Chapter 32: It's obvious you've fallen for him, isn't it?
Upon hearing Shen Qingci's reply, Huo Yunzhan loosened his clenched fist slightly, which had been held tightly in anger. He almost immediately turned to look at Madam Wang: "Did you hear that? She doesn't want to marry! Why don't you get out of here?"
Lady Wang was somewhat embarrassed and started to walk out, muttering to herself as she went, "If you don't want to marry, you don't want to marry. Why are you so agitated?"
"Anyone who didn't know better would think you were her dead husband who had come back to life!"
"But Uncle seems to have a lot of control over his brother's wife's marriage, doesn't he?"
"I think it's you who's interested in him, isn't it?"
Although it was just muttering, the voice was so loud that almost everyone in the room could hear it clearly.
If the time and place weren't inappropriate, she really wanted to... give this Lady Wang a round of applause.
This Madam Wang, her mouth is absolutely amazing!
Huo Yunzhan naturally heard what Madam Wang said. He quickly turned his head to look at Shen Qingci. Seeing Shen Qingci's astonished expression, the anger in his heart at having his filthy thoughts exposed became even more pronounced.
He was furious: "Give the order that no more of these kinds of shady characters are allowed in!"
Shen Qingci lowered her eyes, trying hard to suppress the uncontrollable upward curve of her lips.
Once Madam Wang had completely left the courtyard, Huo Yunzhan turned around and took a deep breath: "That Madam Wang was talking complete nonsense!"
Shen Qingci nodded, took a deep breath, and then spoke: "I know. I have been married into the Marquis's mansion for almost a year now. Outsiders may not know, but I do. The Marquis is very affectionate and considerate towards my sister-in-law."
“How could the Marquis possibly be interested in me? The Marquis’s feelings for me are merely out of brotherly affection for his deceased younger brother and care for his widowed sister-in-law.”
“How could an elder brother have any feelings for his younger brother’s wife? Wouldn’t that be… against human ethics?”
"I will not think too much about it, Your Excellency."
"..." Huo Yunzhan's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. Actually, that wasn't entirely true; she could think about it more.
Moreover, the practice of having two sons inheriting the family line has existed since ancient times.
It's not exactly... against human ethics, is it?
But Shen Qingci did not give Huo Yunzhan a chance to speak: "Don't worry, Lord Marquis and Mother, I will not remarry for the time being."
"after all……"
Shen Qingci's eyelashes trembled slightly, as if she were heartbroken: "After all, I married into the Marquis's mansion with hopes of happiness. I originally thought that Huo Yunzhan loved me enough. But after his death, I discovered that he had been having an affair with a prostitute..."
"Now I finally understand why countless married women have said that all men in the world are unfaithful, without exception."
"But I do have a heart, and I can be hurt."
"Even if they remarry, it will probably be the same."
She looked up, tears welling in her eyes: "Never mind, I don't want to get married again."
Huo Yunzhan frowned, feeling somewhat irritated. He hadn't wanted to bring Yue Niang's matter to Shen Qingci's attention, since Huo Yunzhan was nominally dead, and he wanted to leave Shen Qingci with a flawless impression.
But then, Liu Ruolan caused that kind of trouble.
In order to protect Liu Ruolan, he had no choice but to push Yue Niang forward.
He had originally planned it all out. Shen Qingci was disappointed in Huo Yunzhan because of Yue Niang's existence, so he, the current Marquis of Yongning, Huo Yunting, could take advantage of the situation.
But how could he have imagined that Shen Qingci would lose faith in all men in the world because of Yue Niang's affair?
Huo Yunzhan took a deep breath, but it was alright.
As long as Shen Qingci doesn't marry anyone else and remains in the Yongning Marquis's mansion, he will still have plenty of opportunities.
Thinking of this, Huo Yunzhan breathed a slight sigh of relief: "Since you don't want to remarry, then I'll handle people like this from now on."
"If Mother has nothing else to say to Qingci, I'll take Qingci back now?"
Madam Huo felt utterly overwhelmed; what on earth was going on?
She glanced at Huo Yunzhan silently: "Fine, you can take Qingci back."
Shen Qingci lowered his eyes, feeling a thousand and one unwilling things to do, but he still smiled and nodded, standing up: "Thank you for your trouble, Lord Marquis."
But unexpectedly, Huo Yunzhan remained quiet the whole way, his brows furrowed as if he were deep in thought.
It wasn't until they reached the fork in the road between the two courtyards that Huo Yunzhan spoke up: "Actually, not all men are like that."
Shen Qingci almost took a moment to realize what Huo Yunzhan meant, and she could barely suppress the sarcasm in her heart.
Yes, indeed not all men are like Huo Yunzhan.
But he was the only one who wasn't qualified to say that, after all, he was Huo Yunzhan.
Could it be that he thought he could really become Huo Yunting by faking his death and changing his identity?
Should we just pretend that everything he did as Huo Yunzhan never happened?
Does he really think he is Huo Yunting?
Shen Qingci secretly concealed the sarcasm in her heart and simply nodded: "Yes, I know. My elder brother and sister-in-law have a very deep relationship. He protects my sister-in-law in every way. My elder brother is a good man."
Huo Yunzhan pursed his lips. He wanted to say that his protection of Liu Ruolan was only because he wanted to use the Liu family's power.
He wanted to say that he actually liked her.
I think she shouldn't give up on all men; she can still look at him.
She meant that she didn't need to remarry; she could still be Huo Yunzhan's wife in name only, his sister-in-law, not his concubine. He would simply have two families, and behind closed doors, they could live like an ordinary couple.
He paused, took a deep breath, and said, "Yun Zhan has been gone for two months, and now there's this whole Yue Niang thing. You've been heartbroken by him too. I think you really should start thinking about the future."
"Of course, I'm not saying you should remarry."
"It's fine if you don't remarry. You can stay in the Marquis's mansion, and I..."
Before he could finish speaking, he saw Shen Qingci suddenly sway, then cry out "Ouch!" and look pained.
Huo Yunzhan's words were interrupted by this sudden turn of events. He frowned and quickly looked at Shen Qingci with concern: "What's wrong?"
Shen Qingci gritted her teeth: "It seems like I twisted my ankle."
Is it serious?
Shen Qingci's original intention was simply not to hear Huo Yunzhan mention the idea of inheriting two branches of the family, so she deliberately put on an act. She was about to say that it was alright and that she would have Wanqing help her back to rest.
Before she could finish speaking, she spotted Liu Ruolan's resentful face at the main courtyard gate not far behind Huo Yunzhan.
Shen Qingci immediately changed her mind: "It seems... we can't leave."
Huo Yunzhan immediately bent down instinctively: "Shall I carry you back?"
Before Shen Qingci could agree, he simply picked her up and carried her in his arms...
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