On the way to escape famine, my parents divorced

Chapter 558 "What's wrong with that?"

(Thanks to Bilu Dinggongteng for casting 3 monthly votes.)
A day later, Zheng Meiniang approached Li Shiyue alone.

“October,” Zheng Meiniang said with a firm look in her eyes as she looked at Li Shiyue, “I…I thought about it for a long time after I went back.”

Your uncle and I were only able to divorce due to a series of unforeseen events, including natural disasters and man-made calamities.

He didn't really do anything to wrong me or your sister, it's just that things have come to this.

Autumn and Summer are your uncle's bloodline. When I married him, it was agreed that he wouldn't marry into the family, but rather that my father thought highly of him, which is why I married him.

I think we should let them keep the surname Li.

Li Shiyue nodded without speaking, and continued to look at Zheng Meiniang.

Zheng Meiniang paused for a moment, her voice becoming softer, but carrying a sense of determination: "However, since I have already divorced your uncle, and your elder sister and the others have brought husbands into the family."
I am my parents' only daughter;
Now that things have come to this, I will never marry again in this lifetime.

Then, the Zheng family must have a descendant.

"October," Zheng Meiniang looked at Li Shiyue, sighed, and then continued, "I've thought about it, so why don't we let An'an (Li Xiatian and Jiang Huai's son) take my surname, Zheng?"

In this way, I can also fulfill my parents' wish when they were alive: to carry on the Zheng family line.

As for Pingping and the baby in your sister Qiutian's belly?

I was thinking about what you said in the village before: that in the future, if a son is born, he should marry a daughter, and if a daughter is born, the son should marry into the family. No matter the gender of the family members, they should all stay at home.

Then, let An'an take my surname, Zheng.

"How about this in October? Is it okay?"

Li Shiyue nodded to Zheng Meiniang. She understood Zheng Meiniang's choice, which was perhaps the best way to balance the emotions and interests of all parties under the current circumstances.

"Okay, we'll do as you say, Aunt."

In the family, only An'an changed her surname to Zheng.

From then on, everyone else retained the surname Li.

However, Li Shiyue looked at Zheng Meiniang and paused slightly, "Has Aunt said these words to Sister Qiutian, Brother-in-law, Sister Xiatian, and Jiang Huai?"

Although it was proper for my aunt to make decisions about family matters, my older sister and her family members were already married and capable of managing their own households.

Zheng Meiniang interjected first, "October, don't worry, I've already discussed it with your older sister and the others. This is a decision made by the three of us, mother and daughters."

The matter seemed to have been settled.

However, whether it was Li Shiyue, Zheng Meiniang, or even Li Xiatian, when they made the decision to let An'an take Zheng Meiniang's surname, they all subconsciously overlooked one person—Jiang Huai.

They all seemed to tacitly agree that a father who had married into the family no longer needed to seek his opinion on such "family matters."

After all, the child's surname was never Jiang, nor could it be.

While Li Shiyue was discussing with Zheng Meiniang whether to change their surname, Jiang Huai was sitting in a private room on the second floor of a teahouse in the north of Jian'an City, staring blankly at a letter.

It was given to him by someone Jiang Huijun had placed in Jian'an, who then invited him to a teahouse.

The letter was naturally written by Jiang Huijun to Jiang Huai.

In her letter, Jiang Huijun detailed Liu Tan's "heartlessness and ingratitude";
It emphasized the "necessity" of establishing a crown prince as early as possible;
And the “difficulties” she faced as a princess and a daughter of the Chiang family;
The letter was filled with her expectation that her cousin Jiang Huai would be of use to help her achieve her goals. Of course, Jiang Huijun also promised Jiang Huai official positions and gold and silver in the letter.

In fact, Jiang Huijun even subtly mentioned in her letter that if Jiang Huai could help her, she could even help him choose a wife from among the daughters of officials!
Jiang Huijun was practically telling Jiang Huai directly, "You're passing on Li Shiyue's messages to me in Jian'an, just like you did in Jinzhou before."

If you help me get rid of Li Shiyue at a crucial moment, I can help you marry a new woman from a good family and even give you an official position.

At that time, you will naturally have new children, and they will still take your surname!

Jiang Huai is so smart, how could he not understand the veiled meaning in Jiang Huijun's letter?
So, at this very moment, Jiang Huai, sitting in a private room on the second floor of the teahouse, was struggling with whether or not to completely side with Jiang Huijun.

Before coming to Jian'an, he secretly went to the prefectural city to meet Jiang Huijun, something he did without Li Xiatian's knowledge.

When he returned to Jiangjia Village to visit the Jiang clan chief, he received a message from Jiang Huijun inviting him to the prefectural city for a talk.

Jiang Huai certainly knew the reason why Li Shiyue left Jian'an—he had offended Jiang Huijun and was "forced" to leave Jinzhou, the center of power, to go to Jian'an to kill the bandits.

However, Jiang Huijun was still the Princess Consort of Zhenbei, and Jiang Huai was ultimately surnamed Jiang.

Jiang Huai, who had met Jiang Huijun in the prefectural city, pretended to be nonchalant and, together with Li Xiatian, took Pingping and An'an to follow Zheng Meiniang to Jian'an.

Along the way, Jiang Huai received messages from spies that Jiang Huijun had placed in the team more than once.

Jiang Huijun was simply using both soft and hard tactics to get Jiang Huai to become her spy again, to pass on Li Shiyue's messages to Jiang Huijun in Jian'an, and to help Jiang Huijun kill Li Shiyue at a crucial moment.

When Jiang Huai saw the letter that said he would marry a new wife and have a son who would take his father's surname, he was indeed somewhat tempted.

However, this slight attraction wasn't enough to make him completely side with Jiang Huijun.

However, when he returned to the governor's mansion from the teahouse, he heard Li Xiatian say to him that her family had decided to let the boy An'an take Zheng Meiniang's surname!

This news was like a drop of ice water falling into boiling oil, instantly causing an uproar in Jiang Huai's mind.

"Change your surname!"

Jiang Huai clenched his fists tightly, veins throbbing on his forehead. "Why? An'an is a boy!"

In his mind, he was forced by the circumstances at the time, and it was indeed beneficial for him to become Li Xiatian's son-in-law, so he became a son-in-law!
This already contradicts current marriage customs where men marry women.
Now, the sons born to the couple are to take the surname of their maternal grandmother's father.
The Zheng family, that butcher?
This was an utter disgrace to the Jiang family, a clan that valued farming and scholarship from a young age!
In Jiang Huai's view, since I have become a son-in-law, my children don't have to take my surname; they can take the surname of the more powerful maternal family.
However, my children, especially my sons, must never take the butcher's surname!
Jiang Huai was instantly overwhelmed by intense anger and humiliation.

At this moment, Li Xiatian was somewhat at a loss.

Looking at Jiang Huai, whose eyes reddened, brows furrowed, and face contorted with anger after hearing what she said, she carefully explained to him, puzzled, "Mother and Father have divorced, and my sisters and I will live with Mother."

After all, Father already has a new wife and son in Youzhou.

Therefore, it is natural to choose one of my and my sister's children to carry on the Zheng family name.

What's wrong with that?

"Good! Very good!"

Jiang Huai gritted his teeth as he looked at Li Xiatian's matter-of-fact expression. The last trace of hesitation in his eyes disappeared completely, replaced by a ruthless look of someone who had been cornered.

At this moment, his resentment towards Li Shiyue and the intense humiliation he felt because "An'an took the surname Zheng" were completely twisted into one rope, binding him firmly to Jiang Huijun's chariot.

Thank you to the emerald green Ding Gongteng for casting 3 monthly votes.

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