The Mute Wife Who Brings Prosperity-Chapter 610 - 576: Divorce Is Better for Both of Us (Part 2)
Originally, in such a situation, Xue Yan shouldn’t be going out to see the wind easily, but they’ve been with the Song family long enough. Yun Huai felt quite guilty in his heart and, after some thought, decided to personally find Song Wei to bid farewell, planning to take his nephew to stay at an inn and rest for a few days before heading south.
However, he was stopped by Song Wei, "Ah Yin is seriously ill, doing so won’t benefit him. Moreover, an inn is just a place for resting, with many inconveniences. If Sixth Son Yun doesn’t mind our poor conditions, why not stay a while longer until Ah Yin recovers fully?"
Thus, Yun Huai had no choice but to nod in agreement, knowing that neither Song Wei nor his wife, Mrs. Wen, would accept money if offered directly. He had someone purchase many items, including charcoal for warmth, top-quality cotton for winter quilts, the fashionable materials from the capital, and various dry goods for the kitchen...
Wen Wan found it amusing when she heard about this and said to Song Jiao, "Usually, Sixth Son Yun appears so graceful and beyond the mundane, who would have thought he could still be such a homey man? The things he arranged for, even your third uncle might not have thought of."
Song Jiao nodded in agreement, "The maidservants were joking with me the other day, saying that although Sixth Son Yun looks aloof, he actually has a warm heart. He never mistreats those under him, nor easily reprimands anyone, but it’s just... he’s just too immortal-looking, making people hesitant to approach casually."
It was the first time Wen Wan heard someone use the word "immortal" to describe a man, yet when she thought of that person’s appearance, she felt it couldn’t be more appropriate.
——
A while back, Xu Jia was entangled with a pile of troublesome matters at the Tang Mansion and hadn’t had time to think about anything else. Now that she had decisively cut ties with Tang Yuan and returned to her family home, her free time increased. Counting on her fingers, she realized Sixth Son Yun should be returning soon.
It was still snowing outside, and Xu Jia donned a cloak, holding a hand warmer, as she went to her sister-in-law Song Fang’s courtyard.
Song Fang was holding a book, telling stories to their little dragon and phoenix twins. When she saw Xu Jia coming in, she smiled and invited her to sit, then gave a glance to Xu Jingbo and Xu Jingyi, "Why aren’t you two greeting her?"
The two little ones, who were intently listening to the story, immediately sat up straight and shouted in unison to Xu Jia, "Little Aunt～"
"Good kids." Xu Jia pinched her nephew’s chubby face and asked, "What were you doing just now?"
"Mom was telling a story."
They answered in unison again, their voices soft and sweet, melting the heart of whoever listened.
Though these two little ones looked different, they always liked to do things together, often amusingly exasperating people.
"What story were you listening to? Tell Aunt too."
"It was about a crow and a fox," Xu Jingyi furrowed her little brow, "What did the crow say?"
Unable to answer, she glanced at her brother.
Xu Jingbo and his sister exchanged glances. Apparently, neither remembered the story their mother told, so they could only respond in unison to their aunt, "The crow said it forgot its lines."
Xu Jia: "..."
She couldn’t help but burst out laughing.
There was also a little one at the Tang family, not much older than these two, and Xu Jia found that when that little one wasn’t being unruly, he was quite cute. But compared to her own niece and nephew, he still lacked that irresistibly cute charm.
Song Fang closed the book and glanced at the pair of mischievous children, "I talked until my mouth was dry, and this is how you repay me?"
"That’s enough, sister-in-law." Xu Jia said, "The fact that they’re sitting quietly listening to your story, rather than overturning the room like they used to whenever you weren’t watching, should delight you."
The children’s ability to dismantle the house was something Song Fang had already experienced when Jinbao just learned to walk. Dealing with her own two now wasn’t too strenuous.
She placed the book on the kang table, took a sip of hot tea, and asked Xu Jia, "Have all the betrothal gifts from the Tang family been returned?"
"Returned, not a single piece left," Xu Jia replied, now feeling as light as air.
Seeing her face full of liberation, Song Fang couldn’t help but worry, "You’ve just married, and now you’ve separated. Have you thought about what to do in the future?"
Xu Jia said, "In the future, I’ll just stick around at home and let my brother and sister-in-law support me."
Knowing Xu Jia was joking, Song Fang wasn’t in a lighthearted mood. She was genuinely worried about her sister-in-law.
They had thought Tang Yuan would be a good match, but who would have expected so many issues to arise within a month, more dramatic than a theatrical plot.
Though women nowadays could remarry after separation, their reputation would be somewhat affected, no matter how minor. Even though her sister-in-law was a noblewoman from a marquis family, finding a suitable match again wouldn’t be easy.
Actually, regarding the issue of remarriage, Mrs. Xu had been talking to Xu Jia about it incessantly these past few days, and her ears were about to form calluses from hearing it. Afraid that her sister-in-law would start lecturing her again, she immediately said, "Sister-in-law, you haven’t gone back to your family home for a long time, right? How about we go and sit there today?"
