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

Chapter 7 Excuses for Divorce
Yixiang Garden.

Madam Tong seemed to have something on her mind. After visiting Tong Zhao'er and the child, she hurriedly returned to the capital.

Before leaving, he only left one sentence: "I will give your Fang family three days at most to completely sever ties with Liang Jiang. If you, Fang Chengxu, can get a reward, a beautiful child and a good wife, and three happy events will come your way. If you can't, well, see you in the Dali Temple prison!"

After seeing Madam Tong off, Fang Chengxu stayed by Tong Zhao'er's side, his brows furrowed with worry: "Zhao'er, you know that I only have you in my heart, and I can't wait to kick that woman out of the house."

But I couldn't find any fault with her no matter how many times I tried. I couldn't just divorce her without cause and invite criticism.

Tong Zhao'er leaned against the bed, playing with the longevity lock that Madam Tong had just given to the child, without raising her head.

"Climbing over the wall in the middle of the night, losing your virginity on your first night, using your husband's family's money to support another man—which of these reasons isn't enough? I think you're just unwilling to give it up, aren't you?"

“I have already explained this to you. Liang Jiang and I are completely innocent. There is no evidence whatsoever.”

Tong Zhao'er scoffed: "What evidence do you need for this kind of thing? As long as it gets out, rumors will spread like wildfire, and Liang Jiang's reputation will be ruined, making divorce a logical choice."

Fang Chengxu looked at her suspiciously: "You and Mother both spoke with absolute certainty that Liang Jiang was restless and frivolous, but you couldn't say for sure who her lover was, forcing me to resort to such despicable means. Could it be just baseless speculation?"

Tong Zhao'er paused, then said angrily with a guilty conscience, "It's one thing if you don't trust me, but you don't even trust your own mother and younger sister? Fang Yuan saw Liang Jiang sneaking out at night!"
There's been so much gossip going around in the house that I'm ashamed to even speak it aloud. If you don't believe me, just go ask your cousin Li Sheng!

As soon as she got angry, Fang Chengxu's doubts immediately vanished.

I did indeed privately ask my distant cousin Li Sheng for confirmation. He was in charge of purchasing in the mansion, and whenever galangal was mentioned, he would shake his head and look like he had a lot to say.

So Fang Chengxu thought, there's no smoke without fire, surely not so many people are wronging her, Liang Jiang?

"Your family is pressuring you, I'm just anxious." He coaxed Tong Zhao'er softly, "Your mother has made another boast in front of Liang Jiang, that she will divorce you in public at tomorrow's banquet. If there's no proof, wouldn't that be embarrassing?"

“So that’s what it is,” Tong Zhao’er said with a smile. “Since your mother dared to say it, she must have a plan. She has a scheme that will surely make you get what you want and find something on Liang Jiang.”

Fang Chengxu frowned: "What plan?"

"You'll have to ask your mother how to proceed with this matter. She arranged everything herself. She said she could expose Liang Jiang's adulterous husband in public and then take the opportunity to divorce her in front of everyone."

Fang Chengxu was skeptical: "Is this matter safe? I can invite Vice General He to the banquet as well, just in case it backfires and we lose face in front of so many people."

"That He, the most trusted deputy general under the Duke of Liang? What do you want with him?"

"In Xiliang Pass, thanks to his father-in-law's entrustment, he took good care of me. He actually deserves most of the credit for this battle. This time, he came back to the capital with me to receive the reward, so I invited him along as well."

If anything goes wrong during the meal, I'll lose face in front of my colleagues.

Tong Zhao'er shook her head, deflecting the question cleanly: "You know I'm not familiar with these inner court intrigues, nor do I want to participate. It was all designed by your mother and sister."

As a woman myself, if Liang Jiang were willing to take a step back and accept my existence, I wouldn't want her to be ruined.

Fang Chengxu was deeply moved and held her hand: "You are so kind and upright, while Liang Jiang is narrow-minded and intolerant, not even one ten-thousandth as good as you. Don't worry, this time, I will definitely not show any mercy."

Listening to Bamboo Garden.

After closing the door, Liangjiang immediately asked Aunt Yu in surprise, "What's going on? Who took it upon themselves to accept the invitation to the banquet the day after tomorrow?"

