Lian Erye in the Red Mansion

"Your Majesty, please forgive me. I did not intend to oppose you."

Your humble servant knows that the Empress Dowager's bestowal of this marriage upon me is a sign of her appreciation and affection for me.

If I were not married, I would be overjoyed and serve the Empress Dowager as if she were my own grandmother.

However, I had already married Lady Wang, and it was only with a grand wedding procession and vows of eternal love that I finally brought her into my home.

"The Empress Dowager is a sage of her time, who understands the ways of heaven and the world, and is kind and benevolent, and is praised by both the court and the people."

Moreover, the Empress Dowager was also a woman, and she should know that once a woman marries, she places all her hopes on her husband.

If you were to ask me to divorce Wang now, how could I bear it?

Wang is an ignorant woman. If she is divorced and sent home, I'm afraid she won't be able to bear the blow. If something happens to her because of this, how can the Empress Dowager bear it? And how can I live with myself from now on?

In this way, even if we marry Princess Zhaoyang, I'm afraid we won't have a happy and peaceful end.

Wouldn't that go against the Empress Dowager's original intention of wanting Princess Zhaoyang to be happy?

Jia Lian shifted the focus to the matter of divorcing his wife, and the Empress Dowager, as expected, did not dwell on what he had said earlier.

Seeing how earnest Jia Lian was, she, Yuan Chun, and Zhao Yang all fell silent.

She hadn't expected that Jia Lian was even more masculine and admirable than she had imagined.

"Moreover, ancient law has a set of rules regarding seven grounds for divorce and three grounds for not being divorced."

The so-called three things that should not be left behind.

One is that he has a wife but nowhere to go.

The Empress Dowager may not know that Wang's parents had already passed away, and her only elder brother was far away in Jiangnan.

If she is divorced now, she will have nowhere to go.

Isn't this exactly what it means to have someone to marry but nowhere to go?

Second, and for three years after that.

Although Lady Wang did not observe the three-year mourning period for my parents, my father passed away in early spring, and Lady Wang took care of his funeral arrangements for more than a month, barely touching the ground and almost never getting a good night's sleep. I admit that I am not as devoted to her filial piety as she is.

Isn't this enough to qualify for one of them?

Third, one must first be poor and lowly before becoming rich and noble.

Before Wang married me, I was a spoiled brat, clueless about everything and everything went wrong.

His life only began to improve after he married Wang.

Even now, I hold the rank of fourth grade official, and have been granted a noble title. My wealth and status are more than ten times greater than before.

Is this not a case of first being poor and lowly, and then becoming rich and noble?

According to the teachings of the sages, if a woman has any of these three faults, even if she has committed one of the seven grounds for divorce, her husband's family should not divorce her.

Not to mention, Wang did not commit any of the seven grounds for divorce, yet she met all three of the grounds for non-divorce.

Under such circumstances, how could the priest bear to divorce her without feeling guilty?

If I were to actually do this, not only would I be ashamed to face my relatives and friends, and be condemned by scholars throughout the land, but I fear that if word got out, it would also damage the Empress Dowager's virtue.

Therefore, this humble subject dares not obey the Empress Dowager's command, and humbly requests that the Empress Dowager consider this matter.

After Jia Lian finished speaking, the entire main hall of Weiyang Palace became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Even the palace maids and eunuchs were often stunned.

General Jia must have such affection and care for his wife to be able to say such things in front of the Empress Dowager!

Even the maids were deeply moved by what they heard, feeling that if a woman could find a husband who would protect her so well, she would be content to die.

After all, the so-called "seven grounds for divorce" and "three grounds for not marrying" are just words. If it weren't for genuine protection, how could General Jia have described that woman, whom they had only met once, as so admirable and pitiful?

Inside the beaded curtain, Yuan Chun, who was kneeling on the ground with Jia Lian, momentarily put aside thoughts of family interests and glanced back at Jia Lian.

She suddenly recalled the woman she had seen at Fengzao Palace before, the sister-in-law of her brother whom she hadn't paid much attention to before. But now, she felt that her face, which was as bright as sunshine when she smiled and as gloomy as rain when she cried, looked like a blessed person no matter how you looked at it.

Otherwise, how could she be so lucky to meet such a strong and capable man who treats her like this?

Princess Zhaoyang understood that even if she could use her status and the Empress Dowager's position to forcibly take Jia Lian away, she would not be able to replace Wang Shi's position in Jia Lian's heart, nor could she mend the rift caused by today's incident.

