Chapter 596: Convincing the Feng Family (VII)

Feng Jin realized that the situation was bad and was worried that Feng Gui was going to put away his wife with a writ of repudiation.

Although he didn’t really like this eldest sister-in-law of his, many of his eldest brother’s family affairs would be affected if she was repudiated… Feng Jin wouldn’t care if Feng Gui repudiated his wife, but if it was because of the incident involving Changsheng, Feng Jin wouldn’t be able to just stand aside and watch.

Feng Gui saw how worried Feng Jin was. He sighed and said, “Don’t overthink it. It has nothing to do with Changsheng.”

After saying this, he asked Feng Ren and his wife for forgiveness.

Madam Feng-Du was the lady of the household, so Feng Gui’s repudiation of her was not simply a matter between husband and wife. If anyone made a big thing out of it, it would be considered an important matter for the whole Feng family.

Feng Gui had not yet become the patriarch of House Feng, so the incident could definitely cause Feng Ren some trouble.

Lady Feng helped him up. “You have suffered, Son. After all, it’s my fault for having chosen such an unreliable woman as a wife for you.”

Madam Feng-Du enjoyed a very good reputation in Zhongzhao and had come from a family with a strong background. It had been a safe assumption that she wouldn’t be lacking in knowledge, upbringing, or morals. It was because of this assumption that Lady Feng had included her as one of the main candidates. After looking into it a few times, Madam Feng-Du had seemed like the best choice.

But who could have known that the disparity of the national culture between Zhongzhao and Dongqing was so large that even the standards to which noblewomen were held to were so vastly different?

Feng Gui quickly said, “It is my fault for being an unfilial son. I failed to manage my own household affairs. Instead, I troubled you many times, Mother… Now, it’s time for everything to come to an end.”

Feng Gui could put up with Madam Feng-Du’s minor faults. She was just greedy for material goods and power, jealous, and petty, but those were nothing too serious. House Feng was wealthy. If she became the lady of the household, she would definitely be put in charge of the finances of House Feng.

Feng Gui desired little in terms of carnal pleasure. He had never bedded any of his servants before marrying Madam Feng-Du, and he didn’t keep any concubines after marrying her, so she could probably understand and appreciate that.

As for pettiness… It was fine as long as she did not let that trait affect important matters.

He had given her several hints, some more obvious than the others, but she had always ignored them.

Was it really that Feng Gui hadn’t wanted to correct her?

He tried a few times, but what could he do when the other party pretended to be blindly oblivious or made the same mistakes multiple times? Should he have directly embarrassed her and sternly pointed it out in front of outsiders?

The husband and wife were one entity. Was there any difference between disrespecting and embarrassing your spouse and publicly slapping yourself?

Feng Gui’s private words with her were useless. Asking his mother to guide her had likewise had no effect. On the contrary, the consideration and understanding he showed her seemed to have made her more and more arrogant.

He didn’t mind Madam Feng-Du’s family background and her looks, but her conversational skills, upbringing, and knowledge needed to meet certain standards.

If she couldn’t even meet those requirements as the lady of the household, the next generation of House Feng would be in jeopardy!

Feng Gui thought that, even if she could not be a good lady of the household, she could at least be a good mother.

But what happened?

Their sons’ fingernails hadn’t been trimmed in a long time and were stained black underneath. One could see the whole picture in the small details. Feng Gui could even picture Madam Feng-Du cursing and neglecting their two young sons. He couldn’t blame the servants, because how could a group of servants be expected to take care of their sons when even their birth mother didn’t really care? She could not manage their subordinates or their children. She had really disappointed Feng Gui.

He picked up a brush and wrote a writ of divorce instead of a writ of repudiation, hoping to somewhat preserve the reputations of both families.

Feng Jin’s lips moved as he said a few things in an attempt to dissuade his eldest brother, but the elder had already made up his mind. Feng Jin’s efforts were useless.

Changsheng was sensitive and realized that the atmosphere among the adults had changed. She sobbed softly as she nestled in Wei Jingxian’s lap, not daring to cry loudly.

After the final stroke of his brush, the expression on Feng Gui’s face turned as dark as ink.

“Uncle?” Without anyone realizing, Changsheng had left Wei Jingxian’s lap and run across the floor to Feng Gui. She lifted a hand and tugged at his sleeve with a guilty expression. Feng Gui sighed and stroked the little braid on Changsheng’s head.

