Chapter 26 Chapter 26 Divorce Letter
Zhe Rou slept soundly until dawn, and didn't know what time it was when she woke up. The dim sunlight shone through the layers of gauze curtains. When she moved a little, she felt sore and weak all over. Her left hand seemed to be pulled by something. She was stunned for a moment and instinctively opened her eyes to look over.
Lu Chen sat beside the couch, holding her hand with one hand. There was a faint stubble under his chin, and his eyes were full of red veins. It was obvious that he had not slept all night.
After a moment of confusion, Zhe Rou came to her senses, subconsciously turned her head away, and tried to pull her hand out of his palm.
Lu Chen tightened his grip even more, calling out in a low, hoarse voice, "Miss."
Zhe Rou felt a sudden pain in her heart and didn't want to respond, but she couldn't break free from Lu Chen's strength, so she simply closed her eyes and let him go.
Lu Chen pulled her into his arms and whispered, "Miss, I've made arrangements. Please allow me..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, his voice was extremely hoarse, as if it had been rubbed by rough sand and gravel.
Zhe Rou hardened her heart and interrupted him: "I just want a divorce."
Hearing this, Lu Chen's brows furrowed, veins throbbing on his forehead. "I've already told you, I won't agree."
"If I don't divorce you, do I have to watch you continue to get entangled with others?" Zhe Rou looked back at him and smiled faintly, "You want to overthrow Xu Chong, but it won't be a matter of a day or a night? Even if you can delay for a month, can you handle it for a year? If he insists on you proposing marriage, what will you do then?"
The more she talked, the more unhappy she felt. She just wanted to hurt him with sharp words, "Lu Bingyan, will you let me be your concubine, or buy me another house and let me be your mistress? Or, will you let me die of an acute illness without anyone knowing?"
"Jiaojiu!" Lu Chen's face turned pale, and anger flashed in his dark eyes, like a wounded and trapped beast. "You know I can't do it!"
Zhe Rou pursed her lips. She was still exhausted physically and mentally, and had not recovered yet. She did not want to argue with him at all.
Nan Heng happened to come over to report something that seemed extremely urgent. He didn't care about anything else and just as he reached the corridor, he rashly called out to his husband, "There's urgent news about salt transportation!"
Hearing the noise, Lu Chen closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying his best to suppress the anger in his heart. He stared at Zhe Rou with his dark eyes and said in a deep voice, "I will resolve the matter of the Xu family girl as soon as possible. I will give you a satisfactory answer within next month."
When he reached the door, Lu Chen's steps suddenly stopped again. He gritted his teeth and said harshly, "As for the divorce, it's absolutely impossible. Our marriage certificate was signed by the government. Without my divorce certificate, you and I will be husband and wife until death."
Hearing him walk out of the courtyard, Zhe Rou closed her eyes and lay on the couch, her nails digging deep into her palms, the pain making her eyes sore and hot.
Soon, Xiaochan walked around the latticed fan and entered the inner room. She came to the bed and helped her wash up. She went outside and brought back the food box. She asked carefully, "Are you feeling better, madam? Do you like this? If you don't like it, I will go to the kitchen to get something else."
"I'm fine." Zhe Rou smiled gently and glanced at the food box. There were red silk steamed buns, eight-treasure soup, and black-bone chicken custard, all of which were blood-replenishing and nourishing meals. Although she had no appetite at all, she still forced herself to eat some.
Miscarriage is harmful to the body, and the postpartum period requires careful care to avoid any symptoms. Life will continue in the future, and her body is hers, so she must cherish it doubly.
After eating, Zhe Rou regained some strength and began to think about what to do next.
The situation is now very different, and has deviated significantly from what she had originally imagined.
She had originally thought of leaving quietly without disturbing Lu Chen, but the hatred she felt last night had reached its peak, and how could she have any sense left? She only wished she could let Lu Chen experience this torment as well. She had acted impulsively in the moment, and now she had to rethink her plans.
