My wife wants a divorce; if she ruins my life, I'll leave.

"Granny, what do you think Yan'er is thinking?"

Granny Liu was in her forties. Over the years, she had lived with Princess Yangcheng in the princess's mansion. Without the intrigue and power struggles of the palace, her face had softened considerably, and she was a bit plumper than when she was younger. When she smiled, she had a kind and gentle demeanor.

"Princess, you're overthinking it. Perhaps the master just happened to run into Madam Meng."

Hey!

Princess Yangcheng closed her eyes again, knowing that Granny Liu was trying to comfort her.

Thinking back to when Yu Yan agreed to the marriage proposal, wasn't it shortly after the Meng family's daughter got married? And then there's Yu Yan's fondness for Guang Sheng Temple, how eager he was to go and offer incense every time I wanted to; hadn't they met several times at Guang Sheng Temple?

She didn't dislike Meng Ruohua; on the contrary, she admired Meng Ruohua's cleverness when she was a child.

But Yu Yan didn't say he liked her!

If he doesn't say it, who can guess what he's thinking?

Princess Yangcheng sighed again. Even if the Emperor had not completely taken back the military power of the Marquis of Yong'an's mansion at that time, if Yu Yan really wanted to marry Meng Ruohua, she could have used her connections to get the Emperor to agree.

Sigh! Yan'er is just too sensible and too self-disciplined, which ultimately makes her suffer.

Now that Meng Ruohua has divorced, her status has declined again.

Princess Yangcheng was lost in thought, feeling guilty towards her son one moment, concerned about Meng Ruohua's identity the next, and thinking that if he really liked her, she would give in to him.

But after a moment, she thought bitterly, "I deserved not to say it back then. If I had said it sooner, my children might be running all over the place by now."

Hmm, Meng's daughter has been married for three years now, and I've never heard of her getting pregnant. Could it be that she's infertile?

Oh dear! What a tragedy! If I can't have children, I'll have to search everywhere for someone to adopt.

She was lost in thought, her facial expressions constantly shifting with the ideas in her mind, making Granny Liu turn her head and smirk repeatedly.

Our princess is just too kind-hearted. If it were any other princess, she would probably have subdued the heir of the Marquis of Yong'an long ago.

But that's fine too; living a secluded life behind closed doors is much more carefree.

As evening approached, Yu Yan returned to the princess's residence, changed his clothes, and then went to pay his respects to Princess Yangcheng.

"Yan'er, why have you come back today?" Princess Yangcheng asked with a smile.

Although her expression was no different from usual, Yu Yan still sensed something was amiss.

He glanced at her inquisitively and asked without any attempt to hide his thoughts, "I'd like to ask Mother if Su Yao is on duty today?"

Su Yao was the gray-clad man who had been following Yu Yan during the day; he was a guard from the princess's residence.

Princess Yangcheng remained calm and asked indifferently, "What's wrong?"

“It’s nothing. I saw him on the street today. I thought he was on vacation.” Yu Yan’s eyes were fixed on Princess Yangcheng. “But he didn’t look like he was just strolling around.”

Princess Yangcheng met Yu Yan's gaze directly, then suddenly laughed, "Trying to use that on your mother? You're still too green!"

She's survived over a decade of power struggles in the palace; how could she not understand these things?

Yu Yan withdrew his gaze, his expression softening considerably. "My mother is wise and intelligent; she must have guessed what I was thinking."

A hint of amusement flashed in Princess Yangcheng's eyes as she smiled and said, "What are you thinking? I didn't expect that."

“What Su Yao saw today is the truth.” Yu Yan’s smile vanished in an instant, and he said seriously, “Mother, I am in love with Meng Ruohua.”

Princess Yangcheng raised her hand, but before she could stop her, she heard it very clearly.

She turned her face away irritably, "Don't say anything more, I'll pretend I didn't hear you."

You brat, you kept it to yourself before, but now you're saying it out loud. It's obvious you're up to no good.

If it weren't for her years of upbringing preventing her from making any indecent gestures, she would probably be giving Yu Yan two big eye rolls right now.

"Mother, you heard me right. I am in love with Meng Ruohua, and I want to..."

Princess Yangcheng quickly stopped Yu Yan, "Stop! You can think whatever you want, I don't want to know."

Hmph! Let you taste the bitterness of being wronged. Back then, no matter how much your mother asked you, you wouldn't tell her. Now that your mother has found out herself, she doesn't care to hear what you have to say.

Yu Yan looked at his mother with amusement and said deliberately, "Since Mother doesn't want to know, then I won't say."

Seeing Princess Yangcheng's lips curve into a smile, which she then forcefully suppressed, he said, "Then Mother, please don't urge me to go on any more matchmaking trips. I'll never go again."

Princess Yangcheng thought being a shrew was pretty good; at least she could curse whenever she wanted, and the feeling of chasing and beating people with a stick must be really satisfying.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. She just turned her head and glared at Yu Yan, saying, "I'm too lazy to make arrangements for you!"

Suddenly, as if remembering something, she smiled and said, "You'd better remember that, or you'll be asking me for help later."

Yu Yan said confidently, "Mother, don't worry, we don't need to go through a matchmaking process."

Sigh! It's not that they don't need it; the two of them have seen each other countless times since they were children.

Princess Yangcheng couldn't win the argument with her son, so she angrily waved him away, saying, "Go away, go away, don't bother me."

Yu Yan's eyes were full of smiles. "Mother, just ask me whatever you want to know."

When it comes to tracking people, no one is better than the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Princess Yangcheng failed to control her son and was instead teased by him, which angered her so much that she picked up the jade ruyi next to her and threw it at him.

Yu Yan caught it with a wave of his hand, and said with a smile, "It seems that Mother likes it too. Then I will put this jade ruyi into the betrothal gifts for you."

May all your wishes come true!

Princess Yangcheng was amused and pointed at him, scolding, "Hurry up and leave, lest you empty my house in a bit."

Once outside, Yu Yan suppressed her smile and handed the jade ruyi in her hand to Granny Liu, who had followed her out. "Please keep this safe, Granny. Be sure to put it in during the betrothal ceremony."

Granny Liu smiled and said, "Alright, we'll put them away for the young master."

"Now that the weather is cooler, you should encourage your mother to go out for walks, whether it's to offer incense or to visit the village for a few days."

Granny Liu looked at him kindly, her smile deepening. "Alright, once the princess decides where she'll be going, I'll tell you as soon as possible, so that... there will be time to prepare."

Yu Yan pursed her lips slightly, a hint of embarrassment in her voice. "Granny, you're overthinking it. I just wanted to put Mother at ease."

"Yes, I was overthinking things and talking nonsense." Granny Liu didn't care about the embarrassment on the young master's face at all, and said, "I will persuade the princess to go out for a walk in a while. Since she is going out, it would be better to have a few girls with her. It would be more interesting for everyone to chat and laugh together."

Yu Yan hummed in agreement, "Thank you, Granny." After saying that, he turned and left, knowing that if he didn't leave soon, Granny Liu would tease him.

Granny Liu took the jade ruyi into the room and handed it to him, saying, "The young master asked me to take it to receive the betrothal gifts."

Princess Yangcheng's smile became even more genuine. "Then you should put it away, so he won't nag about it."