If Jiang Kangchen showing off in the palace banquet could be said to slap the Marquis Hengyuan Mansion by accident, then his main slap was directed at Duke Ning Guogong, Wu Tianpeng. Wu Tianpeng was about the same age as elder Weng and did not have that much contact with his former grandson-in-law, but he was definitely clear about cause and effect.

The grandson-in-law who was driven out of the family by the Wu family was now one of the Emperor and Empress’ most favored people. He was also able to preside over opulent banquets for the Emperor and Empress, not to mention the emerging business of the Great State of Yan that was also in his hand. When he finally returned to the Duke Ning mansion, Wu Tianpeng immediately sent someone to call his third son, Wu Cheng, and his daughter-in-law, Wu Wangshi, and scolded them harshly.

Jiang Kangchen and Wu Jian were divorced, but in the capital, who did not know that he was actually driven out by the Duke Ning mansion. If it wasn’t for Wu Jian’s ruthlessness, threatening his life, Jiang Kangchen would leave their house simply as a separated wife, rather than a ugly divorce. But even that couldn’t hide the fact that he gave birth to a foolish son and was driven to divorce by the Duke Ning mansion.

In just six years, Jiang Kangchen’s identity changed drastically and the people of the Duke Ning mansion couldn’t resist. Before Jiang Kangchen was working for the Empress, the Duke Ning mansion just stayed on the side and observed. But today Jiang Kangchen appeared at the Palace banquet with the Palace Secretary identity… he now had a formal fourth-rank official’s status. Now the Duke Ning mansion could not treat it as if nothing had happened any longer.

After the palace banquet, Jiang Kangchen went to Yunlong Pavilion, which was the main place where he and Eunuch An worked. After negotiating several deals with the merchants from the two countries, Jiang Kangchen was so busy that he couldn’t return home. 

After being busy for nearly half a month, Jiang Kangchen returned to the Jiang house from the soon-to-open hotpot restaurant. His housekeeper Jiang Zhuang immediately came forward and said with an unhappy expression, “Young master, someone from the Duke Ning Mansion said that the third young lady invited you over for tea.”

Jiang Kangchen was a little dazed at first, after all, he suffered from severe sleep deprivation. But after he realized who the ‘third young lady from Duke Ning Mansion’ was, he immediately said coldly, “When did the Duke Ning Mansion become so ignorant of etiquette? I am a man, so how could I be invited to drink tea by some ‘young’ lady? Isn’t it just asking for gossip? You go tell them that I am an unmarried man. In order to avoid gossip, the third ‘young lady’ should not come to invite me for any more tea. Besides, Uncle Zhuang, do you think I have time to drink tea?”

Jiang Zhuang immediately shook his head. It has been almost a month since the youngest of his family came back from Xiushui Village, but he still didn’t have the time to leisurely go to drink tea. Not even planning to meet visitors, Jiang Kangchen hurried back to his room. He had to enter the palace in a while and he still had a social function in the evening.

Although Jiang Kangchan’s previous status was that of a male wife, he was now single and was already divorced. Also after Emperor Yongming came to power, he constantly improved the status of male wives such as Jiang Kangchen, so there was no inconvenience for people like Jiang Kangchen to ‘show his face’ in public. He would be treated by others like any other ordinary man. Even someone like Shao Yunan, who was married and had a husband, would not meet any inconvenience due to his status. As long as he paid attention to propriety when getting along with men or women.

After Jiang Kangchen went back to his room, he changed into clean clothes and packed a few sets of clean clothes before asking his servant to take them away. The people sent by the Duke Ning Mansion left with unhappy expressions after receiving Jiang Zhuang’s polite but distant reply from Jiang Kangchen.

At this time in the Duke Ning mansion, Wu Wang, the first wife of the third master Wu Yi, and her daughter-in-law Wu liu the second wife of the first son Wu Jian, waited impetuously in the main room of the third mansion. A servant girl lifted the curtain and came in from outside, shouting, “Maozi is back!”

The bodies of Wu Wang and Wu Liu were shocked immediately, and then a young man dressed like a servant walked in quickly, knelt down on one knee to salute and said, “Madam and Young Madam, I have returned.” Wu Wang was the first to speak out. “Have you met him?”

“Young master Kangchen was in the house when I went there, but even after I waited for more than an hour, young master Kangchen never came so I didn’t meet young master Kangchen.”

When Wu Wang heard this, she became anxious. “Didn’t you say that you came from the Duke Ning Mansion?”

“I did.” The man looked up, glanced at the young lady with a troubled expression, and then lowered his head again. “Young Master Kangchen’s housekeeper said…”

Wu Wang… “What are you talking about!”

“He said…” the boy’s voice lowered a few degrees and his head also lowered a bit as he spoke. “That he was an unmarried man. So a young madam inviting him for tea will provoke gossip. In the future… future, young madam should not look for him to drink tea with her.”

