Chapter 449 is pretty good.
Lu Yifang clutched her chest, staring in shock at Jiang Chengye kneeling on the ground. Thinking of the muffled thud, she couldn't help but grimace; just from the sound, she knew it must have hurt.
Jiang Chengye, kneeling on the ground, was also wincing, his hand clutching his knee. He hadn't expected it to hurt so much. But he didn't care about the pain now. He crawled two steps, reached out and grabbed Lu Yifang's skirt, his voice trembling with tears, "Yifang, I know I was wrong, please forgive me!"
Lu Yifang was somewhat at a loss; he truly hadn't expected Jiang Chengye to pull such a stunt. Although he was a spoiled rich kid and sometimes shameless, he almost never knelt before anyone. Of course, kneeling before his own father, the Duke of Chu, was an exception.
After all, he grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and later ran rampant in the capital for a long time. No one would have thought that he would kneel down to his wife.
"What...what are you doing? Get up." Lu Yifang tugged at her skirt, but Jiang Chengye held on tightly, and she couldn't budge it. At this moment, Jiang Chengye raised his head, his eyes even a little moist.
"Yifang, I know I was wrong. I've sent all those concubines and maids away. I'll stay by your side from now on. I'll listen to you. If you tell me to go east, I'll never go west. If you tell me to beat a dog, I'll never chase a chicken."
Lu Yifang was both annoyed and amused, and felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. Unable to pull at the hem of her skirt, she gave up and looked down at the somewhat overweight Jiang Chengye, taking a deep breath and saying, "Look at how fat you've become! Your belly is so big, you look like a woman who's several months pregnant."
Jiang Chengye: "...I...I..."
He never expected Lu Yifang to say such a thing; all his plans were now useless.
Seeing his surprised expression, Lu Yifang felt a surge of pleasure and said, "I can't count on you for anything, whether it's inside or outside the manor. In the past, you at least had a decent appearance to make up for it, but look at you now, what do you have left for me to accept you for?"
Jiang Chengye: "......."
He looked down at his stomach; it was indeed quite large. But compared to other men in their forties, it... wasn't that big, was it? He then looked up at Lu Yifang, and was taken aback for a moment.
Although she was in her early forties, her skin was still smooth and her eyes had only a faint line at the corner of her eye, making her look like she was in her thirties. Her brows, which used to be furrowed, were now relaxed and her eyes were bright. There was no trace of the worry she had shown a few years ago; instead, she radiated a relaxed and cheerful spirit.
She wore a moon-white jacket with neat, fine bamboo stitches embroidered on the collar, which made her look clean and refreshing, and even younger than she had two years ago.
Jiang Chengye looked dejected, pursed his lips, loosened his grip on Lu Yifang's skirt, and knelt there motionless. Lu Yifang walked to the chair and sat down, looking at the man kneeling there. She thought of the first time she saw him in her youth, the sweetness of their early marriage, and the bitter days she had endured because of his bastard behavior. Her heart felt inexplicably calm.
Perhaps she was wrong from the start. A woman can have love, but she can't make it her entire life. People's hearts change, promises grow old, so it's better to stick to your own rhythm. If your heart is with me, I will give you my true heart in return. If your heart isn't with me, I don't need to be sad or upset; I'll just live my own life.
Looking down at Jiang Chengye, who was kneeling on the ground with his head down, looking lost and helpless, she asked herself if she needed this man now.
After thinking for a while, she pursed her lips. She still needed one; at the very least, she needed a man to warm her bed. She was only in her early forties; she couldn't live a life of widowhood forever!
She smoothed the handkerchief in her hand and said, "We've been husband and wife for half our lives, stumbling and struggling to get to where we are now. You know all the awful things you've done before."
Jiang Chengye, still kneeling, bent his back even more, when Lu Yifang said again, "But life goes on, we can't keep dwelling on the past. I've seen the changes in you these past few days..."
“Yifang…” Jiang Chengye stood up and walked to Lu Yifang, then knelt down and buried his face in her knees, choking back tears as he said, “You have no idea what kind of life I’ve been living these past two years. My father killed Jiang Jiarong right in front of me and had all the servants around me beaten to death…”
He choked back tears as he recounted his fear at the time, his subsequent helplessness, and his current sense of disorientation. Lu Yifang, however, remained unusually calm, though she still placed her hand on Jiang Chengye's head and said:
“It’s all in the past. Father, Yu’er, everything we did was for your own good and for the good of this family. No one can live recklessly and without restraint. If you really want to change, we won’t deny you a chance.”
"You...you really can forgive me?" Jiang Chengye looked up, his face streaked with tears.
Lu Yifang nodded. "After all, we've been married for decades."
Overjoyed, Jiang Chengye stood up excitedly, wanting to hug Lu Yifang. But realizing that Lu Yifang hadn't let him get up yet, he knelt down again, looked up into Lu Yifang's eyes, and said earnestly, "Yifang, I really will listen to you from now on. I... I'll start losing weight tomorrow, please don't dislike me."
Lu Yifang nodded, "This is for your own good."
She reached out and helped Jiang Chengye up, saying, "It's late, you should go home too."
Jiang Chengye gripped her sleeve tightly. "I...I won't leave tonight, okay?"
Lu Yifang lowered her eyes and remained silent for a moment before giving a soft "hmm." But even that simple sound made Jiang Chengye so happy he almost jumped for joy.
.........
When Jiang Yu returned home after finishing her shift the next day, Xia He reported that Jiang Chengye had stayed in Lu Yifang's courtyard the night before and had moved his clothes and other everyday items there as well.
Jiang Yu was taken aback for a moment, then nodded knowingly. She could understand Lu Yifang's actions. This was ancient times, not the modern world where divorce was so easy, and given Lu Yifang's status, a divorce with Jiang Chengye was impossible.
Furthermore, Lu Yifang grew up surrounded by the idea of men having multiple wives and concubines, unlike modern women who might perceive a man as "dirty" simply because he's had several women. Besides, at her early forties, she still needs companionship at night.
"It's fine," Jiang Yu murmured.
As I said before, it's not good for her, as a child, to interfere too much in her parents' relationship. She should just be a supportive mother and let her have her way in everything else.
After washing his hands at the basin, the steward came over with a letter, bowed, and presented it, saying, "It's from the Xie family."
Jiang Yu handed the handkerchief to Xia He, took the letter, opened it, and read it as he walked to the dining table. The letter was from Xie Ning'an, saying that Zhu Junning had invited him to tea the next day. Jiang Yu placed the letter on the table, tapped it lightly a few times with his fingers, then got up, went behind the desk, picked up a pen, and wrote a reply.
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