Chapter 171 His former wife is living the life he's always dreamed of.

Establishing a crown prince is not something that can be done on a whim. Since the death of the previous crown prince, the emperor had not established a new one, partly to comfort the empress and partly to comfort himself.

He knew that the Empress and the Marquis of Chengen harbored great resentment towards him because of the Crown Prince's death. But that was his own son; how could he not be heartbroken that he had been murdered?

Of course, it's true that he was relieved when the Crown Prince died. The Great Gan Dynasty could have an arrogant Qingshan Earl's Mansion, but it couldn't have a powerful maternal relative.

The emperor left the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace and walked back to his study. The December weather was bitterly cold, but he didn't feel it much, because his mind was filled with trivial matters and he didn't notice it at all.

Everyone wants to be emperor, but being emperor is no easy feat. Indulging oneself risks destroying the country, while working diligently every day can exhaust one to death, and even then, one cannot accomplish everything well. Sometimes he envied Prince Rui, who could do what he loved.

Of course, to ascend the throne, he was no ordinary man. Entering the imperial study, he issued imperial edicts one by one. First, he stripped Prince Kang of his title, demoted him to commoner, and ordered his execution. Then came the Tang family: Tang Boyang and his sons were sentenced to death, the rest exiled…

These imperial edicts sent shockwaves through the capital once more. Many had previously speculated whether the emperor would be ruthless enough to kill Prince Kang, after all, his own son. Now that the edicts had been issued, everyone realized once again that although the emperor was old, he could still be just as ruthless.

Meanwhile, many people's attention turned to the Duke of Chu's mansion, and its status would need to be redefined. A Duke of Chu's mansion without a successor is completely different from one with an excellent heir, even if the heir is a woman.

Xie family

Xie Yun sat there for a long time, while Xie Ning'an, sitting opposite him, lowered her eyes and had an unreadable expression.

"It was indeed a mistake to design something that involved Jiang Chengye." After a long silence, Xie Yun's aged voice rang out. "I never expected that the Duke of Chu's mansion would produce such a person as Jiang Yu."

Xie Ning'an remained silent, his heart filled with complex emotions. His Xie family and the Duke of Chu's mansion were sworn enemies, and Jiang Yu's achievements in just six months as an official made him deeply aware of the impending crisis. Yet, because of his feelings for Jiang Yu, he was also somewhat pleased, pleased that he hadn't misjudged her; she truly was such an outstanding person.

"Let's try to avoid their sharp edge in the future," Xie Yun said.

Despite saying that, Xie Yun and Xie Ning'an both knew that they were bound to have a life-or-death battle with the Duke of Chu's mansion.

.........

Qingshan Bofu

"Smack!"

Uncle Qingshan slammed a cup down in front of Qi Yuanhong and angrily pointed at him, saying, "You eat and drink all from my Qingshan family, yet you still lay a hand on my young lady. Do you think my Qingshan family has no one to rely on, or do you think your capable ex-wife can stand up for you?"

Qi Yuanhong stood there silently, his face bruised and swollen, but his hands were clenched tightly. Since their marriage, Su Yuezhen had cheated on him countless times, and yesterday she had even been intimate with a male prostitute right in front of him. If he continued to tolerate this, he wouldn't be a man, so he went up and slapped Su Yuezhen across the face.

Su Yuezhen ordered her maids and servants to pin him to the ground and give him a severe beating. Growing angrier the more he thought about it, Qi Yuanhong clenched his fists and looked at Qingshan Bo, saying, "Let's get a divorce."

Uncle Qingshan seemed to find it a joke, "Divorce? Do you have the right to say those two words to me?"

Qi Yuanhong gritted his teeth, and then heard the Earl of Qingshan say again: "Because of you, my Qingshan Earl's Mansion has suffered such a great humiliation. Now Jiang Yu has become famous again, and countless people in the capital are laughing at my Qingshan Earl's Mansion. You want to get away at this time... Hmph!"

No way!

"Heh!" Qi Yuanhong gave a bitter laugh. "Lord, are you trying to take your anger out on me?"

"So what if it is?" Uncle Qingshan said confidently.

Normally, he wouldn't have bothered with such a trivial matter as Su Yuezhen and Qi Yuanhong fighting. But Jiang Yu had made such a big splash, and he was filled with jealousy and hatred. He happened to hear about Su Yuezhen and Qi Yuanhong fighting, so he had someone call Qi Yuanhong over to vent his anger.

But now, looking at Qi Yuanhong's bastard-like behavior, Uncle Qingshan suddenly felt it was all so boring, so he waved his hand and said, "Get lost."

But Qi Yuanhong stood there without moving. He looked at Uncle Qingshan and said, "If a divorce is not possible, you can write me a letter of divorce, Uncle."

Saying those words means that he has completely trampled on his own dignity.

When Uncle Qingshan heard this, he scoffed, "A letter of divorce? Dream on! Even if Su Yuezhen dies, she'll still be a ghost of your Qi family."

Uncle Qingshan was well aware of everything Su Yuezhen had done before and after marriage. Now that his granddaughter was married, how could he possibly let her get a divorce? With Qi Yuanhong as a fig leaf in front of him, there was little gossip to be had.

"Get out of here," Uncle Qingshan said again.

Qi Yuanhong turned and strode out, his already bruised face contorted even more. He wandered aimlessly after leaving the Qingshan Marquis's residence, and before he knew it, he arrived at the main gate of the Chu State Duke's residence.

The Duke's mansion was naturally exceptionally luxurious. The tall gate tower, the imposing stone lions, and the spirited gatekeepers all exuded an air of unapproachability.

He watched from afar for a long time until a sedan chair passed by him, followed by a maid in green. He recognized the maid; she was Xia He, Jiang Yu's personal maid.

Realizing that Jiang Yu might be sitting in the sedan chair, Qi Yuanhong wanted to find a place to hide, but the area outside the Duke of Chu's mansion was a wide, flat place with no cover, so he could only turn his back, and at the same time he was sweating nervously.

Jiang Yu's sedan chair passed by him without stopping at all, and even Xia He seemed not to see him. Qi Yuanhong felt an indescribable mix of emotions; he didn't know whether he felt disappointed or relieved.

He turned around and saw Jiang Yu emerge from the sedan chair, her androgynous appearance clad in a blue official robe. The gatekeeper bowed to her, and she nodded before stepping through the gates of the Duke of Chu's mansion.

Qi Yuanhong stood outside the gate of the Duke of Chu's mansion for a long time before turning to leave. At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: his former wife was living the life he had always dreamed of.

As Xia He entered the mansion, she whispered to Jiang Yu, "Miss, I just saw Qi Yuanhong."

Jiang Yu paused for a moment, then asked, "How is he doing now?"

I've been so busy lately, I haven't had time to pay attention to a scumbag. But Xia He did follow him, and she talked non-stop to Jiang Yu about Qi Yuanhong's "happy" life.

Jiang Yu laughed heartily after hearing this. She was just an ordinary person, and she was naturally happy to hear that the person who had hurt her was not doing well.