Chapter 36, Divorce Agreement
"I'm late, I almost missed this great show of Sun Wukong fighting monsters!"
A smiling female voice suddenly resounded throughout the hall.
His tone was gentle, yet carried a hint of authority that came from within.
"Jiaojiao?!" The embroidered shoes and jeweled voice were close by; it seemed as if she was walking towards her.
That voice sounds so familiar!
Liu Jiao suddenly looked up and turned around, only to see a woman with a sweet face and a wealthy appearance walking towards her, landing right in front of her.
He winked at her playfully.
It's Hua Man! Sister Man Man!
When Liu Jiao met her best friend whom she hadn't seen in a long time, her eyes welled up with tears, still feeling a tightness in her chest.
God knows how much she wanted to hug Sister Manman and cry her heart out.
Seeing her pathetic state, Hua Man raised an eyebrow and gave her a wink, signaling her not to make a fuss.
Liu Jiao became suspicious.
The hand that was about to be reached stopped halfway.
Years of tacit understanding led Liu Jiao to realize that she ultimately did not say hello.
He just hunched his neck and blinked, watching how Hua Man would react.
"Are you Queen Hua Man of Man Kingdom?"
The Crescent Fox, who had just been looking down on everyone with arrogance, suddenly stood up straight and greeted them respectfully.
"My name is Crescent Fox, and I am Princess Xin'an of the Dream-Embracing Kingdom. If you wish, you may also call me Sheng Yueyue..."
Crescent Fox tried her best to raise the corners of her mouth and slightly widen her eyes, revealing a clear and innocent look.
After all, it's rumored that Hua Man has a strong preference for innocent and naive people.
The Crescent Fox's demeanor towards Hua Man was now humble and obsequious, even bordering on ingratiating, compared to her haughty attitude towards Liu Jiao.
Hua Man's expression turned slightly cold: "Yueyue? Haven't you crossed the line?"
Crescent Fox's raised lips paused, and the translucent glass cup filled with orange tea held in her hand hovered in mid-air, neither rising nor falling.
“I’m not familiar with you, this is not proper etiquette.” Hua Man frowned. “The Huai Meng Kingdom really has no manners at all.”
Crescent Fox tried to ingratiate herself with him, but was bluntly rejected.
Her brow twitched.
After being ridiculed by Hua Man, Crescent Fox finally remembered the temperament of the Queen of Man Kingdom:
Extremely arrogant personality.
On the surface, they are kind, but in reality, they are difficult to please and place great importance on etiquette.
She received even more gifts than him.
He was a master of upholding formalities and rituals.
Extremely difficult to deal with.
Crescent Fox clenched her fists, took a deep breath, and swallowed back the displeasure that had risen after being rejected.
She tried to justify herself, saying:
"It was my daughter who did not think things through. She was just too respectful to you and too excited to see Madam Huaman, so she broke the rules."
She forced another flattering, fake smile.
She silently told herself, "I must endure."
This Hua Man is the queen with real power, sharing the world equally with the king of Man Kingdom. Man Kingdom crushes Huai Meng Kingdom in both military strength and financial resources.
As a neighboring country, Man is vast and rich in resources, and it almost monopolizes the supply of goods to Huaimeng, so Huaimeng has no choice but to be friendly.
Even her brother, Xinpingyan, had to show Huaman a certain degree of respect.
Hua Man crossed her arms, her cold face remaining completely still.
He merely raised his hand slightly and pointed to Liu Jiao, who was still standing beside him, "Making her stand there and get scolded at the banquet spoiled the guests' enjoyment and prevented the proper adherence to etiquette. Is that how you show respect for me?"
Hua Man coldly explained etiquette to Xin Yuehu: "A banquet should only begin after everyone is seated. Not only did you have the official's wife standing here and start the banquet without permission, but you also had the official's wife's husband come to serve you—" Hua Man scoffed, "Where is your upbringing?"
Cold sweat immediately streamed down Crescent Fox's forehead.
