Chapter 49 After the divorce, she treated him as if he were dead...

Jiang Shuifu was so frightened by the ever-enlarging face in front of her that her whole body trembled. She never expected that someone who lived in a magnificent palace thousands of miles away would appear here, in the small town of Su Yang!

And quite by chance, he saved her!

His hand was still on her waist, gripping it so tightly it hurt!

Not content with just holding her waist, he instinctively pulled her towards his chest, and in an instant, the distance between them was only a fist's width.

His breath was hot and rapid, forcefully landing on the tip of her nose, instantly enveloping her entire face.

Her brain went blank again, her strength vanished instantly, and she was gone before she could even begin to resist or struggle.

Shen Jizhao sensed her vulnerability and fear, so he placed his other, very strong, rough hand over her and held the woman in his arms tightly.

"Don't be afraid, I won't let you get hurt!"

His tone was no longer as cold and indifferent as before, but rather filled with tenderness and concern. His eyes and brows were no longer indifferent and unchanging, but rather revealed his emotions at this moment.

His emotions were complex, but they could be summed up in two words: longing, longing, longing.

Seeing her now makes me even happier.

In the months since she left, he has tried to move on, but no woman has ever captured his heart like she did.

He can only accept her; he only wants her.

So he came; he wanted to win her back.

For the past few months, his heart had been numb and empty, filled with anger and melancholy. But at this moment, his heart was filled with a feeling of having regained what he had lost.

When he saw her, all his resentment, anger, bitterness, and unbearable pain vanished without a trace.

It's good to see her.

Jiang Shuifu showed none of his complex emotions; her initial shock turned into a strong urge to escape.

She didn't want to see him, not even a glimpse of him. No matter why he came to Su Yang, she wouldn't have anything to do with him.

He shouldn't have saved her, and she wouldn't be grateful to him in the slightest.

Thinking this, she suddenly came to her senses and gathered all her strength, pushing her hands against his chest until her nails dug into his flesh.

"Your Highness, I am not familiar with you at all, and I despise you. You cannot address me like that! I do not like it and I will not accept it!"

She could feel the heat radiating from his chest, and the warmth emanating from his hands was so intense it felt like it was burning her waist.

She twisted her body, trying to break free from his touch and restraint.

Upon hearing the word "disgust," Shen Jizhao's heart sank to the ground, his eyes glazed over, and his hands clenched into fists.

She still hated him so much, yet he still craved her, craved everything about her, even her disgust.

Taking advantage of his momentary lapse in concentration, she gave him a sudden shove, sending him flying far away. She then disgustedly wiped her hands that had touched him, as if they had come into contact with something dirty.

Shen Jizhao couldn't bear it, but he refused to look away, determined to take in all her movements and etch them into his heart.

If he doesn't let go, one day she will change her mind.

He took a deep breath, loosened his fist, walked towards her again, and embraced her.

"Snap!"

It turned out that the fire had spread and burned the entire flower stand in the blink of an eye.

The wooden frame burned fiercely, the fire drifting in the wind, igniting the silk on the branches, and then the branches followed suit.

Soon, a thick branch fell.

He grabbed her waist again, and with a swift leap, carried her away from there. At first, she struggled, but as soon as he lifted her and flew towards the rooftop, she stopped moving.

Now, she was truly terrified.

Shen Jizhao hated himself for being so despicable, and that this was the only way he could get his wish and briefly sense her presence.

He Beiqing, who was under the tree, had already gone to fetch reinforcements. They were on the roof, so it could be said that only the two of them remained in the whole world. It was extremely quiet.

Shen Jizhao's eyes were fixed on Jiang Shuifu, on her furrowed brows and tightly pursed lips, he couldn't get enough of looking at her.

He knew she didn't want to be with him.

Sure enough, she turned her back to him and huffed, "Let me down! I want to go home! If you don't let me down, I'll call for help! How dare the Crown Prince abduct a commoner! What will become of your reputation as the Crown Prince?!"

Jiang Shuifu knew, of course, that he had deliberately "kidnapped" her to the rooftop, but she didn't know what his purpose was.

She didn't want to look at him, so Shen Jizhao obediently walked around to her side and said softly:

"In front of me, you don't need to refer to yourself as a commoner. I... we've been husband and wife for many years!"

He originally wanted to say that he only recognized her as his wife, but given her current attitude towards him, she would only despise him even more.

However, he underestimated Jiang Shuifu's hatred for him. She hated him being so close to her, and with a forceful shove, without considering whether he would fall, she angrily shouted:

"Does Your Highness find this amusing? We are already divorced. I have absolutely no relation to you. I don't know what you're trying to do today. Perhaps it's just out of compassion to see someone die, but I don't need that. I believe that after a divorce, one should treat the other as if they are dead!"

Shen Jizhao was pushed so hard by her that he almost fell off the roof, but he managed to hold on to the tile and flip back onto the roof.

He was quite surprised and shocked by her action, and a hint of fear flashed in his eyes; things were worse than he had imagined.

He was afraid he wouldn't be able to win her back.

