After being reborn, her aloof ex-husband and her crazy deceased husband got into a fight.

“Ah Cai, this is not a divorce agreement. This is the real get-out-of-jail-free card for your Gan family.”

"Huh?!" Gan Cai'er was completely dumbfounded.

The three words "divorce letter" are written clearly and plainly, right there in black and white on paper. How did they become a get-out-of-jail-free card?!

Lan Tingzhou took Gan Cai'er's hand and walked to the table to sit down.

He explained slowly, "The regent's rebellion was planned by me on behalf of His Majesty, forcing him to rebel."

“If his rebellion succeeds, he will surely exterminate my entire clan. As my wife’s family, the Gan family will certainly not escape this fate. I will give you a letter of divorce so that the Gan family can escape this calamity.”

"As for that get-out-of-jail-free card you got before..." Lan Tingzhou paused for a moment, sighed slightly, and raised his hand to rub Gan Cai'er's head. "He dares to kill even His Majesty, so why would he care about a small card?"

Gan Cai'er was completely stunned, as if she had been dumbfounded. After a long while, she finally understood the meaning behind Lan Tingzhou's words.

But the Regent was destined to fail; it was true in his past life, and it is true in this one. Gan Cai'er thought this, and then blurted it out.

"What in this world is certain?" Lan Tingzhou smiled faintly. "A-Cai, you're just too caught up in your past life, which has blinded you."

“If everything were the same as before, Du Ke would have been poisoned into an idiot long ago. ‘A small mistake can lead to a huge error.’ Since you were reborn, everything has been different from your previous life.”

“But he failed now.” Gan Cai’er snorted, clearly unconvinced.

"Yes. He still lost. So, this divorce decree is no longer needed."

Having said that, Lan Tingzhou flicked his finger, and with a "rip," the divorce papers were torn in two.

"Hey, hey, why did you tear it!" Gan Cai'er jumped up in surprise and reached out to grab it.

"It's no use not tearing it up; the Jingzhao Prefecture will never register it."

Lan Tingzhou allowed Gan Cai'er to take the tattered divorce papers from his hands.

Gan Cai'er was taken aback, and looked at him while holding the half-piece of paper.

“This is something His Majesty and I agreed on long ago. If we are fortunate enough to succeed and overthrow the Regent, the Capital Prefecture will not recognize this divorce decree.”

"Only if we fail can you use it for filing."

"Ah Cai, there is only death to separate us, not separation."

Lan Tingzhou's slightly cool fingers touched Gan Cai'er's face.

"Then, how are you going to marry Miss Shen?" Gan Cai'er asked blankly.

Lan Tingzhou paused, closed his eyes briefly, as if trying his best to endure something. However, he was still recovering from a serious illness and felt very unwell, which weakened his self-control.

Finally, he couldn't take it anymore and roared, "What is it about her that makes you think I like her?!"

Gan Cai'er was stunned by his shouting.

Lan Tingzhou was always self-disciplined and rarely showed his emotions. This frantic appearance really frightened Gan Cai'er.

Lan Tingzhou forcefully lifted Gan Cai'er's chin, stared intently at her, and said, word by word, "I have never liked her, nor have I ever liked anyone else. I have only ever liked you! Only you!"

"But, but..." Lan Tingzhou's gaze was like that of someone who wanted to devour someone, and Gan Cai'er panicked instantly.

"No buts!" Lan Tingzhou shouted abruptly.

His fingers were so strong that Gan Cai'er felt like her chin was about to be crushed, and she couldn't help but shrink back and try to avoid him.

"I don't know the Lan Tingzhou you mentioned, nor do I know what he did to make you so certain that the person I love is Shen Yunxi."

"But let me tell you, if he has even the slightest resemblance to me, he could never possibly like Shen Yunxi!"

"Did you understand?!"

Gan Cai'er was truly terrified. She blinked and nodded obediently, as if she were afraid that if she nodded too slowly, Lan Tingzhou would bite her to death.

At the same time, a strange sense of joy welled up inside her. Had Lan Tingzhou just said that he had always loved her? Was it really her?!

A glint of light flashed in Gan Cai'er's eyes, making her bright eyes shine even brighter.

Seeing that she finally stopped mentioning Shen Yunxi, Lan Tingzhou's nameless anger subsided considerably, and he relaxed the force in his hands.

Gan Cai'er carefully and subtly removed her chin from Lan Tingzhou's hand, little by little.

"Ouch~~~" She winced slightly; her chin really hurt.

Lan Tingzhou glanced over and saw several obvious finger marks on her chin. He couldn't help but feel annoyed. Why couldn't he resist?

"Do you have him in your heart?" Lan Tingzhou asked.

Lan Tingzhou didn't name him, but both of them knew who he was referring to.

Gan Cai'er remained silent for a moment, without answering.

Lan Tingzhou watched her quietly, seemingly waiting for an answer.

Does Meng Yu still reside in her heart? If she were still the same person she was in her past life, Gan Cai'er could shake her head without hesitation and say firmly, "No." But now, she is no longer the Gan Cai'er who was only nineteen years old.

