Chapter 41 Fate
The old lady found out that Mengxi was a concubine's daughter, and was frowning. The secretary came up with a clever plan, asking the old lady to find a fault to demote the second wife to a concubine, and then marry a legitimate daughter. The old lady heard it, shook her head, and said weakly:
"Silly child, it's not that simple. We are marrying the second wife as the principal wife. According to the laws of Da Qi, Xier cannot be divorced as long as she does not violate the seven miscarriages of justice. The principal wife must be a legitimate daughter. This is just the ancestral precept of our Xiao family, not the laws of Da Qi."
"Old Madam, I am not saying to divorce her, I am saying to demote her to a concubine."
"Our Great Qi law stipulates that a woman who enters the house as a wife cannot be demoted to a concubine. Even if she commits one of the seven grounds for divorce, she can only be divorced, not demoted."
It turns out that in the Da Qi Dynasty, the status of a concubine cannot be compared with that of a wife. One is a master, the other is a slave, one is the sky, the other is the earth. A concubine is just the private property of her husband and wife, and her life and death are in the hands of her husband and wife.
Because of the high status of the wife, Taizu of the Great Qi Dynasty was afraid that people would favor concubines and neglect their wives, which would disrupt the normal order, so he promulgated strict laws. The Great Qi law stipulated that a woman who entered the marriage as a concubine could never become a wife, and a woman who entered the marriage as a wife could not be demoted to a concubine. If she committed the seven reasons for divorce, she could only be divorced and could not be demoted.
This is exactly what is giving the old lady a headache. If Xiao and Meng did not consummate their marriage, then the old lady could use the Xiao family's ancestral precepts as an excuse to divorce Mengxi. With the Xiao family's wealth and power, as long as they pay enough money, the Li family will not disagree. After all, Mengxi is still a virgin, and it was a mistake to replace the legitimate wife with a concubine.
But now, the two have consummated their marriage, and it is different. In ancient times, women had a very strong concept of chastity, and destroying a woman's innocence was tantamount to taking her life, especially in such aristocratic family, where everything was regulated and decent. After the marriage was consummated, Mengxi would be branded as a member of the Xiao Jun family for the rest of her life. She would be a member of the Xiao family in life and a ghost of the Xiao family in death. Even if Mengxi agreed to be divorced and wanted to marry someone else, the Xiao family would not let her marry again. If they divorced her, she could only live alone in her parents' home for the rest of her life, or stay with the green lamps in the ancestral temple of his Xiao family. In short, in one sentence, now that the two have consummated their marriage, if Mengxi is divorced, her life will be ruined, and she can forget about finding a good marriage again.
After all, the Xiao family's ancestral precepts are not the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty. At this time, the old lady used the Xiao family's ancestral precepts as an excuse to divorce Mengxi. How could the Li family agree? How could you treat her like this? The noble family cannot be so unreasonable! If the Li family really wants to go to court, according to the laws of the Great Qi Dynasty, the Xiao family will not win this lawsuit.
The Xiao family has an ancestral precept. Why did they do it earlier? Use our daughter to bring good luck. If your grandson died and our daughter became a widow, we would accept it. But now your grandson has brought good luck and our daughter has been used by you. Why do you come up with an ancestral precept and want to break off the engagement? How can you say it to make everyone feel at peace? How can this be justified? This is pure coercion? After all, the Li family is also a big merchant family, not a small family that can be settled with a little money. The bigger the family, the more respectful the rules. If things really get out of hand, it will really hurt the Xiao family's dignity. Besides, the Xiao family can't afford to lose this person!
The old lady suddenly thought of the matter of the half-month period. No matter whether the fortune teller's words were true or false, it was related to Jun'er's life. It was better to believe it than not. Mengxi could not be touched within half a month, and she had to continue to use someone else's daughter. Thinking of Xier's thoughtfulness, the old lady was confused for a moment. She really couldn't do such a thing as killing the donkey after it had done its work, but she had no choice but to not violate the ancestral teachings.