Song Fang looked at her confusedly, "Why did you suddenly think of going to the Song Mansion?"
Xu Jia replied calmly, "When I was still the second lady of the Tang Family, Uncle took care of me a lot. Now that I am divorced, I should give them an explanation, right? If I remain silent, even if people don’t say anything, they’ll definitely have some thoughts."
"That’s quite reasonable." Song Fang nodded, "But it’s snowing heavily today. How about we wait until the snow stops, and I’ll take Jingbo and Jingyi to specifically visit their grandmother?"
Xu Jia had a purpose for going to the Song family; she couldn’t choose another day, so she simply replied, "If it’s inconvenient for sister-in-law, I can go by myself. After all, I’m just explaining the situation between Tang Yuan and me to uncle and them; it won’t take long."
Song Fang thought for a moment and decided to leave Xu Jingyi and Xu Jingbo in the care of the wet nurse and maid, changed her clothes, and accompanied Xu Jia to the Song Mansion.
This year’s snow, though arriving late, was quite heavy, covering the freshly swept roads with a thick layer not long after.
Sitting inside the carriage, even through the thick curtains, you could hear the gentle rustling of the falling snow outside.
There were few pedestrians outside, making the streets unusually quiet.
When the carriage stopped at the side gate of the Song Mansion, Xu Jia didn’t rush in. She approached the gatekeeper and asked, "Are your guests still here?"
The gatekeeper didn’t react immediately.
Xu Jia cleared her throat and said, "It’s Yun Liulang and the others. I... I have something I wish to ask the gentleman who is skilled with poisons."
The gatekeeper suddenly understood, "They were originally leaving, but unfortunately, Young Master Xue suddenly fell ill, so Master Yun had to stay. If you wish to see them, Madam, perhaps you could wait a moment, and I’ll go in to report." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎
After Xu Jia’s divorce, she was addressed according to the Marquis Mansion protocol as "Madam" by the Song family.
"No need." Xu Jia waved her hand, "I want to see Mrs. first, you can inform them at Qingteng Residence."
The gatekeeper acknowledged and ran towards the inner courtyard, then sent a maid from there to notify Wen Wan.
With the cold weather, Wen Wan didn’t go anywhere, she had been staying in her room since morning. The cradle was tied to the beam above, and little Qi Bao, wrapped in thick swaddling clothes, lay inside, babbling and blowing bubbles when she had no one to play with her.
Wen Wan was reclining on the kang reading for a while, feeling a bit sleepy and was about to take a nap when Yun Cai came in and said, "Madam, Tang..." Realizing the mistake in address, she promptly corrected herself, "The maid from the inner gate said, Madam Xu has arrived."
Upon hearing this, Wen Wan’s drowsiness instantly dissipated, "Quickly invite her in."
The affair between Xu Jia and Tang Yuan has been causing a stir recently; she had always wanted to find a chance to ask carefully. But with so much happening at home and Qi Bao being too young to leave, she could only stay at home and make wild guesses.
When Xu Jia and Song Fang came in, Wen Wan had just put away the book and was standing by the cradle gently swaying the little one inside.
Hearing their footsteps, she let go and turned around, surprised to see Song Fang with her, "The snow is so heavy, why did you two suddenly come over?"
Xu Jia’s face showed embarrassment, "On the day of Qi Bao’s full moon banquet, followed by Tang Yong being poisoned mute and me coming over to seek medical help, I brought a lot of trouble to your family. Now that I am divorced from Tang Yuan, I thought of coming over to apologize."
"There’s no need for an apology." Wen Wan said, "Better you let me know what exactly happened between you and Tang Yuan, and why are there rumors outside about him taking a concubine, and the concubine being... this should be just a rumor, right?"
Song Fang instinctively looked at Xu Jia.
Without thinking, Xu Jia shook her head, "It’s a rumor, Tang Yuan has already clarified in the courtroom. He only took this step to catch the real murderer who killed his elder brother."
The revenge has already been sought, Xu Jia didn’t intend to stab Tang Yuan in the back. After all, once they divorced, they became strangers. Just like she wouldn’t want Tang Yuan spreading negative things about her, she also didn’t wish to become the kind of person who would ruin his name everywhere.
"Then since it was a misunderstanding, why did you two end up divorcing?" Wen Wan was very puzzled.
"Tang Yuan ruined his reputation to send Mrs. Jiang to jail, and he can no longer stay at the Hanlin Academy." Xu Jia explained calmly, "He is about to be assigned to Suzhou, and didn’t want to drag me into it, so he proposed the divorce."
Wen Wan’s mouth twitched, why do young people today treat marriage and divorce like child’s play?
Xu Jia lowered her eyelashes, "Actually, after going through these things, divorcing is good for both of us."
