speaking, the Old madam slapped her with all her might, “You good-for-nothing! Can’t you tell which family is yours?”

She poked Pei Yingchun’s temple with force, her face turning white with anger, “You took my dowry to support your disabled husband. Have you gone crazy?!”

“You hit me?”

Pei Yingchun covered her burning cheek, tears welling up in her eyes, and said aggrievedly,

“You’ve never hit me since I was a child!”

She stumbled backward, shouting at the top of her lungs,

“What’s wrong with supporting my husband? Doesn’t Shen shi always support the Marquis Mansion?”

“You take others’ money and say they’re destined to suffer, but when I spend some money on my husband’s family, I’m a good-for-nothing?”