Forget it. Jun'er is still young. He can always find a way to divorce her before he takes over as the head of the family. Let's wait and see. After thinking hard for a long time , he looked up and asked the secretary:
"Who else knows about this?"
"No one else knows about this except me. As soon as I learned about this, I knew it was of great importance, so I sealed my cousin's mouth and hurried back to report to you so that you can make a decision as soon as possible."
"You did a great job. Don't let anyone know about this, including the Second Master. Do you hear me?"
"I know what to do"
"Go to the accounting office to get some silver and shut up those messengers. You know what to do."
"Yes, I know."
"Tell the first wife that I will fast for three days starting from the 15th, and go to Jingyun Temple on May 18th to fulfill my vow. Send a servant to report to the eldest master and ask him to make arrangements. Jun'er is now well, all thanks to God's kindness. Starting from the 16th, the Xiao family will give out porridge outside Jingyun Temple for three days, first to thank God, and second to pray for Jun'er's well-being."
The old lady remembered the wish she made at Jingyun Temple when Xiao Jun was seriously ill, so she instructed the servant to tell her.
"Yes, I will arrange it right away."
"You go down, and let Shihua come in to serve you."
"yes"
"Come back." When the secretary walked to the door, the old lady called her again.
"Does the old lady have any other instructions?" The secretary turned around and walked back.
"Tell the first wife that I have ordered that Jun'er's health has not yet recovered, so the original plan for the second wife to visit the ancestral temple the day after tomorrow has been temporarily cancelled. We will choose another date later."
"Yes, I will arrange it right away."
The secretary turned around and left the old lady's room.
…
The old lady's preferences are the weather vane of the Xiao family. With the message from the secretary, the top leaders of the Xiao family soon learned that the old lady had cancelled the second lady's visit to the ancestral temple. This meant that the old lady did not recognize the second lady's status as the main wife. According to the customs of Da Qi, when marrying a main wife, the first day is to worship in the hall, the second day is to serve tea, and the third day is to worship the ancestral temple of the clan. Only after worshiping the ancestral temple, the wife's status will be finally recognized by the clan and the wedding will be completed.
Mengxi got married to bring good luck. Because the second master was ill, the old lady scheduled it on the seventh day. Although it was against the custom, it was understandable. Now that the day for worshipping the ancestral temple has been cancelled, it would be hard to say whether it would be another day. It would be his day if he did not worship the ancestral temple for one day, but as long as he did not worship the ancestral temple for one day, the ceremony for his wife would not be complete and his identity as a wife would not be recognized. This was a big deal.
When the eldest master knew about this, he was very confused. He was satisfied with his daughter-in-law from the bottom of his heart. He didn't know what the old lady was up to. Why did she cancel the marriage without even discussing it with him as her father?
I don't know whose slander the old lady has listened to. She shook her head. After all, she is her biological mother. In ancient times, filial piety comes first in everything. Although I don't understand what my mother has decided, I dare not disobey her. I plan to find a chance to talk to my mother and set a date as soon as possible. Using someone else's daughter to get married is already an injustice to her, and I can't let her live in the house in such an unclear way.
After hearing this , the happiest person was the eldest wife. She understood that this meant that Mengxi had fallen out of favor with the old lady. Who would protect her in the future? She remembered her sister's letter yesterday, saying that her daughter Zhang Xiu was in love with her cousin Xiao Jun and refused to marry him. She finally threatened to die. Her husband's family had no choice but to cancel the marriage. According to her sister, Zhang Xiu said that as long as she could marry her cousin, she could be a concubine. How could the eldest wife bear to let her niece be a concubine? Anyway, Jun'er is still young, so she can take it slowly in the future.
The old lady cancelled the visit to the ancestral temple, which was like adding insult to injury for Mengxi's future life in the Xiao Mansion. However, Mengxi didn't know this. At this time, she was touring the Xiao family compound with her newly bought maid Zhiqiu.
