Chapter 80 The maximum amount of love I can give you...

Chapter 80

Shen Suining threw the divorce papers at He Hansheng and left without looking back.

"Ningning!" He Hansheng shouted, his anger rising, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Jiang Yuchu quickly stepped forward to help him, but He Hansheng raised his hand to stop her. After holding onto the door frame for a moment to catch his breath, he immediately rushed into the snowstorm and chased after him across the vast snowfield.

This snowfall was even more intense than the snowstorm that swept through Hangzhou three years ago.

The snow in Huadu is quite different from the snow in Jiangnan. It accumulates on the ground very thickly, and you sink in when you step on it. Although it is a bit difficult to walk, fortunately it has not frozen. Once the snow stops, it will be possible to travel in a few days without affecting the journey.

Shen Suining had just ridden her horse all the way here, chased by the city's garrison patrolling soldiers. They only stopped when they saw her enter the Pinghuai Marquis's residence. She only gave a brief explanation to the guards on duty at the gate. So, on her way back, Shen Suining could only lead her horse through the snow, one step at a time, her shoes soaked through.

She planned that once she was out of the city and out of the sight of those annoying city guards, she would immediately mount her horse and sprint back to Yangzhou.

Having spent less than half a year in Huadu, Shen Suining can't remember anything else now. She only knows that she has experienced more hardships and humiliations than she had in her more than twenty years of life in the capital. This is enough for her to tell her brothers and sisters in Shuyu Manor as a joke in the future, so that they can laugh at her for the rest of their lives.

Shen Suining walked listlessly through the snow, her head drooping. The blood from the wound on her right wrist was frozen solid, and her hands and feet were numb with cold, so she couldn't feel any cold or pain.

Seeing her half-dead state, Shen Fengyu felt both heartache and anxiety. She rushed forward to Shen Suining's side, trying to explain, "Young Master, that letter of divorce didn't mean what you think. It was the Marquis—"

"You'd better shut up. I'm not in the mood to listen to your nonsense right now," Shen Suining interrupted her listlessly, sniffing.

She calmed herself down before her tone returned to normal. "Father's internal injuries haven't healed yet, so you should stay in Huadu for now. Lanzhu and Yanzhen should stay too. Lingrui can come back with me alone."

Shen Fengyu belatedly realized, "Does the young master mean... that we should return to Yangzhou?"

"What else? Stay here for the New Year?"

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Fengyu strode forward and stood in front of Shen Suining, kneeling on one knee. "If the young master is returning to Yangzhou in a fit of anger because of that divorce letter, please forgive me... for not being able to obey."

"I'm not taking you back, take it or leave it." Shen Suining simply walked past her.

"Young Master!"

Shen Fengyu was both angry and anxious. She couldn't explain, but the woman wouldn't listen, and she couldn't physically stop her. So she quickly got up and chased after her, walking alongside her, trying to find an opportunity to speak.

Just then, accompanied by the light, slow sound of footsteps on the snow, a cold, powerful male voice came from ahead—

“Chen Suining”.

Amidst the wind and snow, the man, dressed in thin black clothes, with a slender figure and a high ponytail, stood out conspicuously in the vast snowfield.

He wore a blue-faced, fanged mask that covered the lower half of his face, revealing only a pair of extremely beautiful yet somewhat world-weary eyes. His brows and eyes conveyed extreme impatience. Because his lips were covered by the mask, he did not move his body when he spoke, as if he were a statue standing in the snow speaking in his ventriloquism.

After Shen Sui'an called her name, he stood still, his brows visibly furrowing deeper and deeper. "Father has been writing letters urging me to come over, just so I can see you looking like this?"

Upon seeing Shen Sui'an suddenly appear, Shen Fengyu paused slightly, then cupped his hands in greeting: "Young Master."

Shen Sui'an ignored everyone and walked straight up to Shen Sui'ning. His cold fingers lifted her chin, forcing her to look up.

He stared at her for a long time, then frowned. "Were you crying?"

"Why do you talk so much nonsense? It's so annoying!" Shen Suining slapped Shen Suian's hand away, shoved the horse's reins into his hand, mounted the horse herself, and lay wearily on its back. "I can't go any further."

Shen Sui'an looked at the reins in his hand, his brows furrowed, but he didn't say anything else, only asking her, "Where to?"

"Whatever you want."

So, Shen Sui'an led the horse and took Shen Sui'ning back to his temporary residence in Linjiang Xianju.

Shen Sui'an has a severe case of mysophobia. He would never stay in an inn unless absolutely necessary. Whenever he arrived in a new place, he would spend a lot of money to buy a house to stay in temporarily, replacing all the furniture and belongings. If he stayed for a long time, he would hire someone to renovate it and then sell it when he left. Even in a luxurious place like the capital, he did the same.

Located next to the moat, Linjiang Xianju is far from the city center, making land prices relatively cheaper and the area much quieter with pleasant scenery.

The house has a very simple structure: a row of two-story houses and a spacious courtyard. It is square and simple, which is very much in line with Shen Sui'an's consistent aesthetic style: clean and rugged.

