SGEIRS -Chapter 426 Qingyun Is Divorced

That day—

A light autumn rain had just passed, leaving the ground damp and the air noticeably cooler.

In such weather, Princess Jingning suddenly paid a visit.

Meng Jinyao was overjoyed. She had been feeling bored lately, and now her close friend had come to see her. Having someone to keep her company was far better than finding ways to amuse herself alone.

Although her maids were always by her side, it wasn’t the same as having a friend around. Because of their status, maids tended to be restrained and couldn’t speak freely.

This time, Princess Jingning had secretly slipped out. On her way over, she even bought pastries from Yipinzhai to feed Meng Jinyao.

The princess was picky about food and rarely ate much, even when it was made by the imperial chefs. But seeing Meng Jinyao eating so happily, her appetite was stirred. She ended up eating two pieces in a row before suddenly saying,

“A-Yao, I suddenly envy you.”

Caught off guard, Meng Jinyao froze for a moment and looked at her in confusion. She laughed and asked, “What’s there to envy about me? That I’m older than you?”

“You’re only one year older,” Princess Jingning replied with a glare. Then she added, “I envy you for having sisters-in-law. I suddenly feel that having an elder sister-in-law is pretty nice.”

Meng Jinyao didn’t understand. “But you have an older brother too. Doesn’t that mean you’ll have a sister-in-law?”

“No, I mean sisters-in-law on my husband’s side.”

Meng Jinyao said gently, “Young Master Shen is the legitimate eldest son, but he has younger half-brothers. They’re not old enough to marry yet, but they will someday. When that happens, won’t you have sisters-in-law too?”

“It’s different,” Princess Jingning sighed. “Someone like you has an older sister-in-law managing the household. That’s so nice—you don’t have to worry about everything yourself. I really don’t understand why so many women long to manage the household. It’s hard work. I don’t want it at all.”

Meng Jinyao immediately understood.

A-Yan had once mentioned that her mother, the Princess Consort, knew her temperament well and never intended to marry her to a legitimate eldest son who would become the family matron. So she hadn’t been trained according to those standards.

But now her fiancé, Young Master Shen, was the clan heir, and the Duchess of Guo was bedridden. Once A-Yan married in, she would have to take charge of household affairs immediately. That was a huge pressure for her.

Meng Jinyao comforted her, “A-Yan, don’t worry too much. You’re not married yet—your mother will teach you. For now, just focus on learning what you should. Besides, when you marry, she’ll choose some capable nannies to accompany you and help you. It won’t be as hard as you imagine.”

Princess Jingning cupped her face and said gloomily, “Early this morning, Mother gave me a pile of account books and told me to check them and find mistakes. Just looking at them makes my head hurt. So I secretly ran out to get some air.”

Meng Jinyao was stunned. “You snuck out? Won’t your mother be angry if she finds out?”

“She’ll definitely scold me for being useless,” Princess Jingning replied.

“A-Yan isn’t useless. You’re a smart girl,” Meng Jinyao said gently.

“Don’t think of it as too difficult. Checking accounts is actually easy. You probably feel overwhelmed because you saw such a big pile and thought you’d never finish. That made you resist. Just set them aside first and have the maids hand them to you one by one. After you finish one, take the next.”

Princess Jingning gave her a strange look. “A-Yao, are you coaxing me like I’m three? Even so, I still have to read all of them.”

Meng Jinyao laughed. “Of course. Putting them aside first is just to ease your mind. What needs to be done still has to be done.”

Princess Jingning sighed. “Forget it. Let’s not talk about this.”

“Don’t rush,” Meng Jinyao said softly. “You’re not getting married until the end of the year.”

Princess Jingning nodded. “Actually, I just wanted to complain. Now that I’ve said it out loud, I feel much better. After a good night’s sleep, I’ll adjust my mindset and keep reading tomorrow. My mother is so smart—I can’t possibly fail at this.”

Seeing that she was no longer so dejected, Meng Jinyao smiled and said confidently, “A-Yan, you really like Young Master Shen. You once said you’d never marry a legitimate eldest son, but you agreed because it’s him.”

Princess Jingning blushed and turned her head away, replying arrogantly, “He’s… acceptable. Easy on the eyes. When Duke Shen brought him to propose, I told Mother that he had decent looks, so marrying him wouldn’t hurt my eyes.”

Meng Jinyao smiled.

Suddenly, Princess Jingning remembered something. She looked at her and asked, “A-Yao, have you heard about that matter?”

“What matter?”

“Didn’t Marquis Gu have a former fiancée from the Mei family? After he was injured, the Mei family broke off the engagement, and she married someone else.”

“You mean Madam Wei?” Meng Jinyao nodded. “When I went back to Huzhou with my husband, we attended her mother-in-law’s birthday banquet and met her. Why bring her up now?”

“She was divorced by the Wei family and has returned to her natal home in the capital. It happened just a couple of days ago.”

Meng Jinyao’s eyes widened in shock. “Divorced? Why? When we met them on the street before, they seemed very affectionate. We even had lunch together. She also told me about how loving her husband was.”

“I heard it’s because she’s been married for many years without children. The Wei family despised her for being infertile, so they divorced her.”

Meng Jinyao felt that something was wrong.

Madam Wei had been childless for years, yet the Wei family had never thought of divorcing her. Instead, they had adopted a concubine’s son under her name. If infertility were the reason, why wait so many years?

There was only one possibility—

It was because of love.

Because Lord Wei loved her, he gave her a divorce letter at this critical moment and sent her back to her natal family.

Lord Wei had accepted bribes and caused the deaths of three officials. He had likely committed other crimes as well. Once he was escorted back to the capital, the Wei family would inevitably be implicated.

Judging by the timing, he divorced Madam Wei when Gu Jingxi went to Hangzhou to investigate Official Han. By then, Lord Wei knew the family couldn’t escape disaster. The female members of the household would most likely be exiled or sent to the entertainment bureau.

He didn’t want Madam Wei to suffer along with them, so he found an excuse and gave her a divorce letter.