You expect me to serve your mistress? The mistress is driving this scumbag and his entire family cra

Chapter 6: Advising You to Give Up When Faced with Difficulties
At Madam Tong's command, two tall and burly old women behind her immediately stepped forward to slap him.

Liang Jiang, naturally unable to stand by and watch Yu Ma be humiliated, shouted, "Stop!"

Madam Tong felt a sudden brightness before her eyes as a woman dressed in a light purple soft silk dress, with serene features and an elegant demeanor, walked out of the courtyard and gave her a graceful bow.

"I don't know what my people said wrong that made you so upset, Madam?"

Wasn't Tong Zhao'er offering herself up on her own initiative?

Madam Tong choked, raised her hand to dismiss the two old women, looked Liang Jiang up and down, vaguely feeling that she was somewhat familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where.

"Who are you? I'm in charge of disciplining my servants, what right do you have to speak?"

“I don’t care if you discipline the servants, but the person you’re about to hit is one of my people, and this is my courtyard.” Liang Jiang said neither servilely nor arrogantly.

Grandma Fang coughed lightly, feeling a little uncomfortable, and said in a low voice, "She is the woman Chengxu married last year, surnamed Liang."

"What?" Madam Tong feigned surprise, then flew into a rage: "Fang Chengxu is already married? If that's the case, why is he still bothering my daughter? Does he expect my Zhao'er to submit to him?"
"If I had known this would happen, I would have done as my general suggested and accused you, Fang Chengxu, of abducting a respectable woman! Then Zhao'er wouldn't have had to suffer this injustice!"

Fang Chengxu hung his head and remained silent after being scolded, while Old Madam Fang also looked embarrassed.

Seeing that Madam Tong was putting on such a show, Liang Jiang knew that she was testing her attitude.

Moreover, she didn't seem to recognize herself.

After all, Tong Shouliang had just achieved great success in the past few years and had brought his family to Beijing for a reunion. He himself had been staying in Yuhua Mountain and rarely returned to Beijing.

Even Tong Shouliang, it seems like it's been five or six years since he last saw him. If he were to suddenly meet him in Fucheng, he probably wouldn't dare to recognize him at first.

Relieved, she blinked in surprise and looked at Fang Chengxu: "When you met Miss Zhao'er, didn't you truthfully tell her that you already had a wife?"

Fang Chengxu glanced at Madam Tong, but did not dare to answer truthfully.

Madam Tong scoffed, "If I told him, would I, the daughter of a general, ever submit to him?"

Liang Jiang added fuel to the fire: "That really constitutes a fraudulent marriage. I just don't know how military law should deal with such a case of privately exchanging gifts and committing fraud in the military camp?"

Upon hearing this, Old Mrs. Fang became anxious: "How can you be so vicious? You wish that Xu would be punished and never have a chance to rise again, so that you could live a life of meekness and despair guarding him?"

Liang Jiang smiled calmly: "They are the ones who have an affair without a matchmaker. I am just stating the facts. How did it become that I harmed him?"

Fang Chengxu said seriously, "What you said is too harsh! I only married you because it was my parents' order and the matchmaker's words. I had no choice but to comply. It was Ah Zhao and I who were truly in love."

Liang Jiang retorted sarcastically: "What, did someone hold a knife to your throat and force you to marry me? If you were betrothed, you would be my wife; if you ran away, you would be my concubine. What else could you be but illicit relations?"

Liang Jiang was eloquent and refuted Fang Chengxu, leaving him speechless.

When Madam Tong saw that she was neither humble nor arrogant, and had no respect or flattery towards her, she was immediately displeased, and her face darkened.

"Now that Fang Chengxu has indeed shown his talent and seems to have a bright future, it is understandable that he is unwilling to accept that some people are persistently pursuing him."

But you probably don't know, if it weren't for my general's patronage and cultivation, where would Fang Chengxu's glory be today? His fate depends entirely on the general's mansion. Whether you choose to be a poor woman or a concubine in a noble family is entirely up to you.”

"Is Madam Tong using my husband's future to blackmail me into leaving the marriage? If I were your daughter, Madam Tong, what would you choose?"

Liang Jiang then passed the problem back to Madam Tong.

Madam Tong sneered: "You'll have to be lucky enough to have that kind of fortune! I'm not afraid to tell you, when Chengxu becomes an official in the capital and he and Zhao'er live in harmony, you will be left alone in this poor, remote place for the rest of your life, living in an empty house. Why bother getting angry?"