After entering the house, Shen Suining immediately kicked off her shoes and huddled up next to the stove to warm herself. Her shoes and socks were soaked through. She had been numb from the cold outside, but now that she was inside, she finally regained her senses and sneezed several times.

Shen Sui'an frowned as she looked at the embroidered shoes lying haphazardly on the ground. After tidying them up, she closed the door and left.

In the vast courtyard, He Hansheng stood alone in the wind and snow, his head and shoulders covered with a layer of snow. Dressed entirely in white, he almost blended into the snow-covered landscape.

Upon seeing Shen Sui'an emerge, He Hansheng greeted him with the courtesy due to an equal, showing humility and respect.

The two were of similar build, but Shen Sui'an, dressed in all black, appeared even more slender and tall, while He Hansheng, compared to him, lacked some of the arrogance and indifference, and possessed more of the noble and aloof air.

Shen Sui'an glanced sideways at the door behind her, then looked at He Hansheng standing in the courtyard. She understood and couldn't help but sneer, saying sarcastically, "Shen Suining actually sheds tears for a man. How shameful."

"It's my fault for making Ningning sad." He Hansheng's lips moved slightly, and he said in a hoarse voice, "I wonder if Brother Shen could do me the favor of letting me in to see her?"

Shen Sui'an didn't respond. He looked He Hansheng up and down for a moment, then suddenly touched the ground with his toes and darted into the snow like a dragon, bringing with him a gust of cold wind. He swept the snow with his palm and leaped to He Hansheng's side.

He Hansheng didn't move an inch, and the door behind him was immediately opened. "Chen Sui'an!"

Shen Sui'an's palm was less than an inch away from He Hansheng's face. He sneered, withdrew his palm, elegantly brushed the snow off his clothes, turned around to look at Shen Suining, and a half-smile was hidden in his cold eyes.

Shen Suining felt a lump in her throat, knowing that Shen Suian was intentionally making fun of her.

She was always concerned about saving face, but today she not only lost control and went crazy in front of so many servants, but also shed tears in front of others, especially her elder brother. For a moment, anger outweighed sadness. Feeling ashamed, Shen Suining didn't even put on her shoes and ran outside through the snow.

"Ningning!" He Hansheng quickly turned around to chase after her.

Seeing that he still had the nerve to chase after her, Shen Suining flew into a rage, picked up a handful of snow from the ground, and threw it hard at He Hansheng's face.

Snow splashed everywhere, but He Hansheng turned his head away and closed his eyes, not dodging the spray.

Enraged, Shen Suining repeatedly scooped up snowflakes and threw them at him. She didn't even have the patience to roll the snow into balls before throwing them hard, each time hitting his face precisely.

He Hansheng made no attempt to dodge, and slowly walked forward into the snow that was being thrown at him, finally stopping in front of her.

“You can vent however you want, Ningning,” He Hansheng said, looking at her hands, which were red from the cold, and controlling his emotions. “But I absolutely do not mean to separate from you. The letter of divorce I wrote was just to exchange for the memorial tablet you kept at the bottom of the box, in case you need it. You can leave whenever you want, but don’t use the method of faking your death, it’s bad luck.”

Shen Suining paused slightly, holding a handful of snow, then asked coldly, "How did you know I hid a memorial tablet? Did Feng Yu tell you?"

She must have lost her mind today. How could Shen Fengyu possibly tell him this? But He Hansheng isn't the type to casually touch her suitcase; he's always respected her.

“Before returning to Yangzhou,” He Hansheng explained softly, “you asked me to find you some clothes, and I found them by accident.”

Shen Suining was genuinely taken aback, frowning as she thought for a long time, and it seemed that there was indeed such a thing.

She recalled that before returning to Yangzhou, from Huadu all the way to Cangzhou, He Hansheng's attitude towards her was not exactly warm, and he even deliberately ignored her, until they fell into the sea, and he said those words to her on the beach.

He said he was afraid she would leave, afraid she would disappear like she did three years ago.

He Hansheng was always reserved and taciturn; this was the first time he had so frankly expressed his thoughts to her.

"Why didn't you say so back then!" Mentioning the memorial tablet, Shen Suining felt a little guilty. After all, it was brought into the mansion when she got married. Although she herself did not believe in ghosts and gods, it did not mean that He Hansheng would not mind.

He Hansheng was silent for a moment, then stepped forward. "Ningning, I know you didn't marry me willingly, and you only stayed in the capital because you were worried about your father-in-law being alone here. You don't belong in Huadu, and you have the ability to leave this place of trouble at any time. Perhaps for you at the time, marrying me was just a delaying tactic out of necessity. But for me, no matter the reason, now that we're married, I just want to spend my life with you, cherish you, and love you. That's all."

"But then I realized that what I could give you was so limited, that I might not even have much time to spend with you. So even though I knew you wouldn't stay here for long, I... I couldn't say anything, because the greatest love I could give you was that you would be free forever."

He Hansheng's voice was hoarse, and his eyes were slightly red, as if he was trying his best to restrain himself. He reached out and took Shen Suining's hand, gently brushing the snow off her palm. He placed her cold hand on his neck, then wrapped it around his lips and breathed on it to warm it. He forced a very gentle smile onto his lips.

"Ningning, in our relationship, you always hold the initiative."