Regarding their children, Madam Feng-Du was at fault, but so was he.

Their elder son was three years old and their younger son was two years old based on the East Asian age reckoning system. They were born to his lawful wife, Madam Feng-Du, and they were older than Changsheng, but they were not as strong or well-built as Changsheng.

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“Changsheng, I apologize to you on your two cousins’ behalf. Can you stop being angry at them?” Feng Gui said gently. “They are older than you, but they have not fulfilled their responsibilities as elder brothers. I will punish them when I go back. When they understand their mistake, I will ask them to apologize to you.”

Changsheng nodded and made an “mhmm” sound as an acknowledgment. A dumb-looking smile appeared on her tear-streaked face.

Seeing her reaction, Feng Jin became even more emotional.

My younger sister-in-law is a good lady. She has taken care of her children and family very well.

Feng Jin, on the other hand, was a bit worried. He was afraid that the incident would become a thorn separating them from each other.

Madam Feng-Du waited in the room for a long time. Finally, Feng Gui returned under the dim moonlight.

“Lang… Langjun…” Thinking about what had happened, Madam Feng-Du looked slightly guilty.

Feng Gui said, “Take a seat, let’s talk.”

Feng Gui had been brought up to respect his wife. As long as nothing went horribly wrong, the husband and wife were supposed to be bound together for life. For the harmony of the family, sufficient communication was very important. When they were newly married, he would often take some time to find topics to discuss with Madam Feng-Du, trying to understand her better.

As for what came out of it?

Madam Feng-Du would kill the conversation off as soon as she opened her mouth.

After encountering the same thing multiple times, Feng Gui, who had been unilaterally passionate about communicating with her, let it go. The couple only ever got along on a superficial level.

Madam Feng-Du sat opposite him, uneasiness in her heart. She secretly observed Feng Gui’s expression while apologizing.

“Langjun, today’s incident was indeed my fault…”

Feng Gui said, “Changsheng is at most one and a half years old. You are her aunt, and as an elder, you were unkind to a family member of the youngest generation. Am I wrong in saying that?”

Madam Feng-Du’s face paled as if a layer of white paint had been painted over it.

Before, she had always killed the conversations off. Now it was Feng Gui’s turn.

“Is… is it not our sister-in-law’s fault for not raising her daughter properly? Changsheng is young indeed, but it is necessary to educate her sternly because of that.”

With a cold face, Feng Gui said, “By ‘educate sternly’, do you mean ‘instigate our sons to bully her?’”

Madam Feng-Du’s eyes widened in surprise, looking as if something had frightened her.

Feng Gui snickered, “Walls have ears, including the walls of House Feng, where there are always many people around. As the lady of the household, you are not strict in managing your subordinates. Your servants confessed after barely any questioning. It has been more than four years, so why haven’t you improved your game even the slightest bit?”

Madam Feng-Du awkwardly said nothing, feeling scared and nervous. “I, I…”

“Have I reprimanded you for when you slapped Cuiyun?”

Cuiyun, Feng Gui’s personal maid, had gotten married a year or two before.

Because of her good looks, Madam Feng-Du, who was plain-looking, hated her out of jealousy. Madam Feng-Du had publicly slapped Cuiyun twenty times, almost killing her.

At the mention of Cuiyun, Madam Feng-Du seemed to grow more confident. “Langjun, you did not reprimand me, but you did tell me off. Surely your protectiveness over that whore is real…”

Feng Gui responded, “She was a maid who had taken care of me for ten years. Human hearts are made of flesh and not stone. Would you prefer me to be a cold and heartless person?”

She had already been married off, and even her partner in marriage was someone whom Feng Gui relied rather heavily upon for his services. There really was no reason for Madam Feng-Du to be jealous of the maid.

Forget it… Talking to her is really tiring, thought Feng Gui.

As we talked, we still ended up killing the conversation off.

Feng Gui took out a roll of bamboo slips from his sleeve. It had the smell of incense on it. “Take it.”

Madam Feng-Du was momentarily stunned. Trembling, she took it, opened it, took a look, then fell directly onto the ground. The jewelry she wore on her hair spilled everywhere.

Feng Gui said, “It’s a writ of divorce. Let’s divorce peacefully, it would be better for both you and me.”