She has offended the Queen of Man.
Brother, she'll be furious with you.
She subconsciously glanced at Liu Jiao, who had just been criticized by her for not following the rules.
"Stop looking! Why aren't you letting her sit down? How long do you intend to keep neglecting me?" Hua Man sneered.
"Even after being pointed out by the customer, you still don't change or take any action. Your country is truly laughable. Like father, like son."
Hua Man's proud yet calm words echoed in the already quiet water palace.
Let's find someone who knows the rules better than Crescent Fox.
Crescent Fox's silver teeth almost shattered.
"Fine...it's my fault." Crescent Fox bit her lip hard.
He lowered his eyes, suppressed his temper, and obediently apologized.
"Liu Jiao, although you are impolite and disrespectful, please return to your seat quickly, out of consideration for Madam Hua Man's kindness and Sang Ji's friendship with me."
"Sigh, if you knew some manners, you wouldn't have offended Madam Huaman. You should try harder to learn the manners and stop causing trouble for Brother Aji."
Crescent Fox once again lashed out at Liu Jiao for her lack of manners.
The firepower was successfully diverted.
This caused those who were originally watching her and Hua Man to shift their criticism to Liu Jiao.
This caused quite a stir in the hall.
"That's true, it's all Liu Jiao's fault for not knowing the rules."
"Yes, if Liu Jiao offends Madam Hua Man, then she has offended Man Guo, and she has truly committed a grave crime."
"A wild girl like her can understand such vulgar behavior. It's truly pitiful for the Sang family and for Sang Ji."
Hua Man rolled her eyes and was about to step forward to defend Liu Jiao when—
Sang Ji suddenly stepped forward.
Liu Jiao was watching Manman's dominance from there, thoroughly enjoying herself.
The next instant, he felt a lightness beneath him.
She was lifted into the air and carried away.
Liu Jiao was furious and about to berate the lecherous man when her mouth was covered first.
The familiar, calloused, warm palm.
Liu Jiao suddenly turned around—
It collided with Sang Ji's cold, indifferent phoenix eyes.
At that moment, his phoenix eyes swept over her indifferently, yet it inexplicably brought a sense of peace to her heart.
Sang Ji held her steadily in his arms, one hand cupping her head, unconsciously stroking her hair.
Liu Jiao was stunned.
She was completely stunned by Sang Ji's sudden action of picking her up horizontally.
She nestled in his arms like a quail, not moving an inch.
"No need for the princess to trouble herself, no need for any of you to trouble yourself," Sang Ji said clearly in the main hall.
“I know who I’m going to marry. We are all human beings, and there is nothing that is not good enough for us.”
“If someone doesn’t want to marry me, I’m not one to compromise myself, and I will never marry them.”
Sang Ji coldly uttered these words.
Without looking back, he carried Liu Jiao in his arms and rode the wind all the way out of the Water Palace gate.
They made their stance clear.
Passing by water, flowers, and trees, and through the covered bridge in the summer breeze.
Liu Jiao nestled in his arms, unaware of how much time had passed. Her head was spinning, a mixture of joy and bitterness washing over her.
"Where is your carriage?" Sang Ji asked abruptly.
Liu Jiao was still held in the boy's strong arms. She buried her face in his chest, her mind still filled with the words Sang Ji had just said.
He said that he would never marry someone he didn't want to marry.
So... she's the one he wants to marry?
Liu Jiao was still chuckling foolishly.
Sang Ji looked down at her, a puzzled expression on his face: "Hmm? What's wrong?"
Liu Jiao snapped out of her daze, not even lifting her head, and continued burying her face in her chest: "Oh, oh, nothing. What did you just say?"
Sang Ji: "..."
Following the guidance of the person in his arms, who pointed left and right, Sang Ji found the carriage that Liu Jiao had seen waiting on the bluestone slab outside the main hall when she arrived at the Water Palace.
Because Sang Ji arrived on a fast horse, there was no carriage available, so Liu Jiao was brought here by carriage.
