At first, when Li Zhenchun picked up her book, she thought to herself that she should not waste such a beautiful desk. She also did not want to waste Yue Jingque’s and Chen Runiang’s good intentions. She was determined to study seriously.
When Wei Xinian picked up his book, however, he only had one thought.
Keep an eye on Yue Jingque.
He wanted to find out what trick this woman was planning.
Half an hour later…
Li Zhenchun’s eyes had lost their focus, and her head kept nodding.
Wei Xinian’s eyelids drooped, and even holding up his neck seemed difficult.
Yue Jingque looked up.
“Second Brother.”
Wei Xinian scratched his face, then lazily rested his cheek on his hand. His sleeves and hair covered his eyes as he lowered his head.
Yue Jingque looked at Nanzhi.
Nanzhi walked over and kicked the leg of Wei Xinian’s chair.
The loud bang startled not only Wei Xinian awake, but also Li Zhenchun across from him.
Li Zhenchun secretly looked up.
Seeing that Yue Jingque’s expression had not changed, she quietly sighed in relief before looking at the confused Wei Xinian.
“Why did you kick my chair?”
Having just woken up, Wei Xinian calmly kicked the chair back into place and sat down again.
He waved at Nanzhi.
“If you want to make trouble, go somewhere else.”
“I’m busy studying. I don’t have time to play with you.”
Although he looked calm, he was panicking inside.
Even a fool knew why the maid had kicked his chair.
If Yue Jingque told Fang Rushi that he had been sleeping during lessons, his mother would skin him alive.
He secretly glanced at Yue Jingque.
The moment he saw her looking at him, a chill ran down his back.
He hurriedly grabbed his book.
“Keep teaching! Why are you looking at me?”
“Are there words written on my face?”
Across the room, Li Zhenchun wanted to applaud.
Amazing.
The student who slept through class was blaming the teacher instead.
Yue Jingque remained calm, though her patience had already reached its limit.
“Second Brother.”
“A moment ago we reached the sentence, ‘Even death does not frighten a loyal minister. Why would he refuse a cup of wine?’“
“How do you understand this sentence?”
Li Zhenchun froze.
Wait… studying includes answering questions?
She immediately lowered her head.
She was afraid Yue Jingque would call on her if Wei Xinian couldn’t answer.
Wei Xinian was equally stunned.
He had been asleep.
How could he possibly know what she had just taught?
He looked toward Li Zhenchun, hoping she might know.
Instead, all he saw was the top of her bowed head.
It practically had the words “I don’t know either” written across it.
Wei Xinian: “…”
He licked his lips.
“I…”
Meeting Yue Jingque’s gaze made him even more nervous.
“I…”
Yue Jingque silently waited.
Finally, he gritted his teeth.
“It means…”
“I’m not even afraid of drinking myself to death.”
“So why would I refuse one cup of wine?”
Silence.
Yue Jingque stared at him without speaking.
Li Zhenchun secretly raised her head.
That interpretation sounds… strange.
Was the historian who wrote this really that wild?
Yue Jingque lowered her eyes and gently closed the book.
As she carefully smoothed the folded corners of the pages, she asked,
“If that’s how you understand it…”
“What kind of person do you think the author of this history book was?”
“Someone who loved drinking like you?”
“Or someone who enjoyed visiting questionable places?”
Wei Xinian had no idea.
His guilty eyes wandered…
…and met Li Zhenchun.
Her heart skipped a beat.
She quickly tried to lower her head again.
Before she could, Wei Xinian spoke.
“Li Zhenchun.”
“Yue Jingque is asking you.”
Li Zhenchun: “…”
Slowly, she raised her head.
Yue Jingque looked at her gently.
“If you’re tired from studying, Sister-in-law, there are tea and snacks in the side room.”
“You may rest for a while.”
Li Zhenchun waved both hands.
“No! I’m not tired at all!”
Of course I’m not tired.
I just woke up from sleeping.
She felt too guilty to meet Yue Jingque’s eyes.
Across the room, however, Wei Xinian boldly declared,
“I’m tired!”
“I’m going horseback riding!”
Yue Jingque slowly let out a breath and looked at him coldly.
“Second Brother is tired?”
Wei Xinian was about to answer yes.
But after seeing the icy look in her eyes, his words stuck in his throat.
“Nanzhi.”
“Call Jingxin and Jingye inside.”
Wei Xinian wondered who they were.
The next moment, Nanzhi returned with two female guards.
They were the strongest women among all the guards.
The memory of being dragged into the ancestral hall and beaten flashed through his mind.
He immediately grabbed his book.
“Fine! Fine! I’ll study!”
“Why are you calling the guards?”
“I’ll study properly, okay?”
“Where were we again?”
He frantically flipped through the book.
Li Zhenchun seriously worried he would tear it apart.
Still…
She was secretly grateful.
