Wei Rao’s daily afternoon nap time was always about the same – she would wake up naturally after half an hour.

The April afternoon sun was already quite harsh, and the courtyard was completely quiet. The little maids had probably all gone to find places to doze off and slack off.

Wei Rao yawned and got up to put on her outer robe.

It was getting hot, so the undergarments she wore were also getting thinner. Lu Zhuo was thick-skinned enough to take off his outer robe in front of her, but Wei Rao wouldn’t give Lu Zhuo any chance to take advantage of her.

Opening the door bolt, Wei Rao was preparing to call Lu Zhuo to move his bedding inside to keep up appearances so she could have the maids come in to serve her. But when she lifted the curtain, she unexpectedly found Lu Zhuo still lying on the couch with the quilt covering his waist, exposing his upper body clothed in undergarments. The sunlight outside the window was bright, and he was lying facing inward. He seemed to have been awakened by her, and as Wei Rao looked on in surprise, Lu Zhuo opened his eyes.

Wei Rao averted her gaze and looked at the ground, saying, “It’s time to get up.”

Although she was properly dressed, to put on a show for the maids, her long hair wasn’t styled up but hung loosely and somewhat disheveled over her chest and shoulders like smooth, lustrous black satin. Having just woken up, there was still a trace of pink flush on her face, which added infinite charm and allure to her already stunning beauty. Standing at the doorway with her face lowered, she looked somewhat like a shy beauty calling her husband inside to meet with her.

Lu Zhuo didn’t move: “Are you going out? If there’s nothing urgent, I’d like to sleep for another hour.”

Wei Rao had nothing urgent – she just didn’t want to be cooped up in the room. The inn had a flower garden, and it would be nice to stroll around there.

“Then come inside first. Later, we’ll just say you were tired and I got up by myself.”

Lu Zhuo’s lips curved upward as he looked at her and said, “A brief separation is better than a new marriage. If we’re putting on a show, you should get up even later than I.”

Wei Rao looked at him in surprise. What did he mean by “brief separation is better than a new marriage”?

But Lu Zhuo had closed his eyes, his lips carrying an intriguing smile.

Wei Rao had, after all, read the little booklet her maternal grandmother had given her, so she quickly understood. Her pink face flushed bright red, and she dropped the curtain and walked inside. After taking two steps, she stopped, thinking that if she stayed in the room with Lu Zhuo for another hour, wouldn’t that confirm what Lu Zhuo had said about “brief separation is better than a new marriage”?

In broad daylight, Wei Rao didn’t want people to misunderstand that she and Lu Zhuo had been “newly married” for a full hour and a half!

With this thought, Wei Rao walked back out of the inner room, stood at Lu Zhuo’s feet, and glared at him angrily: “Get up!”

Lu Zhuo sat up, the quilt still covering his legs, his gaze slightly cool: “You demanded in the contract that I cooperate with your acting, so I’m performing flawlessly with you. Now you want to go back on your word?”

Wei Rao clenched her fists and said, “The young master keeps his word, and I’m very grateful. It’s just that the young master prides himself on being a gentleman, and should know that a gentleman shouldn’t engage in daytime debauchery. If you want to perform this kind of scene, you’re deliberately trying to saddle me with the reputation of seeking favor in broad daylight.”

Lu Zhuo seemed to hear something amusing and looked at her, saying, “So the young lady does care about reputation after all. I thought reputation was just passing clouds in the young lady’s eyes.”

Wei Rao paused and said, “For things I’ve done, I have a clear conscience no matter how others gossip about me. For things I haven’t done, the fewer false accusations the better.”

Lu Zhuo smiled faintly: “The young lady doesn’t want to bear false accusations, but what about me? You’ve been going in and out of shops and taverns with those men for many days. Once someone recognizes you, how others gossip about you is none of my concern, but you and I are now husband and wife. You think that with you going in and out with various outside men, how will others gossip about me? Is my reputation, Lu Zhuo’s, truly worthless in the young lady’s eyes?”

Wei Rao indeed hadn’t considered this point.

Because she felt that she and those merchants were just brief acquaintances who would go their separate ways afterward, with probably no chance of meeting again. Moreover, she had disguised herself, so even if any merchant saw her again in the capital city, they probably wouldn’t dare to acknowledge her, including the Jin City people who had seen her going in and out with these merchants.

However, from Lu Zhuo’s perspective, he indeed should worry about being gossiped about regarding his wife cuckolding him, laughing at him for being a green turtle.

