jealousy
On the way back to the Fu residence, Fu Zhiqiao was telling Yinxing what she wanted to eat for lunch when Xie Zhuo's voice suddenly came from behind.
“Ah Qiao”.
Fu Zhiqiao paused, turned around, and saw Xie Zhuo there.
She had just met with Zhou Lizhang when Xie Zhuo arrived immediately. Could it be that he saw her meeting with Zhou Lizhang? Why does Xie Zhuo always run into her every time she meets with Zhou Lizhang? Fu Zhi Qiao thought to herself that she was really unlucky.
Xie Zhuo tried his best to suppress his anger, his face showing no emotion, but Fu Zhi Qiao knew that he was in a very bad mood at the moment, because every time he got angry, his chin would unconsciously rise a little.
Looking at Fu Zhi Qiao's indifferent expression, Xie Zhuo felt a surge of sourness in his heart, so sour that his mouth tasted bitter. He walked quickly to her and asked in a stiff tone, "Who was that person just now?"
He could still control his facial expression, but the anger hidden in his voice was undeniable. Yinxing consciously stepped back a few paces, leaving space for the two of them to talk.
I saw it!
Fu Zhi Qiao felt uneasy. She knew that Xie Zhuo had not given up on her yet, and if he found out that she was preparing to get engaged to someone else, it would be a troublesome matter.
"It's not about who I see, but whether I have to report to the Crown Prince every time I meet."
The more Fu Zhiqiao didn't want to talk about it, the more he insisted on getting to the bottom of it, "What's your relationship with him?"
Fu Zhi Qiao: "..."
“I saw him touch your hair.”
Fu Zhi Qiao realized what he meant and said, "He wasn't touching my hair. He just picked a leaf off my head." She explained patiently and calmly.
Even intimate gestures like picking leaves are unacceptable, Xie Zhuo persisted, his tone sour: "Then you can't let him pick leaves for you either."
Xie Zhuo had a gloomy face, his dark eyes staring intently at her, exuding an innate sense of oppression.
Fu Zhi Qiao was stunned by his fierce gaze and couldn't help but avoid his eyes.
Xie Zhuo interpreted this as a sign of guilt. "Qiao, why don't you dare look at me? Hmm?"
Xie Zhuo was on the verge of exploding, and Fu Zhi Qiao tried to calm him down, "Calm down first, shall we talk somewhere else?"
They were standing face to face on the street, with people passing by and pointing and whispering among themselves.
It was definitely not the place to talk in public, so Xie Zhuo grabbed his wrist and led him into a teahouse by the roadside.
Ginkgo called from behind, "Hey! Hey! Girl?"
Xie Zhuo was very annoyed by Yin Xing's little tail. He shot her a glare, and Yin Xing immediately fell silent, quietly jogging after him into the teahouse.
In the private room of the teahouse, Xie Zhuo released her hand: "Now that it's quiet, tell me, who was that man just now?"
Fu Zhiqiao rubbed her wrist, feeling very annoyed by Xie Zhuo's repeated questioning. "What business is it of yours who I ask to help me pick leaves?"
Xie Zhuo laughed in anger, saying each word clearly, "Fu Zhi Qiao!" The anger he had barely managed to suppress flared up again: "Do you think I can't find him just because you don't tell me?"
"Don't involve innocent people."
"An innocent person?" Xie Zhuo's temper flared instantly. He sneered, "You dare to steal my people and still dare to say you're innocent?"
"Xie Zhuo, get this straight, I am not your property."
Xie Zhuo didn't respond to her words. "If he dares to come near you again, I will grind him to dust!"
This statement is both a threat and a warning.
Fu Zhi Qiao knew that Xie Zhuo was capable of doing such a thing, but she had no intention of compromising. She was also angry. She had already made her stance clear. It wasn't that she hadn't tried; she had believed in his promises. But what was the final result? The news that he was engaged to another woman.
The two are not a good match, and their family backgrounds and strengths are too different. The weaker party will inevitably be looked down upon by the other party's family. Even though she is now a county magistrate, her status is still lowly compared to Xie Zhuo, a true member of the royal family.
Xie Zhuo comes from a noble family and has been raised with the mindset of those in positions of power since childhood. He has always been the one being accommodated by others, and he has never accommodated anyone else.
Therefore, the concept of putting oneself in another's shoes simply doesn't exist for him.
He never imagined that for Fu Zhi Qiao, the pain of her beloved man marrying someone else was no less than having her flesh cut off and bones scraped.
Being blinded by love is an experience you only need to have once.
She couldn't let herself get any deeper into it.
Xie Zhuo will be getting married soon, and he will have a lawfully wedded wife. Should I be a mistress who can't be seen in public and continue to entangle myself with him?
He wanted to force her to stay by his side, but she refused to comply.
Fu Zhi Qiao quickly sorted out her thoughts, "Who is he? He's my future husband! Are you satisfied with this answer?"
The news of her seeking a husband had been circulating widely in the city for a while, but it was only overshadowed by her being named a county lady. Her engagement was something that couldn't be kept secret, nor did she want to.
The words "future husband" exploded in Xie Zhuo's ears like a thunderclap.
For a moment, he even doubted his ears. Otherwise, how could he hear such cruel words—that the woman he loved was going to marry someone else… He had been trying so hard to mend their relationship, but he never imagined that she was already planning to marry someone else.
The thought of Fu Zhi Qiao leaving him to marry someone else and have children... Xie Zhuo's throat suddenly felt like it was blocked by something, and he couldn't speak for a long time.
The tension reached its peak at this moment.
