"My lord, hero, put down your sword, and I'll help you escape," a voice called out.
"Shut up. If you say another word, I'll kill you," the man shouted furiously at the brink of death.
Feng Jin couldn't help but roll her eyes. For the sake of her own life, she suppressed her anger and said, "I am the young madam of the mansion. Ling Mo Han cares about me greatly. Why don't you take me hostage and escape?"
The man's gaze fell on Feng Jin, filled with confusion. It was the first time he had ever seen someone voluntarily offer to be taken hostage.
Truly, the world was full of strange things.
"My lord, everyone outside is looking for you. Your only chance of survival is to take me hostage and escape before they find this place. You know I'll be your compliant hostage if you don't kill me."
Feng Jin persuaded him earnestly, but the man in black remained unmoved, suppressing the urge to curse. "I'm doing all this to survive. With your sword in hand, my life is in your grasp. Can I, a weak woman, possibly overthrow heaven?"
"If you dare to play any tricks, I'll kill you with one sword." The man in black was swayed. He held the sword to Feng Jin's neck and forced her to lead him out.
As soon as they stepped out, a large number of guards surrounded them.
Feng Jin's eyes narrowed. The guards had appeared so quickly; it seemed someone had already arranged for them to be ambushed here.
The only person she could think of was Ling Mo Han.
Had he foreseen that the assassin would come here, or had he been suspicious of her from the start, thinking she was in league with the assassin?
"The Ling mansion, both inside and out, is a net set to catch you. You cannot escape, so surrender."
A voice that was all too familiar rang out. Ling Mo Han emerged from behind the crowd.
Feng Jin stared coldly at the man standing opposite her. It was indeed all his doing.
There were already guards ambushing them. If they hadn't come out, the guards would have swarmed them, and she would likely be dead by now.
This man had been suspecting her all along.
The man in black immediately realized he had been tricked. He unleashed his anger on Feng Jin, who was closest to him, and raised his sword to stab her.
At the critical moment, the sharp sword was snapped in front of Feng Jin's eyes. In an instant, the man in black lost his strength and fell to the ground, unable to move. The guards apprehended him and dragged him away.
Ling Mo Han hurried to Feng Jin's side and pulled her into his embrace, his agitated heart finally calming down.
"Why didn't you dodge just now? If I had been a moment slower, that sword would have landed on you."
In such a perilous situation, if he had been even a moment late, the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Feng Jin looked at Ling Mo Han with icy eyes and said in a calm, distant tone, "How could that sword have landed on me? General, you are a master strategist. Did you not already know that the assassin would enter my room? You had countless guards stationed here. The assassin simply walked into a trap."
As her words fell, the silver needle in Feng Jin's hand also dropped to the ground. She had gone to great lengths to poison the assassin and delay him, waiting for the poison to take effect.
Her own little schemes were insignificant compared to Ling Mo Han's.
From beginning to end, every move she made had been within Ling Mo Han's calculations. She was the biggest fool.
"Feng Jin... I... I was just worried..."
"Worried that I was in league with the assassin? Or worried that I entered the Ling mansion on someone's orders to approach you..."
Under her barrage of questions, Ling Mo Han became flustered. He couldn't deny that ever since Feng Jin married into the Ling mansion and saved him, he had been investigating her in secret.
He hadn't been without suspicion regarding this assassin incident.
But the guards stationed here were simply to ensure Feng Jin's safety, nothing more.
"I was just worried that the assassin would harm you."
"Be quiet. General, this is how things are. Why lie? Do you dare say you have never doubted me, never investigated me in secret, and never had secret guards following me!"
Feng Jin had suspected him for a long time, but she had been deceiving herself, fantasizing that Ling Mo Han would have a change of heart.
"I know nothing of your identity. The moment you entered the Ling mansion, you cured my illness. I..."
"So you suspected me of being an enemy spy, specifically planted by your side."
Feng Jin's heart turned to ice. She felt as though her sincere efforts of the past few days had been wasted.
"Ling Mo Han, I tell you solemnly, I am not anyone's pawn. I am just Feng Jin. I approached you with no ulterior motive. The Feng family forced me to marry you. As I said before, once your legs are healed, we will divorce."
"I will not divorce you..."
Hearing the word "divorce," Ling Mo Han's heart ached. An inexplicable sadness washed over him.
It felt as though a piece of his heart had been hollowed out.
"That's not for you to decide," Feng Jin said with a look of resolute determination. "The law stipulates that either party can file for divorce if their feelings have deteriorated."
She would never live with a man who doubted her.
Besides, she now had money and power. She didn't need a man.
"In this life, I will never divorce you," Ling Mo Han said in a low voice.
His heart was churning like a stormy sea. He had grown accustomed to Feng Jin's presence and could not bear the thought of her not being by his side.
"This is not for you to decide. Whether you agree or not, I will divorce you."
Before marrying into the Ling mansion, she had already decided to divorce him.
She had only cured his internal ice curse so that Ling Mo Han, in gratitude for saving his life, would readily agree to her divorce.
But now she regretted it. She shouldn't have saved Ling Mo Han in the first place. She should have let him live a little longer and then let him die.
That way, it wouldn't seem like she had a curse that killed Ling Mo Han.
Actually, being a widow wasn't so bad.
It wasn't much different from being a divorced woman.
Ling Mo Han's face turned ashen. He said in a deep voice, "Lu Shi, escort the young madam back to her room. Without my orders, the young madam is not allowed to leave the mansion, or she will face punishment according to the family law."
"Your subordinate obeys." Lu Shi walked up to Feng Jin with a troubled expression. "Young madam, please return to your room first."
Feng Jin ignored Ling Mo Han and went straight back to her room.
"Young madam, do you truly intend to divorce the young general?" Cai Qing asked worriedly. Why the sudden desire for divorce? She could tell that the young general had feelings for the young madam.
"Of course. I've been thinking about divorce for a long time. I should have proposed it earlier, but things kept getting delayed."
Divorce was going to happen sooner or later. Since it was already decided, what was the difference between sooner or later?
"Young madam..."
"Don't worry, Cai Qing. If you wish to leave with me, when I leave the Ling mansion, I will help you redeem your freedom, and you can follow me."
If Cai Qing was willing, she would find a way to bring Cai Qing with her.