Cui Xingzhou never imagined that while thousands of soldiers, swords, and daggers on the battlefield couldn’t claim his life, a single piece of paper in his courtyard would shatter his composure.

Since she had presented it, he felt compelled to read it, lest he appear afraid of her. Cui Xingzhou coldly unfolded the paper and examined it closely. No wonder she had drafted his sister Cui Fu’s divorce papers so smoothly; she had already practiced on herself.

Skipping over the sections about returning gold, silver, and dowry, he noticed that Liu Miantang, like his sister, brazenly intended to take the child in her womb with her!

Cui Xingzhou shook the paper, his voice strained as he spoke, “How presumptuous of you. What makes you think you can take my son away?”

Miantang sat far from him, her delicate fingers tracing the patterns on her dress. Without looking at him, she struggled to hold back tears and said, “I’ve been craving spicy food lately. It might not be a son; it could be a daughter…”

The Prince of Huaiyang, nearly infuriated beyond reason by the formidable Madam Lu, raised his voice slightly, “Regardless of gender, you won’t be taking the child anywhere!”

As he spoke, he kicked the table, scattering its contents. Fruit plates and teacups clattered to the floor.

In all his time married to the princess, the Prince of Huaiyang had never lost his temper like this. Seeing the situation deteriorate, Bicao was about to rush in to shield the princess.

Before she could enter, Mama Li grabbed her, whispering, “What good will you do? Quickly, go fetch the young mistress!”

Bicao realized she was right. They needed the older sister to manage her brother!

She immediately ran off to seek help.

Cui Fu, now able to walk a bit, was pushing Jinr on a wooden horse. Seeing Bicao rush in, breathless, she exclaimed, “It’s terrible! The prince is berating and beating the princess. We servants dare not interfere. Young Mistress, please hurry!”

Cui Fu was startled. She had seen her brother discipline soldiers before; the usually refined young prince could be ruthless when provoked.

How could Miantang, heavily pregnant, withstand his blows? Cui Fu quickly ordered someone to bring her a coat and a wide-brimmed hat. She then followed Bicao to her brother’s inner courtyard, accompanied by a matron.

Upon entering, she found the place in disarray. Miantang was huddled in a corner, silent with reddened eyes. Her slender frame, swollen only at the belly, looked pitiful.

Her suddenly capable brother stood there, brows furrowed, waving a paper and shouting at Miantang.

Cui Fu strode over and slapped her brother hard across the face.

“Cui Xiujiu, how dare you! Our Cui family has never produced men who beat women! Miantang is heavily pregnant, and you’re shouting at her!”

Cui Xingzhou’s face turned from the slap, but since it came from his sister, he couldn’t protest. He merely stood there, his eyes filled with icy rage.

Miantang, however, became anxious. She quickly moved to cover Cui Xingzhou’s face, saying, “Sister… how could you hit him?”

Seeing Miantang defend her brother, Cui Fu felt both angry and amused. She said, “Look at this. You’ve gone mad, and Miantang worries about the slap I gave you. Can’t you discuss things calmly instead of frightening her? Come, Miantang, let’s go to my courtyard. You don’t need to endure this!”

With that, Cui Fu took Miantang’s hand, intending to lead her to her quarters for refuge.

The Prince of Huaiyang, having weathered what felt like nine heavenly tribulations, had reached a new level of composure. After the series of thunderous events, his anger had largely dissipated. He grasped Miantang’s other hand to prevent her from leaving, then addressed his sister: “We merely had a verbal disagreement. Who told you I was beating her? Sister, you shouldn’t be out in this weather. Please return and rest. I’ll speak with her properly.”

Cui Fu noticed that while Miantang’s eyes were red, she didn’t appear to have been beaten. Every couple has their squabbles, usually over trivial matters. Outsiders meddling often makes things worse.

She cautioned Cui Xingzhou to be gentle with Miantang, warning that if he lost the child through his actions, regret would come too late.

After Cui Fu left and the room was tidied, Cui Xingzhou calmed himself. He helped Miantang lie down to rest her back, his face still cold. Miantang, still concerned about the paper, advised him, “Everything else is negotiable except for the child. If the child stays with me until age thirteen before returning to the prince’s mansion, it would be fine. We can’t deprive the child of a parent from infancy…”

Cui Xingzhou covered her with a blanket, then lowered his face close to hers, his nose nearly touching hers. He spoke in a low voice: “Liu Miantang, if you say one more word today, I’ll have those four rebels in prison disemboweled and their corpses left in the wilderness.”

Miantang saw the seriousness in his eyes, brimming with a killing intent that made it hard for her to look at him.

Seeing that Liu Miantang had finally quieted, Cui Xingzhou stood to leave.

However, Miantang grabbed his hand, looking at him with tear-filled eyes.

Cui Xingzhou tried to speak calmly: “Why are you holding me? Let go.”

Miantang, remembering his threat, didn’t say a word but refused to release his hand.

Since he hadn’t signed the divorce papers, he was still her husband. Even if they were to separate, she wanted to cherish their closeness one last time, to memorize his scent and appearance before they parted ways.

