Reborn Spoiled Girl Tames the Regent

Chapter 161 Unwilling to Divorce, Uncle Takes Action to Arrange a Settlement

Duan Zhian quickly returned to Qingxin Palace.

Inside the hall, incense burned brightly in the golden censer, and the imperial physician had been waiting for some time.

"Greetings, Grand Tutor." The imperial physician bowed respectfully.

Duan Zhi'an, draped in a fox fur coat, had a cold and aloof expression and offered little in the way of pleasantries: "How was the diagnosis?"

The imperial physician lowered his head and pulled out a medical record from his sleeve, saying, "Reporting to the Grand Tutor, the Crown Princess's pulse has stabilized, but she is restless and must have something on her mind."

"Well, I understand, go down."

The imperial physician remained standing and said, "Grand Tutor, this old minister has one more thing to tell you."

"explain."

"This old minister just prescribed a calming medicine for the Crown Princess, citing that she was too frightened and her menstruation was not showing. However, she is already more than a month pregnant... Whether to keep her or not, I urge the Grand Tutor to make a decision as soon as possible."

Duan Zhian slightly raised his eyes.

This imperial physician was the very one he had sent to Zhaoming Temple to fake a diagnosis and pregnancy.

This person was personally mentored by him; he was reliable in his work and rarely spoke out of turn.

Saying this at this moment is a reminder that if he delays any longer, his pregnancy will become obvious and he will not be able to hide it any longer.

Duan Zhi'an frowned and said, "I understand. You may leave now."

"Yes."

After the imperial physician left, Duan Zhian went to Wen Qian's bedroom.

The room was warm and cozy from the fire in the stove, and as soon as I stepped in, I heard the maid talking.

"Your blood and qi have been fluctuating these past two months, and you've also been frightened. This is a new prescription from the imperial physician, specifically for regulating your menstrual cycle. You should drink some..."

Duan Zhian approached and asked, "What's wrong?"

The maidservant bowed and said, "Grand Tutor, the Princess Consort said the medicine is too bitter to drink, but the imperial physician said it should be taken while it's hot."

Duan Zhian took the medicine and said, "You can go out now."

"Yes."

"Close the door."

"Yes."

After the maid closed the door, Duan Zhi'an sat down on the edge of the bed with a bowl of medicine in his hand.

Wen Qian lowered her eyes and said, "Uncle, this medicine is really too bitter. I almost threw up just from smelling it."

"So you don't intend to stay bedridden forever?"

Wen Qian looked listless, knowing there was no way to avoid it.

Only then did she pick up the medicine bowl, sip it down, and the bitter taste made her feel nauseous, her brows furrowing deeply.

Seeing her distressed appearance, Duan Zhian pulled out a pear candy from somewhere and handed it to her.

Wen Qian winced in pain and quickly put the bitter pill in her mouth.

She patted her slightly heaving chest, feeling a warm surge in her abdomen, along with a faint feeling of fullness.

She sighed softly.

"The imperial physicians all say I'm faking a pregnancy, but why do I always feel like the child is here... Uncle, do you think I'm going crazy...?"

Duan Zhian remained silent for a long time without answering her question.

After a while, he changed the subject, saying, "Today I went to the Prince's residence and happened to meet the Marquis of Pingnan and his wife."

Upon hearing this, Wen Qian hurriedly asked, "How are the two elders? Are they alright?"

"Don't worry, everything is fine."

Did they say anything?

Duan Zhi'an shifted his gaze, seemingly considering his words carefully, and said, "The Marquis of Pingnan is deeply worried about his son and instructed me to take good care of Li Zhijing. He also said..."

"What else can you say?"

"They also said some nasty things and verbally abused you..."

Duan Zhian spoke calmly, but Wen Qian was stunned for a moment.

She lowered her head, her eyes reddening. "Yes, it's my fault... It's one thing to not be pregnant, but Zhijing went to Fengyu Pass because of me..."

“Qianqian,” Duan Zhian interrupted her, “Even without you, given the current state of the military in the court, Li Zhijing will be sent to support Fengyu Pass sooner or later. Using him to protect you is a two-birds-with-one-stone strategy.”

Wen Qian understood all this, but she still couldn't help feeling sad, and tears suddenly fell, dripping onto Duan Zhi'an's sleeve.

Tears blurred her vision, and Duan Zhian gently lifted her head, his eyes filled with heartache.

