That night, the news reached Shouxian Palace.
Daji and the other two demons were overjoyed upon hearing it. They knew Jiang Ziya might not truly be dead and had surely escaped using magic, but driving him out of Zhaoge was enough to satisfy all three of them.
Using Water Escape, Jiang Ziya fled back to Song Family Village that very night.
The moment he entered his home, he hurriedly packed his belongings, intending to leave at once for Xiqi.
Seeing him disheveled and panic-stricken, Madam Ma was horrified and hurried forward to ask what had happened.
Jiang Ziya did not hide anything. He told her every detail of how he had refused to build Lutai in the Great Hall of Zhaoge that day, cursed the foolish king in fury, and been forced to flee by diving into the water.
After hearing this, Madam Ma was utterly aghast and cried urgently:
"Ziya, how could you openly defy an imperial decree? How are we supposed to survive in Zhaoge after this?!"
Yet Jiang Ziya remained calm and said gravely, "King Zhou is foolish and tyrannical. Zhaoge has long become a cesspool of corruption; there is no point in staying here.
Come with me to Xiqi and seek our future together. It may not be any worse than this decaying capital of Great Shang."
But Madam Ma repeatedly shook her head, refusing adamantly. "My home and my family are all here. I will never leave. Even if I die, I will die in Zhaoge!"
Though Jiang Ziya tried several times to persuade her, Madam Ma would not yield an inch and remained determined to stay.
Knowing that husband and wife could no longer travel the same path, he hardened his heart. He fetched paper and brush, swiftly wrote a letter of divorce, and