Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Cui Shao took several steps back to distance himself from Miss Chen. He scanned his surroundings, his gaze landing on the butler.

“You just let anyone in now?”

The butler shuddered. It was the height of summer, yet why did he feel colder than in the dead of winter?

“It was the Madam who let her in…”

Dissatisfied with the butler’s explanation, Miss Chen stepped in front of Cui Shao to block him. “Husband, we have a marriage contract; we were meant to be a pair. It is merely that the path to happiness is never smooth, and star-crossed lovers often face trials…”

Miss Chen looked as if she were about to burst into tears, dabbing at non-existent droplets with her handkerchief before speaking as if she were making a great sacrifice.

“I do not care that you are impotent. I am even willing to let my son change his name to be raised as the legitimate heir of the Cui Clan…”

I left the moment I overheard that.

Miss Chen’s offer was quite tempting, and besides, Cui Shao was originally supposed to marry her anyway.

Returning to my room, I began packing my clothes.

Just as when I first arrived, I packed only a small bundle. I would leave exactly as I had come, taking nothing extra.

I took off my jewelry piece by piece, leaving only the silver hairpin. I would keep it as a memento; it wasn’t expensive anyway, and Cui Shao wouldn’t care.

I shed the magnificent dress and changed back into the clothes I wore when I first arrived. I had gained a bit of weight, so the clothes were tight, but fortunately, I could still fit into them.

Just as I was about to leave, the door was pushed open.

“Butler, is the carriage ready? Jiangnan is a long way off, so the wheels need to be sturdy. It’s my first time returning to my mother’s hometown, and I’m a bit excited…”

I figured I’d take the carriage as compensation for the divorce.

But before I could finish, I was pushed onto the bed. He pressed down on top of me, radiating a chilling aura.

“Lord Cui?”

I didn’t move, and neither did the man behind me.

“Lord Cui? This morning, in your daze, you were still calling me ‘husband,’ and now you’re being so distant?”

He deliberately breathed against my neck, making me itch, but he had pinned my hands above my head, leaving me completely unable to move.

“It’s not being distant; it’s knowing when to retreat. Now that the rightful Miss Chen has returned, I should naturally leave. If I don’t go, am I supposed to wait for you to raise your child and then kick me out?”

My head was buried in the quilt, making my voice muffled, sounding as if I were crying.

“Child? What kind of child is that? I don’t even want Miss Chen, let alone that child! I’ve already driven them away.”

Lately, many branches of the Cui Clan had come to the door wanting Cui Shao to adopt their children, but he hadn’t agreed to any of them. Why would he give everything belonging to the Cui Clan to someone with a different surname now?

It wasn’t as if such things hadn’t happened before. There was once a Li Clan in Gusu. By Miss Li’s generation, there was only one legitimate daughter. They took in a son-in-law from the Gao Clan, a fallen noble family, but after Master Li and Miss Li passed away one after another, the Li Clan changed its name and became the Gao Clan.

Noble Families placed great importance on heritage. The Chen Clan of Qinghe had been built up over hundreds of years by countless generations of the Cui family.

By any logic, it was impossible to simply hand it over to others.

“The Cui Clan truly cannot be given away so casually.”

“No, it has nothing to do with any of that. I simply don’t like her. The one I love is you! Can’t you see that yet?”

Cui Shao was angry, but his voice cracked with a sob. Then, as if thinking of something, he said fiercely, “If you dare to leave, I’ll make sure you can’t get out of bed today!”

The jade pendant at his waist dug into me painfully.

“Your jade pendant… it’s poking me…”

I shifted my body, trying to get away from the pendant, only to hear Cui Shao let out a muffled groan. He then reached out and pulled the silver hairpin from my hair.

“My jade pendant is right here. My mother said that I should give this pendant to my wife in the future…”

No wonder it looked familiar; it was the pendant he used to play with all the time.

Then…

I didn’t dare move. Cui Shao’s voice grew increasingly hoarse. “Back then, it was a ruse to dispel the Emperor’s suspicions… It was the Ninth Prince’s people who saved me.”

He spoke haltingly, as if he were trying his best to endure something.

“Yu, I…”

He loosened his grip on me. I flipped over in an instant, pinning him beneath me. Cui Shao looked at me in surprise. “You weren’t crying?”

I smiled, then pressed my lips against his.

I have never been a melodramatic person. Now that things were out in the open, there was no need for me to put on an act. Besides, seeing Cui Shao’s reaction, I knew I had achieved my goal.