Volume One, Chapter 10: Why Not Just Give Me a Divorce Letter?

Years ago, when he first saw Fang Qianxue at the Fang family residence, he thought the young lady was extraordinarily beautiful. After returning home, he lost his appetite, determined to make her his wife.

But after marrying her, he found her beauty somewhat overrated—indeed lovely, yet ultimately dull and uninteresting.

“I really can’t understand you women. You obviously love me in your heart, yet you still pretend to be reserved…” Under the influence of that deer whip wine today, he saw Fang Qianxue as if she were Xu Miaoyan.

“Mm-mm…” Fang Qianxue couldn’t push him away, so she boldly yanked off the cloth covering the table.

With a loud crash, the tea cup and oil lamp fell to the floor, shattering.

“Madam, are you all right?” Cui Shuang and Sui Qiong hurried in, tidying up the mess and relighting the lamps.

As the room’s lights flickered off and on, Cui Shuang and Sui Qiong’s wide-eyed gazes fell upon him. Lu Changqing suddenly sobered a bit, releasing Fang Qianxue and sitting up straight. “You two may leave. I need to speak with madam privately.”

They glanced at Fang Qianxue before stepping out.

“How strange. You didn’t come today to take my heart’s blood?” Fang Qianxue smoothed her clothes and said.

“To take the heart’s blood requires your willing consent. If you truly refuse, do you think I’d force you? I am not a madman,” the man said, stirring the candle flame with a small wooden stick, regret flickering in his eyes as he spoke of the blood-taking.

If the Fang family always refused, would Miaoyan have to suffer that heart ailment forever?

Fang Qianxue sighed softly. “Second Master, you should leave soon. If Madam Xu finds out about this, there will be trouble again.”

Every time Lu Changqing visited Plum Blossom Inn to see the two children, Xu Miaoyan would contrive ways to sulk—either feigning illness or demanding to return to Jiangning.

Then Lu Changqing would use every means to appease her, promising the stars if not the moon, as if willing to offer his very heart and lungs.

After so many occasions, Lu Changqing became especially cautious each time he entered Plum Blossom Inn.

“Today, Yan Fenghua spoke to me and reminded me of our past. Now, my feelings for Miaoyan are just as they once were for you, yet she stubbornly refuses to marry me…” The man set down the stick used to stir the lamp wick and took Fang Qianxue’s hand. “Qianxue, you once said we would be united as husband and wife. How could you bear to see me love and yet not possess? Other proper wives help their husbands take concubines—can you not help me?”

His starry eyes reflected the firelight, filled with boundless emotion.

Yet he was a man without heart.

“How do you want me to help?”

“Miaoyan has long been enamored with me, but she's afraid you won’t accept her,” Lu Changqing said, as if seeing hope, tightening his grip on her hand. “If only you would allow me to continue the family line with two households and give Miaoyan the heart’s blood to cure her illness, she would gladly marry me.”

“Alas, she’s never truly loved you, nor has she ever had any heart disease,” Fang Qianxue said with a bitter smile. “You pour out your heart for her, but she schemes against you in every way…”

“Silence!” The man’s face turned pale as he suddenly let go of her hand. “Fang… Fang Qianxue, don’t spout nonsense just because you hear a few sweet words! Miaoyan has had heart disease since childhood, as even my elder brother’s letter confirms. It is absolutely true!”

“If you don’t believe me, then nothing I say will convince you.”

“Then explain this: if she has no heart disease, why would she want to take your heart’s blood?” Lu Changqing pressed a hand to his wildly beating chest, pointing an accusing finger at Fang Qianxue. “Don’t tell me she is as jealous and twisted as you!”

Fang Qianxue lowered her gaze in silence, clenching her fists until her knuckles whitened inch by inch.

“What’s the matter? Can’t answer?” The handsome man sneered coldly. “Fang Qianxue, you come from noble birth but are full of schemes. You think that by slandering Miaoyan a few times, I would return to you? Ridiculous! The Fang family has indeed raised a daughter without honor or shame…”

“Everything I say is true. Xu Miaoyan never had any heart disease. She used you to take my heart’s blood because she wanted to kill me and take my place. Only if I die can she replace my fate, my fortune, and my destiny,” Fang Qianxue declared.

“Shocking!” Lu Changqing slammed his hand on the table and stood up. “Miaoyan is a born auspicious sign, but you—look at yourself, a curse upon your family and husband. What fortune or destiny could she possibly covet?”

“The truly shocking person is not me, but the one who wants to take my heart’s blood!” Fang Qianxue rose to her feet, meeting him head-on.

“You’re mad!” Lu Changqing’s temples bulged with veins as he paced the room. “Don’t go spreading such superstitious nonsense around, or I won’t spare you!”

“If you don’t believe me, then give me a divorce,” Fang Qianxue said softly. “Let us part amicably, and I wish you and Xu Miaoyan a lifetime of happiness.”