Chapter 2: Voluntarily Taking Leave

Noble character? Indifferent to wealth and vulgar trappings?

From head to toe, they dressed plainly enough, but Dou Hongyan’s keen eyes immediately noticed the white brocade jacket beneath Lady Liu’s attire was lined with mink fur. Though it was a style from five or six years ago, it had always been a rare and priceless treasure.

Then there was Shen Yishu’s inconspicuous satin robe, which concealed a world of riches—it was woven with gold and silver threads in shimmering silk. The pattern was somewhat dated, but the price was no less extravagant.

It seemed that over the years, relying on the vast fortune of the Marquis’s household and her dowry, they had lived quite comfortably.

Standing beside Dou Hongyan, Liuyun could no longer bear it. “Who is this yellow-skinned woman trying to claim a title? Does she think she can stand on equal footing with my lady? Why hasn’t my lady driven her out yet?”

And what of the man falsely claiming to be her late master’s relative?

She wanted to chase them both away!

Liu Xin’er’s eyes instantly reddened. Biting her lip, tears welled up but did not fall. “Sister, if you dislike Lady Liu, then let her leave. Why must the servants speak in such insults?”

Seeing his beloved tear up, Shen Yishu’s anger flared. “Dou, is this how you manage the servants? You disappoint me utterly! Do you know that if Lady Liu had not spoken up for you, I would have divorced you and taken another wife!”

Though Lady Liu was a concubine daughter of the Liu family, she was still a lady of noble upbringing, far superior to any merchant’s daughter.

Allowing Lady Liu to be a secondary wife was already a concession.

And yet Dou Hongyan was so ungrateful!

Liuyun was furious.

Her lady had devoted fourteen years of tireless effort managing the Marquis’s household—caring for the ailing, elderly matriarch, tending to the unruly young sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law, and raising an exceptionally capable heir for the Shen family.

Even the heavens themselves could not justify such cruelty!

Liuyun stepped forward to argue but was silenced by a subtle glance from Dou Hongyan.

Leaning lazily against the rosewood armchair, Dou Hongyan asked, “You really want to divorce me?”

Shen Yishu had not expected her calm demeanor and snorted coldly. “If you refuse to accept Lady Liu as a secondary wife, I will certainly divorce you. But if you are willing to relinquish your position as the primary wife, I can keep you as a concubine.”

Upon hearing the phrase “primary wife,” Liu Yun’er’s tear-streaked eyes suddenly brightened. She quickly feigned distress, “Husband, please do not. I am content just to watch you from afar. Whether primary or secondary wife matters little to me…”

Moved yet pained, Shen Yishu said, “Don’t speak such foolish words. You are the mother of Shunge and the others. Now that you carry my child, how can I let you be nameless and without status? Would you want Shunge and the others to call another woman ‘mother’?”

He would never allow his children to have a merchant-born mother!

“Don’t bully my mother!”

“I don’t want a wicked woman as my mother!”

Several youthful voices rang out in unison.

Dou Hongyan looked up.

Four children stood shoulder to shoulder, blocking the way before Liu Xin’er, their tiny faces fierce in their defense of their mother. The eldest looked older than her brother Heng.

The youngest was about four or five years old.

And then there was the child yet unborn in Liu Xin’er’s womb.

They were quite prolific.

Shen Yishu’s face darkened again. “Dou, you see this—these are Shen family bloodline. Do you want to see them cast out, strangers inheriting the Shen title?”

His words landed with the weight of iron.

Dou Hongyan raised an eyebrow, a knowing smile playing on her crimson lips.

She had been wondering why he had suddenly returned.

Thought he had run out of money, but it was the title he was after.

Apparently, they had heard about the recent imperial decree allowing the Marquis’s household to inherit the title.

She could not stand it.

This was what she had striven for over fourteen years—the treasure son who had passed the imperial examination at thirteen.

Her scheming lover had contributed no small part.

Now, seeing the clouds part and the moon shine, this faithless dog of a man wanted to bring home a wild woman and her illegitimate children to pluck the fruit?

Dou Hongyan straightened her posture immediately, her smile forced and bitter. “Fine. If you can get the old lady’s approval, I will step down myself.”