Quickly wear salted fish, she won by lying down

Chapter 1755 The Country Girl Looked Down Upon 76
Although she inwardly resented her family for doing something foolish, Aunt Cao did not say it aloud. She only said to the Cao family, "What the county magistrate said makes sense. How about this: we give her the county magistrate's salary from now on?"

Although Li Yuanniang was her daughter, she was only a concubine. In this era, it was not appropriate to say that Li Yuanniang was her daughter; she could only be referred to as Li Yuanniang by her identity.

The Cao family was terrified when they saw that Li Yuanniang was determined to get a divorce. They were afraid that if they divorced, they would no longer be considered guests of honor and would be driven out of the capital and forced to return to the countryside. They did not want to leave the bustling capital, so when they heard Aunt Cao's words, they naturally nodded repeatedly and said, "Okay, we have no objection."

They were incredibly arrogant before, thinking that marrying Li Yuanniang would solve everything and allow them to control her. They never imagined that Li Yuanniang would dare to divorce them. Clearly, they had no ability to control her at all. On the contrary, they needed Li Yuanniang in their household to become officials, transforming from ordinary people into officials of considerable rank.

Everything they had came from Li Yuanniang, yet they still thought that once Li Yuanniang married them, they would no longer be afraid of her. Their ignorance was so profound that it's no wonder Li Yuanniang wanted a divorce. They were simply too foolish. Any slightly smarter family would have treated Li Yuanniang with utmost respect after she entered the household, fearing that she would run away. Because everything they had came from Li Yuanniang, once she left, they would be reduced to their original state.

They didn't realize it until Li Yuanniang made up her mind to leave. Only then did they realize that what they thought they had Li Yuanniang under control was actually far from it.

The reason they felt they had a firm grip on the situation was because of their rural mindset.

In their countryside, once a woman gets married, it's unheard of for her to divorce and leave, unless she's abandoned by her husband. That's why they were so arrogant before, not only not letting Li Yuanniang manage the household, but also taking Li Yuanniang's salary.

But it was too late to regret it now, because Li Yuanniang had already made up her mind that she no longer wanted to be with this family.

Hearing the conversation between Aunt Cao and the Cao family, Li Yuanniang couldn't help but sneer, saying, "Shameless things! You have no objections? You have no objections, but I do! I don't care whether you give me my salary or not, I want a divorce!"

She didn't want to live a hard life. She wanted a divorce, to marry Li San's sister's brother, and then live a life where she could never spend all her money.

Besides, even if the family returned her salary, it wouldn't quell her anger, so she was destined not to agree.

However, her words displeased Aunt Cao, who immediately said, "Alright, alright, your uncles have already backed down. What more do you want? What good marriage can you get after a divorce?"

Li Yuanniang refused to back down, saying, "What do you care what kind of husband I can marry? He won't be any worse than my current husband."

After all, her current husband is a country bumpkin. If she remarries, could she marry someone even worse?

She was speaking the truth, which embarrassed the Cao family.

For the first time, they truly realized the difference between themselves and Li Yuanniang. After all, she was royalty, while they, as she said, were just country bumpkins. With Li Yuanniang's status, no matter how badly she married, it couldn't be worse than theirs, because their status had already reached the bottom of society. How could it be worse? That's why Li Yuanniang dared to divorce, because after the divorce, she would only marry someone better, not someone worse.

But they were different. After divorcing Li Yuanniang, they could no longer marry girls with such qualities. That was the difference between them and Li Yuanniang.

Their marriage to Li Yuanniang was entirely by chance, orchestrated by Aunt Cao—who arranged the engagement while Li Yuanniang was still very young and naive. Otherwise, if Li Yuanniang had been any older, the engagement would never have happened.

They stumbled upon this marriage by chance, thinking it was rightfully theirs, and didn't cherish it, which is why it ended up like this.

Because Li Yuanniang insisted on leaving, Aunt Cao threatened to kill herself to stop her. Li Yuanniang also threatened to kill herself, which rendered Aunt Cao's usual method of forcing her children to comply ineffective. In the end, the Cao family had no choice but to let Li Yuanniang go.

With Li Yuanniang gone, needless to say, the Cao family was back to square one. Even if they were unwilling to move out of the Yibin Mansion, they were still driven away by the Imperial Clan Court. How could they possibly stay?

Because of their background, they were still afraid of the government, so they thought they could stay and not leave. However, when they found that the Imperial Clan Court had sent people to drive them away, they were like wolves and tigers. Even if they said they wouldn't leave, they would be arrested and thrown into jail. They were immediately frightened and left quickly.

When they returned to their hometown, they didn't care about the ridicule of others. They only regretted that they had lost the opportunity for their family to prosper. If they had another chance, they would never dare to be as arrogant as before.

Will Li Yuanniang succeed in marrying Li San's brother after her divorce?
And sure enough, it actually worked.

Grandma Li's brother was just a merchant, so naturally he was willing to marry a woman from the imperial clan. That way, he would have status and money, which would be great.

Actually, Grandma Li San couldn't understand why Li Yuanniang, a member of the imperial clan, would marry a country bumpkin. Even if she didn't marry into a noble family, marrying a merchant would be better than marrying into the Cao family.
Later, I learned that it was Aunt Cao who tricked Li Yuanniang into agreeing to the marriage while she was young. At that time, I felt that Aunt Cao was vicious. In order to support her own family, she was even willing to harm her own daughter.

Now that Li Yuanniang has grown up, realized her mistakes, and divorced, I think Aunt Cao's future days will be difficult.

Aunt Cao had a falling out with her son before, but at least she still had her daughter to keep her company, allowing her to enjoy family life.

As a result, her daughter married into her own family, but her family didn't cherish her and caused her trouble. When her daughter came back to her for help, she didn't help her daughter at all. Instead, she told her daughter to back down and complained that her daughter was too troublesome. She was such a fool, just as foolish as her family. She didn't even consider whether it was Li Yuanniang who needed her family or her family who needed Li Yuanniang. Instead of advising her family not to be so arrogant, she advised Li Yuanniang to be patient.

Now, her actions have alienated her daughter. Neither her daughter nor her son pay any attention to her anymore. They only acknowledge Zhao as their mother and completely disown Aunt Cao.

As a result, Aunt Cao's days in the mansion naturally became difficult.

She wasn't exactly a favored person to begin with, and her children had turned their backs on her. No one paid her any attention, no one respected her, and they even mocked her behind her back, calling her stupid and foolish for supporting her family so much. It's no wonder that Aunt Cao's life was so miserable.

She began to reflect on her actions, wondering if she had made a mistake by constantly supporting her family. But it was too late for her to do so, because Li Erlang and Li Yuanniang would never look back at her.