Volume One, Chapter Four: She Decides to Divorce

“……”

Lu Changqing was momentarily stunned.

“That’s not what I meant…” Xu Miaoyan’s face turned pale and flushed in turns.

“Let’s not talk about that,” Madam Chen took the initiative to change the subject. “Qianxue, Changqing and I were just discussing that the end of the month is an auspicious day. Why not have Miaoyan marry into the family then?”

“Didn’t Second Master say? This matter is not for me to decide,” Fang Qianxue calmly replied, holding the teacup lid, her gaze steady as she looked at Lu Changqing. “Why bother asking me?”

“It would be best if you brought it up yourself; it would show your grace and magnanimity,” Madam Chen said kindly. “Just say it’s to leave an heir for Changli…”

“I do not agree,” Fang Qianxue said plainly.

The Lu family knew that merging the two branches of the clan was not a matter of honor; they wanted her to initiate it because half the court were students of her grandfather. If she spoke first, no one would dare oppose.

But was Fang Qianxue some malleable clay to be shaped and molded at will?

Madam Chen frowned and glanced toward Lu Changqing.

The matter of merging the branches did not sit well with the public, and her daughter, Xu Wanrou, had yet to be betrothed; reputation was crucial.

Moreover, Grand Tutor Fang had given his granddaughter a hefty dowry. Madam Chen’s intention was for Fang Qianxue to share half of that with the main branch. After all, Xu Miaoyan was still young and would need to raise children in the future.

Besides, the Xu family was celestial—any child born to them would be a celestial child. How could they suffer deprivation in food and clothing?

“Today, the Empress conferred upon Miaoyan the rank of sixth-rank court lady and said that if she could feed the qilin beast sent from the Western Regions, she would be bestowed the title of National Sacred Maiden,” Lu Changqing spoke seriously. “Fang, do you understand what this means?”

In the midst of turmoil within the Great Yong Empire, with instability at home and abroad, this auspicious sign in Miaoyan surely meant great honors from the emperor and empress.

If Lu Changqing could marry the National Sacred Maiden, his future career would surely soar to great heights!

Had Miaoyan not suddenly fallen ill today, failing to coax the qilin beast, the empress would already have been considering promoting him.

“National Sacred Maiden?” Fang Qianxue looked up at the man opposite her, seeing the hunger for power in his eyes. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

Originally, Lu Changqing planned to use the connections left by Grand Tutor Fang to climb the ranks, eventually becoming the prime minister of Great Yong, a power second only to the emperor, then recklessly courting danger while putting on a show of “offering the rivers and mountains in exchange for your favor” for Xu Miaoyan.

But now Fang Qianxue had decided to sever his political path.

Why should others suffer for their love? Why use their pain to highlight their sweetness?

She intended to climb higher than Lu Changqing. Only then could she rightfully divorce him!

“Second Sister-in-law, just agree! Your Fang family was almost wiped out. If not for our Lu family sparing your life, you’d be exiled now,” Lu Wanrou said, thinking only of her own marriage. She had her sights set on the heir of the Marquis of Liaoyuan, but the Lu family’s status was somewhat lacking. “You can’t repay kindness with ingratitude and deliberately block Second Brother’s future.”

“That’s right. Changqing’s future comes first,” Madam Chen grew impatient. “Qianxue, I’ve always thought you sensible. If you don’t recognize what’s good for you now, given your current status, it would be understandable if Changqing divorced you.”

“Then let Second Master divorce me,” Fang Qianxue said coldly, surprised at how quickly the woman she had supported with her dowry for five years had abandoned her. “Then there’s no need to merge the two branches. Why not just welcome Miss Xu into the family directly?”

Though her grandfather had committed suicide in prison over the Prince Yong case, the emperor and empress still felt some guilt toward the Fang family, and her grandfather’s connections in court remained. If Lu Changqing divorced and remarried, it would stain his entire life.

“Fang Qianxue! If you are divorced, Yuan’er and Yao’er will be looked down upon all their lives,” Lu Changqing clenched his sleeve and stood, “If not for yourself, then think of the two children!”

Fang Qianxue felt a chill inside.

If not for her two children, why would she have endured so long?

“Please, Old Madam, let me return to Jiangning!” Xu Miaoyan suddenly knelt, kowtowing to Madam Chen, then clutched her chest and struggled in pain. “It hurts! My chest hurts so much…”

“Miaoyan!” Lu Changqing hurriedly scooped her up in his arms and headed to the inner chamber, shooting Fang Qianxue a fierce glare before leaving. “You knew Miaoyan had a heart condition and still provoked her. If anything happens to her, I will not let you off!”

***

After the doctor from Songsheng Residence treated Xu Miaoyan, she fell into a peaceful sleep.

Lu Changqing remained by her side, holding her hand with deep concern. “Is there really no cure for this heart condition?”

“There is a way,” Xu Miaoyan’s maid Xiuqiu stood nervously nearby. “But I dare not say.”

“Speak!”

“Our mistress’s illness must be treated heart for heart,” Xiuqiu said. “She heard from the Lingque bird in the Medicine King Valley that if she drinks three drops of the destined person’s heart blood every day, she will be cured within a month.”

“Drink my heart’s blood!”

“No, no!” Xiuqiu waved her hands. “It must be from a destined person whose birth chart matches.”

“Then who is the destined person?” Lu Changqing asked.

Xiuqiu hesitated before timidly saying, “Second Madam’s birth chart matches perfectly.”