"What if Mother likes it?"

This question stumped Anran; she couldn't come up with an answer no matter how hard she thought about it.

"What would happen to my current father if I had a different father?"

Anzhi looked at the pens in the pen holder in front of him, feeling a mix of emotions. He didn't continue the topic and said, "Let's write first."

Liu Huan was completely unaware of the two children's inner thoughts. She knew that Su's mother didn't really want her to marry Chu Xuan, so she let her do whatever she wanted.

However, the child perceives this as acceptance.

An Ran had been sullen for two days, lost her appetite, and even her favorite martial arts manual was studied listlessly.

Su Yi was the same; he was completely distracted. Even when solving cases, he would probably have made a fool of himself if Chang Bai hadn't reminded him.

For several days in a row, Su's mother seemed very happy. One day after school...

An Ran deliberately avoided An Zhi and went to the yamen to find Su Yi.

Before she could even speak, tears were already streaming down her face when she saw Su Yi.

Su Yi's heart ached when he saw his daughter's large tears streaming down her face.

"Anran, what's wrong?"

An Ran cried and wanted to be held. Without hesitation, Su Yi picked her up, wiped away her tears, and comforted her, "What's wrong? Can you tell Daddy?"

An Ran sobbed, "Father, do you really not want us anymore?"

Su Yi felt a pang of pain in his heart upon hearing this. "Why do you say that?"

Anran cried and hiccuped for a long time before sadly saying, "My brother and I both know that you don't like us, which is why Mother is going to marry someone else."

Su Yi rested his chin on An Ran's head, stroking it affectionately.

She said in a hoarse voice, "Anran, Mother will not marry anyone else."

An Ran stood up and met his eyes. "Really?"

Su Yi solemnly said, "An Ran, I have always loved your mother and I am very happy with your existence. I swear on my life that I will protect you forever."

An Ran wiped away her tears and asked suspiciously, "Really?"

When asked again if it was true, Su Yi nodded without hesitation.

An Ran cupped his face in her hands and said, "Then how about you marry Mother? I don't want Mother to marry someone else."

Su Yi kissed her forehead and said softly, "Your mother and I were already married; we were husband and wife."

“Your mother was just joking; she won’t marry anyone else.”

Having received confirmation, An Ran wiped away her tears with her sleeve and climbed out of Su Yi's arms.

"Father, I'll head back now. Remember to come for dinner!"

Su Yi looked at the little girl who had been crying just moments before, but now ran out quickly without showing any sadness. He knew he had been deceived.

An Ran rushed back and immediately burst into An Zhi's room, shouting, "Brother!"

Anzhi glanced at her while looking at the book and replied, "Where are you coming from?"

An Ran shook her head and moved closer to him, "I'm going to find Daddy."

Anzhi put down the book in her hand and asked, "What did you say?"

An Ran whispered something in his ear, then said proudly, "Impressive, isn't it? Mommy will never marry someone else."

Anzhi nodded at his clumsy younger sister, "Very good, go do your homework."

He would sway his head while doing his homework, and he ate heartily at dinner, wanting a little bit of everything.

Liu Huan was used to her behavior and let her eat as much as she wanted as long as there were no peanuts.

Three days later, the matchmaker came again, this time without bringing betrothal gifts.

"I've come to ask the old lady and Madam Liu what they've decided. If they want it, the Chu family can come to present the betrothal gifts tomorrow."

The atmosphere suddenly froze, and An Ran ran up to the matchmaker, looking at her warily.

"Who are you?"

The matchmaker looked at the well-behaved child and said, "This must be the young lady. Oh, she's so well-behaved, just like Lady Liu."

"Don't worry, Lord Chu is quite handsome, so your child will definitely be good too."

Before anyone could say anything, Anran burst into tears, "Waaaaah, I don't want to!"

The sound was so loud it cracked, and while crying, she sat down on the ground, quite solidly.

Seeing this, Su's mother felt distressed and quickly went to pull the person up, "What happened? Get up quickly."

An Ran broke free from her hand and rolled on the ground, crying, "I don't want to! I don't want to! I don't want to!"

Several questions left the matchmaker completely bewildered. "What... what's wrong with Miss?"

Liu Huan and Anzhi watched her performance quietly, while Su's parents were heartbroken and squatted on the ground, constantly comforting her.

Suddenly, An Ran reached out to Su Yi beside her, "I want Daddy to hold me."

The matchmaker was stunned. Wasn't it said that Liu's husband had passed away? Who is this "father"?

Su Yi slowly stood up, squatted down, picked up An Ran, patted the dust off her, and carried her outside without even glancing at the others.

Su's mother smiled awkwardly, "This is my son."

Before the matchmaker could even look away, she saw the girl pointing at the departing figure and asking, "Did the young lady call him 'father'?"

