allonlinenovel Chapter 114 Her words pierced his heart.
Chapter 114 Her words pierced his heart.
Based on Liu Yue's reaction, Zhao Yi deduced that Shen Qingtan had already read the letter and that the situation was not optimistic.
Just a few days ago, he promised her that he would take good care of himself, protect her, and support her.
Immediately afterwards, the letter of divorce he wrote fell into her hands.
What is she thinking?
In particular, she asked him if there was anything else he was hiding from her.
He replied no.
In fact, he did keep the letter of divorce from his wife a secret.
The lie has now been exposed.
With a heavy heart, Zhao Yi slowly walked towards the inner room.
She sat sideways on the short couch, her head slightly lowered, her gaze seemingly fixed on the letter on the kang table, or perhaps staring blankly ahead without any focus.
He instinctively took two steps forward, the sound of his footsteps startling her.
She turned to look at him, her face pale, her eyes red and glistening with tears.
She glanced at him once, then turned back to face him with the back of her head.
Zhao Yi had never seen her vulnerable side before. Seeing her stubborn expression and the way she was trying to suppress her grievances, he regretted his decision for the first time.
"Tan'er..." Zhao Yi came to Shen Qingtan's side, wanting to explain and coax her, but at this moment, he felt his words were inadequate, and he even said somewhat woodenly, "Don't be angry..."
Shen Qingtan turned to look at Zhao Yi, seemingly surprised and puzzled, not quite understanding the meaning behind his words.
She smiled and said, "I'm not angry at all. My future husband and I are very grateful for the care that Second Master has always given us."
"After what happened on our wedding day, Second Master could have ignored me, but you accepted me. You treat me very gently and considerately, never giving me a cold shoulder or speaking harshly. You always protect me in public, and even entrusted me with managing all the businesses under your control, giving me the respect I deserve. You even arranged my future path, so I wouldn't have to waste my life in the Duke's mansion, nor would I be bullied by my second sister and brother-in-law."
Shen Qingtan picked up the letter with her slender fingers, her smile unchanged, and said, "I am very satisfied. It's much, much better than I expected."
Zhao Yi looked at her bright smile and relaxed tone, as if she was truly relieved that she no longer had any worries, but his heart felt heavy.
Shen Qingtan's eyes sparkled, and she said with a smile, "Second Master, I'm afraid I can never repay your kindness in this lifetime. In the future, the three of us will come to your door to express our gratitude."
Zhao Yi's throat was dry; every word she said pierced his heart.
He denied it, saying, "I'm not..."
Shen Qingtan interrupted him, deliberately saying things to secure her own future: "Second Master, I'm not a daughter of the Marquis's family, and I don't know if I can find any relatives. I'm practically an orphan. As you know, since ancient times, the rich marry the rich, and the poor marry the poor. How about you arrange a new identity for me, like your distant cousin? If the First Madam can act as matchmaker, I should be able to marry a very good man..."
Zhao Yi couldn't listen to a single word anymore. In desperation, he hugged her and whispered, "Stop talking, Tan'er, don't say anymore."
Shen Qingtan froze, slowly lowered her eyelashes, concealing the astonishment in her eyes, and truly said nothing more.
Zhao Yi realized that his behavior had offended her too much, but at the moment he actually held her in his arms, he didn't want to let her go.
He couldn't help but recall when he first came in and saw her stubborn yet aggrieved expression. He felt a deep empathy for her feelings and couldn't help but hug her even tighter.
“When you said those things to me just now, it hurt me deeply. At that moment, I understood how you felt when you saw this letter.” Zhao Yi said in her ear, “Tan’er, I’m sorry. I didn’t think things through and made you feel wronged.”
Shen Qingtan could hear his breathing and smell the bitter medicinal scent emanating from his body.
This was the first time the two of them had been so close, so intimate, that they could even feel each other's heartbeats.
She felt very heavy-hearted when she saw the letter. Although she was very sad, she felt that she could get through it.
But when he hugged her and apologized, saying he could understand her feelings, a surge of bitterness welled up in his throat, and his eyes stung.
At that moment, she realized that she had actually been feeling wronged.
However, she knew clearly that she was not the favored eldest daughter of the Marquis of Chengen's mansion.
Even if you feel wronged, there will be no one to comfort or console you.
What's the use of feeling wronged?
So she didn't feel wronged.
I just can't figure it out.
His words easily stirred up the emotions she had been suppressing.
Shen Qingtan did not reply, nor did she hug him back.
Silence spread between the two men.
Zhao Yi felt uneasy and wanted to say something, but the person in his arms gently pushed him away.
Shen Qingtan looked up at him and asked in a low voice, "Is Second Master going back on his word?"
"Yes." Zhao Yi stared at her intently. "I've changed my mind."
Shen Qingtan pursed her lips and looked down at the letter in her hand.
Zhao Yi said with some difficulty, "I naively thought that this was for your own good. But I regretted it, I regretted it a long time ago, and I planned to go to my grandfather to get it back and destroy it, as if nothing had happened. But this letter still ended up in your hands."
Shen Qingtan paused as she pressed the seal on the letter. Recalling Liu Yue's words about Zhao Yi drying books in the study in the front yard, and combining this with the old master's words, she roughly guessed what had happened.
Zhao Yi wasn't turning over the book that he cherished; he was looking for this letter.
“We are husband and wife, a single entity. I shouldn’t ignore your feelings and thoughts. Even if I need to make a decision, I should discuss it with you, instead of making it on my own.”
Zhao Yi coughed a few times, his dark eyes fixed on hers: "You've found Zhong Yuan, he will cure my illness. You will only ever be my wife and the mother of my children."
Shen Qingtan's lips moved as if she wanted to say something, but she hesitated and ultimately didn't say anything that would offend him.
"Second Master's words are like the weather in June, changing in an instant." Shen Qingtan fiddled with the letter in her hand and smiled slightly. "I'll keep this letter for now. If Second Master changes his mind again, there's no need to write another one."
Zhao Yi wasn't about to let her keep it. She quickly took it back, and as Shen Qingtan reached out to snatch it, she took her hand and said weakly, "Madam, my health has been getting worse since I wrote this letter, so it must be bad luck. It can't be kept any longer."
Shen Qingtan: "..."
Having said all that, what else could she say?
Shen Qingtan wasn't ungrateful; his letter was indeed for her sake.
However, such self-initiated actions can only be done once, not twice.
Now that the two of them have talked things out, it's time to turn the page.
She stated her position: "If there is a next time, I will obediently do as Second Master says, so as to fulfill our friendship."