Chapter 243

Chapter 243: This Is Her Home

In truth, she could tell Du Zi Heng and that Miss Zhang had nothing between them. She said those things only to anger You Bing Yue.

When that woman lost her temper, her brain went with it.

But Yu Zhi Yi had not said one thing wrong: if a person has never done a certain deed, then later he usually will not do it either.

Once a crack opens, it will not close.

It is like domestic violence. It is like gambling. If there is a first time, there will be a second, a third, without end.

Shifting your heart to someone else is the same.

Du Zi Heng pinched the bridge of his nose: “Zhi Yi, stop making trouble.”

Yu Zhi Yi shivered in disgust, feeling goosebumps all over: “Section Chief Du, please call me Official Yu. We are not that close. Calling me by my name is improper on a moral level, and on a legal level it is disrespect toward an imperially appointed officer.”

Du Zi Heng’s heart ached.

“At the very least we were once husband and wife. Must you be so cold?”

He used to think her fifth-rank post as a official would be the peak of her career.

After all, she was a woman. The Emperor had granted her a title because of her gift for divination.

Such a gift, in the Court of Judicial Review and the Ministry of Justice, was good for solving cases but not much else.

A official’s seat was already quite good.

To go higher, she would have to deal with other officials and read the minds of the Emperor and the people above her.

She had no roots in the Court Hall. Without her father paving the road, how far could she go?

He kept waiting, waiting for her to regret it.

He never expected regret would not come. Instead, she kept getting promoted.

A third-rank Prefect. The rank might not apply inside the Capital and only take effect when she went out on inspection, but it still sent a signal.

It meant the Emperor valued her a great deal.

A woman with no base in court had reached an achievement that ninety percent of officials could never reach in their whole lives.

Du Zi Heng had thought he had roots and talent and would soon catch up and pass her.

He never imagined that before he could move from his eighth-rank Section Chief post, she had already soared to a place he could only look up to.

“You said it yourself, that was once,” Yu Zhi Yi replied. For Chancellor Du’s sake she gave Du Zi Heng a little face and did not sound sharp: “Since we have nothing to do with each other now, stop dragging up the old ‘we were married’ line. Whether there was any feeling between us, others might not know, but don’t you know?”

On their wedding night he ran off to be with another woman.

Later he kept a mistress so openly that the whole upper circle knew.

There had never been real feeling between them.

Du Zi Heng had no words.

Yu Zhi Yi’s face stayed cool, with a light hint of mockery in her eyes.

His expression dimmed. Though they were already separated, the feeling in his gaze was deeper than when they were married.

It was as if the divorce had not cut them apart, but had made his feelings grow thicker.

Thinking of that made You Bing Yue so angry her nose nearly twisted.

“Enough!” She slipped between them and snapped: “Do you two think I’m dead?”

She glared at Yu Zhi Yi: “So this is the great master of mystic arts. I thought you were upright. Who knew you were playing hard to get. You’re despicable!”

Yu Zhi Yi blinked: “Me? Playing hard to get? With whom?”

She pointed at Du Zi Heng and said dryly: “Him?”

“Isn’t it?” You Bing Yue gave a cold smile.

“These days he has been gloomy. Even in bed he often drifts off. Yu Zhi Yi, you did it. You hooked his thoughts away.”

“I admit I underestimated you. I didn’t think you had this kind of skill and this kind of scheming.”

“You used the divorce to make him feel guilty, so now his heart follows you.”

“I always thought you were a schemer. I was right.”

“Your scheming is unfathomable.”

Yu Zhi Yi felt this person’s logic was truly hard to follow. Suddenly she understood the phrase Red Luan loved to say about “madman and madwoman.”

This was her first time seeing such a vivid madwoman.

“If your head is sick, take more medicine. If you can’t control your fits, then stay home and stop meeting people. Don’t come out and embarrass yourself,” Yu Zhi Yi said with a straight face.

Her words sounded proper, yet somehow they felt like sharp curses.

And very foul ones.

People with problems like this only get worse the more you respond.

Yu Zhi Yi did not want to tangle with her and warned: “If you two have problems, then solve them. Stop dumping dirty water on me. Otherwise, I won’t mind making you unable to speak for the rest of your life.”

You Bing Yue still believed Yu Zhi Yi was just playing hard to get.

Du Zi Heng was the male lead. Who could refuse the male lead?

Even so, she did not dare push it further. She had already tasted Yu Zhi Yi’s skill.

She made up her mind in secret: if this woman said one thing and did another, then even if it meant being mute for life, she would expose her true face.

Yu Zhi Yi could see exactly what You Bing Yue was thinking. She did not bother to explain, and took Li Rou away quickly from the scene.

She wanted to leave trouble behind, but trouble would not leave her.

Before she even reached Peach Garden, just as she arrived at the gate, she saw a familiar figure.

Du Zi Heng stood at Peach Garden’s entrance. He looked like he had been waiting for a while.

To match Li Rou’s pace, Yu Zhi Yi had walked at a normal speed. It took them two quarters of an hour to get from the spot of the argument to the house.

Judging by things, Du Zi Heng had used Lightness Skill.

Yu Zhi Yi had planned to avoid him, then changed her mind. [Why should I?] This was her home.

She frowned and walked forward.

“Zhi Yi,” Du Zi Heng stepped up, apology on his handsome face: “I came to apologize. Bing Yue was out of line. I’m sorry you were wronged.”

“No need,” Yu Zhi Yi said, stepping back to keep her distance: “She did wrong, so she should apologize herself. No one can do it for her.”

Du Zi Heng went silent.

Seeing how cold and far she kept herself, his chest felt tight and heavy.

Back when she still lived in his estate, her face had also been a bit cool, but he could feel the gap between them getting smaller.

He especially remembered that day when she lay under a tree to rest in the shade. He went over to share the coolness and even bought a Winter-Warm Summer-Cool Talisman. Things had been fine then.

[When did everything change?]

Yu Zhi Yi had no interest in guessing what he was dazing about and moved to go around him.

Du Zi Heng said quickly: “Zhi Yi, I truly have nothing to do with that Miss Zhang.”

Yu Zhi Yi looked puzzled: “Who you do or don’t have something with, what does that have to do with me?”