After more than a month, the woman finally arrived in the capital with her two children. First, she found a cheap inn to live in, and then went around to inquire about her husband Xu Zuguang. Lin Dan kindly made a point: "Your fellow countryman said that he wears a green official robe and should be an official of the sixth or seventh rank. You should focus on asking people to inquire about this area. It is not the way to ask people to ask around, but it is easy to cause trouble. You make a few coins. , ask the little beggars on the street to inquire for you, they have the most well-informed information."
The woman did not answer, but silently did so. She could feel that Lin Dan looked down on her husband very much, and this alone was enough to constitute an irreconcilable conflict between them.
Lin Dan's method really worked. The beggars roamed the city all day long, listening, seeing, and knowing a lot. Officials of the third rank and above did not dare to inquire, but the news of a small official of the sixth or seventh rank came easily. , Besides, this person has a name and a surname, Xu Zuguang, 312 years old, handsome in appearance, and came from Tanzhou. He was seated in the right number, and the person found it on the same day, and there was an address along with it.
"... He is now a state son of the sixth grade, Siye, and he has both wives and concubines. His wife is the concubine of the imperial envoy Wan Zhongliang, named Wan Xiu'er. There are three concubines, one is the daughter of a member of Tanzhou, who has already died of illness. The other two were the daughters of the daughter. They went to Beijing with Xu Zuguang when he was going for the exam and was responsible for taking care of his daily life. Later, he was taken in by him. There is no direct son, no concubine, but there is one concubine, the one from Tanzhou. I was left behind by a daughter, and she is now eight years old." The little beggar made a detailed report, and regardless of the woman's pale face, he just stretched out his hand to ask for money.
The woman's heart cramped, and her soul was restless.
Lin Dan reminded: "Give me the money."
"Oh." The woman subconsciously took out a few taels of silver from her purse and handed it to the little beggar. Two strings of tears fell when the person left.
Her two children asked in panic, "Mother, what should we do?" The father is there, and the official is also appointed, but the wife next to him has been occupied. What about their mother
"What kind of official is the imperial envoy?" The woman asked silently in her heart.
"From the second rank, I have the responsibility of supervising hundreds of officials, but I can supplement the phase, which is very famous. Your husband has really climbed the high branch. If I were you, I would assume that Xu Zuguang was dead, and I would return home with my two children. , to live in peace, never go into this murky water. Xu Zuguang won't recognize you now, because you are already his..."
Before Lin Dan could say the words "heart trouble", he was interrupted eagerly by the woman: "Why should I go back? I am the wife that Xianggong Mingmei is marrying, and gave him a pair of children, it is impossible for him not to recognize me. I'm going to ask him to find out!" As he spoke, he asked the children to pack their bags and prepare to go to the door.
Lin Dan wanted to persuade him again, but was reprimanded by the woman "shut up". It could be seen that she had been pushed by Lin Dan's heart-piercing remarks, and she didn't want to listen to her at all.
Lin Danyan did all that and went with her.
That afternoon, the woman knocked on the door of Xu's house, but was chased away by the concierge repeatedly, thinking she was a mad woman. The woman and her two children squatted at the entrance of the alley not far away. Finally, in the evening, she saw Xu Zuguang who was returning from the horse, and shouted "Xianggong" in the street.
Xu Zuguang was terrified, and he hurriedly took the three away and placed them in a courtyard on the outskirts of the city. He also sent a few strong old ladies and servants to guard them and prevented them from moving around. After a few days, someone sent one. Zhang Xiushu added five hundred taels of silver and wanted to send them back without even showing his face.
The woman endured for many days, and her heart was already tormented. When she saw the divorce letter, she could no longer control it, so she burst into tears: "I raised children for him, I was filial to my parents-in-law, and I took care of the housework. , if I don't go, I take three, why should he leave me?"
The so-called three non-goings refer to: taking something and returning nothing, do not go; and mourning for three years, do not go; According to the law, no matter who the woman is married to, as long as these three points are fulfilled, that person is not qualified to abandon her, otherwise she will definitely be criticized by others, and those who are officials are more likely to be impeached by the censor.
The servants who came to deliver the divorce papers ignored the crying woman and the terrified child, and just rummaged through their luggage and searched for a while.
"Where's the marriage certificate? Where did you hide it? Hand over the marriage certificate!" A servant grabbed the woman's collar and demanded fiercely. They searched everywhere, but only dared not touch two tablets. No matter what, they were the parents of their master, so they had to be respectful.
The woman sneered again and again, but there were two lines of tears in the corners of her eyes. She really regrets that she shouldn't have listened to the remnant soul, otherwise she would not end up like this now. Xu Zuguang is no longer the Xu Zuguang who gave her sweetness and warmth at the beginning. He is a jackal and a tiger and a leopard, and he does not even recognize his wife and children.
The servant slapped her hard, scolded her as a slut, took everything away, and brought it back to the master to check in person, but only two tablets were left.
Unable to find the marriage certificate, Xu Zuguang still came in person, along with his current wife, Wan Xiuer, the concubine of Wan Yushi. Thinking about it too, everything Xu Zuguang has now is given by Wan Yushi, and he can't hide Wan Xiu'er from such a big incident at home.
