The Blessed Farm Girl Has a Spatial Storage

204 Saving Young Aunt from the Fire Pit

Watching her family mobilize for her sake, Sun Lan's heart swelled with both gratitude and guilt. Tears streamed down her face as she knelt, intending to kowtow and apologize to Zhao Guifen.

Zhao Guifen took Sun Lan's hand, her own heart aching. "My poor daughter," she said, "it's alright. As long as you know you were wrong, Mother won't blame you."

Then, patting her daughter's hand, she asked, "My girl, Mother needs to ask you something. Are you willing to leave that hellish marriage and divorce Wang Fugui? If you nod, Mother will risk everything to pull you out of that fire pit."

Sun Youli's anger hadn't yet subsided. He slapped his thigh and declared, "Yes, divorce him! I've disliked that Wang Fugui for ages and have been wanting to give him a beating for a long time!"

Sun Youli was speaking the truth. When Wang Fugui had arrogantly flaunted his supposed superiority in front of them, Sun Youli had been itching to punch him. If not for the elders' admonition that fighting during the New Year was bad luck, his fist would have connected with that bastard's face long ago.

He then turned to Sun Lan and vowed, "Sister, stay here at home with peace of mind. Your brothers and sisters-in-law are your pillars of support. That bastard surnamed Wang won't ever dare to bully you again!"

Sun Youwei also nodded gravely. "That's right. Sister, you can't go back to the Wang Family, not even for a day."

Sun Kang, drawing on his dry pipe, frowned and nodded in agreement. "Your eldest and second brothers are right. You can't return to the Wang Family. For now, just settle in here at home."

Although the two aunts didn't share the same level of outrage as their husbands and harbored no deep affection for this younger sister-in-law, they were both sensible women. At this moment, they naturally echoed their husbands' sentiments.

"Yes, sister, please stay here without worry. My husband is right; even if you live with us for the rest of your life, we will all get along harmoniously."

...

It had to be said, Zhao Guifen's judgment of character was quite keen, accurate at least seventy to eighty percent of the time. Take Wang Fugui, for instance; she had never approved of him, and he indeed turned out to be a scoundrel. She had also chosen her two daughters-in-law. While both had their own minor considerations, neither would falter when it came to matters of true right and wrong.

Gazing at her loving parents and her supportive brothers and sisters-in-law, Sun Lan, in that moment, understood more profoundly than ever how grievously mistaken she had been. She had assumed that because she'd erred, her mother would disown her and cease to care. Consequently, even when subjected to immense grievances, she had remained silent, too afraid to confide in her family.

Now, bolstered by the support of her natal family, Sun Lan finally found her courage. She nodded immediately, "Thank you, Mom and Dad. Thank you, brothers and sisters-in-law. I am willing! I am willing to divorce that bastard Wang Fugui!"

...

However, before they could make their way to the Wang Family, members of the Wang Family arrived at their doorstep first.

「Sun Family, Main Hall.」

Sun Kang sat in the seat of honor. Zhao Guifen stood beside Sun Lan, holding her hand. Sun Lan's three brothers, along with the Eldest Aunt and Second Aunt, were also present, standing to the side.

A considerable contingent from the Wang Family had come: besides Wang Pozi and Wang Fugui, there were also two Wang clansmen.

Their intention was clear: they opposed a mutual divorce and would only agree to a dismissal of the wife.

Zhao Guifen tightened her grip on Sun Lan's hand and stated firmly, "Dismiss her? I'm telling you, don't even think about it! Divorce is the only option!"

Wang Fugui forced a twisted smile, his face still bearing the marks from Sun Youli's beating the day before, one cheek visibly more swollen than the other. "Divorce?" he sneered. "After I've been beaten like this, who would want to give the Sun Family face by agreeing to a divorce? I'll only write a letter of dismissal!"

Wang Clan's Old Woman put on a vitriolic expression. "Humph, woman of the Sun family, I'm telling you today, your daughter has committed several of the seven grounds for dismissal! First, she failed to bear children; second, she was disrespectful to her parents-in-law; third, she disobeyed her husband. Any one of these is enough to dismiss her outright."