She did have feelings for Meng Yu, but the deep affection and bitter resentment she once felt seemed to have become increasingly blurred as time went by, and both love and hate gradually faded away.

However, it is not that it does not exist.

Moreover, she had witnessed all of Meng Yu's sacrifices for her in this life, so it was impossible for her not to be moved.

Gan Cai'er's silence darkened Lan Tingzhou's eyes, and his hands involuntarily clenched.

“Ah Cai, I can forgive you for having children with him because you misunderstood me, but I can’t tolerate it if you really fall in love with him.”

"I can save him, or I can kill him."

"If you want him to be safe, you have to take all your attention away from him."

"That, that's all from my past life!" Gan Cai'er whispered.

"In this life, I didn't like him, really."

"But I do have feelings for him in my heart. This, this can't be helped..." Gan Cai'er lowered her head and honestly admitted.

She didn't want to lie to Lan Tingzhou, but the key was that she couldn't lie to him anyway.

Lan Tingzhou felt a lump in his throat and stared intently at the drooping top of her head. Sometimes, it wouldn't hurt for her to lie to him.

"Then promise me you'll never see him again," Lan Tingzhou said firmly.

“Okay, no problem!” Gan Cai’er agreed readily.

Actually, she was also afraid to see Meng Yu. She really couldn't handle his reckless and domineering nature. But could she simply avoid seeing Meng Yu altogether if she didn't want to?

So she added cautiously, "I can only promise that I will never take the initiative to see him."

Lan Tingzhou glanced at her sideways, his voice icy: "So you're saying you still want to see him?"

“You can’t be unreasonable.” Gan Cai’er blinked and looked at him earnestly.

"I don't want to reason with them."

"Brother Lan..."

Since they're being unreasonable, then let's all stop being reasonable. Gan Cai'er took Lan Tingzhou's hand and started shaking it back and forth, her usual way of acting cute, and even tickled his palm with her fingers.

Lan Tingzhou stared intently at the two mischievous little hands.

“Gongsun Yi killed my father, and killing him to avenge him is something I vowed to do since I was a child.”

Gan Cai'er paused in her coquettish gesture. The Regent actually had a blood feud with Lan Tingzhou for killing his father? This was the first time she had heard him mention it.

"According to you, in his previous life he was supposed to be executed seven years later. Do you know why I'm taking this risk and forcing him to rebel now?"

Gan Cai'er shook her head blankly. How could a merchant's daughter like her possibly know about the changing political landscape at court?

"Because you'll be twenty next year." Lan Tingzhou grabbed her hand in return.

Huh?! What does this have to do with her?! Gan Cai'er was even more confused, staring blankly at Lan Tingzhou.

“Ah Cai, I don’t want Tingzhi’s child.”

"I want my own child."

"As long as Gongsun Yi remains in power, no one can touch Princess Pingyao."

Gan Cai'er stared at Lan Tingzhou in shock, her mouth agape, speechless for a long time.

Lan Tingzhou pulled the dazed Gan Cai'er towards the bed. When he pressed her down on the bed, Gan Cai'er finally came to her senses and was so frightened that she suddenly let go of Lan Tingzhou.

You're still sick!

"Director Wang said you need to rest and recuperate!"

"Yes, I do need to rest, so I will stay still."

Gan Cai'er choked, her eyes widened, and her face turned bright red.

"Lan Tingzhou, have you no shame?!"

"If it's inside the boudoir, then it's not necessary."

"Darling, we haven't seen each other for two months. You can count for yourself how many times you owe me."

Gan Cai'er had never been this disheveled in both of her lives combined. How come she hadn't noticed how demanding Lan Tingzhou was, and how extravagant he was in her past life?

......

It wasn't Lan Tingzhou's habit to lay himself bare and explain things frankly. But he vaguely guessed that in his past life, it was because he never said anything that Gan Cai'er misunderstood him so deeply.

Especially since it concerns Shen Yunxi, he never explained himself in his past life, which must have been intentional. I suppose it was partly because he was angry, and partly because he was proud.

But the thought of ten years of suffering, more than three thousand days and nights, made him shudder and he could not bear it at all.

Therefore, he believed that he should not let a little pride lead him to suffer another ten years of bitterness. That's why he endured all discomfort and laid bare his heart for Gan Cai'er to see.

After Lan Tingzhou and Gan Cai'er opened up to each other, their relationship improved rapidly.

Gan Cai'er started appearing in his study every day again, constantly leaning against him and kissing him, as if she couldn't wait to stick to him.

Lan Tingzhou found it annoying; the etiquette and manners he had received since childhood were ingrained in his bones. He was used to self-discipline and propriety, used to remaining calm and composed, and used to suppressing his emotions. Gan Cai'er's boldness and passion overwhelmed him.

But within this annoyance lay a sweetness, like nectar or honey. He told himself to restrain himself and not to succumb, but in the repeated calls of "Brother Lan," he let himself go and indulged Gan Cai'er even more.