Qi Yue nearly fainted from suffocation—this bastard didn’t know how to kiss at all, he was gnawing.

Finally, when he moved to somewhere else, Qi Yue gasped for breath.

“Chang Yuncheng, don’t make me look down on you,” she shouted fiercely.

She didn’t struggle, nor did she attack him like last time. She just lay motionless, seemingly submitting to this man’s actions.

Chang Yuncheng stopped his movements, his breathing still rapid.

With the bed curtain half-lowered, the light was dim. At such close distance, they couldn’t see each other’s faces clearly.

“What’s wrong now?” he asked in a hoarse, low voice.

“What do you mean what’s wrong? What are you doing?” Qi Yue bit her lip and demanded.

This action made Chang Yuncheng’s blood surge again. He couldn’t control himself and gripped the slender waist beneath him tightly.

“Nonsense, naturally it’s what husband and wife should do,” he growled.

“What husband and wife should do? What do you think that has to do with you and me?” Qi Yue also growled back. “Get up, don’t make me look down on you.”

Having said this much, Chang Yuncheng’s desire subsided.

“Haven’t you made enough trouble?” He suppressed his inexplicable anger and shouted. “Are you going to keep this up endlessly?”

“Who’s making trouble with you?” Qi Yue also shouted back. “So if someone slaps you several times and humiliates you at will, you’d still happily go be lovey-dovey with them? You can be a masochist if you want, but I’m not that cheap!”

Chang Yuncheng angrily got up.

“What do you mean?” he demanded.

“I don’t mean anything,” Qi Yue sat up, straightening her disheveled clothes. “I’m just stating facts.”

“The fact is that you and I are husband and wife!” Chang Yuncheng gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Now you know that you and I are husband and wife when it comes to this?” Qi Yue sneered and looked at him.

“Qi Yueniang!” Chang Yuncheng stepped forward, grabbed her chin, and called out through gritted teeth.

Qi Yue lifted her head, her expression solemn in the lamplight, her eyes full of disdain, contempt, and anger.

Their eyes met for a moment.

Chang Yuncheng released his hand and sat down beside her.

“Yueniang,” he called out, his voice softening. “Stop making trouble, alright?”

Qi Yue sighed.

“Chang Yuncheng, I really wasn’t making trouble,” she said, her voice also softening.

This really wasn’t about making trouble or not, but… but… it was completely impossible!

Chang Yuncheng looked at her and reached out to hold her hand.

Qi Yue couldn’t help but stiffen all over, instinctively trying to pull back, but Chang Yuncheng gripped tightly.

This man being like this… she really wasn’t used to it, and felt uncomfortable all over…

It would be better if he hit, scolded, or yelled at her.

This way… this way was too strange.

“Yueniang, about the past, what’s done is done. There’s no use talking about it now. I promise it won’t happen again in the future,” Chang Yuncheng said in a deep voice.

Qi Yue felt her hair stand on end. She couldn’t help but lean back, looking at this man in surprise.

What was this man saying? She hadn’t heard wrong, had she?

“You say the past is past? If you drive a nail into a fence and then pull it out, does the fence become good as new? Hitting someone then giving them a sweet treat—only children would accept that, and besides, there have been so many hits already…” she said while turning her gaze away.

The man beside her was silent for a moment.

“Then what do you want to do?” he asked in a low voice.

“We should part amicably, get a divorce,” Qi Yue quickly turned her head and said.

The moment these words came out, Chang Yuncheng’s face instantly darkened, and at the same time, Qi Yue felt the hand Chang Yuncheng was holding hurt tremendously.

She couldn’t help but cry out in pain.

Chang Yuncheng released her hand, got up, and walked out. The sound of the door opening and closing in the dark night was particularly loud.

The room returned to quiet, but Qi Yue sat on the bed feeling her heart in turmoil.

This man… wouldn’t he really want to spend his whole life with Qi Yueniang?

Of course, this sentence had a grammatical error—they were already husband and wife, after all. But hadn’t he always wanted to divorce her?

Could it be that he didn’t want to divorce her anymore?

He wouldn’t really have fallen in love with this Qi Yueniang, would he?

Then wouldn’t she be in trouble…

She didn’t know how much time had passed. Qi Yue tossed and turned, unable to sleep, when she heard the door softly open.

Being at a relay station with so many guards, the only one who could enter this room so easily was Chang Yuncheng.

Qi Yue couldn’t help but grip the front of her clothes tightly.

The footsteps didn’t come over. The lamp lit in the outer room was blown out, then she heard the rustling sound of bedding being spread. Through the curtain, by the light of the lanterns outside, she saw the man lying on his side on the small bed near the door.

Qi Yue breathed out quietly and closed her eyes.

The next day on the road, the change between the Prince and Young Madam immediately drew attention.

“The Prince is riding a horse?” Rao Yufang lifted the window curtain slightly and said in a low voice.

The woman beside her hurried over to look.

Chang Yuncheng, wearing a thick cloak, spurred his horse forward and soon reached the front of the convoy, leaving their line of sight.

“He must be feeling stuffy in the carriage,” the woman said. “The Prince is a military officer, so he’s probably not used to sitting in carriages.”

Stuffy? Or perhaps he found the person he was sitting with stuffy?

Rao Yufang looked toward the carriage in front again. When getting in the carriage earlier, she seemed to have seen that the Young Madam’s complexion wasn’t good either.

