Chapter Thirty-Four This Is a Man's World

  The old lady shook her head full of white hair and said in a low voice, "Other methods won't work. There's only one way left, which is for the husband to 'divorce' his wife. You think about it, we want to divorce him but he doesn't agree, will he take the initiative to divorce? Another option... is to go through official channels."

  Yang Fan's eyes lit up, and he said: "If he refuses to divorce, we'll take it to court! Ma Liu and I are both witnesses. We'll report it to the authorities, and I don't believe this good-for-nothing beggar has any connections in the yamen."

  "It's hard! It's hard! The officials... it's hard! Between husband and wife, even if the woman is in the right, she'll be sentenced to two years of exile first. Even so, she won't win the case. Men can have affairs outside, but women must follow the rules. Would the government really grant a divorce? There are only two grounds for divorce: 'irreconcilable differences' and 'violation of rules'. Ning Er doesn't meet either condition."

  Yang Fan and Ma Qiao looked at each other in dismay, the terms used here were not something that non-professionals could understand. The two of them were confused, but Yang Fan couldn't help asking first: "Auntie, what do 'Yi Jue' and 'Wei Li' refer to?"

  "'Yi jue' means that the person has committed a crime against their spouse's family, such as assault, murder, or plotting against them. 'Wei lü' refers to violating the Tang Dynasty's marriage laws, for example, if the law prohibits same-surname marriages, but the couple is of the same surname, then the marriage is illegal and must be annulled..."

  Yang Fan frowned and said, "In that case, these two methods are indeed not applicable. But as for the one surnamed Liu, he is so despicable and inferior, clearly not a good match. Can it be... that they want to divorce but can't?"

  "Alas, this world is yours, men's, and it leans towards you men. Where can a woman like me reason with you?"

  Modern people all say that the social status of women in the Tang Dynasty was high, but in fact it was only relative to other dynasties. Their social status could not be higher than men or equal to men. The stories of some women being arrogant and domineering that have been preserved in historical books are precisely because they were not ordinary phenomena, which is why they became legendary. Those domineering girls, which one didn't have a powerful family backing her? Among them, eight or nine out of ten were imperial princesses. Can ordinary women compare to that?

  The Tang Code stipulates that when a husband and wife fight each other, the wife is punished more severely. If the wife accuses her husband, regardless of whether she is right or wrong, she will be sentenced to two years first.

  During the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was even more severe. Husbands and wives would beat each other, regardless of whether they were injured or not. The wife would be sentenced to 100 lashes, and if the husband died accidentally while chasing and beating his wife, the wife would still be sentenced to death. If a wife accused her husband, she would first receive 100 lashes and then be sentenced to three years in prison before the husband's case was even tried. If it was found that the wife had made false accusations, she would immediately be executed by hanging.

  Her husband is having an affair with someone, and although his reputation is not good and people look down on him, he has committed no crime. Therefore, even though Jiang Xun Ning saw Liu Junhuan and Mrs. Yao in a compromising position yesterday, there's nothing that can be done about it.

  It can be turned around, if Liu Junwan's accusation against Ma Qiao is unclear and true, she will be sentenced to two years in prison. If it's false, her reputation will be ruined after this lawsuit. As an unmarried girl, once her reputation is tarnished, the situation would be unbearable, as you can imagine.

  After listening to Old Lady Sun's explanation, both of them felt a chill in their hearts. Ma Qiao muttered: "In that case, won't Little Ning have to marry that dissolute and depraved Liu Junwen?"

  Her face suddenly twitched and she said loudly: "No! I would rather die than marry a man like him!"

  Mian Pian'er gritted her teeth, hastily retreated two steps, and with a quick turn of her hand, she snatched up a pair of scissors from the winnowing basket on the windowsill. Wang Daigne exclaimed: "Good girl, what are you going to do?"

  The old lady wanted to snatch the scissors from her daughter's hand, but seeing that the sharp tip was already pressed against her body, she was afraid of rushing forward and snatching them away, fearing that she would immediately kill herself. In a state of urgent fright, her face had turned as white as paper.

  Grandma Sun also stood up in shock, and the tears she had been holding back for a long time fell down her face. She sobbed: "Mother, that day, I saw him with my own eyes, being completely spineless in front of that woman surnamed Yao... If he was just flirting outside, that would be okay, it's a man's nature, and I could tolerate it. But he has no integrity at all! Am I supposed to swallow my pride and beg for food like him?"

  Mian Pian'er stood the scissors upright and said in a low voice, "Mother, don't be alarmed. I won't take my own life. I just want to disfigure myself. Presumably that man surnamed Liu wouldn't marry a woman as ugly as a ghost either."

