Your Highness, your wife doesn't want you anymore!

Grandma Jin's gaze suddenly turned cold, and her tone left no room for argument: "I will personally come to pick up Xiaozhi first thing tomorrow morning. This matter is settled."

"Sven, take me back."

"Okay, Grandma." Kingsman responded softly. As he walked behind his grandmother and passed by Kingsman, he said in a low voice, "Kingsman, don't push people too hard. Sometimes, a little separation might not be a bad thing."

After saying that, Kingsman quickly took two steps forward and helped his grandmother leave the villa.

The grandfather and grandson drove away, and the living room became completely quiet.

With his back aching, numb, and dull, Jin Si Nian slowly rose from the cold floor and walked upstairs with slightly unsteady steps.

Nan Zhi didn't go back to the bedroom at all. Instead, she quietly hid in the shadows at the corner of the stairs, taking in the whole scene of the punishment and argument downstairs.

Seeing him slowly walk upstairs, she immediately ran forward and reached out to help him.

Jin Si Nian's brows furrowed suddenly, and his long arm instinctively wrapped around her slender waist, urgently instructing, "Run slowly, watch your step."

"You're pregnant and your body is so heavy. What if you and the baby fall? You're about to become a mother, and you're not steady at all."

Nan Zhi gently placed her palm on his back, and as soon as her fingertips applied a little pressure, Jin Si Nian froze, gasped, and felt a sharp pain shoot through his body.

Nan Zhi panicked instantly, hurriedly withdrawing her small hand, her eyes reddening as she stammered, "W-what's wrong?"

"Did I...did I hurt you?"

Jin Si Nian lowered his gaze to her flustered face, his voice low and helpless: "You saw everything?"

"I clearly told you to go back to your room and stay there. Why didn't you listen?"

Grandma was extremely ruthless today, striking his back more than a dozen times, leaving deep wounds. He couldn't bear to think about or even want his pregnant daughter to see such a violent scene, for fear of frightening her.

Nan Zhi nodded gently and obediently responded. She had seen every word and every scene of the punishments and arguments downstairs.

Jin Si Nian frowned even more, a hint of helpless reproach in his eyes: "Nan Zhi, are you deliberately going against me?"

"Normally you obediently do whatever I ask you to do. If I ask you to move out, you really do. But this time, when I asked you to go upstairs to rest, you deliberately hid and peeked at me, trying to annoy me."

Nan Zhi didn't argue, her nose tingling slightly, and she softly asked, "Does it hurt?"

She watched as the cane struck his back repeatedly, more than a dozen times. She never expected that her usually kind grandmother would hit him so hard.

Shedding all his domineering and assertive manner, Jin Si Nian leaned slightly against her shoulder, his eyes filled with grievance. Gone was his noble arrogance; he pitifully showed weakness: "It hurts, it hurts so much."

Nan Zhi pursed her lips, helped him into the master bedroom, and gently closed the door.

Jin Si Nian raised his hand to remove his suit jacket, and then slowly took off his close-fitting shirt, revealing his clean and firm back, with large patches of dark and light blue and purple marks crisscrossing, a shocking sight.

He slowly lay down on the soft bed, his eyes slightly red, and looked at the girl beside him in a hoarse voice: "Zhizhi, isn't your back all red?"

"Hmm, it's... bruised and purple." Nan Zhi looked at the hideous wound, her heart tightening slightly, and replied softly.

She turned around and quickly opened the bedside table drawer, took out the liniment she had prepared at home, unscrewed the cap, and the strong, bitter smell of the liniment instantly filled the entire bedroom.

Jin Si Nian lay face down on the bed, his back tense as he endured the sharp pain. He spoke in a muffled voice, tinged with grievance and trepidation, "Zhi Zhi, do I have to sleep face down tonight?"

"You should be able to sleep on your side." Nan Zhi lowered her eyes, her fingertips dipped in the cool medicinal oil, her movements extremely light and slow, as she rubbed the bruises on his back to help them heal faster.

Warm fingertips traced the stinging wound. Jin Si Nian suddenly rolled over, ignoring the sharp pain in his back, and firmly grasped her slender wrist. His eyes were filled with unease and grievance as he asked in a hoarse voice, "Zhi Zhi, Grandma said she'll take you to stay at Jinlong Bay tomorrow. Do you want to go?"

Nan Zhi's fingertips curled slightly as she gently pulled her wrist away, and she said softly, "Grandma...Grandma lives alone, and...Grandma has no one by her side..."

