On the other side, Yan Menghuai, who had also received the news, was huddled in a corner. She was wearing a red wedding dress, and her long, black, shiny hair was disheveled, obscuring her panicked eyes. Her body trembled, and her words were incoherent.
"It wasn't me, I didn't poison her, it was him, he killed you! It wasn't me, I'm innocent! I'm your cousin, how could I kill you? I just wanted to join you..."
Holding the food, Yan's mother had just opened the door when she saw her daughter huddled in a corner, muttering to herself like a madwoman. She was stunned for a while before slowly walking in.
"Huai'er, let's eat first, don't go hungry."
Looking at her daughter's appearance, Mother Yan sighed, "Your wedding day is in three days. Although Master Yang is a bit older than you, it's his first time getting married, and his family is wealthy. After you marry him, you can just enjoy your life. There's nothing wrong with that."
"Master Wen..."
"Just stop thinking about it. Don't demean yourself. If you recover, he'll be happier to see you and will naturally treat you better."
She really didn't know what to do.
All I can do is try my best to find a good home for my daughter.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing this, Yan Menghuai suddenly snapped out of her daze, grabbed her mother's hand, raised her head, and revealed her almost obsessive eyes: "Mother, I didn't poison her."
“The murderer is not me, it is him, it is Wen Hao, he killed his wife.”
“That night, besides me in that new house, there was only Wen Hao. Who else could it be but him? I saw Yan Li die in his arms with my own eyes, watched her breathe her last, and saw him keep it a secret from everyone.”
"He doesn't love Yan Li at all, he doesn't!"
Mother Yan was quite frightened by these words. After realizing what was happening, she immediately covered her mouth with her other hand. "Huai'er, you can't talk nonsense like that. Mother knows you didn't poison her. You stay home and wait a few days. Good days are coming soon."
"These things have nothing to do with you anymore, Huai'er. Can we just live our own lives from now on?"
"Please, Mother, I'm begging you."
But how could Yan Menghuai listen? She stared intently at her loved ones, then suddenly burst into laughter, picked up the food handed to her, and threw it to the ground with lightning speed. "I will not marry that man."
"Do you think I'll give in just because you've locked me up?"
"Mother, I am a human being, not an animal. I will never marry anyone but him in this life."
Seeing that her daughter was still fixated on Wen Hao, Yan's mother was truly at her wit's end. Looking at her, she continued earnestly:
"Huai'er, why don't you understand? Regardless of whether Yan Li is there or not, that Lord Wen would never marry you. You always say you like him, but does he like you?"
"Listen to your mother's advice, you must marry someone who loves you, otherwise you will get nothing."
Looking at the broken bowl, Yan's mother pulled her hand away from Yan Menghuai's. "Think carefully about what your mother said. You are the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to. No matter what, I hope you can live a good life and have someone who cares for you in the future."
Yan Menghuai lowered her head again and remained silent.
Seeing her like this, Mother Yan sighed again and walked away, turning back every few steps. Just as she was about to leave the room, she suddenly heard two words very clearly.
"I'll marry him!"
Yan Menghuai seemed to have been truly persuaded by her mother's words. Looking at her mother, who was about to lock the door again, she said, "Mother, I'll listen to you. I'll marry him. Can you please stop locking me up?"
Mother Yan was stunned. She stared at Yan Menghuai in front of her for a while before she realized what she had said. The bitterness in her eyes gradually dissipated.
"Alright, alright, Mother won't lock it," although Yan's mother found Yan Menghuai's sudden change of heart strange, after much hesitation, her maternal love prevailed over reason:
"I'm so happy that you understand."
Upon hearing this, Yan Menghuai lowered her head again, breathed a sigh of relief, and did not rush out.
She can't rush things now; she should wait until it gets dark.
...
Several days later, the fact that Wen Hao was raising a ghost child could no longer be kept a secret. It became a topic of discussion among the people on the streets and alleys. Some of the bolder ones even climbed over the walls of the Yan residence at night, determined to see if the rumored ghost really existed.
They'd seen plenty of living and dead people, but ghosts were something they'd never actually seen before.
To their surprise, instead of seeing a ghost, they were quite frightened by the scene of Wen Hao talking to himself and laughing foolishly at the air.
What kind of evil spirit is this? It's obvious that this gentleman misses his deceased wife too much and has fallen ill with lovesickness. He's gone mad with longing.
When Yan Li saw the little head pop up on the wall again, she couldn't help but grab Wen Hao's hair and whisper in his ear, "If this keeps up, you'll soon become a monkey in a cage."
"So what, Ah Li? You know I never care about these things." Wen Hao scooped Yan Li up from his lap and placed her on the swing next to him.
He stood to the side, his hand on the rope to which the swing was attached, and slowly pushed it.
Just like that day many years ago.
"..." Yan Li paused for a moment, looking at her legs swinging with the swing, and finally said, "But you're not like a normal person."
"How could Ah Li think that someone who can raise a ghost child would be a normal person?"
Yan Li: "..." It seems to make sense.
Just when she thought the night would be peaceful again, a series of footsteps, sometimes deep and sometimes shallow, approached. When Yan Li and Wen Hao looked up,
Li Xiangrong stood there, her face pale.
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