Li Rusong was so shocked that he stood there stunned.
After a long while, he moved his lips and asked in disbelief, "Jinqiu... What... What did you say...?"
Yuan Jinqiu gave him a deep look. "Li Rusong, I'm going to leave you with our daughters."
Upon hearing this, Mrs. Li was first overjoyed and nodded repeatedly. "Good, good! Hurry up and leave. Get out of our Li family..."
But then, when her gaze fell on the equally stunned Li Wanming, her anger flared up. "You jinx, good-for-nothing! Now you've made your parents get divorced. Are you happy?"
At this moment, Li Rusong had no time to pay attention to his mother with her strange way of thinking. He just stared fixedly at Yuan Jinqiu, his face full of disbelief. "You... You want to divorce me...?"
"Yes..."
Yuan Jinqiu looked at her husband, and a hint of pain and reluctance flashed in her eyes.
They had been husband and wife for over twenty years, supporting each other through thick and thin. Li Rusong had been good to her.
He always gave in to her and followed her wishes in everything. But he didn't understand her.
He couldn't see her difficulties, nor could he feel her pain...
Which woman would like to live in a military camp every day? And which mother could watch her daughter suffer in a deep mansion without being able to do anything?
The moisture in Yuan Jinqiu's eyes faded, replaced by a resolute determination. "Rusong, let's separate. Maybe after we separate, we won't have to be so embarrassed anymore..."
"I don't want to!" Li Rusong's eyes instantly turned red. He tightly grabbed Yuan Jinqiu's hand. "I know you've suffered a lot these years. I'll definitely change in the future..."
"Change what!"
Mrs. Li looked at him in frustration. She took one hand out from under the money box and pounded on his back. "We've finally gotten rid of this woman. Don't be stupid!"
"Song'er, listen to your mother. Hurry up and divorce this unvirtuous woman! Mother will find you a good wife later. I guarantee she'll be ten thousand times more gentle and virtuous than her..."
Li Rusong didn't even hear what his mother was saying. He just held onto Yuan Jinqiu, tears streaming down his face. "Jinqiu..."
Mrs. Li was overjoyed at this moment.
She glanced at Li Wanming behind her and couldn't help but sneer. "Ha, you won't be a member of our Li family anymore. You can't swagger around with the identity of the general's daughter from now on!"
Li Wanming seemed not to hear. She just stared blankly at her mother and asked softly, "Mother, are you really going to divorce Father?"
Yuan Jinqiu turned to look at her. "It's an adult's matter. You don't need to worry about it."
Seeing the situation suddenly turn like this, all the noisy onlookers around were stunned.
They didn't expect that coming here to extort money would turn into watching such a lively ethical drama! They were a bit at a loss and didn't know what to do next.
Someone murmured, "I said... Since the couple is going to divorce, it doesn't seem right for us to come here and ask for money, does it?"
The person next to him nodded. "It's a bit unkind..."
The people around felt a bit embarrassed and looked at each other in confusion.
Only Mrs. Li was extremely happy. Her noisy voice echoed in the air like a crow in winter. "I told you to marry into the Prince Ning's Mansion earlier, but you refused. Now you're in trouble! Hahaha, being unfilial to your elders, you deserve to be unlucky for a lifetime..."
But before she could finish her words, she was suddenly slapped in the face.
Slap!
The sound was extremely clear, like the tweet of a warbler in spring.
Moreover, the force was so great that it scattered the remaining half of her hairpin.
Mrs. Li staggered and fell to the ground. The money box and jewelry in her arms almost fell out.
She was shocked and angry. She looked up and was about to explode when she saw a man in ginger satin standing in front of her. He was of medium height, with a fair complexion and no beard. He looked noble and was looking at her coldly.
Mrs. Li instinctively felt that this person was not to be trifled with. "You..."
The man glared at her coldly. "Bold and shameless woman, how dare you insult the Crown Prince Consort of Ning! Come on, drag her out and give her twenty strokes of the rod!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a solemn "Yes!" sounded outside the crowd. A team of golden-armored guards rushed in and dragged Mrs. Li out.
Mrs. Li was panicked. She was just about to shout when a well-trained guard next to her immediately stuffed a cloth into her mouth. All of Mrs. Li's cries were blocked in her throat, and she couldn't make a sound anymore.
The onlookers were stunned.
Maybe they were so focused on watching the show that none of them noticed when so many golden-armored guards had come outside.
Mrs. Li was dragged away like this, but Li Rusong's eyes only fell on the person who came, showing no intention of stopping them at all.
"Eunuch An...?"
He stammered.
The person who came was An Fuhai, the chief eunuch in the palace and the emperor's personal attendant.
Li Rusong had received enough shocks today, but none of them was as great as this one.
The chief eunuch... Why would he come here?
An Fuhai glanced at him, put one hand behind his back, and looked extremely proud.
"I'm here today on the order of the Empress Dowager to proclaim an imperial edict."
"I just saw that General Li seemed to have some family matters to deal with when I reached the street corner. I didn't want to disturb, so I didn't come over."
"But unexpectedly, as I was watching, an old woman seemed crazy and spouted filthy words. I was afraid that she might accidentally hurt General Li and his wife, so I stepped in to handle it for the general... General Li won't blame me for being meddlesome, will you?"
Li Rusong said awkwardly, "I wouldn't dare... I wouldn't dare..."
You clearly came here on purpose!
Moreover, who would dare to say you're meddlesome...
He knew that those who could follow An Fuhai out of the palace must be the imperial guards. They knew their limits and wouldn't beat Mrs. Li too badly. So he wasn't particularly worried. He just bowed and asked, "Eunuch An, you just said that you're proclaiming an imperial edict on behalf of the Empress Dowager?"
The more he listened, the more confused he became.
Why would the imperial edict from the Empress Dowager be proclaimed in Pingkangfang?
Moreover, he seemed to have heard something about the Crown Prince Consort... Who was that referring to?
Whose Crown Prince Consort would live in such a place?
An Fuhai gave him a smiling look and then said, "General Li, I must first congratulate you. Your Li family is about to become in-laws with the Prince Ning's Mansion!"
After saying that, he strode into the courtyard, looked around at the people in front of him haughtily, and only softened his expression a bit when his eyes fell on Li Wanming.
An Fuhai waved his sleeve and shouted in a shrill voice, "Li Wanming, the daughter of the General Who Displays Might, receive the imperial edict!"
Li Wanming's mind went blank.
Receive the imperial edict?
Her...?
The Empress Dowager had an imperial edict for her?
Did the Empress Dowager even know who she was...
Li Wanming stood there with her mouth half-open, looking dazed. She felt a huge shock.
It was Yuan Jinqiu who reacted quickly. She pulled her daughter with one hand and her husband with the other, and immediately knelt on the ground. "Your subject, Li Rusong, Yuan Jinqiu, and Li Wanming receive the imperial edict. Long live the Emperor!"
Seeing her kneel, the people around finally reacted and knelt down in a large crowd.
"Long live the Emperor!"