Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons

Chen Guangrui checked the accounts all night without sleep, and the more he checked, the more disappointed he felt. As a man, he had never cared about the affairs of the family. When he was young, his mother took care of the housework, and after marriage, everything was left to Yin Wenjiao. Sometimes he felt that his family was not enough to support the family, but Yin Wenjiao didn't mention it, so he was happy to be quiet. It was not until Yin Kaishan reminded him to write a divorce letter that the secret premonition suddenly expanded to ten times. At this moment, when he sorted out the accounts, he felt even more depressed the more he checked.

The family's share, extra supplements, clothing materials, and jewelry for the old lady and concubines, except for the servants in Yin Wenjiao's room who were sent by the Prime Minister's Mansion, all other maids and servants were bought when he returned to Chang'an, as well as the silver worth the Li sisters, and a piece of beautiful land he bought last month... After all, his salary had been spent, and the remaining deficit was as much as 400 strings of cash, which was filled by Yin Wenjiao, who probably used her own dowry.

After the divorce, Yin Wenjiao's dowry must be taken back, and the misappropriated part must be compensated. She must also be given a gift that is enough for her to spend for three years... Where can this money be raised? After returning to Chang'an, he also received a few gifts, which were converted into about 400 to 500 strings of cash at market value. It might be more than enough to send others away, but to send Yin Wenjiao away, Chen Guangrui did not think that the Yin family would be so easy to fool. Unless...

I hope that Yin Xianggui is busy and forgets about this matter, giving him time to collect the money. He will not be willing to give the thing away unless it is absolutely necessary.

Chen Guangrui stayed up all night, and his maid Nenghong also stayed up all night with him. When she saw him slumped down on the table, she found a gap and brought him breakfast: "My dear, you are not the type to do such delicate work. It is normal for you to feel a headache when you take over suddenly. But my dear, you should also take care of your own health. There is no time to check the accounts. You are working day and night like this, and you are getting yourself sick."

Chen Guangrui felt bitter, but he could not say anything. The news that he had signed the divorce agreement yesterday had been kept secret, even from his mother, Mrs. Zhang. When his subordinates saw him checking the accounts all night, they thought that he and Yin Wenjiao were not on good terms, and Yin Wenjiao had given up the responsibility out of spite, so Chen Guangrui had to take over.

Seeing his gloomy face, Neng Hong hesitated for a moment and then said, "Logically, there are some things that a maid like me cannot say. The eldest lady has always been in charge of the household accounts, and there is nothing wrong with everything. She went back to her parents' home yesterday in a huff, so naturally she would put these trivial matters aside and not care about them anymore. The old lady only likes to eat vegetarian food and chant Buddhist scriptures, and the two young ladies only know how to please the husband. The husband has his own business to take care of, so naturally he can't spare the time to take care of these household affairs, and in the end, the wives will have to take care of them. The husband will be gentler to her because of her hard work. I haven't read many books, but I only know a simple truth: a harmonious family brings prosperity."

Nenghong was one of the maids that Chen Guangrui bought after he returned to Beijing. It was said that she was a favorite maid of an official. The official committed a crime and sold her in a hurry to raise money. Because of her pretty appearance, Chen Guangrui took her into his room on the day she was bought. Seeing that she served him well, was literate, and could control the other servants in his room, Chen Guangrui was unwilling to make her a concubine and only kept her in the room to serve him. Therefore, although she was nominally a maid, her words were different from those of others.

Why didn't you tell me this earlier?

Chen Guangrui was filled with regret. He knew that what she said was reasonable and it was not easy to say anything to her. He could only concentrate on drinking the porridge. Before he could swallow it, he heard the door being knocked loudly. Even from a long distance away, he could hear the loud voice of the person outside the door shouting: "Chen Guangrui, open the door! You have the ability to favor your concubine and kill your wife. You have the ability to open the door!"

"Bang!" The bowl in his hand fell, splattering all over the floor. Chen Guangrui took a few deep breaths, met Neng Hong's puzzled gaze, and said in a weak voice, "The people from the Prime Minister's Mansion are here."

Seeing that his face was as ugly as the earth, Nenghong finally realized that the commotion caused by Yin Wenjiao's return to her parents' home yesterday was much bigger than she had imagined.

Suddenly a maid ran over. Chen Guangrui recognized her as Li Xiaoman's maid Xiaoyu. She was panicked: "My dear, this is bad! Miss Li took all the valuables in her room and ran away!"

What does it mean when it rains it pours? This is it. Chen Guangrui felt a lump in his throat and almost vomited blood.

Nenghong immediately took Xiaoyu to check what was missing and made a list to report to the police. As it turned out, Li Xiaoman not only took away all the gold and silver in her room, but also stole a jade horse from Chen Guangrui's mother's room under the pretext of paying respects. When Chen Guangrui was not in the room, she took advantage of the servants' carelessness and quietly took away three gold ingots from his box. She was most familiar with the doorman at the back door, so she gave him two dimes of good wine, got him drunk, and took advantage of the daybreak to run away with the money without anyone noticing.

Of course, Chen Guangrui didn't know these details at this time. He didn't care about Li Xiaoman anymore. Instead, he was worried and asked the servant who delivered the message, "Who are those people making noise outside the door?"

The servant said, "There are about twenty warriors, carrying swords and knives, and they don't look like good people."

He is a servant in the Prime Minister's Mansion.

"The leader was my uncle, and he looked very unhappy."

He was the Prince of Yin Yuan. If he had brought only a few people, it would have been to vent his sister's anger, and at most they would have scolded him and beaten him up. But if he brought so many guards, it would have been enough to confiscate the family's property. Maybe he was here to empty the Chen family.

"And the lady's car."

Chen Guangrui suddenly felt relieved. The servant saw a familiar expression on his husband's face again. All he needed was a feather fan and a fake beard to play Zhuge Liang on the stage. He was uneducated and didn't know that scholars always describe it as "winning".

Chen Guangrui was indeed confident of winning. When she was chosen by the ball, on the wedding night, as soon as she put down the fan covering her face and raised her eyes to look at him shyly, Chen Guangrui knew her thoroughly. Yin Wenjiao was like a stream of water, so clear that you could see the bottom at a glance. She had a gentle and amiable temperament, a soft and kind heart, and virtuous and persevering morals. When her loved ones might be hurt because of her, she would always choose to bear it silently.

It was probably because his reaction was too cold after she was saved from suicide the day before, which was beyond her tolerance, so she ran back to her parents' home to complain. Now that a night has passed, she should calm down. For the reputation of the Prime Minister's Mansion, oh, and their son's mood, she can't let the Chen family be too embarrassed.

If only Yin Yuan came today, Chen Guangrui would be extremely scared. But Yin Wenjiao also came, and Chen Guangrui immediately felt confident. With his soft tactics, was he afraid that he could not win her over? He only needed to say a few soft words and he would be very sure to withdraw the divorce agreement.