When she had initially insisted on separating, hadn’t he said that a sudden separation would be painful and that it was better to part gradually, allowing both to adjust slowly?

Back then, their parting had gone well; she had almost adapted. But he had persisted in having her sign the marriage contract, making her addicted to their intimacy. Now that she had erred, how could he decide to separate so abruptly? Where was the justice in that?

Cui Xingzhou didn’t dare use force, fearing he might hurt her. He shook his head helplessly, with a hint of mockery: “I should have realized earlier that your persistence is just like Lu Wen’s – clingy and impossible to shake off once attached…”

Although she knew he was referring to military engagement tactics, the words still stung her feminine pride.

Even though Liu Miantang had intended to remain silent, she couldn’t help but retort softly, “Don’t take advantage of my memory loss. I learned all this from you. Weren’t you just as persistent when you insisted I marry you?”

Cui Xingzhou’s eyes narrowed to slits as he added coldly, “Wasn’t that because I pitied you, seeing you couldn’t find a husband, so I took you in?”

This time, Miantang’s eyes widened in indignation. She abruptly released Cui Xingzhou’s hand and, with a clasped fist salute, said, “Then I must thank Your Highness for your gracious shelter! However… when you clung to the edge of my bed, you didn’t seem so noble. You were more like a starving beggar, coming to my bedchamber for a taste of flesh!”

Cui Xingzhou’s expression tightened. His skill in verbal sparring was no match for the mistress who had honed her wit among the matrons of North Street.

Rendered speechless with anger, he could only point repeatedly at Liu Miantang before finally breaking into a slow smile. He raised his hand to undo his collar and loosen his belt.

Miantang watched him warily, asking, “What are you doing?”

Cui Xingzhou threw his robe forcefully to the ground: “If Madam Lu is offering me a taste of flesh, wouldn’t it be ungrateful of me not to indulge thoroughly?”

This aggressive approach was far from the tender farewell embrace Miantang had imagined. She stammered, “Who… said anything about that? Weren’t we just arguing about divorce? Put your clothes back on… Oh!”

The next moment, the ravenous wolf who had starved for seven days dove under the covers, devouring all of Miantang’s remaining protests.

The servants who had been standing guard outside the room noticed that the arguing had ceased. Mama Li peeked through the door crack and saw that the bed curtains had been lowered. Relieved, she quietly instructed the wide-eyed maids, “Return to your duties. Prepare hot water basins in the corridor for when the prince and princess call for them.”

The way of married couples often involves quarreling at the head of the bed and reconciling at the foot. Since the two seemed to be inseparable again, it appeared the storm had passed.

However… what had the princess done this time to provoke such fury from the prince?

Meanwhile, Miantang hadn’t eaten properly all day. After arguing for hours and then “feeding the wolf” for another long while, she was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep. But the little one in her belly disagreed, demanding food.

So when Miantang opened her eyes again, she was ravenous. Too hungry to call for a maid to bring food, she reached for the pastry box on the bed frame’s shelf and began to devour its contents.

Cui Xingzhou hadn’t rested well at the office for days, but after returning home and having this argument, much of his pent-up frustration had dissipated. After dealing with this female bandit leader, he had intended to hold her and sleep. He hadn’t expected her to eat so voraciously, like a starving refugee.

“What kind of messy snacks are these? Did you buy them from street vendors again?” Seeing the cold oil still clinging to the fried cakes, Cui Xingzhou sat up and snatched them away, throwing them to the floor.

Earlier, even when her hidden secret was revealed, even when Cui Xingzhou lost his temper, smashed things, and berated her, Miantang held back her tears.

But when Cui Xingzhou took away the pastry she had barely begun to eat, Miantang couldn’t contain her distress. She burst into tears, wailing, “I’m hungry! You… won’t even let me eat!”

Her crying suddenly became uncontrollable, tears gushing forth like a broken dam. Within moments, she was sobbing uncontrollably.

Cui Xingzhou was utterly bewildered that taking away a cold pastry had caused such a deluge of tears. It was as if the heavenly river had sprung a massive leak, with torrents of water cascading down. He was at a complete loss.

He patted Miantang’s shoulder, trying to help her catch her breath between sobs, while angrily calling out to the maids outside, “Are you all dead out there? Quickly bring hot food for the princess to eat!”

But Miantang wouldn’t have it. She clung to the blanket, crying like a three-year-old child, “I want fried cakes!”

Cui Xingzhou took a deep breath, feeling that this tenth heavenly tribulation was truly beyond human endurance.

He abruptly stood up, picked up his clothes, and headed for the door.

Miantang, believing he was disgusted with her and intending to leave the mansion, felt an uncontrollable wave of sorrow wash over her. Though not unexpected, she couldn’t suppress the grief, and her cries intensified.

Cui Xingzhou had reached the doorway when he heard the heart-wrenching sobs grow louder behind him. The veins on his temples throbbed visibly as he suddenly turned back and shouted at the tearful figure on the bed:

“Why are you crying? Didn’t you say you wanted fried cakes? I’m going to the street to buy some for you, my lady!”