Remarried to a top-tier playboy, her reborn ex-husband is filled with regret.

旧宅

Yun Shuyao touched the house and land deeds her mother had brought her, and her eyes suddenly felt hot.

These were all part of her mother's dowry, prepared by her maternal grandfather as a source of security for his daughter when she married into the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.

For thirty years, however, my mother used all of these things for the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, letting my father squander them, and rarely even mentioned them.

Now that she's personally delivering it, it means she's truly... come to her senses.

"It's Liu Ma speaking in a low voice from the side."

"The madam asked this old servant to pass on a message to the young lady, saying that all these things will be entrusted to you to manage from now on. You can decide how to manage them as you wish."

Yun Shuyao nodded, but her heart was churning violently.

She remembered the white hair at her mother's temples and the unwilling expression on her mother's face before she died.

She only truly understood the bitterness of being betrayed on her deathbed.

"Aunt Liu, please tell my mother for me."

She carefully put the contract away and placed it in a locked wooden box.

"Whatever choice she makes in the future, I will support her."

After Aunt Liu left, Yun Shuyao sat alone by the window, staring blankly at the sycamore leaves outside.

Even if Gu Jinghuai's marriage is called off, will everything be fine?

Given her father's temperament, he will likely continue to pressure her into marriage, and will definitely squeeze every last drop of value out of her.

As for staying in the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, one would inevitably have to continue watching one's father mistreat one's mother and watch Aunt Feng bully others by taking advantage of her power.

A thought suddenly occurred to her—

If she were to break off the engagement, she might as well take her mother with her.

Find a resort to stay in, like that hot spring resort, where the scenery is beautiful and the troubles of the capital are far away.

My mother is gentle by nature, but this mansion has worn her down and made her sick. Perhaps she can recover slowly if she leaves here.

As for herself, what does it matter whether she gets married or not?

With the assets left by their mother, the two of them could live a comfortable life.

She could take her mother to see her maternal grandfather's fleet of ships and how they set sail.

Let her know that being born into a merchant family is not a stain, and that merchants earn their money through their own abilities.

Even... if the mother is willing, a divorce is not a problem.

Thirty years of neglect, thirty years of hardship, my mother should have lived for herself long ago.

A man like my father is not worthy of occupying the title of "husband" and wasting my mother's remaining years.

Yun Shuyao gripped the key to her mother's private vault tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white.

Once this idea pops into your head, it grows wildly like a vine.

She seemed to already see that scene:

In the spring, she accompanied her mother to plant flowers and plants in the village.

On a winter's day, the two sat around the fireplace, and the mother told her with a smile the funny stories of how she learned to read account books from her grandfather when she was young.

There were no insults, no scheming, only the peaceful life of a mother and daughter relying on each other.

She took a deep breath, her eyes gradually hardening.

No matter how difficult the road ahead, she must break off this engagement.

My mother's suffering, and the suffering she endured in her past life, cannot be endured any longer.

The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.

When Aunt Feng stormed into the study, clutching her handkerchief, Yun Chongshan was flipping through a document.

"My lord! You must do justice for me and Wan'er!"

Her voice was shrill and choked with sobs.

"Just now I asked the accountant to give me a thousand taels of silver so that I could make a new set of red gold jewelry for Wan'er."

The accountant claimed he couldn't withdraw any more money! He even said... he said the madam had sealed off her private treasury, and the household wouldn't be able to get another tael of silver from her!

Yun Chongshan frowned and threw the official document on the table.

"Is she still going on and on?"

"It's true, sir!"

Aunt Feng rushed to him and grabbed his sleeve, shaking him.

"Accountant Liu said it himself: the lady has given the order that not a single penny of the dowry, the private treasury, or any private property is to be touched!"

What kind of situation is this? Wan'er is your own daughter, and she can't even be a proper servant?

What expense in this household could possibly be made without the mistress's private funds? She's deliberately trying to upset you and embarrass me!

Yun Chongshan's face darkened.

It wasn't that he was heartbroken about the thousand taels, but Qin's actions over the past few days were clearly challenging his authority.

For thirty years, when has she ever dared to say "no" to the household's expenses?

Is the fact that they are still unwilling to back down now a sign that they want to force him to give in?

"She's gone too far!"

Yun Chongshan slammed his fist on the table and stood up abruptly, his face full of anger.

"I'll go see how long she'll keep going!"

The main courtyard of the Qin family was as desolate as a cold palace.