Meeting Xie Zhuo's dark eyes, Fu Zhi Qiao showed no fear whatsoever. Now that the pretense was over, she no longer held back: "I will absolutely never be anyone's concubine or mistress. I advise you to give up on the idea of taking me as your concubine!"
Xie Zhuo took a step closer and replied in a hoarse voice, "I never intended for you to be my concubine!"
Fu Zhiqiao was stunned. Soon, she came to her senses. No matter how many times you say nice things, they won't become the truth.
"So what? What you and I said doesn't count. Continuing to argue will only add to the pain."
Completely devoid of reason, Xie Zhuo sneered inwardly. No wonder his attitude towards her had become increasingly cold; it turned out he had another man: "Are you getting revenge on me? I'm engaged to someone else, so you're going to get engaged to someone else too?"
Fu Zhi Qiao opened her mouth as if to say something, but then thought, "Whatever you want to think." Her tone was indifferent and distant.
Xie Zhuo stared at Fu Zhi Qiao, his gaze unwavering, as if trying to see through her. His tall, imposing figure exuded a powerful aura, the first time Xie Zhuo had ever used such a forceful pressure on her.
"What if that man dies?"
"What?"
Would Xie Zhuo really go and cause trouble for Zhou Lizhang in a fit of anger? Zhou Lizhang is about to take the provincial examination, an opportunity that only comes once every three years. She can't let Zhou Lizhang miss this opportunity because of her.
With that in mind, Fu Zhi Qiao disregarded everything else: "Xie Zhuo, what exactly do you want?"
Her nervous appearance made Xie Zhuo even angrier, and he retorted, "What do I want?"
How could she not know what he was thinking?
Fu Zhi Qiao felt helpless. She didn't want to waste any more words with him, so she spoke bluntly: "You made me wait, and I waited, but what was the result? The news that you were engaged to someone else. How am I supposed to feel?"
This time, Xie Zhuo was speechless.
His expression froze for a moment, but he still stubbornly said, "I said I would marry you."
"Do you even believe that yourself?" With that, Fu Zhiqiao walked past him and tried to push the door open to leave.
Xie Zhuo grabbed her, his tone leaving no room for doubt: "As long as I live, you can never marry anyone else. You can only marry me in this lifetime."
Fu Zhi Qiao was both angry and annoyed, and she shook off his hand.
In Xie Zhuo's view, she didn't trust him because she now had other men to choose from. Instead of looking for the reasons within himself, he blamed everything on Zhou Lizhang, believing that it was because of his appearance that a rift appeared between them.
"If you walk out this door today, I will kill that man."
"Do you think you can threaten me like this?" Fu Zhi Qiao was furious and sneered, "You don't know, do you? In just these few days, the number of people coming to propose marriage has almost worn out my doorstep. If I lose this one, I can find another one, unless you kill every man in the world!"
Her words were full of sarcasm, and Xie Zhuo felt as if his heart had been stabbed with a knife. He couldn't listen anymore: "Shut up! I will never let you marry someone else!"
“Not only will I marry someone else, but we’ll also have a bunch of kids,” Fu Zhi Qiao said, only picking out the harshest things to say.
"What did you say? You want to have a child with him?" Xie Zhuo exuded a cold and murderous aura.
He was almost burned to ashes by jealousy.
Fu Zhi Qiao felt uneasy under his gaze. She had never seen Xie Zhuo so angry before. He was usually a man who never showed his emotions, but now his face was ashen and he was furious.
Fu Zhi Qiao felt a little uneasy, but she still stubbornly insisted, "What happened between us is already in the past. If you can't marry me, why won't you let me go?"
Calming herself down, Fu Zhiqiao said slowly, "Xie Zhuo, you are the heir of Prince Duan, a favored son of the emperor, and have never tasted defeat. Ask yourself honestly, do you really love me? Your so-called love is nothing but possessiveness at work, and your reluctance to let go is just because you don't want to admit that there are things you can't have."
Her tone was distant, and Xie Zhuo was about to retort when he caught a fleeting look of disgust in her eyes.
Does she dislike me?
Xie Zhuo's anger instantly subsided, and he looked at her with sad eyes, "A Qiao, you can doubt whatever you want, but the one thing you can't doubt is my love for you."
Fu Zhi Qiao turned her back to him, and the only response she received was her rapid breathing, which had become rapid due to anger.
"What do I have to do for you to believe me?" Xie Zhuo hugged her from behind and pressed his lips to her earlobe. "I have absolutely no romantic feelings for Ya Dan. Don't worry, I'll handle everything. Qiao, please believe me one more time, okay?"
Xie Zhuo had never experienced such embarrassment.
He humbled himself and pleaded for peace in every way, but she remained unmoved.
Even though Fu Zhi Qiao was in his arms, he still felt that she was like a wisp of wind that he couldn't grasp, and that she could disappear at any moment. This feeling was very unfamiliar to Xie Zhuo. From childhood to adulthood, he had never failed to get what he wanted, until he met Fu Zhi Qiao, and he realized what it felt like to desire something but not be able to have it.
What if she really marries someone else?
Xie Zhuo didn't want to think about it deeply, nor did he dare to. He couldn't bear to watch his beloved be taken away.
His warm breath was right next to her ear, and Fu Zhi Qiao unconsciously shrank her neck, but her attitude remained firm: "I will not marry you." After saying that, she struggled to get out of his embrace, but Xie Zhuo held her even tighter. After trying to no avail, she gave up struggling and stiffened her body, letting him hold her.
You will!
Xie Zhuo's confident words left Fu Zhi Qiao speechless. She turned her head away from him, her resistance very obvious.
Xie Zhuo sensed her resistance, his eyes darkened, and he finally let go.
"Ah Qiao, as long as I live, you can never marry anyone else."
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