Remarried Empress - SVSSS version
"A Divorce," the words were delivered in a matter-of-fact tone.
"It's only for a year," Yue Qingyuan said quickly. "Just to legitimise the child."
"Then you can let me foster the child," Shen Qingqiu suggested, tone of voice and facial expression still expressionless as he stared at the document in front of him.
"You know I can't do that," Yue Qingyuan said, his tone cajoling. "A-Qi is a noble's daughter. The Qi family will not allow her child to be taken away from her."
Shen Qingqiu snorted, "So, what you're telling me is that even though I am the official spouse, I am no different than a lowly concubine."
"No, A-Jiu!" Yue Qingyuan immediately denied. "It's just for a year. After the child is born, I will remarry you to make you the first spouse again."
"The Qi family will not allow it," Shen Qingqiu returned his words. "They will not let you to strip her of the official title."
"Then, I will take you as my second spouse!" Yue Qingyuan promised.
"You could have just made up an excuse to demote me in the first place," Shen Qingqiu said, still speaking in a business-like tone. "Why go through a divorce?"
"I thought of that, but I couldn't just accuse A-Jiu this way," Yue Qingyuan said.
It was such a poor excuse that Shen Jiu couldn't help the burst of mocking laughter that escaped his lips.
"So you went with what Qi Qingqi wanted instead?" Shen Qingqiu said. He was surprised that there were no tears coming despite the levity of their conversation. Perhaps he'd cried so much that there were no tears left. Perhaps his heart was broken into too many pieces too small to be broken again.
"You thought this was the better option?" Shen Qingqiu questioned. Really, he shouldn't be surprised by the amount of stupidity that Yue Qingyuan was capable of.
"It's only for a year," Yue Qingyuan repeated. "You can stay at the back courtyard and I'll make sure that everything you need is provided."
"You promised that too when we first married," Shen Qingqiu said, taking the document and folding it to slide into the envelop Yue Qingyuan had given him when he first arrived. "Yet there are some days I would starve because your kitchen was having 'shortage'. Imagine that, a first spouse, starving. I cannot imagine what will happen when I am just your abandoned, divorced husband."
"A-Jiu! That's not true! What are you saying!?" Yue Qingyuan asked, looking truly bewildered and accused. Shen Qingqiu just gave him a dispassionate look and got up.
"I understand. No matter what I say, nothing will change," Shen Qingqiu said, bowing to his 'husband' one last time. "Farewell, Lord Yue."
"Wait! A-Jiu, I will have the servants pack your things to send to the back courtyard," Yue Qingyuan said, standing up to follow him to the door. "Don't be angry, A-Jiu. I'll make sure you are taken care of."
Taken care of.. Shen Qingqiu repeated in his heart as he continued walking without a pause. Like you have always?
Through thick and thin he'd stayed with this man. This man who'd once loved him when they were nothing but starving street children. Who'd wanted to stay with him even when his estranged Lord father found him and wanted to take him back. Who'd swore to love him for all their lives when he'd proposed after they were reunited.
"Lord Yue, it will be improper if I stayed at the compound even after we divorced," Shen Qingiqu said, not turning back to the noble-born man he'd once loved. "I will find residence elsewhere."
"Where will you go!?" Yue Qingyuan asked, a hint of desperation in his voice.
"I will inform you when the time comes. For now, I will return to my courtyard to pack," Shen Qingqiu answered. "Good night, Lord Yue."
"Uhm, yes. Good night, A-Jiu," Yue Qingyuan replied, unsure.
Shen Qingqiu left his ex-husband behind, standing stock still in his study with the candlelight casting a lonely dark silhouette on the door.
He didn't stop walking nor did he start crying now that he was alone. Instead, he headed straight to the guest houses.
In front of the door to a guest room occupied by a foreign dignitary, the tall figure of the guard stood in attention.
"I want to see Tianlang-Jun for a while," Shen Qingqiu said, expecting to be rejected but the general just nodded, opening the door for him without any hesitation. It made Shen Qingqiu wonder what the demon lord had told his subordinates before, to allow Shen Qingqiu such easy access on his person.
