Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

"Old Madam..." Yin Wenjiao's maidservants subconsciously wanted to salute, but when they saw Wenjiao sitting still, they all stood up straight.

Chen Guangrui's face turned pale, and he hurried over to help her, "Mom, why did you come out? I clearly asked them to keep it a secret from you." He paused, glared at Wen Jiao and Yin Yuan, his expression extremely sad and angry, "It was you who asked people to disturb her. Even if I, Chen E, have committed a capital crime, the disaster will not affect my mother. If you have any grievances, come and look at me!"

Even if Madam Zhang was deaf, her servants were not. Since they were not deaf, they would naturally inquire about the news. With the instigation of Li Aman, her own sister who had run away, how could they keep it secret?

Wen Jiao rolled her eyes quietly.

If you ask what kind of person Madam Zhang is, Wenjiao, who has merged Yin Wenjiao's memories, will say that she is a wonderful person.

A widow from a poor family could raise her only son to study hard for ten years and pass the imperial examination. She was not without wisdom. After Chen Guangrui got into trouble, Yin Wenjiao was kept under strict supervision by Liu Hong. Madam Zhang could survive for more than ten years by begging in a place far from home, until Xuanzang came to look for his relatives. She was very strong-willed. Once her beloved son returned, she indulged her concubines to bully her daughter-in-law, and she closed the door to chant Buddhist scriptures, turning a blind eye to the chaos in her family. She was also cold-hearted. Now that Chen Guangrui was forced by Yin Yuan to go to the government office to be beaten, this old lady who had only pretended to be blind suddenly became sharp-eyed and agile. How could she not be called a wonderful person?

To put it bluntly, the old lady was a loving mother who loved her son dearly. But the daughter-in-law was not in her love because she had the word "daughter-in-law" in her name. Even if Yin Wenjiao really hanged herself, she would only sigh a few times, burn a few incense sticks in front of the golden Buddha that Yin Wenjiao brought as a dowry, and pray that she would eat the incense after her death, and would not be grateful for the food she had eaten, so she would spare her precious son.

So hypocritical.

Madam Zhang rushed over from her own courtyard. Before she entered the house, she heard that Yin Yuan was going to send Chen Guangrui to be beaten with a stick because he failed to collect the debt. She was tired and shocked. She took a long time to catch her breath. She called the couple's nicknames and was very sad: "E'er, Mantangjiao, you two are a good couple. You were talented and beautiful back then, like a pair of lanterns. Who would not say that you are a perfect match? How come you have become enemies?"

Well said, how Chen Guangrui and Yin Wenjiao turned against each other, did Mrs. Zhang really not know? She just doted on her son, and even though she knew he was doing something wrong, she couldn't control him, so she had to pretend she didn't know, as if they had always been inseparable.

In fact, Yin Wenjiao had asked her for help.

At that time, Chen Guangrui returned to the world, and Yin Kaishan held a banquet to celebrate for this unfortunate son-in-law who had gone through so much hardship. During the banquet, Chen Guangrui talked a lot, describing his experiences in the Dragon Palace in all these years, and even asked for the secret recipe of the Dragon Palace to help Mrs. Yin cure her old headache. Yin Kaishan was so happy that she smiled softly, watching her father and husband get along so well, and felt that the misery of the past ten years had turned into a dream that could be forgotten at any time.

Who knew that night, Yin Kaishan went to the post station, and the couple went back to the government office to rest. Chen Guangrui was drunk and even walked with his eyes drawn. Yin Wenjiao was full of tenderness, so she asked the maid to leave and came to support her personally. After only a few steps, Chen Guangrui saw her face clearly, pushed her away, and said, "Get out of the way, you unfaithful woman dare to touch me, don't dirty my sleeves!"

Yin Wenjiao couldn't believe her ears and said in a trembling voice: "Husband, what are you talking about? I am Mantang Jiao."