“I was thoughtless and caused trouble for the young master.” Wei Rao frankly apologized.

Lu Zhuo’s pupils contracted slightly. He had grown accustomed to Wei Rao’s confrontational attitude toward him. What was different today?

Wei Rao was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled at him: “To be honest with the young master, when I initially agreed to marry you for good luck, I wanted to borrow your Lu family’s power to make that person wary. But you and I have incompatible temperaments, and my behavior and conduct are quite incompatible with your noble family’s traditions. By forcibly occupying the position of the young master’s wife, I’m restraining myself while also causing the young master and the Duke’s mansion considerable trouble. How about this – when you and I return to the capital, let’s immediately divorce. From then on, whatever I do will have nothing to do with the young master or the Lu family.”

Wei Rao didn’t want to marry anyone anymore.

A fake husband would complain about this and that about her, and a real husband would probably be the same.

Wei Rao liked horseback riding, liked hunting, and liked all sorts of interesting stories and events outside the capital city.

Grandmother and maternal grandmother both hoped she could marry into a prominent family, marry someone who could make the Empress Dowager wary. But just now, Wei Rao suddenly thought of a solution. She was living well, so the Empress Dowager found her displeasing and tried every means to harm her. Well, she could live poorly instead. When she and Lu Zhuo divorced, the capital would certainly be full of cold mockery and ridicule. At that time, Wei Rao would pretend she couldn’t bear it and leave the capital to seek refuge with her uncle and aunt.

Why bother listening to merchants’ grand speeches anymore? Wei Rao decided to personally travel north and south herself. Her aunt would accompany her uncle on business trips, and her cousin was also doing business everywhere. Wei Rao could follow either her aunt or her cousin. She would do what she liked, regardless of what others thought. If they disliked her for bringing shame to her husband’s family, she simply wouldn’t marry at all!

Like shackles that had been binding her body finally snapping apart, Wei Rao felt suddenly enlightened. Even Lu Zhuo’s gloomy face seemed extraordinarily handsome to her. Lu Zhuo, the heir of Duke Ying, was indeed an incomparably handsome man. The two had no grudges or enmity – they only disliked each other because they were forcibly bound together. Once the relationship was dissolved, they would just be strangers!

“What does the young master think?” Wei Rao asked with a smile.

Lu Zhuo’s right hand tightly gripped the quilt beneath him as he stared at Wei Rao and said, “First, you say marry for good luck, then you say divorce – is marriage just child’s play to you?”

Wei Rao replied calmly: “Child’s play is too strong a term. If there’s profit to be gained, I’ll do it. If there’s no profit, I’ll drop it. Now I feel that divorcing the young master would be better for me, so I want to terminate the agreement early.”

Lu Zhuo’s expression was not pleasant: “I just petitioned the Emperor for permission to accompany you to visit Consort Li, and upon returning to the capital, you and I will divorce. What will the Emperor think?”

Wei Rao thought seriously for a moment and said, “The Emperor handles countless affairs daily and probably won’t concern himself with our matters. Moreover, the young master is of noble status and is the future commander of the Shenwu Army. If the young master could remarry a dignified and virtuous wife who is praised by everyone in the capital city, who could support her husband and educate children, and raise the next generation of Shenwu Army generals, the Emperor would certainly be very pleased.”

She was thinking quite far ahead. Lu Zhuo only felt a fire igniting in his chest.

He had already decided to become a real husband and wife with her. To please her, he had even worn flowers and caught hedgehogs, yet this woman’s attitude toward him hadn’t improved one bit. She was even eager to divorce him.

Because of Huo Jue? Because she had seen her beloved cousin and couldn’t bear the grievance of acting with him anymore?

One unconventional, one indulging her conversations with outside men – the cousins were truly a perfect match.

“Fine, as you wish.” Lu Zhuo got off the couch and stormed out.

Wei Rao heard him open the door and heard him instruct Bitao to pack his trunks and move them to the front courtyard.

With divorce imminent, there was no need to continue the charade.

Wei Rao felt relaxed in body and mind. Bitao ran in frantically and came before her, asking, “Miss, did you quarrel with the young master again?”

Wei Rao smiled and whispered, “Sort of, but it’s a good thing. When we return to the capital, we’ll divorce, and we’ll never have to look at anyone’s face again.”

Bitao looked at her mistress in disbelief, then realized that her mistress was serious – she wanted to divorce the young master and was truly happy about it.

