Gu Lingyun looked at the wounds on her body. Dressed so thinly, it was even worse than during the three years of estrangement. He frowned slightly, his expression inscrutable. “When I cared for you, didn’t you say you disliked it?”
Shen Si’s heart ached sharply several times, filled with regret and remorse. Yes, she had said she didn’t like it, so His Majesty had let her be. From then on, he never cared for her again, and the distance between them had lasted three years.
At the palace night banquet, to avoid suspicion, she had refused all the gifts His Majesty bestowed. But Xie Queshan’s meteoric rise and His Majesty’s heavy reliance on him were certainly not without reason. She couldn’t help but wonder—was it because of her?
Because she had married Xie Queshan, His Majesty had repeatedly promoted him, allowing him to become a first-rank minister at such a young age, entering the Shumiyuan and commanding military power.
The more she thought about it, the more guilt and sorrow she felt.
“I… I was ignorant. I was wrong, Your Majesty… Your Majesty, please punish me. Let Liu Cha’en beat me with the rod. Once Your Majesty vents your anger, please care for me again, alright?”
Shen Si’s voice trembled as she cried, desperate to reconcile with His Majesty. She couldn’t let that scoundrel succeed any longer.
“Xie Shen-shi, you are now the wife of Marquis Xie. You should refer to yourself as ‘your subject’s wife’ or ‘this humble one.'”
Gu Lingyun reminded her coldly, not letting her forget the rules. In the imperial palace, rules were of utmost importance.
And she must show the utmost respect to him, the Emperor.
Besides, with her delicate skin and tender flesh, how could she withstand even a few strokes of punishment? Nonsense.
Tears welled in Shen Si’s eyes as she stared at him stubbornly, refuting, “I don’t want this. I am not his wife. Your Majesty, you don’t know how I’ve been mistreated. If only I had known… I shouldn’t have begged Your Majesty to grant the marriage three years ago. I was wrong!”
Two streams of clear tears slowly flowed down her cheeks. It was clear she had been terribly mistreated to return crying like this, like a delicate flower on the verge of withering away.
Gu Lingyun had never seen her so fragile and grief-stricken. The ice in his eyes deepened, a sharp edge piercing through his gaze, enough to silence anyone.
The man asked casually, “How has he treated you poorly?”
“Didn’t you say that Xie Xiaohouye was as noble as orchids and jade, treating others with grace and elegance, and that you would marry him without regret?”
Shen Si truly wanted to strangle her past self from three years ago. How had she been deceived by that wolf in sheep’s clothing? Xie Queshan was cold to the extreme. All his favor was given to Noble Consort Ning, and he despised his lawful wife to the point of wanting to chew her flesh and gnaw her bones.
Everyone loved such a hypocrite, unable to see through the rotten, venomous heart hidden beneath. She regretted it so deeply it felt like her intestines were turning green.
“I misjudged him. With a true gem right before me, I was blinded by a single leaf. Xie Queshan is not worthy of even a fraction of Your Majesty’s worth.” She desperately explained, hoping His Majesty would believe her even a little. Now, even the sight of Xie Queshan disgusted her.
“I beg Your Majesty to pity me!”
Gu Lingyun’s gaze grew even colder, falling upon her frail body like a towering mountain. “How dare you.”
Her crying and fussing were nothing more than grievances suffered at Xie Queshan’s hands, seeking his support. Since it was not a divorce but merely a marital quarrel, how could she be so spoiled as to involve an emperor? And to utter such treasonous words—utterly audacious!
Shen Si was stunned, her heart trembling violently. Did he despise her?
After all, they were no longer as close as before. He was the emperor, and she was the wife of a subject. It felt as though countless mountains and rivers lay between them, impossible to cross.
She recklessly knelt and shuffled closer, finally kneeling at his feet and tugging at the hem of his robe, weeping, “He treats me poorly! For three years, he hasn’t touched me, never even visits my courtyard—he’s neglected me all this time!”
The chill around Gu Lingyun instantly dissipated, his frosty face showing not a trace of emotion as he stared at her hand clutching his clothes, his brow slightly lowered as if displeased.