In front of the carriage, Sang Ji casually asked the driver to step aside.
He then took Liu Jiao down from around his neck.
Standing face to face, he looked at the girl, who was a head shorter than him, with a dazed expression, and felt a little displeased. He turned Liu Jiao's face with one hand to make her focus.
As he removed his hand from her face, he casually pinched it.
Instead of getting into the carriage first, he blocked Liu Jiao in front of it.
It was already evening, and the pomegranate flowers were clustered on top. The two people looked at each other in front of the slanted carriage, one tall and one short, one looking down and the other looking up.
Sang Ji still remembered how Liu Jiao had become distant and cold towards him.
He stopped her to ask why she had distanced herself from him.
She's been very busy lately, even busier than him.
In the past, I would embroider many clothes for him, and every night I would run to his study to make tea and grind ink for him.
You can't see anyone here at all.
The cold moon hangs empty outside the window.
After a moment's hesitation, and under Liu Jiao's puzzled gaze, he cleared his throat:
"Did you... feel frustrated at the Sang residence? Are you feeling resentful? Is that why you've locked yourself in your room and lost interest in everything else?"
So I don't come to see him or give him embroidery.
"I'm doing pretty well, I'm very happy." Liu Jiao shook her head.
Sang Ji: "So you're suffering from acclimatization issues. You came from Jiangnan to Huajing and found the weather dry and hot, so you locked yourself in your room and didn't want to come out?"
Liu Jiao thought back to that first month after arriving in Huajing, when she took advantage of Sang Ji's absence to go to various places in Huajing and have a blast with Wangyoujun.
She touched her nose guiltily.
Sang Ji: "So you're so bored that you miss your hometown and that's why you lock yourself in your room all day?"
Liu Jiao finally realized what was going on.
Sang Ji was asking her what she'd been busy with lately.
Liu Jiao couldn't let him know that she was busy preparing a birthday gift for him.
After all, a birthday gift needs a little surprise to be meaningful.
Just thinking about Sang Ji's reaction at that time makes me really excited.
So, Liu Jiaoqiang suppressed her excited smile, her face stiff as wood, and directly stopped Sang Ji from speaking:
"Stop trying to subtly hint at it."
A hint of surprise flashed across Sang Ji's phoenix eyes.
Liu Jiao simply said, "Don't ask anymore."
Then, she lifted the hem of her skirt, her graceful figure aloof, and stepped inside the carriage.
She was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold it in.
Sang Ji was slightly taken aback by these two sentences.
The carriage has already driven away.
He stared at the wheel tracks left by the carriage.
Doesn't she love him?
Actions and glances don't lie.
He had originally decided.
Why now?
Does it mean you don't like it anymore?
Sang Ji also had a temper and pride.
Seeing that the girl was cold to him and didn't explain why, Sang Ji asked her so many times but couldn't get any answers.
He tightened the unicorn-patterned buttons on his narrow sleeves, then turned and left.
Instead of sitting with Liu Jiao, he mounted his horse, found the one he had come from, and parted ways with Liu Jiao.
He has always disliked those who don't speak their minds.
His brows were furrowed deeply, and anyone could tell he was agitated.
*
Liu Jiao had just returned to the mansion and hadn't even warmed her seat on the bed, nor had she changed her clothes and hairpins, when she was suddenly visited by Chunliu, who was by Song's side.
“The mistress has a biography.”
When Liu Jiao arrived at the main house of the Song family, she was unusually not harassed and was able to enter smoothly.
"Mother-in-law," Liu Jiao greeted.
With her back to her, Mrs. Song nodded gently.
Chunliu, standing beside her, shoved a piece of paper from the board right in front of Liu Jiao.
Liu Jiao was illiterate, so she asked, "Mother-in-law, what is this? Is it for me, or should I give it to Sang Ji?"
Upon hearing this, Song turned around.
Her expression was calm, and she uttered only three words:
"A divorce agreement".
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