Chapter 4

Chapter 4

By the time I returned home from gathering herbs, Shen Zhao was already gone.

Ningning hugged me, her face streaked with tears.

“Mother, I’m so scared,” she sobbed. “Is Father going to abandon us?”

She continued, “Will Father hurt us for that woman? No, I won’t let him hurt you. I’ll protect you, Mother!”

That night, my tears fell like an endless rain, lasting until dawn.

When morning came, I wiped my eyes and went to find Liu Ningshen.

To my surprise, she was looking for me too.

“I wanted to see you yesterday,” she said with a cold smile. “I wanted to see what kind of wild woman seduced Brother Ah Zhao and made him break his promise to wait for me forever.

“Looking at you now, you’re nothing special.”

I remained silent, looking instead at Shen Zhao, who stood beside her.

He turned his head away, avoiding my gaze.

“Shen, we have been husband and wife for eight years. Do you not even have the courage to look at me?” I sighed softly.

Shen Zhao kept his eyes downcast and said nothing.

Seeing him like this, I realized there was nothing left to hope for from this man.

So be it.

“Miss Liu, I’ve only come to talk to you.

“From this day forward, my daughter and I will have no further contact with Shen Zhao. We require no child support and no care; we shall be strangers.

“In exchange, you are never to enter our lives again-and above all, you are not to harm my daughter.”

Liu Ningshen froze for a moment, then burst into laughter.

“Su Yue, isn’t it?” she said, reciting my name. “You dared to seduce the man who belongs to me, and now you think you can just walk away unscathed?

“A slut, a mere country bumpkin-look at yourself. Do you think you’re in any position to negotiate with a Princess?”

I wanted to ask what kind of fake princess she thought she was.

But the words never left my mouth. A dull, heavy pain exploded at the back of my head. I turned and saw Shen Zhao holding a club, his eyes bloodshot.

As I collapsed, I saw the satisfied smile on Liu Ningshen’s face.

She said, “Ah Zhao, don’t worry. I will definitely make you the Prince Consort.”