Chapter 110 Divorce in front of the Emperor
Lord Li who was named: "..."
His expression was a little hard to describe, but he could not deny that Song Shiwei's reason was impeccable.
It was not for any other reason, but just because his disappointing son began to love reading after reading Song Shiwei's examination papers.
What other reason did he have to refute? So he could only stand back.
Seeing that no one stood up to stop him, Emperor Hui relaxed his brows and said, "Since you, my dear ministers, have no objection, then this matter is settled."
He looked at Song Shiwei and sighed, "Although I have made an exception to confer you the title of No. 1 Scholar, it is a pity in my heart that you cannot enter the court as a woman.
But your talent is obvious to all. As you said, your position as the top scholar can spur our Nanli students to work harder.
In this way, I have made a contribution to my country in Nanli.
Although I cannot promise you a high position and generous salary, I can grant you a favor.
Tell me, what do you want? As long as it is reasonable, I will agree to it. "
Song Shiwei knelt on the ground and bowed, saying: "I would like to ask for a decree for all women in the world."
"Oh?"
Emperor Hui asked her, "What do you want?"
Song Shiwei raised her head, looked at the emperor on the throne with a firm gaze and said, "Throughout the ages, men can divorce their wives based on the seven grounds of divorce, but women cannot.
What I want is fairness. I hope Your Majesty can grant me the right to divorce my Nanli daughter if her husband behaves immorally or is humiliated by her in-laws.
As soon as these words came out, the hall was in an uproar. Before His Majesty could say anything, someone raised an objection: "This is ridiculous. How can a woman divorce her husband?
Song Shiwei, don't think that just because you have some talent, you can show off in front of His Majesty.
As a woman, you should abide by the female virtues, support your husband and raise your children. This is a custom from ancient times to the present. How can you break it?"
"Your Majesty, please punish Song Shiwei for disrespect. If women can divorce their husbands at will, wouldn't the world be in chaos?
A woman should obey her father at home and her husband after marriage. This is the etiquette and rules passed down by our ancestors. How can it be changed at will?"
"Your Majesty, please think again."
Half of the court officials knelt on the ground in protest.
Emperor Hui was also extremely surprised. He did not expect that what Song Shiwei asked for was an imperial decree allowing a woman to divorce her husband.
He didn't know what he was thinking about, and his thoughts drifted away.
At this moment, Yongning Hou stood up and asked, "Why did Miss Song make such a request?
I heard that your husband is now imprisoned in the Dali Temple for colluding with Zhao Huaijin to cheat in the imperial examination.
If you want to break off this marriage with the Shen family, you can just write a divorce letter. Why do you want to divorce your husband?"
"Because what Shen Linchuan did is too numerous to mention."
Song Shiwei raised her head and looked at the emperor, telling him about her own experience: "I lost my mother when I was five years old, and my father married a second wife less than half a year after my mother's death.
Then they sent me to the countryside on the charge of bringing disaster upon my parents, leaving me to fend for myself.
During that period, my father and stepmother never came to visit me. It was not until a year ago that my father sent someone to pick me up and bring me back to Beijing, and I learned that he had arranged a marriage for me.
The other party was Shen Linchuan, the top scholar in Qingzhou. I hastily married into the Shen family in accordance with my parents' orders.
However, the person who appeared in the bridal chamber on the wedding night was not my husband, but my husband's elder brother."
"what?"
All the officials were shocked when they heard Song Shiwei's story.
Yongning Hou was also shocked. He asked, "Is there such a thing?"
Song Shiwei said: "Fortunately, I woke up, so Shen Linchuan's elder brother failed to succeed.
When the brothers saw that the truth was revealed, Shen Linchuan pushed all the responsibility onto his eldest brother.
However, my mother-in-law always favored Shen Linzhou and had no intention of punishing him.
Fortunately, Aunt Lin, the housekeeper of the Cheng'en Marquis's Mansion who arranged my marriage, witnessed this incident.
My mother-in-law was afraid that my father would blame her, so she gave Shen Linzhou a few mild hits, and the matter was left unresolved.
After this incident, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law repeatedly targeted me and bribed Mrs. Wang to spread rumors to damage my reputation.
They stole my dowry and wanted to use it to fill the holes in our house.
Logically speaking, I am the daughter of Lord Cheng En, and the Shen family is just a poor and impoverished family, so they should not treat me like this.
However, it was because I grew up in the countryside and was not favored by my father.
The person Shen Linchuan wanted to marry that day was also my sister, so he had an affair with my sister behind my back, and it became known to everyone.
Shen Linchuan even broke into Baiyun Temple in order to meet with my sister secretly, and my mother-in-law and sister-in-law helped cover it up.
Since I married into the Shen family, Shen Linchuan and I have been living in separate rooms, and we were not able to consummate our marriage on our wedding night because of what happened with Shen Linzhou.
At first, I thought that Shen Linzhou was pretending to be Shen Linchuan because he was dissatisfied and wanted to consummate marriage with me.
It was not until the affair between Shen Linchuan and Zhao Huaijin was exposed that I realized that my husband Shen Linchuan was completely inhumane.
He was afraid that his hidden illness would be known to others, so he made a vicious plan on his wedding night, hoping to get his eldest brother Shen Linzhou to consummate the marriage on his behalf.
Song Shiwei tearfully recounted her experiences, and asked, "May I ask you gentlemen, why can't I let go of this hypocritical villain who has lost his moral integrity?"
All the court officials fell silent. If what Song Shiwei said was true, then Shen Linchuan really deserved to die.
After listening to Song Shiwei's story, the emperor on the throne couldn't help but look at Xiao Jingheng.
Why did he feel that Song Shiwei's experience was so similar to what his son had told him?
Could it be that the sweetheart my son was talking about is Song Shiwei?
Emperor Hui narrowed his eyes and cast a scrutinizing gaze on Xiao Jingheng.
Xiao Jingheng knew that his father had already guessed the relationship between him and Song Shiwei, so he was frank and held his head high, as if he had admitted it.
Emperor Hui glared at him, then said, "I never thought there would be such a beast in this world. It's really hateful."
He asked the courtiers: "What do you think?"
Only at this moment did Yongning Hou understand what Song Shiwei wanted.
She planned every step and came before the emperor just to ask for fairness for all the women in the world.
Obviously, with her current status, she could ask for more things, but she chose the most difficult one.
He took a deep breath and said, "Your Majesty, even a talented person like Miss Song cannot avoid marrying the wrong person, which will ruin her life.
How many women like Miss Song are there in this world?
Since Miss Song has won the title of top scholar, she can clearly seek fame, wealth and favors by standing here today.
However, she only seeks fairness for all women in the world, which is a righteous cause, and I hope Your Majesty will fulfill it."
The head of the government, Prime Minister Qin, also stood up and said, "Throughout the ages, women have always followed the orders of their parents and the words of their matchmakers.
They have no choice in their entire lives. Since they cannot choose who to marry, if they meet the wrong person, they don’t even have the chance to leave. How sad it would be?
We are also fathers and husbands. We might as well ask ourselves whether we are worthy of our daughters and wives.
As the saying goes, a person of integrity has nothing to fear from his own shadow. If you have nothing to regret, why should you fear divorce? "