Chapter 39 “Let’s Divorce”
Chu Ziqian continued, “Father was already very displeased with me because of this incident. How could I punish Liu Min and offend the Liu family at this time? Can you be sensible?”
“I understand.” Jiang Yingnan laughed despairingly, “I should just stand there obediently every day and let her scold and beat me. Ideally, she’d beat me to death or disable me, right?”
“…Liu Min is just a little spoiled. She wouldn’t dare kill you or seriously injure you. Jiang Yingnan, can you be more considerate of the bigger picture and stop making a fuss?”
“Haha. Yes. It’s all my fault for making a fuss.”
Jiang Yingnan had once asked himself how many times he needed to be hurt by Chu Ziqian before his heart turned to ash.
And at this moment, he discovered that his heart had finally become numb.
“Chu Ziqian, let’s divorce.”
“What did you say?!” Chu Ziqian was both surprised and angry, unable to believe what he heard from Jiang Yingnan.
“Chu Ziqian, do you know? I am the son of a general. Although I preferred literature since childhood, I also know martial arts. I could directly snatch the whip from that woman’s hand and beat her to a pulp!
“I didn’t do that, it was all for you, for your so-called bigger picture!
“I know you’re still kneeling in the palace, I know I can’t let your family be in turmoil again, so I endured it again and again, just waiting for you to make the most appropriate arrangement. And what did I get?!
“You took all my efforts and tolerance for granted, without a shred of consideration for me!
“I’m sorry, I’m completely heartbroken. I can’t go on like this. Please set me free.
“I’ve already married you according to the imperial edict. Now that we are incompatible and want to divorce, this shouldn’t be considered defying the imperial edict, right?”
“…Anan!” Chu Ziqian panicked a little. “It’s not a big deal, why has it come to divorce? Alright, I’ll help you punish Liu Min. I’ll put her under house arrest for ten days, okay?”
“Too late.” Jiang Yingnan smiled wryly.
“Not enough? Then twenty days.”
“Your Highness, don’t you understand? It’s not about Liu Min anymore. It’s here,” Jiang Yingnan pointed to his heart, “I don’t love you anymore.”
“…I don’t believe it!” Chu Ziqian became even more anxious. “You’ve loved me for so many years, how can you just stop loving me?!”
“Isn’t it strange? I think it’s strange too. Sometimes, giving up on someone happens in an instant.”
Jiang Yingnan’s tone was cold and calm.
“As for the reason for our divorce, you can explain it to the outside world however you want. Say it’s because you’ve lost the Emperor’s favor and I’m a gold digger, or say I’m spoiled and can’t handle my relationship with the Crown Princess. You can throw any dirty water you want; I won’t refute it.
“I don’t want to affect your reputation at this critical time. This is my last kindness to you, out of consideration for our past love.”
“…” Chu Ziqian stared intently at Jiang Yingnan. In Jiang Yingnan’s eyes, he saw a feeling called determination.
Now Chu Ziqian finally believed it—this time Jiang Yingnan was serious!
“Jiang Yingnan!” Chu Ziqian’s face suddenly became gloomy. “Do you think my Crown Prince’s mansion is some place where you can come and go as you please?! You are destined to be mine in this life, you can’t escape!”
With that, he violently threw Jiang Yingnan down and began to roughly tear at his clothes.
“Let go of me!” Jiang Yingnan struggled desperately, but his strength was no match for Chu Ziqian’s.
Chu Ziqian usually exercised restraint in such matters, but at this moment, he was like a wild beast gone mad.
Jiang Yingnan felt a sharp pain in his body and mind, regretting why he had ever gotten involved with such a person…no, such a beast!
“I warn you one last time, let go of me! Chu Ziqian, can’t we just part ways amicably?! Why do you have to make me hate you!”
Chu Ziqian ignored his warning and continued his violent actions.
Unexpectedly, Jiang Yingnan pulled out a dagger from under the bed and stabbed it into Chu Ziqian’s shoulder. Blood flowed profusely.
“…!” Chu Ziqian finally stopped, surprised and angry as he looked at the dagger in Jiang Yingnan’s hand. “You hid a dagger under your pillow? You want to kill me?!”
Jiang Yingnan pulled out the dagger, a sneer on his lips. “If I really wanted to kill you, I would have cut your throat just now.
Chu Ziqian realized that the wound on his shoulder wasn’t very deep.
“This dagger is for emergencies. For example, what if Liu Min went crazy and barged in while I was sleeping? Or, like now, what if you suddenly went crazy?
“Chu Ziqian, do you know, I’ve always been walking on eggshells in this Crown Prince’s mansion, never having a day of security!”
“You’re so bold!” Chu Ziqian covered the wound on his left shoulder with his right hand and said angrily, “Do you know that assassinating the Crown Prince is a serious crime, one that will implicate your entire family!”
“…Since you insist on threatening me like this…”
Jiang Yingnan smiled sadly, turned the dagger around, pointed it at his heart, and stabbed himself.
“Anan!” Chu Ziqian quickly grabbed the blade with his left hand. In an instant, his left hand was also covered in blood. “Would you rather die than be with me?!”
“Yes.” Jiang Yingnan answered without hesitation. “I’d rather die than continue to be with you. You can stop me this once, you can lock me up, but I think, someone as smart as me will always find a way to end my own life, right?”
