Chapter 22
Young master disagrees with divorce.
"Hmm..."
When Lu Qin woke up groggily, she found that it was already bright daylight, with sunshine and lingering cloud shadows.
She instinctively looked for Hao Jingshi, but when she turned her head to the side, she didn't see Hao Jingshi sitting on the edge of the bed. Instead, she saw a girl tilting her head and observing her.
The girl looked to be in her prime, her light purple dress delicate and playful. Beneath her long eyelashes, her eyes blinked brightly, making her incredibly lively and endearing.
"Huh?" Seeing that she was awake, the girl's eyes lit up. She sat up and darted to the door in a flash, calling out, "Sister-in-law is awake! Sister-in-law is awake! Big brother! Ling'er! Come here quickly! Sister-in-law is awake!"
She hopped around like a cheerful sparrow, waving her hands repeatedly, and soon attracted Hao Jingshi and Ling'er over.
"Jinglan, you're being silly again." Hao Jingshi's voice came from outside, sounding very displeased. "I've already told you not to come in. Your sister-in-law is recovering from her injuries. If you keep doing this, I'll tell Mother to send you to a private tutor again, and you won't have to come back for three or five years."
"I'm not going! I'm not going!" Hao Jinglan blurted out anxiously, pointing forcefully into the house. "Big brother, I really'm not lying to you this time! Go and see for yourself! I'd be a dog if I lied! It's true!"
Hearing the commotion outside, Lu Qin held her head and tried to sit up, but a sudden, sharp pain shot through the back of her head, and she fell back down.
She gasped, speechless with pain, and then heard Ling'er outside laughing, "Second Miss, stop tormenting the young master. You've called him at least ten times these past few days, and every time you said it was true, but in the end, it was never true."
"Really, really, you guys go and see!" Hao Jinglan said firmly. "Big brother, I swear! I would never lie to you!"
Seeing her speak with such conviction, Hao Jingshi and Ling'er wavered and entered the room one after the other. As soon as they entered, they saw Lu Qin lying motionless on the bed with her brows furrowed.
Hao Jingshi's face fell instantly. He turned to look at Hao Jinglan, and Ling'er also looked slightly disappointed.
Before he could even reprimand her, Hao Jinglan rushed in like a whirlwind, shouting her innocence: "Impossible! Impossible! My sister-in-law really woke up just now! She really did wake up! I've been watching over her the whole time, how could this happen!"
"Ling'er, take the Second Miss away and don't let her come in and cause trouble again." Hao Jingshi ignored her explanation, crossed his arms, and gave her the order to leave.
Ling'er responded and went forward to invite her, but Hao Jinglan didn't cooperate and instead clung to her like a leech.
She plopped down on the edge of the bed, leaned over Lu Qin, and hugged her tightly, saying, "I'm not leaving. I want to stay here with you, sister-in-law. I just love you, sister-in-law. You're so beautiful!"
"..."
Although Hao Jinglan wasn't heavy, she still had some weight on her body. Lu Qin's body, which had just been hit by the plaque, couldn't withstand it, and she winced in pain again.
She weakly opened her eyes, and feebly raised her hand, trying to grab Hao Jingshi's sleeve: "Husband..."
When she suddenly opened her eyes and spoke, the three people present were stunned.
Ling'er was the first to react: "Young Madam, Young Madam is awake!"
In the next instant, Hao Jinglan jumped off the bed like a spring, muttering, "Sister-in-law, did I hurt you?" Ling'er quickly ran out to report to the master and the old lady.
Hao Jingshi rushed to the bedside to take her pulse and examined Lu Qin's wound from top to bottom.
Seeing her elder brother becoming flustered, Hao Jinglan found it amusing and stood aside to observe. Hao Jingshi noticed and casually sent her away, saying, "Sister-in-law is hungry, go and get her something to eat."
Hao Jinglan said "Oh" and ran out.
Lu Qin glanced at Hao Jingshi a few times. At this moment, he was not happy because she had woken up. Instead, he seemed a little worried and nervous, and his fingers kept sliding back and forth on her pulse.
She felt an itch on her hands, and then she remembered the two shadows she had seen last night, her heart pounding like a deer.
"Husband." Taking advantage of the fact that only the two of them were left in the room, Lu Qin pretended to be weak and said, "You, you come closer."
Hao Jingshi glanced at her, silently did as she was told, and continued to listen to her pulse.
Lu Qin simply shook off his hand, raised her arms as if to hug him: "Closer, please."
"I'm taking your pulse, what are you doing causing trouble? Don't you want to live?" Hao Jingshi pressed her raised hand back down, and muttered at the end, "Idiot, your head is about to be smashed."
He placed his fingers on her pulse again, listening intently. Lu Qin pouted, "He risked his life to save you, and you talk to him like this? You have no conscience."
Hao Jingshi frowned: "Do I need you to save me? Even if I get hit a hundred times, I won't fall apart. If you mess around again next time, I won't help you."
"Oh." Lu Qin turned her head and pulled her hand away. "Then husband, you can leave. There's no need to treat me anymore. It will save you trouble. Just let me fend for myself."
Hao Jingshi remained silent, then immediately pulled her arm back and continued taking her pulse.
Lu Qin drew another one: "After I die, will my husband..."
Hao Jingshi pulled him back and interrupted him, "Shut up! What do you mean by 'die'? You're not allowed to die, and I won't let you die either."
Although he spoke decisively, Lu Qin sensed that when he said the word "death," the hand that was taking his pulse trembled slightly, as if caused by fear.
She remained motionless, and it seems he was genuinely frightened when he saw her being knocked unconscious.
