Yun Ni’s palms were slick with sweat.
Her heart pounded like a drum, every hair on her body standing on end. Her eyes were slightly reddened as she warily scanned the surroundings, never taking her eyes off the group of heavily armed soldiers.
She could smell the strong scent of blood on them. Their backs were straight, their eyes sharp as wolves. They were nothing like the mediocre constables from the local yamen.
These men had clearly seen blood and taken lives. They were true soldiers who had witnessed battlefields littered with corpses.
The wrist holding the sickle was already aching, but Yun Ni forced herself to endure the trembling. Carefully, she reached behind her.
The moment her fingers found Shen Tinglan’s strong, well-defined hand, the knot of fear in her chest finally loosened a little. She squeezed his hand and was just about to say, “Don’t be afraid.”
But the next moment, the man’s cool fingers slowly slipped out of her palm, one by one.
Yun Ni grasped at empty air.
“Miss Yun.”
Shen Tinglan’s distant, icy voice was like a basin of ice water poured straight over her head.
Hearing that cold yet familiar form of address, Yun Ni turned around in bewilderment. She looked up at the tall, imposing man before her, her cracked lips trembling before she finally managed to whisper, “Husband?”
Shen Tinglan’s gaze turned cold.
“I am not your husband.”
Yun Ni had no idea why Shen Tinglan was suddenly trying to sever their relationship. Could he be trying to distance himself from her so the soldiers would not implicate her?
At a loss, Yun Ni instinctively reached for his robe.
“What’s wrong with you…?”
But he had already seen what she intended to do. With one sweep of his cold gaze, he stepped backward, avoiding her touch.
Yun Ni’s fingers froze in midair. She stood there awkwardly, completely at a loss.
Then Wei Lingfeng, the leader of Shen Tinglan’s personal guards, stepped forward. He took out a thick, fluffy white fox-fur cloak and draped it over Shen Tinglan’s shoulders.
“Master, be careful not to catch a chill.”
Yun Ni stared blankly at the scene before her and finally understood.
These soldiers were Shen Tinglan’s retainers. They had come to protect their master.
And the way she had just stood in front of Shen Tinglan with a sickle in hand must have looked ridiculous and hopelessly overconfident in their eyes.
After all, Shen Tinglan himself was the apex predator—the kind of wolf that could tear someone apart and devour them whole. Why would he need someone else’s protection?
Once Yun Ni had returned home, the distance between her and Shen Tinglan had shortened, and the pain in his chest finally eased.
From Wei Lingfeng, Shen Tinglan had learned that when a man and woman were afflicted with this kind of Love Gu, they could not be separated for too long. Otherwise, Shen Tinglan’s heart condition would worsen and he might suddenly die.
Although he could temporarily ease the pain with medicine and medicinal meals, his most urgent priority was to break the Gu as soon as possible and completely sever his connection with a country woman like Yun Ni.
Yun Ni looked at her unfamiliar, distant husband, wanting to speak but not knowing what to say.
In the end, Shen Tinglan spoke first.
“Miss Yun, a year ago, I was injured and lost my memory. I suffered from a condition known as soul-loss and forgot everything about my past. On top of that, I was infected with the Love Gu. That was why I developed so many feelings of affection toward you.”
Yun Ni had never received much education, but she had lived long enough to know that she was not stupid.
She understood.
Everything that had happened between them was a lie.
Shen Tinglan’s tenderness and special treatment toward her had all been caused by the Love Gu. None of it had been his true intention.
But could there really be a Love Gu powerful enough to force someone into such intimate relations, make them whisper sweet words throughout the night, and make them hold each other to sleep every evening?
Yun Ni refused to believe it.
Yet Shen Tinglan’s unmistakable coldness and the faint trace of disdain in his eyes were impossible to fake.
He truly was no longer the man he had been.
He was no longer gentle or kind toward her.
Yun Ni glanced again at the snow-white fox-fur cloak draped over Shen Tinglan’s shoulders.
Such clean, soft, exquisite fur was something she had never even seen in her entire life.
By comparison, the shabby fox pelt in the bamboo basket behind her—the one she had planned to turn into a scarf for Shen Tinglan—looked crude and embarrassingly cheap.