"Qianqian... the Pingnan Marquis's mansion treats you like this... have you ever thought about it...?"

"...Leaving the Marquis's residence..."

"Divorce him...?"

These four words fell lightly, and Wen Qian was suddenly frozen in place.

She stared blankly at Duan Zhi'an, speechless for a moment, her eyes still wet with tears, only now they were deeper.

Outside, the wind rustled the bamboo shadows, and raindrops dripped from the eaves, silently urging her to give an answer.

"Divorce..."

She murmured the same thing over and over, her voice so low it was almost inaudible.

Duan Zhian looked at her quietly, the deep emotions hidden in his eyes about to overflow from the wind and snow.

After a long while, Wen Qian gently shook her head.

"Uncle, I know you're doing this for my own good... but I..."

She couldn't stop thinking about the days she spent in the Pingnan Marquis's mansion.

At the beginning of their marriage, the people in the Marquis's mansion treated her with disdain, saying that her methods were shameless and that she was not worthy of being the Crown Prince's wife.

Although Lady Hou didn't openly embarrass her, she often treated her coldly in secret. Aunt Fu and Li Zhenzhen were even more hostile towards her, and the head housekeeper never gave her a kind look.

Even her maids and servants often disobeyed her orders.

On the day at Zhaoming Temple, after the news of her false pregnancy spread, everyone in the mansion looked at her coldly.

However, Li Zhijing did not criticize her, but only told her not to go to the Marquis's residence again after returning to the Prince's residence, and not to think about other things.

"Zhijing... he's different..."

She remembered how Li Zhijing had shielded her from her aunt's whip, personally applied medicine to her wounds, and brought her back little trinkets upon his triumphant return...

She also remembered that when she had insomnia, he took her out for a walk to clear her head.

On an empty street, she kissed him for the first time.

Those little moments are still vivid in her mind, and just thinking about them warms her heart.

So as long as Li Zhijing treats her well.

Even though the Marquis's mansion treated her badly in countless ways, she could endure it all.

Thinking of this, she shook her head and said, "Zhijing is a bit indifferent... but he treats me very well, otherwise he wouldn't have gone to Fengyu Pass to protect me."

"And... he's the person I like..."

Duan Zhian's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he remained silent for a moment.

He didn't say anything, but gently tucked her stray hairs behind his ear: "Don't think about it, get some rest."

Wen Qian nodded.

Water droplets dripped from the eaves outside the hall, their sound cold and desolate in my ears.

After comforting her, Duan Zhian quietly went out and stood under the eaves with his hands behind his back, but did not leave for a long time.

He remembered that when she was a child, she was once seriously ill and also curled up on the bed in this way.

She grabbed two of his fingers and called him "Uncle" in a soft, sweet voice, like a delicate hook tugging at his heart.

At that time, he never imagined that he would fall for her.

......

He whispered, "Go and instruct the Imperial Household Department to register the documents. The Marquis's residence will issue a letter of divorce... but will not seal it for now."

The attendant was taken aback, but did not ask any further questions and responded in a low voice.

Duan Zhi'an knew that once Wen Qian acknowledged the relationship, no matter how much pain she felt, she would never take the initiative to break free.

Besides, she does have feelings for Li Zhijing.

He couldn't bear to hear a single word of what the Marquis of Pingnan said today.

She shouldn't stay in that kind of place where she can be trampled on.

The Marquis of Pingnan's mansion is not worthy of her child.

After accompanying the attendant to the Inner Palace, as instructed by Duan Zhi'an, he reported directly to the Director of the Court of Imperial Rites.

"The Grand Tutor has instructed that a Marquis's residence is about to issue a letter of divorce. Please take note, Your Excellency."

Upon hearing that it was an order from the Grand Tutor, the Chief Secretary of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices immediately reported it to the Director, Gou Huaiyuan.

Gou Huaiyuan said politely, "Since it is the Grand Tutor's order, I will approve it directly without delay. However..." He paused and then asked, "The Emperor rarely divorces his wife. I have been in office for many years and my marriage records have always been kept, especially for a high-ranking family like a Marquis's mansion... I wonder if the Grand Tutor has specified which Marquis's mansion it is?"

"Sir, just do as I say, and please don't ask any other questions."

Seeing that he couldn't get any answers, Gou Huaiyuan stopped talking, but he still had some ulterior motives in his mind.