Qiao Zhiyi paused for a moment, then chuckled softly.
"Little cousin, you're so clever. But if it were someone else, Mother definitely wouldn't believe you if you brought up something that's not even real yet."
"Of course, it depends on who says that."
Qiao Zhiyi smiled and said, "After I've packed my things, I'll go with my mother to say goodbye to Madam Duan."
Meanwhile, Madam Duan was being summoned by her son to investigate Qiao Zhiyi's matter.
Zhang never expected that things would be exposed so easily. Knowing she was in the wrong, she resorted to crying, making a scene, and threatening suicide.
"Oh dear, I don't want to live anymore. Who am I doing all this for? I've been waiting for you to make something of yourself, haven't I?
Duan Qi coldly watched as Zhang Shi stood on a stool, clutching a white silk ribbon, acting as if she were about to die.
"Mom, don't give me that. I won't let this go unless you apologize to Zhiyi and ask for her forgiveness."
Zhang glared at Duan Qi and shrieked, "I won't let this go! What do you want? You think you can kill me? The Qiao family's status as peasants is no match for ours. What's wrong with me not wanting her to come in?"
You've heard about what happened to the Qiao family, haven't you? They lost their house, they lost everything, and they're still living with their daughter. If they marry her, who will suffer in the future? It'll be our family, won't it?
When the Qiao family comes knocking on our door to beg for money, do you think our Duan family can afford to feed so many mouths?
Jincheng is now a refugee zone, and everyone despises it. You're such a fool, eagerly trying to marry someone's daughter.
If you dare to marry a woman from Jincheng today, you'll be drowned in spit tomorrow!
Don't say that girl is of no help to your career, but rather an obstacle. What kind of place is Jincheng? Jincheng is no longer part of Tianqi's territory. It's like you've married a foreign woman, a peasant who jumped out of a refugee slum.
If you marry her, will that bring glory to your family? Or will it bring shame to the Duan family?
If you don't want to live in this Baicheng area and are just going to wallow in your own misery, I don't want to suffer with you. We finally have a life like this today, so why are you stupidly rolling downhill? Are you out of your mind?
Let me tell you, your grandparents have tacitly approved of this. I'm doing this for the sake of the Duan family.
Just look around our household, who would be happy for you to marry that girl?
On the other hand, what's wrong with Miss Cui the Second? She's not ugly, is she? She's a pretty girl with a good temper, gentle and charming. And what's her status? She's a girl from a prestigious family.
I went to such great lengths to pull you up, why did you have to be so useless and slide down?
"Are you so selfish, disregarding the entire Duan family for your own sake?"
Duan Qi didn't hear a word of what came before, but Zhang's last words made him pause for a moment.
His desire to marry Zhiyi was not solely due to the childhood betrothal, nor was it merely to fulfill a marriage agreement. Rather, it stemmed from his genuine affection for Zhiyi, which fueled his desire to marry her as soon as possible.
As for the second daughter of the Cui family, he truly never had any feelings for her; he did not like her.
"Mother, come down."
"I'm not going down. If you don't get this straight today, or if you don't settle things with this girl Qiao, I'm not going down. I'll really die for you."
"I'll lie here, even if I become a ghost, I'll still have to see if you can still marry this girl into the family." With that, Zhang Shi tied a tight knot in the white silk and put it around her neck without hesitation.
Duan Qi frowned, his head aching. "Mother, what are you doing? This is clearly your fault. How can you do something like this and still have the nerve to be so self-righteous?"
"You almost ruined Zhiyi's reputation. She's such a good girl. Even if she doesn't marry me, if you had defiled her, the Qiao family would never have let you off the hook." Duan Qi said through gritted teeth. How could his mother have come up with such a vicious scheme to harm someone?
I couldn't help but feel fortunate that I arrived in time.
If I had gone any later than usual, unless it was a day off, the consequences would have been...
Zhiyi will hate the Duan family to death.
His relationship with Zhiyi is over.
The more Duan Qi thought about it, the more frightened he became, and his voice sounded a little impatient.
“Mother, if you don’t come down, you can just hang here by yourself. I will personally give Zhiyi an explanation. This marriage is settled.”
Duan Qi left after saying that, then turned and walked away.
Is it settled?
That won't do.
Upon hearing this, Zhang panicked and hurriedly lunged down to grab Duan Qi. However, she was careless and realized that she was wearing a white silk ribbon around her neck. In her haste to lunge down, she got caught on the ribbon, and the stool was overturned.
Duan Qi didn't notice Zhang's movements behind him; he was so angry that he left the outer room without looking back.
He knew his mother was just putting on an act for him, what was this talk of threatening suicide?
He would never do something like courting death; he wouldn't dare even if you gave him the guts.
As soon as Duan Qiren stepped out of the courtyard, he bumped into Yang Shi and Qiao Zhiyi, who were coming towards him, and was momentarily stunned.
"Zhiyi? What brings you here?"
Qiao Zhiyi smiled gently at Duan Qi, her voice mild, and she was much calmer than when she faced Duan Qi before.
“My mother and I have come to say goodbye to Madam Duan. We are leaving here and going back.”
Duan Qi was taken aback, as if he thought he had misheard. "Zhiyi, what are you saying?"
"I'm so sorry to have bothered you here for so long, Brother Duan Qi. Our fate is not meant to be. From now on, let's wish each other well."
Madam Yang changed her mind. She no longer wanted her daughter to enter the Duan family, so she naturally didn't plan to let her daughter have much contact with Duan Qi. She was much colder than usual, and when she saw Duan Qi, she didn't fawn over him or try to get close to him. She just kept a cold face and coughed lightly.
"Why waste words with this kid? Just go in and tell him we're leaving."
Seeing Yang's cold face, Duan Qi assumed that Qiao Zhiyi had already told Yang about the matter, which was why her attitude towards him had changed so drastically. It was only natural for her to be angry in the face of such a situation.
If it were someone else's daughter who was schemed against and almost ruined her reputation, would she still be able to give them a pleasant look?
Duan Qi gave Yang apologetic smile and said, "Aunt Qiao, I will give Zhiyi an explanation for what happened. I will get engaged to her right away and marry her."
Now it was Yang's turn to be stunned. She looked up at Duan Qi and wondered why the boy's attitude had suddenly become so resolute.
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