After being forced to leave the marriage, I became the wife of a top scholar.

Chapter 13 Threat
Bai Wanqing ignored her and looked directly at Furong.

Furong's eyes were red and swollen like two walnuts, clearly indicating that she had been crying for a long time.

Bai Wanqing wanted to hug her, but Bai Qinglian stopped her, saying, "Big sister, you're only now pretending to be kind. It's one thing for you to be unhappy, but now you're dragging your sister down with you."

"What's the point of you pretending to be a good person here now? You shouldn't have come back to the Bai family in the first place!"

Bai Qinglian spoke to Bai Wanqing for a while.

Looking at Bai Furong, who was now crying her eyes out, Bai Wanqing felt guilty. Perhaps Qinglian was right; perhaps she shouldn't have returned to the Bai family.

Bai Wanqing felt somewhat heavy-hearted upon returning to Qinzhu Garden from Furong Garden. Furong was innocent but also earnest, and she didn't know how long it would take for her to recover from such a sudden turn of events.

"Miss!" Just then, Ruixin returned from outside and reported to Bai Wanqing as soon as she entered the room.

"As you predicted, the rumors outside have spread like wildfire."

"What do they all say?" Bai Wanqing raised an eyebrow.

"They say that Lord Meng divorced you because he found out you had done many disrespectful things to your mother-in-law after returning from the exam. They also say that Lord Meng chose to divorce you because he was concerned about the reputation of the Bai family and your reputation, Miss."

"They say you, Miss, have no regard for your marital relationship with Lord Meng at all. On the very day of the divorce, you kicked your mother-in-law and Lord Meng out of the house, leaving them to wander the streets."

Ruixin didn't need to say anything more; she knew how nasty the rest would be. But Bai Wanqing found it strange.

"These comments suddenly appeared, sounding as if someone had witnessed them firsthand, rather than being deliberately spread by someone with ulterior motives."

“Miss, our Bai family has been trying to keep this as low-key as possible. Even the master has instructed the servants not to gossip. It definitely wasn’t our Bai family.”

Bai Wanqing naturally knew who did it, otherwise the opinions wouldn't have been so simplistically biased towards one side.

Madam Fang was very happy today. Everyone knew Bai Wanqing's true colors and stayed with her in the courtyard, talking about Bai Wanqing's faults for a long time.

Hmph! Madam Fang knows that daughters of prominent families care most about their reputation. If she has the nerve to do the first thing, then she can do the fifteenth.

Even a single comment about being unfilial to her mother-in-law would be enough to give Bai Wanqing a hard time.

Fang was gloating over her success when Meng Zhan returned with his head down, looking rather dejected.

Fang found it strange, "Zhan'er, have you received Liu Feifei's reply?"

Knowing that her son and the Liu family's daughter had been exchanging letters in the past two days, and that they were waiting for Meng Zhan to return and say that they could move to Huaizhou Prefecture immediately, Fang couldn't wait to ask him as soon as he returned.

"Received!" Meng Zhan's tone was somewhat cold.

Fang then realized something was wrong. "Zhan'er, what's wrong? Did you have a fight with Liu Feifei?"

"Or is it that she doesn't want to marry you?"

Fang couldn't even imagine what it would mean; they would lose everything.

“Mother, don’t make wild guesses, none of that is true! Feifei has already written, urging us to go to the Liu residence to propose marriage as soon as possible,” Meng Zhan said.

"Isn't that a good thing? What are we waiting for? Let's get ready and go to Huaizhou to find a matchmaker to propose marriage!" Fang Shi became excited as soon as she heard this.

Meng Zhan couldn't laugh. "Propose marriage! How can we propose marriage if we don't have money? Feifei wrote that the Liu family wants a dowry of ten thousand taels of silver."

"How much? Ten thousand taels!" Madam Fang was startled. In her life, she had never seen a hundred taels, and even that was an extraordinary amount. Although the Liu family was of high social standing, they shouldn't be asking for ten thousand taels of silver so easily.

“Zhan’er, you and Feifei are already... How dare she still ask you for so much betrothal gift?” Madam Fang didn’t dare to speak out. She just felt that the Liu family was dishonest. Their daughter was already Zhan’er’s woman, so why was she worth so much money? “Mother, that’s Prefect Liu. If you embarrass him, how can I stand in Huaizhou?”

