Jian Xubai was so angry that he burst into laughter instead as he said, “Divorce letter?”

Turning around all of a sudden, he pushed Song Yixiao, who had just stood up, staggeringly back to the couch. He bent over and stroked her cheek with one hand as he supported himself beside her with the other hand.

His finger pulps, which were thinly horned, lingered on Song Yixiao's smooth and tender skin for a while and stopped themselves at the corner of her eyes in the end. It was not until Jian Xubai stirred her curly eyelashes with his finger pulps that he said smilingly, “You seemed not to take what I had said to your heart, right? How come you dared to ask for a divorce letter from me?”

As Song Yixiao thought of his words of “sudden death” last time, the look on her face changed dramatically. She stared at him indifferently and didn't say anything at all.

“You aren't convinced by me, right?” Jian Xubai lowered his head and pressed his forehead against hers, making them look intimate. Although the smile on his face looked radiant, the fierceness and viciousness between his eyebrows were so strong that they seemed to be vividly substantive. He added, “It makes no difference at all even if you are not convinced. With one sentence from me, never should you be allowed to get out of this mansion in the future! Since you aspire for comfortable living and supreme social status, in your opinion, can you still have them both after leaving me?”

Keeping her at a short distance, he stood up and kissed her gently between her eyebrows. His lips were soft yet ice-cold. After that, he chuckled as he said, “Based on how the three-strike law goes, as your husband, this is the second time that I have warned you. Never should you have the kind of wishful thinking like 'remarrying' in your mind! If you are smart enough, never should you allow the third time to take place!”

The look on Jian Xubai's face was quite horrifying. However, the way he had talked was gentler and gentler. He said, “Do you keep all I said in your mind? Humph? Why are you silent?”

“I am yours, whether I am alive or not.” Song Yixiao closed her eyes as a drop of crystal tear scrolled down from the corner of her eyes. She replied emotionlessly, “Are you satisfied now?”

Jian Xubai nodded smilingly and said, “Good girl!”

After he left the room, the smile on his face vanished, making Ji Su astounded in secret. Ji Su held back what he had planned to say and bowed to him, trailing after him quietly.

They came to the study room. After Jian Xubai looked over some official doc.u.ments and wrote some comments on them, he was somewhat emotionally stable. It was not until this moment that Ji Su dared to remind him and said, “Your Highness, since you need to go to court tomorrow, shouldn't… shouldn't you treat your injury with some medicine?”

Jian Xubai, who was at a loss, sensed where Ji Su was staring and stroked his side neck. Having some vague clues about what had happened, he ordered Ji Su to get him a mirror with a shank. As expected, looking into the mirror, he found out there were two lines of clear tooth prints on his side neck. Flames of fury, which had been controlled with great efforts previously, raged in his heart again. “Bang!” He directly smashed the mirror on the ground, which still didn't pacify his anger at all. Feeling sullen for a while, he ordered Ji Su, who was nervous, as he said, “From now on, never is she allowed to go out!”

Knowing who the “she” in Jian Xubai's words was referring to, Ji Su complained in secret, “Ever since this madam married His Highness, His Highness has favored her so much. It is understandable that he intends to teach her a lesson since he is furious now. If I ignore his order, he certainly won't forgive me. However, as the saying goes, lovers' quarrels are soon mended. If I do as he said, Madam will tell His Highness how I treated her harshly this time in the future. At that time, His Highness probably will make me a scapegoat!”

Ji Su had been serving Jian Xubai for many years. During the several years when they had been confined in Wuhuan, after all, they had gone through the hards.h.i.+ps together. On the contrary, although Song Yixiao was also Ji Su's mistress, they were connected nominally as a servant and a master rather than emotionally. Moreover, normally, a female was more likely to be narrow-minded. So Ji Su thought it would be better for him not to offend his mistress.

As a result, Ji Su gritted his teeth and reminded Jian Xubai as he said, “Master Zhuo's birth date will fall on the 19th day this month and His Highness Earl Shouchun's wife will hold a birthday party on 28th. Since Madam just got married, if she doesn't attend these two parties in person, there will be some rumors circulating.”

“Then these two dates will be excluded!” Jian Xubai said frigidly, “As for other dates, she should stay in the back hall obediently. Never should she go anywhere else!”

“However, Madam should prepare some gifts in advance since it's the birthday celebration party she will attend, right?” Ji Su continued subtly, “Moreover, Your Highness, I forgot to tell you a moment ago that Miss Sikong Yihan would marry Prince of Liang on 22th. Although Madam didn't communicate with Miss Sikong Yihan often, she was Miss Sikong Yiluo's bestie, who had just pa.s.sed away. Since Miss Sikong Yihan would get married on behalf of her sister, normally, Madam should attend her wedding and offer her congratulations.”

As Jian Xubai heard him out, he thought for a while, sneered, and said, “Even so, does it have anything to do with me?”

