Chapter 13 My Ex-Love Would Rather Marry a Merchant's Wife Than Be My High-Ranking Mistress...
Just as Zhu Xuanning stood up to switch places with Song Zhaohan, someone pushed the door open and entered.
Yan Hengdan returned, bringing with her a charming and beautiful young woman, as lovely as a crabapple blossom.
"Playing mahjong." Yan Hengdan uttered the words, completely ignoring Song Zhaohan's gloomy expression.
He directly had someone place a seat next to Song Zhaohan, and the girl behind him followed closely behind Yan Hengdan, secretly glancing at Song Zhaohan with her watery, affectionate eyes.
"Ah Zhao, I've wrapped up Tang Luan and given it to you, why aren't you happy?" Yan Hengdan sat down leisurely, tilted her head and leaned on the brocade pillow that the servant had placed on the table, and said with a smile.
Oh no, the banquet has been ruined and is about to end again. I'm going crazy.
The round-faced boy felt a deep sense of despair, closed his eyes slightly, and dared not look.
Before Song Zhaohan could tell him to get lost, Yan Hengdan continued, "Tang Luan is pregnant with A Zhao's child. When I went there, this mother was about to force-feed her medicine to abort the pregnancy. Don't you feel sorry for her?"
Yan Hengdan glanced at the girl with his dark eyes, and his magnetic voice rose higher: "Tang Luan, why don't you beg A Zhao to protect you?"
From the moment she entered the greenhouse, the woman removed her heavy robes, leaving only a light, soft gauze dress.
As Yan Hengdan finished speaking, the surroundings fell silent. The woman suddenly knelt down, disregarding her dignity, and moved to Song Zhaohan's side, sobbing softly.
Zhu Xuanning lowered her brows and saw a faint glimmer of hope in the woman's tearful eyes. Zhu Xuanning clenched her fingers, her eyes filled with disgust for these young noblemen.
She knew that in this person's eyes, she was no different from Tang Luan, who was kneeling on the ground sobbing.
The only difference is that one has already succeeded easily, while the other has not yet succeeded.
"Enough!" Song Zhaohan was truly enraged. He slammed down the cards in his hand and confronted Yan Hengdan, saying, "What's wrong with you? Why are you trying to disgust me?"
Yan Hengdan tilted his head, his indifferent eyes revealing a hint of madness. It seemed he was determined to antagonize Song Zhaohan today: "I disgust you? I'm telling some people to know their place and recognize their position."
After saying that, Yan Hengdan glanced at Tang Luan, who was kneeling, and laughed: "You used to be someone that A Zhao cherished, how come you have fallen to this state? A Zhao doesn't even look at you. It shows that even someone who is cherished is just a plaything once the novelty wears off."
Yan Hengdan never mentioned Song Zhaohan's new love interest in her words, yet she couldn't help but mention it in every sentence.
Zhu Xuanning concealed the emotions that were about to surface beneath her eyelashes, but her face grew paler and paler. The brokenness of her forced smile was heartbreaking: "Ah Zhao, the room was a bit stuffy, and I couldn't breathe, so I went out first. Thank you for bringing me here today."
Before Song Zhaohan could speak, Zhu Xuanning was about to leave.
As she turned around, tears streamed down her dark eyelashes. Song Zhaohan saw this and hurriedly stood up to grab her hand.
"Let me explain." As Song Zhaohan pulled Zhu Xuanning along, Tang Luan, who was kneeling on the ground, hugged his legs and cried, refusing to get up.
Yan Hengdan watched the farce indifferently, a slight smile playing on her lips.
In a terrible mood, Song Zhaohan kicked Tang Luan hard on the shoulder, her beautiful face revealing a terrifying ruthlessness: "Get out."
He showed no mercy. Tang Luan, who had fallen to the ground, instinctively protected her stomach, leaving her only with a helpless despair.
Zhu Xuanning's gaze shifted from Song Zhaohan to Tang Luan, her disgust and anxiety intensifying. She forcefully shook off Song Zhaohan's hand.
"Xuan Ning!" Song Zhaohan called her name anxiously, unwilling to let go of her hand.
Zhu Xuanning turned around and slapped him hard, finding a small outlet for her feelings of helplessness.
