Lu Yunzheng straightened up almost immediately. He was very tall, and standing upright made the already spacious room feel somewhat cramped.
"What did you say?"
His eyes locked tightly onto Xu Wantang.
Only when love still exists does one fear the other's anger. Once love is gone, that fear evaporates.
Faced with his oppressive question, Xu Wantang looked straight into his eyes without a trace of fear and repeated, "Divorce."
"Xu Wantang, you can throw your little tantrums, but don't treat marriage as a game."
As if convinced that Xu Wantang was playing hard to get, Lu Yunzheng warned her through gritted teeth, enunciating every word.
Xu Wantang could see a trace of anger on his face, but she wasn't narcissistic enough to believe that Lu Yunzheng couldn't bear to lose her.
The reason Lu Yunzheng showed a hint of anger was entirely because the matter of the marriage had slipped out of his control.
In the past, Xu Wantang had always been the steadfast guardian of this marriage, and now, she was the one proposing to end it.
At the root of it all, it was Lu Yunzheng's possessiveness and need for control at work.
Hearing Lu Yunzheng's words, Xu Wantang found it utterly absurd, and a mocking smile tugged at her lips. "Lu Yunzheng, which of us is really treating marriage as a game?"
"After we got our marriage certificate, how many times did you come home? How many times have we met? The total time we've spent together probably doesn't even amount to a few hours. Is this your attitude toward marriage?"
"I know you don't like me. Even sharing a room with me or saying a single word to me feels like torture to you. In that case, why don't we set each other free?"
Having said all this, Xu Wantang felt a sense of relief, and she said calmly, "I truly want a divorce, and I hope you'll consider it seriously."
Lu Yunzheng studied Xu Wantang's face carefully.
Xu Wantang was beautiful—he had always known that. Her palm-sized face, without a trace of makeup, was striking enough, especially those eyes, fluttering as if they could speak. At this moment, her large, dark-grape-like eyes were filled with resolve.
Did she really want a divorce?
Aside from a slight anger, Lu Yunzheng's eyes were also filled with deep confusion.
Why would Xu Wantang ask for a divorce?
Didn't she like him? Back then, she had gone so far as to use dirty tricks to marry him, which disgusted him to no end. Every time they shared a room, he would remember how he had been schemed against, how he had lost control.
Even so, he had never thought of divorcing her and being with someone else. After all, everything that should have happened between them that night did happen. He was a man, and he ought to take responsibility.
What he never expected was that Xu Wantang would be the one to ask for a divorce.
For some reason, the moment he heard Xu Wantang mention divorce, a surge of bitterness and anger welled up inside him, leaving him at a loss.
Zhao Youyou's tear-streaked little face flashed with panic.
Although she hated the bad woman, she didn't want the bad woman to divorce Daddy Lu.
The bad woman's cooking was delicious—she hadn't had enough of it yet!
Nervously, she tugged at Daddy Lu's sleeve, wanting to tell him not to agree to the divorce, but Daddy Lu kept staring at the bad woman without any reaction at all.
Seeing that her son hadn't spoken for a long while, Zhang Xiuju couldn't sit still either. She stepped forward, her somewhat burly body placing itself between Lu Yunzheng and Xu Wantang, shielding Lu Yunzheng behind her like a mother hen. Glaring furiously at Xu Wantang, she said to Lu Yunzheng,
"Son, listen to your mother. If she wants a divorce, then let her go! Once you're divorced, Mom will find you an obedient daughter-in-law who can give you a fat baby boy!"
The reason Zhang Xiuju had agreed to let Xu Wantang marry into the family in the first place was, first, that the girl was obedient and easy to control, and second, that Xu Wantang was beautiful—clearly the type who could seduce a man. And though she was thin, she had a decent chest and a nice rear—she looked like she could definitely give Zhang Xiuju a fat grandson!
But who knew she'd be so useless, failing to hold on to her son's heart at all. Nearly half a year of marriage and not a whisper of news!
And then, just now, Xu Wantang had abandoned her usual meekness. Zhang Xiuju couldn't wait to swap out this daughter-in-law.
Lu Yunzheng rubbed his brow irritably. "Stay out of my business with her."
With that, Lu Yunzheng stepped forward and grabbed Xu Wantang's wrist, intending to take her to the study. The moment his palm touched her wrist, a soft, delicate sensation traveled up from his slightly rough palm.
Lu Yunzheng felt his heart inexplicably pound twice, and the memory of that night surfaced unbidden in his mind…
As if scalded, he immediately released Xu Wantang's wrist, lowering his eyes so his expression couldn't be read. "Come to the study with me."
Xu Wantang was utterly baffled by this series of actions. She gave him several once-overs with a "is this guy mentally ill?" look, then followed him to the study.
Lu Yunzheng closed the study door and frowned slightly. His mouth opened and closed, closed and opened again, before he finally spoke. "Everything you said just now can be adjusted."
"If you don't like Youyou, I can consider sending her back to her birth mother. You are her stepmother, after all—you have the right to raise objections."
As if he had made an enormous decision, he continued, "You can come with me when I'm stationed with the army. We'll live together. Will that satisfy you?"
Xu Wantang nearly laughed out loud.
That tone, those grudging offers—was she supposed to kneel down and cry out about the emperor's boundless grace?
Military dependents joining their husbands on base was the most ordinary thing in the world, yet for her it was treated like a royal gift.
Xu Wantang gave a light laugh and stared at Lu Yunzheng, enunciating every word. "Not satisfied. Only a divorce will satisfy me."
Lu Yunzheng pressed his lips tightly together and said nothing for a long while.
Only then did he begin to waver. Perhaps Xu Wantang really wasn't throwing a tantrum—she truly wanted a divorce.
He had married her out of a sense of duty in the first place, with no particular expectations. If Xu Wantang insisted, then he had nothing more to say.
"Fine, we'll divorce. But divorces in military marriages aren't that easy, and since we haven't been married long, my superiors won't approve it."
Xu Wantang had been happy that Lu Yunzheng agreed to the divorce, but the moment she heard his next words, her face fell. "Then what do we do? How can we get divorced quickly?"
The sooner she divorced, the sooner she could embrace a brand-new, wonderful life. She didn't want to drag this out.
Hearing how eagerly Xu Wantang longed for the divorce, Lu Yunzheng's displeasure surged up again.
Was she really in such a hurry to get rid of him?
Lu Yunzheng's eyes narrowed slightly, and some baseless, unpleasant suspicions immediately sprang up in his mind.
Xu Wantang had liked him so much before. Surely not.
He forced himself to push the speculation out of his mind and answered Xu Wantang's question objectively. "Given our current situation, with neither of us having committed any major fault in the marriage, if you want to divorce as quickly as possible, the best option is for you to join me at my post. After we've lived together for a while, we can file the report. Otherwise, the higher-ups will definitely reject the divorce application on the grounds that we haven't spent enough time together."
Xu Wantang knew a fair bit about this and could tell that Lu Yunzheng was being reliable.
She agreed readily. "Then I'll join you at your post. After some time passes, we'll get divorced."
Lu Yunzheng frowned. After a moment of silence, he cleared his throat lightly—whether as a reminder or just making conversation—and said awkwardly, "Sabotaging a military marriage is a punishable offense."