"Tianlang-Jun," he greeted, bowing to the demon lord. "I apologise for coming here so late."
Tianlang-Jun got up quickly and guided him up by the elbows. "What is it? Is something wrong? Do you need help? You don't look so well."
"My lord," he said, grabbing one of the large hands on his arm with both of his. He looked up to the demon with glistening eyes, "What you said before, did you mean it?"
Tianlang-Jun stared into his eyes, looking sincere when he said, "Yes, every word."
Shen Qingqiu didn't believe him. Couldn't believe him. After all, Yue Qingyuan said those exact same words to him before they were married.
But Tianlang-Jun was his best bet to leave this godforsaken place.
"Then marry me," Shen Qingqiu said. "Take me away and wed me."
Yue Qingyuan and his pregnant wife, Qi Qingqi, were sending off the ambassador of peace sent by the demon world when Shen Qingqiu made his entrance.
"A-Jiu...?" Yue Qingyuan gaped at him, taking in the sight of him in his old wedding robes.
Through the red veil on his head, he could see Yue Qingyuan making an aborted movement towards him but was stopped by Qi Qingqi's arm on his.
"Qingqiu," Tianlang-Jun greeted, looking happy to see him. He strode forward to offer his arm. "Are you ready to leave?"
"Yes," Shen Qingqiu answered.
"Wait!? Leave!? What do you mean?" Yue Qingyuan questioned, sounding alarmed.
"Lord Tianlang-Jun proposed to me the night before," Shen Qingqiu explained succinctly. "I accepted."
"Since we were leaving and Qingqiu has no family to return to," Tianlang-Jun followed up with the explanation. "We decided to leave from here. Hope Lord Yue will not mind."
Both Yue Qingyuan and Qi Qingqi stared in shock as Shen Qingqiu and Tianlang-Jun headed to the carriage. The demon lord helped his new bride into the carriage before bidding his host farewell one last time.
"Lord Yue, I appreciate your hospitality very much," Tianlang-Jun said with an amiable smile. "I will ensure that the treaty goes through without a hitch."
Without waiting for an answer, the demon lord climbed the carriage and gestured for his nephew to start their journey home.
Just as they thought, neither Yue Qingyuan nor his shrew of a wife actually uttered a single protest when the contingent began their procession, the demon soldiers surrounding the carriage to take away their lord and his future spouse.
Tianlang-Jun put down the curtains once the sight of the mansion disappeared, then pulled out his handkerchief. Wordlessly, he handed it to his new bride.
"I do not need it," came the words from under the veil.
He gently pried open the fist crinkling the red silk robes and put the handkerchief in it. The wedding robes were of moderate quality, fitting for some lord's consort maybe. Though it flattered Shen Qingqiu's figure, Tianlang-Jun made a mental note to have someone make new wedding robes for his future spouse.
One befitting an Empress.
"You can cry," Tianlang-Jun said to Shen Qingqiu, not looking his way to allow his new bride privacy. "You can even lean on my shoulder, should you choose to. Even if you don't want it, it will always be here for you."
Under his old wedding veil, Shen Qingqiu choked on his sob as the tears continued to flow, the droplets darkening the silk robes covering his lap.
He thought that he was over this. That he'd cried all he could when Yue Qingyuan first told him that he was marrying Qi Qingqi. Then, on the day the man he loved married another woman. Again and again when Yue Qingyuan repeatedly accused him of being jealous, being vile and scheming against his wife.
He thought that his tears had all dried up.
That the hurt had stopped.
But it felt as if his heart was breaking one last time.
Leaving the house that had been his home for more than a decade.
He still couldn't believe that his life would change so much in just half a year.
"Each day goes by and each night, I cry
Somebody saw you with her last night
You gave me your word, "Don't worry 'bout her"
You might love her now, but you loved me first
Said you'd never hurt me, but here we are
Oh, you swore on every star
How could you be so reckless with my heart?"
~ Reckless by Madison Beer