Facing Wan Xiu'er, who was dressed in brocade and splendid, the woman was timid.
Lin Dan took pity on her, and finally made a point: "Tell them, you are Mrs. Lin who saved the land of Tanzhou and one state by offering the prescriptions back then. She was personally commended by the emperor, and the villagers all know that you are motivated to seek her husband. We also sent a caravan to take you to the capital, if you disappear for no reason, someone will definitely come to inquire."
"What are you talking about? Are they, do they still want to kill me?" The woman asked in her heart, and she unconsciously revealed a bit of fear in her eyes. Her children, however, had no sense of crisis at all, and were looking at Xu Zuguang with rueful eyes.
"I don't want you to disappear, how is this good?" Lin Dan sighed.
The woman was startled, and hurriedly repeated her words, only to see that Xu Zuguang's expression was stiff, Wan Xiu'er's eyes were even more hostile, but his killing intent was stagnant.
"Dan'er, let's go in and talk." Xu Zuguang softened his tone.
Wan Xiuer stayed in the hall and spoke to the two children with a gracious smile. She is beautiful and unparalleled, and she is dressed in a luxurious manner. Just looking at her appearance, she is not known to be many times more glamorous than a woman. The fourteen-fifteen-year-old child has shallow eyelids and a simple mind. Thinking that Wan Xiu'er is the daughter of a high-ranking official, his attitude is very obedient.
But it was a pity that the woman was carrying her two children with her marriage certificate and award order, and Wan Xiuer didn't ask anything.
Inside the house, Xu Zuguang hugged the woman and began to talk about his hardships over the years. He was the top student in high school back then, and he was arrested by the Wan Yu Shi list. Naturally, he was a bit eloquent. He dispelled the woman's hatred with just a few words, moved her to tears, and promised a lot of benefits. She grew old together with her, but there was no way to compete with the powerful father-in-law.
"... So, now I can only grieve you for being a concubine. I'm sorry for you and the children, but you should be able to understand my difficulties. It's not easy to study, and it's even more difficult to be an official. I have relied on you all these years. The thoughts of you and the child have lasted, and I will protect you." Xu Zuguang sighed deeply.
The woman was confused by what he said again, and nodded in agreement again and again, and said that it was nothing to be a concubine, as long as their family could be neat and tidy.
Xu Zuguang said some more comforting words, which gave enough sweetness, and then took Wan Xiuer away, and agreed to pick up the three of them home the next morning, and let them not leave anything.
It was night, and the woman's heart that had been hesitating for a long time finally settled down. She took out an unfinished purse and continued embroidering it in front of the candlelight. The pattern of orchids and green bamboo was the most suitable for Xu Zuguang to wear.
Seeing her longing smile, Lin Dan endured and endured, but still broke her dream: "You probably don't know, once you become a concubine, your future life will only be more painful than death. Concubine is a slave, you can buy and sell, and it falls to the wife. Just looking for a reason in your hand can make you die silently. Your pair of sons and daughters used to be direct sons and daughters, but now they have become concubines and concubines, and their status has plummeted. They can't call you a mother, they can only call you a mother. Auntie, Wan Xiu'er is their mother. They must respect her and kowtow to her every day. In the future, when Wan Xiu'er gives birth to a child, they will have to salute the child and be governed by him everywhere. Xu Zuguang's property will not be kept. For them, it can only be left to Wan Xiu'er's direct son, if they go outside, they will be inferior and looked down upon by others."
"Even if your son goes into office, he will be criticized because of his background. You can't control your daughter's marriage. You can only rely on Wan Xiu'er's dictates. Whoever Wan Xiuer asks her to marry, she has to marry. You must not resist. If Wan Xiu'er has a vicious mind and finds someone with bad behavior to marry your daughter, you can't think of a concubine with a low status. You should know what she said and did today, she will never do anything. If you are not a good person, you will degrade yourself as a concubine, even if you take your two children and jump into the fire pit, you will surely die without a place to be buried."
The woman's face turned pale, but she kept shaking her head, refusing to accept this reality.
Lin Dan paused for a moment, then added: "I have taught you to read history books over the years, and you should know that the son-in-law is also known as the son of a concubine, which means that the son of a concubine is born with the original sin and is not allowed to be in the direct line. According to the laws of the dynasty, in the official family, even if all the direct lineages are dead, the family title and property will not be inherited by the concubines. Change the genealogy. "Wei Zhi: Gongsun Zan's Biography", "Dian Lue" records, Zan expresses Shao's crimes, one of which is to denounce his mother as a maid, which is really humble and can't be a queen... Shame on Yuan Zong, Shao's crime Jiu Ye. You see, even a big man like Yuan Shao, being a concubine is regarded as one of the crimes. What is your son? If you recognize the identity of this concubine, you and your two children will be saved forever. "
Lin Dan stopped talking when he said this, but the woman began to shiver, only to feel that she was once again deceived by Xu Zuguang. If it weren't for this remnant of the soul, she and the two children would have happily stepped into Xu's house, and then suddenly found out at a tragic but powerless moment that it turned out to be a hell!
"Then what should I do now? Wan Xiu'er's father is a high-ranking official from the second rank. Even Xu Zuguang can't beat him, so what can I do? Immortal, please teach me and my two children!" The woman Weeping helplessly.