Burying the Hatchet

"And you," Er Ya scolded Xu Qiaoqiao, "How could someone so clever do something so stupid? What's this about being worthy or not? As long as you believe you're worth it, whatever others say is nonsense!"

Xu Qiaoqiao's face flushed instantly, and she looked a little guilty.

Fang Tingxiu kept her eyes fixed on her. "Qiaoqiao, did someone say something to you back then, so you deliberately lied to me?"

Xu Qiaoqiao shook her head and remained silent.

"Say something!" Fang Tingxiu grabbed her sleeve.

Xu Qiaoqiao broke down in tears.

This matter had weighed on her mind for so many years that she had never even mentioned it to her parents or brothers.

She liked Fang Tingxiu, openly and unabashedly.

She didn't really think Fang Tingxiu could pass the legendary imperial examination; it was something very, very far removed from her life.

But--

Chapter 207 Reconciliation

Fang Tingxiu has a maternal family.

His mother came from a prominent family; she was an illegitimate daughter of the Zheng Duke's Residence. Although she had instructed Fang Tingxiu before her death not to seek out his maternal relatives with whom he had severed ties, she was still a mother.

However, he had an uncle who, while on official business near Zhen'an, missed his sister and went to look for her, only to unexpectedly learn that his sister and brother-in-law had both passed away, leaving behind only a nephew.

The uncle found the Xu family.

Because Fang Tingxiu was already doing very well in his studies, his uncle wanted to take him to the capital.

Fang Tingxiu refused.

He did not forget his mother's dying words.

Her mother disliked her family, and she suffered hardships from a young age because of her status as an illegitimate daughter. Her later marriage was also a result of unforeseen circumstances.

Being able to marry her father was actually an accident, a form of compensation from the Duke's Residence to her mother.

Later, when her father got into trouble, the Duke's Residence stayed out of it and even tried to force her mother to divorce him and remarry the person she had missed.

Even though it was all a scheme by the Duke's Residence, Mother refused to listen.

It was the Duke's Residence that threatened my mother to sever ties, but I never expected my mother to be so resolute that she actually did sever ties.

Fang Tingxiu kept her mother's words in mind, never considering taking advantage of the Duke's Residence, nor wanting to have any dealings with them.

Moreover, how could he abandon his Qiaoqiao?

But his uncle brought a concubine, and the woman could see his reluctance to part with her, so she went to Xu Qiaoqiao and spoke to her "heart to heart" for a long time.

She told Xu Qiaoqiao that Fang Tingxiu's distinguished maternal family would arrange everything for him, including his future and marriage.

She told Xu Qiaoqiao Fang Tingxiu would definitely have three wives and four concubines in the future, and that she was too lowly to be his legal wife.

She told Xu Qiaoqiao that the rules in the Capital were very strict; becoming a concubine meant severing ties with one's family; even if one became a wife, she probably wouldn't be able to see her family again...

A fourteen-year-old girl, raised in luxury and pampered by her family, what kind of wickedness has she witnessed?

Her mind was filled with love and romance, she gave everything for love, and even had a kind of "self-sacrifice for a man" mentality, which led her to do those kinds of childish things.

Fang Tingxiu finally managed to get Xu Qiaoqiao to talk.

When Xu Qiaoqiao brought up the past, she finally spoke out about the grievances she had never dared to tell anyone before. She cried so hard that she could not stand, squatted on the ground and hugged herself, feeling as aggrieved as a child.

Fang Tingxiu then realized that he had thought the girl had grown up and found him boring, which was why she had changed her mind.

It turns out, there was such a thing hidden.

He understood his mother's good intentions.

Those people from the Duke's Residence are not like them at all.

They will stop at nothing for profit, and they will even bully his young girl.

"Qiaoqiao, don't cry, don't cry." Fang Tingxiu wanted to comfort Xu Qiaoqiao, but he was at a loss for words.

Gu Wanning: "..."

Why don't you give him a hug?

Being single in your twenties, you've earned it through your own merits; you truly deserve it.

"Er Ya, Xi'er, come with me to the front to greet the guests."

She took them away; let's give these two a little more time.

With the misunderstanding cleared up, the two naturally got together.

When Xu Qiaoqiao saw Gu Wanning again, she was beaming with joy.

"Aren't you shy anymore?" Gu Wanning said with a laugh. "When are you getting married and I want to attend your wedding? I need to prepare a gift of money in advance."

Xu Qiaoqiao's face flushed red. "Fang Tingxiu said that my father and brothers need to know about this... He'll first send a matchmaker to my house to propose marriage, with all the traditional betrothal gifts and formalities..."

Gu Wanning: "Tsk tsk, are you going to marry him? Look how poor Fang Tingxiu."

"I can make money!" Xu Qiaoqiao quickly said, "His original intention was to be an honest official like Chief Grand Secretary Gu, serving the country and its people. If he wanted to make money, he would quit his official post and sell drugs instead."

"That protects them."

She couldn't speak ill of her own father in public, but in her heart she thought, "Let Fang Tingxiu act like a good person."

My dad is really no good.

He's truly dedicated to the country and its people, but at home he's a complete idiot who'll drive you crazy.

"Sister Gu, do you think my dad will object?"

"If I were your father, I would definitely object," Gu Wanning said. "He disappeared without a trace after high school, isn't that infuriating!"

"No, he thought someone had come to his house to announce good news; it was all a mistake..."

"Alright, alright, I can tell you're siding with outsiders, you've already boarded Fang Tingxiu's pirate ship. My older brother even tried to set me up with Fang Tingxiu before, oh dear, he almost ended up eating your grass."

Xu Qiaoqiao, "Sister Gu, please stop teasing me. In the end, we're still destined to be together."

Gu Wanning: Love-struck, hopeless.

Two people

Long-awaited reunion

The misunderstanding was cleared up, and everything was naturally harmonious.

Fang Tingxiu was like an old house on fire; she came to eat snail rice noodles almost every day.

When the store is crowded, he will even come over to help serve customers, showing no airs whatsoever.

Gu Wanning: It's brimming with the saccharine, cloying scent of romance.

However, when the news reached Xu Weibei, the story was quite different.

"When will Physician Bian return?" Xu Weibei asked Gao Lan after taking a sip of tea after returning to the villa in the middle of the night.