Chapter 39 Marriage Certificate
"Zhizhi loves sweets." Du Huaizhi spoke to break the delicate atmosphere between the two of them, and placed the plate of pastries in front of Du Ruzhi as if offering a gift to Buddha.
Du Ruozhi turned around and smiled sweetly at her, "Thank you, sister."
Li Zixian: “…”
After a hectic breakfast, he went outside and saw a carriage parked on the side of the road. The driver was an unexpected person - Huang Que who was beside Xie Sui.
Du Huaizhi couldn't help but glance at Du Ruzhi meaningfully.
Du Ruozhi was a little at a loss after being looked at by this, and explained in a low voice: "I didn't know it was him, I thought it was someone sent by my father."
"Ahem." Du Huaizhi patted her shoulder, the explanation was a bit unnecessary.
"Miss Du, Miss Du," Huang Que walked over excitedly, nodding to each of them. Noticing Li Zixian not far away, he quickly raised his hand and bowed, "Greetings, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."
Li Zixian's eyes fell on Huang Que, "Are you the guard beside Xie Sui?"
"That's right." Huang Que didn't expect that Li Zixian could call out his name. Although Xie Sui was someone close to the prince, a little Karami like him was not worthy of being remembered by someone like Li Zixian.
"Thank you, sir, for ordering me to come and take the two young ladies back to the mansion."
Li Zixian's eyes moved back and forth between Huang Que and Du Ruozhi, and he murmured, "Has Changyuan finally come to his senses?" Changyuan was Xie Sui's pen name.
Upon hearing this, Du Ruozhi's ears instantly turned red, and she lowered her head, not daring to look at anyone. Du Huaizhi calmly moved forward and stood in front of Du Ruozhi, "If your highness has nothing else to say, I will take my leave first."
Li Zixian seemed a little reluctant to leave, but did not speak to keep him.
Du Ruozhi hurriedly bowed and followed Du Huaizhi into the carriage. The moment the curtain was lowered, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, but the blush on her cheeks had not yet faded. She turned her head and met Du Huaizhi's gaze.
"Zhizhi has grown up." Du Huaizhi sighed softly, and An Nian beside him echoed, "Yes, in the blink of an eye, she has reached the age to get married."
Facing the two people's teasing, Du Ruozhi blushed completely, "Stop talking, stop talking, it's not what you think."
Du Huaizhi leaned against the wall of the carriage, supporting his head with one hand and looking at her, "There's nothing shameful about it. Xie Sui is a little old, but he's still clean. If you like him, we can be a good match."
Du Ruozhi was stunned, "Master Xie... is he old?" Why did she remember that Xie Sui seemed to have just had his coming-of-age ceremony a few years ago?
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..." An Nian smacked her lips and tried to comfort Du Huaizhong: "We can't keep this sister anymore. She's always speaking for other men."
Du Huaizhi shook his head with some regret.
"Sister!" Du Ruozhi rushed into Du Huaizhi's arms anxiously, "Don't listen to her nonsense, Zhizhi didn't do that, sister~"
The hug was a bit tight. Du Huaizhi frowned and tried to push her away, but failed. Instead, he patted her head and said, "I know. I was just teasing you."
Du Ruozhi leaned on Du Huaizhi's arms without caring, "My sister hasn't even married yet, I don't want to be locked up in the backyard like this."
"Well, that's hard to say." An Nian leaned over again at this time.
Du Huaizhi looked at her coldly, wondering why he hadn't noticed that An Nian was so talkative before.
Du Ruozhi realized something was wrong and looked up at Du Huaizhi from her arms. "Sister, you..." she paused, "Could it be His Royal Highness the Crown Prince?"
As soon as she finished speaking, she was hit on the forehead. Du Ruozhi covered her forehead in pain, feeling aggrieved.
"It has nothing to do with the prince." Du Huaizhi felt a headache. Why were they all so interested in this aspect of her?
"Actually, I want to know too." An Nian held her chin. She knew that if she wanted to know, she would know that the person who could take down someone like Du Huaizhi must not be an ordinary person.
"I want to know too, sister~" Du Ruozhi looked at her, her big watery eyes sparkling. These starry eyes made Du Huaizhi helplessly hold her forehead.
"You'll know when the time comes." Du Huaizhi said perfunctorily.
Forced to listen to the sobbing all the way, when the horse farm arrived at the gate of the mansion, Du Huaizhi was the first to jump off the carriage and walked quickly into the gate, feeling like he was fleeing in panic.
Just as he was about to go to his own small courtyard in the corner, he ran into Du Qiyue with a sullen face and Lin who was watching the show on the side.
Du Huaizhi felt that something was going to happen, but it shouldn't be a big deal.
In the lobby of the Du Mansion, Du Qiyue threw a document with the local prefect's seal at Du Huaizhi's feet and shouted angrily, "Unfilial daughter! Explain to me how this marriage certificate came about. Who is this man? I've been back home for a few days, but why haven't you mentioned him?"
Du Huaizhi looked at the marriage certificate on the ground calmly and picked it up silently. She thought he had destroyed the marriage certificate after his identity was recognized, but she didn't expect it was still there.
Du Huaizhi dusted off the marriage certificate, a hint of sneer on the corner of his lips: "My daughter has been married for two years. I originally thought that my father took me back to reunite with the family, but I didn't expect that my father didn't know anything about it."
"You..." Du Qiyue was so angry that his beard was shaking. He choked for a long time before saying, "Since ancient times, marriages have been decided by parents and matchmakers. You actually secretly decided on your life together. It's outrageous. Do you know how my Du family would lose face if this marriage certificate got out?"
Lin kindly advised, "Master, calm down. Huaizhi has been in the countryside for too long, so it's natural that she has become wild. It's normal for her to not understand these rules."
Du Huaizhi glanced at Lin coldly, his eyes seemed to say: I will just watch you perform quietly.
"She doesn't just not know the rules. She has brought shame upon me." Du Qiyue slammed the table in anger, making a loud noise.
"Father, that's wrong." Du Huaizhi deliberately emphasized the word "father." "My daughter's marriage was arranged by my grandmother, Huang. It was officially documented and formally prayed to heaven and earth. Everything is in accordance with the rules."
"As for the orders of my parents, have you ever asked about my daughter's life or death since she left home?" If they had paid attention once, the fact that she was married would be obvious, and they would not have sent her to the horse farm to pretend to be the prince, and her disguise would not have been used so smoothly.
Du Qiyue's face turned pale at these words. Seeing this, Lin quickly tried to smooth things over, "Huaizhi girl, your father is doing this for your own good. Since the marriage is already finalized, why don't you tell us where your husband is now? We can meet him so we can meet him."
Du Huaizhi's fingertips traced the name half-hidden by ink on the marriage certificate. "Dead."
The hall fell silent for a moment. Du Ruozhi had just come in when she heard this and covered her mouth in shock, "Sister..."
"Dead?" Du Qiyue narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "How did he die?"
"He died of illness." Du Huaizhi remained calm. "He had tuberculosis. He coughed for three months. When he died, he was just a bag of bones."
Upon hearing this, Lin immediately took two steps back and covered her mouth and nose with a handkerchief. "This... this disease can be fatal."
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