Bitao’s feelings were very complicated. The young master, aside from often making the mistress angry, was quite good in other aspects. She and Liu Ya both sincerely hoped the young master would come to like the mistress and that the two would become a loving real couple.

Now, that hope was completely gone.

“What about the young master’s trunks…”

“Go pack them. Have Zhao Song and the others carry them over in a while.”

Front Courtyard

Zhao Song and Zhao Bai guessed the young master should be getting up and came to wait in the courtyard early in case the young master had any orders.

The brothers stood under the tree’s shade when they suddenly heard heavy footsteps. Turning to look, they saw the young master wearing only undergarments coming around the corridor corner. He was still the familiar person, but the young master’s expression was gloomier than the layered dark clouds before a rainstorm.

Zhao Song looked at Zhao Bai, Zhao Bai looked at Zhao Song, and both brothers thought of the same thing – the young master and the young mistress had quarreled again!

If A’Gui were here, he might dare to approach and inquire, but the Zhao brothers were more accustomed to treating the young master as the deputy general of the Shenwu Army and didn’t dare inquire about the young master’s domestic affairs.

The two watched the young master enter the main room as quietly as cicadas.

Before long, Bitao came. Seeing both brothers there, especially Zhao Song, Bitao’s eyes suddenly became teary. She lowered her head and approached them, wringing her hands as she said, “The young master just told me to pack his trunks. Now they’re packed. Please go move them over.”

Zhao Song was shocked. Was the young master going to sleep separately from the young mistress again?

Zhao Bai asked Bitao, “What exactly happened? Did the young mistress get angry because the young master was chatting and laughing with that young lady?”

Bitao didn’t know about any young lady, and she hadn’t seen her mistress angry either. When she was packing the trunks, her mistress was lying on the table playing with that set of wooden figurines of a shepherd boy and a yellow ox, looking quite content.

“I don’t know. Please hurry.” Bitao said irritably.

Zhao Bai was at a loss, so Zhao Song sighed and told his brother to wait with Bitao while he steeled himself to go to the main room.

Stopping outside the secondary room door, Zhao Song inquired, “Young master, Bitao asked us to move your trunks. Did you order this?”

“Mm, I’m going to the military camp tomorrow morning and will be staying there from now on.”

Zhao Song was startled but didn’t dare ask more questions and quickly withdrew.

“How was it?” Zhao Bai asked, and Bitao also looked at him nervously.

Zhao Song’s expression was grave: “The young master said that starting tomorrow, he’ll be staying at the military camp.”

If the young mistress hadn’t come along, it would be perfectly normal for the young master to stay at the military camp to supervise recruit training, but…

“Forget it, let’s go move the things first.” Zhao Song glanced at Bitao and hid his uneasiness.

Lu Zhuo had only brought two trunks on this trip. The brothers carried one each and completed the task in one trip.

After placing the trunks in the inner room, Zhao Bai held the purple sandalwood outer robe the young master had thrown on a chair and anxiously advised, “Master, please put this on first. It’s not that hot yet. Be careful not to catch a cold.”

Lu Zhuo glanced at the robe in his hands, and Wei Rao’s gesture of covering her nose immediately came to mind.

“Throw it away.”

Zhao Bai was shocked. This robe was newly made this spring, and the young master had only worn it once…

Zhao Song secretly poked him and told him to go downstairs first. The young master had worn this robe when chatting and laughing with the strange young lady in the shop, and now the young master wanted to throw away this robe, which was enough to show that the young master and the young mistress had indeed had a big quarrel over that scene.

“Master, you’re going to the military camp tomorrow, but what about tomorrow evening’s banquet for the young cousin?” Zhao Song quietly asked for instructions.

Lu Zhuo didn’t answer.

Zhao Song waited silently.

After a long time, Lu Zhuo finally rubbed his forehead and said, “The banquet remains unchanged. I’ll return before sunset. Remember to remind the young mistress.”

Zhao Song understood.

The next morning, Lu Zhuo rode to the military camp.

Zhao Song observed the young master’s expression and felt a bit worried for those recruits.

After seeing off the young master, Zhao Song asked a little maid to fetch Bitao and had her remind the young mistress that tonight’s banquet would proceed as scheduled.

If not for Bitao’s message, Wei Rao would have almost forgotten about this matter.

Her cousin had no idea that she and Lu Zhuo were fake spouses. If she suddenly revealed the truth now, her cousin would be distracted by her affairs, which would be bad if it affected the fur purchasing. It was better to continue hiding it from her cousin for now and write to inform her uncle and aunt after returning to the capital and completely divorcing.