Sensing that Ji Su still intended to put in a good word for Song Yixiao, he put down an official doc.u.ment at his hands with moderate force. After that, he said with an ambiguous smile on his face, “Since you are in her shoes, how about I send you as a gift to her?”

“Your Highness, sorry for my offense.” Ji Su was so scared that he knelt down right away. Although he feared offending Song Yixiao, he knew clearly that the basis of his career and life in Duke of Yan's mansion lay in Jian Xubai's trust for him and reliance on his service. As he sensed that Jian Xubai was genuinely angry, he dared not disobey his order.

Jian Xubai sneered and said, “If you commit the same mistake next time, pack your things up, go to the back hall, and serve your mistress!” As he saw Ji Su nodding consecutively, he snorted, “Why are you still kneeling on the ground? Don't you see that the tea has gotten cold already?”

As Ji Su went to the outer room hurriedly to pour hot tea for him, he squinted slightly and thought in secret, “What Ji Su said makes sense. She certainly needs to attend Sikong Yihan's wedding. At that time, I will forbid her to go there on purpose. Then she surely will ask for my forgiveness!”

As Jian Xubai thought of ways to trap his wife, Song Yixiao ordered the servants sullenly, “Serve the dishes now!”

“But…” After Jian Xubai had ordered the servants to retreat a moment ago, he had been alone with his wife for quite a while. All the servants had avoided them far and away, thinking the young couple had enjoyed their time together very much. So basically, they had not seen how the look on Jian Xubai's face had changed into a sullen one when he had left the room. It was time for dinner now. Jian Xubai was in the study room and Song Yixiao didn't intend to put off the dinner for him at all. However stupid the servants were, as they saw how the current situation went, they could sense that the young couple probably had gone into fighting.

Jinxun, who had been serving Song Yixiao since her childhood, was acknowledged as the spokesperson for the servants. She said, “His Highness is not here yet. Should we send someone to inform him?”

“He is quite busy. Ask the servants in the kitchen to save the dinner for him.” Song Yixiao continued gently, “I am hungry. Serve me first!”

Glimpsing at the look on Song Yixiao's face out of the corner of her eyes secretively, Jinxun gestured to her fellows, indicating that she could do nothing, and replied respectfully, “OK.”

Song Yixiao finished the dinner alone, took a shower, and got changed. After she went out of the shower room, servants came to inform her that Jian Xubai was having dinner in the drawing room. She just ignored it and directly went back to the room to rest herself. After Jian Xubai tidied himself up and came back to the internal room, he saw her lying on the bed while facing inward with the blanket in her arms. Judging from the sound of breath, it was clear that she had not fallen asleep yet. Even so, everything about her indicated that she didn't want to be disturbed, which Jian Xubai had antic.i.p.ated.

Jian Xubai snorted and thought, “You dare to ignore me now, humph? Let's see how you will ask for my forgiveness when you want to go out!”

With a sullen look on his face, he took off his clothing and lay beside her. Staring at her back for quite a while, he thought he looked bad if he just lay like this. So he turned over resolutely with his back to her, falling asleep hatefully.

On the contrary, at that moment, Song Yixiao was racking her brain as she thought, “Previously, I had thought he was kind of generous. It turned out it was no more than a show! Once we encounter disputes, he will stipulate rules for me! Although what he said is just a threat and he didn't do anything to me yet, n.o.body knows whether he will become harsher and harsher in the future. If I am obedient to him without any conditions and things keep going on like this, I will certainly be his puppet, and my emotions will all be manipulated by him!”

Most importantly, although Jian Xubai dedicated himself to his work now, and didn't have any other fancy thoughts, what if he had another favorite lover in the future? If his favorite lover tore them apart, she surely could not have an easy life!

The more she pondered on it, the more grieved she felt. She thought she could not just sit and await her doom, “As the saying goes, a crafty person has more than one hideout! The reason why I died with a grievance in my previous life was that I had been trapped in the internal hall without any aids. Although my current life seems to be better than the previous one, my lifetime glory is hinged on Jian Xubai. Only if he is kind to me can I have an easy life. If not, I surely will be miserable!”

Song Yixiao even saw the situation from a long-term perspective. If the Crown Prince was beaten by Prince of Wei and Prince of Zhao and failed to defend his position as the heir of the Emperor, Jian Xubai surely would be down-and-out. She, who could not enjoy her days by her husband's side, had to stand by his side and lead a miserable life once he was down. As she thought of this possibility, she felt quite helpless!

“I must find a retreat!” Song Yixiao clenched her fists tightly and thought, “Even my parents by blood are not reliable at all, let alone my husband!”

As Song Yixiao, who had made up her mind, received a card requesting for visiting from the Su sisters, of course, she didn't obey Jian Xubai's order that she should lock herself up. Instead, she consented gladly and intended to entertain them fervently. Ji Su, who got a sullen look on his face, intended to persuade her not to do so. She sneered and said, “Xubai only said that I shouldn't go out without requiring that I shouldn't entertain female guests at home! If you are not OK with it, how about I arrange a seat for you so that you can keep an eye on me all the time?”

