Chapter 169 Meeting a Young Woman in the Middle of the Night
Xu Huaining also saw Sheng An. The graceful young woman nodded and quickly walked up to Sheng An, saying, "Sister-in-law."
Looking at his face, which resembled her husband's by seven or eight points, Sheng An felt a surge of disgust again. She immediately raised her hand and interrupted him rudely: "My Jin Nian has no brothers. Please don't make up relatives without permission."
Xu Huaining looked somewhat flustered, gave a wry smile, and took a step back: "I was being presumptuous."
Sheng An glanced at the girl who had run over, then looked at Xu Huaining, and put on a polite mask: "Please, sir."
Having said that, he lifted his foot and continued walking forward.
Then, a slightly wary question came from behind: "Young Master Xu, who is this person? Do you know her?"
Sheng An didn't hear what Xu Huaining said in a low voice, nor was he interested in knowing. He just felt extremely contemptuous of Xu Huaining in his heart.
A scornful attitude towards all men who are unfaithful after marriage.
Upon arriving at the private room, Sheng An exchanged a few auspicious words with the birthday celebrant, presented him with a pot of fine wine, and chatted with several regular guests of Sheng Garden. Only then did Sheng An depart amidst Zhao Juren's words of thanks.
The Zhao family's relatives and friends whispered among themselves, their words brimming with envy and ill intent:
"I never expected that this Boss Sheng is so young. In just one year, he has managed to make Sheng Garden surpass Zuixianlou and win over all the prominent guests in Qingzhou. He is a man of great ability."
"I heard she got involved with the Ding family, the richest family in Qingzhou. This courtyard was given to her by Master Ding. She's quite pretty too. Could she be Master Ding's..."
"Don't talk nonsense. Master Ding's only grandson suffers from severe malnutrition. It was thanks to Boss Sheng's excellent cooking skills that he was saved. This courtyard is a gift of gratitude."
"So that's how it is. No wonder Shengyuan became famous in Qingzhou in just one year. We're in for a treat today."
"..."
Listening to the surrounding chatter, Xu Huaining remained silent, picked up his wine glass and drank in silence. The wine went down his throat, but a bitter taste spread to his heart.
The people at the banquet didn't notice anything unusual about him; they were all toasting and making a lively scene.
After the banquet, Scholar Zhao did not leave immediately, but invited several distinguished guests to the tea room for tea and conversation.
Young guests come to the card room and ball room because of its reputation. Under the guidance of the chess and card experts, they gradually master the game and enjoy playing in the room.
Xu Huaining looked at these novel ways to play and, at Zhao Feipeng's invitation, joined in. Only he knew what he was really thinking.
During this time, several girls approached him, either inviting him to team up for games or asking him for tips on how to play.
Xu Huaining did not refuse and patiently guided them, which made the girls even more attentive to him.
Shuqi watched everything unfold and quietly went to the small building to report to Sheng'an.
Sheng An felt that Xu Huaining had the potential to become a playboy, and she became increasingly contemptuous of him.
Lying in bed that night, she complained to Xu Jinnian: "The thought of him with that face that looks seven or eight parts like yours seducing innocent and ignorant girls makes me feel extremely disgusted. I really want to peel his face off."
As she spoke, she propped herself up and pinched Xu Jinnian's face with one hand: "We're not brothers born of the same mother, how can we look so alike?"
Not only do they look alike, but they also share a similar temperament.
However, Xu Huaining is more like a copycat; her appearance and temperament are far inferior to Xu Jinnian's.
“Dad said that I look like my grandparents, and that's just how I was born, so there's nothing I can do about it.”
Xu Jinnian played with Sheng An's hand, chuckling as he soothed her agitated emotions: "It's like that, isn't it? An An couldn't possibly mistake her husband, could she?"
Sheng An glanced at him sideways and said, "Don't even mention that you two only look alike for seven or eight points. Even if you were identical twins, I would never mistake you for that scheming dog."
