Chapter 45: The Farce at the Crown Prince’s Residence
The next day, when he met with Liu Hanyue, the man had ordered a massive spread of dishes at the restaurant and repeatedly asked about Ji Hua’s preferences.
Ji Hua simply stated coldly that he had no particular likes or dislikes.
Liu Hanyue then began to tearfully recount how much he had missed Ji Hua and his mother over the years.
“Enough,” Ji Hua cut him off, unable to bear it any longer. “How dare a heartless man like you have the audacity to paint himself as some kind of romantic saint?”
“Hua’er, your father was truly helpless back then!” Liu Hanyue choked out. “I had no feelings left for that tigress of a wife. I even tried to discuss making your mother my legal co-wife, but she vehemently refused and threw a massive tantrum, saying that if I dared to bring any living person back to the Liu residence, she would make sure they were carried out horizontally… When I argued with her, she threatened to kill herself… Plus, your mother was determined to leave me. I had no choice but to part with her at the time.”
Ji Hua sneered. “You knew full well what your family situation was, yet you still chose to pursue and deceive my mother. Xiaojun,” he turned to Qi Xiaojun, “you said he had his difficulties. Does this even count as a difficulty? I’d like to hear you be the judge.”
“…” Qi Xiaojun gave a wry smile, finding it difficult to pass judgment on such a family matter.
Liu Hanyue turned back to Ji Hua with an eager expression. “Hua’er, why don’t you stay and live in the capital from now on? With your father’s connections, I could easily arrange a position for you as an imperial physician.”
Ji Hua scoffed, “I’m not interested.”
“Liu Hanyue!” A fierce woman’s voice suddenly came from outside the door. Immediately after, Lady Liu kicked open the door to their private room, planting her hands on her hips and shouting, “How are you in the mood to be here eating and drinking with irrelevant people! Do you have any idea that our daughter is being bullied to death by her husband!”
“What?” Liu Hanyue gasped. “Are you talking about Min’er? What happened to her?”
His eldest daughter was always lording it over her husband at home, so it was unlikely she was the one being bullied. That only left Liu Min, who was in the Crown Prince’s residence. Although Liu Hanyue found both his daughters to be overly aggressive, they were still his own flesh and blood, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of anxiety.
At the mention of her younger daughter, a softer side of Lady Liu emerged, and her eyes reddened. “Just now, Min’er came running home in tears, with a red handprint on her face! She said the Crown Prince hit her!”
Observing this scene, two words floated through Qi Xiaojun’s mind: Serves her right.
“Why would the Crown Prince hit her out of the blue?!”
Liu Hanyue was astonished. While the two hadn’t been particularly affectionate since their marriage, they had managed to coexist peacefully thanks to Chu Ziqian’s forbearance.
“Now that the Crown Prince and Jiang Yingnan are divorced, shouldn’t there be no more conflict between them?”
“You still have the nerve to ask!” Lady Liu fumed. “I heard that after he divorced that wretch, the Crown Prince never spent another night in Min’er’s room! Min’er couldn’t stand it anymore and went to confront him. The Crown Prince actually said it was all her fault for ruining his marriage and slapped her!”
Hearing this, Qi Xiaojun sighed inwardly. Wouldn’t it have been better if Chu Ziqian had been this assertive with Liu Min from the start? She’s just the daughter of a chancellor. How could she possibly stand up to the Crown Prince? He only starts to regret it after he’s lost everything.
“In that case,” Ji Hua suddenly interjected coolly, “wouldn’t it be better for Liu Min and the Crown Prince to get a divorce as well?”
Qi Xiaojun was stunned by his words—that’s right! If that really happened, Chu Ziqian and the Liu family would no longer be related by marriage, and it would undoubtedly create a major feud between them.
“Who do you think you are!” Lady Liu roared, pointing a finger at Ji Hua’s nose. “Is it your place to meddle in my family’s affairs!”
“What?” Ji Hua gave a cold smile. “Are you going to march into the Crown Prince’s residence and give Chu Ziqian a beating instead?”
“…” Lady Liu was momentarily at a loss for words.
Liu Hanyue, who was already trying to mend his relationship with Ji Hua and simultaneously felt that his suggestion was actually the best solution, immediately chimed in, “I think Hua’er is right. Let’s go to the Crown Prince’s residence right now and discuss the divorce.”
Lady Liu pondered for a moment. She didn’t actually want her daughter to divorce Chu Ziqian. After all, when it came to a good match, who in the entire state of Chu could compare to the Crown Prince?
