After a long silence, Cen Xi chuckled and spoke first:

"You found us here so quickly? That's quite unexpected. Has the fighting in the north ended?"

"Yes! Lu Duling died in the chaos, and Tian Ying went mad, releasing all the Gu poisons on her body to take revenge on Ge Shu Kuang. Ge Shu Kuang died from the Gu poisons, and Di Rong no longer had any generals to lead. The great battle ended so easily."

"Ah-Xi, I know you resent me, but..."

"No need to say anything more. When I trusted you, you didn't trust me. Husbands and wives should respect and understand each other. What makes you think that I wouldn't agree to your decision back then?"

Cen Xi didn't want to listen anymore, so she interrupted Shen Jinchen directly. Resentful? Of course she resented it.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such lengths to buy themselves more than a month.

"I…!"

Shen Jinchen had nothing to say. He had indeed not considered things carefully at the time. Cen Xi also had her own extraordinary abilities. He had been too old-fashioned back then.

"I originally thought you would be tied up with the war and it would be at least a month before you found me. I didn't expect you to come so quickly. Well then, you'll have to find a place to stay yourself. Our courtyard is small and we don't have enough rooms to accommodate such a big Buddha as you."

Cen Xi coldly uttered these words and went back to her room. She was still angry, and besides, there was an old grudge between them that hadn't been resolved in this place.

There's no way she could possibly give him a nice look.

"Ah-Xi, I... I miss you so much!"

Shen Jinchen originally wanted to say that he was wrong, but he knew that given Cen Xi's personality, she would never forgive him, so he shamelessly hugged her.

"Let go! Shen Jinchen, have you no shame? Who do I think I am? I'm asking you, who do I think I am? I let you make a decision without even giving you a heads-up."

Cen Xi had been holding her breath for a long time. Thinking back, the night before they were still so affectionate, but when she woke up, the man who kept saying he loved her and cared about her had disappeared, leaving only his bodyguard behind.

“Ah-Xi, I! I was just afraid you would get hurt. Swords and blades have no eyes on the battlefield. I wanted to use my abilities to protect you and let you enjoy all the good things without having to face cruelty.”

"Yes, it was my fault for not considering your feelings at the time, but it was all because I loved you too much. Loving you made me insecure, which led me to make the wrong decision. You... can't you really forgive me?"

"You left so decisively, did you not love me? I could never truly enter your heart, could I?"

Shen Jinchen's hands tightened around his neck, and as he spoke, a single, glistening tear rolled down his cheek without him realizing it.

He devoted all his energy to loving this woman, yet he always felt like he couldn't control her.

Although he appeared calm on the surface when she fled, no one knew how panicked he was. In the north, he tried to live each day as if it were only one, wanting to shorten the time as quickly as possible to find his woman. After setting off, he rode at breakneck speed, killing countless horses in the process.

The night before he learned that Cen Xi was in this village, he felt even more flustered or fearful, because this was where their relationship began and where their feud started. He was afraid that Cen Xi would be there waiting for him to settle scores.

But he couldn't wait and rushed over.

"Yes, I don't love him anymore. How can I love a man who once tried to kill me? Shen Jinchen, the first assassin I encountered in this small town, wasn't actually one of Yan Shengxiao's men?"

"With your ambition, you know what kind of lucky star I am, you wouldn't just sit idly by, would you?"

Cen Xi was held tightly in his arms and couldn't see the expression on the man's face, but through his body language, she knew he was panicking. So she added another bombshell.

So what if you've fallen in love? Spending your life with a man like that is suffocating. You might as well take this opportunity to break down her defenses and get him to agree to a divorce.

"you…!"

Shen Jinchen loosened his grip, straightened Cen Xi's body, and looked at Cen Xi with a complicated expression.

"Don't look at me like that. The fact that I was appreciated by that old man Gongsun Li from the Hidden Sect proves my intelligence. Going back to where it all started, how can I not think about the tricks involved? Shen Jinchen, I'm very curious why you were so determined to kill me when you hurt me back then, but you showed mercy when you saw me again a year later?"

"Could it be that I touched your thigh? That I changed your mind? Surely a prime minister of a nation wouldn't be so naive?"

Looking back now, that meeting at Prince Heng's mansion must have been the second time we met. I was incredibly stupid back then, deliberately walking into the line of fire.

Shen Jinchen was provoked by Cen Xilian's bright yet sarcastic smile, which caused him to lose control for a moment. She hugged him again, bit his lip hard, and then slowly explained:

"Don't you know whether I'm innocent or not? When you used to moan and groan under me, didn't you know best how big my thing was? Humph!"

“Initially, I did not intend to spare your life. Master Daoyan also said that you were a variable in Benxiang’s restoration of the country, so it would be better to eliminate future troubles. So I listened to his advice and did my best to find you.”

"The moment Jun Jianchou used forbidden techniques to return your soul to its place, the altar we set up also gave a warning. And we just happen to have the Thousand-Butterfly, so finding you is a piece of cake. Therefore, our people are faster than Yan Shengxiao's people."

"But Ah Xi, these were all my previous plans. Ever since we met at the Prince Heng's mansion, you have taken up residence in my heart. I couldn't control being attracted to you, so I recklessly clung to you."

"Ah-Xi, all that is in the past. Let's not dwell on the past, okay? Now we're husband and wife, what's the point of getting hung up on the past? After all, we didn't like each other back then, did we?"

"Husband and wife? Who wants to be your husband and wife? When you were desperate to take me by force, you never thought about marrying me, did you? Did you arrange for me to be a concubine? Shen Jinchen, just admit it, you never intended to give your heart in the first place."

"You talk a good game about loving me, huh! You're just scheming! I won't hold your past against you, but what about now? You slept with me one night, then dumped me on your subordinates and vanished without a trace. How amusing."

"If you can explain this away, you'll be fine for today, and I won't bother you anymore."

Cen Xi felt incredibly uncomfortable being held so tightly by Shen Jinchen, as if branded with an iron rod. No matter how she tried to push or pry, the scoundrel wouldn't budge. Finally, she could only give up and question him, word by word.

"I have no way to deny it. Anyway, I made you angry. Just list out eight compensation clauses and I will make it up to you. As long as you stop being angry, I will do my best to help you."

Having spent so much time together, Shen Jinchen naturally knew that Cen Xi was now somewhat swayed by his persistence, so he tactfully let her name her terms.

After he finished speaking, he placed another kiss on Cen Xi's neck, teasing her as if no one else was around.