“Do you not want that hand anymore?”
Shen Si’s attempt to move closer froze instantly, and she looked at him with pitiful grievance. The Emperor in this lifetime was truly so cold, always quick to scold her.
She instinctively wanted to retreat, but her arm was suddenly seized, and she stumbled forward, collapsing between his legs. The woman was both startled and fearful, yet her instincts still urged her to draw closer to this unapproachable emperor.
“Your Majesty~” she called timidly, her eyes gleaming with a hint of delight, just as intimate as she had been with him many years ago.
Gu Lingyun’s expression remained unreadable, as if he had grown impatient with her antics. He pinched her chin and asked, “I can teach you to read, write, and observe etiquette and propriety, but how am I to teach you the matters between husband and wife?”
Having lived two lifetimes without worldly experience, Shen Si’s cheeks flushed slightly at such words. Without a second thought, she wrapped her arms around the man’s waist, pressing her rosy cheek against his chest and coquettishly pleading, “Your Majesty, I don’t want to be his wife anymore. I beg of you, Your Majesty~”
Fearing that the Emperor might push her away, she held on tightly with both hands, determined not to let go this time no matter what.
Outside, Liu Cha’en watched with bated heart. Although their Emperor appeared benevolent, he was actually unpredictable, having taken many lives without a flicker of emotion. The more stable his throne became, the more lives he claimed.
In all his years by the Emperor’s side, he had never seen anyone with the courage of the Shen family’s second daughter—making a scene, weeping and wailing. Even Noble Consort Ning dared not act so recklessly before the Emperor. Such audacity born of favor belonged solely to the married Lady Shen.
Thankfully, he hadn’t given this mistress any trouble earlier.
“You want me to issue an imperial decree for you to divorce Xie Queshan? Does such a thing exist in this world? Shen Si, even your mischief must have its limits.”
Gu Lingyun allowed her to cling to him, neither giving her hope nor showing the slightest bias. For him to decide such a matter would imply the Xie family had no one left.
Shen Si sobbed, sniffing the Longxianxiang scent on him and pouting. See? Everyone thought she was mad, that Xie Queshan was the good one and she the villain.
“Then let it be that Sisi only likes Your Majesty. I want to stay by Your Majesty’s side, and to do that, I must divorce him. I am serious.”
Gu Lingyun’s face remained cold. There wasn’t a word of truth in her mouth. “Do you know how many capital offenses you’ve committed tonight? And you still dare to spout such nonsense?”
“Then let Your Majesty sentence Sisi to death. Dying by Your Majesty’s side is still better than dying in the Marquis’s residence.” Shen Si threw caution to the wind, resigned to being seen as mad.
As the two remained locked in their stalemate, a voice reported from outside, “Your Majesty, someone from Yichun Palace has come to say that Noble Consort Ning is experiencing stomach pains.”
Shen Si’s body stiffened. Noble Consort Ning…
This Noble Consort Ning was the second daughter of the Ning family, born of a concubine. After entering the palace, she gained the Emperor’s favor and within a year secured her position as a consort, even becoming pregnant.
Yet this noble consort was exceedingly aloof, maintaining her pride and arrogance even in the Emperor’s presence. Despite this, she reigned supreme in the harem, unmatched by any. They said the noble consort was even more favored than the Shen family’s second daughter had been in her day.
Noble Consort Ning disliked the harem and, even more so, the Emperor, for she too was deeply in love with Xie Xiaohouye outside the palace…
Gu Lingyun was about to push the woman in his arms away as he asked Liu Cha’en outside, “Has the imperial physician been summoned?”
Liu Cha’en lowered his gaze with utmost deference: “I have called for him.”
Seeing that His Majesty was about to leave, Shen Si quickly shifted her hands from his waist to wrap around his neck, clinging to him as she pleaded pitifully.
“Don’t go, please~ I… I’m not feeling well either. I feel dizzy and nauseous. Your Majesty, am I dying? Wuwu… Your Majesty, save me…”