"Sister-in-law, I'm so sorry!"
As soon as Mr. Chen came in, he bowed deeply to Mrs. Xue.
"I went out on business a few days ago and only came back yesterday. Who would have thought that Brother Xue would... This time I came here specifically to apologize to you. That ignorant man in my family actually took advantage of my absence to cancel this marriage without my permission. This is really... Oh, I am so ashamed to talk about it!"
He stamped his feet hard, looking extremely distressed.
At this time, servants had brought in boxes of gifts and were about to put them down inside the house.
Xue's mother held out her hand to stop him: "There's no need to apologize. Master Chen should take these gifts back."
The servants looked at Master Chen awkwardly. Master Chen winked at Chen Qing. Seeing that he was staring at Xue Huan, he bumped into him unhappily. Chen Qing finally came to his senses and walked over to Xue's mother. "Aunt, please accept these gifts. Otherwise, I will kneel here and won't get up."
He knelt down directly in front of Xue's mother.
Xue Huan raised her eyebrows. This Chen Qing actually knew how to use the self-torture trick. He must have planned it before coming.
Seeing Xue's mother's embarrassed look, she walked over, took her arm, and ordered Xue Yao: "Yao'er, serve tea. How can you not even offer a cup of tea to a guest? Otherwise, if the news gets out, people will think that our Xue family is too rude."
At the same time, he said to Xue Jun, "Jun'er, go in first. You are not in good health and cannot stay outside in the wind for too long."
Xue Jun looked at the sunlight filling the courtyard. Where was the wind? But since her sister had said so, she decided to go in.
He bowed to Mr. Chen before entering.
Xue Huan invited Master Chen to sit inside again, "The sun is shining in the yard. If you have anything to say, let's go inside and talk."
Looking at Xue Huan's series of actions, Mr. Chen and Chen Qing looked at each other, both of them were a little surprised.
When Xue Lang was still alive, whenever they came to visit, Xue Huan would always stay quietly beside Xue's mother and not say much. Now that Xue Lang is gone, she has become the new head of the Xue family, the backbone, and is quite generous and decent in dealing with people.
It seems that setbacks make people grow.
The implication of her words was that she was resentful towards the Chen family and treated them as outsiders.
For a moment, both the father and the son felt a little heavy.
But now that we are here, some things should be made clear.
Master Chen: "Sister-in-law, I've already scolded my wife severely. Look, this marriage... won't be cancelled, right? I've brought the engagement letter with me."
He hurriedly took out the letter of appointment from his pocket.
Xue's mother didn't answer. "Master Chen, since the marriage has been cancelled, there's no reason to take it back. Besides, it was Madam Chen who came to cancel the engagement herself that day, and she and Huan'er had a really unhappy argument. If Huan'er continues to marry into your Chen family, I'm afraid both mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will have trouble in the future.
"As a mother, I don't ask Huan'er to marry into a wealthy family in the future. As long as her parents-in-law are kind and her husband is considerate, that's enough.
"You should take this engagement letter back. Mr. Chen is handsome and talented. He will definitely marry a beautiful wife and have a happy marriage in the future."
She spoke softly, but her meaning was not soft at all. Her rejection was obvious, and the Chen father and son were speechless for a moment.
Chen Qing looked at Xue Huan, hoping she would say something, but he saw a strange man standing next to her, who was much taller and more handsome than him.
He was so focused on seeing Huan'er that he didn't even notice this man. Who was he? Why was he at the Xue family? And so close to Huan'er?!
"Who are you?" he asked Pei Ji.
Before the Chen family father and son arrived, Xue Huan had told Pei Ji to try not to speak in front of outsiders and to maintain a cool attitude.
Aloof? Pei Ji doesn't need to be too good at it, just act like a prince.
He was obviously very successful and immediately aroused Chen Qing's hostility.
Facing Chen Qing's questioning, he didn't even raise his eyebrows, and looked disdainful. This contemptuous attitude made Chen Qing very angry.
Xue Huan: "He is my father's apprentice. He heard that my father was in trouble and came to my house to help."
After hearing this explanation, Chen Qing still couldn't let it go. Looking at his fiancée standing with a wild man, the scene was too jarring!
Xue's mother picked up the teacup and made a gesture to see the guest off.
Mr. Chen sighed and tried to salvage the situation: "Sister-in-law, I heard that my brother hasn't been found yet. I'll hire someone to go look for him in the mountains again."
Xue's mother couldn't refuse this. "Thank you very much."
Master Chen pulled Chen Qing away. Chen Qing took two steps and came to Xue Huan again, pleading with Xue's mother, "Aunt, can I have a few words with Huan'er alone?"
Mother Xue looked at Xue Huan, her eyes asking what she meant. In fact, she was still very satisfied with Chen Qing. If he didn't have such a mother, this marriage would have been a rare opportunity.
Xue Huan nodded and said, "Come with me." Just to put an end to the original owner and Chen Qing.
She went out and came to a small grove of trees behind the house. "Go ahead."
When he really faced her, Chen Qing didn't know how to start talking for a moment.
Looking at the person in front of him, he felt familiar and unfamiliar. What was familiar was that she was still the same person, although she looked better than before. What was unfamiliar was the way she looked at him.
The love and closeness they had before were gone, and instead it was so dull that it made him feel cold, as if they were complete strangers.
"Don't you have something to say to me? If you don't say it, I'll go back."
"Huan'er, I think you've changed."
Xue Huan's heart skipped a beat. The soul in her body had been replaced, how could it not change?
She twitched the corners of her lips and looked straight at him: "If it were you, in just a few days, first your father disappeared, your mother was almost kidnapped by a bully, and then your engagement was broken off, how could you not change?"
Chen Qing's breath was choked, his eyes filled with heartache. He wanted to reach out and hold her shoulders, but she took a step back to avoid him.
"It's all my fault. If I hadn't gone to the county town to attend the literary gathering, my mother wouldn't have come here to cancel the engagement without my permission. Can we get engaged again?"
Xue Huan shook her head. "Chen Qing, to be honest with you, even if your mother hadn't come to cancel the engagement, I wouldn't have married into your family. My father is missing, and as the eldest daughter in the family, my younger siblings are still young. How could I possibly leave them behind and marry?"
Hearing this, Chen Qing felt a little hopeful again. "What does it matter? As long as you marry me, I will be the son-in-law of the Xue family and can help you take care of your mother-in-law and the others."
Xue Huan hadn't meant to say anything too harsh, but she hadn't expected him to harbor such a ridiculous thought. She simply said, "Chen Qing, besides being worried about my family, there's another reason I don't want to marry you: I no longer like you."
Chen Qingru was struck by lightning, and those words kept echoing in his ears, "I don't like you anymore... I don't like you anymore... I don't like you anymore..."
He staggered back a step and looked at her in dismay. How could he just say he didn't like her?
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