After the crisp, lingering sound, the room fell into a deathly silence. Even Yan Hengdan gave Zhu Xuanning a formal look.
Song Zhaohan, who had been slapped, stood there, his whole being shrouded in a chaotic shadow. His gaze gradually became turbulent, but when he heard Zhu Xuanning's weak sobs, he struggled to regain some of his rationality.
"Song Zhaohan, I suppose I'll end up like that too."
"I don't want things to turn out like this after falling in love with you. Let's just break up."
Zhu Xuanning's tears fell as she concealed the surging anger in her chest. She gave the young man standing there one last resolute look before her white dress fluttered away like a sorrowful butterfly.
A flood of emotions surged through Song Zhaohan's heart. Suddenly, he moved, his eyes dark and obsessive, and he once again forcefully grasped the butterfly that was about to completely leave his life.
Zhu Xuanning couldn't break free from him; the young man held her hand tightly, their fingers intertwined, brooking no refusal from her.
Song Zhaohan walked to Zhu Xuanning's side, bent down to wipe away her tears, and tried to comfort her while suppressing her temper.
This was a sight none of his friends had ever seen: a round-faced boy covering his eyes, his pupils wide open, his mouth slightly agape.
Yan Hengdan frowned, feeling that things were starting to go against his expectations.
Once Zhu Xuanning had stopped crying, with only a few sobs remaining, Song Zhaohan stood beside her, put his arm around her shoulder, and let her lean gently against him.
The boy's gloomy gaze swept over everyone present, and he uttered a heavy sentence, responding to Yan Hengdan's words that had shattered Zhu Xuanning's heart: "I will marry Xuanning, and from now on, show her some respect."
Everyone present was shocked, even Yan Hengdan, who had been frowning, was stunned.
“Especially you.” Song Zhaohan stared at her sickly cousin, her eyes filled with unyielding darkness: “Yan Hengdan, if you use any more dirty tricks against her, I’ll beat you so badly you won’t be able to get out of bed, understand?”
"Let's go." When facing Zhu Xuanning, Song Zhaohan's voice softened again.
After the two left, the round-faced boy, who had been terrified and sweating profusely, stared blankly at his sides, muttered an apology to the heavens: "Yan Wu, I think you should hire an imperial physician to examine someone's brain. Song Ming is so young, he must be suffering from hysteria."
Only Yu Xuan called over his servants and had them carry Tang Luan, who was curled up on the ground, away.
"Let's dispose of the flesh inside her belly." Yu Xuan's voice was gentle, his eyes filled with a hint of compassion, but the words he uttered sent chills down one's spine.
He admired ambitious people; she could still get pregnant after each encounter by being given a bowl of medicine, which showed she was resourceful. It was just a pity that she had lost Xiaoming's affection for more than three months, and even if the child in her belly was Xiaoming's, the Duke's mansion would not acknowledge it.
Song Zhaohan led Zhu Xuanning to a private room, where only he and Zhu Xuanning were present.
"Does it hurt?" Zhu Xuanning stroked the slap mark on Song Zhaohan's face, feeling relieved but with guilt flashing in her eyes.
Song Zhaohan grasped Zhu Xuanning's hand in return, no longer angry. Instead, she laughed and said casually, "This is nothing. Madam bit my finger until it bled, but I didn't even cry out in pain."
A blush immediately rose to Zhu Xuanning's face, and her slightly misty eyes caused Song Zhaohan to lose her composure for a moment.
"Don't call me that," Zhu Xuanning whispered.
"Madam, Madam." Song Zhaohan was unhappy, and called out twice, her voice rising higher and higher. After that, she felt less regretful and became happy.
"Ah Zhao, I don't take what you just said seriously."
Song Zhaohan never expected that while she didn't regret her impulsive actions, Zhu Xuanning would regret them instead.
His emotions quickly turned cold: "Why? Isn't it good that I married you?"
"Or is it that you still have your cousin in mind; you'd rather marry a merchant's wife than be the mistress of my noble family?"
Song Zhaohan thought of that merchant he had never taken seriously, and a deep, gloomy emotion welled up in his unusually alluring peach blossom eyes.
Zhu Xuanning wasn't afraid of him; instead, she cupped his face and kissed him.
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