Chapter 2

Chapter 2: He Said He Would Always Be Loyal to His Wife “Stop her!” Old Madam Xu shouted! Wang Cuilian rushed over and grabbed Li Xuemiao. Xu Manjiang had already slept with her. For the sake of their relationship, he couldn’t bear to watch Li Xuemiao take her own life, so he ran over and knelt before her. “Xuemiao, it’s all my fault. I drank too much and mistook you for someone else. I’m the one who should die. Please, don’t do anything foolish!” “That’s right, Xuemiao. As long as you’re alive, there’s always hope. Don’t worry. We’ll definitely give you an explanation!” With the mother and son stopping her, Li Xuemiao took the opportunity to back down. She threw herself into their arms and burst into tears. Fang Yao watched her fake performance before turning her gaze toward Xu Qingzhou. Just moments ago in the courtyard, he had been furious. But now, his expression had returned to normal. His calm eyes made it seem as though he were watching a scene that had nothing to do with him. Fang Yao figured he probably didn’t have any feelings for Li Xuemiao yet. That was why he could become indifferent so quickly. She stepped forward and faced Old Madam Xu seriously. “Grandma Xu, there’s something about what happened tonight that I don’t understand. Xu Manjiang was drunk, but Li Xuemiao was sober. Even if she was sent to the wrong bridal chamber, there’s no way she couldn’t recognize her own man, right? When I was in Big Brother’s room, I knew immediately that something was wrong as soon as he walked in.” “This…” Old Madam Xu looked toward Li Xuemiao. Li Xuemiao tightly gripped Wang Cuilian’s clothes. To make sure her relationship with Xu Manjiang became undeniable, she had deliberately turned off the lights. She had also taken the initiative when they were together. Xu Manjiang quickly realized something was wrong, but she had seduced him so thoroughly that he couldn’t stop himself. She had already prepared an excuse for this. She raised her tear-streaked face and looked at Old Madam Xu aggrievedly. “Xu Qingzhou has been stationed with the army for years. I’ve only seen him twice since we got engaged. You were the ones who sent me to the wrong bridal chamber. How can you blame me for not recognizing him? Boo-hoo…” “That’s right. Qingzhou is rarely home. Sending Xuemiao to the wrong room was our mistake. We’ve made her suffer.” Guilt flashed through Old Madam Xu’s eyes. Taking advantage of the situation, Li Xuemiao buried herself in Wang Cuilian’s arms again, crying that she didn’t want to live anymore. Fang Yao curled her lips mockingly and took another step forward. “Fine. Even if she was wronged, I was also formally married into the Xu family. Now that Xu Manjiang and Li Xuemiao have slept together, just thinking about it disgusts me. There’s no way I can live with him from now on!” She paused before adding coldly, “I believe Auntie and the others… wouldn’t be able to accept a woman who has already lost her purity either, right?” Fang Yao’s gaze shifted to the right. Xu Qingzhou’s expression remained calm. But when his eyes met hers, there was a hint of scrutiny and amusement in them. Wang Hua was about to speak up for her family when Wang Cuilian beat her to it. She grabbed Xu Manjiang, whose face was swollen like a pig’s head from Fang Yao’s beating. “If you can’t live together, then don’t! As if our family is dying to have you! I already told you, my son only went into the wrong bridal chamber because he was drunk. You immediately beat my son into this state. We must have been blind to choose you in the first place!” “Which one of us is blind?” Fang Yao sneered. “Xu Manjiang drank a little alcohol and couldn’t even recognize his own bride. And Li Xuemiao had barely seen the guests off before rushing to sleep with him. Were the two of them really that desperate that they couldn’t even wait long enough to turn on the lights?” “You…” Wang Cuilian was completely silenced by Fang Yao’s retort. Her old face turned bright red as she glared at her. But Fang Yao had no intention of letting her off easily. In her previous life, when Fang Yao remained unable to conceive, Wang Cuilian had constantly made sarcastic remarks and forced her to try all those so-called “folk remedies,” tormenting her both physically and mentally. In this life, Fang Yao intended to make her pay back every bit of it—with interest! “If what Li Xuemiao said is true, then Xu Manjiang slept with her while pretending to be his cousin. Wouldn’t that count as violating her will? If we report it to the police, wouldn’t that be considered rape? Would that be enough to get him sentenced to death?” Wang Cuilian’s face instantly went pale with fright. Xu Manjiang sobered up completely. He immediately stood up to defend himself. “I didn’t violate her will! Li Xuemiao was the one who took the initiative tonight! At first, I even called Fang Yao, and she didn’t resist!” Li Xuemiao’s mind went blank. **Xu Manjiang had actually thrown her under the bus!