However, starting a huge fight with Chu Ziqian was not a wise move, and she was unwilling to just swallow this insult. It was better to feign a request for divorce, force Chu Ziqian to come and apologize humbly to the Liu family, and make him promise never to bully Liu Min again. It would be best if he could write a letter of guarantee.
“Fine, let’s go now.”
Lady Liu finally nodded. With Liu Hanyue and a group of servants in tow, she appeared at the Crown Prince’s residence with a menacing air.
What she never expected was that when she brought up the matter of divorce to Chu Ziqian, he would reply decisively, “A divorce it is.”
“…!” Lady Liu froze on the spot, unsure how to react. If she were to back down now, where would she put her face?
Chu Ziqian spoke again, his voice cold. “I have had enough of your spoiled and headstrong daughter. This life has become unbearable anyway. It’s better for us to go our separate ways.”
Lately, Chu Ziqian had indeed found his life to be unbearably bitter.
He had lost his Royal Father’s trust in court, and at home, he had to face a shrew who not only failed to show him any consideration but also quarreled incessantly. There was simply no joy left in his life.
Since that was the case, he might as well take a gamble—
A gamble that by abandoning Liu Min, he could still win back Jiang Yingnan’s heart.
“Then please, Your Highness the Crown Prince, write the divorce papers,” Liu Hanyue said.
Lady Liu shot him a fierce glare—who gave him permission to make such a decision!
“Fine, I will write it now.”
With that, Chu Ziqian turned and walked to his desk, dashing off a divorce decree with a few strokes of his brush.
He remembered writing a similar decree for Jiang Yingnan last time.
Only then, every word he wrote felt like a knife twisting in his heart. Now, he only felt a sense of final release.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Liu Hanyue took the divorce papers and turned to leave.
Lady Liu had no choice but to follow her husband.
When Liu Min saw the divorce papers, she was utterly shocked. “Who said I wanted a divorce from the Crown Prince?! I only ran back to my parents’ home to make him angry!”
Liu Hanyue said flatly, “Marriage is a matter decided by one’s parents. As your father, I can naturally make the decision for your divorce as well.”
“Ahhhhhh!” Liu Min instantly flew into a rage, smashing the vases and other objects in her room. “Don’t you know that I genuinely liked the Crown Prince? That’s why I hated Jiang Yingnan so much! Without Jiang Yingnan, all he had to do was coax me a little, and couldn’t we have lived a happy life? You’ve infuriated me! I don’t recognize you as my father anymore!”
Lady Liu fanned the flames from the side, “Your father has been bewitched by some bastard child lately!”
That day, the Liu residence was thrown into chaos.
And the news of the divorce between the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess quickly spread throughout the state of Chu.
That afternoon, the Queen summoned Chu Ziqian.
“Have you gone mad!” The Queen picked up a teacup and threw it at Chu Ziqian’s face.
Normally, Chu Ziqian would have dodged.
The mother and son had a tacit understanding about such things—he could be injured in places others couldn’t see, but his dignity as the Crown Prince had to be preserved.
This time, however, Chu Ziqian allowed the teacup to shatter against his forehead.
The Queen was terrified when she saw his blood-streaked forehead. “Why didn’t you dodge?!”
“This is actually perfect,” Chu Ziqian said with a faint smile, making no move to stop the crimson blood flowing down his cheek.
He remembered the last time Jiang Yingnan was angry with him. It was because he had been injured by his mother that he had managed to win back Jiang Yingnan’s heart.
“Mother, you don’t need to say anything. I know what you want to say. But the divorce is already a done deal. There’s no point in you hitting or scolding me. You should save your energy.”
With that, Chu Ziqian turned and left the Queen’s palace.
While he was still bleeding, he rushed to Prince Rui’s residence to find Jiang Yingnan.
Jiang Yingnan, who had already heard the news of the divorce, couldn’t bring himself to refuse to see him this time.
And so, Jiang Yingnan finally received him in his own room at Prince Rui’s residence.
“Ah Nan, there are no more obstacles between us,” Chu Ziqian stared at Jiang Yingnan with reddened eyes. “Come back to my side. I will make you my only wife, alright?”
Jiang Yingnan remained silent, merely staring at the red, swollen gash on Chu Ziqian’s forehead for a moment. “I’m sorry, but it’s my own fault for being too clever. That’s how I know you’re playing the self-injury card.”
“So what if I am?” Chu Ziqian gave a bitter smile. “But, I’ve lost my reputation, the support of the Liu family, and my mother’s favor for you. These are all facts! How can you bear to refuse me again!”
“…” Jiang Yingnan truly couldn’t bear it.
He had no choice but to first find a first-aid kit and tend to Chu Ziqian’s wound.