Having been together for several years, she knew Lu Chen's temperament very well. Although he loved to laugh, and his smile had a certain gentle youthfulness, making him look like a refined gentleman, he was actually a person who endured and then acted. If someone touched his weak spot, he would turn his face and become more cruel and paranoid than anyone else.
Since Lu Chen refused to divorce, she could only deal with it slowly.
She couldn't just keep silent about the divorce. If she suddenly said it, it would easily arouse his suspicion. She had to stick to the idea first, then pretend to be slowly coaxed into submission by him. Once he completely let down his guard, she would naturally find a way to escape.
No matter what, she had to leave.
It hurts so much.
If she experiences the same thing again in the future, she won't be able to bear it and will go crazy.
As for where to go, she hadn't decided yet. She couldn't go back to Taozhou, and even if she did, it would only be another sad place. It would be better to go to a new place and start her own life again.
It was not difficult to get a public identification certificate for leaving the city. She could use the name of a relative of her drug store clerk, spend some money in the market, and ask a lawyer to get one from the county government.
The road ahead was uncertain, and she didn't want to take Xiaochan with her to suffer. After some thought, Zhe Rou decided to leave Xiaochan's indenture and a few prescriptions for ready-made medicines, and hand the medicine shop over to Xiaochan. This would be enough for her to support herself, and the medicine shop she had worked so hard to open wouldn't be wasted.
Zhe Rou made up her mind and felt relieved, but suddenly there was a moment of sadness. She never thought that one day she would use such calculating thoughts on Lu Chen.
Although Zhe Rou was knowledgeable in medicine, she was not an expert in gynecology and could not know all the taboos in miscarriage recovery. Lu Chen invited a nanny familiar with gynecology from the Forbidden Chinese Medicine Bureau to take care of her every day, help her massage the acupoints, and also called Lu Wan to come and talk to her to relieve her boredom.
After another twenty days of such careful treatment, Zhe Rou's health had improved considerably, and her cheeks were rosy, looking no different from before, and even becoming two points fuller.
Lu Chen became increasingly busy, and no one knew what he was busy with. He was rarely seen during the day, and only came late at night to hold her to sleep.
Zhe Rou gradually stopped talking about the divorce, and Lu Chen also tacitly avoided talking about it. In the blink of an eye, it was late June. The official certificate for leaving the city had been completed, and some jewelry that was inconvenient to take away had been secretly exchanged for silver. The only thing missing was a divorce agreement.
It rained for several days in a row, and Lu Chen came to rest as usual at night.
Zhe Rou was sleeping soundly when she heard a strange noise beside her.
She opened her eyes hazily and saw Lu Chen with his back to her, breathing heavily, his left hand pressed tightly on his knee, veins bulging on the back of his hand. His thin summer undershirt was soaked with cold sweat and stuck to his back, revealing the taut muscle lines.
Due to the continuous rain, his old knee injury flared up.
Zhe Rou pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and pretended not to know.
Intermittent suppressed gasps of pain could be heard from beside me.
Zhe Rou endured it again and again, but she couldn't bear it any longer. Just as she was about to get up to get the medicine, Lu Chen grabbed her hand from behind. Before she could turn around, she heard him panting, "I'll just endure it... It's rained, and the ground is cold. Your time is coming soon, and you can't stand the cold..."
Zhe Rou felt sore and soft in her heart when his words hit her.
How can it not hurt?
It turned out that she didn't have the courage to be so decisive.
Even though she had already made up her mind, when the time came to leave, she would still feel a heart-wrenching pain at the thought of completely giving up everything related to Lu Chen from her life.
But no matter how painful it is, I can never look back.
Just think of it as... their last day of love as husband and wife.
Zhe Rou went to the cabinet to get some herbs, dipped them in wine, applied them to his legs, and then burned some mugwort to fumigate him carefully.
Lu Chen just kept watching her movements intently.
