As Jiang Yi appeared, Zhu Ziyu’s eyes flickered momentarily before quickly regaining composure.
Jiang Yi pushed away Jiang Si, who tried to support her, and approached Zhu Ziyu step by step.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Yi asked, “Husband, is it true what you just said about being in love with Miss Cui?”
Zhu Ziyu remained silent.
“Is it true?” Jiang Yi asked again.
She struggled to control her trembling eyelashes, preventing tears from rolling down.
“Tell me, is it true or not?” By the third time asking, Jiang Yi’s tone began to lose control.
Under his wife’s repeated questioning, Zhu Ziyu finally nodded slightly, his voice heavy, “Madam Yi, I have wronged you…”
Jiang Yi stepped back repeatedly, looking lost and devastated. “It’s impossible, I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it…”
How could she believe it? For years since their marriage, he had been so gentle and considerate towards her, never even raising his voice in an argument.
All those times when her mother-in-law was harsh on her, her husband would always protect her, comfort her, and be her most steadfast support.
Now, this man was telling her that he was in love with another woman, and even asked his parents and her father to accept it…
What did that make her?
Jiang Yi’s vision began to blur.
She now understood what it felt like for the sky to fall and the earth to crumble.
This must be a nightmare, surely just a dream. Everything would be fine when she woke up…
Jiang Yi turned and stumbled towards the exit.
Jiang Si caught hold of Jiang Yi’s hand.
Jiang Yi moved her eyes slightly and smiled faintly at Jiang Si, “Fourth Sister, how did I even dream about you—”
Jiang Si gripped Jiang Yi’s hand tightly, “Elder Sister, wake up! This isn’t a dream, it’s all real!”
At this point, she couldn’t let her elder sister continue deceiving herself.
“Real?”
Jiang Si nodded, “Zhu Ziyu’s secret meetings with Miss Cui are real, Zhu Ziyu personally admitting to being in love with Miss Cui is real, and Zhu Ziyu asking Father to accept it is also real. There’s no dream, and we can’t possibly be living in one. Elder Sister, don’t you agree?”
Jiang Yi’s gaze gradually regained clarity, followed by overwhelming pain and shock.
Jiang Si felt relieved.
Heartbreak and despair weren’t to be feared. In this life, she hadn’t married out, so she could accompany her elder sister well. She believed her elder sister would eventually move past this.
“Yi’er, come here,” Jiang Ancheng spoke.
Jiang Si accompanied Jiang Yi as they walked over.
Jiang Ancheng’s face was calm, but his eyes seemed to contain a burning fire, fixed steadily on his eldest daughter’s face. “Stand behind Father.”
Jiang Yi walked over in a daze, feeling as if there was a hole in her heart, empty and painful.
Jiang Ancheng looked at Zhu Ziyu, “You just said you’ve disappointed me?”
Zhu Ziyu’s attitude was respectful, his tone humble and sincere: “It’s all my fault. But given the circumstances, I cannot wrong Miss Cui any further. I beg Father-in-law to accept our union…”
“I’ll beat you to death, you bastard!” Jiang Zhan, enraged, rushed over with raised fists.
Seeing Zhu Ziyu take several punches, Jiang Si finally went over to pull Jiang Zhan back. “Second Brother, let’s listen to Father. Violence isn’t the solution.”
Jiang Zhan reluctantly withdrew his hand, his face dark.
Jiang Ancheng laughed loudly, “Accept? In my forty years of life, I’ve been kind to people, but I don’t know how to ‘accept’ beasts.”
Zhu Ziyu hadn’t expected Jiang Ancheng to use such harsh words, and his face changed slightly.
Although Mr. and Mrs. Zhu Shaoqing felt sorry for their son, they were both people who valued propriety. They never imagined their eldest son, whom they had always been proud of, would cause such a scandal. At this moment, they had no face to argue.
