The Night Before the Divorce, She Was Reborn to Before Her Marriage - Chapter 1

In the sixth year of the Zhongjing reign, winter, Prince Zong Si of the Xuan Estate led his army to a great victory over the state of Liao and returned triumphant.

After receiving his honors in the palace, he returned to his estate late at night. Ning Fu had already retired for the night when she heard his deep voice instructing the maid to prepare water. She couldn’t help but sit up and look.

Zong Si glanced at her from the corner of his eye, ignored her, and entered the bathing chamber. After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he emerged. He was tall and slender, with brows that angled sharply up toward his temples. He was exceptionally handsome, with a stern expression when not smiling. Now, with his illustrious military achievements and high position, his aloofness felt even more unfamiliar.

The man reached out, gently cupped her chin, and calmly studied her for a moment before his hand moved down, slipping into the front of her clothes. With a clap of thunder, a torrential downpour immediately erupted outside the window. The beautiful, delicate peach blossoms shivered, and the willow branches trembled, creating an exquisitely breathtaking scene.

It stopped after a while. Inside the curtains, the “sudden storm” had also just ended. For any other couple, this would be the time for tender whispers and expressions of longing. Yet, despite being reunited after a year apart, they were exceptionally distant.

Zong Si was handsome and noble. At just seventeen, he had already achieved great merit by following Prince Xuan into battle. He was exceptional in both civil and military arts, making him the ideal husband in the hearts of countless noble ladies in the capital. Ning Fu’s marriage to him was arranged by their parents and a matchmaker. Before their marriage, the woman Zong Si was fond of was the second young lady of the Duke of Qing’s Estate, who was now the Fourth Prince’s Consort. The two had been in love. If not for the Fourth Prince’s sudden interference, they would likely have been married long ago.

Thinking of this, Ning Fu couldn’t help but feel a pang of bitterness. Her looks and family background were no worse than the other young lady’s, yet that couple was happy and harmonious, a world away from her own reality.

“I will return to the North in three days,” Zong Si finally spoke, informing her in a flat tone.

Every time he came back, he only stayed for two or three days. She didn’t say anything. For the next few days, Zong Si was busy with important matters, resting in his study and not visiting her chambers. It wasn’t until the night before he was to leave that she saw him again.

Ning Fu looked at the man who was wantonly ravaging her and finally couldn’t help but say, “I want to go to the North with you.”

Zong Si stopped and said, “The North is bitter cold. Your body can’t handle it. You should stay in the estate. If you’re bored, you can invite your mother to visit.”

Ning Fu didn’t speak. She rolled over, as if to go to sleep. Zong Si was still in the mood and reached for her, but she dodged him. “Please have some consideration for my body, my Lord.” The man withdrew his hand, staring at her back for a long time. A moment later, he looked away, losing his interest.

Ning Fu actually didn’t fall asleep for a long time. Her tears had already soaked the pillow. She knew he just didn’t want to take her with him. Just as she was about to reach out and wipe them away, a hand suddenly came from behind her, resting on her waist, and he moved closer to her.

“Why do you want to go to the North?” Zong Si asked in a low voice.

Ning Fu’s eyes were terribly red, but her tone was as usual. “I’ve never been. I was curious about the scenery in the North. But since you say it’s cold, I don’t want to go anymore.”

“Mmm.” He seemed to sigh in relief because she was no longer insistent on going to the North.

She no longer spoke a single word to him, nor did she let him stay close to her. She pretended to be asleep, but unexpectedly, she really did fall asleep. When she woke up again, the spot beside her was empty.

The maidservant, Yu Huan, came in to attend to her and said, “The Crown Prince left for the North early this morning. He told me not to wake you.”

Ning Fu seemed to be used to this. He never told her when he was leaving. She didn’t say a word, allowing Yu Huan to help her with her hair and makeup. In the mirror, her face had not changed much from three years ago, but her eyes had grown somewhat numb.

Was this lonely life of an empty room what she was destined for her entire life?

Everyone said Ning Fu’s marriage to Zong Si was a great match. But if Ning Fu were given a chance to do it all over again, she would absolutely not choose Zong Si. She didn’t need a husband who was so outstanding; she just needed one who wouldn’t ignore her.

Ning Fu’s days were all much the same. After breakfast, she would go to pay her respects to the Princess Consort of the Xuan Estate. Today she took a shortcut. When she went around the rock garden, she heard a few servants chatting.

“I heard the Princess Consort even advised the Crown Prince to take the Crown Princess with him, but who would have thought he’d still leave by himself?”

“How could the Crown Princess go? Haven’t you heard? The Crown Prince has a woman for company in the North who looks just like… just like the Fourth Prince’s Consort.”

Yu Huan’s expression changed when she heard this. Just as she was about to scold them, Ning Fu stopped her. “Let’s go.” Yu Huan was unwilling, but Ning Fu believed them to some extent. The North was a land of beautiful women, not to mention a woman who resembled that person. Zong Si was in the prime of his life; it was impossible that he would always refuse such comfort. That was why he had prevented her from going with him.

If the servants had caught wind of it, then surely many people already knew. It was just that no one dared to mention it. No wonder her mother-in-law kept urging her to have a child. It was because she was afraid of someone else getting there first. She, the legitimate wife, was still without an heir. Saying it out loud would only hurt her.

This life would be better with a divorce.

As Ning Fu was thinking, her foot suddenly slipped. She fell down the rock garden and then smelled blood. It seemed she had injured her head. She didn’t feel pain, but her consciousness seemed to be fading.

I’m not going to die, am I?

Ning Fu: “…”

Compared to her life, Zong Si having a mistress seemed trivial. As long as she could live, even if Zong Si took a hundred concubines, she wouldn’t say another word!

“Madam!” she heard Yu Huan’s anxious cry.

Ning Fu’s heart tightened. It wasn’t just Yu Huan; aside from her husband, many people cared about her a great deal. She wondered how devastated they would be if she were gone. Then, she was plunged into darkness.