Chapter 715: Chapter 709-710: Shedding Armor, Again and Again

"No need to apologize. Marquis Yang has done a great service to the court. In respect to the old man’s face, I won’t hold it against you..."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingqing sighed in relief, a feeling of smug satisfaction rising in her heart. It seems he does care about her father after all.

However, the young man’s next words made Yang Qingqing feel as if she had fallen into an ice cave.

"As they say, a forcibly twisted melon is not sweet. It is obvious from your actions these past days that you are dissatisfied with me and this marriage. Well then, this small Prince Wei’s Mansion cannot accommodate such a great Buddha like you..."

With that, Chen Mo took the paper and pen from the desk and began writing in grand strokes. Before the ink had even dried, he tossed the finished document to Yang Qingqing, saying, "You might as well go back where you came from."

Yang Qingqing picked up the paper from the ground and froze on the spot, exclaiming in shock, "You... you want to divorce me?"

The status of a principal wife is high and she is the mistress of the house. If someone wants to divorce his wife, it’s very troublesome. If a principal wife is divorced without having committed any faults, the person divorcing would face opposition and scorn, even the government office would not support it.

But it’s different for concubines; divorcing a concubine is very casual.

Ancient sayings go, "If a woman is slightly virtuous, keep her; if she’s disagreeable, expel her. It makes no difference."

The fate of a concubine wholly depends on the husband’s preferences. If the husband likes her, she may stay; if he dislikes her, he can discard or gift her away. She isn’t considered to be a person at all, more like an object without rights.

Yang Qingqing naturally understood this, which is why she was stunned by such treatment.

He actually dared to divorce her?

One must realize, this not only damages her reputation but also disgraces her father Yang Xian. After all, if word gets out that his daughter was divorced, how would he save face?

Does he not care about her father at all?

The most crucial thing is, she couldn’t imagine how her father might react if she returned with the divorce paper. Her reputation would be completely ruined.

She only wished to be sent into the Cold Palace, not to be driven out of the palace.

In the former case, she would still be a concubine in the palace, but in the latter, she would be utterly abandoned.

"It’s not that I want to divorce you; it’s your own doing. Since you don’t plan to live quietly, why should I keep you?" Chen Mo was already dissatisfied with what Yang Xian had done, but after all, Yang Xian was his father-in-law. However, if this relationship was gone, he would have no reservations.

"You cannot divorce me, how can you, how dare you divorce me..." Yang Qingqing’s eyes widened, her face pale as jade, her lips trembling. It was clear that the divorce paper had terrified her.

"I am the Prince of Great Song, Wei King. To put it bluntly, I hold power over the court. Do you guess why your father married you to me? It was to please me. To divorce you is just a simple matter of words, why not."

Saying this, Chen Mo stood up and uttered, "Pack your things tonight. At first light tomorrow, I will have you sent back to Shu Residence."

With that, Chen Mo walked towards the door.

However, after only a few steps, Yang Qingqing opened her arms and blocked his way, sweating from fear, she said, "You can’t leave."

"This is my territory; I come and go freely. How can I not leave?" Chen Mo said coldly.

"Take back the divorce paper, and I’ll let you go." To prevent Chen Mo from leaving, Yang Qingqing grabbed his sleeve, speaking urgently.

"Since you’re dissatisfied with this marriage and don’t intend to live quietly, isn’t divorcing you exactly what you want?" Chen Mo said coldly, staring into Yang Qingqing’s eyes.

"No, I’m not." Yang Qingqing was so anxious that she started crying.

Chen Mo: "???"

"I was wrong, don’t divorce me," Yang Qingqing said, her jade-like face filled with panic.

Ultimately, Yang Qingqing was just a spoiled young lady. Whenever something went against her wishes, she would make a fuss.

But when things got serious, she would get scared and submit.

At Shu Residence, Yang Qingqing was reluctant to marry Chen Mo and threw tantrums in front of Yang Xian. But when Yang Xian hardened his heart, didn’t she have to come to Linzhou?

