Chapter 254: Fighting against each other, neither of them gives in

As Duan Yanzhi's uncle, Duan Suili did his best and had a confrontational dialogue with Han Tingzhang.

"Da Duan! Let's be frank and tell your nephew to let go." Han Tingzhang had a domineering aura and the dignity of a person who had been in a high position for a long time. Wherever he went, two guards followed him.

The Han family's ancestors were a family of high-ranking officials. Their ancestor was once a "provincial governor". The family was powerful and had abundant connections and resources.

Han Tingzhang, the eldest son of the Han family, has long been the head of the Shangjing Military Region and is in charge of Shangjing's defense.

Therefore, it is well-deserved that the Han family is a family of officials.

But since Duan Suili came in person, how could he return empty-handed?

He took out a cigarette box with a pattern that was very Yixi-style, poured out a cigarette and handed it to Han Tingzhang, "Try our most mellow Yunnan-flavored cigarettes!"

Han Tingzhang nodded, took out a cigarette, and asked Duan Suili to light the lighter. Suddenly, the two men began to puff out smoke.

While smoking, Han Tingzhang narrowed his sharp eyes slightly and glanced at Duan Suili.

He knew very well that Duan Yanzhi had specifically asked his uncle to come over to talk to him, and he would definitely ask him to please him.

The Duan family is the most prominent family in Yun Province. There are people in the family who have been officials for generations. What is even more famous is that after a hundred years of development, the Duan family has built the Hongtai Merchant Gang, which is the first of the three major merchant gangs in western Yi and is very financially powerful.

His family prospered in Yunnan Province for a hundred years and became the "Da Duan" family respected by the local people.

The Duan family's Hongtai firm was known for its low costs, emphasis on reputation, and well-informed operations. It also monopolized the trade in stone and sulfur in western Yunnan, setting a precedent for western Yunnan merchants to earn foreign exchange from minerals.

Therefore, Duan Suili was a prominent figure who had no problem running rampant in western Yunnan.

With his eldest nephew Duan Yanzhi firmly in the top position in the army, the Duan family can be said to be the well-deserved "first family" in Yixi.

Seeing that the cigarette was about to burn halfway, Han Tingzhang spoke first:

"Why did you suddenly come to talk to me like this? What are we talking about?"

Duan Suili calmly sat down, leaning back into the chair gracefully, exhaling a light breath and flicking the ash from his cigarette, "A few days ago, my father was sick, and my eldest nephew went home to see his grandfather. That's when I heard that he liked Ziru."

"Originally, this matter has nothing to do with you and me, right?" Duan Suili smiled gently, and then said: "My eldest nephew has never been tempted by love. You have also seen that my sister-in-law has chased here to break them up in order to stop them."

"My sister-in-law's heart is filled with my brother Han Suijing. Even if she occasionally feels that your eldest nephew has given her a different kind of emotion, I think it cannot compare to the deep affection between my sister-in-law and Han Suijing."

"Neither you nor I can say for sure, but I seem to have heard that Zi Ru rejected Sui Jing twice in person and said in person that she had let go of her feelings for him."

"Impossible!" Han Tingzhang denied it forcefully. His cigarette butt was knocked into the ashtray on the table. He changed the subject and said, "Haven't you heard why the two got engaged back then?"

"You say." Duan Suili's expression was gentle, but after years of refinement, this gentleness had been tempered with a layer of hard ice.

He seemed to hear the sound of his nephew's heartbreak and could already foresee that his nephew would be completely rejected this time.

But he remained calm and continued to maintain the dignity of a man of the Duan family.

Han Tingzhang's brows gradually relaxed as he sank into the past and looked back.

"At that time, the three of us were still young. There was a distant relative in our family who lived in Longwang Village, which was a fishing village by the sea. That summer, the three of us brothers followed our relative to spend our summer vacation in Longwang Village."

"After arriving at Longwang Village, we would go to the beach with the other children in the village to have fun after finishing our homework. It was also during that time that the young Suijing met the daughter of the Wang family. Although my sister-in-law was a little girl in the village at that time, she was very outstanding in appearance and gentle in character. After a few visits, she became familiar with Suijing."

"My parents later came to Longwang Village to pick us up. On the day we returned to the city, Han Suijing begged his parents to allow them to get engaged..."

Duan Suili's complicated eyes met Han Tingzhang's, "I only knew that Suijing broke off the engagement with his fiancée, but this is the first time I heard that they decided to spend their lives together at such a young age."

"Among the three of us brothers, I am the more mature, the third one is a bit more lively, and the second brother, Han Suijing, has been calm and reserved since he was young. Maybe at that time, the two of them promised to be together forever."

After a pause, Han Tingzhang smiled softly, "My parents like my sister-in-law very much, so they often take her to the Han family to stay for a while. But you also know that my grandmother hopes that even if the two families are not well matched, at least there won't be too big of a gap between my sister-in-law and Han Suijing."

"After Han Suijing joined the army, he came home less and less often. Every time I called him, I still reminded him to study. But later, I heard that he was not willing to study and did not want to go to high school. Grandma was very disappointed..."

Hearing this, Duan Suili roughly guessed the real reason why Wang Ziru broke off the engagement.

Besides the fact that she was already pregnant with Han Suijing's child, and she didn't want to continue to be forced by Han's family to make progress, she would rather break off the engagement and marry a random man.

