The Seductress and Her General - Chapter 2

Meanwhile, in his study, Gu Rongfeng inexplicably felt a draft between his legs and sweat breaking out on his back.

He threw down his brush in irritation and told the sniffling maid at the door, “All right. I’ll go have a look.”

The girl had been standing there pleading for almost an hour.

And from what she said, Miss Zhao seemed seriously ill this time.

It had been months since Gu Rongfeng last visited Zhao Wanyu’s courtyard.

He couldn’t help remembering her thin, haughty, spiteful face.

She had never once called him her husband. Behind his back, she called him lowborn. They had been married for months, yet she still hated being in the same room with him, forever pleading illness to avoid him.

He could tolerate all of that.

After all, neither of them had married for love.

But a few months ago, she had somehow learned of a separate courtyard in the residence where he was raising the two children of a fallen comrade.

She had insisted on seizing the children and taking them before the emperor. She intended to accuse Gu Rongfeng of already having a wife and bastard offspring, so their own marriage ought to be annulled.

When he heard and rushed back from the training grounds, there were several bright red slap marks on the children’s faces.

It was absurd. The children were innocent. Having lost both parents, they were pitiable enough without their dead mother being subjected to groundless insults as well. It was despicable.

That was when Gu Rongfeng had truly become angry with Zhao Wanyu. He assigned several maids from his own household to watch her and stop her wandering about at will.

He hadn’t visited her since. He slept in his study.

Gu Rongfeng took a deep breath.

He didn’t believe the maid’s story. Even if Zhao Wanyu really was gravely ill, seeing him would be the last thing on her mind as she lay dying.

She was probably plotting some new scheme, hoping they could divorce sooner.

Well, that day wasn’t far off.

Gu Rongfeng considered this. He had actually drafted the divorce agreement long ago.

Once he had subdued the few tribes constantly causing trouble on the frontier, he would return in triumph. When the emperor rewarded his achievements, he would surrender his military command in exchange for permission to divorce.

By then, the new emperor’s throne would be secure, and several capable subordinates he had trained would be ready to stand on their own. His Majesty would surely agree.

The capital was too chaotic. Too treacherous.

He was no longer the green young man of a few years ago, full of hopes for power, distinction, and newlywed bliss.

Marriage. A wife. Married life…

None of it was interesting. It was utterly dull.

Even his deliberately slow steps eventually dragged him to the bedroom door.

He tilted his head back, looked at the white clouds drifting overhead, and sighed.

After the divorce, he would tell His Majesty that he intended never to marry again. He would retire to his hometown and live freely, picking chrysanthemums by the eastern fence, gazing at the southern mountains at his leisure.

Imagining that lovely future restored a little of Gu Rongfeng’s spirits. He braced himself, lifted the door curtain, and entered, ready for another round of staring silently at Miss Zhao.

But then…

A slender arm slipped out beneath the bed curtains. A jade bangle touched the bed frame with a soft, clear chime.

Then a languid voice, dripping with affection, called from the bed.

“Husband. You’re here.”

Every hair on Gu Rongfeng’s body stood on end.