Chapter 1714 – Between Husband and Wife
As long as it didn’t involve conspiracy, Jiang Pengji’s actions were always above board.
Thus, the news of her hiring Mi Hua spread throughout the Southern Sheng aristocracy like it had sprouted wings.
Who is Mi Hua?
Investigate!
Even after over a decade of war, Southern Sheng’s aristocracy was severely weakened, but a starving camel is larger than a horse. If they wanted to dig up information on someone, their speed was no slower than that of a galloping steed. Moreover, Mi Hua came from a noble family, and she had been renowned since her youth; many had heard her name and recognized her.
In her teenage years, Mi Hua was a famous talented woman, and her late husband was a celebrated scholar; they were once the iconic golden couple.
After her husband passed away, Mi Hua became a widow and, after a few years of silence, her presence lingered in the background.
People vaguely remembered her youthful anecdotes with her late husband but were unaware of her family compelling her to remarry.
No one could have imagined that the mention of Mi Hua’s name wasn’t due to her talents or beauty that noble offspring admired, nor because she was someone’s wife, but simply because she was Mi Hua—a woman who had just been appointed and given heavy responsibilities.
Upon deeper digging, people discovered all the events that had transpired in her life.
Some praised her as a model of a legitimate wife—because as the main wife, she managed her husband’s household with order, the wives and concubines harmonious, while also making money to support the family. Her husband had nothing to worry about; he could just eat, drink, and have fun at home, truly a “great wife who touched the hearts of Southern Sheng”!
Others criticized her as a “traitor” who ingratiated herself—while the Southern Sheng aristocrats were tacitly resisting recruiting orders, she shamelessly sought the rewards of wealth and influence, discarding the noble pride of her family, begging a foreigner like a dog for scraps, simply absurd!
Some denounced her for disturbing the natural order and upsetting the heavens—Jiang Pengji, such a flagrant rebel, would surely face ruin, and Mi Hua, who had read the classics from childhood, shouldn’t fail to understand the principles of balance, instead learning from Jiang Pengji to abandon conventions, didn’t she fear angering the ancestors?
Of course, while these people spoke words of reproach, their hearts were filled with sour envy.
Given the current circumstances, Jiang Pengji’s unstoppable march toward dominion meant whoever aided her would have the merit of establishing a nation.
Mi Hua must have been graced by her ancestral tombs to encounter such fortune.
These folks were likely just sour grapes, ranting while burning with jealousy.
As they dug deeper, they uncovered Mi Hua’s current husband.
Initially, they thought her second husband couldn’t be worse than the first, but then—
“This man really lucked out, marrying such a wife; he truly needs to do nothing at all!”
Marrying a wife like Mi Hua? Not just a mere thirty years spared in struggle, but rather three lifetimes!
So, some friends catching wind of this came to deliver backhanded compliments while others sought to network, maybe needing each other’s backing in future conflicts. Mi Hua’s husband thought he’d hit the jackpot, as everyone who had been cold to him suddenly started talking; he couldn’t help but feel giddy. But as he listened more, something felt off, and upon further inquiry, he learned that Mi Hua had just been appointed and greatly valued, now the hottest ticket in town.
Realizing this, Mi Hua’s husband began to feel a bit uneasy.
His ears were filled with envy and flattery directed at him, along with compliments toward Mi Hua, and there were whispers mocking him, suggesting he was living off his wife like a son-in-law. He felt anger swelling inside but couldn’t muster words to retort, so he simmered in silence.
What could he do?
If he had any pride, he might consider giving Mi Hua a divorce letter, allowing them to part ways and spare himself the mockery of living off her. But the truth was, he lacked the courage, and his parents wouldn’t permit it either.
Forget about acting on that thought; just voicing it would get him a severe reprimand from his elders in front of their ancestors.
Nothing in the world was more important than the glory of the family name.
Their son wasn’t capable, but at least the daughter-in-law was; would they allow such an excellent daughter-in-law to slip away?
After sulking for two days, he packed his bags to seek out Mi Hua, entirely forgetting he had left “a meal cipher” untouched.
“What do you want?”
Mi Hua had just arrived in Ningzhou, had a proper first meeting with her lord, Jiang Pengji, exchanged a few pleasantries, and was immediately swamped with tasks.
She was so busy her head was spinning. Finally managing to return home for a bit of rest, the servant announced her husband was back.
“Isn’t this all your doing? I couldn’t stay at the old home any longer—”
Seeking refuge with Mi Hua, he clearly wanted a peaceful ear.
Mi Hua rolled her eyes and ignored him, quickly finishing lunch to grab a moment of rest to recuperate.
Her husband asked, “Aren’t you going to say anything?”
Mi Hua yawned, her sleepiness increasing, and casually replied.
“Say what?”
Her husband continued, “How about a divorce? You’re out there studying and serving, isn’t that the goal?”
As the disadvantaged, if Mi Hua raised the idea of divorce, he truly had no counter move, for Mi Hua’s current backing was none other than the warlord Jiang Pengji herself.
Furrowing her brow, Mi Hua asked, “Has someone been whispering nonsense in your ear?”
Her husband replied, “I just think, it’ll come to that day sooner or later.”
Mi Hua chuckled, “Divorce isn’t that hard; why would you think I’d put in all this effort just to leave you? I serve not for maids and childbearing alone. I serve to stand as tall as any man, even higher. What did you think?”
Having accomplished a bit of her ambitions, Mi Hua felt good, not hiding her aspirations.
“Doesn’t that give you more reason to leave? Why stay with a useless man when you could find someone who benefits you?”
Mi Hua paused for a moment and said, “I’m really scared of thunder.”
Her husband froze with an awkward expression.
Mi Hua’s parents passed away in a thunderous storm, and her first husband died on a parched day filled with rumbling thunder.
Though Mi Hua usually remained composed in dire situations, she’d tremble at the sound of thunder.
This husband of hers might be disappointing in many ways, but he did have his moments. For instance, he accidentally realized Mi Hua was afraid of thunder; whenever there was a storm, whether staying with a concubine or engaging in social banter, he would rush back to keep her company.
It was these fleeting moments of kindness that made Mi Hua tolerate him.
To her, even a disappointing husband was still half a family member; she simply didn’t want to return to solitary life.
After her first husband passed away, she truly felt abandoned, and the scenario of being coerced by her relatives to remarry was still vivid in her mind.
Divorce?
Maybe someday, but not urgently; at least she wanted to ensure she had her own kin before kicking him to the curb.
While this man had his faults, he was undeniably handsome—pleasing to the eyes just like a room full of concubines.
After this conversation, they didn’t discuss divorce further, resuming their daily lives.
Meanwhile, Jiang Pengji giving Mi Hua the affairs of Ningzhou didn’t mean she could become a laid-back shopkeeper.
