latelenovela Chapter 84 Today I Will Divorce You
Chapter 84 Today I Will Divorce You
"How exactly did I raise my son? Your Excellency, you should really ask your favored concubine, Madam Ruan, how she instigated your precious eldest son! With such a biological mother stirring up trouble and spreading rumors all day long, how could he obediently listen to the teachings of his legal mother?"
Even if I gave all my dowry to that good-for-nothing to cover his debts, he wouldn't appreciate it at all; instead, he would think I hadn't done my best to help him! Madam Chen became more and more indignant as she spoke, her face full of sarcasm.
"My lord, you so readily agreed to the divorce. Could it be that you're afraid of being implicated by our poor daughter? Back then, to help you advance your career, our dutiful and obedient daughter willingly entered the palace. And now? She died tragically in the cold palace, her body burned to a crisp in a raging fire, unable to close her eyes even in death! And you, instead of showing any pity for our daughter's tragic death, are in such a hurry to divorce me."
"The divorce has already tormented me, both physically and mentally, and now you dare to try and seize my dowry. But my dowry was already squandered by your unworthy son. Now that my dowry is gone, how am I supposed to survive after the divorce?" Madam Chen cried, wiping away tears with her handkerchief. She looked truly pitiful and heartbreaking.
At this moment, Prefect Chen was completely unaware that in just a short time, all sorts of rumors about his family had already spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys.
"Have you heard? Prefect Chen is actually divorcing his wife!" At a wonton stall, customer A leaned close to customer B with a mysterious look on his face and whispered.
Upon hearing this, Diner B simply stirred the steaming wontons in his bowl and said nonchalantly, "So what if they get divorced? These days, there are plenty of couples who separate because of incompatibility. What's so strange about that?"
Seeing that Diner B reacted so coldly, Diner A hurriedly moved closer and continued to whisper, "Divorce itself is nothing special, but this time is different. I heard that our Prefect Chen even wants to seize his wife's dowry!"
Upon hearing this, Diner B immediately stopped what he was doing, frowned slightly, and decisively shook his head in denial: "Impossible. Prefect Chen is an official, after all. How could he do such a shameless thing?"
Just as the two were arguing, Tingyu, who was engrossed in eating wontons, suddenly looked up and joined in, lowering her voice to interject, "What this brother says is true. Our prefect was indeed determined to seize his wife's dowry. Unfortunately, he miscalculated this time. You don't know, but our Madam Chen's dowry was already used by her adopted son to cover the deficit. There's no way there's anything left for the prefect." After saying this, Tingyu shook her head helplessly, seemingly quite regretful.
The second diner said solemnly, "Brother, you can eat whatever you want, but you absolutely cannot say whatever you want. Otherwise, you might bring disaster upon yourself." After saying that, he gently shook his head.
Tingyu, standing to the side, nodded repeatedly in agreement, saying, "Yes, yes, yes, you're absolutely right, sir! I'll definitely keep that in mind." Her face was full of gratitude.
At this moment, the diner A lowered his voice and continued, "Do you know? I heard that the son of our prefect is a complete wastrel. Not only is he addicted to gambling, but he also loves to frequent brothels. What's even more astonishing is that he's always extremely generous with his money, as if he has more money than he can spend."
In my opinion, he probably used most of Madam Chen's dowry money. After saying that, he nodded meaningfully.
By this time, Tingyu felt he had conveyed the message sufficiently, so he hurriedly finished the remaining wontons in his hand. Then, he stood up and walked quickly towards the teahouse not far away.
The source of the news being discussed by the two diners at the wonton stall was actually something Tingyu had spread after overhearing Prefect Chen's shameless remarks at the Chen residence. His current involvement in the discussion was simply to make these rumors seem more credible.
As for why he chose to go to the teahouse, the reason is quite simple.
After all, teahouses have always been an important gathering place for all kinds of news; at the same time, they are also one of the effective channels for the rapid spread of many messages.
However, it was still early, and the teahouse had not yet officially opened for business. Helpless, Tingyu had no choice but to return to the Chen residence and find a secluded corner to continue eavesdropping on the conversation inside.
"We can agree not to divorce, but this daughter must be removed from the Chen family genealogy. I, the prefect, do not want to be implicated or have my career affected because of her," Prefect Chen said coldly, sitting expressionlessly in his armchair, as if everything that had happened had nothing to do with him.
Madam Chen's eyes widened, tears streaming down her face. She couldn't believe her husband could say such heartless words: "Chen Cangyi, are you even human? That was your own daughter! How could you bear to let her die without a proper resting place, with her soul adrift?"
Prefect Chen slammed his hand on the table, stood up, pointed at Madam Chen, and roared, "Hmph! Only those who can bring me wealth and honor are my daughters. I can't afford someone like her who only brings trouble upon herself."
Looking at the unfamiliar man before her, Madam Chen was filled with despair and anger. She bit her lip hard until a trickle of blood seeped out, then said in a trembling voice, "Fine, fine, fine, I never expected you, Chen Cangyi, to be such a heartless and ungrateful person."
"I can no longer spend the rest of my life with someone like you. Today I will divorce you! Even if I have to beg on the streets from now on, I will keep my daughter's memorial tablet with me. I will never let her be lonely and miserable, or die without anyone to mourn her." After saying this, Madam Chen wiped away her tears forcefully, her eyes becoming unusually firm.
Prefect Chen sneered and threatened, "Have you thought this through? Once you get a divorce, you will lose everything you have now. By then, it will be too late to regret it!"
However, Madam Chen was not intimidated by his words and replied without hesitation, "Besides being the wife of the prefect, what else do you have to give me? I've made up my mind, no need for further words, please write the divorce papers immediately!"
Just then, Tingyu, who had been eavesdropping, saw that Prefect Chen had indeed picked up a pen and begun writing the divorce papers, and then stamped them with the official seal. He knew that it was now his turn to take the stage...