Zhou Jiayang emerged from the wine house and encountered Wu Caiwei standing by the entrance. He quickly bade farewell to his companions.
After watching them leave, he approached Wu Caiwei, his anger bubbling. "Cousin, you seem to be in high spirits. Indeed, our Zhou family is now the laughingstock of everyone, and my father is being impeached in court. Your goal is achieved, isn't it?"
Wu Caiwei smiled and shook her finger. "As long as all of you are still alive, how could my goal have been achieved? This is just the beginning; the real show is yet to come."
"We are among the few remaining relatives you have in this world. If you ruin us, and then suffer injustice in the Ouyang family, no one will be there to support you." Zhou Jiayang found her utterly irrational. Did she not consider that if she truly brought down the Zhou family, the Ouyang family would surely be wary of such a cunning woman?
"That's not for you to worry about. Focus on yourself. You've done so much just to become a consort, yet I hear the Eldest Princess is trying by every means to rid herself of you? You'll soon be the first man in the capital to be divorced, and the first consort in history to be repudiated, making your name legendary." Wu Caiwei watched him with evident schadenfreude.
"My marriage to the Eldest Princess was personally bestowed by the Emperor. It's not so easy to break apart." Zhou Jiayang was in a panic, though he had indeed been worried about this issue lately. However, he could not show weakness in front of Wu Caiwei.
"Then I'll wait and see. But I heard the Eldest Princess is already looking for a new spouse, even dismissing her maids, preparing for a fresh start. Many young men from noble families are vying for her attention; your position is precarious." Wu Caiwei left with a flourish, not bothering to look at his increasingly grim expression.
The moment she departed, Zhou Jiayang got into his carriage and headed for the Princess's manor.
Still seething with anger, he disregarded the manor servants' attempts to stop him and strode directly in.
Upon entering, he saw the Princess surrounded by a crowd of young men from noble families. Two of them were even friends with whom he had been dining and drinking at the wine house just moments ago. They showed a flicker of guilt upon seeing him, but after a shared glance, they immediately straightened their postures. It was common knowledge that their marital relationship was extremely strained. Even without their involvement, the Eldest Princess intended to divorce him.
"What is the meaning of this?" Zhou Jiayang approached her, attempting to ask calmly.
"It means exactly what you understand it to be. I, this Princess, have decided to mend my ways and find a husband to live a proper life. What? Do you have a problem with that?" The Eldest Princess had not forgotten how she saw him acting nervously just a few days ago when she had caught him with a maidservant in the Zhou household, the look of reproach in his eyes when he glanced at her. She had let it slide then, but that didn't mean she harbored no resentment.
"Your husband is me."
"Soon, he won't be. Please do not bother me anymore in the future; it affects my reputation." Before he could finish, the Eldest Princess interrupted him, severing their connection immediately.
"What reputation do you have left to speak of? Who in the capital doesn't call you promiscuous?" Seeing that she was resolute in her decision to cast him aside, Zhou Jiayang's anger flared, and he spoke without thinking.
"As long as I live a virtuous life from now on, bearing children, people will only remember our happiness and quickly forget my past actions. As for you, you will surely be recorded in history, forever labeled as the man this Princess discarded. Go back and think about how you will face the public's ridicule." The Eldest Princess had no desire to engage with him further. She immediately summoned the steward to escort him out.
Zhou Jiayang stood motionlessly outside the Princess's manor. The sun slowly moved from overhead to the west and finally disappeared. Only then did he move his stiff limbs and turn to leave with determination. The servants behind him suddenly felt that their young master's aura had changed.
Lord Zhou, currently at court, was experiencing the vagaries of human relationships. Ever since the Eldest Princess announced her intention to select a new consort, everyone had subconsciously distanced themselves from him, which greatly vexed him. At the same time, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of apprehension. So many days had passed, yet the Emperor had not reprimanded the Eldest Princess. This indicated his support, and Lord Zhou began to worry in secret.
Seeing his son running to the Princess's manor daily, he turned a blind eye. If his son could win back the Eldest Princess's heart, that would be for the best.
Meanwhile, the Eldest Princess was increasingly annoyed. Zhou Jiayang, for reasons unknown, was visiting the manor more frequently in recent days than in all the preceding years combined. Seeing him constantly gaze at her with feigned affection made her feel utterly disgusted.
"Seriously, don't make me sick. No matter how diligently you come, it's useless. Our relationship is impossible for this lifetime. Oh, right, I forgot to tell you, I already have a candidate for consort, and my father supports him." The Eldest Princess wanted to see him break down, but to her disappointment, he did not.
Zhou Jiayang's body stiffened for a moment, but he quickly regained his composure and said calmly, "Regardless, you are still my rightful wife. We'll discuss the future later."
With that, he solicitously went to the kitchen and brought over the soup he had spent an hour simmering. The Eldest Princess couldn't help but roll her eyes. He came to the manor every day to brew a pot of soup for her. At first, she wouldn't even look at it, but his persistence was unwavering. As long as the Princess didn't drink a bowl, he would stubbornly follow her around with the soup, driving her to distraction. No matter how harsh her words, he never retreated.
He even took a sip of the soup in front of the Eldest Princess as a demonstration, a trial for poison. Eventually, to get rid of him, the Eldest Princess angrily drank a bowl and slammed it on the table. "You can leave now," she said irritably.
Zhou Jiayang immediately smiled obsequiously. "Princess, please don't be angry. It's not worth it to harm your health. This soup is made from a recipe I specifically inquired about from an imperial physician. He said drinking a bowl daily is good for the body."
He spoke while backing away, taking his soup with him. The first time led to the second, and the second to countless more. Later, to make him leave quickly, the Eldest Princess would drink the soup he brought without a word.
Each time, Zhou Jiayang would watch her with gratified eyes. Over time, even the Eldest Princess's wet nurse couldn't help but speak on his behalf. "I see he's been quite attentive to the Princess lately. Perhaps you should give him another chance?"
The Eldest Princess looked at her wet nurse with disbelief and cried out, "Nanny, don't forget, our marriage was a deception from the very beginning. If I forgive him, wouldn't I be falling into his trap?"
Seeing the Eldest Princess's strong resistance, the wet nurse quickly apologized and dared not say more. After all, her own future depended on her relationship with the Princess, and she didn't want to antagonize her.
Today, when he brought the soup again, the Eldest Princess drank a bowl without a word and said calmly, "From tomorrow onwards, don't come here anymore. The first few times you forced your way in, then you used the back door, and later you climbed over the wall. You've gone to great lengths to see me in various ways, but it's too late. I'm moving to the palace to live for a while. By the time I return, we probably won't be husband and wife anymore."