Chapter 143: Today, This Divorce Must Happen

Chapter 143: Chapter 143: Today, This Divorce Must Happen

Shen Rongjing smiled indulgently, pulling a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe her face.

"It’s all yours. I’m begging you, please stop crying. You’re about to use up our entire supply of tissues."

Song Yao: "..."

She snatched the handkerchief and, looking down, blew her nose hard into it.

"Um... I got too emotional. I couldn’t help it..."

Seeing her face flush instantly, Yang Wanqing chimed in to smooth things over for her.

"What’s there to be embarrassed about? It just shows you care about your father! Unlike some people, whose hearts are in the wrong place..."

The words had barely left her mouth when she quickly bit her tongue, afraid of angering her son again.

Everyone else turned to head upstairs, but Yao Yuzhen and Shen Shuangshuang didn’t move an inch.

Yao Yingying didn’t go up with them either.

She had stayed behind on purpose, wanting to have a good talk with her biological sister alone.

"Aren’t you going up to see him?"

Yao Yuzhen shot her a sidelong glance.

"Did they not tell you? Shen Zhenwu and I are splitting up."

Yao Yingying’s brow furrowed the moment she heard this.

"You’re really getting a divorce now?"

"Even if you are, how has my brother-in-law wronged you?"

"Look at the state he was in just now! If something really happened to him, could you sleep at night? Wouldn’t your conscience bother you?"

Hearing her sister’s accusatory tone, Yao Yuzhen was immediately displeased.

"Why should my conscience bother me?"

"Did I have an affair? Or did I abandon the family?"

Yao Yingying glanced quickly at Shen Shuangshuang standing behind her, holding back for a long moment before forcing out a question.

"What really happened to Song Yao back then?"

She took half a step closer, her voice lowered to a whisper.

"Did you get rid of her yourself?"

Yao Yuzhen stared at her coldly.

"Who’s been gossiping to you?"

Yao Yingying shook her head honestly.

"I just want to give you some advice. If you really aren’t the one who lost Song Yao, then don’t take the fall for it. Go and apologize to your husband. He’s a soft-hearted man. If you soften up and say a few heartfelt words, he’d really be willing to help you."

"You’ve been together for so many years. There’s still a bond between you."

"If you settle things completely with Ruan Yongxing, he definitely won’t hold it against you."

"Won’t hold it against me?"

Yao Yuzhen suddenly sneered.

"Why should he always be holding things against me?"

"Am I supposed to be grateful that he doesn’t hold grudges? What a joke! You think I’m like you, bowing and scraping all the time?"

Her gaze swept over Yao Yingying from head to toe before she finally shook her head.

"As soon as there’s trouble in the family, you fall apart. I remember you didn’t used to be like this."

That stare made Yao Yingying’s chest tighten. She held it together for a moment, but then her composure snapped.

"That’s right! I’ve changed! If I hadn’t changed, would I even be standing here talking?"

"You were so lucky. You married a soldier, left with him as soon as you were married, sheltered from the wind and rain. You breezed right through the toughest years."

"And me?"

She slapped her own chest forcefully.

"My file was marked as problematic, so my work unit rejected me outright. Matchmaking? The moment they heard about my situation, they turned and walked away. If my brother-in-law hadn’t stepped in to support me, I wouldn’t have even been able to put food on the table!"

"Later on, a kindhearted person played matchmaker and introduced me to your brother-in-law. Sure, he had a lot of kids, and money was tight for food and drink, but the important thing was that his family background was clean. No one was nitpicking at me. That’s what finally let me breathe and live like a human being."

"Isn’t that also why you agreed to marry my brother-in-law in the first place?"

"You can’t be so greedy. Don’t pick up a watermelon and still try to grab the sesame seeds, or carry a gold nugget while still thinking about pearls."

Yao Yuzhen was so angry her face twitched, and her voice trembled.

"At least I never dragged you down! It’s not your place to point fingers at me. Don’t you worry. Even if I get divorced, I’ll still live a better life than you. I don’t need your pointless concern!"

Yao Yingying didn’t respond. She just watched Yao Yuzhen quietly for a few seconds, then turned and walked upstairs.