** She screamed, “I don’t want to live anymore!” She hugged the pillar and slammed her head against it. Blood immediately appeared from the wound. She closed her eyes and pretended to faint. Old Madam Xu could no longer sit still. She hurriedly ordered Wang Cuilian to go outside and find a doctor. Fang Yao simply stood to the side coldly, watching to see how this adulterous pair would clean up their mess. The chaos dragged on until midnight. Li Xuemiao had already slept with Xu Manjiang, so Wang Hua refused to acknowledge the marriage and wouldn’t let her return to their courtyard. Wang Cuilian had no choice but to have Xu Manjiang carry her back to the bridal room. However, to clear her son’s name, she united the entire family and insisted that Li Xuemiao was simply a shameless woman who was so desperate for a man that she had lost her mind. At this point, even if Li Xuemiao wanted to regret what she had done and refuse to marry Xu Manjiang, she had no way out! After Old Madam Xu finished dealing with the mess surrounding Xu Manjiang, she returned to the room completely exhausted. She walked over and weakly took Fang Yao’s hand. “Grandma knows you’ve been wronged too. But Manjiang and Xuemiao have already… crossed that line. Like you said, there’s no way for you to live with him anymore. And Qingzhou…” She sighed. “Grandma knows this isn’t fair to you. But things have already come to this. Why don’t the two of you make this work and let them be together?” “Since Grandma Xu has already decided, I…” Fang Yao was about to agree to break off her marriage with Xu Manjiang. After all, they hadn’t registered their marriage yet. Ending things was nothing more than a few words. She could even take this opportunity to demand compensation. But unexpectedly, Xu Qingzhou, who had remained silent since entering the room, suddenly spoke and interrupted her. “I don’t mind letting them be together. But my mother has spent the past year running around arranging my marriage. And now, when everything is finally settled, her daughter-in-law has been taken by someone else. How do you expect her to accept that?” “Then what do you want me to do? We can’t really force your younger brother to die!” Old Madam Xu slapped her thigh and began to cry. Xu Qingzhou merely snorted and looked at Fang Yao. “If Xu Manjiang is going to marry Li Xuemiao, then I want her.” Old Madam Xu’s crying stopped immediately. Her eyes were red as she turned to Fang Yao. “Yes! Girl, our Qingzhou isn’t bad either. Since you and Manjiang can’t live together anyway, why not just go along with this mistake and marry our Qingzhou?” Before Fang Yao could say anything, Wang Hua came over and took her hand. “Fang Yao, it’s already so late. We wouldn’t feel comfortable letting you travel back to your parents’ home at night. Stay with us for now. You can also think about marrying our Qingzhou.” At that moment, Wang Hua had lost her daughter-in-law and was filled with grievances. Xu Qingzhou was like a lifeline she desperately needed, so she kept giving him meaningful looks. Xu Qingzhou stepped forward, grabbed Fang Yao’s hand, and strode back toward the rear courtyard. The door of the bridal room opened and closed again. Just like that, he brought her back. Xu Qingzhou removed the large red wedding flower from his chest and casually placed it on the desk, leaving only the dazzling medals displayed on his chest. He put his hands on his hips and walked toward her. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, his body straight and sturdy like a pine tree. He wasn’t excessively muscular, nor was he thin. His build was well-proportioned and athletic, with long limbs. Combined with his handsome, cool features, his imposing presence made Fang Yao unconsciously swallow when he approached. “I married Li Xuemiao because I was following my mother’s wishes. To reassure her, I’ll admit that compared with Xu Manjiang, I’m not much better in some respects—but I’m definitely not worse than him.” He paused. “But there is one thing…” He sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping a perfectly appropriate distance from Fang Yao. His voice was deep, like the tolling of an ancient bell. “I will always remain loyal to my wife.”