Wu Liu’s expression froze, then she immediately clenched the silk handkerchief in her hand in anger. Wu Wang’s expression was also very ugly, but she just waved her hand impatiently. “You can go.”

“Yes.” The servant retreated. Wu Wang looked at Wu Liu, her eyes full of displeasure as she spoke. “I told you to go and invite him in person! What is the status of that Jiang Kangchen now! If you send a servant, how can he give you a face!”

Wu Liu’s eyes were red as she spoke. “Mother-in-law, it’s not that this daughter-in-law doesn’t want to go, but this daughter-in-law is afraid that if she goes, he will be even more reluctant to come.” After a pause, she added, “Why don’t you go, mother-in-law? You are his mother-in-law, so he wouldn’t dare not give you face.”

Wu Wang’s breath choked, she was also guilty. She also didn’t have amnesia, so how could she not remember how she treated Jiang Kangchen? The reason why she asked her daughter-in-law to come forward was for one, to pretend that she was his elder and the other… to not show weakness to him. 

Wu Wang and her husband were scolded by their father-in-law. The father-in-law had already ordered that no matter what method they use, they must let Jiang Kangchen return to the Duke Ning Mansion. Even if it meant that Wu Jian’s current wife was reduced to a concubine.

Originally, with regards to the matter of Jiang Kangchen, Elder Weng was very dissatisfied with the Duke Ning Mansion. But now Jiang Kangchen himself has the strength and the ear of the Emperor, coupled with Elder Weng’s power that faintly showed signs of rising again. Due to the dispute for the throne, he had a rift with the new emperor and needed to act low-key. Duke Ning knew that in order to get out of the current predicament, he must take Jiang Kangchen back.

As the most direct perpetrator of Jiang Kangchen’s divorce, Wu Wang could not escape. In addition, even after the marriage, she was looking to cause trouble for Jiang Kangchen, Wu Liu could not escape either. Originally, Wu Wang wanted to see if Jiang Kangchen would change his mind as long as her son came forward, but unexpectedly, her son Wu Jian ignored her. Ever since Jiang Kangchen left the Duke Ning Mansion, Wu Jian often stayed out at night. Even when he returned home, he would stay behind closed doors. He didn’t even pay his mother greetings anymore, and he never spent the night in Wu Liu’s room.

As for the two concubines that Wu Wang forced Wu Jian to bring in, Wu Jian also found an excuse and got rid of them directly. Without Jiang Kangchen, Wu Jian didn’t seem to care about anything anymore. He didn’t care if he would have offspring, he didn’t care if he got promoted, he didn’t care if his status in the Duke Ning Mansion was suppressed by his brothers, or if his mother would use filial piety to suppress him. He spent his days drunk in his daydreams, without any care.

Wang Wu has been looking for her son for half a month, but her son either didn’t see her, or ignored her earnest wishes and pleas. Finally she turned to Wu Liu and asked her to find Jiang Kangchen. But she didn’t expect that Jiang Kangchen would say something like that. Did she really have to, as his mother-in-law, to invite her daughter-in-law back personally? It can’t be! If she really did that, what face would she have in the Duke Ning Mansion in the future? Her sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law would laugh at her!

Madam Wu Wang struggled for half a day, but finally said to Wu Liu, “You should go again personally. You are Wu Jian’s wife. As long as he still has Wu Jian in his heart, he will not let you lose face.” Wu Liu asked, “What if he doesn’t have Wu Jian in his heart anymore?” When she asked this question, there was a deep, suppressed resentment in her eyes.

Seeing Wu Liu’s resentment, Wu Wang immediately snapped. “You caused him to lose Wu Jian! You are now the daughter-in-law of the Wu family! So you have to share the worries of the Wu family! Do you want me, as a mother-in-law, to step in personally?”

Wu Liu’s tears were welling up in her eyes, but Wu Wang just said hatefully, “You have been married to Wu Jian for many years, but you still can’t capture his heart. You can’t even have a child and our third mansion is already a joke to others! If you still want to stay in this house with peace of mind in the future, you should take care of this matter!”

Wu Liu bowed her head and cried, but in her heart, she started hating Jiang Kangchen even more. How could she tell her mother-in-law that she had been married to her husband for six years and was still a virgin? Her husband doesn’t even enter her room, so she can’t even drug him! But if she told this story, not only will she have no status in the Wu family, she will also become the laughing stock of the entire capital. So even if she hates it so much, she can’t tell anyone that she was still a virgin!

No matter how much she hated it, Wu Liu couldn’t disobey her mother-in-law’s order. Her husband doesn’t love her, she has no children, and if she loses her mother-in-law’s support, even if she was the daughter of the Minister of War, her situation in the Wu family would only become even more difficult.

Edited by: Jaisland

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