Jiang Shuifu, however, did not intend for it to end like this. She solemnly told him their future fate:

"Your Highness, no matter how long you intend to stay in Suyang, let's make things clear beforehand. This is the last time we'll meet. From now on, I'll go my own way, and you go yours. I hope that even if we happen to meet again in the future, we can pretend we don't know each other. Perhaps I'm being presumptuous, but Your Highness probably feels the same way!"

Shen Jizhao shook his head, "I will not..."

He doesn't want that! He doesn't want this "keeping to himself" approach!

Before he could even express his feelings, her next words completely froze his heart, which had only recently come back to life:

"After all, in my heart, you are already dead!"

Boom! It was as if Shen Jizhao's heart had been pierced, and the blood in his body instantly froze from boiling hot to ice, unable to flow at all!

What did she say? That he was dead?

In her heart, had he left no trace of her?

He clutched his aching, riddled-with-holes heart, and his eyes quickly became bloodshot, the blood vessels almost instantly coalescing into large, intertwined, crimson veins.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Shuifu assumed he was angry because she had cursed him to die, so, adhering to the principle of fairness, she added, "Of course, you can also see me as someone else..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shen Jizhao walked towards her with a fierce look in his eyes and unexpectedly covered her mouth, preventing her from saying another word.

Upon closer inspection, a hint of fear was visible in his eyes.

She couldn't say that about herself because of the fear of losing her.

Jiang Shuifu took the opportunity to bite his hand, biting it with all her might until the skin broke and blood oozed out. However, Shen Jizhao seemed oblivious, not even flinching.

Instead, he grabbed her waist again. This time, he didn't just lightly touch her, but wrapped his arms around her. Then, under her watchful gaze, sensing something was wrong, he jumped down with her in his arms.

Jiang Shuifu immediately let go, grabbing his back with both hands and yelling as she did so, "You madman! Shen Jizhao! Go to hell, but don't drag me down with you!"

Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, the man holding her seemed to retaliate against her, his body suddenly twisted, as if he was about to lose his strength and drag her straight to the ground.

Jiang Shuifu screamed incessantly, her fingernails digging even harder, until his back was a bloody mess.

She had only one thought: if he suffered even the slightest injury, he wouldn't have an easy time either.

But her warning did not deter him in the slightest; instead, he fell even faster, completely lacking the ease and safety he had felt when he came up.

He's serious!

Jiang Shuifu began to feel fear; she didn't want to die! She still had her father, grandparents, Doujie, Huge, Meibao...

"Waaaaah! Waaaaah!"

She simply burst into tears, crying so hard that the world seemed to end, tears and snot streaming down her face, reciting the names of everyone she cared about.

Shen Jizhao weakly curled the corner of her mouth. She was still the same as before, always calling out his name in the face of life and death. But this time, his name was not there. She would not care about him, and she would not say that it would be good to die with him.

"Shen Jizhao, I'll haunt you even as a ghost! How could I be so unlucky? I was blind, married to you, and forced into a life of widowhood—that was bad enough, but now I'm even losing my life..."

Shen Jizhao suddenly regained his strength. She mentioned him again, which made him very happy. He then used all his strength to turn her around, using his body as a cushion for her, and then used his sword to press down on her.

Jiang Shuifu glanced furtively at the current situation, then let out a blood-curdling scream: "Ah!"

But the scene of blood and gore that she had imagined did not come to pass. Instead, she landed safely without a scratch.

She remained stunned for a long time, long enough for the man beneath her to let out a strange laugh:

"Hahaha!"

Shen Jizhao chuckled softly, and in the middle of the night, his laughter was quite eerie.

He wasn't satisfied yet; his eyes gleamed like a wolf eyeing its prey.

"You'd better keep your word and not let me off the hook!"

He liked the phrase "I won't let him go." He was happy as long as he could be entangled with her, no matter what form it took.

Jiang Shuifu recovered and immediately climbed off him, spitting out, "Despicable! Shameless! Disgusting! Sick!"

So all that was for that one sentence? She glared at him in disbelief.

However, she misunderstood him. Shen Jizhao did not scare her on purpose; he had just suffered too many injuries on his journey.

He wanted to see her as soon as possible, so he never sought medical treatment and dragged it out for more than half a month. Just now, she pinched him hard again, so he briefly lost consciousness.

After Jiang Shuifu finished her tirade, she turned and left, not wanting to stay with him for even a moment longer. But as she walked, a figure appeared beside her. Shen Jizhao, with his last breath, confessed his true feelings to her:

"I just want to take you home. I hope you're doing well. Everything that happened before was my fault, Shui Fu. Please give me a chance."

Jiang Shuifu was extremely indifferent, not responding to his words at all, and not even giving him a glance.

But the next instant, an extremely heavy weight suddenly pressed down on her shoulders, catching her completely off guard and causing her to fall over instantly.

Blood was flowing from her body.

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Author's Note: The male protagonist's pursuit of his wife begins. He's still as domineering as ever, but he'll gradually change. Of course, this process won't be easy, especially when he breaks down her defenses; it will involve some coercion.