The Heart Belonged to Another

--If you weren't my brother-in-law, I'd punch you to death.

Fang Tingxiu sat for a while before getting up to take his leave, and Gu Anqi saw him off.

"Marquis," Qin Lie said with a smile as he watched the two figures walking and talking from upstairs, "Is Lord Gu choosing a son-in-law for himself? I think he intends for Fang Tingxiu to marry into the family?"

With both parents deceased, no influential relatives, and no support, marrying into the Gu family would guarantee a meteoric rise in one's career.

"He's dreaming!" Xu Weibei gritted his teeth. "I'm not dead yet!"

"I think Lord Gu has a strong prejudice against the Marquis, and seems to be doing this on purpose to provoke Marquis. However, Fang Tingxiu is indeed a good choice."

"He's so old and still not married, he's rejected so many people, do you know if he's sick or something?"

Qin Lie: "Perhaps it's because he has certain requirements regarding women."

"Let's go find your people." Xu Weibei didn't want to listen to him.

Qin Lie laughed heartily, not in a hurry to leave. "I've already given her the things today, so I won't bother her anymore. Knowing when to stop is just like fighting a war."

Xu Weibei felt he was being pointed at, but he still sat down, took a sip of tea, and slowly calmed down.

With a formidable enemy at hand, one must remain calm and composed.

We must not let that Gu Anqi cloud our judgment; our main target is Gu Wanning.

Meanwhile, Fang Tingxiu was talking to Gu Anqi about what had happened that day.

He was frank, "Lord Gu, are you perhaps trying to match me with your sister?"

Unfazed by being exposed, Gu Anqi replied calmly, "That's exactly what I was thinking. What do you think, Tingxiu? The Gu family doesn't require you to marry into the family. My sister is kind and generous. You see, even though we're divorced, the Marquis still remembers her fondly, and his concubines treat her like a sister, protecting her in every way."

"So, Lord Gu has also noticed that the Marquis still harbors feelings for your sister. Then why not try to bring them together?"

"If it's good, then we won't get a divorce? Tingxiu should have heard about the Marquis's romantic escapades."

"I have heard of that, Your Marquis... but seeing Marquis today, it seems you've turned over a new leaf. I wonder..."

"My younger sister is strong-willed and unwilling to compromise. When she marries, she will seek a husband who will not take concubines."

"I see. Then Lord Gu should choose carefully. As for me... there are some things I've never told anyone, but I'm grateful for your kindness and for thinking so highly of me, so I'll be frank with you. Actually, I have someone in my heart."

Gu Anqi was surprised. "Whose daughter is she? Tell me, and I'll see if I can help you find a match."

It's a pity we couldn't become brothers-in-law, but who doesn't admire talent?

The brother of the girl who was chosen by Fang Tingxiu is so envious that he won't have to worry about his sister's marriage anymore.

"This is a long story—"

Chapter 156 A Heart Belongs to Someone Else

Fang Tingxiu was not from Zhen'an.

His father came from a poor family, and his grandfather was a poor scholar.

Later, my father excelled in his studies and became an official. After passing the imperial examination, he obtained a position as a county magistrate, thinking that he had changed his family's fortunes.

Unfortunately, this period of good fortune was short-lived, as my father was implicated in a cheating scandal related to the imperial examinations.

He hadn't done anything wrong; he had just followed the crowd and paid a visit to one of the officials who had accepted bribes and participated in the cheating. However, he had no proof and couldn't prove that the exam questions hadn't been leaked, so he was exiled to Zhen'an Prefecture.

My mother, who was well-educated and reasonable, originally came from an official family in the Capital. She married my father after passing the imperial examination.

After her father's accident, her mother stayed by his side and went with him to Zhen'an.

Fang Tingxiu was already six years old at that time.

In Zhen'an, a family of three lived a poor but happy life.

Unfortunately, their happiness was short-lived. His father died from a venomous snake bite, and his mother passed away three years later, also grieving.

"So you have a maternal family?" Gu Anqi asked.

"Actually, yes, but when my mother decided to leave with my father and refused to remarry, she had already broken ties with her maternal family. Before she passed away, she told me not to ask my maternal family for help. My mother was strong-willed her whole life, and I didn't have time to fulfill my filial duties, but I can still do this."

Gu Anqi thought that Fang Tingxiu's mother was probably not as old as he is now when she passed away.

When she was young, she was full of ambition, but did she ever think about how her son, who had no one to rely on, would survive in the future?

"Before my mother passed away, she was worried that no one would take care of me in the future," Fang Tingxiu said, "So... she promised the county magistrate that I would marry into his family when I grew up."

"Isn't the county magistrate taking advantage of someone's misfortune?" Gu Anqi frowned.

This is very much against his values.

You don't have to help, but you shouldn't take advantage of someone's misfortune.

"I suppose so," Fang Tingxiu said. "He's an extremely calculating man, stingy and mean, but he's very good to his daughter. He has two sons and a daughter, and his daughter was born late in life, so he cherishes her dearly. He's worried that she might be mistreated after marriage, so he wants to find her a husband who will live with her in the family."

Gu Anqi said, "Then he... isn't so bad."

In comparison, they are Gu family and do too little for their younger sister.

"Yes," Fang Tingxiu said, "He did indeed support my studies, spending a considerable amount of money."

"So after you achieved success, you rejected so many marriage proposals. But why did you say publicly that you weren't engaged? Are you still dissatisfied with this marriage?"

"It's not me who's unhappy, it's her," Fang Tingxiu said with a wry smile. "She's three years younger than me..."

When he first arrived at the Xu family, the young boy was sensitive and panicked.

But the little girl with her hair in two buns came over, took his hand, tilted her head, and smiled at him, saying, "When we grow up, you'll be my husband!"

She treated him like her husband, giving him all the best food and toys. When others bullied or mocked him, she was the one who stood in front of him.

But then they grew up.

At the age of fourteen, she fell in love with a fisherman's boy who could sing folk songs.

She went to the riverbank every day to see him and listen to him sing.

Fang Tingxiu was heartbroken, but he didn't tell anyone. He could only study harder, hoping that he would be good enough to win her heart back.