Meng Zhan has been in a state of utter distress these past two days. When he received the amount of Liu Feifei's betrothal gifts, he wrote back explaining his current situation. Ten thousand taels of silver was an astronomical figure for him, a newcomer who had not yet entered officialdom.

However, Liu Feifei insisted in her letter that even daughters of officials of lower status than her received such a large dowry, and that if she received less, she would be ridiculed in Huaizhou.

Liu Feifei refused to budge an inch, and Meng Zhan felt a heavy weight in his heart. He remembered when he proposed to Bai Wanqing, she had never asked anything of him.

"What should we do then!" Fang said with concern. "Why don't we go to the Bai family again and ask Bai Wanqing to get back the money that is rightfully ours, as well as that house on Changsheng Street? If we can sell it, it'll be worth a thousand or two thousand taels."

Meng Zhan was somewhat annoyed. "Mother, we have no relation to the Bai family anymore. It's clearly written in the divorce agreement. Now you want me to go to the Bai family? I haven't even become an official yet, and I've already gotten myself into trouble. How am I supposed to face anyone in the future?"

Meng Zhan's attitude was somewhat anxious, and Fang Shi also felt wronged. "Son, you can't do this or that, but if we don't marry this Liu family's daughter now, you'll probably lose your official position."

"Who cares about all that now?"

Meng Zhan was in a real bind. Liu Feifei was over a month pregnant and was pressing him for a dowry in Huaizhou, but he only had a few hundred taels of silver. The ten thousand taels of silver in betrothal gifts were really giving him a hard time.
After confirming that it was Fang who spread the rumors, Bai Wanqing arrived at the alley entrance of the house where Meng Zhan and the others were renting early in the morning. Meng Zhan went out to look for money and ran into Bai Wanqing, who had been waiting for a long time.

Bai Wanqing was dressed in white gauze and a veiled hat today, but Meng Zhan still recognized her at a glance.

For some reason, Meng Zhan felt a lump in his throat when he saw Bai Wanqing again, and unconsciously walked up to her.

"Wanqing, are you alright?" Meng Zhan thought that Bai Wanqing was still worried about him, so she came to the alley entrance to wait for him.

Rui Xin snorted angrily, while Bai Wanqing spoke calmly, "Lord Meng, have you forgotten the reason for our divorce? Now you're sending people to spread rumors everywhere, slandering the Bai family's reputation. Aren't you afraid that I'll fight to the death and expose your affair?"

Meng Zhan was already annoyed, and he didn't expect Bai Wanqing to threaten him so early in the morning. He was instantly furious. "What nonsense are you talking about! When did we spread rumors? And Bai Wanqing, I have nothing to do with you anymore. Your appearance in the Meng family's alley is just asking for trouble. It has nothing to do with our Meng family."

"Without spreading rumors, even Lord Meng wouldn't know what Fang Shi did. My reputation as Bai Wanqing is no longer important. I will bear the consequences of any controversy. But you, Lord Meng, still have to maintain your official position and reputation. Aren't you afraid that what you've done will be exposed?"

Meng Zhan was furious. "Bai Wanqing! Shut up!"

But he quickly regained his composure. Meng Zhan understood Bai Wanqing's meaning: it must have been his mother, Fang Shi, who had done something. His position was unstable, and he couldn't afford to offend the Bai family.
"Go back! I'll handle the rumors, but you'd better not use this to threaten me again!"

"Everyone's patience has its limits."

A murderous intent was clearly revealed in Meng Zhan's eyes. He could not allow any stumbling block to his future path, not even if he had once been attracted to this person.

Bai Wanqing pretended not to see anything, "Then please remember what you said today, Lord Meng. I don't want to hear any more rumors about our divorce or any slander against the Bai family. I hope you can handle this matter well."

After Bai Wanqing finished speaking, she got into the carriage.

Meng Zhan glared at Bai Wanqing with hatred, all his illusions about Bai Wanqing's feelings for him shattered at that moment.

He shook his hand and went back to the old house to find Madam Fang.

On the way back, Bai Wanqing's hands were still trembling.

"Miss, what's wrong with you?"

Bai Wanqing shook her head to indicate that she was fine, but she knew that Meng Zhan had already decided to kill her. Now that the Bai family had just severed ties with him, he naturally wouldn't do it, but it was hard to say what would happen in the long run.

Meng Zhan is now a thoroughly established enemy. In any case, it's best to keep a close eye on him before he leaves Huai'an County.

(End of this chapter)