Chapter 4 - Thorns

 Ye Chuyan's dry eyes were sour again, and her eyes seemed to be covered with a wisp of mist. No wonder Pei Xiuyan never divorced her, even though he knew it was extremely difficult for her to conceive. She thought Pei Xiuyan still loved her, but it turned out that he had no choice. The Queen Mother Aunt, who was most pessimistic about her marrying Pei Xiuyan, actually arranged everything in advance for her happiness.

She clenched her hands and said word by word: "Pei Xiuyan, I don't know about the oath. The Queen Mother Aunt has passed away. I proposed the divorce. No matter what kind of oath you took, I am willing to bear all the retribution. If there is a hell, I will go there!"

Seeing that Ye Chuyan was determined to reconcile, Pei Xiuyan inexplicably raised a fire of karma: "What if this king doesn't agree?"

Ye Chuyan has given up now and doesn't want to be hypocritical with Pei Xiuyan.

She said coldly, "Pei Xiuyan, don't forget that I still have the Marquisate behind me. A peaceful divorce is good for both you and me. Don't force me to make a mess!"

At this moment, Ye Chuyan's angry eyes were like flames, shining brightly. Pei Xiuyan's heart suddenly jumped at the light in Ye Chuyan's eyes. The famous daughter of the Ye family was back. From the moment he married Ye Chuyan, he looked forward to Ye Chuyan's initiative to divorce day and night so that Zhao Yujiao could have a legitimate identity. But no matter how he treated Ye Chuyan, Ye Chuyan accepted it all and never mentioned the word divorce.

Now, when this moment really came, he was inexplicably irritated and flustered. Pei Xiuyan didn't know what was wrong with him. He just thought that he was so angry at the word divorce proposed by Ye Chuyan that he lost his mind.

 He bent down and whispered in Ye Chuyan's ear with a smile: "Ye Chuyan, you said divorce, so who do you think you are? Even if you die in this life, you must die in the Qing Palace!"

After he finished speaking, he strode out of the room. He said sternly to the servants outside the courtyard, "The princess is injured and needs to rest. Except for the doctor and the personal maid, no one is allowed to disturb the princess's rest. No one is allowed to enter or leave the princess's residence without my order! Not to mention passing any news to the Marquis' Mansion!"

He didn't want Ye Chuyan to use the power of the Marquis to force him to divorce, and house arrest was the best way.

The news quickly spread throughout the palace. Pei Xiuyan never went to Ye Chuyan's yard again from the day of house arrest. Everyone said that the prince was completely disgusted with the princess this time. Zhao Yujiao was very happy to hear the news. Every time Pei Xiuyan came to see her, she would gently persuade him not to get angry with Ye Chuyan. Although she looked worried, she felt very happy in her heart. She looked at her injured leg and felt that everything was worth it. She would persuade Pei Xiuyan to divorce his wife after her leg heal. Then she would not have to be a concubine and would be directly appointed as the princess.

Half a month passed unknowingly. Because Ye Chuyan had practiced martial arts since she was a child, her bone injuries healed very quickly. Although her rib injury was not healed, it was no problem for her to get out of bed and walk.

On this day, it was snowing heavily. Ye Chuyan stood in front of the window, looking at the heavy snow outside, her thoughts flying. Since that day when she decided to give up Pei Xiuyan, she had been confined here for half a month, and the courtyard door was locked from the outside. Bai Zhi comforted her and said that the prince did not allow anyone to disturb the princess for rest, not for house arrest. She was not a fool, so she naturally knew the difference between rest and house arrest. She no longer wanted to find out why Pei Xiuyan confined her. In this situation, she didn't want her parents at the Marquis' Mansion to know that she was injured. Besides, it was not convenient for her to go out now. A house arrest would be beneficial to her recovery.

In the past half-month, every time it was late at night, she thought of giving up the man she had loved for twelve years, as if the bones in her body had turned into thorns covered with thorns. The flesh was wrapped in thorns, and the pain was heartbreaking. She knew that every thorn that pierced her was written with Pei Xiuyan's name. Twelve years of love had already penetrated into her bones and become a habit. It's better to suffer short-term pain than long-term pain. She went from being heartbroken at the beginning to being able to calmly accept reality now.