Thanks to the loud sound of his pages flipping, she quietly turned a page herself.
She had also fallen asleep earlier…
…and forgot to turn the page.
…
After a terrifying morning of studying, Li Zhenchun and Wei Xinian walked out of the study.
Both staggered forward.
Their eyes were empty.
Their backs were slightly bent.
Their whole bodies felt weighed down…
…by the burden of knowledge.
Wei Xinian weakly said,
“I really don’t understand you.”
“Why would you willingly come study with me?”
After two full hours of lessons, even his voice sounded exhausted.
Li Zhenchun leaned against Hongxiu for support.
“You think I wanted to?”
“First Madam ordered me to come.”
Wei Xinian snorted.
“With Aunt as your mother-in-law…”
“You’re going to suffer for the rest of your life.”
His head felt heavy.
He hated studying because books seemed to suck the life out of him.
Every time he finished reading, he felt completely drained.
Li Zhenchun looked at him resentfully.
“If only you had insisted that day…”
“We wouldn’t be suffering like this.”
If their marriages had never been switched…
She would never have had Chen Runiang as a mother-in-law.
Wei Xinian would never have married Yue Jingque.
If the two of them had married each other…
They could have spent every day catching birds, fishing, teasing dogs, and climbing trees.
Life would have been wonderful.
Wei Xinian suddenly froze.
He slowly turned toward her.
The next moment, it was as if he had come back to life.
He stood up straight.
“I can get a divorce!”
“Wait here!”
“I’ll go divorce her right now!”
“Once she’s gone from the Wei family…”
“…we won’t have to study anymore!”
Li Zhenchun watched him run toward the study like an excited puppy.
She immediately sped up.
“Come on, Hongxiu!”
“Let’s hurry!”
She absolutely did not want to be blamed for encouraging her brother-in-law to divorce his wife.
The moment she left the courtyard…
Wei Xinian’s miserable screams echoed from inside.
She shivered.
She looked back.
In the end…
Fear defeated curiosity.
She grabbed Hongxiu and hurried away.
…
The next day…
Li Zhenchun sat behind her desk.
Across from her, Wei Xinian was kneeling in front of his desk.
A bright red handprint covered his face.
Every finger mark was clearly visible.
It looked much harder than the slap his mother had given him before.
Hongxiu had told her that Yue Jingque hadn’t slapped him.
One of the female guards had.
Yesterday, Wei Xinian had gone too far in his studies.
He had even tried to force Yue Jingque to sign divorce papers.
The loyal female guard couldn’t stand it anymore.
She had “accidentally” let her hand hit his face.
Li Zhenchun thought,
That was quite an impressive accident.
It even left a perfect handprint.
Noticing her staring, Wei Xinian said expressionlessly,
“Looks good, doesn’t it?”
Li Zhenchun grinned.
She said nothing.
She looked toward Yue Jingque’s seat.
Yue Jingque had not arrived yet.
Li Zhenchun quickly carried her skirt over to Wei Xinian and whispered,
“This is your badge of honor.”
Wei Xinian looked at her for a long moment before snorting proudly.
“Exactly.”
“Anyone who fights against tyranny is bound to get hurt.”
“These scars…”
“…are the symbol of a real man.”
Li Zhenchun nodded enthusiastically like a hardworking little bee.
“A man who’s afraid of his wife is the best kind of man.”
Wei Xinian was still trying to figure out what she meant when Yue Jingque walked in.
Behind her were the same two female guards.
Wei Xinian hated them so much his teeth itched.
But he didn’t dare do anything.
He could only slam his book onto the desk.
Bang!
Then he quietly opened it.
That loud slam…
…was the bravest thing he dared do.
Yue Jingque looked at him.
“Does your waist hurt, Second Brother?”
“Is that why you can’t kneel up straight?”
Wei Xinian instantly straightened his back.
“I don’t need your concern!”
Yue Jingque calmly replied,
“Since you’re kneeling today…”
“…I suppose you won’t fall asleep.”
She then looked at Li Zhenchun.
Li Zhenchun immediately straightened her back and forced out a smile.
“This morning I drank very strong tea.”
“I’m completely awake.”
She was awake…
But after drinking three large cups of strong tea…
She desperately needed to use the restroom.
…
More than a month passed in the blink of an eye.
Every morning, Li Zhenchun woke up early to study reading and writing in Yue Jingque’s courtyard.
Wei Nancheng also left early and returned late, often sleeping in his study because of work.
The two of them were so busy that they rarely saw each other.
Li Zhenchun thought this arrangement was wonderful.
She had food and clothing provided by the Wei family…
…without having to face Wei Nancheng.
Her only problem was studying.
Fortunately, Yue Jingque was not an overly strict teacher.
And she still had poor Wei Xinian suffering beside her.