As Yun Chongshan stepped through the door, the bluestone slabs under his feet made a dull thud, startling the sparrows under the eaves into a fluttering flight.

Qin was sitting by the window reading a book when she heard the noise, but she didn't even lift her eyelids.

Her gaze was as indifferent as water, and when it fell upon him, it was no different from looking at the pomegranate tree outside the window.

Yun Chongshan had not set foot here for more than 20 years. In the past, she tried her best to please him, but her high and mighty husband scoffed at her.

She had only been without money in her household for two days when this "rare guest" actually came to her door.

When Yun Chongshan saw the look in his wife's eyes, he felt a sudden tightness in his chest and his anger intensified.

"Qin! How dare you! You actually sealed off my private treasury? Are you trying to use money to control me?"

Qin turned a page of her book, her voice calm and undisturbed.

"Why should my dowry go to a bunch of ungrateful wretches?"

"Who are you calling an ingrate?"

Yun Chongshan took a few steps closer, his spittle almost landing on Qin's face.

"I think you've been driven mad by that wretched girl!"

It's just asking you to spend some money, and you're acting like you're being wronged?

"You're not even willing to contribute this much value! What right do you, a lowly merchant's daughter, have to be the mistress of our Duke's mansion!"

Upon hearing this, Madam Qin slowly closed the book and looked up at him.

"Then please, Your Excellency, provide me with a letter of divorce."

There was no hatred or resentment in Qin's eyes, only a stagnant indifference, as if she were looking at a stranger.

"What did you say?"

Yun Chongshan's expression changed drastically as he looked at Qin Shi in disbelief. She had been so calm when she uttered the words "divorce."

Calm...it makes my heart race.

Seeing Yun Chongshan in a daze, Qin spoke again, her voice low but each word clear.

"Marry a man, and you'll have food and clothing."

I have been married into your Zhenguo Duke's mansion for thirty years, yet I still have to provide a dowry to support my husband's concubines, illegitimate children, and illegitimate sons and daughters.

Even the repair of the ancestral hall by the Yun clan required me to use my personal funds to subsidize the tuition fees for the collateral descendants.

Qin paused, looking at Yun Chongshan's increasingly ashen face, and continued speaking.

"Now I don't want to be the sucker anymore, and the Duke is so arrogant to come and criticize me?"

Has this person become addicted to freeloading? Have they started repaying kindness with enmity?

Why don't I take these matters of our household to the outside world and let the ladies and mistresses in the capital judge them?

Ask other prominent families if they don't live like this too.

Yun Chongshan's face flushed red, then turned ashen, his lips trembling, and he was momentarily speechless.

He never imagined that the woman he had been cursing for thirty years would say such a thing.

"Great! Excellent!"

He laughed in exasperation, pointing at Qin Shi.

"From this day forward, my Zhenguo Duke's Mansion will not need a single tael of silver from your Qin family!"

"I'd like to see if my Yun clan can survive without your money!"

That would be best.

Qin lowered her eyes, her tone completely calm.

"It's one thing to save money, but don't forget to write the divorce papers, Your Excellency."

"You mean divorce, right?"

Yun Chongshan suddenly raised his voice.

"Yes, give me the divorce papers."

Qin raised her eyes, her gaze meeting his directly, carrying a faint hint of mockery.

"If I had known you were this kind of person back then, I would have preferred to watch you die in that mountain stream, so that I wouldn't have had half my life wasted."

Her words struck Yun Chongshan's heart like a heavy hammer.

He suddenly remembered that thirty years ago, it was this woman in front of him who risked her life to save him in the mountain stream.

He was deeply moved when he saw someone save him during a near-death experience.

But he hadn't thought about these things for a long time.

"You... are perfectly fine."

Yun Chongshan pointed at Qin Shi, his finger trembling. After a long while, he finally spoke, his lips quivering:

A divorce agreement? Dream on!

"My lord will only give you a letter of divorce. Remember what you said today. If you regret it, come kneeling and begging me!"

Yun Chongshan angrily flung his sleeves, staggered, and turned to leave.

The door slammed shut, and Madam Qin remained seated by the window, the pomegranate leaves outside rustling in the wind.

She slowly closed her eyes, and a faint, almost relieved smile appeared on her lips.

Perhaps suffering is something we are born to endure.

She had just had enough of the suffering she had endured for the past thirty years.

Even if you choose a different way of life, you will suffer a different kind of hardship.

It's better than spending my days in this cold palace, turning into ashes.

At this moment, her heart was more resolute than ever before.