Tío imperial, no te pases

Now, as if she had found a breakthrough, she suddenly stood up from the table, glared at Su Yunmo, and vented all the pent-up grievances and pressure in her silent tears: "I did nothing wrong. Which of the seven grounds for divorce did I commit? What he did was an insult to me." Leng Yiqing was almost roaring.

Su Yunmo didn't understand. His intuition told him that this woman loved Su Zhengyang, so he retorted in the same manner: "Then why don't you explain yourself? You can lower your head and apologize to Xue'er, and he won't treat you like this!"

Leng Yiqing stared blankly at Su Yunmo. The royal uncle before her was so unfamiliar; he didn't understand her at all. Her eyes were blurry with tears as she looked at him, trying her best to explain calmly, "I can't, I can't defend myself. Otherwise, in his eyes, it would be that I can't bear to part with him, can't bear to part with this position as Crown Princess!"

Hearing this, Su Yunmo felt a little smug; this Leng Yiqing was indeed different.

"Why don't you understand me?" Leng Yiqing asked this question out of the blue, which startled Su Yunmo.

"Why should I understand you?" Su Yunmo retorted without any politeness, completely disregarding her feelings, a stark contrast to his previous gentleness.

Leng Yiqing then realized she had misspoke; he was right. It was only because of the care and trust she had shown him before that she had been so open with him, thinking that he would understand her. But she forgot that they had only known each other for less than a month.

"Perhaps something I did caused you to misunderstand. I apologize to you, Imperial Uncle. Or perhaps I really did make a mistake. At this time, we shouldn't have gotten too close." Su Yunmo slowly expressed his apology before turning and leaving.

She forgot to stop him. Su Yunmo's sudden change in attitude left Leng Yiqing somewhat bewildered. Why had her uncle, who had previously vowed to protect and care for her, changed so drastically? And in such a short time? Had she said something wrong? Or was he truly afraid of being misunderstood?

Leng Yiqing watched him leave until his figure disappeared through the courtyard gate. A sudden emptiness filled her heart. Without Su Yunmo's protection, what would she do when she was divorced and forced to leave the manor? No matter how capable she was in the modern world, everything here was unfamiliar.

Her mind was a jumbled mess. She stood there blankly in the yard for a long, long time until it was time for dinner. Xiao Xiang came over to urge her, and she walked back to her room in a daze.

"Xiao Xiang! Help me pack my things!" Rather than waiting for someone to come and kick her out with a letter of divorce, she would rather leave on her own initiative, take the money left by Leng Yiqing, and go out to make a living. She believed that there was always a way out.

"Why?" Xiao Xiang clearly sensed that her mistress was different now. Before, the Crown Princess would only yell at her, but now she was being asked to address her as Sister Qing, and everything she did made her feel like they were sisters, not mistress and servant. So, hearing her say this, she couldn't help but ask for clarification.

Leng Yiqing understood their relationship. She didn't expect Xiao Xiang to leave with her, so there was no need to tell her. When the divorce papers arrived tomorrow, she would understand everything. She came quietly, so let her leave quietly too!

"It's nothing! I'm just going out for a few days!" Leng Yiqing replied dismissively.

Having served her master since childhood, Xiao Xiang naturally understood that this was just a perfunctory remark, but she didn't dare to ask any further questions. She didn't have much affection for this master. Silently, she followed her master as she packed her belongings. Seeing that Leng Yiqing had taken almost all the silver and jewelry, Xiao Xiang realized that her master was probably leaving.

She vaguely overheard some of Su Yunmo's conversation with her master that afternoon, but wasn't entirely sure. Should she tell that person about her master's departure now?

The master and servant were both preoccupied with their own thoughts, and neither of them said another word.

---Aside---

Please leave a comment and save this post! My heart needs motivation! Thank you so much everyone!

Chapter Sixteen: The Real Empress

The next morning, a loud shout shattered the tranquility of Phoenix Feather Palace.

"Absurd!" Su Haotian glared at his good-for-nothing son and angrily slapped him down, startling everyone in the hall.

"Zhengyang, can you be a little more rational?" The Empress was also helpless. With a son like this, no matter how hard she tried, it would probably be in vain.

