Chapter 1 …

“In the fourth month of the Imo Year, the husband’s brutality has been judged, and a divorce is hereby granted. The defendant, husband Lee, shall pay the plaintiff, Madam Yang, one hundred nyang in copper coin compensation.”

As soon as the Chief Magistrate of Hanseongbu, the highest official in the capital of Hanyang, delivered his verdict, the defendant, Lee, threw himself onto the courtyard floor and pleaded desperately.

“Your Excellency, Chief Magistrate! This is unfair! I merely sought to discipline my wife for her improper behavior, yet you’re granting a divorce? Compensation? I refuse the divorce! I won’t pay the compensation! You might as well split open this wretched belly instead!”

Lee rolled across the dirt, throwing a violent tantrum. The Chief Magistrate simply turned his body away and closed his eyes.

As though he were utterly exhausted by the entire spectacle.

With fifty nyang, one could buy a seven-room thatched house in Hanyang.

And now he was being ordered to pay twice that amount?

Though Lee had amassed considerable wealth by operating a merchant guild, the thought of handing such a fortune over to his wife made him feel like he was dying of regret.

More than anything, he had no intention of divorcing her.

“Alas! This is an injustice. If every husband who disciplined his wife ended up divorced, would there be a single married couple left in all of Joseon?”

“Pfft.”

As the man passionately argued his case, a light chuckle rang out.

Lee whipped his head around.

Standing where his furious gaze landed was a beautiful young woman dressed neatly in a colorful skirt and jacket, her long braided ribbon swaying behind her.

It was Hari.

Meeting his eyes, Hari walked over gracefully and whispered softly,

“You should keep your mouth shut. If you continue making a scene, you’ll only add more crimes to your own name.”

Lee sprang to his feet and glared at Hari as though he wanted to kill her.

That wicked woman had used her silver tongue to manipulate his wife.

Now he was about to lose both his wife and his fortune.

How could he possibly vent this resentment?

“Or… would you like to keep going until you’re satisfied?” Hari asked calmly. “If you do, you’ll simply have another charge added—Gangsang Crime.”

“W-What? You foolish oejibu! A husband beating his wife isn’t a crime!”

“That’s true,” Hari replied. “But a child harming their parents is a crime. Shall we make that perfectly clear?”

Lee’s eyes shook violently.

With a serious expression, Hari turned toward the Chief Magistrate.

“Your Excellency, since the defendant appears unwilling to accept today’s judgment and seems intent on appealing to the Ministry of Justice, I, acting as the plaintiff’s oejibu, respectfully request that the defendant’s charge be changed to Gangsang Crime.”

The moment the words Gangsang Crime were spoken, the government office erupted into murmurs.

Gangsang Crime referred to the grave offense of a child harming or killing their parents, a servant harming their master, or a wife harming her husband.

“My, my. She’s been making quite the name for herself as an oejibu, but it seems the daughter of the Chief Censor’s household has finally reached the limits of her ability. Just because a husband lost his temper and hit his wife, she’s calling it Gangsang Crime? Ridiculous.”

“Exactly. Does it make any sense for a noble young lady to shamelessly involve herself as an oejibu in other people’s divorce lawsuits? Tsk, if I were the Chief Censor, I’d be too ashamed to show my face.”

No one seemed interested in the verdict itself.

All they talked about was Hari.

Accustomed to such remarks, Hari let them pass through one ear and out the other before raising her voice.

“The defendant, Lee!”

The crowd immediately turned toward her.

What’s she going to say this time to completely destroy the defendant?

Even those who had been criticizing Hari couldn’t hide their curiosity.

After waiting for the courtyard to fall silent, Hari finally spoke.

“The defendant broke Madam Yang’s leg and cut off her hair.”

The courthouse buzzed with shock.

“The body, hair, and skin are received from one’s parents; one must not dare damage them. This is the beginning of filial piety.”

The Chief Magistrate narrowed his eyes.

“The body, hair, and skin are gifts inherited from one’s parents. To avoid harming them is the very beginning of filial piety. Yet this man injured Madam Yang’s body, thereby driving nails into the hearts of the parents-in-law whom he ought to honor through filial devotion. If this is not Gangsang Crime, then what is?”

Hearing it laid out so clearly, Lee found himself speechless.

His mouth opened and closed helplessly.

Unable to bear it any longer, he grabbed the collar of his own oejibu, who stood among the crowd, and shook him violently.

“You bastard! Say something! Do your job!”

Gangsang Crime was a serious offense.

Accepting the Chief Magistrate’s original verdict would be far better.

Lee’s oejibu simply lowered his head.

“Please stop. If you continue here, it won’t end with compensation. You’ll be sentenced to janghyeong.”

Janghyeong was a punishment in which a criminal was struck across the buttocks with a heavy wooden paddle.

If one escaped with only torn flesh, they were fortunate.

