The Crown Prince thought for a moment and said, "How about this, after you arrive in the capital, go to Minister Gu, and he will report to the palace himself!"

"OK."

After all, the two are good friends, so this arrangement is quite reasonable.

The Crown Prince glanced at Lu Ziqian and, seeing him lost in thought, called out, "Cousin, what are you thinking about?"

Lu Ziqian glanced at Su Yujiao, his expression somewhat complicated, before answering the Crown Prince's question: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Su Yujiao tactfully took her leave.

Only after Su Yujiao left did the Crown Prince speak up and ask questions.

Lu Ziqian hesitated for a moment, seemingly finding it difficult to make up his mind, and appeared quite agitated.

The crown prince, seeing his hesitant expression, became intrigued.

He had never seen his cousin so hesitant and troubled.

"Cousin, what happened?"

Lu Ziqian glanced at him and sighed, "Your Highness, there's something you need to help me with."

"What is it?"

"Could we attribute Dr. Su's merit to Chen Yunniang?"

"What?" The crown prince stared wide-eyed, craning his neck to look at him, his expression full of confusion, as if he thought he had misheard.

Seeing that Lu Ziqian didn't seem to be joking, he looked disapproving and said, "Cousin, are you confused?"

"No matter how much you admire Miss Chen, you shouldn't do such a foolish thing."

"This is blatant extortion; I will not stoop to your level."

"If I grant your request, how will I face Physician Su in the future?"

Do you know how much he accomplished this time?

"If it weren't for him, how many more lives would have been lost in the Great Ming Kingdom?"

"Are you willing to break Physician Su's heart?"

“Cousin, you’re not that kind of person. You value talent the most. Was this Miss Chen’s idea?”

"Did she instigate you to make such an outrageous request?"

"If that's the case, then Miss Chen's character is truly despicable."

"A woman like that is a source of trouble; cousin, you'd better stay away from her."

Lu Ziqian listened to the Crown Prince's harsh words and smiled helplessly: "Your Highness, if Physician Su were truly Physician Su, I would naturally not have made such an excessive request."

"But she... is your cousin's wife."

"She disguised herself and risked her life to perform meritorious service, all in order to go before the emperor and ask for a divorce agreement."

"She wants a divorce!!"

"What? Doctor Su is my cousin's wife? This... how is this possible?"

Lu Ziqian smiled bitterly: "I just found out too. She's very good at disguising herself."

“Two months ago, she asked me for a divorce, saying that she could cure the plague, and then used her merits to ask the emperor for a divorce agreement.”

"I thought she was just being stubborn, but I never expected... she actually did it!"

The Crown Prince frowned: "Why does my cousin-in-law insist on a divorce?"

"I heard that your cousin's wife is head over heels for you!"

"How did you manage to provoke someone as gentle as my cousin-in-law?"

Lu Ziqian sighed helplessly, looking utterly miserable.

But he knew that the Crown Prince would not agree unless he made things clear, and he had always been an upright man.

So Lu Ziqian recounted everything that had happened recently.

The crown prince's eyes widened, his face showing great displeasure: "Cousin, how could you treat your sister-in-law like this?"

"At the critical moment of life and death, you abandoned your cousin-in-law and ran away with other women?"

"What do you expect your cousin-in-law to think?"

"Aren't you afraid your cousin's wife will die at the hands of bandits?"

“My cousin’s wife barely escaped death, and you beat her in public without even asking what happened.”

"My sister-in-law has been very magnanimous to tolerate you this long. If it were me, I would have killed you with my own hands... you heartless bastard!"

The crown prince was furious. Although he was not yet married, he knew that a wife was someone to accompany him for life. Even if he could not cherish and love her, she should not be humiliated like this.

Seeing that the Crown Prince was about to explode with anger, Lu Ziqian couldn't help but reflect on whether he had really gone too far.

She has neither taken a concubine nor had any mistresses, so why is she still not satisfied?

He was indeed wrong about the bandit incident, but it was a misunderstanding!

Does she really have to be so calculating?

In short, things have come to this point, and if he still can't see that Su Yujiao really wants a divorce, then he's a fool!

But how could he possibly let her get a divorce!

Seeing that Lu Ziqian remained silent, the Crown Prince suddenly realized that he might have been too excited.

"Ahem... Cousin, if you ask me, you should just get a divorce."

"Since you don't like your cousin's wife anyway, you might as well just let go. That way, you'll look more manly."

"My mother often taught me to be like the men of the Lu family: to be courageous, responsible, and upright!"

"So you'd better stop taking credit for your cousin's achievements. That way, after the divorce, she'll have her own merits to rely on and won't be bullied by anyone."

"As for that Miss Chen, knowing that you are married, she still acted ambiguously in front of outsiders. Her character is indeed questionable."

“Even if she saved you before, you have already given her enough help and care over the years, and you should repay that debt of gratitude.”

"In short, I won't allow her to steal my cousin's credit."

Lu Ziqian irritably poured himself a pot of tea: "You don't understand, I owe Yunniang too much, she saved my life."

"Three years ago I promised to marry her, but I broke my promise and made her wait for many years."

"She comes from a humble background. If I can give her a proper status and help her marry into a good family, then I will have repaid my debt of gratitude."

The Crown Prince couldn't stand it anymore: "If you want to repay a debt of gratitude, give her your credit. What's the point of stealing your cousin-in-law's credit?"

"Using your cousin's wife's achievements to repay the debt of gratitude you owe me, the more I hear it, the more I think you're a bastard."

"Cousin, you should really think this through. If you really steal your sister-in-law's credit, how will you explain it to her in the future?"

"Are we even going to live like this anymore?"

"Aren't you afraid your cousin's wife will hate you even more?"

"Your cousin-in-law just wants a divorce. Do you really want to drive her to the point of hating you?"

"Isn't it torture for two people who hate each other to live together?"

Is this what you wanted to see?

Lu Ziqian fell silent. Upon hearing the Crown Prince's words about mutual hatred, he subconsciously retorted, "I don't hate her, nor do I dislike her, it's just... I don't like her that much."

"If you don't like them, just let them go. What's with this persistent pestering?"

"I……"

The prince suddenly realized something: "Cousin, you actually like your cousin's wife, don't you?"

"Who likes her? I don't want a divorce, it's just... I'm used to it, and I don't want to switch to a woman I don't know."

"Besides, if she hadn't schemed against me back then, I would have married Chen Yunniang long ago, and this situation wouldn't have arisen today."

"In the end, it's all her fault."

The crown prince asked, "Do you really intend to do this?"

Lu Ziqian did not answer directly, but insisted, "It is impossible for me to divorce her."

"Even if we take this to the Emperor, it won't work. We'll just have to defy the imperial decree!"

"Why...don't you know that Father Emperor has long suspected you?"

"If you disobey the imperial decree, you will give Father the opportunity to reclaim military power."