Chapter 4: Divorce, Part 3

4. Divorce (Part 3)

In the study of Master Ren in the outer courtyard of the Ren residence, the main seat behind the desk was unoccupied. To the left sat a middle-aged man with a slightly stout build, wearing a dark gold patterned robe of slate-grey color. At this moment, his face was pale, his lips were tightly pursed, and his eyes glared at the two men opposite him as if spitting fire!

Mrs. Ren leaned back in her chair, clutching her chest, appearing half-conscious and half-fainting. The nearby elderly nannies and maidservants were flustered, patting her chest to help her breathe and offering words of comfort.

Standing behind Mrs. Ren with his head bowed was a young man dressed in a slate-blue robe; his face was flushed red, and his fists were tightly clenched.

Sitting opposite the Ren family were none other than the Duan father and son! In contrast to the wretchedness and indignation of the Ren family, this pair of father and son possessed the arrogant and bullying demeanor of pampered scoundrels!

Master Duan—Duan Chunyu—was a handsome middle-aged man. Sitting next to his nineteen-year-old eldest son actually made him appear more charming and capable of stirring a woman's heart! However, his high-crossed legs and the look of impatience on his face somewhat damaged his image as a "handsome uncle."

Duan Yuhang was Master Duan's eldest son and Duan Yuran's elder brother. The nineteen-year-old lad had thick eyebrows, phoenix eyes, a straight nose, and red lips. He often wore a romantic and unrestrained wicked smile on his face, looking every bit the part of a profligate son!

"Father! Big Brother!" Duan Yuran appeared at the entrance of the outer study, supported by Yunzhu, calling out to her father and brother with reddened eyes.

Master Duan and Duan Yuhang jumped up simultaneously, rushing to the door like a gust of wind. Each grabbed one of Duan Yuran's hands, looking her up and down.

Because her emotions were a mixture of gratitude and joy, Duan Yuran—who had been stumbling even while walking and required a maid's support—was startled by her father and brother.

"My dear daughter, we haven't seen each other for only a month, and you've become skin and bones? How hateful of the Ren family to be like a den of wolves, actually harming my child like this!" Tears welled up in Master Duan's ox-like eyes as he looked at his daughter with heartache, not forgetting to curse the Ren family.

Duan Yuhang, who had completely inherited his mother's beautiful phoenix eyes, also added indignantly, "Before marrying, my sister was clearly as soft and tender as a snowball. In just over a year, the Ren family has tormented her into losing twenty or thirty pounds! They must have mistreated her daily!"

"..." The moved expression on Duan Yuran's face faded, replaced by a feeling of being caught between laughter and tears by her father and brother's exaggerated words!

Although women in the Great Rong Kingdom were not judged by being fat, the contemporary aesthetic still considered a woman's plumpness to be a sign of good fortune. Before marrying, Duan Yuran had been raised by her parents to be pearly and rounded, with a graceful fullness. After marrying into the Ren family, her life had indeed been unhappy, and it was inevitable that she had lost some weight. But it wasn't to the extent of being "skin and bones" or "losing twenty or thirty pounds" as Master Duan and Duan Yuhang claimed! She had always been very careful about her weight, okay!

Glancing toward the interior of the study and seeing that the three members of the Ren family didn't even spare her a single glance, Duan Yuran felt even more relieved about her decision to seek a divorce! Having reached this point, leaving the Ren family was the correct choice!

"My dear daughter, have people pack up your dowry, and come home with Father and your Big Brother!" After finishing his lament over his daughter's thinness, Master Duan remembered the main business! He pulled a piece of paper from his bosom, shook it, and said proudly, "Father has obtained the divorce papers for you!"

"Father..." Duan Yuran's eyes grew moist again.

In this era, which was very harsh toward women, whether it was being cast out or the more polite "mutual divorce," it was always the woman's side that faced criticism! Furthermore, if a family had a daughter who was divorced or cast out, it would affect the other unmarried sisters! Therefore, unless parents truly loved their daughters deeply, most would advise reconciliation rather than separation, and they certainly wouldn't act like Master Duan, bringing his son to force Ren Feiteng into a divorce with his daughter!

Duan Yuran knew that Master Duan and Duan Yuhang loved her, but she hadn't expected them to go to such lengths for her; how could she not be moved to death!

"Nanny An, Nanny Yuan, follow the Young Mistress to the inner courtyard to inventory the dowry! We are carrying it away today!" Duan Yuhang shouted toward the Duan family members he had brought with him. "If anything is missing, write it down! Not a single bit is allowed to be missed! Hmph!"

Duan Yuhang's two "hmphs" were directed at the three members of the Ren family inside the study, secretly planning that if anything was missing from his sister's dowry, he would make the Ren family pay for it at full value!

"Yes! Eldest Young Master!" Nanny An and Nanny Yuan had been waiting for a long time; hearing Duan Yuhang call them, they straightened their chests, their eyes gleaming with sharpness.