Yu Shi followed them into the house and sat down, making it clear she wouldn't leave even if asked.
"I didn't mean to cause any trouble. I brought Lian'er back, and I have to take good care of her. Many people saw it. If I had asked someone to serve just the two of us at home, wouldn't people gossip about us?" Li Shan also sat down, putting on a gentlemanly facade. "Yesterday, Miss Qi pressured Lian'er into signing a deed of sale. This is too unfair to Lian'er."
"So, what do you think is fair? And what do you want to do?" Lin Rui Xue suppressed the anger in her heart and asked calmly.
"Now that she lives in our home, we can't neglect Lian'er's reputation and should be responsible for her," Li Shan stated his intentions directly. "I was thinking of taking Lian'er as a concubine. She can help the family in the future. Lian'er is polite and generous. When I'm not home, she will surely take good care of you. Our family will surely live a happy and harmonious life from now on."
Yu Shi couldn't sit still any longer and stood up abruptly. "Li Shan, where is your face? Do you still have any shame?"
Across all the villages, there wasn't a single man like Li Shan.
He was a country bumpkin. His wife was capable and managed their household, yet he didn't show gratitude. Instead, he started acting high and mighty.
Although having multiple wives or concubines was not uncommon, those men were either wealthy or had good family backgrounds. No one had ever heard of a country bumpkin wanting to have a wife and a concubine at the same time.
Li Shan turned his face away, refusing to engage with Yu Shi. Yu Shi's agreement or disagreement was irrelevant. All he needed was Lin Rui Xue's nod.
"So, Li Shan, you had this intention from the very beginning when you saved her, didn't you?" Lin Rui Xue's face showed no joy or sorrow, making it impossible to read her emotions.
"Lian'er is too pitiful, I..."
"Li Shan, just say yes or no," Lin Rui Xue interrupted him.
Li Shan hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "You are pregnant now, and we can't... If Lian'er comes into the house, she can share some of the burden with you."
He reasoned that everything he said was for Lin Rui Xue's own good.
Li Shan was convinced that Lin Rui Xue couldn't leave him. With one child already and another on the way, where would she go if she left the Li family? They had been married for many years, and he knew Lin Rui Xue loved him. Although what he was doing today was a bit dishonorable, it would pass. He could appease her later. He genuinely fancied Lian'er; she was delicate and adored him completely.
"Li Shan, do you remember you said you would treat me well for a lifetime and never let me suffer any grievances?" Lin Rui Xue spoke slowly.
"Yes, I will treat you well. When Lian'er comes, I will treat you well too," Li Shan said quickly, sensing a glimmer of hope.
"But I feel wronged now, very wronged," Lin Rui Xue said with a bitter smile. "You know how difficult it has been for us to get to where we are today. How much I have sacrificed..."
"Enough! I know you've sacrificed a lot, but you don't need to keep bringing it up," Li Shan interrupted Lin Rui Xue impatiently. "Look at yourself. Besides stepping all over me, what else can you do? I'm a man, I have dignity. What about you? Don't you have any consideration?"
Lin Rui Xue was stunned. She hadn't realized Li Shan was so fed up with her.
She had a slightly strong personality and managed all the household affairs. Sometimes she wasn't very gentle, but she thought Li Shan liked her that way. She never expected it was just her assumption.
She desperately wanted to scream, hit him, scold him, and make a scene.
But what was the use? Besides making more people laugh at them, what else could it achieve?
Bai Xue Lian looked timidly. "Madam, please don't blame the master. It's all my fault. Lian'er was momentarily infatuated and couldn't control her feelings. Madam, please don't harm your health because of me, and don't let there be estrangement between you and the master. Lian'er will serve you both honestly from now on and will never have any improper thoughts again."
She really couldn't learn this kind of gentleness.
Since their fate had run its course, they should part ways.
"Li Shan, let's divorce," Lin Rui Xue's voice was very soft, but everyone in the room heard her clearly.
A hint of smugness flashed in Bai Xue Lian's eyes. She hadn't expected Lin Rui Xue to give up so readily.
"Madam, please don't do this. This is your home, how can you leave? It's all Lian'er's fault. Lian'er will leave, Lian'er will go," Bai Xue Lian pleaded with apparent sincerity.
Li Shan also became a little flustered. He hadn't expected Lin Rui Xue to say such a thing at all.
He fancied Lian'er, but that didn't mean he had no feelings for Lin Rui Xue, after all, they had supported each other for so many years.
"Rui Xue, what are you saying? When did I ever say I didn't want you anymore?" Li Shan took Lin Rui Xue's hands, only to find them chillingly cold, a coldness that made him uneasy.
"You didn't say you didn't want me anymore, Li Shan. It's I, Lin Rui Xue, who no longer wants you," Lin Rui Xue forcefully pulled her hands out of Li Shan's grasp. "Let's part amicably, without any fuss."
It's me who no longer wants you.
Li Shan was stunned. He looked at Lin Rui Xue in disbelief. Her face was expressionless, her eyes were icy, with no lingering affection for him or their home. He knew Lin Rui Xue well; she was strong-willed, and her words always counted. So, was she determined to leave? Li Shan didn't think he had done anything wrong. In fact, he felt Lin Rui Xue was making a mountain out of a molehill and using divorce to threaten him.
"You want a divorce? That won't do. I don't agree. If we divorce, and others find out, they'll think I have some unspeakable condition," Li Shan said with a dark expression. "If you want to leave, then I'll have to give you a letter of divorce. Also, Hu Zi is Li family's descendant, you can't take him. And the child in your womb is also Li Shan's child!"
A letter of divorce, in the eyes of outsiders, meant the woman had committed one of the seven grounds for annulment. Such a woman would find it difficult to remarry and would be scorned if she returned to her maiden home.
Divorce, however, made it harder to assign blame, causing less harm to the woman. It could even allow her to take her dowry, and the man's reputation might suffer, with outsiders speculating if the man had some unspeakable illness, otherwise, why would his wife leave? Leaving despite damaging his reputation...
Li Shan didn't want Lin Rui Xue to leave just like that, which was why he threatened to divorce her.
"Li Shan, do you have any shame left? You were the one who made the mistake first," Yu Shi said, trembling with anger, and accused him.
"I made a mistake? What mistake did I make? What did I do? Tell me. Three wives and four concubines? Is that a mistake? No, it's not! It's you, Lin Rui Xue, who is unwilling because of this, acting fierce and jealous, causing discord in the household. If I divorce you, no one can say anything." Li Shan acted shamelessly.
Indeed, if one were to be strict about it, it was just as Li Shan said. But country folk were not like those from wealthy families.