Yu Ma was also completely baffled: "I haven't received any news from Miss Feng. Could it be that Old Madam Fang was just spouting nonsense in front of Madam Tong?"

Liang Jiang shook her head suspiciously: "She speaks with such certainty, it doesn't seem like she's just talking nonsense."

"Then someone is impersonating you! After all, no one in the entire city of Fu has ever seen the city lord's true face. Could it be that someone is using your name to swindle and deceive? Should we send someone to ask Miss Feng?"

"There's no need to go through all this trouble; we'll know the outcome tomorrow anyway."

Liang Jiang said calmly, her face thoughtful. Aunt Yu asked worriedly, "Could it be that the Fang family is really using this as an excuse to divorce his wife?"

Liang Jiang nodded slowly: "Fang Chengxu would never fight a battle unprepared. He must have come up with some leverage to divorce his wife. Go and find out if Madam Tong came here and said anything. Also, find out what the old lady and Fang Chengxu have been doing these past two days and who they have met."

"What evidence could you possibly have against them? Unless the Fang family fabricated something out of nothing. This old servant will go and ask them right away. All the servants in the manor despise the Fang family's ungrateful behavior and told me to just ask whatever I need."

He went out to receive the order, and returned after two incense sticks' worth of time: "Madam Tong went in and out, visited Tong Zhao'er, and then left."

I heard that when she left, she only left one sentence: she demanded that the Fang family give her an explanation within three days—either a promotion and a fortune, or she would sue the Fang family for abducting a respectable woman and send Fang Chengxu to the Dali Temple prison.

"So, the Fang family is definitely going all in tomorrow. What is Fang Chengxu doing?"

"After seeing Madam Tong off today, the young master and Steward Fang have been busy sending out invitations."

"Where is the old lady?"

"The old lady went to the kitchen to give instructions about tomorrow's banquet, and then called Li Sheng, who was in charge of purchasing, away."

"If I remember correctly, this Li Sheng is a nephew from her maternal family, right?"

"That's right, otherwise, even someone as stingy as the old lady would repeatedly tolerate and favor him for repeatedly embezzling money from the mansion to pay off gambling debts."

"What does the old lady want with Li Sheng?"

"I asked around and heard that yesterday, people from the gambling den came to the mansion to collect debts. They were carrying knives and loitering outside the mansion gate for a long time, threatening to give him only one day left."

The old lady summoned him today, probably to reward him with silver to pay off his debts. Anyway, after leaving the old lady's place, Li Sheng happily went straight out of the manor.

“Those debt collectors are waiting outside the mansion. Li Sheng can’t avoid them. He must have money on him to be going out so openly.”

But the old lady is currently struggling financially; how could she be so generous as to offer to pay off Li Sheng's debts? Things are probably not that simple.

Moreover, having exposed Li Sheng's embezzlement twice and given him a minor punishment as a warning, Li Sheng must harbor resentment towards him. The old lady's visit to him must be suspicious, and the reason lies with Li Sheng.

Liang Jiang glanced at the sky outside and said, "I'm going to leave the manor quietly. If anyone comes looking for me, please handle them for me."

Aunt Yu asked worriedly, "It's getting dark, where are you going?"

"The gambling den." Liang Jiang said calmly, "Tomorrow may be a do-or-die battle between me and the Fang family. I need to know what Fang Chengxu's trump cards are so that I can strike at his root."

Yu Ma hesitated, wanting to dissuade him.

Because, these past two days, the young lady had stayed indoors and was unaware that, along with the news of Fang Chengxu's triumphant return to the capital, many rumors about her had spread throughout the streets and alleys of Fucheng.

She climbed over the wall at night to go out, but her virginity was wasted. She squandered the Fang family's money to support her lover, and all sorts of disgusting things happened.

Public opinion surged, and the Fang family fueled the flames, making the unfounded rumors seem increasingly believable.

Even if the young lady can prove her innocence, it will be difficult to silence the gossip and only add to the ridicule.

If she goes out alone, she will inevitably be offended by these foul words.

She poured her heart out to the dogs; how heartbroken she must be.

Tomorrow, the Fang family will surely resort to even more despicable means.

(End of this chapter)