Han's mother had finished lunch and was doing needlework in the yard. The gate was not closed, and someone came in unexpectedly and knelt down in front of her, which startled her.
Upon recognizing the person as her son-in-law, she quickly stepped forward and helped him up.
"Son-in-law Ting, what are you doing? Get up quickly..."
When Fan Ting saw that Han's mother still called him son-in-law, his eyes flickered. He thought to himself that it seemed that Han's mother did not know that her daughter Han Yiyi had been divorced by him. Therefore, when Han's mother helped him up, he did not get up, but instead showed a pained expression.
Han's mother was indeed unaware that Han Yiyi had been divorced. This was because Han Yiyi's elder brother and sister-in-law deliberately kept it from her, fearing that if she found out, they would bring Han Yiyi, the abandoned woman, back to the Han family.
When Han's mother saw that Fan Ting looked pained and refused to get up, she was alarmed, thinking that something bad had happened to her daughter, and hurriedly asked.
"What, what happened? But, what happened to her...?"
"No, Mother, don't worry. It was me. I did something that upset Yi Yi, so she took the two children and left the Fan family to live elsewhere. No matter how much I begged her, she refused to come back to the Fan family with me. That's why I came here to ask you to help me persuade her to come back to the Fan family with the children. I promise I will make sure the three of them live a good life in the future..."
Hearing Fan Ting's words, Han's mother felt somewhat relieved, but her brows furrowed, and she asked.
"what is going on?".
"Mother, it's all my fault, but I did it because I didn't want Yi Yi to suffer too much..."
"As you know, my father passed away before I married Yi Yi, and my mother is old. People say that scholars are useless. Besides studying, I am good for nothing. The money my father left behind was used to give to Yi Yi as a betrothal gift..."
As Fan Ting spoke, he deliberately glanced at the Han family's mud-brick house. Han's mother looked slightly uncomfortable upon seeing this, and then Fan Ting continued.
"Therefore, all these years, Yi Yi has been embroidering day and night so that I could study. I couldn't bear to see her working so hard, but I couldn't help her. Just then, a family surnamed Ye in town said they were willing to support my studies, but on one condition: that I marry their daughter. When I thought of Yi Yi's bloodshot eyes every day, I felt sad and agreed..."
At this point, Fan Ting glanced at Han's mother's expression and, seeing that she looked unwell, quickly continued.
"But I swear, the only one I love in my heart is your daughter. I don't want her to suffer so much for me every day. Besides, even if that woman were to marry into the family, she would only be a concubine. But who knew that Yi Yi would be so stubborn and actually ask to be divorced and leave with her children? I thought she was just being temperamental and would come back after a while, so I foolishly agreed. Now so much time has passed, and I have begged her to come back, but she still hasn't returned. She lives outside with her two children. I am a man, and now I am a scholar, so it doesn't matter to me. But I am really worried about her, a woman with two children. That's why I wanted to ask my mother to help me persuade her to come back to the Fan family with me..."
When Han's mother heard that Fan Ting had already become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the county level), her eyes lit up. As for the other things Fan Ting mentioned, she put them aside. In her opinion, scholars were capable, and Xiucai was even more so. If he could get an official position in the future, the Han family would benefit from it.
As for Fan Ting's claim that he had married another woman, she didn't think it mattered at all. She thought, "Look at the wealthy officials, aren't they all married with multiple wives and concubines? As long as my daughter is the legal wife, that's fine."
“I can persuade her to go back to the Fan family with you, but you have to promise me that you will treat her well in the future and guarantee that she will always be your legal wife…”
Hearing Han's mother's words, Fan Ting was overjoyed and quickly made a promise.
“Of course, I, Fan Ting, swear that I originally married that woman because I didn’t want Yi Yi to suffer so much. No matter what, my love for Yi Yi will always be the most…”
As the two were talking, three people walked in from outside. When the man and woman saw Fan Ting, they first looked at each other, and then they both frowned.
The visitors were Han Yiyi's elder brother and sister-in-law, as well as their son, Han Xiaoding.
The two men naturally knew that Han Yiyi had been divorced, but they had only heard about it and did not know the reason. They thought that Han Yiyi had done something wrong to be divorced. Now that they saw Fan Ting coming over, they assumed that he was here because of the betrothal gifts from back then, and their faces turned very ugly.
But when they learned that Fan Ting's purpose was to persuade Han's mother to convince Han Yiyi to return to the Fan family, and that Fan Ting was now a scholar, the two immediately put on a fawning expression.
"Brother-in-law, don't worry. You can rest assured that this matter is in our hands. We will definitely make that brat obediently come back to the Fan family with you..."
Upon hearing the Han family's attitude, Fan Ting's eyes were filled with triumphant joy.
"Then I'll stay here and thank Mother, and my elder brother and sister-in-law. It's getting late, so I'll head back now..."
Before coming, Fan Ting knew this would be the outcome. It was because Han's mother valued scholars the most. As for his elder brother and sister-in-law, they were just two opportunistic people. Knowing that he was now a scholar, they thought they would benefit from his success and would do their best to help him.
After leaving the Han family, Fan Ting couldn't help but smile as he thought about Han Yiyi's current appearance, the large courtyard, and the business of Tongyunlai Restaurant.
Meanwhile, Han Yiyi, who was holed up in her room thinking about what to cook for dinner, had no idea that Fan Ting would have the audacity to go to the original owner's family and fabricate such a grand and respectable reason for the original owner's divorce.
As the weather gets colder, Han Yiyi started to think that perhaps she could go to the blacksmith shop in town tomorrow and make a hot pot with two separate compartments.
So the next morning, after Han Yi finished breakfast, dressed the two little ones in the new clothes she had just made, and prepared to take the three of them to town. But as soon as she opened the gate, she saw several people standing at the door.
The one standing at the very front was slightly raising his hand, as if he wanted to knock on the door. When Han Yi spoke, he immediately put on a big smile. Who else could this person be but Fan Ting?
Following behind were the original owner's mother, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew.
Upon seeing the group, Han Yiyi frowned. Before she could speak, she heard Fan Ting looking at her with a pitiful expression.
"Yiyi, please forgive me, okay? I did this because I didn't want you to suffer too much. I've already promised my mother-in-law and brother-in-law that I will treat you and the three of you well from now on. No matter what, you will always be my wife..."
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