SGEIRS -Chapter 318 Speaking Without Restraint

“Divorce?”

The moment Madam Zhang heard these two words, she was shocked, almost questioning whether she’d heard correctly.

Marriage was a lifelong commitment. It wasn’t just a matter for the couple—it involved both families. How could one casually talk about divorce? And even if one divorced and remarried, things wouldn’t necessarily turn out better. A man could remarry a young maiden, but a woman who divorced usually ended up as a concubine in someone else’s household or as a stepmother.

Madam Zhang immediately put on a stern face and disapproved: “Nonsense! Xuanyi, you’re not a child anymore. Stop throwing a childish tantrum. How can you have divorce on your lips? Life doesn’t go the way we want all the time. You can’t just talk about divorce because of a little unhappiness. Are you treating marriage as a game?”

Gu Xuanyi, who had already returned to her parents’ home out of grievance, felt even more wronged upon hearing her mother scold her. She protested, feeling justified: “Mother, it’s one thing if you don’t defend me when they bully me, but now you even side with outsiders against me? Am I even your biological daughter?”

Madam Zhang didn’t yet know the full story. Anxious, seeing that her daughter hadn’t explained, she pressed: “Tell me what happened first. If there’s a problem, we solve it first. Divorce is a last resort, chosen only when nothing else works. But you say nothing and just demand a divorce—aren’t you making a fuss?”

Gu Xuanyi met her mother’s gaze. That scrutinizing look made her feel a bit guilty, and she explained: “My husband’s younger sister ostracized and slandered me, she never treated me as a sister-in-law. I couldn’t take it and slapped her. I didn’t expect my mother-in-law to see it. She immediately said I was ill-mannered and claimed you hadn’t taught me properly, then confined me for a month—while my little sister-in-law wasn’t punished at all. Then my husband came. I thought he’d at least defend me, since it was his sister who was at fault first. But he didn’t even listen to my explanation and joined his mother in scolding me for being childish.”

Hearing this, Madam Zhang’s heart sank. No wonder her daughter hadn’t explained earlier—Gu Xuanyi was the one who struck first. Whether justified or not, hitting someone first made her wrong. As a sister-in-law slapping her husband’s younger sister, the act would be seen as malicious, regardless of reason.

Madam Zhang chided her daughter with frustration: “Xuanyi, you’re being foolish. Do you think your sister-in-law is like your sister at home? Your cousin Xuanling is soft-natured and illegitimate—if you hit her, she wouldn’t dare complain to her mother. But your sister-in-law is a legitimate daughter, cherished by her parents. Even if your mother-in-law hadn’t caught you, she’d complain later, and you’d still be at a disadvantage.”

“It was she who first spoke disrespectfully. Look at my hands—these injuries happened when my husband pushed me and I fell.” Gu Xuanyi said this, opening her palms. There were scrapes on her hands, no longer bleeding, but still painful.

Seeing this, Madam Zhang’s heart ached, her eyes watering. She sighed softly: “Silly child, no matter how much she ostracized you, you shouldn’t have struck her. Once you hit, even if you’re right, it looks like you’re wrong. And now you’ve run back home. If no one comes to fetch you, you have no way out. Eventually, you’ll have to return on your own.”

Gu Xuanyi suddenly raised her voice: “I’m not going back! I want a divorce!”

“You want a divorce?”

Before she could finish, a male voice came from the doorway. It was her father, Gu Jingsheng.

Looking up, Gu Xuanyi saw her father approaching with a dark expression. Without preamble, he started scolding her: “Xuanyi, marriage isn’t a game. You were childish before, that’s one thing. But now that you’re someone else’s wife, how can you still act this way? You’re grown, yet you throw a tantrum. The Wu’an Marquis’s family is such a respectable household, and you don’t appreciate it. You are the wife of the heir! If you divorce him, who else would want to marry you? A person from a family of equal standing wouldn’t want someone already married. Families of lower status wouldn’t even consider you—unless it’s as a second wife.”

Gu Xuanyi froze. She hadn’t expected her parents to take this stance. They didn’t support her divorce. Her father hadn’t even asked the reasons, yet scolded her as if everything was her fault and her in-laws were blameless. She felt a chill in her heart.

Gu Jingsheng was determined not to lose such a well-connected son-in-law: “You will return to the Wu’an Marquis’s residence immediately. If you made mistakes, admit them properly. Running home demanding a divorce—do you think that’s not shameful? I would be more embarrassed than you!”

Madam Zhang hadn’t expected her husband to speak this way. Annoyed, she said: “Husband, how can you speak like this? It’s not entirely Xuanyi’s fault. Even if she must return, someone from the Wu’an Marquis’s house should fetch her. She can’t go back by herself! Going back slinking away alone is even more shameful!”

Gu Jingsheng was momentarily at a loss but quickly replied: “Running home like this and talking about divorce—isn’t that shameful enough? You’ve already married, yet you throw such tantrums. Being a wife means putting up with some grievances. Isn’t life about enduring? A little grievance shouldn’t lead to divorce—otherwise, how many times would a woman have to marry?”

Gu Xuanyi couldn’t stop her tears.

Madam Zhang, heart aching for her daughter, held her close and said to her husband: “Are you her father or the father of the son-in-law? I don’t approve of Xuanyi rashly demanding divorce, but it’s not all her fault. Her in-laws are partly to blame too. Since Xuanyi has already come back home, she cannot be sent back alone. The Longxing Marquis’s family and the Wu’an Marquis’s family are of equal standing—neither is superior. Since both sides are at fault, Xuanyi should not bear all the blame. This disregards our Gu family!”

Gu Jingsheng’s face darkened. He glanced at mother and daughter and said, “She ran home over a trivial matter. Isn’t this spoiled by you? Look at Xuanling—she was sensible. She married well, yet never ran home demanding divorce.”

Madam Zhang’s anger surged. She had thought her husband merely mediocre, but now found him utterly unreasonable. She snapped: “Xuanling married well. How can she be compared to Xuanyi?”

Gu Jingsheng was indifferent: “She married the son of a minor official. How is that better than Xuanyi? Xuanyi married the heir of the Wu’an Marquis. Being the heir’s wife is far more dignified. Xuanling is just a jinshi’s wife.”

Madam Zhang was speechless: “You—”

At that moment, a maid hurried in to report: “Madam, Master, the eldest son-in-law has arrived.”

Hearing this, Madam Zhang finally relaxed. With the son-in-law here, there was a way to handle the situation. She could reason with him and have her daughter return peacefully.

Yet Gu Jingsheng immediately said to his daughter: “Xuanyi, now that the eldest son-in-law has come to fetch you, there’s a way out. Go back with him quickly. What’s the point of continuing this fuss? You’re not embarrassed, but I feel embarrassed for you.”

Gu Xuanyi, seeing her father constantly elbowing her to compromise, felt her resentment reach its peak. She no longer bothered to show respect, suddenly standing up and speaking without restraint: “Then you go back with him yourself! If you like him so much, why don’t you marry him yourself? Better yet, have a few children with him, live happily as father and son-in-law forever, and I won’t be in your way anymore!”