Today is Laba festival. In another half a month, when her ribs are all healed and the confinement period is over, she will return to the Ye family to tell them everything. This year, she will spend the New Year with her parents at home and then divorce openly after the New Year. Bai Zhi brought Laba porridge into the house, and when she looked up, she saw Ye Chuyan standing upright at the window. Ye Chuyan was still in a period of confinement. Bai Zhi lit a few more charcoal fires in the room to prevent her from catching a cold. The room was as warm as spring.

Ye Chuyan wore only a moon-colored satin cross-collared gown without any makeup. Her hair was as black as a man's, and she tied it up high with a simple ebony hairpin. This dress was androgynous, and at first glance, she looked like a handsome young man. Bai Zhi was a little dazed for a moment, as if she saw the Ye family's daughter, who had dressed as a man and was heroic. She came to her senses and quickly put down the Laba porridge.

She walked over and closed the window while muttering, "Princess, your ribs have just grown; you must not stand for a long time. Also, people who have had miscarriage must not be exposed to the cold; otherwise, they will not get pregnant in the future."

Bai Zhi suddenly stopped talking, lowered her head, and said hurriedly: "Princess, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

Ye Chuyan smiled slightly.

She comforted Bai Zhi softly, "It's okay. I've let it go,and I don't care about it anymore. After the divorce, I won't marry again. Whether I can get pregnant or not is no longer important."

Bai Zhi looked up at Ye Chuyan and said carefully, "Princess, have you really decided to divorce?"

She had followed Ye Chuyan since she was a child and knew how deep Ye Chuyan's feelings for Pei Xiuyan were. Over the years, no matter how bad Pei Xiuyan's attitude was, Ye Chuyan firmly greeted Pei Xiuyan with a smile.

Ye Chuyan nodded.

"Well, I've thought about it. If you are willing to follow me after the divorce, I will take you with me. I once dreamed of traveling around the world. Now that I have let go of Pei Xiuyan, I can pursue my dream."

After saying this, Ye Chuyan subconsciously touched her chest. The room was clearly warm, but why did it feel like a hole was opened in her chest when she said these words, as if it was filled with coldness and could not be warmed up?

Bai Zhi felt distressed and fortunate at the same time. She felt distressed that Ye Chuyan had spent so many years in vain, and she was fortunate that Ye Chuyan could finally be herself again. Over the years, she saw Ye Chuyan completely conceal her true nature in order to please Pei Xiuyan. As a personal maid, she saw it all and felt sorry for her master. If they could really get divorced, it would be a good thing for the master.

While the two were talking, a noise came from outside the courtyard wall. Since the confinement, no one has entered or left this courtyard for a long time. The maids and servants in the courtyard were transferred away by Pei Xiuyan, leaving only Bai Zhi here. In this quiet courtyard, the noise outside the wall seemed unusually clear.

"It will start in half an hour. I heard that all the male members of the Ye family have been sentenced to lingchi(death by a thousand cuts)."

"Alas, the world is unpredictable. In just ten days, the Ye family has been sentenced to death. The once glorious Houguogong family has disappeared."

"That's right. If it weren't for the law that the crime does not extend to married women, our princess would also be sentenced."

Ye Chuyan was stunned, and her face turned pale in an instant.

Bai Zhi tightly grasped Ye Chuyan's hand, "Princess, the people outside must be gossiping. Don't believe them. The master has always been steady and will never make mistakes, let alone be sentenced."

Although she said so, her hands were shaking badly. There is only one Houguogong Mansion in Kyoto, and there is only one Ye family. Everyone in the Qing Palace knows that the princess is the legitimate daughter of the Houguogong. According to the rules, if someone spreads rumors about the princess's mother's family in the palace, he will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane and driven out of the palace.

Ye Chuyan forced herself to calm down. She ignored the pain in her ribs and used Qinggong to climb over the wall and flip down.

Bai Zhi exclaimed in the house, "Princess, you must not do that! Your body..." Before she finished speaking, Ye Chuyan had disappeared over the wall.