Many became crippled, while others died from infected wounds.

Listening to their exchange, Hari stepped between them.

“So, what will it be? Shall we continue this lawsuit at the Ministry of Justice?”

She smiled confidently.

“I don’t mind at all.”

As a last resort, Lee looked toward the government official he had bribed heavily.

The official immediately looked away and pretended not to notice.

Even his final lifeline had abandoned him.

Lee’s face turned pale.

He collapsed onto the ground.

He had lost.

This had been a lawsuit he had been absolutely certain he would win.

Who could have imagined that, in Joseon, a wife would dare file for divorce against her husband…

…and actually win?

“Perhaps Joseon truly is coming to an end.”

Lee muttered bitterly.

Standing above him was a woman wearing a proud smile with her chin held high.

The very person responsible for this entire affair.

The woman who preached the “Three Don’ts” to the women of Hanyang—

Joseon’s divorce specialist oejibu.

An Hari.

* * *

“Thank you.”

The moment they stepped outside the gates of Hanseongbu, Madam Yang bowed deeply.

Hari, who had been walking ahead, stopped and turned around.

“What did I tell you? I said I’d make you free.”

Madam Yang slowly raised her head.

Countless emotions crossed her face.

When she first filed for divorce, she had believed defeat was inevitable.

She expected only to be scolded as a wicked woman who dared sue her own husband before being thrown out.

Even so, she had started the lawsuit because she truly believed she would be beaten to death otherwise.

At the very least, while the trial was ongoing, her husband probably wouldn’t dare lay a hand on her.

Yet not only had she won…

She had even received an enormous compensation payment.

“You’re right. If only I’d trusted you and filed sooner…”

She touched the dark bruise around her eye.

“I wouldn’t have suffered injuries like these.”

“By the way… it’s truly over now, isn’t it? I don’t have to return to the Lee household ever again… do I?”

“The Chief Magistrate personally stamped the judgment, so legally you’re complete strangers now. If he comes looking for you and causes trouble, run straight to the government office. Or come find me. I’ll make sure you receive a generous settlement. Just remember my fee is one-tenth of whatever you receive. Though, of course, I hope it never comes to that.”

Hari smiled warmly.

Madam Yang smiled back.

“I truly did the right thing by listening to you, Miss. You’re the greatest benefactor of my life. I may be nothing more than a lowly woman, but if you ever need my help, please tell me. I’ll gladly become your hands and feet.”

She bowed again and again.

“I’ll be sure to remember those words. By the way, what did I say was a woman’s greatest virtue?”

Hari asked.

Madam Yang clenched both fists tightly and raised them high.

“The Three Don’ts! Don’t cry because of a man, don’t let him hit you, and don’t endure it! I’ll never forget, Miss!”

As she shouted boldly, tears streamed down the corners of her eyes.

They were tears shed for the years she had lost.

The last tears she would ever cry for her old self.

“That’s right. Live that way from now on. Don’t hide away and cry. Never let anyone strike you—not even with a flower. And if someone ever does hit you… don’t endure it.”

That was their farewell.

As Hari turned away, Madam Yang bowed deeply once more.

“Miss! Let’s go together!”

Hari’s maid, Maldong, hurried after her, chattering excitedly.

“Miss! The marketplace is in complete chaos right now!”

“Why?”

“Why else? Everyone’s heard that Madam Yang won the case!”

“The news has spread already?”

After the verdict, they had spent some extra time obtaining the official judgment document that certified the court’s decision.

Even so, it had been no more than half a sijin.

Yet somehow, the result of the trial had already spread beyond the walls of Hanseongbu and into the marketplace.

“People really have too much free time.”

Hari shook her head.

Maldong’s eyes widened.

“You think people are spreading rumors because they’re bored? Everyone’s interested in you now. You’ve become famous! These days, quite a few married women come looking for me. They ask whether it’s really true that if they speak to you, they can actually get divorced.”

“And what did you tell them?”

“I told them that if they leave it to my young miss, she’ll succeed every single time. Wasn’t I right?”

Maldong looked at Hari with admiration and awe.

Overlaying that expression was the memory of what Maldong had looked like several months earlier.

“Miss, you want to become an oejibu? You want to help Madam Damyang get a divorce? Oh, Miss! Absolutely not! Where in all of Joseon has there ever been a female oejibu?”

The same Maldong who had once doubted and tried to stop Hari now trusted her so completely that she would believe her even if Hari claimed to make soybean paste out of red beans or that the sun rose in the west.

It had taken exactly six months to reach this point.

“By the way, Miss… I’ve honestly been wondering. Why did you suddenly decide to become an oejibu?”

Hari, who had been strolling leisurely, came to a stop and looked up at the sky.

With distant eyes, she recalled the memories of the past.

Six months ago…

The day she had suddenly fallen into the Joseon era.