There had always been an enormous gulf between them.
He came from an aristocratic clan; she was nothing more than a poor village girl.
They were worlds apart.
No matter how hard Yun Ni tried, she could never give Shen Tinglan the life he was accustomed to.
She forced an awkward smile.
“So… Young Master Shen, you’ve regained your memory?”
Shen Tinglan gave a faint hum.
Yun Ni did not know where to look, so she desperately searched for something else to say.
“Has the Love Gu been removed from your body?”
“Not yet.”
Shen Tinglan paused. His phoenix-shaped eyes narrowed slightly as he looked down at her.
“The Love Gu consists of two parts—the male Gu and the female Gu. The person carrying the male Gu suffers the effects of the female Gu. That is why my heart condition is difficult to cure. Whenever you go too far away, my illness flares up, and the pain becomes unbearable.”
Yun Ni finally understood.
For some unknown reason, she had apparently swallowed the female Gu, while Shen Tinglan carried the male Gu. His suffering was connected to her.
She hurriedly asked, “Then how do we remove it? I don’t want you to suffer…”
“Miss Yun, there is no need to worry. My household has already found a physician skilled in treating witchcraft and Gu poison. However, there is one thing…”
He paused.
“To remove the Gu, you must take medicine to weaken and eventually destroy the parasite. The treatment will take approximately six months. During this period, I hope you will not travel far. Come back to the city with me and receive treatment.”
Seeing the way Shen Tinglan had mobilized so many soldiers, Yun Ni had already guessed that he came from an extremely powerful family.
She was worried about the illness that still afflicted him, but she did not want to leave her hometown and travel somewhere unfamiliar.
If possible, she would rather Shen Tinglan stay in Xuzhou for six months.
Yun Ni hesitated.
“I’ve never left Xuzhou before, and I have no plans to leave home. Is there any other way to remove the Gu, Young Master Shen?”
Perhaps Yun Ni’s boldness in negotiating with him amused him.
Shen Tinglan rarely showed such a cold smile.
“There is… For example, we could cut open the body of the person carrying the female Gu, remove the parasite from her heart, and forcibly sever the connection.”
Yun Ni’s face turned deathly pale.
Was he saying they would cut open her stomach?
Shen Tinglan glanced at her indifferently.
“Although this method is effective, it has its drawbacks. Even if you are killed, the female Gu inside you is extremely fierce. It could affect the male Gu inside me and cause severe backlash, potentially killing me as well.”
He paused.
“For your safety, I am asking you to stay at my residence for six months. I hope you will understand and give me the opportunity to treat you properly.”
Shen Tinglan was speaking patiently only because Yun Ni had cared for him so meticulously during the past year.
If this had been the old Shen Tinglan, he would have knocked her unconscious, chained her up, and forcibly kept her in his residence until the Love Gu tormenting him was removed.
Yun Ni could hear the murderous undertone in his words.
She also understood that she had now become Shen Tinglan’s “weak point,” leaving her with little choice.
Rather than opposing him and being forcibly dragged back to his household by these soldiers, she might as well cooperate and receive treatment.
Shen Tinglan had made it clear: after six months of medicine, once the Gu weakened and died, the Love Gu would naturally be cured.
Perhaps knowing that Yun Ni was only a fragile young woman, Shen Tinglan softened his voice and added,
“During these six months, I will also repay the favor you showed me. I will have the physicians in my household treat your leg. Once the treatment is complete, I will give you a thousand taels of silver. After that, we will consider our debts between us settled.”
Shen Tinglan was telling Yun Ni to know her place.
As the emperor’s tutor and Chancellor of Wu, he would never allow such a vulnerability to remain outside his control.
If Yun Ni refused to cooperate, he would have no choice but to use more forceful methods to remove the Gu.
Fortunately, Yun Ni understood the situation.
She was only an ordinary commoner. There was no way she could fight against an aristocratic nobleman.
Although she had lost the gentle and kind husband she once knew, she could finally have her leg treated after suffering with it for years—and she would receive a thousand taels of gold.
There were plenty of benefits.
She should have been happy.
It was obviously an incredible stroke of luck.
Yet for some reason, there was no joy on Yun Ni’s face.
