Lu Ziqian left the prince's residence with Su Yujiao, and the woman slapped him hard.
"Let me go, I'm not going anywhere."
The man sneered: "It's not up to you!"
He led her to Jin Mudan's residence, which was still on the rooftop. Su Yujiao witnessed a scene she would never forget.
Jin Mudan was seen dancing, wearing one of the bellybands she had designed...
Jin Mudan loved dancing since she was a child. She didn't think dancing was about pleasing men; on the contrary, she thought that beautiful dance was an art.
Although the word "art" didn't exist in this era, she felt that dancing was a sacred and beautiful thing.
But now, she dresses like that, dancing in a coquettish and vulgar manner!
Across from her sat a well-dressed man, drinking and watching her dance.
"come over."
He waved to her, and Jin Mudan stopped, drenched in sweat and panting heavily, having danced for who knows how long.
She walked up to the man, knelt down naturally, and rested her head on his lap like a kitten, letting him stroke her face as if he were playing with her.
Suddenly, he patted her and said that he had drunk too much and needed to use the restroom.
Then, Su Yujiao witnessed a scene she would never forget.
"Ugh..." She couldn't help but gag, and Lu Ziqian led her away.
She seemed terrified, covered in goosebumps, trembling and on the verge of collapse...
Why is this happening?
How could she?
Who is that man?
Lu Ziqian pulled her into his arms, gently stroking her back, and explained, "The patron behind Jin Mudan is the eldest son of the Prime Minister's family, Mo Lingchen!"
"Without his protection, Jin Mudan would not have been able to establish a female household or do business."
Even if you help her redeem herself, she will still be destined to fall back into prostitution.
"Therefore, she will do everything she can to please Mo Lingchen, so that... she only has to serve one man instead of a group of men."
"She never told you any of these things, did she?"
"Do you still think she's living such a carefree life?"
"A person who is carefree, free, without the control of in-laws, and doesn't need to please their husband?"
"Do you still want to be the Third Prince's concubine?"
"Heh, do you want me to take you to see what happens to someone who becomes a concubine?"
"Leaving aside the high-ranking officials and nobles, even the local gentry and wealthy merchants have hordes of servants in their homes, including those who serve spittoons, warm feet, and use the toilet..."
"I won't go into the specifics of what it does; you should understand from the literal meaning!"
Do you still feel that marrying me was your misfortune?
Are you still insisting on a divorce?
“Without my approval, you can’t establish a female household, and you can’t continue doing business with Zhang Wansan. Also, you can’t take away a single penny of the silver notes and jewelry that my mother gave you, as well as all the money you earned in your husband’s family.”
"Your only place to go is back to your parents' home, where you will be disliked by your parents and ostracized by your sister-in-law. In the end, in order to save your eldest brother, they will personally send you to the Third Prince's bed as a plaything."
"Once the Third Prince tires of you, you'll be just like Consort Liu, forced to serve whoever he wants you to serve."
Lu Ziqian pinched her chin: "Su Yujiao, I've protected you too well, which is why you're so naive."
“Xiao Tao is much more clear-headed than you. She knows that without my protection, you simply cannot survive.”
"I'm giving you a day to think it over. Do you still want to keep causing trouble for me?!"
“My patience is limited. If you continue to be arrogant and take advantage of my favor, I will make you kneel down and serve others, just like Jin Mudan.”
Lu Ziqian left Su Yujiao in a small courtyard in the east of the city and then left alone.
That night, Su Yujiao had a series of nightmares, which caused her to have a high fever all night.
"No...no..."
"Mom...I miss you so much..."
"I want to go home, this place... is so scary..."
Lu Ziqian held her hand and listened to her talk in her sleep all night, using many words that were unfamiliar to him.
The man's eyes were filled with guilt; he never imagined he would do this to her!
Looking at her haggard face, he felt both heartache and helplessness.
One imperial physician after another came, but Su Yujiao's high fever persisted.
"Physician Zhou, why can't you even cure a simple cold and fever?"
Physician Zhou sighed, "A heart ailment requires a heart remedy. The young mistress's ailment is a heart ailment; she herself is unwilling to wake up, and no amount of medicine will help."
"General, you can try to help her resolve her inner conflict; otherwise, the young mistress's condition is critical!"
Lu Ziqian's face darkened: "Is it really that serious?"
How can I help her overcome her inner conflict?
Physician Zhou thought for a moment: "Try saying something that the young mistress likes to hear, maybe that will wake her up."
"By the way, we can also try the method of wiping the body with wine that Physician Su used before."
"My medical skills are lacking. If Physician Su were here, he would surely be able to cure the young mistress's illness."
Listening to Physician Zhou's words, Lu Ziqian felt more worried than ever before; he hadn't expected the consequences to be so severe.
If he had known this, he certainly wouldn't have scared her last night.
Actually, it wasn't just a scare tactic; it was the truth: a woman who leaves her husband's home has no way to survive.
I never expected her to be so frightened!
After Physician Zhou left, Lu Ziqian gently touched Su Yujiao's thin hand. He was surprised to find that she had lost so much weight in the past few days.
"Jiaojiao, it was my fault last night. I shouldn't have shown you those things."
"As long as you wake up, you can hit me or scold me, I will never say those harsh words to you."
"Those were just words spoken in anger. I never treated you like that."
"I'm just angry that you'd rather marry the Third Prince as a concubine than live a proper life with me."
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