Chapter Ninety-Nine: Divorce or Death

What trouble has Dacai gotten himself into this time? Why is he still being brought back tied up? He must have done something serious! Yang thought anxiously, quickening her pace. She glanced at Gu Xiaoyao, wanting to ask but unsure how to begin.

“Grandma, call the village chief over. I’m going to divorce Gu Dacai right now,” Gu Xiaoyao declared, her words hitting Yang and Old Gu like a thunderclap.

They had thought the matter of divorce was long forgotten, so why was it suddenly brought up again?

“Xiaoyao, don’t rush. Divorce isn’t something you can just decide on,” Yang said, trying to sound gentle. “Did your father do something to upset you? Tell me, and I’ll teach him a lesson.”

Yang was utterly unwilling to accept the divorce, so her words were deliberately vague. But Gu Xiaoyao had come with a firm resolve—she would not drag this out any longer.

“It must happen today. If I can’t get the divorce papers, I won’t hold back.”

“Today, Gu Dacai went to Lotus Village and conspired with others to sell my mother. After such a cruel act, do you think I can bear it any longer, Grandma?”

The villagers who had gathered listened in disbelief upon hearing that Gu Dacai, with accomplices, intended to sell Mrs. Li. They all looked at him with disdain.

This was truly madness! Selling one’s wife was a shameful act no matter who did it. Though they had long suspected such a day might come, hearing it out loud was still shocking and disgraceful.

“Dacai, is what Xiaoyao says true?”

Yang was so furious her hands trembled, barely able to stand. She took a deep breath, steadied herself, and shouted at Gu Dacai.

“It’s true, it’s true! Why are you so annoying? She’s my wife—I paid for her, so how can I not sell her?” Gu Dacai said arrogantly, looking up at them as if they were unreasonable.

“If she was bought with money, then if I’m broke, selling her isn’t strange.”

“You’ve lost your mind! How can a man do such a thing? If you have no money, go out and work. You have hands and feet—can’t you earn money?”

Old Gu listened in horror to his son’s words, pounding his chest and gasping on the ground.

How could they have raised such a shameless son? How had he gone so far astray?

“Grandpa, Grandma, you’ve heard it. He’s lost all shame. Just give my mother a chance to live out her days in peace,” Gu Xiaoyao looked earnestly into Yang’s eyes and pleaded.

“You’re a woman yourself. Since my mother came here after marriage, she has never had a day of comfort. Please let her live her remaining days in peace.”

If they had any conscience, they would realize that forced bonds bring no happiness and that it was time to let go.

“No. I may agree to the divorce, but there’s no way it will happen. Don’t even think about it.”

Gu Dacai grew bolder, convinced Gu Xiaoyao was only bluffing and wouldn’t truly take action against him.

After all, he had been beaten several times already. If he couldn’t sell Mrs. Li for money, then what was the point of all those beatings?