His Royal Highness, Wants a Divorce! Chapter 4

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Despite their quarrels, Tang Qi still did not forget about the important matters.

Tang Qi said, "Your Lordship, please come this way. Your presence is still required for this marriage."

Meng You, "……"

His idea was that he could just pay ceremonial obeisances1 and get it over and done with. Then find a suitable time to divorce the State of Chu's Crown Prince.

In any case, the situation at the Yue's frontier was unstable this month. The reason why he had not left for the borders yet was because he had to go through with this ridiculous marriage.

"The Crown Prince arrives!"

Su Yu pulled Yan Ke to stand at the entrance. Tugging at Yan Ke's wrist, he said, "Wait until that Crown Prince who doesn't know what's good for him to come and escort you in. Do you hear me?!"

Yan Ke, "……"

Meng You walked to the front of the courtyard and smiled at the Emperor, "Your Majesty, if you had said that you would be here for this son's wedding banquet, then this son would not have shut the door."

The Emperor glared at Meng You and glanced at Su Yu from the corners of his eyes. Although he was furious, he still wanted to give Meng You face.

"I gave you face which was why I withdrew the imperial guards. But you pulled such a move on me! Complete the ceremony first. I'll deal with you later!"

"Since he has the guts to enter this Crown Prince residence, he should be able to handle my torture." Meng You was still in his casual attire; he had not even donned the wedding attire.

Meng You was merely unwilling.

His heart had never been on matters of the heart. What he wanted was to fight for the country and expand the State of Yue territories.

Not to mention that……the other party was a man!

The Emperor suppressed his voice and anger. He could not fly into a rage now, considering that the retinue from Chu was still here.

Holding his temper, he barked, "Invite him in yourself!"

Meng You shrugged his shoulders. As soon as he reached the door, a figure came flying towards him.

He instinctively reached his hand out to catch hold of the person.

Looking at the man dressed in red in his arms, his eyes narrowed. Throwing yourself at others when you've only just met?

Aren't you shameless?!

Then Meng You's eyes turned to Yan Ke's scarred face, and the corners of his mouth twitched even harder.

For what a crown prince is worth, even the servants in his Crown Prince residence were not as thin as him!

He thought about the State of Chu Crown Prince's portrait that his Royal Father had given him and rolled his eyes in his mind.

The survival instinct of that painter was really strong!

It was certainly not easy to paint this monkey into a beautiful man.  

A stone mysteriously flew towards Yan Ke and hit him right at the back of his head. He was instantly knocked out.

Su Yu withdrew the defense troops outside as he prepared to retreat to the Crown Prince residence.

Meng You looked at the man in his arms.

He said, "Can you guys find a place to lay your Master down? It's not appropriate for him to faint on me like this."　　

Su Yu said in a cold voice as he slipped back his half-drawn sword into its sheath, "This is what this commander-in-chief wishes to ask Your Royal Highness. We have been waiting out here for so long, what are you trying to tell us by not opening the doors? And the moment the doors are opened, our Highness was attacked. What is the meaning of this?!"

Meng You was born with a bad temper. Especially when he saw Su Yu flouncing around in front of him, that violent temper surfaced.

He grabbed Su Yu's collar.

"Don't be in a hurry to question me. This is my territory. I should be the one to ask you first. I hope General Su can give me an explanation for the cause of every wound and bruise on the Crown Princess."

Meng You's words were not only powerful, it also hit the nail on the head. Su Yu was rendered speechless.

What should he tell Meng You?

That Yan Ke had attempted to run away on their journey here? If he said that, then this marriage alliance might just fall apart.

Besides, he did cause the ligature marks on Yan Ke's hands.

Su Yu said, "It was a long journey, and the mountain road isn't easy to travel on. His Royal Highness is delicate. It's inevitable for some accidents to happen."

Meng You said, "Oh?"

Meng You had seen the ligature marks on Yan Ke's hand the moment Yan Ke fell into his arms.

He pulled Yan Ke's sleeves up.

The bloody scabs on Yan Ke's pale wrists were exposed in front of everyone.

Meng You had only seen the tip of the iceberg.

After taking in the entire sight, his heart was slightly stirred.

It was clear from a glance that Yan Ke had been tied up all the way here. It seemed like he did not want this marriage alliance either.

Meng You's tone was hostile as he asked, "Were these also from all those knocks and bumps along the way?"

Su Yu stared at Yan Ke's wrists, tightened his grip on his sword and said nothing.

Meng You said, "Since you can't reply, I'll take it as a tacit admission."

"Men! Take him down!"　　

Meng You picked Yan Ke up in a princess carry. Thinking that this gesture did not seem too appropriate, he changed his position and threw Yan Ke over his shoulder.

Yan Ke, "Hissss—"

Yan Ke felt as if he was treated like a bowling ball while he was out of it. He was thrown around, with a bump here and a knock there; it hurt like hell!

Meng You listened to him hissing in pain and snorted coldly, "I'm benevolent enough to carry you in. Don't be ungrateful! Remember my great kindness and virtue; it'll come in handy during the divorce."