Xu Jinnian's smile deepened, and he kissed the back of her head: "An'an only loves her husband."
Sheng An felt hot and pushed him away forcefully, shoving a large palm-leaf fan into his hand: "Behave yourself."
On such a hot day, she didn't even want to cook, let alone do that kind of thing.
Right now, all she wants is to get a good night's sleep every night; she'll save the erotic stuff for the long nights to come.
A hint of regret flashed in Xu Jinnian's eyes, but he didn't force his wife, who was afraid of the heat, and obediently fanned her, silently hoping that autumn would come soon.
Meanwhile, Liu Huazhi, back in Xujiaba, was living in dire straits.
Since returning to Xujiaba, she hasn't had a proper rest for a single day. Her body, still recovering from a miscarriage, couldn't handle the heavy work, so she simply lay in bed and refused to get up.
Feng Lianhua wouldn't tolerate her. Seeing that she hadn't gotten up to boil water, feed the pigs, or cook breakfast, she grabbed a stick and started hitting her: "What kind of wife is as lazy and good-for-nothing as you? The Xu family doesn't support idlers. If you're not going to work, go back to your parents' house!"
Liu Huazhi screamed as she was beaten. She grabbed the stick that had been pulled down and tried to pull it off, but couldn't budge it. She had no choice but to jump off the bed barefoot and run around the room, looking for a handy weapon.
Soon, Liu Huazhi found a stool leg and started waving it around to fight back against Feng Lianhua: "You old hag, you can hit me now, but wait until you're old and bedridden, then see how I deal with you!"
Feng Lianhua was genuinely frightened. Once she came to her senses, she swung the stick even more vigorously: "Hmph, Huaining will amount to something great. When he passes the imperial examination and becomes a high-ranking official, I'll have plenty of people to serve me. I won't need a little slut like you!"
Seeing that she couldn't use the old age excuse to control Feng Lianhua, Liu Huazhi hardened her heart and intensified her attack: "Brother Huaining hasn't passed the county-level exam yet, and there are still several years before he becomes a Jinshi. Just pray to the Bodhisattva that you won't get sick in these few years."
Feng Lianhua was no longer young and was at an age where she feared death. Being cursed like this by Liu Huazhi was like a knife to her throat, and her face became even more ferocious: "You slut, I'll tear your mouth apart!"
The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law were fighting fiercely, their angry shouts and screams sounding like a chaotic symphony. The nearby villagers heard the commotion at the Xu family's house, but they all shook their heads and ignored it.
The liveliness at Xu Laosi's house has been going on for more than a day or two; they've grown tired of it and have long since lost interest.
As long as it doesn't involve any life-threatening incidents, no one will bother to get involved.
Liu Huazhi had just suffered a miscarriage and was physically weak. She was no match for the long stick in Feng Lianhua's hand and was whipped until her body was covered in bruises, and her head and face were also badly swollen from the blows.
While cursing Feng Lianhua, she also ate pig food, deciding to sneak into the city to find Xu Huaining while Xu Laosi and his wife were asleep that night.
It's not that she doesn't want to go during the day, it's that Feng Lianhua keeps a close eye on her. She takes her with her when she goes to work in the fields, and she even locks the hospital door at night, just in case this laborer runs away.
Liu Huazhi patiently waited until it got dark, and only after confirming that Xu Laosi and Feng Lianhua were asleep did she tiptoe to the courtyard wall, where she carefully climbed up the wall using the stool as a stepping stone.
She twisted her ankle a little when she came down, but fortunately it was nothing serious and didn't affect her walking.
Looking at the pitch-black night and hearing no sound from any direction, Liu Huazhi, who was walking alone at night for the first time, was somewhat afraid and could only grit her teeth and hurry towards the city.
As they passed an intersection, a dark figure suddenly sprang out of the bushes beside them, quickly pounced on Liu Huazhi, and pinned her to the ground: "Hehe, I'm really lucky, I picked up a little girl in the middle of the night!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com