"Either you keep your status as a concubine and go to the capital with Fang Chengxu to enjoy a life of luxury, or you take a sum of money and leave voluntarily. Either way, it's better than you stubbornly clinging to the Fang family and refusing to leave." The old lady Fang, who had been silent until now, immediately chimed in:

"Madam Tong is absolutely right. Rather than clinging to this empty title and dying alone, it would be better to take a step back and see the bigger picture, so that everyone can be happy. The General's Mansion will certainly not treat you unfairly."

Otherwise, Chengxu could simply dismiss you with a letter of divorce, leaving you with a ruined reputation and questionable character; no one would dare marry you even if you wanted to.

"Want to divorce your wife?" Liang Jiang remained calm. "Please invite the clan elders and the matchmaker to explain whether it is a seven grounds for divorce or a righteous separation, and what wrong I, Liang Jiang, have committed. Have them write a letter of divorce in public, and I will have no objections."

"Do you think we wouldn't dare?" Old Madam Fang seemed confident: "Tomorrow, we're hosting a banquet at your residence. We've not only invited all the highly respected gentry of Fucheng, but we've also sent invitations to the famous Lord of Fucheng."

"When the guests gather, if you really write a letter of divorce in public, you'll regret it."

Liang Jiang scoffed, "You think you can invite the city lord of Fucheng? You're really being presumptuous."

Grandma Fang raised her eyebrows smugly: "What, you don't believe me? When you got married, the city lord didn't attend in person, but he still sent someone to deliver congratulatory gifts. That's what friendship is all about."

Although she controls half of Fucheng, is highly respected, and her every move shakes the city, my son has now returned victorious with great merit, his future is limitless, and in the future, not just anyone can aspire to join his family's ranks.”

However, even a lowly fourth-rank military officer dares to spout such arrogant words; it's truly a case of a petty person gaining power.

Liang Jiang felt even more contemptuous: "Then you're going to be disappointed. No one in the entire Fucheng has ever seen the city lord's face. Do you think she would accept your invitation to a banquet?"

Grandma Fang was trying to show off in front of Madam Tong: "You underestimate the status of our Fang family in Fucheng. The city lord has accepted the invitation and will be attending the banquet on time tomorrow."

You see, if this city lord were to come, countless people would vie to curry favor with her and catch a glimpse of her face; your scandalous affairs would then become the talk of the town.

Liang Jiang glanced at Yu Ma in surprise. Yu Ma shook her head, indicating that she knew nothing about it. Liang Jiang was filled with suspicion.

Grandma Fang took in the expressions of the master and servant, concluding that they were definitely afraid.

She said even more arrogantly, "If you know what's good for you and back down, I might spare your reputation out of consideration for our year-long relationship as mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and not make a fuss about it. That way, you can remarry in the future."

Liang Jiang slowly uttered, "Unfortunately, I'm not the kind of person who knows what's good for me. Use whatever methods you have. I'd like to await the arrival of this city lord and ask her to help me."

After saying that, he called to Aunt Yu and turned to leave, leaving the group with a cold shoulder and not bothering to say anything more.

Divorce is something I would love to do, but to expect me to swallow my pride and take the initiative to propose it, to protect the reputation of your Fang family and the General's Mansion, is a pipe dream!
Madam Tong frowned and asked suspiciously, "This woman is so sharp-tongued, and even her servants are so arrogant and domineering. It's clear how my Zhao'er has been enduring so much humiliation and bullying from her these past few months!"

Who exactly is she? Her speech and mannerisms don't seem like those of an ordinary village woman.

Grandma Fang said dismissively, "The mother and daughter are outsiders. They just settled in Fucheng two years ago, bought land, and seem to be quite well-off."

"Are there no men in the house?"

"No, it is said that the man died unexpectedly, so the good wife left her hometown and came here to stay temporarily to avoid being reminded of the past."

Madam Tong frowned: "The Fang family is a family of generals, how could they marry a woman of unknown origin?"

Old Mrs. Fang naturally couldn't admit that she coveted the mother and daughter's property, so she lied against her conscience: "This Lady Liang happened to cure my chronic illness, and now she's using this as an excuse to marry her daughter to Chengxu. I have no choice but to accept it, and now I can't easily divorce her."

"Madam Liang? She knows medicine?" Madam Tong suddenly realized as if struck by a thunderbolt: "No wonder she looked so familiar!"

"Madam Tong, do you know her?" Old Mrs. Fang asked.

Madam Tong immediately denied the guess: "Their eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to those of a deceased friend, but it's impossible, it can't be them."

(End of this chapter)