Liu Huan seemed to suddenly realize something and said, "Oh, this is her father."

The matchmaker slapped her thigh, "No, that's Lady Liu's..." She didn't say the word "husband".

Su's mother said, "They divorced a long time ago."

The matchmaker was a little confused. Since that man was the old lady's son, why would he help Lady Liu talk about coal?

"Then this..."

Su's mother pulled her along and led her outside, saying, "Sister, let's talk as we walk."

Liu Huan shook his head helplessly as he watched the two figures disappear. They really were having a game.

After seeing off the matchmaker, Su's mother returned happily, only to realize that Anran was crying. She called over a maid and said, "Go and see where the Second Master and Miss have gone."

Before the maid had even left, Su Yi returned carrying the child, who had stopped crying but whose eyes were still red.

Su's mother was heartbroken. "Don't cry, Xiao Bao. Grandma will make you something delicious in a little while."

Su Yi put the child down and looked at Liu Huan, saying, "Come in for a moment."

Upon hearing this, Anzhi glanced at the two of them and then turned back to look at Anran, who was making a fool of herself.

After Liu Huan went inside, Su Yi asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Liu Huan feigned ignorance, "What do you mean, what are you thinking?"

"Is it about today's matter, or are you willing to do so?"

These words, coupled with his expressionless face, made Liu Huan inexplicably angry. "Why can't I be willing? We've been unrelated for a long time, so what's wrong with that?"

Su Yi was tongue-tied and couldn't say anything at the moment.

Liu Huan turned around and said, "You can remarry, and I didn't say anything."

"You know I won't..."

Liu Huan suddenly choked up, "You can't do anything, of course you can't do anything."

The double entendre caused a silence to fall between the two of them. Su Yi lowered his voice and said, "I'll go back first."

The two parted on bad terms again, and Su's mother sighed helplessly, realizing that she had no choice but to take drastic measures.

Two days later, the matchmaker arrived again with gifts, this time including Chu Xuan, and the betrothal gifts were even more abundant than before.

Changbai immediately ran to report, "Master, the matchmaker is here again, and Chu Xuan has gone with her."

Su Yi put down the memorial. The river had risen and flooded several villages downstream. He had been dealing with this matter for the past few days.

My home was burgled again; it's truly a case of internal and external troubles.

The Liu family and Chu Xuan had been restless all along. Last night, Old Madam Chu found him and told him that she had found him a satisfactory marriage.

Despite his reluctance, he patiently listened until Liu Huan was mentioned, at which point his mind went blank. How could it be her?

He suppressed his doubts and a little bit of joy, and didn't sleep well all night. It wasn't until the matchmaker came in the morning to ask him to change into a festive long gown and carried the betrothal gifts that he suddenly came to his senses. It turned out that he really was going to the Liu family.

Now that he's arrived, he doesn't dare look the Su family in the eye, and he feels even more annoyed that he shouldn't have come.

He also understood why Su Yi disliked him; he had long known about the relationship between Liu Huan and Su Yi, and he also knew that An Zhi and An Ran were their children.

He no longer has any chance of marrying her.

"Madam Su, I've brought him here. Look at him, he's quite a fine young man."

Looking at Chu Xuan's appearance, Su's mother was quite satisfied. If there was really no possibility between the two, this marriage might really be a beautiful story.

"Quickly, come inside and sit down."

Liu Huan was also incredulous when she saw Chu Xuan, not understanding why the matchmaker had brought him here.

Quietly calling Su's mother aside, he asked, "Mother, are you serious?"

"I...I didn't ask her to bring him here." Mother Su also looked embarrassed. She had only told the matchmaker to bring the betrothal gifts as a formality, but she never expected that Chu Xuan would be brought along as well.

Since everyone has arrived, it's impossible to send them away. We'll have the maids serve them good tea and treat them well.

Chu Xuan was unusually shy and bashful when he first met the Su family.

Liu Huan accompanied him, drinking tea and chatting casually about everyday matters.

Su's mother led the matchmaker to the next room. "Young lady, what's going on here?"

The matchmaker smiled knowingly, "Madam, don't get agitated. I brought Lord Chu here just to go through the motions. I'll take him back in a bit and just say that Madam Su didn't take a liking to him."

Su's mother was furious. "No, it's not that we look down on them, you know we have no such plans."

The matchmaker didn't care at all. "Oh, don't worry. It just so happens that I'm leaving and won't be staying in Nanchang County afterward. I'll take on the role of the bad guy. Just don't forget what you promised me, Madam."

"You really are..." Su's mother was angry, but considering that this matter was also related to her, she couldn't scold her.

"Alright, I've taken care of this for you."