“…” Chu Ziqian still held tightly to the sharp dagger in Jiang Yingnan’s hand, bright red blood continuously flowing down his fingers.
He also stopped caring about the wound on his shoulder, as if he wanted to let all the blood drain out, to see if Jiang Yingnan would still feel sorry for him.
Jiang Yingnan’s expression remained unchanged.
Finally, Chu Ziqian let go in despair, his voice hoarse as he said three words: “Go.”
“Thank you for granting my wish!”
Jiang Yingnan ran out of the room and out of the Crown Prince’s mansion without looking back. He was afraid that Chu Ziqian would change his mind.
So he wandered the streets alone again late at night. And he didn’t know where he was going.
The last time this happened, was when he was expelled from the Jiang family.
Actually, he had also actively chosen to leave the Jiang family at that time. Otherwise, with Jiang Zhenxiong’s soft heart towards him, if he apologized and acted cute, he might have stayed.
Every time, it was because of Chu Ziqian that he ended up in such a sorry state.
Was his life just going to be spent drifting between the Crown Prince’s mansion and the Jiang family, with nowhere else to go? Neither was a good place to be.
Jiang Yingnan didn’t want to go back to the Jiang family to make his mother and brothers laugh at him, so he just continued to wander the streets like a lost soul.
He left in a hurry and didn’t bring any money with him.
This time, he didn’t have as many serious injuries as last time, but he felt as if his whole body was heavier and more uncomfortable.
Perhaps it was because last time he still had a glimmer of hope for Chu Ziqian and life, but this time he had lost all hope for the future.
Finally, Jiang Yingnan’s eyes went black, and he fainted.
Qi Xiaojun found him on his way back to the Rui Wang’s mansion.
“Lianmo, look, someone fell on the roadside.” Qi Xiaojun noticed something in the carriage. “Shall we stop and take a look?”
“Okay.”
Chu Lianmo was also surprised, because given the security in the capital of Chu, it was rare to find someone collapsed on the roadside.
After the two got out of the carriage, they discovered that the person was Jiang Yingnan, the third young master of the Jiang family and Chu Ziqian’s concubine!
Qi Xiaojun was startled and quickly helped Jiang Yingnan into the carriage. “I don’t know what happened to him, let’s find a doctor nearby to check on him?”
Chu Lianmo smiled, “I think the nearest doctor here is your divine doctor friend.”
“…That’s right, then let’s take him to the inn where A Hua is staying.”
So Qi Xiaojun ordered the coachman to turn the carriage around.
He didn’t expect that he would be asking Ji Hua to treat two patients in one day.
Ji Hua had already gone to bed and was annoyed when he heard the knock on the door: “In the middle of the night, what is it?”
“Sorry, sorry, I’m Qi Xiaojun…” Qi Xiaojun apologized at the door, “There’s an emergency, so I disturbed your sleep.”
“It’s you.” Ji Hua’s tone immediately softened. “Wait a moment, I’ll get dressed.”
A moment later, Ji Hua opened the door.
Qi Xiaojun and Chu Lianmo together helped the unconscious Jiang Yingnan inside, “We suddenly encountered a person who fainted on the road, and it’s an old acquaintance of ours, we don’t know what’s wrong, so we came to find you.”
Strictly speaking, Qi Xiaojun and Jiang Yingnan had never spoken a word to each other. But he felt that Jiang Yingnan, being a man who became Chu Ziqian’s concubine, was in a similar situation to himself, and he couldn’t help but feel some sympathy for him.
“Then let’s put him on the bed first.”
Ji Hua began to take Jiang Yingnan’s pulse. He felt the pulse quietly for a while, and his brows gradually furrowed.
“What’s wrong?!” Qi Xiaojun was startled by his reaction, because Ji Hua could usually solve most illnesses easily, and he rarely saw Ji Hua look so serious when examining a patient. “Did he get some incurable disease?”
“No.” Ji Hua shook his head with a wry smile. “It’s just that his pulse is steady, as if he doesn’t have any illness. I can’t figure out why he’s unconscious, it’s probably related to his mood.”
Qi Xiaojun breathed a sigh of relief, but at the same time became suspicious: “Lianmo, do you think something happened between him and the Crown Prince? Otherwise, he wouldn’t be out alone late at night.”
Chu Lianmo clicked his tongue, “This prince doesn’t care about the Crown Prince’s family matters.”
Just then, Jiang Yingnan opened his eyes groggily, “Ugh…where am I?”
“Oh, Mr. Jiang, you’re awake,” Qi Xiaojun explained to him, “Lianmo and I saw you fainted on the roadside, so we found a doctor for you, he said there’s nothing seriously wrong with your body. How are you feeling now? Is there anything uncomfortable?”
“…No.” Jiang Yingnan answered, but a suspicious blush crossed his face.
And he subconsciously adjusted his body to a side-lying position, as if he didn’t want to touch a certain part of his body.
Qi Xiaojun suddenly had a flash of inspiration and said softly, “Mr. Jiang, if there is anything uncomfortable, you don’t have to worry, you can just say it. Did the Crown Prince beat you?”
“No.” Jiang Yingnan’s answer was decisive this time.
“Then…was it too vigorous?”
“…” Jiang Yingnan’s face blushed slightly again, and there was a hint of anger, “Do you have to pry into everything?”
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