Su Zhengyang, on the other hand, sat dejectedly to one side, completely ignoring their reactions. In his view, Leng Yiqing had taken the initiative to ask for her freedom, so he felt that only by divorcing her could he give her true freedom. He could also use this opportunity to elevate Shen Jiaxue to his official position.

"Although Qing'er is not as virtuous as others, she has not made any major mistakes, so she is not worthy of being divorced. Therefore, Zheng Yang, your Xue'er will never be the principal wife. Stop thinking such crooked thoughts!" The Empress tried her best to restrain herself from hitting him and spoke as gently as possible.

His mother's predictions had been perfectly accurate, leaving Su Zhengyang speechless. However, he had promised to come today to request a divorce, and if he returned empty-handed, Leng Yiqing would probably laugh at him, so he was truly unwilling to give up.

"Whether I divorce my own woman or not is my business. I respect your opinions, which is why I'm asking for yours. Even if you disagree, I still want to divorce her!" Su Zhengyang said in one breath, uttering all the words he hadn't dared to say before. He did this simply so as not to lose face in front of Leng Yiqing.

Everyone knew about Leng Yiqing's father, the general, and his temper was undeniable. In terms of contributions to the Yilong Kingdom, he was the most deserving. But now, seeing his son treating his daughter this way, Su Haotian was in a dilemma. His son didn't need to ask for permission to divorce his wife, and his son genuinely respected them. But if he really divorced Leng Yiqing, he didn't know how to explain it to General Leng.

Furthermore, although his son is already the crown prince, he handles many matters quite absurdly. If he is allowed to do whatever he wants in everything, Su Haotian is truly uneasy about entrusting the Yilong Kingdom to him in the future. "If you dare to divorce her, I will depose you as crown prince!"

"I...she..." Seeing the Empress's angry eyes, Su Zhengyang dared not say anything more. He knew that his mother had gone to great lengths for the position of Crown Prince. Although he was very unwilling, he was still willing to listen to his mother so as not to lose this support.

“Go back now and we’ll pretend you never said anything. Qing’er is a poor child; her mother is gone, and her father isn’t around. You should care more about her, you know?” The Empress gently persuaded him, already leading him to the door as she spoke, afraid that he would say something that would anger Su Haotian, and the consequences would be unimaginable.

"If you continue to act so unreasonably, I will not be lenient anymore and will depose you as the crown prince!" Su Haotian was also helpless with this child. If it weren't for the Empress, he would not have allowed such a person to be the crown prince.

Thinking back to how this woman had helped him seize the throne step by step, he couldn't help but feel a chill. This woman, whose hands were stained with blood yet held leverage over him, was someone he couldn't kill, but also someone he absolutely couldn't afford to offend.

After Su Zhengyang left, the Empress slowly strolled back to the soft couch, glancing sideways at Su Haotian, clearly displeased with his words. She hated it most when others spoke ill of her son, especially when Su Haotian addressed him in such a tone. However, since her son had obviously been misbehaving, she had nothing more to say.

"Don't look at me like that. Am I wrong to discipline my son?" Su Haotian was very dissatisfied with her spoiling of their son. Su Zhengyang had become the way he was today mostly because of her pampering.

But that was all he could say. Every time he said a few more words to Su Zhengyang, she would become very impatient and use the events of the past to blackmail him. He was a rather pathetic emperor, unable to even discipline his own son, yet he was helpless. Su Hao angrily left Fengyu Palace.

In the empty bedchamber, she was alone once again. Only at times like this could she shed all her pretense and think of him in peace. Su Zhengyang was the only memory he had left her, and no matter what, she would not allow anyone to hurt him.

Bai Yuyan murmured to herself, "Brother Fei, I'm so tired! Should I just kill him to avenge you?" She slumped onto the soft couch, letting her mind and body go blank. This was also why she never wanted a personal maid. She didn't want anyone to see her vulnerable side, not even her own son.

---Aside---

The Empress's story is crucial to the entire story, so what exactly is the Empress's situation? The ending is a bit unexpected!

Chapter Seventeen: No Way Out

Leng Yiqing wandered aimlessly through the unfamiliar streets, carrying her bundle. Here, she had

……