After a few repeated moxibustion treatments, she saw that Lu Chen's condition had eased somewhat. She put the remaining herbs back and just as she was about to rest on the bed, Lu Chen grabbed her hand and pulled her into his arms. He smiled softly and asked, "Miss, you're not angry with me anymore, are you? I promised you that I would give you a satisfactory answer, and it will be soon, in the next few days."
Zhe Rou was held in his arms, her face calm, but she cooperated and asked: "...Really?"
Hearing her question, Lu Chen felt relieved instantly.
His sister is always soft-hearted.
"I'm not lying." He couldn't help but lower his head, sucking her lips, and promised: "I will never have anything to do with anyone else again."
Zhe Rou felt a bitter feeling in her heart, unable to describe the feeling, and she just gently stroked the ends of his hair on the back of his neck.
Lu Chen was suddenly startled.
This tender and compassionate caress made him tremble all over, unable to control his emotions, his eyes felt sore and hot, and he almost shed tears.
As if eager to confirm something, he kissed her more fiercely, his breath and saliva mingling, almost indistinguishable from each other.
Zhe Rou did not resist or refuse.
The night was deep, and the sound of rain could be heard outside the window. At the end of the kiss, Lu Chen held her tightly in his arms, and the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms.
The next day was June 24th, the birthday of Erlang Shen in Guankou. The worship in Shangjing City was particularly lively and prosperous. Lu Chen had to command the imperial guards and protect the emperor's travels, so he got up early, washed and prepared to go on duty.
When he stood up, Zhe Rou also woke up, half leaning on the bed, watching him clean up quietly.
Lu Chen had been feeling unusually cheerful these days. Before leaving, he returned to the bedside, lifted her face, and kissed her rosy lips, lingering and lingering. Finally, as if still unsatisfied, he pecked her a few more times and whispered, "Wait for me to come back. I have something else to tell you."
Zhe Rou looked at him with a smile and agreed.
After watching him walk away, Zhe Rou got up to wash up, and quickly packed up the valuables that she had thought about countless times in her mind, along with the official documents for leaving the city, into a small bundle, and then went straight to Songchunyuan.
"Thank you, Madam, for giving me a letter of divorce."
After hearing her words, Zheng Lanbi was stunned for a moment. After a while, he asked in disbelief, "What do you want?"
Zhe Rou's expression was calm, and her tone was gentle but firm: "Madam, please divorce my wife on my behalf."
This method was something she had considered over and over again. Since Lu Chen refused to write a divorce letter, if she still wanted to get married and start a family in the future and completely sever ties with Lu Chen, she would have no choice but to ask for a divorce letter.
This news was really unexpected. Zheng Lanbi was completely shocked. She even suspected that the person in front of her had some sinister intentions, and she couldn't help but stare at her.
Zhe Rou had anticipated this and explained in a gentle voice, following the pre-planned explanation: "Because of the Xu family's daughter, I wanted to divorce Lu Chen, but he refused."
"If we want a divorce, we'll need to find a middleman and go through the government. Lu Chen won't write a letter of divorce, so I can't get around him. But divorcing my wife is much easier. My wife is his biological mother, so he can just use the excuse of 'no children' to divorce me on behalf of the Lu family. From now on, we'll have nothing to do with each other, whether we get married or not."
Zhe Rou pursed her lips and said softly, "Lu Chen is very busy today and cannot leave. As long as Madam writes me a letter of divorce, I will leave Shangjing immediately. It will be beneficial to Madam and not harmful."
Zheng Lanbi looked at her scrutinizingly: "...Are you really willing to give it up?"
Zhe Rou raised her head and smiled, not avoiding her scrutiny, and said word by word, "Yes, I have decided to do so."
Zheng Lanbi pondered for a long time and finally made up his mind. He turned back to the inner room, picked up a pen and hurriedly wrote a letter of divorce. After drying the ink, he handed it to Zhe Rou.
After putting away the divorce letter and walking out of Songchun Courtyard, Zhe Rou looked up at the sky. It was a beautiful day with clear skies and bright weather. She had checked the almanac and found that on June 24th, it was not a good day to get married but a good day to travel.
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