Investing In My Crippled Heavenly Empress Wife Gets 100,000x Returns

Dusk descended. The last ray of sunset was swallowed by the night curtain, and the manor was shrouded in dim darkness.

Ji Siyu, carrying complex and indescribable feelings, trod the bluestone path toward the manor gate.

The three corpses in the ruined temple, with their miserable deaths, were branded onto her mind like a scar that refused to fade.

Chen Chuan’s blood-soaked appearance and the bitter, desperate look in his eyes the night before had cast a huge stone into the lake of her heart, stirring up monstrous waves.

Just as she was about to push open the courtyard gate, her steps suddenly halted.

A very subtle fluctuation came from within the courtyard.

This fluctuation was extremely hidden; if not for her keen perception, it would have been almost impossible to detect.

”What’s going on?”

Ji Siyu was startled. A trace of doubt and vigilance appeared on her cold, clear face.

She suppressed the urge to enter directly, subtly shifted her posture, and silently circled around to a low slope not far outside the courtyard.

The view here was excellent, allowing her to clearly see the situation inside while remaining difficult to detect.

She held her breath and focused her gaze on the courtyard.

The next moment, her pair of cold, beautiful eyes widened abruptly, filled with disbelief.

Under the moonlight, Chen Chuan sat cross-legged on the open ground in the courtyard, eyes slightly closed, surrounded by a faint halo of Spiritual Qi.

His breathing was long and steady, his chest rising and falling slightly with each inhalation and exhalation. Every time he breathed in, the surrounding Spiritual Qi seemed to be drawn toward him, threading its way into his body.

He was Cultivating.

Chen Chuan—who had always been mocked as trash and deemed incapable of Cultivation—was now guiding Qi into his body, performing the most fundamental Cultivation.

This scene exploded in Ji Siyu’s mind like a clap of thunder.

The deeply ingrained perception she held was completely overturned in that moment.

He could Cultivate.

He was no longer that powerless trash.

Then the answer to the deaths of the three bandits in the ruined temple became obvious.

It hadn’t been some clumsy, self-staged drama.

That had clearly been the result of Chen Chuan venturing alone into the dragon’s den to save her, fighting against overwhelming odds in a bloody battle.

And when he returned, not only had she shown no gratitude, she had hurt him with the most malicious speculation and words.

Recalling Chen Chuan’s hoarse questioning and bitter smile from the night before—

and his stumbling, lonely figure at the end—

Ji Siyu felt as if an invisible hand were tightly gripping her heart, sending waves of suffocating pain through her.

Even someone as cold as she could not stop a surge of intense regret and self-reproach from flooding her eyes.

The frozen lake of her heart seemed to have a giant stone thrown into it, shattering the ice and creating ripples.

She quietly hid behind the low slope, watching the figure in the courtyard with complex eyes.

Looking back over these past few days, Chen Chuan truly seemed like a different person.

He no longer stirred up trouble or pestered her as before, nor had he argued with her at all.

Most of the time he stayed silently in his room, or Cultivated quietly as he was doing now.

It turned out he hadn’t been stagnant. Instead, he had been working hard in secret corners, trying to change.

Perhaps he genuinely wanted to thaw the relationship between them that had grown as stiff as ice.

Just then, Chen Chuan in the courtyard slowly concluded his practice. The Spiritual Qi fluctuation around him gradually subsided.

He let out a long breath of stale air and stood up, stretching his limbs.

He did not notice the eyes watching him from afar and walked straight toward the bathroom.

Ji Siyu remained rooted to the spot. The evening breeze stirred her hair, bringing a chill that could not dispel the turmoil in her heart.

After some time, the bathroom door opened and Chen Chuan walked out wearing a clean set of clothes.

After bathing, his black hair was still damp, a few strands stubbornly sticking to his forehead.

Perhaps due to success in Cultivation, or perhaps due to the subtle changes brought by his Bloodline Awakening, his already handsome appearance now seemed even more vibrant.

His eyes were deep, his posture upright. Gone was the listlessness and weakness of the past; his entire presence exuded an indescribable sense of composure.

Looking at this Chen Chuan, Ji Siyu couldn’t help but be momentarily dazed.

It seemed that only now did she truly see the face of this husband in name only.

He was actually this handsome.

Chen Chuan looked up and saw Ji Siyu standing at the entrance of the main hall, gazing at him.

His face showed no surprise. His gaze was calm and unrippled, as if he were merely looking at a familiar stranger.

With a slight nod, he intended to return directly to his room.

Seeing his calm, almost indifferent attitude, an inexplicable sense of loss rose in Ji Siyu’s heart.

In the past he would lash out with harsh words whenever he saw her, and his eyes always carried an annoying look.

But now there was nothing left in those eyes—only silence.

”Chen Chuan.”

Just as Chen Chuan was about to brush past her, Ji Siyu finally spoke.

Her cold voice echoed in the hall, carrying a hint of hesitation she hadn’t noticed herself.

Chen Chuan stopped, turned around, and looked at her with calm eyes. ”What is it?”

Those simple two words pierced Ji Siyu’s heart like an ice cone.

She knew this was her own doing.

She took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions in her heart, raised her cold eyes, and looked directly at Chen Chuan.

