Inside, the lights flickered, the fiery red curtains fell, and the floral hairpins draped to the ground, filling the room with the warmth of spring.

He tormented her until she cried repeatedly before he finally stopped.

Su Yujiao lay on the bed, her clothes disheveled, half shy and half timid, tears welling in her eyes, charming and beautiful, alluring and alluring.

Looking at the woman's still-pleasant panting beneath him, Lu Ziqian reached out and touched her pretty face, chuckling, "Still so wanton, I really want to kill you!"

"Your body is naturally suited to pleasing men."

"That's what you should be doing."

"Leave other things to the men."

"Does he really think he's a miracle doctor, daring to claim he can cure the plague?"

The man's fingers moved downwards, stopping at a certain spot where he skillfully kneaded: "Good idea, but unfortunately, you don't have the skill!"

Su Yujiao endured the tingling sensation emanating from her body, biting her lip in shame, and refusing to make a sound.

Instead, she stared at him with red-rimmed eyes, her beautiful, clear eyes filled with bitterness.

In his mind, he felt that he was utterly useless except for being someone else's outlet for sexual gratification and to have sex with prostitutes.

After he had played with her enough, he suddenly lowered his head and kissed her forehead: "Stop fooling around, or I won't have the patience to coax you in the future."

"Be good, and after we're done dealing with this plague, I can consider letting you get pregnant."

This was the first time he had brought up having a child on his own initiative. He thought she would be grateful and her anger would subside.

Hearing the man's sudden gentle words, Su Yujiao broke down in tears.

Listening to his condescending tone and gracious attitude, she suddenly felt that her previous insistence was foolish.

She had been trapped in this loveless marriage, and the hope that he would change his mind seemed to be an invisible shackle, imprisoning her soul as well.

Now she realizes that there will never be a future between them.

In his eyes, she was a plaything, a parasitic plant, an appendage that depended on him for survival.

The child he had with her was not the fruit of love, but a gift and a handout.

It was something he could choose and control, while she could only obey and submit.

It turns out that they didn't even have the most basic respect for each other.

Seeing that she was crying so hard, Lu Ziqian thought she was just excited and said to her in a good mood, "Don't cry, or you'll hurt your eyes."

"It's just a child. If you keep me happy, it's fine to have a couple more."

"Put on that bra that covers your breasts tomorrow night, I like to see it..."

The man whispered a few vulgar and suggestive lewd remarks in her ear. If these were between normal lovers, they would be considered flirting, but Su Yujiao only found them obscene and disgusting.

Su Yujiao turned her face away and ignored him.

Suddenly, Mo Shu's emotionless voice rang out from outside the door: "Master, Miss Xiao He has arrived. She says that Miss Chen attempted suicide by hanging, but was just rescued."

Lu Ziqian's expression changed, and he hurriedly put on his clothes and walked towards the door without even putting on his shoes.

"How is he?"

Xiaohe cried and sobbed, "Miss has been saved, but she's threatening to kill herself right now, and I can't persuade her. General, you should go and see her."

"Trying to die?"

"Waaaaah... Miss's face is badly injured. The doctor said she might be disfigured."

As Su Yujiao listened to the man's footsteps receding into the distance, she endured the pain and sat up.

"Xiao Tao, take this letter to Lord Gu and tell him that I want to see him."

"yes."

Xiao Tao went to the Hanlin Academy and met Gu Heng without any problems.

Gu Heng was delighted to receive Su Yujiao's letter and wrote back.

After Xiao Tao left, he lost interest in his duties and even asked his superior for half a day off to go home early to freshen up.

Then, put on your best clothes and wait in advance at the agreed-upon teahouse.

Upon seeing the reply, Su Yujiao changed her clothes, styled her hair in a simple bun, and adorned it with a few red hairpins. With just a little dressing up, she surpassed countless women.

Emerald Bamboo Pavilion!

Gu Heng had already spotted Su Yujiao at the second-floor window and hurriedly went downstairs to greet her.

When he saw her again, his eyes still lit up with amazement; she was still so beautiful.

"Brother Gu, thank you for your help today."

Hearing the familiar "Brother Gu," Gu Heng's face lit up with joy. His warm smile, like the gentle warmth of spring, brought a sense of peace to those around him.

"Don't mention trouble. It's too formal for us to talk like that."

"Jiaojiao, let's go to the private room on the second floor."

"good."

Upon reaching the second floor, Gu Heng personally poured tea for Su Yujiao.

Su Yujiao got straight to the point: "Brother Gu, I've come today to ask you for two favors."

As she spoke, she pulled out a thick wad of silver notes from her sleeve: "I want to buy a quiet house in the capital. The house doesn't need to be too big, just enough for Xiaotao and me to live in."

"Could you please keep an eye out for me, Brother Gu, and see if anyone wants to sell their house, or if any real estate agencies have houses for sale?"

"Buy it in your name first, and after I divorce you, set up a female household registration and then transfer it to my name."

Gu Heng was stunned, and his hands trembled with excitement, spilling a lot of water from the cup.

"You want a divorce?"

"Um."

Su Yujiao didn't want to explain too much, and Gu Heng was also very tactful and didn't ask any more questions, but that didn't stop him from being secretly pleased.

Gu Heng readily agreed: "Since you trust me so much, leave the house-buying to me. I'll definitely find you a suitable courtyard."

After thanking him, Su Yujiao couldn't help but remind him, "Brother Gu, don't let Auntie know about this. She has a prejudice against me, and I don't want things to escalate to the point where we can't even be friends anymore."

Gu Heng was anxious and uneasy.

He hurriedly explained, "Jiaojiao, I apologize to you on her behalf for what happened last time."

"Don't worry, I guarantee that such a thing will never happen again."

"I won't let her know about buying the house. I'll send her back to her hometown of Youyang in a while."

Su Yujiao knew Gu Heng's feelings for her, and saw that he was eager to express his feelings, even going so far as to send his elderly mother back to her hometown.

He knew that after he expressed his desire for a divorce, he had changed his mind again.

But she didn't want to give him hope. Even though she and Lu Ziqian were divorced, she would not remarry. She just wanted to live a free and independent life.

“Brother Gu, you don’t need to send Aunt back to her hometown. People will say you’re unfilial if you do that, and I’ll feel pressured.”

"Asking for your help has already caused you trouble, and if it further strains things and makes you and your son estranged..."

Gu Heng quickly explained, smiling and speaking in a relaxed tone: "Jiaojiao, it's not what you think."

“My mother doesn’t like living in the capital. The neighbors here look down on her as an old woman from the countryside, and she can’t get along with them.”

"Besides, she doesn't watch her mouth when she speaks, and she easily offends people."

“There are people in the capital we can’t afford to offend, and she’s afraid that she might really cause a big disaster one day, so she’s been making a fuss about wanting to go back to the countryside.”

Su Yujiao breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Gu Heng's explanation.

"So that's how it is. I was just overthinking it."

Gu Heng didn't want to hear her being so polite, so he asked, "You just mentioned two things. What is the other one?"