Where is the early stage of the marriage alliance?

Ling Xi frowned slightly, glancing sideways at Lu Ming, a hint of doubt arising in her heart. Why should his personal guard explain these things to her? She didn't need any explanation at all.

"Please come, Princess Consort. The Crown Prince has been waiting for a long time."

Despite her doubts, she followed Lu Ming to the study. As soon as she crossed the threshold of the study, her heart tightened inexplicably, as if she had stepped into forbidden territory.

A faint, sweet scent of agarwood wafted through the room, the scent of Xiao Ce. It was stronger here than in the bedroom, because there, her scent had permeated most of the room.

The study was extremely spacious, yet it did not feel empty; instead, it exuded a cold and orderly atmosphere.

In the center was a large ebony desk, its surface smooth and glossy like ink. The writing implements on the desk were neatly arranged, and the scrolls were stacked in an orderly fashion. Behind it, the bookshelves were filled with scrolls arranged in an orderly fashion, without the slightest sign of disorder.

On the floor-standing sword rack in the corner stood two long swords, one of which was "Lingxiao," which she had given him.

She took a shallow breath. There were no fragrant flowers or exotic plants in the room, only a censer of agarwood burning, the smoke rising lightly, filling the entire study with a calm and solemn atmosphere.

Xiao Ce was standing by the window, his black robes fluttering slightly in the night breeze. Hearing the noise, he slowly turned around.

Ling Xi stood there, feeling a strange unease, after all, she had misunderstood him just yesterday.

The moment their eyes met, she subconsciously lowered her gaze, avoiding his unfathomable eyes.

Xiao Ce looked at her slightly flustered appearance, his thin lips parted slightly, but he didn't speak in the end. He just stared at her quietly, his eyes seeming to be suppressing something.

"I wonder...what brings the young master to see me?"

After waiting for a moment, Ling Xi looked up, her tone calm but revealing a subtle unease.

Xiao Ce walked slowly closer, his aura becoming increasingly clear, instantly enveloping her entirely.

"Um... I heard everything from Dean Lu. I misunderstood you and Mu Wanning about my brother's poisoning. Also, thank you..."

"I have promised, and I will not go back on my word."

His gaze lingered on her face, his fingertips almost rising to touch hers, but he just managed to pull them back.

He wanted to ask her if she would stay in Jinling and not return to Chu. The suppressed emotions in his eyes almost overflowed, and his Adam's apple bobbed heavily, but he swallowed them back in the end.

"Come and help me grind the ink."

Grinding ink? Ling Xi suddenly looked up, froze on the spot, her heart slightly flustered, completely unable to guess what he wanted to do.

She remained motionless, stunned, while he turned and walked to the desk. As he sat down, his clothes fluttered lightly, completely devoid of the restraint he had shown moments before.

Ling Xi belatedly followed suit, awkwardly kneeling to one side of the desk and earnestly grinding ink with her eyes lowered. The ink stick slowly spun in the inkstone, making a soft rustling sound a few times, before she suddenly came to her senses. How could she have listened to Xiao Ce so readily?

Her fingertips paused, and she subconsciously slowed her movements. She quietly raised her eyes and saw him spread a sheet of Xuan paper on the table. A white jade paperweight gently brushed across the paper and pressed it firmly against the corner. He then casually picked up a brush from the brush holder. The brush handle was plain and unadorned. As he held the brush and turned it lightly, she inadvertently noticed that the top of the brush handle seemed to be engraved with the character "逸" (Yi).

She stopped what she was doing as if possessed, looked down and turned the inkstone over. On the upper side of the inkstone, there was also a regular script character "逸" (yi).

Ling Xi was stunned for a moment, greatly surprised. She never expected that Xiao Ce would even have his writing brush and ink custom-made. Judging from their quality, they must be very valuable. How extravagant!

"Your Highness's calligraphy is quite special; it must have been specially made. Your courtesy name is even engraved on it."

Ling Xi held up the inkstone, intending to say something casually to ease the atmosphere, but her offhand remark landed squarely on the horse's hoof.

With a muffled "thud," Xiao Ce slammed the pen he was holding heavily onto the table, the force clearly considerable.

Ling Xi's heart skipped a beat, wondering what she had said to offend him. She slowly raised her eyes and saw that his face was even colder than before, and in his dark eyes, anger surged as if it were about to ignite.

"W-What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

She remained outwardly polite, but inwardly she had already rolled her eyes. All she did was misunderstand him and Mu Wanning yesterday, and now he was giving her attitude?

The study was eerily quiet, so quiet that even their breathing could be clearly heard. She froze, forgetting even to grind the ink.

Seeing the pure confusion and unease in her eyes, Xiao Ce finally sighed deeply, his tense shoulders relaxed slightly, and he picked up the pen again.

"It's nothing, let's continue."

It's nothing, why are you getting so angry?

Ling Xi was seething with anger, and unconsciously increased the force in his hand, spinning the ink stick rapidly and heavily in the square inkstone, as if he wanted to vent his resentment on his precious object.

Ling Xi had no idea that the pen he held and the ink she clutched in her palm were both prepared by her mother. Since she had been unwilling to accept the marriage at the time, how could she possibly remember these items?

What angered Xiao Ce even more was that she pawned the set of writing brushes and ink, and then carefully prepared the same thing for Lu Baixu.

While she was still confused and puzzled, he had already dipped his brush in thick ink and started writing on the paper.

She hadn't intended to look closely, but as her peripheral vision swept across the paper, her blood suddenly went cold. On the right side of the Xuan paper were three large, dark characters: "Letter of Divorce".

Ling Xi suddenly raised her eyes, glanced at the calm and composed Xiao Ce, and then looked back at his hand holding the pen.

On New Year's Eve, he was drunk and vaguely asked her about divorce. Now, before she has even mentioned it herself, he is already going to give her the divorce papers.

Ling Xi couldn't quite describe her feelings. She had originally thought that he would be displeased by her initiating the divorce, as it had damaged his and the Prince Rui's reputation. But now that things were progressing so smoothly, she didn't feel the joy she had imagined.

Ling Xi's fingertips tightened suddenly, completely stopping the ink-grinding action. Her heart felt as if it had been soaked in cold ink, heavy and suffocating.

Xiao Ce, standing at his desk, kept his eyes down and wrote with lightning speed, without the slightest hesitation.

"I will give you the divorce papers today."

His voice was calm and even, and his pen moved swiftly, each word falling clearly.

"But our marriage is a major matter concerning both Liang and Chu. My divorce agreement alone is not enough. The final decision still requires His Majesty's decree."

She stared intently at the words flowing from his pen, the strokes vigorous and powerful, flowing smoothly like clouds and water, without the slightest pause or hesitation, as if this letter of divorce had already been repeatedly sketched in his mind countless times.

"But rest assured, if the border market matter progresses smoothly, His Majesty should not obstruct it further."

He kept his eyes down, holding the pen, without even looking up. The ink on his pen flowed continuously, as if he were writing not a divorce document, but just an ordinary official memorial.

Only when he finished the last stroke cleanly did he gently place the brush back on the brush holder, raise his eyes and quietly look at her.

"Sign it."