Chen Guangrui grabbed her shoulders and pushed her out: "I'm talking about you, whore. You were having an affair with that bastard in this room? Get out of here!"

Yin Wenjiao managed to stand still by holding onto the wall, but she heard a clang in front of her, and the door in front of her had already closed. She stared at the door and cried for a long time, then stumbled to her mother-in-law for help. After hearing this, Mrs. Zhang cried with her, sighed for half the night, and responded with a mouthful of "It's all E'er's fault. It's too late today. I'll talk to him tomorrow."

The next morning, Yin Kaishan was leaving for Chang'an. Because of Mrs. Zhang's comfort, Yin Wenjiao did not mention Chen Guangrui's cold treatment in front of Yin Kaishan. After seeing Yin Kaishan off, Mrs. Zhang packed her luggage and returned to Beijing, not mentioning the promise she made last night. Yin Wenjiao could not help but urge her, and she burst into tears: "E'er has been very opinionated since he was a child, and I am relying on him to make a living now. Mantangjiao, please don't make things difficult for me anymore."

These two sentences made Yin Wenjiao completely give up on her.

Wen Jiao smiled gently, "Madam, I have divorced your son. He wrote the divorce letter himself. From now on, we will go our separate ways. Once the dowry is handed over, we will have nothing to do with each other. My parents can call me by my maiden name, but you can't. I came here today just to move my dowry back to my parents' home. As for the extra three years of living expenses, they were also promised to me by your son. I just want to get back what belongs to me, so how can I become your son's enemy? I really don't understand this principle, please teach me, Madam."

Madam Zhang was speechless, and then she said, "Even so, E'er is just temporarily short of money, and he is not deliberately refusing to pay. If you want to sue him, won't it ruin his reputation as an official?"

"So, Grand Secretary Chen once cared about his reputation as an official?" Yin Yuan couldn't stand it anymore and said loudly in surprise.

Wen Jiao smiled at him and said, "Brother Yuan, you don't know that the Chen family motto is that it is better to favor concubines and kill wives."

"You..." Madam Zhang was furious. Seeing that Yin Wenjiao didn't talk about their old friendship, she was obviously disappointed. She was making Chen Guangrui suffer. If she continued to use her so-called friendship that had been used up long ago, it would only make her more impatient. She could only swallow her anger and say, "We will definitely pay back how much E'er owes Miss Yin. I hope you two adults will be magnanimous and give us a few more days, considering that we are a small family that can be crushed to death by your fingers. If we push too hard, someone will die."

Yin Yuan's attitude was gentle: "Since the old lady said so, let's wait a bit. Count the six hundred strings of cash that your son used up from my sister's dowry, plus the three years of living expenses that your son promised to give my sister out of spite - the old lady also knows that our expenses are not small, and we won't bully you and your son, so let's count it as three thousand strings of cash - a total of three thousand six hundred strings of cash, which is not much. When do you think it's best to pay it back?"

He cracked his knuckles. Yin Kaishan was a great general of the dynasty. He had learned from him. Although Yin Yuan was young, he was an outstanding martial artist. His expression was really fierce and ferocious: "First of all, my sister has always been good-tempered, but I am the most impatient. As long as there is something unfinished, I will worry about it day and night, and I can't sleep well. I have to finish it in one go before I feel refreshed."

Three thousand six hundred strings of cash? Even if all the land was used to fill it, it would not be enough to fill the hole. Moreover, Yin Yuan did not value the land and refused to take it. The toys presented by the foreign officials were not worth mentioning. Only a sufficiently valuable treasure could shut him up.

Chen Guangrui's heart was boiling like boiling soup. Seeing Mrs. Zhang's face pale with fear because of the debt, and the concubine Li Aman who witnessed the four people fighting, she could hardly stand. He made up his mind: "I have a wish-fulfilling pearl given by the Dragon King of Hongjiang. This pearl is really a priceless treasure. I would like to give it to Miss Yin. I wish Miss a long life and longevity!"