If she were truly firm, she would have already threatened to die for it.

And now, the same goes; seeing that Chen Mo was really going to divorce her, Yang Qingqing got scared.

Chen Mo smiled coldly, looking at the panicked girl, "It’s not that you know you were wrong; you’re just scared, unable to bear the consequences of being divorced. Besides, I don’t see any sincere expression of guilt on your face."

After saying this, Chen Mo shook his sleeve and was about to leave.

"No."

Yang Qingqing grabbed Chen Mo from behind and knelt down with a thud, holding on to his robe, "My lord, I was really wrong, don’t divorce me. I’ll never play the pipa at night again."

Yang Qingqing’s eyes reddened, and she began to cry outright.

Chen Mo turned around, looking at Yang Qingqing kneeling before him, his tone softened slightly, "Do you really know you were wrong?"

Although he was dissatisfied with Yang Xian, with the current situation, he didn’t want to fall out with Yang Xian.

After all, Yang Xian has contributed to him, and if word got out now that he divorced Yang Xian’s daughter, it would have some impact on his reputation.

"Yes." Yang Qingqing nodded her head.

"It’s not enough to just say it; you must prove it to me," Chen Mo said.

"How do I prove it?" Yang Qingqing was stunned, then quickly said, "At first light tomorrow, I will go pay respects to the Princess Consort... no, I will go now. Also, I will smash the pipa."

"Come here." Chen Mo grabbed Yang Qingqing’s arm, pulling her up, leading her towards the bed.

Once by the bedside, Chen Mo released her and said, "Come over and help me take off my clothes."

Yang Qingqing was stunned, her face turning red, but she did not move.

Chen Mo said, "What are you hesitating for? Didn’t you say you wanted to prove it to me?"

Yang Qingqing bit her lower lip, hesitated for a moment, then served Chen Mo in removing his clothes like a maid.

Chen Mo took off his shoes and lay down on the bed, resting his hands behind his head, saying indifferently, "Come up."

Yang Qingqing heard this, her face changed, her delicate body shivered slightly, but still took off her embroidered shoes and slowly crawled onto the bed.

At this moment, she noticed Dabai’s tiger eyes scanning towards the bed, saying softly, "Dabai, go out." 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Dabai, intimidated by Chen Mo, heard its owner’s voice like a pardon, hurriedly opened the door and left the room, sensibly closing the door again.

Yang Qingqing sat nervously on the bed, maintaining some distance from Chen Mo, said in a trembling voice, "And... then what."

"Take off the armor," Chen Mo glanced at her and said.

Yang Qingqing: "???"

Understanding from Chen Mo’s gaze that taking off the armor meant undressing, Yang Qingqing hesitated again and again but began removing her clothes.

Soon, the traditional dress was taken off, revealing the close-fitting garments inside.

"Take it off again," Chen Mo said.

Hearing this, Yang Qingqing’s face turned even redder, but after having mentally prepared herself, she removed the close-fitting garments.

"Keep going, keep going," Chen Mo noticed a few pieces of cloth like rags covering the most critical parts of her body.

Yang Qingqing’s eyes welled with tears, turning her head to the side, she finally removed the last pieces of armor, using her hands to cover herself.

"All right, come sit here," Chen Mo said.

...

Time unknown, outside stood Dabai, only aware that its owner’s cries hadn’t ceased since it left the room.

The night deepened, the moon unseen.

In the room, Yang Qingqing was like a pile of soft mud. Under the candlelight, the snow-white skin was red as if dyed in blush.

Yang Qingqing buried her head in the covers, refusing to look at Chen Mo, her heart in utter chaos.

Then, her fragrant shoulder was held close, her whole body leaned into Chen Mo’s embrace, her response was instinctive, "My lord, I... I... can’t go on."

An inexperienced girl was no match for the battle-hardened Chen Mo.

Chen Mo stroked her hair and said softly, "You did well in proving yourself. Tomorrow morning, after you pay respects to Mi’Er, I won’t divorce you."

Hearing this, Yang Qingqing breathed a sigh of relief.