Chapter 876 - 877: Method_1
"This? This is not good,"
Land Officer Yang wasn’t quite satisfied with this solution. What was a peasant household doing taking concubines? Wouldn’t that invite people to accuse him of frivolity?
Moreover, it was still uncertain what kind of person Ms. Hong was. What if she turned out to be a troublemaker, and constantly clashed with Ms. Luo? That would make life unbearable for the fourth branch of the family.
Yang Xiaochuan was also not very content with this idea, and Ms. Luo was dissatisfied as well. On the other hand, Ms. Hong had no objections.
In Ms. Hong’s eyes, being a concubine was just that—if Ms. Luo stayed, it didn’t really matter. From just that outburst earlier, it was clear that the other party was someone with limited cunning. Wouldn’t she end up completely under her control anyway?
She snorted, thinking that whether one was the principal wife or a concubine didn’t matter here. This wasn’t one of those great families where the difference between the principal wife and the concubine was vast. Here, it was about who was favored more; whoever that was could dominate the other.
"Since Granduncle and Fourth Uncle both think this won’t do, then there’s only one way left—send Ms. Hong away and let Fourth Uncle and Aunt continue together," Yang Chuxia simply spread her hands and said, "Fourth Uncle, if you really took a concubine, not to mention other things, just remember what days my father lived, and you’ll know what kind of days your daughters would face."
Yang Dachuan listened on the side, glancing at Yang Chuxia several times, thinking to himself why this child was so inept at speaking. Why did she always bring him into these matters?
Yang Xiaochuan was still hesitating, but Land Officer Yang made a firm decision right away.
"Xiaochuan, your father is ill, and we can’t tell him about this. I am the Land Officer and your paternal uncle; I can make decisions for you on this matter. You said Ms. Luo can’t bear children, but let’s not discuss whether that’s true for now. You’ve been married for many years without a son, and that indeed doesn’t look good. Since you’ve bought Ms. Hong, let’s do this—after the child’s full-month celebration, go to the county office and have the marriage certificate with Ms. Luo reissued, and have the divorce certificate nullified. As for Ms. Hong, let her be a concubine for now, and once the child is born, regardless of gender, I’ll make your father give the indenture back to Ms. Hong. What do you think?"
Yang Xiaochuan didn’t speak, just kept silent, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
To be honest, Yang Dongxue was already nine years old this year, and during all the years Yang Xiaochuan had been married to Ms. Luo, he had never dwelled on the fact that Ms. Luo could not bear a son. At most, he would blurt out a few words about it in anger, and then it would pass.
Now, for some reason, he seemed fixated on this matter, and it was hard to believe it was simply because Ms. Luo had upset Old Yang.
What Yang Chuxia didn’t know was that Yang Xiaochuan truly believed Ms. Luo could not bear children anymore, for he was aware of Ms. Luo’s injury. Thinking about the severity of it made it seem impossible for her to have children.
"Husband, just agree," Ms. Hong finally spoke up.
Tsk, tsk, her soft voice was so much more pleasant to the ears than Ms. Luo’s hoarse one.
Yang Xiaochuan glanced at Ms. Hong and gritted his teeth. "Fine, I’ll follow Uncle’s advice."
"Since it’s settled, then good. But taking a concubine is not the same as marrying a wife, so don’t make a big fuss over the wedding celebration. Just invite our people to one table, and that’s enough. This matter should still wait until after the child’s full-month celebration. Otherwise, it doesn’t look right, and who knows what those unaware of the situation might say about the Yang Family," Land Officer Yang added.
Yang Xiaochuan nodded, indifferent to the details, figuring he could just buy Ms. Hong more things or give her some extra silver later on.
With that, the matter was more or less resolved. Yang Xiaochuan didn’t succeed in divorcing his wife but ended up taking a concubine instead, a first for Yangshu Village. So far, no one else in Yangshu Village had taken a concubine.
Afterward, people would occasionally jest about it when they saw him, but he did not care at all; his heart was set on Ms. Hong bearing him a son.