Female-dominated society: My husband is clingy and I can't shake him off

Everyone was delighted to hear this news. Li Mo'er no longer needed to go to Kyoto and could now focus on preparing for her wedding.

But besides being happy, Li Mo'er also had some doubts. She hadn't even gone over to testify yet, so how come everything was fine?

She turned her back to the crowd and pulled Wang Cheng aside. "Sister Wang, is this news reliable?"

Wang Cheng patted his chest and assured, "Absolutely reliable. The secret message that the young master sent me can only be understood by people who are close to us."

Wang Cheng has been following Chu Xiaohuan for nearly ten years. She initially came to Luocheng to open a shop on the orders of Madam Chu, so that she could help her boss if a war broke out on the border one day.

Hearing this, Li Mo'er felt relieved, but she still had some doubts. Was it really that easy?

General's Mansion —

"Chu Xiaohuan, you should remember that you owe me a favor."

The Fifth Prince looked arrogantly at the weakened Chu Xiaohuan opposite him.

When he returned, his wounds were already infected. Although he was in the mansion, he had been interrogated by people in turn these past few days, especially by the Xu family's severe torture, which had left him physically exhausted.

Furthermore, the Xu family has consistently used the excuse of confinement to prevent doctors from entering the mansion to treat him.

The Xu family, relying on their status as imperial relatives, would interrogate Chu Xiaohuan almost every day, trying to torture him into a mental breakdown and force him to confess his crimes.

"General Chu, this is already the third day, why bother?"

Chu Xiaohuan gritted his teeth and glared fiercely at the person in front of him.

"Snapped--"

The man slapped Chu Xiaohuan across the face with such force that Chu Xiaohuan's head was turned to one side, but he still gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound.

He slowly turned his head, staring straight at the person in front of him, blood already trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"You dare to glare at me?"

He looked at the stubborn Chu Xiaohuan and sat down on the soft chair in front of him.

He had this specially moved from the reception room so that he could easily enjoy watching Chu Xiaohuan beg for mercy.

He gently wiped the blood from his hands, and smiled slightly like a demon from hell.

"Men, beat him to death!"

Immediately afterwards, the sound of whips cracking could be heard one after another.

Chu Xiaohuan couldn't hold on any longer and fainted.

The man gently raised his hand, got up from the soft chair, and used the whip to gently lift Chu Xiaohuan's head to confirm that he was truly unconscious. He then said something indifferently.

He was elegant in demeanor, but cold in speech.

"Splash him with water to wake him up and continue beating him."

The voice sounded like it came from hell, unusually cold, full of meanness and malice.

Except for the first day, he never asked Chu Xiaohuan whether he confessed or not; he simply wanted to get revenge on him.

Just as the servant brought over a bucket of water, about to pour it on Chu Xiaohuan...

The man raised his hand to stop him, "Wait."

He whispered a few instructions to the servant beside him.

The servant boy returned shortly after, carrying a jar of salt.

He grabbed a handful of salt and sprinkled it into the bucket of water.

"Tsk——"

The Xu family member voiced his dissatisfaction.

"What are you doing? Pour it all in!"

His voice suddenly grew louder, startling the servant so much that he almost dropped the jar he was holding.

He quickly steadied himself, beads of sweat already forming on his forehead, and tremblingly poured all the salt into the water.

"Wow--"

Another servant splashed water on Chu Xiaohuan, and the mottled wounds on his chest ached even more when they touched the salt water.

"No~"

He had just regained consciousness when he fainted again from the pain.

And so it went, over and over again, until the walls of the room were piled high with buckets of water.

Only when the man got tired of playing with him and saw that Chu Xiaohuan was completely unconscious did he call for the others to leave.

"General Chu is really stubborn; he hasn't come up with a solution yet."

Before leaving, he left behind this sentence, but it's unclear who he was talking to.

---

"What?!!"

The Fifth Prince slammed his hand on the table, his eyes filled with shock.

"The Xu family has gone too far!"

He listened to the stories being told to him by those around him, and it all seemed unbelievable.

He initially suggested that his mother place him under house arrest, partly to lessen his punishment and partly to temper his arrogance, but unexpectedly…

"Go to the General's Mansion."

The Fifth Prince and Chu Xiaohuan were about the same age, but they had been at odds since childhood. They were always competing with each other and always had to compete for everything.

He can bully Chu Xiaohuan, but not others, especially the Xu family.

When he arrived at the general's mansion with a group of guards, he was stopped by the guards before he even reached the gate.

"No one is allowed to enter without permission."

The Fifth Prince laughed in anger, his voice icy, "No one is allowed to enter. Who let the Xu family in?"

A hint of guilt flashed in the guard's eyes, and he immediately lowered his head.

"Reporting to the Fifth Prince, the Xu family has an imperial edict from the Empress, allowing them to personally interrogate General Chu."

Of course, they didn't know if it was true or not; the Xu family simply gave them a lot of money and asked them to keep what happened inside a secret.

At this moment, they recalled that generous gesture, and naturally, there was something fishy about it.

At this moment, the Fifth Prince's disdain deepened, and he raised the jade pendant at his waist.

Upon seeing this, the guards immediately knelt down and saluted, "Long live the Empress!"

As the most favored prince, the Fifth Prince was given a jade pendant by the Empress, as seeing the jade was like seeing the Empress herself.

The Fifth Prince waved his hand and walked in arrogantly, ordering the guards to lead the way.

The guard looked troubled and stammered, unwilling to speak directly, "Fifth Prince, General Chu is not suitable at the moment..."

The servant beside him saw this and quickly understood, "Your Highness, please wait in the reception room. I will bring the person over. There is no need for you to go in person."

When the servant saw Chu Xiaohuan, he couldn't help but shudder. What ruthless methods he had used!

He had someone carefully help Chu Xiaohuan down and changed him into a white coat.

Amidst the servants' busy work, Chu Xiaohuan slowly opened his eyes and slightly raised his head to look at him.

Hearing the Fifth Prince's words, although he was somewhat delirious, he still nodded in agreement, after all, it was the Fifth Prince who had saved him.

Bloodstains were slowly seeping through Chu Xiaohuan's outer garment. The Fifth Prince frowned slightly, waved his hand, left with a single sentence, and departed.

"Then it's settled. I want your most precious thing."

Chu Xiaohuan was somewhat confused. The most precious thing? Shouldn't that be his life?

Or perhaps it was the jade pendant he always carried with him. He wanted to reach out and touch the spot on his chest where he used to keep the jade pendant, but then he suddenly remembered that he had given it to that woman named Qian Duoduo.

If given the opportunity, he could simply exchange the jade pendant for the Fifth Prince using other jewels or a promise.

He watched the Fifth Prince leave, and then fainted again.