As Chu Ziqian let him busy himself with stopping the bleeding and applying medicine, a blissful smile touched his lips. “I knew it. When you said you didn’t love me anymore, you were lying.”
“…” In that moment, Jiang Yingnan’s heart had indeed felt like dead ashes. But this was the man he had loved for so many years; it was impossible for him to suddenly vanish from his heart without a trace.
“Ah Nan, just give me one more chance, please?”
“Alright.”
Jiang Yingnan uttered a single word. Just as Chu Ziqian was about to become ecstatic, he heard him add, “I can give you one last chance—if you give up the title of Crown Prince to Prince Rui right now and leave the capital with me to wander the world, I will agree to be with you.”
“…Ah Nan!” The smile on Chu Ziqian’s face instantly froze. “Why must you force me like this?!”
“Because I’m afraid,” Jiang Yingnan smiled bitterly. “Do you really think Liu Min was the biggest obstacle between us? No. It’s your principle of being willing to abandon me for power at any moment. So you must make me believe that I am truly the most important person in your heart before I’ll dare to gamble again.”
“Ah Nan, I’ve told you so many times! I love power, but I love you just the same. Why must you force me to choose which is more important?!”
“Heh.” Jiang Yingnan understood his answer and gave a cold laugh. “Let’s not even talk about those empty promises. Let’s talk about the practical problems. Do you think your mother will agree to us getting back together? Won’t she blame me for all the humiliation you’ve suffered? Do you think I can have a single day of peace with you as long as you are still the Crown Prince?”
“…” Chu Ziqian was silent for a moment. “No matter what, I will not agree to your condition.”
“Ziqian, why can’t you just wake up? You can’t win against Prince Rui! If you continue this futile resistance, you’ll lose your life!”
Hearing this, Chu Ziqian’s expression turned even colder. “On what grounds do you think I can’t defeat Chu Lianmo?!”
Jiang Yingnan sighed. “Have you ever heard the saying that a just cause enjoys abundant support while an unjust cause finds little? The Jiang family, who was once on good terms with you, has defected to Prince Rui. And your former father-in-law’s family, the Lius, will likely side with Prince Rui soon enough… One is a civil official, the other military; both are pillars of the court…”
“Shut up! Sooner or later, I will cut Chu Lianmo into a thousand pieces for you to see!”
With that, Chu Ziqian stormed out, flicking his sleeves.
Although he had expected this outcome, Jiang Yingnan’s heart still couldn’t help but ache as he watched his retreating figure.
The next morning, Ji Hua came to Prince Rui’s residence to find Qi Xiaojun. “I’ve completed the task you gave me. There will be no more relationship between the Crown Prince and the Liu family. I don’t have to get close to Liu Hanyue anymore, right?”
Qi Xiaojun smiled. “Look at that, you suggested a divorce, and they really got a divorce. Your father decided to listen to you in an instant on such a major matter. Doesn’t that show he still cares a great deal about you?”
“…” Ji Hua now understood. Qi Xiaojun’s true intention was never about winning over the Liu family, but about reconciling them.
“You two,” Chu Lianmo suddenly pushed open the door to Qi Xiaojun’s room. “What are you doing being so clingy all day? Xiaojun, shouldn’t you be spending more time with this Prince?”
“…I just thought you were busy,” Qi Xiaojun glanced back at Chu Lianmo.
“As it happens, this Prince is not busy today. And it’s almost time for my monthly visit to see my mother. Why don’t you accompany me to the palace to see her?”
“Alright.” Qi Xiaojun nodded in agreement.
“Your Highness.” Suddenly, a handmaiden came running over. She was not a servant from Prince Rui’s residence, but one of Noble Consort Liang’s. “Her Ladyship sent me with a message. She said that if it’s convenient when you come to the palace this month, you should bring a physician with you.”
“What?” Chu Lianmo instantly tensed up. “Is my mother ill?!”
“No, no,” the handmaiden shook her head. “She needs a physician for another reason. She also said it’s best not to get an imperial physician; a common physician from outside the palace will do.”
“…” Chu Lianmo fell silent for a moment, then looked at Ji Hua. “Since you happen to be here, you might as well come with us to the palace.”
Ji Hua was displeased with his commanding tone and sneered, “I should go to the palace just because you tell me to? I am a citizen of Qi; I am not subject to the orders of your Chu royal family.”
Fearing they would argue, Qi Xiaojun quickly mediated, “Alright, Ah Hua, just think of it as doing me another favor.”
“It seems like I’ll never finish doing favors for you,” Ji Hua grumbled, but his tone indicated he had agreed.
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