  "Daughter, absolutely not! There must be other ways. If you ruin your looks, which man will want to marry you in the future?"

  "Mother, even if I were to marry a rustic and unrefined man, or not marry at all, it would be better than following a man like him. His appearance is as ugly as a ghost, but at least I can hold my head high and live with dignity. If not, even with a beautiful face, one's life would be like that of a ghost!"

  "Eldest sister Ning," Yang Fan advised, "things haven't reached that point yet, let's discuss it further..."

  Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly took a swift step forward and snatched the scissors out of Jiang Xuan Ning's hand. Yang Fan's sudden movement was extremely fast, but everyone was worried that Jiang Xuan Ning would ruthlessly slash his own face, so their attention was not on him. Moreover, it was not unusual for a young person to be agile, so no one suspected anything.

  Grandma Sun felt both ashamed and humiliated, as she had played a part in arranging this marriage. Seeing it had reached such a state, Grandma Sun's face was thoroughly discredited. She said to Jiang Xuan Ning: "Ning Er, you absolutely must not think that way, things haven't gotten to that point yet, let's discuss it again."

  Mrs. Sun pondered for a moment, grasped Jiang Xuning's hand and said to her daughter-in-law: "The marriage of the eldest son of the Su Fangzheng family was arranged by me personally, and I still have some face in front of Su Fangzheng. Since we can't get that Mr. Liu to agree to divorce, I'll go to the Su Fangzheng's house and ask him to intervene, maybe he can persuade Mr. Liu to change his mind."

  Mianpian'er's mother happily said: "This is great, then let's trouble Ahpo."

  As she spoke, she pulled out a handkerchief from her bosom, opened it, and picked out a string of cash from inside, stuffing it into Old Lady Sun's hands. Old Lady Sun's face turned pale with shame, refusing to accept the money, repeatedly pushing it back.

  Mianpian'er's mother said, "When asking for help with something, there's no such thing as not spending money. Take this, Grandma, whether it's buying a chicken or duck, or bringing some pastries, you can't show up empty-handed!"

  After repeated urging, Old Lady Sun took the money and said: "Very well, I'll swallow my pride and accept it. No time to lose, I'll go to the Sus' residence right away."

  She looked at Jiang Xun Ning, who still had tears on his face, and sighed softly. She comforted him, "Ning Er, don't worry, wait patiently. I'll ask Su Fang Zheng to step forward. These Fang Zhengs are all influential people in their respective Fangs, and they have connections with each other. If Su Fang Zheng is willing to step forward, he can persuade the Fang Zheng of Yong Tai Fang to put pressure on Liu Junhuan, forcing him to surrender."

  Jiang Xun Ning choked back tears and bowed her head: "Auntie, I entrust my lifelong happiness to you."

  Mrs. Sun nodded and tottered out, Yang Fan hastily gave Ma Qiao a signal to stay behind and comfort Jiang Xuan Ning, lest she make any more drastic moves, while he himself hurried up to support Mrs. Sun as they walked out.

  Yang Fan asked along the way: "Auntie, what did that person with the surname Liu say exactly?"

  Old Lady Sun's face turned red with anger and she said, "I've been a matchmaker for my whole life, but I've never seen such a shameless man. That Liu Junwan is simply a scoundrel. He says he'll agree to a divorce, but only after he's had his fun and ruined the woman. This person is worse than an animal, how can you reason with him about a divorce? It's like asking a butcher to set free the animals he's going to slaughter."

  Yang Fan heard this, and a hint of murderous intent flashed through his mind. He thought to himself: "If Old Lady Sun can get Su Fangzheng to show up and make that Liu Junlun behave, then so be it. But if not, I'll kill that beast, rather than let Ning's sister fall into the fire pit and never be able to turn her life around!"

  Yang Fan sent Sun Po to Su Fangzheng's home, and Su Mo was quite righteous. Moreover, Jiang Xuning was also a child he had watched grow up. Hearing that her husband's family was so unbearable, Su Fangzheng was also very disdainful in his heart. He immediately agreed and went to Yongtai Fang to find the head of Yongtai Fang together.

  Yang Fan received the accurate news, first sent back Sun's wife to her home, then rushed back to Mianpian'er's home, and explained the situation to her. After hearing that Su Fang was willing to take charge, Jiang Xuan Ning once again had hope, and his emotions finally calmed down. Yang Fan and Ma Qiao also tactfully persuaded him for a while before they both bid farewell.

  Monday, sincerely asking for recommendation votes from all book friends! Monday, sincerely asking for recommendation votes from all book friends! Monday, sincerely asking for recommendation votes from all book friends! Monday, sincerely asking for recommendation votes from all book friends! Monday, sincerely asking for recommendation votes from all book friends!