The Empress's eyes widened: "He wants to divorce you and then marry Chen Yunniang?"

Su Yujiao shook her head again: "He wants to marry a concubine."

"We are both wives, regardless of age."

“He’s clearly slapping me in the face. He calls me a wife of equal rank, but I’m not even as good as a concubine.”

"This is not the first time he has been so ruthless."

"Last year, the news of my elopement with Gu Heng caused quite a stir. Actually, it was Lu Ziqian and I who went to the Guanyin Temple to burn incense. We met Chen Yunniang in the temple, and she rode in our carriage. On the way down the mountain, we encountered bandits."

"As a result, he took Chen Yunniang and left, leaving me alone in the deep mountains to face those desperate criminals..."

"After he came back, he believed my story about eloping with Gu Heng and, without asking any questions, whipped me in public."

"I gave up on him that day, but I've held on until today because he won't let go."

"He refuses to divorce me or stay with me; he'll wear me down even if it means dragging this out..."

"I really can't take it anymore. If we don't get a divorce soon, I'll only have one way out: death."

As Su Yujiao spoke, she knelt before the Empress and begged her to grant her a divorce agreement.

The Empress helped her up with a pained expression, but despite her anger and scolding, Lu Ziqian was, after all, her own nephew, and she secretly sided with him.

Moreover, although she was the Empress, she was not Lu Ziqian's biological mother, so she shouldn't interfere too much in her family's affairs.

At the very least, we should invite her older brother and sister-in-law to discuss this together; it's not something she can decide with just a few words.

Su Yujiao listened to the Empress's words of advice and comfort, and even asked the nanny beside her to invite her mother-in-law over.

"Your Majesty, you don't need to ask anyone or persuade anyone. If I don't get the imperial decree for divorce today, I would rather die."

After Su Yujiao finished speaking, she ran out quickly and jumped directly into the pond.

She couldn't swim, and the moment she jumped in, a large amount of pool water rushed into her mouth and nose, and a feeling of suffocation overwhelmed her as her body continued to sink.

The empress screamed in fright and immediately ordered her guards and maids to rescue the person.

"how so?"

"How did this girl's temperament become so fierce?"

"My sister-in-law said she couldn't be more gentle."

Granny Yu advised from the side, "It seems that Madam Su has been forced to the brink of death."

The Empress murmured to herself, "If what she just said is true, I'm afraid no woman could bear it."

"She's already considered quite strong."

"Your Majesty, the person has been rescued."

Thanks to the timely rescue, Su Yujiao did not lose consciousness, but she choked on some water and was shivering from the cold.

"Quick, wrap her up."

"You child, I never said I wouldn't agree, why are you so impatient?"

Su Yujiao was soaking wet, her face streaked with pool water and tears: "I'm afraid of something else going wrong."

"In this world, it's already tough for women, and I really don't have many opportunities."

"Your Majesty, please grant my request."

“If you don’t agree, I really will die. I’m not threatening you, my mind is made up.”

"You can stop it once, but you can't stop it a hundred times."

The Empress saw her kneeling on the ground, trembling and pleading helplessly, and finally her heart softened.

"Get up quickly, I promise you."

"I will accompany you to the Imperial Study to see the Emperor."

"Your Majesty, could you please let me take my two children with me? Chen Yunniang will not treat them well."

The Empress refused without hesitation: "How can this be? They are descendants of the Lu family."

Seeing that she had something to say, the Empress dismissed everyone else.

Su Yujiao said, "An Yan and An Mo are not my biological children; they were adopted from outside."

"If you don't believe me, you can ask my mother-in-law."

The Empress exclaimed in surprise, "How could this be?"

Su Yujiao's eyes dimmed, and tears fell in a steady stream: "I was given a drug that made me infertile, and I lost my child. I will never be able to conceive again in this life."

"All the evidence points to Chen Yunniang, but Lu Ziqian insists on protecting her."

“My mother-in-law is kind-hearted. She was afraid that I would have no one to rely on when I got old, so she told me to continue to pretend to be pregnant and bring a son and a daughter from outside on the day of my delivery.”

"They also asked me to adopt a child from my elder brother and sister-in-law to be Lu Ziqian's eldest son."

"That way, even if Lu Ziqian has a title to inherit in the future, the heir will still be a descendant of the Lu family."

“Those two children are just something my mother-in-law gives me to rely on; they won’t take away any of the Lu family’s property or status.”

As Su Yujiao spoke, she cried again: "I can no longer conceive in this life. Those two children only entered the Lu family because of me."

“I want to take them away; I don’t want them to stay in the Lu family and be tormented by Chen Yunniang.”

“Even if they are not tortured, they are not Lu family’s blood relatives and will not receive care and attention.”

"It would be better if you came with me, so that we, a widow and her orphan, could have someone to rely on."

“I can also use my child’s name to establish a household.”

Hearing about Su Yujiao's plight, the Empress's eyes welled up with tears of heartache. She hadn't expected Chen Yunniang to be so ruthless, nor had she expected Lu Ziqian to be so heartless.

Sure enough, all men are the same; they have no reason to favor one person.

Even if that person caused him to be childless, he would still betray his wife and marry a troublemaker.

With Chen Yunniang's arrival, the Lu family is likely to be in for a rough time.

The Empress frowned. If the two countries were to form a marriage alliance, it was not something a woman in the harem like her could interfere with.

The Empress and Su Yujiao went to the Imperial Study together. The Emperor, seeing Su Yujiao's miserable state, asked her why.

The empress recounted the whole story, but she did so in a very vague manner.

After all, Lu Ziqian was her own nephew, and she couldn't speak too badly of him in front of the Emperor.

As the saying goes, the emperor's heart is hard to fathom. If the emperor makes a mountain out of a molehill, it will make things difficult for everyone.

Their goal today is to obtain the imperial decree for peace and separation. They only need to obtain the decree and should avoid causing any further trouble.

The Empress had spent half her life with the Emperor, understood his temperament, and was very good at knowing how to handle things, knowing what to say and what not to say.

"You should go back first; the imperial edict will arrive soon."

"The child?" Su Yujiao was worried. She needed a definite answer to feel at ease. She had to take the child with her.

"Both children will be yours, and I will write it in the imperial edict."

Su Yujiao was moved to tears and knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly to express her gratitude.

The Empress sighed. This child was born at the wrong time!

If she were a man, with her medical skills, she would probably have been hailed as a miracle doctor long ago, so why would she be in such a miserable state?

She did nothing wrong, simply because she was a woman.

This world is truly unfair to women!

The Empress personally helped the person up and whispered comfortingly, "Go back and get some rest."

"His Majesty's word is as good as gold; he will never break his promise to you."

The two left the imperial study together, but Su Yujiao was still somewhat uneasy: "Why can't Your Majesty give me the imperial edict now?"

"Will things change again when Lu Ziqian returns?"

"Don't worry, the Emperor made a promise to you in front of me, so it won't change."

"Then why can't you give it to me now?"

The Empress sighed: "She probably wants to wait for Ziqian to return so she can ask for a second wife."