The Emperor and Tang Qi followed behind him.

The Emperor saw the retinue from the State of Chu being taken down and took their silence as a tacit admission of their guilt.

He needed to find himself an opportunity.

An opportunity to teach his son a lesson in public without losing his son's face.

So, when he heard Meng You mentioned divorce, he raised his hand to get the jade flute on his waist. His hand turned up empty.  

Tang Qi took out his own flute and presented it to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, this subject has brought it!"

"Hmm." The Emperor looked at Tang Qi appreciatively.

This was why he appreciated Tang Qi the most! A man after his own heart.

The Emperor was already standing behind Meng You as soon as the latter placed Yan Ke on the bed in the wedding chamber.

"Do you want to stick your hand out yourself or should I get someone to grab hold of it?"

Meng You looked back and saw his Royal Father standing behind him with a jade flute in his hand. It was his habit to spank him in the palm with the jade flute every time he did something wrong.

But— this flute seemed unfamiliar.  

As he eyed the flute in the Emperor's hand, he found a small "Qi" initial on the flute's handle.

He then glanced at Tang Qi who was standing at the back with a lowered head, trying to suppress his laughter.

When a person who could not play the flute carries a flute on him, he must have been waiting for this opportunity for quite a long time.

Meng You extended his hand, and the Emperor grabbed hold of his hand with one hand and forcefully hit him with the other hand.

Meng You did not bat an eye, as if he was not the one being hit.

"Meng You, I'm telling you now! Unless the State of Chu falls, he will be your Crown Princess! And you are not allowed to have concubines." After a dozen heavy blows, the Emperor angrily threw the flute back to Tang Qi behind him.

Meng You withdrew his palm and lowered his hand.

Meng You said, "This son knows. My Crown Prince residence can still support another person."

He then changed his tone and said, "However, if he wants to leave, I will not stop him."

"You—"

Meng You did not wait for the Emperor to finish talking. He went straight to the study desk and unfolded a portrait. "If Your Majesty wants to ask me why, then this is the reason."

The Emperor was speechless.

After all, the actual person was a far cry from the person in the portrait.

When Yan Ke woke up, it was completely dark.

He struggled to get up. The aches in his entire body had lessened some.

"Anyone there?"　　

Meng You, "……"　　

Yan Ke got out of bed and wondered, where is that dumbass Su Yu?

"Is there anyone? Can someone please light a lamp for me?"

Meng You, "……"　　

"My head hurts, my hands are sore, I'm in pain all over! It's as if someone had pinned me down on the bed while grinding me a hundred or eighty times. Ssss—"

Meng You could not hold it back any longer.

Meng You, "Shut up! I didn't do anything to you!"

"And I have no wish to! With that amount of meat on you, even my hand would feel offended to touch you!"

Yan Ke stopped his blabbering mouth and laid back again on the bed.

His world collapsed.

Buddy, who are you?

Why are you my room? Why did you reply to me? I didn't say you were the one who pushed me against the bed. What are you so anxious about?

Yan Ke could roughly guess who this person might be, but he could not be entirely sure. So he asked, "Why don't we— match secret codes?"

"Match what?"

"Tigers shielded by Heaven?"2

"……"

Yan Ke gave a sigh, "I think I know who you are."

Meng You, "……"

Yan Ke said, "It's getting dark now, so let's—"

When Meng You heard this, his face fell instantly. With panic on his face, he jumped out of the window with dexterity. His voice broke in the summer breeze, "Don't you dare think I'll consummate the marriage! Not in this lifetime!"

"No— buddy, you run too fast! Seeing that it's getting dark now, let's get ourselves a pleasant divorce while the time is perfect!" Having missed such an excellent opportunity, Yan Ke felt a tinge of regret.

◈ ◈ ◈  Bonus Scenario ◈ ◈ ◈ 
Yan Ke: Buddy, let's divorce?
Meng You: Don't you dare think I'll consummate the marriage! Not in this lifetime!
—Time Separation Line—
Meng You: Oh? I heard you want a divorce?
Yan Ke: Ohhhh— Not consummating in this lifetime, then what are you doing now?
Translator's add-on: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

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❀ Feel free to let me know if there are any typos or errors.
❀ You can refer to the for a full list of terms for this novel.
❀ Footnotes below :3
❀ The Bonus Scenario is from the author's commentary in the raw. Sometimes, authors include little extras like these.

Footnotes拜堂, pay ceremonial obeisances, or ritual kneeling to Heaven and Earth and one's parents by the bride and groom in a Chinese wedding ceremony. 天王盖地虎，小鸡炖蘑菇"。literal translation "Tigers shielded by Heaven, Stewed Mushrooms with Chicken." A pair of secret code used on Qiushi Baike for users to find like-minded users. Also used in transmigration novels by the protagonist to tell if another person is also someone who has transmigrated. There's actually another answer to this, 天王盖地虎, 宝塔镇河妖, but the above one is likely the more intended usage.

Chapter end