Chapter 1.1

Xiao Youning stood rooted to the ground, in her hand was a letter of divorce. To her rear was an exquisite thousand day bed1, upon which lay a crimson quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks. Not long ago, the matron of honor had calmly sprinkled peanuts and red dates on the canopy of the bed.

The warm red tones of festivities surrounded her, but at this moment she felt as if she had fallen into an icy hole. The chill seeped deeply into the cracks of her bones, like a flimsy cobweb, cold enough to make her teeth chatter.

“Your Li Family is demanding to divorce me?” Pinching the carelessly written letter of divorce in her hand, she steadily faced Li Qingzhi, who had already changed out of his wedding clothes. A myriad of feelings crossed her heart, and among them was the bitter disappointment that was rapidly turning into anger.

Xiao Youning thought she would hiss in rage and opened her mouth but all she heard was her own even colder voice.

Hearing what she said, Li Qingzhi’s eyes flashed, giving her a brief glance but then not daring to look at her face again. He turned his head away and stared at the brightly burning dragon and phoenix double candles.

At his silence, unexpectedly, Xiao Youning wanted to laugh.

Formerly, this gentleman was praised for his unparalleled moral character but now his capability was just a sham, completely lacking responsibility.

“Youning, you must not blame Second Son.” The madam, who had been standing to the side since a while ago, stepped forward, coming towards Xiao Youning and half blocking her son behind her. “Your father and elder brother had a misadventure, and we all feel sad on your behalf. This may seem like a common matter but the actual reason that there was a mishap was because they did not heed to the Minister of War, who had advised against continuing to lead the troops. They ignored him, causing them to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of the enemy country. Of the thirty thousand officers and soldiers following them, two-thirds perished. After investigating, it was decided that it was a serious crime that even the Li Family couldn’t plead leniency for.”

The madam added with a faint sigh, looking at her with a somewhat pitying gaze. “Youning, Second Son treated you with sincere feelings and his intentions were genuine. However, I cannot allow anyone to destroy his future. If he has a criminal official’s daughter as his main wife, these last ten years of painstaking studying will all be for naught. If you want to blame someone, blame me, but I can guarantee it’s possible to secretly take care of you. We will not let you, a lone woman, be reduced to suffering hardship outside.”

Xiao Youning almost vomited from the nausea caused by these kind words.

“I’m a criminal official’s daughter?! Madam Li, why did you not say such a thing during the time both our families settled the marriage, while Lord Li was imprisoned?! Did my Xiao Family, at that time, mention that Li Qingzhi was a criminal official’s son?!” She was incensed, to the point her eyes reddened and her clenched hands shook softly.

Madam Li, with a few words, was stabbed in her back. The Li Family that forgot favors and violated justice got their ugly and vulgar face firmly torn open. For a while, Madam Li was unable to conceal her gaze full of resentment as she stared at Xiao Youning.

Noticing Madam Li’s rancorous look, Xiao Youning’s heart became sorrowful.

In this world, it was always easy to add flowers to brocade but difficult to give charcoal in snowy weather2. After her father and elder brother’s mishap, if the Li Family consequently treated her coldly she would understand. But, in the end, the Li Family gave her a letter of divorce.

She had just been brought into the wedding room and the gongs and drums of the celebration were still bustling outside, but in a flash, her husband had already swapped his wedding robes for normal clothing.

And they still hypocritically ask her not to ruin Li Qingzhi’s future prospects? For what reason?!

“Someone come, have Miss Xiao climb the carriage and deliver her to the northern village to be carefully taken care of.” Madam Li suddenly raised her voice and shouted loudly.

Since they were shedding all pretense of cordiality, there was no need to dawdle anymore.

At this time, the Xiao Family’s father and son still knew not why they were convicted, but she was already taking hold of the person and sending her off in advance to avoid Xiao Youning from ruining their Li Family’s reputation outside.

If the emperor wanted to treat her as guilty for being associated with criminals, then they would immediately grab the person and throw them out. Whether she lived or died, that would depend on her luck!

Immediately, a crowd of robust old women burst in, aggressively charging toward Xiao Youning.

She looked at the people that had arrived and felt a stuffy feeling growing in the pit of her stomach. At this instant, she had already understood very clearly the Li Family’s intentions. Cold sweat penetrated the interior of her clothes, soaking them completely. In a panic, she had no other choice but to retreat. Only, by retreating just one step, her leg had already hit the bedside.

Inside such a minuscule room, where could she hide?!

From a moment ago up until now, her servant maids hadn’t shown up at all. The one to deliver the news about her father and brother had also been one of the Li Family’s young servant maids. She should have been more vigilant. As a result, in the middle of the anxiety and pain in her heart, she didn’t consider the attitude the Li Family would have towards her.

Those coarse and robust old women were there to subdue her. She retreated two more steps, but her upper arm was suddenly grabbed by someone.

Footnotes

Closest reference found: the “Babu Thousand Day Bed,” a particular work of art made from boxwood. It measures 2.1 m (7 ft) by 3.6m (12 ft) and is 2.9 m (9.6 ft) tall, taking an incredible three years and over a thousand craftsmen to complete.

Easy to decorate sth already perfect, but difficult to provide help in sb’s hour of need. Means that when things are good, they are friendly, but when things are bad, they forget friendship.