Aunt had said that originally the Young Madam wasn’t supposed to come along on this trip—it seemed she had insisted on following. The Prince must be annoyed…

They traveled rapidly all the way. When they stopped to change clothes, Rao Yufang had wanted to observe more, but Chang Yuncheng and Qi Yue didn’t let her approach, so she gained nothing. However, this also made Rao Yufang more certain of her guess—something had definitely happened between these two last night, and it wasn’t anything good.

The convoy entered Shanning Prefecture City in the afternoon. The Xie family had already received word from the advance servants and sent people to meet them.

To Rao Yufang’s disappointment, Chang Yuncheng only had his trusted attendants escort her to the relay station. He didn’t appear again or even exchange a few words of greeting, but went directly with the Xie family’s people, much less invite her to the Xie household.

Rao Yufang lifted the carriage curtain and looked back at the departing convoy, the man on the tall horse surrounded by the crowd.

However, it shouldn’t be long before they could meet again.

When they met again, she would be able to stand beside him openly and proudly.

Rao Yufang let down the curtain with a slight smile on her lips.

The Xie family of Shanning Prefecture had produced two jinshi degree holders since the new dynasty. Jinshi achievement flags stood in front of their gate, proclaiming their noble scholarly lineage.

Qi Yue rode in the carriage all the way to the inner residence before stopping.

When A’Ru helped her down from the carriage, only four or five servants were waiting.

This scene made the servants who had come from the Marquis Dingxi’s household with Qi Yue look very displeased. Although it was the Xie family who had slapped Qi Yue, their faces also burned with pain.

Perhaps because she was unnerved by Chang Yuncheng’s attitude that day, seeing the Xie family treat her this way, Qi Yue actually felt relieved and much more comfortable.

After all, when people who everyone knows hate you suddenly treat you very well, that’s much more frightening. Compared to hypocrites, honest villains are somewhat more endearing.

Qi Yue was led inside by the servants.

“Young Madam has had a tiring journey, please rest well,” the servant said as they walked.

“Thank you,” Qi Yue said.

A’Ru frowned.

“We should first pay respects to the Old Madam,” she said.

The servant turned to look at her, her eyes showing some disdainful amusement.

“No need. The Old Madam said to let the Young Madam rest well. She’s old and her spirits aren’t good, so she won’t see so many people,” she said with a smile.

Just the grandson and grandson’s wife—two people in total… The servants from the Marquis Dingxi’s household couldn’t stand listening to this. They couldn’t help but look at their Young Madam with concern.

Qi Yue said “oh” with a relaxed and cheerful expression. She had been dragged here by Chang Yuncheng to treat this old madam’s illness, but what could she treat? It was better not to see her, saving them both the embarrassment of her not being able to explain and the old lady not understanding.

This was the first time the Xie family had seen the Young Madam of the Marquis Dingxi’s household. When they got married, to express displeasure, Old Madam Xie hadn’t let any of the Xie family women attend the wedding.

Because of the old madam’s taboo, no one usually mentioned this Young Madam. If they hadn’t seen her in person today, they would almost have forgotten she existed.

She really was beautiful…

But wasn’t she supposed to be dying soon? How come she looked to be in decent health, except for some dark circles under her eyes?

They had just reached the front of a room when they heard maids calling from behind.

“Young Madam.” Two maids hurried over and curtsied to Qi Yue, who was obviously identifiable among the group. “The Prince asks you to come see the Old Madam.”

At these words, everyone present was stunned.

“But the Old Madam instructed that the Young Madam should rest first…” the servant said quickly, afraid the maid might have misunderstood and delivered the wrong message.

“The Prince just said at the Old Madam’s place that he wanted to invite the Young Madam over,” the maid said, a flash of helplessness in her eyes.

It seemed Chang Yuncheng wanted her to go.

Qi Yue understood and hesitated for a moment. Well, since he had spoken, she shouldn’t let his words fall to the ground. Besides, it was about filial piety.

She nodded and said good, then walked over.

Watching the group of people return along the original path, the servants who had first led the way looked helpless and somewhat embarrassed.

What kind of situation was this? They had led people around in a circle, originally wanting to see others embarrassed, but ended up being the embarrassed ones themselves.

The layout here was the same as the Marquis Dingxi’s household, just smaller in scale, but it didn’t seem cramped. The buildings were well-arranged with red flowers and green willows as decoration.

Along the way, maids and servants who saw their group all stopped and looked with surprise and curiosity. Even when they reached the Old Madam’s courtyard, the maid who lifted the curtain to announce them couldn’t help but look at her a few more times.

Stepping through the door, warm fragrance greeted them, and the floor was softly carpeted.

Surprisingly, there weren’t many people in the room. Apart from a gray-haired old woman in the main seat, only Chang Yuncheng was sitting. The rest standing around were all maids and servants.

“This is grandmother,” Chang Yuncheng said.

A maid brought over a cushion and placed it down.

Qi Yue hesitated for a moment. Well, she’d just consider it respecting the elderly.

She knelt down, kowtowed, and called out “grandmother.”

But there was no response, naturally no instruction to rise either.

Deliberately? Qi Yue looked up to see the old lady had somehow closed her eyes and was leaning to one side as if asleep.

How boring!

Qi Yue pursed her lips and shook her head. I respect you as an elder, but that doesn’t mean I’ll indulge you. She was about to get up.

“Get up,” Chang Yuncheng spoke.

She hadn’t expected him to speak first, disregarding the elder. This made Qi Yue pause in her rising motion. The old woman in the seat also opened her eyes. Compared to Qi Yue’s slight surprise, her expression was rather displeased.