Her tone carried an unprecedented seriousness. ”The three people at the ruined temple yesterday—I went to check today. They are dead.”

Chen Chuan’s eyes flickered slightly. He neither admitted nor denied it, merely watching her quietly, awaiting her next words.

Ji Siyu continued, ”I saw you Cultivating just now.”

She paused, her voice dropping slightly.

”I’m sorry, Chen Chuan. I misunderstood you. I shouldn’t have thought that way about you or said those things.”

Hearing Ji Siyu’s apology, a clear look of surprise flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes.

He truly hadn’t expected that his wife—who was always so proud and aloof, viewing him as mere dust—would actually humble herself to admit fault to him.

He was silent for a moment. The layer of cold ice on his face seemed to thaw slightly, and his tone softened. ”It’s fine. I understand you.”

”It was indeed my fault before. I was too much of a scoundrel, too inhuman.”

”It’s normal that you would think that way.”

Hearing that Chen Chuan not only didn’t use the opportunity to accuse her but instead took the blame onto himself, the sense of guilt that had been pressing on Ji Siyu’s heart immediately lessened.

A faint warmth even arose in her chest.

He really was different from before.

However, the next words from Chen Chuan struck her like lightning, leaving her stunned on the spot.

”Since you’ve apologized, there are some things I should also say plainly now.” Chen Chuan’s tone returned to calm, even carrying a sense of relief. ”Ji Siyu, let’s divorce.”

”What?” Ji Siyu almost thought she had misheard. Her cool expression filled with disbelief. ”What... what did you say?”

”I said, let’s end this marriage.” Chen Chuan repeated clearly.

His gaze was serious, without any hint of joking.

”I know you have always hated me, loathed me. In your heart, I am probably just scum, a degenerate.”

”The only reason you were willing to stay here and take care of me was likely due to pressure from the Chen Family, or perhaps arrangements made by your own family.”

”Now I am taking the initiative to propose a divorce and return your freedom.”

”In three days, I will leave this place. By then I will sign the divorce letter, and from then on we will have nothing to do with each other. I will no longer hold you back.”

This string of words contained too much information for Ji Siyu to process immediately.

Divorce?

Chen Chuan had proposed the divorce himself?

This was something she wouldn’t dare dream of.

She even suspected whether Chen Chuan was testing her—

or whether something had gone wrong during his Cultivation, clouding his mind.

Chen Chuan noticed her shock and said calmly, ”I’m not joking, nor am I testing you. I am serious.”

Confirming that Chen Chuan genuinely intended to grant her freedom, an indescribable joy surged into Ji Siyu’s heart.

She could finally escape this suffocating marriage.

She almost couldn’t control the expression on her face, and her cool voice carried a barely perceptible lightness.

”Are... are you serious?”

”Thank you... thank you, Chen Chuan!”

Looking at the relief and joy on Ji Siyu’s face, the last ripple in Chen Chuan’s heart settled into peace.

He shook his head, his tone carrying a hint of apology.

”No need to thank me. Speaking of which, it was I who held you back for so long. I hope you won’t hold a grudge against me in the future.”

He only hoped that once his wife—who carried the memory of a God Emperor—recovered her strength, she wouldn’t seek retribution for his past despicable actions.

Ji Siyu was currently immersed in the immense joy of gaining freedom. Hearing this, she immediately shook her head, her tone firm.

”I won’t. How could I hold a grudge against you? I should be thanking you.”

This was what she truly felt.

Chen Chuan nodded. ”That’s good. I hope we can both be well from now on.”

Having said that, he spoke no more. He turned and walked into his room, gently closing the door.

Looking at the door that had closed tightly again, the joyful smile on Ji Siyu’s face gradually faded.

An inexplicable feeling of emptiness welled up in her heart once more.

Logically, having achieved her wish, she should be ecstatic.

But why, looking at Chen Chuan’s resolute departing back—

hearing him calmly say they should both be well—

did her heart feel a dull sense of loss?

Ji Siyu stood in the silent courtyard. The moonlight spilled over her transcendentally cold face, revealing a trace of confusion.

She pondered carefully: perhaps it was because the current Chen Chuan was no longer the trash she once had to look down upon?

He could Cultivate now, and his strength didn’t seem weak.

Once the Chen Family learned the news, they would inevitably start valuing him again.

His future prospects might be limitless.

And what about her?

To this day she had failed to achieve Spiritual Root Awakening and could not Cultivate—merely an ordinary woman whose position was maintained only by her family background.

If she ultimately still failed to awaken her Spiritual Root, the gap between her and Chen Chuan would only grow wider.

”That’s it... perhaps I am somewhat unworthy of him now?”

Ji Siyu sighed faintly in her heart. An indescribable sourness quietly spread.

However, this strange sense of loss and sourness was quickly washed away by the joy of impending freedom.

She still had one last chance to achieve Spiritual Root Awakening. No matter what, she had to seize it.

The road ahead ultimately had to be walked by herself.

She took one last look at Chen Chuan’s closed door, turned, and walked toward her own room with light steps.

The evening breeze stirred the hem of her skirt. She remained cool and detached.

But between her brows, it seemed as if a thousand-pound burden had been lifted.