When her hand reached the master bedroom door, she found it ajar.

She knocked gently twice.

The people in the room all turned to look at her in unison.

Yao Yingying stood at the doorway, her head slightly lowered, and spoke.

"I wronged my brother-in-law and Song Yao back then. No matter how many apologies I say, I can’t change what’s been done. But I truly want to make amends. If you’ll just give me a chance, I’ll do anything I can."

Yang Wanqing slowly stood up, staring at her with eyes full of exhaustion and disappointment.

"Make amends? How?"

"What can you do to bring back the twenty years the Shen family lost?"

"What can you do to make up for the twenty long years Song Yao suffered on the outside?"

Yao Yingying’s lips trembled violently, and in the end, she could only squeeze out two words.

"I’m... sorry."

Yang Wanqing didn’t want to hear any more and turned her back on her.

"You should go. This is something our Shen family can never forgive."

"Besides, your sister is about to divorce Zhenwu anyway. From now on, we’ll be two completely separate families..."

Before she could finish, footsteps were heard from the top of the stairs.

Yao Yuzhen had come up.

She had come up precisely to prevent any unexpected changes, afraid that Yao Yingying would suddenly interfere and ruin her divorce.

’This divorce has to happen today!’

Otherwise, she’d spit up blood from sheer anger first.

She got straight to the point.

"Mr. Shen may be lying down right now, but if you really want to process the divorce papers, it’s just a matter of a single word from you, right?"

The moment she appeared, Yang Wanqing’s anger flared up.

But Shen Rongjing and Shen Songyao immediately turned to look at Shen Zhenwu, who was propped up against the headboard.

The two of them had a tacit understanding, both afraid that the old man would get stubborn and muddle-headed at a time like this.

Fortunately, Shen Zhenwu’s expression was calm.

"Did Song Yao get lost on her own back then, or was she taken by someone?"

Yang Wanqing was about to open her mouth, but before she could get a word out, he had already finished asking his question.

Yao Yuzhen’s face fell instantly.

"What are you trying to say?"

Shen Zhenwu stared at her, his gaze heavy.

"I believe you didn’t get rid of Song Yao with your own hands. You’re her biological mother. No matter how hard it is, I believe you couldn’t do something like that."

"But I don’t believe that you don’t know who did it."

Yao Yuzhen’s lips pressed into a thin line, her eyes practically bulging from their sockets.

"Then what are you dawdling for? Are we getting these divorce papers processed or not?"

Shen Zhenwu just watched her quietly.

It wasn’t until a vein throbbed twice on her temple that he finally spoke, slowly.

"The divorce. We can get a divorce. You said you wanted one a long time ago, and I said I’d grant it."

"Then call someone to do it!"

She stomped her foot, her boot hitting the floor with a THUD.

Shen Zhenwu nodded, then continued.

"However, we need to sort out our finances first. Every bit of income, every single expense, needs to be clearly listed. We can’t divide things up in a muddle, and we can’t accept the numbers in a daze."

He turned his head and smiled at Yang Wanqing and the others at the door.

"Mom, could you take everyone downstairs to sit for a while? I have some tea brewed here. Shen Rongdan, go take the tea down and serve everyone so they can quench their thirst."

This was something that needed to be discussed behind closed doors. Arguing loudly about dividing assets was simply improper.

But when did Yao Yuzhen ever care about propriety?

She spun around and charged into the room, her voice hard and urgent.

"What kind of tricks are you trying to pull now?"

Shen Zhenwu glanced at Shen Shuangshuang, who was cowering by the doorframe, and felt a tightness in his chest.

He pushed himself up slowly, using the edge of the bed for support.

Shen Rongdan reached out to help, but he raised a hand to stop him.

’It’s really not a big deal.’

’That mouthful of blood I coughed up earlier was scary, but I know my own body.’

’I have a strong constitution. I can take it.’

Once he was sitting up straight, he met Yao Yuzhen’s gaze levelly.

"All these years, all the money has been in your hands. The pay stubs, bonus slips, allowance details, along with all the family’s savings passbooks and checking accounts—I’ve never touched any of it."