But it is obvious that the Han family's understanding of Wang Ziru is still stuck in the state of five years ago, and they still think that Wang Ziru, who married to the countryside, is still not motivated!

They didn't know that, nowadays, she was living the hardest life in the countryside, but she had not given up on making progress and was secretly accumulating strength. Even he, the head of the Duan family, did not dare to look down on her.

"Interesting." Duan Suili secretly laughed in his heart.

He seemed to have discovered that Wang Ziru was trying her best to hide her edge.

For the Duan family, this kind of daughter-in-law is hard to come by. It would be best if she could become the daughter-in-law of the Duan family. They would definitely not want her to become the daughter-in-law of another family, and instead would have to beg her.

Thinking of this, he really didn't want his nephew to let go...

"Ting Zhang! I now have a new understanding of the relationship between Sui Jing and Zi Ru, but I have also sorted out my thoughts. It is meaningless for the two of us to talk about this forever. The most crucial point now is who is in Zi Ru's heart."

Han Tingzhang said in a deep voice: "He must be pretending to be Han Suijing."

"Well, call Ziru here. As the two elders of the family, we can ask her questions face to face, so that my nephew won't be reluctant to let go."

Han Tingzhang smiled and said, "Sure! Ask Duan Yanzhi to come along, so I can ask him in person what he likes about my sister-in-law. They have only known each other for a few days, so there must be a misunderstanding."

The guard received the order and hurried downstairs to pick up the person from the troops.

Duan Suili called the old shopkeeper and ordered almost all the delicious dishes in this state-owned hotel.

"It's not easy for you to come here from such a long distance. If it weren't for your brother's marriage, you would never have the chance to leave Beijing. How about going to Dali with me in the afternoon?" Duan Suili politely invited after ordering the dishes.

"Thank you! You know I'm very busy with work. Indeed, it's only Han Suijing's affairs that I can't let go of."

The two men were familiar with each other, so they started chatting.

Mrs. Duan was wandering around the street bored and accidentally found the car of the Duan family's uncle. She said in surprise: "Yinyin, look, isn't that your uncle's car?"

"My uncle is really here? Is he here to scold us?" Su Yinyin was also surprised, but more of her was deep fear, because she knew how strict her uncle's family rules were.

Although Mrs. Duan was a little uneasy, nothing made her happier than the arrival of her brother-in-law.

"Let's go! Your uncle must have met Han Tingzhang in the hotel. Let's go find your uncle and let him deal with that woman." Mrs. Duan took her daughter-in-law and went straight to the hotel.

Over there.

Wang Ziru returned to her home and was already restless.

She didn't know what Han Tingzhang wanted to do. It was not the day for her to leave the family compound. If everyone knew that she had divorced Zhai Ximo and her ex-fiancé was Han Suijing...

I dare not think further.

When the guard came up to call her, Wang Ziru was walking around the house.

"Going to the hotel again?"

"Yes! They are already waiting. Comrade Ziru, please follow me to the town. The car is parked outside the military camp gate."

Wang Ziru didn't ask any more questions and followed the guard downstairs. When passing the sentry post, she unexpectedly saw Commander Duan's car outside and he was leaning next to the car.

It seemed as if he was waiting for her.

For some reason, her heartbeat quickened. Wang Ziru didn't dare to look at him again, and her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.

"Take my car!" he said in a rough voice, then opened the back seat with an uninhibited smile on his face, "What are you standing there for? Get in the car, I'll take you to eat something good."

Wang Ziru smiled softly, and her heart was inexplicably filled with a warm current. She followed him into the car and said, "Commander, do you think I'm a foodie? Just like you, I want to have something delicious every day to satisfy my craving."

"Humph," he hummed as he got into the back seat, "you just knew."

The car slowly drove towards the town. In the car, Commander Duan suddenly turned his head to look at his young wife, "Do you know what Han Tingzhang asked you to do?"

"He came here from so far away, probably because he wants us to get together and have a meal." Wang Ziru said this lightly, but the corners of her mouth were unconsciously pursed.

She was worried that Han Tingzhang would say something embarrassing to her in front of the Duan family.

"When did you become so simple-minded?!" Commander Duan smiled unhappily, his eyes falling on her tightly clasped hands, as if she was afraid of him. "Han Tingzhang wants to ask you in person if you still have Han Suijing in your heart."

"No way? Why is he asking this? This is a matter between me and Han Suijing..."

Suddenly, Wang Ziru's cheeks felt as if they were being roasted by fire.

Seeing his young wife so nervous and shy, Commander Duan leaned beside her with a casual smile on his lips. It seemed that he was going to force her today.

When they arrived in the town, Wang Ziru followed Commander Duan into the hotel with her head slightly lowered, like a young wife.

Wang Ziru could vaguely hear Duan Suili and Han Tingzhang talking while still in the stairwell. She quickly pulled the rough man and asked, "Why is your uncle here too?"

The two of them stopped at the corner of the stairs.

Commander Duan turned around, looking down at his young wife's nervous and frightened appearance, and said with raised lips: "Don't you like my uncle? Why do you seem to be afraid of him?"

He stepped back a few steps and pulled her slender wrist, "Come upstairs with me, no one dares to eat you."

"No, your uncle is meeting with Brother Tingzhang for dinner, what should I do there? I'd better not go." Wang Ziru wanted to avoid such occasions without even thinking, for fear that these men would cause trouble.

"If you don't want to go up, then I'll ask my uncle to come down and invite you?" He let go of her wrist and whispered in her ear.