Jiang Ancheng’s laughter echoed in the hall, filled with endless mockery and anger, making people’s hearts feel heavy as if weighed down by a massive stone.
As the laughter stopped, Jiang Ancheng’s gaze towards Zhu Ziyu was full of contempt. “My daughter is a proper, upright person. How can she stay with a beast? Rest assured, I won’t let her remain in this den of wolves. But remember, it’s not that I’m accepting your union, it’s that humans cannot coexist with beasts!”
Jiang Zhan clapped his hands, “Well said, Father!”
He used to think Father was most impressive when scolding him, but now he realized Father was most impressive when scolding others.
Zhu Shaoqing repeatedly wiped the sweat from his forehead, “Brother-in-law, the little beast was just momentarily confused. It’s not worth going this far.”
“Momentarily confused? I don’t think so,” Jiang Si interjected coolly.
Zhu Shaoqing frowned as he looked at Jiang Si, anger rising in his heart, “Fourth Miss Jiang, you’re still young. It’s best not to meddle in adult affairs.”
It’s better to tear down a temple than to break up a marriage. How could families of their status create a scandal of divorce?
Moreover, given Miss Cui’s status, even if there was a divorce, could she marry his son as a second wife?
His son was truly confused!
Hearing this, Jiang Si laughed coldly, “Lord Zhu is mistaken. Zhu Ziyu may be a few years older than me, but he’s capable of plotting against his wife and having an affair with an unmarried noblelady.”
Zhu Shaoqing gasped, “What do you mean by plotting against his wife? You can’t make such reckless accusations!”
Jiang Si’s lips curled in mockery, “Has Lord Zhu forgotten? Not long ago, my elder sister nearly lost her life due to a startled horse at Baiyun Temple. The person who instructed the carriage driver hasn’t been found yet, has he? Now I have reason to suspect that the mastermind behind it was Zhu Ziyu!”
As Jiang Si brought this up, Jiang Ancheng’s expression immediately changed.
Originally, for the sake of his granddaughter Yan’yan, he had only planned to settle this with a divorce. If Zhu Ziyu had harbored intentions to harm his eldest daughter earlier, he couldn’t let this beast off so easily!
He wanted Zhu Ziyu to be ruined, never to have a chance in officialdom again!
“Let’s go!” Jiang Ancheng turned to leave.
Jiang Yi didn’t move.
Jiang Ancheng stopped and looked at his eldest daughter.
Jiang Yi’s face was paler than paper, her hands clenched tightly within her sleeves, letting her nails dig into her palms.
She felt no pain at all, as it couldn’t fill the void in her heart at this moment.
Jiang Si’s heart immediately tensed.
What if, even with Zhu Ziyu’s reputation ruined and his determination to marry another, her elder sister still insisted on staying in the Zhu family?
Mr. and Mrs. Zhu Shaoqing exchanged glances, feeling slightly relieved.
As long as their daughter-in-law was unwilling to leave, there was room for the situation to turn around.
“Yi’er, what are your thoughts?” Jiang Ancheng asked, his face quite unpleasant.
Facing her father, Jiang Yi’s long-suppressed tears finally rolled down her cheeks. She said softly, “Father, I’ll go with you.”
Jiang Ancheng couldn’t help but smile, “Good, let’s go.”
But Jiang Yi lowered her head, her voice even softer, “But what about Yan’yan?”
He asked her father to accept it, and she wasn’t one to cling on shamelessly, but what about their daughter Yan’yan?
Yan’yan was only three years old, how could she be separated from her mother?
Thinking of this, Jiang Yi felt as if knives were stabbing her heart.
At this moment, Princess Rongyang finally spoke, “After hearing everyone speak, I haven’t asked my daughter’s opinion yet. Mingyue, are you truly in love with Young Master Zhu, unwilling to marry anyone else?”
Everyone turned to look at Cui Mingyue.
Cui Mingyue bit her lip, then suddenly covered her face and began to cry.