She lowered her head and stared at her crooked, ugly lame foot, remaining silent for a long time.
She remembered the cold look Shen Tinglan had cast at her foot earlier, and her heart ached.
She couldn’t help wondering—
If she had been prettier, more graceful, and more worthy of him, would she have been a better match for Shen Tinglan?
Shen Tinglan had pills that could temporarily suppress the pain in his heart, and he also had official duties to attend to, so he led the troops away first.
To prevent Yun Ni from escaping, he left behind a group of hidden guards to watch her. He also gave her one day to pack up her home and prepare for the journey.
Yun Ni cleaned the house from top to bottom by herself.
She dug the taro buried beneath the snow and packed them into burlap sacks one by one.
The taro, naturally sweetened and softened by the freezing snow, were perfect for stewing with lamb ribs. Yun Ni had originally planned to make the dish for Shen Tinglan.
But now, it seemed she would never get the chance.
Thinking of this, Yun Ni took down the cured meat that had been hanging from the rafters for a long time and gave it to her neighbors.
The auntie accepted the meat with endless thanks, then gave Yun Ni a knowing look.
“I heard about it, girl. Your husband was actually a noble young master from a powerful family who ended up stranded out here! Now that you’re leaving home and going with him to the city, you’re going to live the good life, aren’t you?”
Brother Zhao also changed his attitude completely, smiling ingratiatingly.
“Exactly! Yun girl, you’ve really struck it rich. A sparrow has turned into a phoenix! Once you’re successful and living a grand life, don’t forget us villagers!”
The villagers gathered around her, each speaking over the other, eagerly asking for her future help and hoping she would put in a good word for them with her husband.
It was the first time Yun Ni had ever been treated with such flattery.
She was simple and awkward with words and had no idea how to respond.
Her old wound had suddenly been ripped open.
Her heart felt as though it were bleeding.
Unable to bear their questions any longer, Yun Ni forced a smile and hurried back home.
Tomorrow morning, Yun Ni would leave the village.
Shen Tinglan had left word that she was to wait at the town’s post station. He had also left her enough silver to cover her lodging expenses.
Yun Ni packed up all the food in the house that might attract wild animals, worried that if bears or other beasts could not find food, they might break into the house and cause trouble.
She also packed several sets of clean winter clothes, shoes, and socks.
Her fingers lingered on the bright red bridal veil.
As though she had finally made up her mind, Yun Ni took the red veil, slung her bundle over her shoulder, and rode an ox cart into the main city of Xuzhou.
The sky was already dark.
Yun Ni walked along the streets until she found a stall where people could pay someone to write letters for them.
She paid the scribe to write a letter.
Once seated, Yun Ni rubbed her hands nervously and gave him an awkward smile.
“Sir, could you help me write a divorce agreement? I heard that when couples from wealthy families separate, they usually have to write one of these.”
The scholar, who had been sitting with his hands tucked into his sleeves, looked up at her.
When he saw the pretty young woman before him, he immediately straightened and asked gently,
“Miss, what is your name? And what is your husband’s name?”
“My name is Yun Ni…”
She paused.
“Not ‘ni’ as in mud. It’s the character for the rainbow-like colors of a celestial maiden’s robes and the glow of clouds in the sky. It’s the really difficult character.”
It was the very character Shen Tinglan had once taught her to write, stroke by stroke.
“As for my husband, his surname is Shen. I think his given name is Tinglan, but I don’t know which characters they’re written with…”
For some reason, a wave of sadness suddenly rose inside Yun Ni.
She had shared the same bed with Shen Tinglan for nearly a year.
Yet she did not even know how to write his name.
Still, the divorce agreement was eventually completed.
Yun Ni paid the scribe, then took up the brush and painstakingly wrote her own name.
She stared at the two crooked characters and felt a strange sense of satisfaction.
As long as Shen Tinglan signed his name, the document would take effect.
Yun Ni wanted to sever all ties with Shen Tinglan.
She wanted to personally shatter the beautiful dream she had once cherished for so long.
Holding the paper in her hands, she quietly waited for the ink to dry.
Once the ink had completely dried and would no longer smear, Yun Ni folded the document carefully, tucked it securely into her bundle, and prepared to leave.