Ji Su felt grieved in secret and said, “Madam, I dare not do that!”

As the saying goes, a harmonious family can lead to the success of everything.

If the masters didn't get along with each other, the servants would be stuck between them, feeling nervous. They would not have time to care about the success of the family!

Song Yixiao didn't give a d.a.m.n about how Ji Su had been wronged. Having decided that she should find a way out and break free from Jian Xubai's restraint, of course, she should make a wide circle of friends in order to have knowledge about the current political situation and build up her connections. If she just confined herself at home the whole day, the opportunity surely would not come to her out of the blue.

The Su sisters, who didn't know the inside story, visited Song Yixiao quite smoothly. Su Shaoling thought in secret that it should be easy for her Second Brother to get his job done, “If Duke of Yan didn't tell Madam Song about how the situation in the royal court was, it would be clear that something had gone wrong between them. The so-called affection between them was no more than a disguise to trick the outsiders. In that case, her Second Brother can be more likely to win Madam Song over.”

If Duke of Yan had told his wife everything and Song Yixiao still welcomed them into their mansion, some problems would be clearly going on between their relations.h.i.+p. There was another possibility that Song Yixiao was so weak and indecisive that she didn't know how to say no to others, from which Su Shaoling could also figure out her other weak points.

All in all, how Song Yixiao entertained them today made Su Shaoling somewhat hopeful of winning her over.

“Although Duke of Yan is extraordinarily good-looking and of n.o.ble social status, due to his disability, he can't be qualified as a husband!” What Su Shaoling was thinking about indicated the reason why she, who was good-natured, was willing to help her brother poach Song Yixiao from Jian Xubai. “Unfortunately, Madam Song already got married to him. Taking her family background into account, she had no other ways out but to be forced to keep her grievances to herself. If Second Brother's trick works and Prince of Zhao takes the place of Crown Prince at that time, Duke of Yan will certainly fall into disgrace. At that time, helping Madam Song get a divorce and find another good man will bring us good.”

Holding such a thought in her mind, besides intending to draw Song Yixiao to her side deliberately, Su Shaoling somewhat sympathized with her. So she treated her more gently.

The Su sisters visited Song Yixiao today under the name of apologizing for Su Shaomo's inappropriate words in Taoli Restaurant last time. Of course, Song Yixiao stressed consecutively that she had not taken what Su Shaomo had said to her heart, saying she had put the history behind her early.

After they exchanged formalities for a while, Su Shaomo asked all of a sudden, “I heard that Duke of Yan had submitted a memorial requesting to confer with you, his first wife, with an honorary t.i.tle early. Why did the servants still address you as 'Madam'?”

It turned out Su Shaomo's question was a gift to Song Yixiao at today's meeting, which the Su sisters had prepared in advance. Since Su Shaoling was well-known as her politeness and gentleness, of course, Su Shaomo was the one to bring up such an abrupt question.

“According to Xubai, the officials in the Ministry of Rituals have been quite busy in recent days, who probably don't have time for his request for a moment.” As expected, Song Yixiao was not suspicious about the Su sisters' intention. She just acted discreetly so that others wouldn't think that she had problems with her husband's uncle. She replied smilingly, “It makes no difference to me at all to keep waiting.”

“Since Sister Changxing will get married next month, it is understandable that officials in the Ministry of Rituals are indeed busy.” Su Shaoling mediated as she said, “The imperial t.i.tle for you should be conferred soon after that.”

“Since you are the first wife of Duke of Yan, there is no dispute that you should be conferred imperially as a lady.” Su Shaomo added straightforwardly, “Uncle Qiu is too nice to his underlings, who even put off the kind of thing like this. When Sister Changxing gets married and we are all there to offer congratulations to her with honorary t.i.tles, how should they address you? Won't the situation at that time be embarra.s.sing? Hasn't he ever taken these into account?”

After that, she brought out a suggestion and said, “We will pay respect to Her Majesty the Empress tomorrow. If you don't mind, how about we help you raise this issue to Her Highness on your behalf?”

It was not until Song Yixiao heard the words that she got her point. Of course, she, who was looking for new alliances, wouldn't say no to the kind of free meal like this. She nodded cheerfully, “In that case, thanks for your help!”

After Jian Xubai came back home after work and knew the ins and outs, he was so angry that he even threw away the Pork Broth, which he had purchased from Taoli Restaurant specifically. He said, “If she is eager for an imperial t.i.tle, why doesn't she tell me? I will ask Mother and Grandmother to expedite the officials in the Ministry of Rituals, Qiu Shuxia certainly dares not say no to them. She preferred to ask help from those she had just met rather than turning to me. It was clear that she thought of me as a dead man, wasn't it?”

Kneeling on the ground, Ji Su dragged the corner of his robe and said incessantly, “Your Highness, calm down.” Deep inside his heart, he felt miserable and thought, “When on earth will these two naughty masters stop fighting?”

As their servant, Ji Su wondered when he could enjoy his days.