Chapter 301
They then thought of Duan Gan and concluded that they were indeed not the same kind of people and could not get along.
Princess Huaimin was no pushover either.
They immediately lost the will to stay any longer, but seeing that Old Master Duan showed no sign of leaving, they had no choice but to suppress their desire to go.
After serving tea to everyone, Tao Tao pulled Duan Gan to sit down opposite them.
"My etiquette has been impeccable; now it is your turn to pay your respects."
Upon hearing this, they looked shocked again.
Mrs. Hu stared at her incredulously. "What? What did you say?"
"According to the laws of the Celestial Empire, failing to pay respects to members of the royal family is considered insubordination, punishable by fifty strokes of the cane at the very least, and imprisonment at the worst."
“Although my husband is a king of a different surname, he was personally appointed by the Emperor. You have neither official positions nor titles. Are you disregarding the law and showing contempt for the Emperor’s authority?!”
Noticing the shocked look in Old Master Duan's eyes, Tao Tao added, "Of course, except for Grandpa, he was retired and not without any official position."
Even someone as composed as Xie Shi couldn't sit still any longer.
But what she said was right, and there was no room for rebuttal, unless they brought up blood ties.
But since she had said those words, she wouldn't care about such things, and Duan Gan seemed to completely indulge her nonsense.
"Ladies, my patience is limited."
She turned and called out, "Chen Jinghe!"
Before long, Chen Jinghe entered with his guards. "Your Highness."
Seeing that she was actually serious, the crowd reluctantly stood up and bowed to them.
Originally, they thought that Duan Gan would get married as soon as possible so that he could be separated from the Duan family, and then they could divide everything in the Duan family.
Unexpectedly, the position where he sat for a while kept getting higher and higher.
Moreover, he married a wife with the same temperament as him.
Since that day when they suffered a loss, no one from the Duan family has come.
As night fell, the chill deepened.
Inside the study.
Tao Tao was worried that he would catch a cold at night, so she had already ordered someone to light the fireplace to keep him warm.
She took the soup, slowly pushed open the door, and saw him still bent over his desk, writing.
Duan Gan looked up and saw her coming. He smiled, put down his pen, opened his arms, and gestured for her to come over.
She sat on his lap, wrapped her arms around his neck, and felt a chill emanating from her.
Duan Gan reached out and touched her cold hands and face. Seeing that she was only wearing a thin casual dress, he frowned slightly. "Why are you wearing so little?"
"It's chilly at night, don't wait for me, go and rest when you need to."
Even so, he did not put her down, but held her cold hands and rubbed them to warm them up.
"I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come and see you."
Tao Tao looked at him with bright, almond-shaped eyes, her gaze filled with a hint of dependence.
He lowered his head and gazed at her, a slight smile appearing on his face. "Shall we talk?"
"What should we talk about?"
"Let's talk about why you wanted to go to Xia Kingdom?"
She was taken aback and said, "Don't you already know?"
“My mother is a princess of the Xia Kingdom. I don’t believe you can’t find out.”
"Do you still want to go to Xia Kingdom?"
She straightened up, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "What do you mean?"
Why would he bring this up out of the blue? Does he have some plans? After all, he was so unwilling to let her leave before.
Even now, when he goes out in the capital, he has the Privy Council's guards accompany him.
It seems that even after they got married, he still felt lingering fear about her previous escape.
Duan Gan looked at her quietly, sighed, and was a little surprised that she knew he had other intentions based on just one sentence.
He remained silent for a long time before lowering his head to kiss her lips, a tender and lingering kiss filled with love.
"Just say what you have to say." She frowned, her eyes a little cold.
"The border conflict is getting worse, and I have to go out to war."
His eyes held a hint of apology, but no trace of regret, as if he had already made up his mind beforehand.
Upon hearing this, Tao Tao suddenly stood up, met his gaze, her face tense, and said coldly, "Say it again, where are you going?"
Duan Gan frowned slightly at her slightly pale face, but continued, "The Turks are coming on strong and have allied with the tribes surrounding the Liao Kingdom. They can't hold out, so I have no choice but to..."
Before he could finish speaking, a sharp cracking sound rang out.
The slap knocked his head to the side, his dark hair became slightly disheveled, and a faint red mark instantly appeared on his pale face.
Feeling a slight pain in his cheek, he pressed the tip of his tongue against his burning cheek, remaining expressionless, even with a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Tao Tao's breathing quickened, her eyes turned cold, and a hint of anger lingered in them.
"Why did you propose to me if you're going to war? Are you going to leave me a widow when you die?!"
"Are you trying to tie me down with marriage for the rest of my life?!"
These words made it sound as if she had never intended to spend her life with him, which immediately enraged him, shattering all the sense of security he had built up with her over the past few months.
Duan Gan turned to look at her, his dark eyes gleaming with coldness. "What do you mean by 'tying you down for life through marriage'?"
"Shouldn't we be together forever? Or... or were those words you said back then just lies you made up to save Qi Heng's life?"
His eyes immediately reddened after he finished speaking.
He felt a sharp, stabbing pain in his heart. The thought that her promises were all made to save Qi Heng's life made him unable to control his murderous intent towards Qi Heng.
Looking back now, he should have killed him back then. He shouldn't have held onto her words and thought she wouldn't deceive him again. He shouldn't have been swayed by her and softened his heart towards her.
He should have brought her back, ignored everything she said, and locked her up!
Duan Gan began to breathe rapidly, his handsome face contorted with rage and murderous intent, his eyes filled with a dark and chilling ferocity as he looked at her.
He gripped her slender wrist tightly, his voice gloomy, "I should lock you up, so you can't go anywhere!"
Tao Tao frowned, looking at his agitated appearance with a bewildered expression.
Did she slap her so hard that she became neurotic?
Her original intention was that he was going to the battlefield, a very risky and dangerous situation with a high chance of death. Why didn't he discuss it with her beforehand?
Why did you have to wait until after you got married to tell her?
She believed he had the idea of going to the border, and thought it couldn't have happened after the marriage. No wonder he wanted that little boy Qi Huan to sit on the throne first.
Was he worried that if he died, the Celestial Empire would descend into chaos?
He even considered this, so what about her?
After he dies, will she be stuck with the identity of the regent's wife for the rest of her life, unable to go anywhere else?
Even after his death, he wouldn't let her go. He wanted her to live her whole life with the title of his wife, unable to escape it or remarry.
I ask you, under heaven, who would dare to marry the Regent's wife?
Although she might not marry someone else, she felt very uncomfortable with the idea that there was no room for negotiation, and that even after his death she would be bound to his identity for the rest of her life.
"Are you crazy? Did you even pay attention to the point I made?"
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