Yes, he regretted it. He shouldn’t have wasted half his life being stubborn. Since he loved her, deeply loved her, and only loved her, why did he need to fight with her? If she didn’t admit her wrongs, so be it, he should have tolerated her. If she betrayed him, so be it. After all, she was by his side. If she physically belonged to him, why should he have worried about winning her heart? Why hadn’t he thought of this earlier? Why did he have to fight with her for more than thirty years, wasting the best years of his life?
They should have been the most affectionate couple, supporting each other through thick and thin. Unfortunately, they wasted their lives being stubborn. By the time they realized it, it was too late...
Seeing his father’s red eyes and his gritted teeth as if he wanted to kill someone, Du Yongzhi shivered. In his more than thirty years of life, this was the first time he had seen his father behave so violently.
"Father, it was that girl from the Mu Family, Mu Caiwei, who has crowned herself as a princess, backed by King Qin. She was arrogant to such an extent that she extorted more than ten thousand taels of silver from my mother. If my mother didn’t comply, she threatened to have King Qin attack us and put the Duke An’s Mansion in an unrecoverable situation. Out of desperation, my mother had to sell her jewelry and even used her personal savings, giving everything to her to maintain temporary peace," he explained.
"Now Mu Caiwei has gotten her just dessets and has been fed to the tigers. The silver my mother gave out should be taken back. Despite us taking a little more, the Mu family used their power to oppress people and fraudulently extort our elder. Shouldn’t they receive some punishment?"
Normally, Du Yongzhi’s argument would have had Du Ruohai’s support. But today, it had no effect. Their actions had indirectly led to Lady Mei’s death. Because of this alone, he wasn’t going to let this issue slide easily.
"Such an important matter, and you all made the decision without even discussing it with me. Do I still matter to you as a father? And you—"
With a swift turn, Du Ruohai pointed at Lady Wang’s nose.
"Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve been up to all these years. How you tormented her initially, and how the concubines in the mansion died. Just because I don’t speak up doesn’t mean I don’t know. I originally thought that we’re a couple and should save face for each other, but you have exceeded the line too much. Anyone who obstructs your way must be eliminated immediately. So jealous and domineering, how could you be worthy of being a noble lady? Maybe it’s time to let someone more capable take your place as Lady An!"
With that, he furiously stormed off.
Old Madame Wang was shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. In their thirty odd years of marriage, Du Ruohai had never spoken to her in that manner. What did he mean by "Just because I don’t speak up doesn’t mean I don’t know?" What got him into the know? The causes of death of those concubines? Or maybe he found out about Lady Mei’s childhood sweetheart incident? Moreover, what did he mean by his last words? "It’s time for you to step down as Lady An?" Could he be proposing a divorce?
She was already over fifty. If she were to be divorced at this age, she wouldn’t know how people would gossip about her. She wouldn’t have the face to continue living, nor would she rather die to end it all!
"Hua Mei, go to the Great General’s Mansion to see if our Miss has any time tomorrow. If she does, ask her to return home; Bai Ling, go and check where Duke of the Country is, and don’t let him catch sight of you..."
Du Yongbang was also stunned by Du Ruohai’s rage, and anxiously asked, "Mother, what should we do?"
Madame Wang murmured, "External threats and internal strife, what else can we do? Naturally, we’ll do whatever it takes to stabilize the situation..."