Liu Huan and Chu Xuan chatted for a while. Chu Xuan, as a responsible man, took the matter aside, saying, "My mother has caused you trouble. I will explain it to her when I get back. Please don't feel embarrassed."

Liu Huan genuinely felt that Chu Xuan was a good person, it was just that he had a senile mother and a rebellious child at home.

"Brother Chu, I truly hope you can be happy, but fate is such a thing..."

Chu Xuan smiled wryly, "I understand. Why isn't Lord Su home?"

Liu Huan looked around but didn't see anyone, so she replied, "I don't know where they went. They're probably busy with official duties."

An Ran still liked Chu Xuan very much and stayed by his side, showing concern for him. When he saw Su's mother coming over, he greeted her and prepared to leave.

Su's mother felt very embarrassed, realizing that she had inadvertently damaged someone's reputation while testing her son.

"Have some food before you go, it'll be ready soon."

Chu Xuan politely shook his head to indicate that he didn't need the gifts and instructed his servants to take all the betrothal gifts back with them.

The moment the Liu family's door closed, he felt a sense of emptiness, but also a sense of relief. A gentleman does not force others to do what is difficult for them, nor does he take away what others like.

He believed that he was just late, and that sometimes feelings do have a first-come, first-served order.

The matchmaker happily left with the large red envelope given to her by Su's mother, not forgetting to add, "Madam, please feel free to contact me if you need anything else."

After seeing the person off, Su's mother finally felt relieved. She knew she could never do such a despicable thing again.

She quietly asked the servant beside her, "Where is your master?"

The servant shook his head. "My lord went out this morning and hasn't come back. I don't know where he is."

Su's mother felt a slight sense of disappointment; it seemed there was truly no room for maneuver.

"Alright, you all go ahead and get busy." She dismissed everyone in a huff, then took Anzhi and Anran out for a stroll. She was too lazy to care about her children and grandchildren; they had their own lives to live.

Su Yi didn't come home for several days. At first, Su's mother didn't care, but on the third day, she was so anxious that her mouth was bubbling. "What's wrong with this person? Why is he never home?"

After their honeymoon, Qiuju and Ermo went back to their respective jobs, and Ermo hadn't been home for several days.

"I heard that it rained for several days upstream from the dock, and the villages on both sides were flooded. Master has been leading people to deal with this matter these past few days."

Upon hearing this, Su's mother was alarmed. "Is it that serious? Where did you eat?"

In contrast to his mother's worries, Su's father seemed indifferent, saying, "How could a grown man not have food? Don't overthink things, and don't distract him all the time."

Su's mother was in the wrong; she just wanted to see the two of them get along better.

Liu Huan knew about this. Although it didn't rain in Nanchang County, it rained heavily in other places, and it seemed that people had drowned.

The pier is very shallow, and the downstream area will be flooded if there is even a little rain. This has been the case for hundreds of years.

Su Yi stood on both sides of the river, his clothes already soaked by the rain, directing his soldiers to evacuate people and grain.

Finally, after the rain stopped and all the flooded villages were properly surveyed and resettled, Su Yi returned to the prefectural government.

When Su's mother learned that her son had returned, she was heartbroken and immediately ordered someone to boil water and cook a meal.

As Su's mother took off his clothes, she nagged, "You, no matter how busy you are, you should come back and eat something before you go. Don't you know how worried your mother is if you don't come back day and night?"

Su Yi shook his head wearily, "Mother, let me rest for a while."

"I've already asked someone to boil some water. Wash up, eat something, and then go to sleep."

Su Yi waved his hand, he was so sleepy that he fell asleep on the bed, and even his mother helped him take off his shoes.

Just as Liu Huan came over, Su's mother had already covered him with a blanket.

He took Liu Huan out and closed the door. "She's too tired and fell asleep. Let her sleep."

Liu Huan looked at the food that had just been delivered with some concern, "Why haven't you eaten anything?"

Su's mother glanced at the room with concern, "He said he wanted to sleep and wouldn't eat. Let him sleep, but we can't wake him up no matter how much we call him."

The next day, Liu Huan came looking for him, only to find the door still tightly closed. When she asked, she learned that Su Yi had never come out.

Liu Huan's heart tightened as she opened the door, revealing Su Yi lying unconscious inside the bed curtains, his cheeks flushed.

"Stone, wake up."

When it touched his face, it was frighteningly hot.

After shaking the person in bed for a while, they finally opened their eyes and the first thing they did was smile, "You're here! You haven't come to see me in so long."

Liu Huan was stunned; she felt that something was off about what he had said.

The person on the bed got up and hugged her tightly, closing their eyes and murmuring, "I missed you so much."

Liu Huan was stunned; she didn't know who Su Yi was thinking of while he was holding her.