During a break from studying, Li Zhenchun watched Wei Xinian’s servant, Jiu’an, take out a rolled painting.
He hung it up in front of his master.
The painting showed a gentle and elegant young woman.
Li Zhenchun looked at the portrait, then at Wei Xinian.
He raised an eyebrow.
“What do you think?”
“Isn’t she pretty?”
Li Zhenchun blinked.
“She’s pretty.”
“But she’s not as beautiful as Sister Jingque.”
After more than a month together, she had already learned that praising Yue Jingque was always a good idea.
Unfortunately, the fool in front of her still hadn’t realized that.
Wei Xinian clicked his tongue impatiently.
“That tigress Yue Jingque keeps everyone at a distance.”
“So what if she’s beautiful?”
“We’ve been married for over a month, and I…”
He paused.
Looking around at the servants in the study, he swallowed the words “I’ve been sleeping on the floor for over a month.”
His mother absolutely could not hear that.
“I’m tired of this.”
“I’m taking a concubine.”
He pointed at the portrait.
“I already had Jiu’an investigate her.”
“She’s the daughter of a small cloth workshop owner.”
“She’s about my age.”
“She isn’t skilled in music, chess, calligraphy, or painting…”
Li Zhenchun blinked.
“Not skilled?”
“Exactly.”
Wei Xinian nodded confidently.
“She’s just like you.”
“Untalented, useless, and rather foolish.”
“If she marries into the Wei family…”
“First, she won’t have the qualifications to control me.”
“Second, she’ll distract the tigress.”
“I’ll bring her in…”
“…so she can study with us?”
Li Zhenchun innocently finished his sentence.
If this girl really joined them…
Then the three of them would truly become three useless cobblers who still couldn’t match one Zhuge Liang.
Wei Xinian was speechless.
He quickly told Jiu’an to put the painting away.
“Never mind.”
“I’m going to bring her home today.”
“Even if I can’t defeat Yue Jingque…”
“…I’ll at least make her angry.”
He stood up and strode toward the door.
Just as he reached it…
He suddenly turned around…
…and quietly walked back.
Li Zhenchun was confused.
Before she could ask why…
She saw Yue Jingque standing in the doorway, dressed in an indigo-blue robe.
She calmly raised her eyes and looked at Wei Xinian.
“Second Brother…”
“Where were you planning to go?”
Wei Xinian answered without hesitation,
“I need to use the restroom.”
“Are you going to control that too?”
Then he pointed at Li Zhenchun.
“Why don’t you worry about her instead?”
“She runs to the toilet four or five times every half hour.”
“At this rate she’ll flood the family’s latrine.”
Li Zhenchun: “…”
For someone born into a noble family…
He spoke even more crudely than she did.
Fine.
If you’re going to insult me…
Don’t blame me for betraying you.
She immediately raised her hand with a righteous expression.
Looking at Yue Jingque, she loudly announced,
“Report, Sister Jingque!”
“He’s going out to take a concubine!”
“What?!”
Wei Xinian’s eyes nearly popped out.
“Don’t make things up!”
“I’m not!”
“The girl’s portrait is still in Jiu’an’s hands.”
Jingxin stepped forward at Yue Jingque’s signal.
Jiu’an was just as cowardly as his master.
He didn’t dare resist.
Jingxin simply took the painting from him.
Yue Jingque opened it and glanced at the girl in the portrait.
Then she looked at Li Zhenchun.
Her gaze seemed strange.
It was as if she wanted to say something.
But just as Li Zhenchun expected her to speak…
Yue Jingque silently looked away.
She threw the portrait onto the floor.
“I do not agree.”
“Why not?!”
Wei Xinian slammed both hands on the desk.
But when he saw the cold look in Yue Jingque’s eyes, a chill ran down his spine.
He slowly lowered his hands.
His voice became much weaker.
“If you don’t agree…”
“You should at least give me a reason.”
“Otherwise you’re simply jealous.”
“That’s one of the Seven Grounds for Divorce.”
“I’ll divorce you.”
Yue Jingque calmly said,
“Nanzhi.”
“Bring writing materials for Second Young Master.”
She looked at Wei Xinian.
“If I have truly violated one of the Seven Grounds…”
“…then I shouldn’t continue clinging to you.”
“Write the divorce letter.”
“I’ll take it and leave immediately.”
Wei Xinian stood there, completely stunned.
Li Zhenchun also stared at Yue Jingque in disbelief.
She hurried over.
“Are you homesick?”
“If you miss your family, you can simply stay at your parents’ house for a while.”
“There’s no need to go through all this trouble.”
Wei Xinian couldn’t understand Yue Jingque at all.
First, she refused to let him share the bed.
Then she refused to let him take a concubine.
Now she was even willing to accept a divorce.
What kind of scheme is she playing?
Was she only interested in the title of his first wife?
And now that she is bored…
…she was simply throwing him away?