As she spoke, her gaze swept around the room, and she continued in a haughty tone, "Of course, if you want a letter of dismissal, you'll first have to pay five hundred taels of silver to compensate for your daughter's living expenses in our Wang Family over these years. Only then will my son agree to write it."

She was clearly exploiting Zhao Guifen's anguish over her daughter's suffering in the Wang Family and her desperate wish to rescue her from that inferno.

Zhao Guifen retorted, "Wang Pozi, don't you have a conscience? After my daughter married into your family, she was treated like a servant, serving you food and attending to your needs. You, on the other hand, would discipline her for the slightest reason, making her stand for long periods, yet she never resisted. How can you claim she was disrespectful to her in-laws?"

"Furthermore, why does my daughter still have no children after all this time? Don't you know the reason perfectly well? We will not bear the blame for childlessness!"

"And as for compensating for living expenses, that's utterly preposterous! On the contrary, you must return my daughter's dowry silver!"

Wang Fugui began to argue with twisted logic, "What a joke! Once Mrs. Sun married into my Wang Family, she became a member of my Wang Family, so her dowry silver naturally belongs to the Wang Family! If we dismiss her, Mrs. Sun will no longer be part of the Wang Family. Since she has eaten and drunk at our family's expense for so many years, it's only natural that your Sun Family should compensate us!"

After speaking, he nodded at his mother. The shameless mother-son duo exchanged glances, their eyes glinting with calculation.

Zhao Guifen's hands trembled with rage at their audacity. "Bah! How utterly shameless! Forget a principal wife; even a concubine's dowry items brought to her husband's family must be returned upon dismissal or divorce. I've never heard of having to reimburse for food and drink expenses!"

"If you insist on being so shameless, then we'll go to the County Government Office and have the County Magistrate adjudicate this matter!"

They hadn't expected Zhao Guifen to be such a tough nut to crack.

Wang Fugui immediately grew anxious and looked at Wang Pozi. "Mother, this…"

Wang Pozi's shamelessness was not something acquired overnight. She promptly rose from her chair and demanded, "So, you're refusing to compensate for your daughter's food and drink over these years, is that it?"

She stood up, glanced at the two clansmen, and then continued brazenly, "Fine, fine! So you won't pay, is that it? Then don't even dream of a letter of dismissal. Later, my son will simply elevate Ruhua in our household to the status of principal wife. Your young lady can then continue to suffer in our home under the title of a mere concubine!"

They had encountered shameless people before, but never anyone *this* shameless.

Zhao Guifen's face turned ashen with fury.

Sun Lan clutched Zhao Guifen's wrist, silently wiping away her tears.

...

Meanwhile, Zhao Zhitong, Sun Daqing, and several other "radish heads" were seated in the east wing-room. Sun Mei stood at the doorway, anxiously peering towards the Main Hall.

At this moment, Zhao Zhitong felt a wave of depression.

This was her second time truly comprehending the hardships faced by women in this era. They could only survive by depending on men, enduring difficult lives in their marital homes. Even if their husbands grew tired of them, women were powerless, able to do nothing but watch their husbands take concubines while they themselves were left to guard an empty room. Just like her Young Aunt: life in her husband's home was arduous, bullied by a malicious mother-in-law, yet she couldn't fight back. If she did, she'd be accused of being disrespectful and unfilial. And divorce? That was incredibly difficult. As long as the husband refused to write a letter of divorce, the wife could do nothing but live as a widow in effect. If the husband wrote a letter of dismissal, the woman would be shamed for the rest of her life, unable to hold her head high. It was so unlike the world she came from, where marriage and love were free, and women were protected by law within marriage.

Just as Zhao Zhitong was sharing these reflections with Grandpa Bai, Eldest Aunt emerged from the Main Hall.

Sun Mei quickly grabbed her arm and asked anxiously, "Elder Sister-in-law, what's the situation inside?"