If she dares...
He couldn't do anything about it.
But my heart is breaking.
Has he been manipulating her for too long?
But given how easily she'd been summoned and dismissed before, if we don't teach her a lesson, how will we live in the future?
However, if she gives up at this point...
Wen Heng panicked.
He never considered replacing him.
In all his plans for the future, whether he achieved great success or lived a simple life, he always imagined her by his side.
He loved Jiang Ruo deeply.
So he got used to Jiang Ruo sticking to him like a leech every day, used to her eagerness but ultimately cowardly behavior, used to seeing her...
In the past few days, since she stopped showing up, Wen Heng's feelings have undergone a subtle but significant change.
On the first day Jiang Ruo didn't appear, Wen Heng: "Heh, she must have gotten into trouble again."
She has always been like a child, spoiled by the Third Princess and Prince Consort Jiang, but they are ruthless when it comes to matters of principle; while Jiang Ruo is confused and often crosses the line without realizing it, so she is punished.
Serves you right!
The day after Jiang Ruo didn't appear, Wen Heng: "Could it be that she was punished by kneeling too hard and can't get up? Sometimes it's not entirely Jiang Ruo's fault. Actually, she has a very good nature."
On the third day Jiang Ruo disappeared, Wen Heng panicked. Could Jiang Ruo be sick?
But Yanran still showed up as usual, so there shouldn't be any major problems, right?
On the fourth day Jiang Ruo disappeared, Wen Heng: "She must have fallen for someone else."
So, he stopped Yanran.
Yanran was also surprised. "She didn't look for you? Then who did she look for?"
Wen Heng's heart sank straight down.
So, Jiang Ruo really did go find someone else?
Seeing Wen Heng's distraught state, Yanran quickly said, "Don't worry, it's probably nothing serious. I'll go to the princess's residence to check and send someone to deliver a message to you later!"
Wen Heng wanted to say that if Jiang Ruo liked someone else, she shouldn't tell him; he didn't want to know.
But he nodded as if possessed, saying, "Thank you for your trouble, Princess."
Yanran mounted her horse and headed straight for the princess's residence.
Jiang Ruo was lying in her room.
"Hey, what are you doing lying there like a corpse in broad daylight?" Yanran said casually, stepping forward to lift the bed curtains.
When her gaze fell on Jiang Ruo's face, she was startled. "Oh dear, what happened to you?"
Jiang Ruo's face was swollen, making her look somewhat frightening.
Jiang Ruo looked at Yanran with a resentful gaze. "Wasn't it your brilliant idea!"
"Um?"
After hearing Jiang Ruo's words, Yanran laughed Zidu hurt.
"You don't even know you can't drink?"
"I've drunk before, but I've never drunk baijiu (Chinese liquor)," Jiang Ruo said with a wry smile.
As soon as I finished drinking it, my face started to hurt and swell, and then it looked like a pig's head.
Yes, she could pretend to be drunk and have someone lure Wen Heng over.
But if Wen Heng saw her like this, he probably would never want to see her again in his Zidu.
So, Jiang Ruo had no choice but to stay miserably at home.
After smiling, Yanran said, "You should wear a veil and come to my house! My mother will give you some medicine, and I guarantee it will cure you quickly, so you won't have to suffer for so long."
Jiang Ruo turned her back to her. "I'm not going. It would be so embarrassing if your mother saw me like that! Anyway, I'm almost fully recovered."
"Alright then," Yanran chuckled, "I'll send someone to inform Wen Heng first."
"Wen Heng?" Jiang Ruo jumped up, staring intently at Yanran. "What were you saying to Wen Heng?"
Yanran then recounted what Wen Heng had asked her about earlier.
Jiang Ruo's face no longer hurt, and her complaints disappeared. Her eyes Jingjing with joy as she rested her chin on her hand and said, "Yanran, do you think he still misses me?"
"Nonsense."
Need I say more?
With Wen Heng's circumstances, is he really lacking in women?
It's just because you're still thinking about the past and can't let go.
Having witnessed so many loving couples, Yanran had long since become a discerning "hunter."
Wen Heng's strategy of playing hard to get might only fool Jiang Ruo.
If he hadn't still been thinking about Jiang Ruo, would he have blindly encouraged these two to be together?
Jiang Ruo's face was full of disbelief.
But he ignores me!
"He's just being stubborn. Let me tell you, men need to be coaxed."
Seeing that Yanran spoke so logically and eloquently, Jiang Ruo felt completely overturned.
How do women coax men?
Yanran declared with absolute certainty, "That's exactly right! My mother always tries to appease my father!"
Jiang Ruo was completely fooled. "Then I'll go find Wen Heng myself right now."
Yanran: "Okay. I'm leaving now!"
"No, you stay with me." Jiang Ruo chickened out again.
Yanran rolled her eyes and said, "Why should I meddle in your relationship?"
I'm not confident at all!
After some haggling, the two finally agreed that Yanran would accompany Jiang Ruo, but she would wait for her at a teahouse opposite the Imperial Academy, while Jiang Ruo would go find Wen Heng on her own.
Half an hour later, Yanran sat bored in the teahouse, munching on peanuts and watching the uninspired "live broadcast."
"What happened to your face?" Wen Heng asked in surprise.
Although Jiang Ruo's face had almost fully recovered, he still noticed something was wrong at a glance.
Jiang Ruo burst into tears, feeling wronged. "I cried because I missed you."
Yanran almost choked to death on a peanut.
You can spout off so easily, Jiang Ruo, you've graduated!
Wen Heng: "... Tell the truth!"
Jiang Ruo: "That's right!"
Wen Heng softened his tone and reached out to wipe away the tears clinging to her eyelashes. "Ruoruo, to be honest, your health isn't something to be taken lightly."
Yanran spat out another mouthful of tea.
Weak? She didn't think Jiang Ruo was weak at all.
Look, you don't even need to use bait. Just cast the hook and the fish are eager to bite.
Tsk tsk.
Jiang Ruo was also the type to take advantage of an inch. When Wen Heng softened, she simply leaned on his shoulder and said in a pitiful voice, "Wen Heng, I thought you really didn't want me anymore."
Wen Heng was not one to be trifled with either. Touched by her words, his eyes turned slightly cold. "Princess, please have some self-respect. We are already divorced."
Hearing him call her by her title again, Jiang Ruo knew he was getting angry. She shamelessly grabbed his sleeve and wouldn't let go. "Wen Heng, I was wrong. I shouldn't have thrown you the divorce papers. But before, I always thought you were forced to marry me, that you were unhappy and wanted to leave... I couldn't bear to part with you..."
A fleeting emotion crossed Wen Heng's eyes, but he forced himself to remain aloof.
--If I don't teach her a lesson, she'll keep bringing up breaking up.
"You can't bear to part with me? So you'll continue to summon me at will and dismiss me at will next time?"
Everything is difficult at the beginning, Jiang Ruo got started, it was like she had a cheat code. "No more, never again. If you don't want to be a live-in son-in-law, I'll move out with you, okay? I'll do whatever you say. If I don't listen, you can scold me... but don't scold me too much. I'm stupid, I definitely didn't mean it..."
Her voice grew softer and softer, her face redder and redder, Jiang Ruo lowered her head like a child who had done something wrong.
Even the most hard-hearted Wen Heng was melted by her actions.
Watching the two leave hand in hand, Yanran clapped her hands. "Mission accomplished!"
"Taking leave? Why are you taking leave every day? If you don't want to work, then get out!" An angry voice came from downstairs, swearing.