Before she could finish speaking, Jin Si Nian suddenly tightened his grip on her hand, holding it firmly and not letting her break free. He interrupted her with a tone of grievance and bitterness: "If you leave, I'll be living alone too, and I'll have no one to keep me company."

"Zhizhi only cares about her grandma, she doesn't think about me at all." His eyebrows drooped, all his pride and strength gone, replaced by a look of grievance and dejection. "I am your legal husband now, and you don't even see me."

"Grandma just beat me so badly, my back hurts terribly, and instead of feeling sorry for me, you only want to go and be with Grandma."

After saying that, he buried his face in the soft pillow, feeling wronged and remaining silent, just like a child throwing a tantrum.

Doesn't Grandma feel heartbroken that he won't go with Zhizhi?

They broke up a newlywed couple.

Nan Zhi's heart softened, and she bit her lip, whispering in agreement, "Then I... I won't go keep Grandma company."

"no."

Jin Si Nian immediately looked up, his eyes filled with calculation, and said seriously, "If you don't go, Grandma will think that I forced you and coerced you into not leaving, and she will be even angrier and blame me for beating me again."

Nan Zhi was immediately at a loss, frowning and saying helplessly, "Then...then I'll go keep Grandma company..."

"Then I'll just stay here alone in this empty house, all by myself." Jin Si Nian buried his face in the pillow again, his tone forlorn and pitiful, each word a sign of weakness. "I'll be a lonely husband all by myself. You've left with the child, and the baby won't be able to hear my voice, growing up without a father's love."

The soft-hearted Nan Zhi was completely won over. Helpless, she looked at him and asked softly, "Then...then I'll tell Grandma tomorrow that I didn't want to go, okay?"

A triumphant smile flashed across Jin Si Nian's eyes. He immediately raised his hand to encircle her slender waist, gently pulling her into his arms, avoiding her pregnant belly and wound. His voice was tender and gentle: "This is the best way. Zhi Zhi, tell Grandma this tomorrow."

Realizing she had been tricked, Nan Zhi's face fell instantly. Suppressing her temper, she clenched her small fist and gently punched the bruises on his back.

Jin Si Nian was caught off guard by the sudden pain, letting out a muffled groan. His brows furrowed instantly, and he looked at her with a pitiful expression: "It hurts so much, Zhi Zhi."

"I'm injured like this, don't you feel sorry for me?"

Nan Zhi's forehead creased with annoyance. Too lazy to watch his act, she turned her face away and said softly, "I...I'm hungry."

The man, who had just been lying listlessly and looking aggrieved, suddenly sprang up from the bed, his back wound seemingly no longer hurting, his eyes shining: "What do you want to eat? I'll make it for you."

Nan Zhi stared at him, utterly speechless.

The man who had just been burying his face in the pillow, looking pitiful and begging for company, seemed like a completely different person.

Jin Si Nian met her clear, speechless gaze and awkwardly touched the tip of his nose with his fingertips.

"Meat, shredded meat noodles," Nan Zhi said calmly.

Meanwhile, the black sedan drove smoothly through the night as Kingsman drove back. Grandma Jin sat calmly in the back seat and asked, "Kingsman, you know everything, don't you?"

"Yes," Kingsman responded gently, his tone firm. "Grandma, Sinian's feelings for Nanzhi are genuine."

"I know that without you reminding me."

Grandma Jin nodded slightly, her eyes clear and understanding. "Si Nian has always been good at manipulating people's hearts. When I was a child, I would make mistakes and get beaten. Before the stick even hit me, I would cry out in pain and use sweet words to coax me into softening my heart."

"I took more than a dozen blows today, gritting my teeth and enduring them without uttering a sound or begging for mercy."

"As soon as we leave, they'll turn around and act pitiful and sympathetic towards the little kids."

A faint smile played on Jin Jingwen's lips as she softly asked, "Grandma, do you disapprove of them being together?"

"On the contrary, I am most satisfied with my granddaughter-in-law, Xiao Zhi." Grandma Jin said firmly, her eyes darkening slightly. "It's just that Si Nian's methods were despicable, and he used the wrong approach to trap Nan Zhi."

"Have Si Nian fallen deeply in love with Xiao Zhi over the past three years, while Xiao Zhi hasn't felt even the most basic gratitude towards Si Nian?"

The old man has a keen and insightful eye for people; he hit the nail on the head with just one sentence!

"So that's why Grandma insisted on taking Nanzhi to Jinlong Bay to stay temporarily?" Kingsman asked knowingly.

Grandma Jin nodded slowly, her eyes deep: "Tying it too tightly will only backfire."

"By maintaining appropriate distance and separating for a while, the longing and yearning will gradually grow stronger."