Raising a wife? The mistress of the Hou family divorced and remarried her younger uncle

Chapter 3 Demoting Wife to Concubine
"So that's how it is, poor child, you've suffered so much!" Lin shed tears, looking like a loving mother, "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back!"

Fourth Miss Lu Yunxiu said, "Sister-in-law is back, so...what about eldest brother's marriage?"

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. As long as Xie Zhaolan was still alive, Lu Feng's marriage was very awkward. Moreover, she came back on the day of Lu Feng's wedding, and now they hadn't even gotten married yet. The bride's situation became very delicate.

"My husband, I am still alive, but you want to marry someone else. What am I?" Su Qingwan covered her face and cried bitterly, "When you married me, you swore that you would never take a concubine in this life. You forgot it."

"You are still my wife." In front of everyone, Lu Feng hurriedly swore. His wife came back to life and he acknowledged her in court. If he abandoned his wife, the news would spread throughout Kyoto tomorrow and the Lu family's reputation would be ruined. His future career would be difficult, and he would not do anything to ruin his future.

Li Xueying, who had been silent from beginning to end, lifted her veil and said angrily, "Lu Feng, I am your legal wife, who was married to you in a grand sedan chair, and you dare..."

Li Xueying was scolding Lu Feng, but when she saw Su Qingwan's face clearly, she was so frightened that her face turned pale and her legs almost went limp. "How is it possible, Xie Zhaolan, you are clearly dead, you...are you a human or a ghost?"

She thought it was a farce. Xie Zhaolan was clearly dead. She had killed him with her own hands. His entire face was disfigured beyond recognition. How could he come back to life? After seeing Su Qingwan's face clearly, she felt as if she had been struck by lightning.

Su Qingwan smiled faintly, "My husband and mother have already recognized me, and Miss Li and I are strangers. How can you insist that I am dead? Did you see me die with your own eyes?"

"You're clearly dead!" Li Xueying was extremely scared and murmured to herself, how could someone come back to life from the dead? Could it be a wronged ghost seeking revenge? No! She didn't believe in ghosts. "She can't be Xie Zhaolan, Lu Feng, she's a fake, kill her now!"

Lu Feng was caught in a dilemma. On the one hand was his first wife, with whom he had shared weal and woe; on the other was his second wife, with whom he was deeply in love. He was hesitant and unable to make a decision.

This was the Lu family's affair, and the guests were just watching the fun without interrupting. If Xie Zhaolan had returned home a day earlier, it would have been convenient for the Lu family to deal with the matter behind closed doors. Now that she had returned on the day of Lu Feng's wedding, all the guests were present, and there were many people and many gossips. How the Lu family handled the matter would be seen by everyone, and it would soon spread throughout Kyoto.

Lu Shaoqing gave Su Qingwan an obscure look. Why did he come back at this critical moment instead of earlier or later? He really knew how to pick the time.

If it had been a day earlier... the Lu family had kept this matter secret and such a storm would never have occurred.

Su Qingwan did not argue, but retreated to advance, "My husband, you and I are married for life, and we have loved each other for many years. Zhaolan is already satisfied. My husband misunderstood that Zhaolan died and remarried. It was a mistake, not my fault. Miss Li was also wronged. Zhaolan did not want to embarrass my husband, so she asked to leave. My husband gave me a letter of divorce, and Zhaolan left the house on her own."

Lu Feng was secretly happy. Zhaolan was quite sensible. He was a newly-appointed scholar. His wife was born into a merchant family and was ridiculed by others. If he married the daughter of the Earl of Anping, he would be able to rise to prominence with the help of the Earl of Anping. Of course, he could not take the initiative to propose a divorce in public. It would be best if Xie Zhaolan took the initiative to bring it up.

Everyone felt sorry that the loving couple were separated by some strange combination of circumstances and were truly not destined to be together.

"Zhao Lan, I have failed you." Lu Feng looked reluctant, "If you had come back one day earlier, I would never have married someone else."

Lu Feng was confused, but Lu Shaoqing was clear-headed. On the day of his eldest son's remarriage, he gave his first wife a divorce letter. The censors' spit would drown the Lu family, and the Lu family would be labeled as mean and ungrateful, and as someone who wanted to curry favor with the rich and powerful. Lu Shaoqing said, "You are confused. Xie was our eldest daughter-in-law who was married to us in a sedan chair. She was killed by a villain a year ago, and we didn't know she was still alive. The marriage with the Li family was finalized after the three letters and six ceremonies. Since Xie is alive, she and Li are equal, and Li is a co-wife."

Su Qingwan curled the corners of her lips. Li Xueying had gone to great lengths to kill her sister and take her husband away, but ended up being treated as a co-wife, or to put it nicely, a co-wife.

In fact, a concubine is also a concubine. How could she tolerate it?

As Su Qingwan expected, Li Xueying flew into a rage. "That's impossible. I am the legitimate daughter of the Earl's Mansion. Why should I be on the same level as a lowly merchant?"

Lin's face darkened slightly, secretly cursing Li Xueying for being ignorant. Such a big scandal happened on the day of her wedding. It should have been a big deal. The temporary status didn't matter. The mother-in-law had many ways to torture her daughter-in-law. Zhaolan would die in a year or two at most. She was the only legal wife. What was the point of enduring the grievance for a while? She was still young and inexperienced, and was spoiled by her family, so she couldn't stand the grievance.

Su Qingwan said calmly, "Miss Li, if there were no merchants, you would have to plant cotton to wear this wedding dress, the phoenix crown on your head would have to be mined, and your daily food would have to be sown. It is because of merchants that the people of the world can live a normal life. I don't think merchants are lowly."

Li Xueying sneered, "Scholars, farmers, merchants, and artisans, merchants are the lowest class. You are the principal wife, and I am the co-wife. You are overestimating your own abilities and are wishful thinking."

Chen Lanzhu had always disliked the arrogant Li Xueying, and she said mockingly, "Xie Zhaolan was the eldest daughter-in-law of the Lu family, and you married Lu Feng as a concubine. Now that Xie Zhaolan is alive, if her family background was higher, you wouldn't even be able to be a co-wife, but just a concubine."

Chen Lanzhu's words hit Li Xueying hard in the face like a slap in the face. The proud and arrogant Li Xueying could not stand such a great humiliation. "Lu Feng, do you really want to offend the Earl's Mansion of Anping for Xie Zhaolan?"

Lu Feng looked embarrassed. He looked at his newlywed wife and then at Su Qingwan. His father was only a fifth-rank Shaoqing of the Guanglu Temple and could not afford to offend the Earl's Mansion. The Li family had real power.

If he divorced, his reputation would be ruined and his future career would be hopeless.

Lu Feng pulled Su Qingwan aside and said softly, "Zhao Lan, you and I have been married for many years. I have been devoted to you and never taken a concubine. Now that we have married into the Li family by mistake, the Lu family cannot afford to offend the Earl's Mansion. Can you bear the grievance for the sake of our many years of kindness?"

Su Qingwan sneered, "You...what do you mean?"

"She is the daughter of the Earl's mansion, doted on, and of noble status. Can you... treat her as the respected one, as the legal wife, and you as the concubine?" Lu Feng felt that he had made great achievements and was not wronging Xie Zhaolan, so he said confidently, "Even if you are a concubine, you are still a noble concubine. You come from a merchant family, and being the concubine of the eldest son of the Lu family is a great blessing."

"My dear concubine, what a blessing?" Su Qingwan was so angry that she laughed. Her sister had entrusted her to the wrong person. Lu Feng was a selfish and heartless man. "I am your legally married wife, and now you want to demote me to a concubine?"

(End of this chapter)