Yoo Shi-chu married Choi An-hwa at the age of 15 and gave birth to Choi Young at the age of 17. Now she is 37 years old and has a grandson, but she is still beautiful and youthful, with the charm of a mature woman.
But her eyes were firm and unyielding, her back was straight, and no matter who she was facing, she kept her head high and chest out, as if she would never be afraid.
This kind of beauty is aggressive, very sharp and impactful. This kind of beauty often makes men feel that it is too strong and too sharp, and not as gentle and cuddly as the little jade dodder.
So even though Yoo Shi Chu is very beautiful, she is not Choi Anhua's type. Even after being married for twenty years, they still have no feelings for each other. So Choi Anhua can say without any burden that he wants to divorce her. Maybe he has long disliked his wife for not being gentle, considerate, and understanding enough.
"Your father and I are more of a cooperative partnership than a husband and wife. He's out there serving as a general, defending his country; and I'm at home taking care of a large family. Sometimes we don't even see each other once a year, and we're apart more often than we're together. So I don't find it strange that he wants to divorce. It's just like two business partners finding a better option and going their separate ways. It's all normal." Liu Shichu said to Cui Ying.
"Mom, don't you feel unwilling and resentful? You have devoted most of your life and energy to this family, but your father not only ignored your efforts, but even wanted to abandon you. Don't you resent him?" Cui Ying asked coldly. Although Liu Shichu's face was calm, he also felt unfair for his mother.
"What's the use of resentment? Apart from wasting your own feelings, it will not have any impact on your father at all. If I insist on holding on to this position and refuse to let go, do you believe that your father will divorce me for the woman he loves? Now that he still has some dignity, I might as well be sensible and take the opportunity to ask for more benefits." Liu Shichu said lightly.
“You are no longer as good as those in officialdom now. You know that everything has its pros and cons. Although I will suffer a lot of rumors after your father and I divorce, I will be free from now on. I no longer have to be bound in a man’s backyard and fight with concubines and illegitimate children for petty gains... I can do whatever I want and go wherever I want in the future without having to worry about your father’s identity, so you don’t have to stand up for me.” Liu Shichu patiently comforted his son, fearing that he would get stuck in a dead end.
After hearing what was said, Cui Ying had to suppress his slight resentment towards Cui Anhua. He had no father-son relationship with his father whom he only saw once or twice a year, and was closer to his mother, so he stood on Liu Shichu's side.
"Mother, since you are willing to divorce father, I won't object. But what are your plans after the divorce?" Cui Ying was worried about his mother's life after the divorce.
"I will find a good place and build a small manor to live in. Everything will be designed according to my own preferences. It will be comfortable and cozy. You can bring your wife and children here for vacation in the future." Liu Shichu said with a smile, his tone full of anticipation, as if he had already foreseen the carefree and comfortable days in the future.
Cui Ying saw her smile, and the depression in his heart was slightly relieved. He said, "Then everything will be up to your wishes, mother."
Liu Shichu nodded, and then reminded him: "I will also take this opportunity to ask Cui Anhua to separate you. Your father only has that old love now. If he has a child with his old love, you will definitely get nothing in the future. So it is better for me to separate you before that woman comes home, so as not to be restrained by others."
"I'll do whatever my mother says. I have no objection as a son." Cui Ying said calmly, with no objection at all.
The relationship between him and Cui Anhua was not as good as the relationship between Cui Anhua and those illegitimate sons, because he followed the path of a civil servant, passing the imperial examinations all the way from a scholar to a Jinshi, following the most typical path of a scholar studying and entering an official position, which was completely different from the path of his father Cui Anhua, a military general. Therefore, Cui Anhua felt that he did not follow in his father's footsteps and had betrayed the family, so he did not value him, even though he was the only legitimate son.
The original owner was a farsighted woman who knew that military officers not only had lower status than civil officials of the same level, but also could be in danger of their lives at any time. If the military power was too small, they would have no power; if the military power was too large, they would be suspected by the emperor and could be framed with a false charge and their entire family exterminated if they were not careful.
Therefore, the original owner let his son study since he was young and let him become a civil servant, so that he would not be a military general like his father, whose danger was unpredictable.
But Choi Anhua's illegitimate sons didn't know this. In order to please their father, they naturally all aimed to succeed Choi Anhua's position and wanted to pursue a military career early on. For this reason, Choi Anhua preferred illegitimate sons who could inherit his career and didn't like Choi Young who read all day long. He said that he didn't look like a member of the Choi family at all and was a nerd.
After Liu Shichu had agreed with Cui Ying, he found the family's account books, land deeds, shop deeds and other things, counted and registered them one by one, and prepared to separate from Cui Anhua.
Cui Anhua was even more anxious than her. He gathered the whole family together early and announced that he was going to divorce his wife.
As soon as he made the announcement, the whole family was stunned by the news. It took them a while to react and they immediately started asking questions one after another.
Cui Anhua's mother, leaning on her beautiful walking stick, asked her son in disbelief: "What did you say? Why did you want to divorce your wife for no reason?"
Cui Anhua certainly wouldn't say in front of everyone that he wanted to marry his ex-lover and therefore divorce his first wife, so he made an excuse and said, "It's nothing, it's just that Liu and I don't have much affection for each other, and we've been getting along for 20 years. Now that our children are grown up, I feel that we can't go on like this, so I plan to part ways amicably."
Although Cui's mother was usually very gentle, she couldn't help but said anxiously when she heard that her son and daughter-in-law wanted to divorce:
"You said it's been twenty years. Since we can get along for the past twenty years, why not get along for the next twenty or forty years? Don't try to fool me with nonsense. There are many couples who are in love but not together. How many of them are truly in love and deeply in love? Many couples sleep in the same bed but have different dreams, but this does not prevent them from having children and continuing the family line. Why do you want to divorce for this?"
Cui Anhua touched his nose. He knew he was being unreasonable, and he couldn't find any other reasons to convince his mother, so he could only say, "Mom, don't worry about it. Liu and I are willing to divorce. There is no need to force us to stay together. You just need to know this, and don't worry about the rest."
"How can I not worry? Are you having some evil thoughts? I tell you, you can't be a heartless and ungrateful man! Although I don't like Liu very much, I have to say that she is a good woman. She has been working hard to support this family all these years, so that you don't have to worry and can focus on your career. You can't let her down." Cui's mother said with a serious face.