The air was quiet for a moment. Hao Jingshi had finished taking the pulse and finally breathed a sigh of relief as he withdrew his hand, his expression much more relaxed.
Lu Qin raised her arms again: "Then, my husband, may we come closer now?"
Hao Jingshi leaned forward suspiciously: "What?"
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Qin quickly hooked her arms around the back of his neck and pulled him into her embrace.
Caught off guard, Hao Jingshi suddenly lunged downwards, pressing his body tightly against hers, their eyes meeting in an instant.
His eyes widened slightly, first with surprise, then with a hint of embarrassment. He turned his face away, looking flustered, and said, "What, what are you doing?"
Lu Qin hugged him tighter and teased, "Nothing much, my husband's been sulking with me and hasn't been home for a while. Can't I be affectionate with my husband?"
Hao Jingshi was practically stammering, "In broad daylight, don't talk nonsense."
"My lord means we have to wait until tonight, right?" Lu Qin said in a low voice, as if she understood. "Okay, my lord, you must go back to the manor to sleep tonight, I'll be waiting."
"You, you, I, I..."
Just as Hao Jingshi was stammering and unable to speak a complete sentence, Hao Jinglan returned with a plate of rice cakes. Seeing the two of them embracing, she opened her mouth wide and let out a "Wow!"
Upon recalling their conversation, Hao Jingshi and Lu Qin froze on the spot as if petrified, their cheeks flushed crimson.
Hao Jinglan: "Sister-in-law, your face is so red. It must be because my older brother hit you, right? My older brother has a bad temper and is always resorting to violence. But don't be afraid of him. Just hit him as hard as you can. If you can't beat him, call me and I'll hit him with you."
"..."
Lu Qin smiled awkwardly and said okay. After holding it in for a while, Hao Jingshi said, "Jinglan, put your things down and go outside for a while. Don't bother your sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law didn't say she was annoyed with me!" Hao Jinglan said, slamming the plate of snacks on the table indignantly. "Big brother, don't be stingy. Go outside for a while and let sister-in-law play with me for a bit."
"What's the point of playing? She's not fully recovered yet and needs to rest. We can play later."
"Then why are you clinging to your sister-in-law? You see her every day, while I've only been home for a few days and haven't even seen her yet! Besides, you're about to take a new sister-in-law, can't you go out and have fun with your new sister-in-law?"
"……………………"
For a moment, the air fell into an absolute silence.
Seeing that Lu Qin had released her grip on him, Hao Jingshi straightened up, his face darkening: "Who told you I was going to take a new sister-in-law?"
Hao Jinglan blinked her innocent eyes and said, "That's what Mother said."
"Go away, go away." Hao Jingshi simply stood up and pushed her out. "Three men can make a tiger. You can't just talk nonsense without any evidence. Didn't your master teach you that?"
"I'm not lying, mmm..."
Hao Jinglan tried to explain, but Hao Jingshi covered her mouth, carried her out, and handed her to a maid.
He hurriedly returned to the house, sat down next to Lu Qin, and found that Lu Qin was visibly depressed.
Jinglan, that girl...
It must be that my mother was arranging for her to take a concubine. She mentioned it to her, and she remembered it and then blurted it out so bluntly.
She was unaware that the two of them had quarreled over this, and it wasn't until today that the misunderstanding was cleared up and things calmed down.
For a moment, Hao Jingshi felt that anything he said now would be useless, so he was even more depressed than Lu Qin.
"So this is what my husband was busy with while I was unconscious," Lu Qin said disappointedly. "I thought that my husband had at least a little bit of affection for me, but it turns out that he didn't care about me at all. It was all just wishful thinking on my part."
Upon hearing this, Hao Jingshi opened his mouth in a panic: "No..."
"You can leave now."
Lu Qin interrupted him, turning over and lying down without even blinking.
“I was wrong. I didn’t expect that even if I risked my life to save you, my husband would still be unmoved and would even distance himself from me and be suspicious of me. Since that’s the case, I will not bother you anymore. Please leave.”
"Don't listen to Jinglan's nonsense," Hao Jingshi blurted out. "She..."
“Jinglan is simple-minded and wouldn’t lie. I understand what Mother means, so you don’t need to explain.” Lu Qin continued calmly, “My husband and I have been in a cold war for a long time, and he still refuses to return to the manor. There’s no need to say anything more. Since you can’t tolerate me, let’s get a divorce. Anyway, I can’t serve you well, I have no children, and I’ve ruined the clothing shop. I’m not worthy to stay in the Hao manor…”
"Nonsense!"
Enraged by her repeated retorts, Hao Jingshi raised his voice several octaves and blurted out, "Who's the heartless one here? You won't listen to a word of my explanation, you don't even care about our marital bond, and you're already talking about divorce!"
As he spoke, he reached out and pinched her chin, forcing her to face him. His words were faster than raindrops falling in a downpour, pattering into her ears.
"I misunderstood you before and neglected you, but wasn't that because you always used sweet words to deceive me! I just wanted to know if your feelings were real or not, but you hesitated and stammered. How could I not be heartbroken!"
"The matter with the clothing shop was your brother's fault. If anyone dares to say anything against you, I'll be the first to beat them up! As for offspring, I don't care. Mother will always find a way to deal with that! I said I'd take a concubine just to spite you! To spite you! I don't want anyone else, I only want you!"
"Let me tell you, Lu Qin, I don't care if you're sincere or not! Even if you don't like it, I've already married you. You're mine in life and in death, and I'll bury you with me!"
"Anyway, don't even think about getting a divorce. I don't agree to it, do you understand?"
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