Chapter 140

"No matter how many women there are in the world, not one can compare to her." Dongfang Yan closed his eyes, his full anger and pain unable to be vented, leaving his chest aching with a dull throb.

"If she had taken a fancy to someone else, even if that person were an aristocratic young master, I could eliminate him with a flick of my finger! But that person just had to be the Crown Prince!"

"Zhao An, she is my wife, my legitimately wedded Princess! How could she betray me?"

"Your Highness..." Zhao An shed tears in distress, "Why don't you talk to the Princess again properly?"

Dongfang Yan sighed: "I have already said everything I should have said, and I have even lowered myself to apologize to her. But in her eyes, there is no husband like me. Now that she has been conferred the rank of Female Prince, her wings have hardened, and she looks down on me even more. In broad daylight, she is hooking up with the Crown Prince without any avoidance; she is simply dissolute and shameless!"

"Zhao An, what else can I do? I truly regret it now. If we had become true husband and wife on our wedding night, would things not have evolved to this point of being at odds like fire and water?"

Zhao An nodded: "On the wedding night, the Princess was indeed quite wronged. Perhaps it was from that moment that she gradually grew cold toward you."

"But it has already happened, and no one can turn back time! What other way is there for me to warm her heart?" Dongfang Yan closed his eyes, wearily pressing his temples.

Ever since Lin Qingyue left, he had been unable to eat or sleep, and not a single day had gone smoothly.

Zhao An's eyes rolled, and he suddenly said: "Your Highness, it's not too late! Why not make real what was left undone on that wedding night? Only by making the Princess your own will she be devoted to you and be of one heart with you! Isn't that how women are?"

"If the Princess could give birth to your heir, that would be even better. No matter how proud or holy a woman is, she will have ties once she becomes a mother."

Dongfang Yan opened his eyes abruptly—

Zhao An was right! The root of everything was that Lin Qingyue had not truly become his, Dongfang Yan's, woman!

If they were true husband and wife, even if the Crown Prince had ideas about her, he could not make a damaged woman his Crown Princess! A man's thoughts were nothing more than this.

But if it were only the position of a secondary consort to the Crown Prince, with Qingyue's proud nature, it would be impossible for her to accept.

"Zhao An, send someone to pass a message to the Princess, saying that I am willing to discuss the divorce with her, and tell her to return to the mansion immediately, otherwise, I will not wait!"

Dongfang Yan had always looked down on such sordid methods.

But now—

He said secretly in his heart: "Lin Qingyue, you forced me to do this. I am doing this for our future. When we have children in the future and our family is happy and harmonious, you will understand my painstaking efforts for you."

Not long after Zhao An went out, he ran back happily: "Your Highness, the Princess is back, she has already entered the hanging flower gate!"

Dongfang Yan hurriedly said: "It's good that she's back! Zhao An, prepare wine and food. You know what to do, right?"

Zhao An nodded very sensibly: "Your Highness, rest assured, your subordinate will handle it properly! I will ensure Your Highness and the Princess can clear up your misunderstandings and live in harmony!"

Lin Qingyue returned to the Jin Wangfu, and upon asking, learned that Dongfang Yan was currently in the Qi Wu Dian where she had previously lived, so she went straight there without much thought.

Qi Wu Dian.

Dongfang Yan sat upright in the hall, looking at her with a smile: "My beloved wife, you're back?"

He neither looked at her coldly nor asked about her whereabouts last night.

At this moment, Dongfang Yan was like a gentle husband, quietly waiting for his wife's return.

Lin Qingyue frowned: "You haven't been parasitized by Mayfly Silk again, have you?"

Dongfang Yan smiled and shook his head: "No. I am just genuinely happy to see you back."

Lin Qingyue said: "Then what I am about to say next will probably make you unhappy."

As she spoke, she dropped the imperial edict into his arms: "Receive the edict."

Dongfang Yan took the edict, opened it, and his expression changed immediately: "Imperial Uncle... he actually issued an edict for you and me to divorce?"

Emperor Qi Zhaodi kept saying he missed the old Prince Jin and treated Dongfang Yan with the same affection as his own child.

Yet when he bestowed the marriage, he did not consult Dongfang Yan at all. Now that he had issued an edict for divorce, he hadn't revealed a word in advance! Was this what was called deep uncle-nephew affection and treating him like his own child?

And Lin Qingyue and Dongfang Qi entering the palace together was just to request this edict for divorce?

"Lin Qingyue, are you in such a hurry to cast me aside?" The gentle expression on Dongfang Yan's face faded bit by bit, "You returned to the capital yesterday, and today you want to divorce me? Where do you place my face? Where do you place our bond as husband and wife?"

"Stop, stop! What bond as husband and wife is there between us?" Lin Qingyue really did not want to play this drama of tortured love with him, and took out the divorce agreement she had written long ago.

"The divorce is the last bit of decency I am giving you. Sign your name, and from now on, we have nothing to do with each other. Whether you elevate Lin Ruzhen or marry ten or eight more, it has nothing to do with me."

"Alright, stop nagging. Either you sign and press your thumbprint voluntarily, or I will use force to coerce you."

Dongfang Yan's gaze toward her grew colder and colder, and the hatred in his heart grew deeper and deeper:

I have deep feelings for you, and have even given you all the tenderness of my life. But you? Lin Qingyue, you trample on my sincerity like this? Are you so impatient to throw yourself into Dongfang Qi's arms?

He took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to kill at this moment, and said in as calm a tone as possible:

"A twisted melon is not sweet. Since you insist on this, I will naturally grant your wish. Qingyue, have one last meal with me. We have been together for so long, yet it seems we have never had a proper meal together as husband and wife."

By the end, he was actually somewhat choked up.

Lin Qingyue coldly refused: "We haven't had a proper meal before, and there is no need to eat at the same table now."

She had an appointment in the evening to treat the brothers of the Xuanjing Division to a meal, and she didn't want to eat two dinners.

Dongfang Yan couldn't help but sneer: "You won't even accompany me for a meal; are you in such a hurry to accompany the Crown Prince?"

Lin Qingyue's patience was exhausted, and she drew her long sword and held it against Dongfang Yan's throat: "Enough nonsense! Do you want to die, or do you want to live?"

Dongfang Yan looked down at the sword in her hand, feeling somewhat sad: "Last time at Yixian Canyon, you already hurt me. Today, you point your blade at me again; do you really want to kill your husband?"

"I don't mind being a widow, what about you? If you are willing to give your life, I will guard your grave for the rest of my life, and in the future, during festivals, I will also offer sacrifices and sweep your grave as your wife."

The bright and beautiful woman had an enchanting smile, "How about it?"

At this point, Dongfang Yan finally understood Lin Qingyue's determination.

A look of pain flashed in his eyes, and he finally sighed as if compromising: "I... agree to the divorce."