Chapter 22: Beyond Comprehension

At that moment, Xia Qingfei’s mouth twitched.

But she quickly regained her composure, staring sharply at Nan Yan. "Even if the mansion is yours, Boji’s salary and the revenue from the manor’s farms and shops over these years are enough to redeem it—"

"You are right," Nan Yan retorted coldly. "But those are also mine; they are all part of my dowry!"

"How preposterous!" The old matriarch stepped forward, trembling. "You have been divorced! You cannot take the dowry—"

Nan Yan lifted her chin. "Today, I would like to see who dares to snatch the dowry that I, the legitimate daughter of the Duke’s estate, am taking with me!"

Since the Emperor had not yet issued an imperial decree to condemn the entire Nan family, Nan Yan’s words still carried significant weight. Even the old matriarch swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

Meng Boji took a deep breath and asked, "Do you truly... want to make things this difficult?"

"It is you, the Meng family, who have been pushing your luck time and time again—"

Nan Yan felt as if a knife were carving into her heart. "Three years ago, you schemed against me and deceived me! You, Meng Boji, relied on the Duke’s estate for a smooth official career, and your family relied on me for wealth and glory..."

"Yet how did you treat me? You hid an outside mistress from me. Now that she has entered the inner chambers, not only does your family favor a common performer from a music house, but you even intend to divorce me and sweep me out the door—"

"My life these past three years has been a joke. I have been kept in the dark for long enough. Meng Boji, today I will let you, your entire family, and that mistress of yours see clearly—"

"I, Nan Yan, am the legitimate daughter of the Duke of Rong’s estate! I am not someone you can trample upon as you please—"

Hearing Nan Yan’s impassioned words, Mother Su and Biezhi stood a little taller.

Meng Boji’s lips trembled with rage. No matter how hard Xia Qingfei tugged at his arm, he could not utter a single word in rebuttal.

Since her man was unreliable, Xia Qingfei had to fight for herself, but she was cut off by Nan Yan before she could even begin.

"You are nothing more than a discarded wife now—"

"That is still better than being a shameless stage performer—"

Xia Qingfei was so angry she felt as if smoke were rising from her head.

Ignoring her, Nan Yan hurled her final ultimatum: "Listen well. I accept the divorce today! But I will certainly take my dowry with me—"

"If you dare to report this to the authorities, I will not hesitate to reclaim this mansion, and you shall all end up homeless on the streets!"

"A dignified Hanlin scholar, wandering the streets with his entire family—that would surely become the greatest joke in the history of the capital—"

Nan Yan laughed. For the Meng family, who valued reputation above all else, the matriarch would rather die than be homeless.

However, Xia Qingfei, lacking any sense of the situation, urged, "The shops, farms, and fields in her dowry are enough to support us all!"

"Matriarch! Madam! If we lose the house, we can just buy another; money can always be earned—"

"Shut up!" The matriarch uncharacteristically snapped at Xia Qingfei.

"Do you truly expect an old woman like me to be homeless on a day with such heavy rain?!"

Madam Meng Li’s face also darkened. "Are mansions in the capital something that can be bought just because you have money? It takes ten days or half a month just to find a property, let alone complete a transaction!"

"Where are we supposed to live in the meantime?!"

Xia Qingfei still refused to give up. "We can stay at an inn!"

"The rooms in the capital’s finest inns are no worse than this house—"

The old lady grew angry. "At my age, with so many women in the Meng family, do you want us all to show our faces in such places?!"

Xia Qingfei froze. As a performer, a stage actress, she was used to it and had never cared about such things. But the Meng family was different. The matriarch prided herself on being from a refined and noble background; how could they stay in places frequented by the dregs of society? They could not bear it for even a day, let alone ten days or a fortnight.

"If word got out that our Meng family had been reduced to living in an inn, wouldn't we be the laughingstock of the entire capital?!"

Xia Qingfei fell completely silent. It was at this moment that she felt a twinge of regret. They were just ordinary people from a small town, no different from her, yet once they passed the imperial exams, they acted as if they were superior to everyone else? She truly could not understand it.

However, the Meng family was unusually unified on this matter. The young ladies of the family had already started to complain.

"I won't stay in an inn. If that gets out, how... how will I ever get married?!"

"I cannot afford to lose face like this! Mother, you must talk to my brother—"

Madam Meng Li was immediately swarmed by her daughters. She sighed helplessly and looked at Meng Boji. "Boji, look..." She could not finish her sentence.

Xia Qingfei’s last hope rested on Meng Boji; after all, he was the head of the household. "Boji, you must think clearly! The house and..."

"Enough." Meng Boji pulled his arm away. Xia Qingfei stood dumbfounded, unable to believe it.

Meng Boji hung his head, his voice low. "As a dignified Hanlin scholar, if I were to take my family to live in an inn..."

"At court, I would be torn apart by the censorate and become a complete laughingstock!"

"This would be detrimental to my career..."

As he spoke, Xia Qingfei’s heart grew cold. Ultimately, Meng Boji did not even dare to look at Nan Yan again and waved his hand.

"Fine. Take whatever you want, just leave the house..."

With that, he led the Meng family away. To her surprise, the Meng family did not object. Xia Qingfei stood drenched, feeling as if she had fallen into an icy abyss. Without the shops, farms, and fields, what was the point of her having gone to such great lengths to marry into this family?

Meng Boji reached out to pull her along, not forgetting to offer a word of comfort: "Don't worry, at least we still have this house, and I am still a Hanlin scholar."

"We will have all of this back in the future!"

Xia Qingfei felt as if she had been pricked by a needle, but it was too late for regrets. She could only grasp at whatever she could. She suddenly turned to grab Meng Boji, reminding him, "The house! We must get the deed and have it registered under the Meng family name!"

The Meng family stopped in their tracks. Xia Qingfei brazenly held out her hand to Nan Yan. "Where is the deed?! Don't even think about leaving without handing it over—"

Nan Yan laughed out loud.

Biezhi snapped back, "Do you take our Mistress for a fool? If we hand over the deed now, do you think we will be allowed to leave?!"

Xia Qingfei was just as stubborn. "Then who can guarantee she won't take everything and still refuse to give us the deed?!"

Biezhi wanted to retort, but Nan Yan stopped her. Nan Yan looked at them with amusement, her voice cold and sharp.

"If I cannot walk out of the Meng estate today, you will never get that deed!"

"Even if I don't use the deed as a bargaining chip and insist on leaving, is there any one of you who can stop me?!"

Xia Qingfei, and indeed the entire Meng family, lowered their heads once more.

Nan Yan looked toward Meng Boji. "Are you going to move aside, or not?!"

Before Meng Boji could reply, the matriarch began pulling him away. The daughters, having no desire to stay in the rain any longer, turned and scattered. Madam Meng Li stopped speaking and turned to leave as well. Only Xia Qingfei remained, unwilling to give up, until she was dragged away by Meng Boji.