谷蛲

So she took two steps back and knelt beside the Empress Dowager. Although she did not speak, the meaning conveyed by her eyes and actions was very clear.

Thus, the Empress Dowager became a lonely widow sitting alone on the phoenix throne.

Without anyone reminding her, she realized that if she continued to pressure Jia Lian under these circumstances, it would make her seem unreasonable and domineering!

At this moment, she was faced with two choices.

One option is to follow the steps Jia Lian has laid out for her, and become a saint who is upright, kind, and benevolent.

In fact, she didn't necessarily have to marry Zhaoyang off to Jia Lian, nor did she necessarily have to be a villain who broke up other people's marriages.

It was only because of the fact that Jia Lian hadn't been very compliant with her from the very first word she spoke that she was somewhat annoyed.

If you were to ask her if giving up now would be unacceptable, she wouldn't find it difficult to accept.

However, she always felt that if she accepted Jia Lian's statement so easily, it would be like falling into Jia Lian's linguistic trap!

Was Jia Lian truly as pure-hearted as he claimed, wholeheartedly cherishing his beloved wife?

The Empress Dowager thought it was unlikely.

Therefore, looking at Jia Lian outside the curtain, who still appeared tall and radiant even with his head bowed on the back of his hand, she chose the third path.

"According to you, if I don't grant your request to withdraw the decree, it would make me seem unreasonable and heartless?"

The Empress Dowager sneered.

"Your humble servant would not dare to say that, nor does he believe so."

"Hmph, whether the truth is as you say or not, I will have someone investigate. If I find out that you deliberately deceived or misled me in any way, I will not forgive you."

Within seven days, if I find that what you said is untrue, or that you have committed other crimes, Jia Lian, you will be prepared to bear my wrath.

However, considering that you once saved my life, I can give you another chance.

"Within seven days, until I find evidence of your wrongdoing, I will allow you to change your mind. At that time, you may bring your letter of divorce to the Wang family to the palace, and I will forgive you."

The Empress Dowager was, after all, the Empress Dowager, the supreme ruler of the land, and naturally she was unwilling to be led by the nose by Jia Lian.

Therefore, she wanted to take control of the situation.

As for what she said, everyone may have their own interpretation of its specific meaning, but in short:

She was very dissatisfied with Jia Lian!

She also explicitly stated that she would investigate Jia Lian's crimes!

Let alone the Empress Dowager, even if any official said that to another official, the other official would be restless and unable to eat or sleep!

Considering the seven-day limit given by the Empress Dowager, it is clear that she is still forcing Jia Lian to comply.

However, she wasn't as forceful as before, giving him a seven-day cooling-off period. If Jia Lian or the Jia family couldn't withstand her pressure and took the initiative to seek peace, then it wouldn't be her being unreasonable and domineering as the Empress Dowager, forcing her subjects.

Jia Lian also understood some of the Empress Dowager's meaning, but he didn't know if she was serious or just threatening him.

But he dared not haggle any further.

Even Yuan Chun and Zhao Yang have already knelt down to plead for him. If he continues to rely on his merits and forcefully appease the tiger, I'm afraid neither side will have a way to back down.

Therefore, Jia Lian kowtowed and said, "Your humble servant thanks the Empress Dowager for her kindness and for her magnanimity."

At least we've gotten through this hurdle today. As for what the Empress Dowager will do next, we'll have to wait and see.

The Empress Dowager could naturally tell that Jia Lian was deliberately using words like "benevolent" and "magnanimous" to misunderstand her meaning, implying that she had given up on pressuring them.

Therefore, she snorted and said, "You are free to ignore my words and see if I can ultimately deal with you."

As for your loan sharking activities, I will explain the matter to His Majesty. As for how His Majesty will handle it, you'll have to pray for the best.

Jia Lian's heart tightened. She dared to take the blame for Wang Xifeng because she knew that the blame would not pose a great threat to him.

But the Empress Dowager herself had to report to the Emperor!

The Empress Dowager is the Emperor's legal mother. If Emperor Ningkang really wanted to deal with him, he wouldn't hold back, even if he had to consider the Empress Dowager's feelings.

"Alright, you may all leave."

Just as Jia Lian was about to say a few more kind words to appease the Empress Dowager, she turned around without a word, flung her phoenix robe, and headed to the back hall.

Seeing this, Princess Zhaoyang looked up and gave Jia Lian a reassuring look, then got up and chased after him.