Zhou Xu said, "Really?"
"Yes, it won't change." Wu Zhenhai looked at the blankness in her eyes, his heart aching as if pierced by something. He tightened his grip on her hand. "They wanted Zhou Fu to marry me, but I refused."
"It's rare that you'd pass up a good deal."
"If I let that woman in, I'm afraid there will be chaos."
"You're really worried that your son will get entangled with her."
Wu Zhenhai glared at her fiercely. "You can't say a nice thing with that mouth of yours; you can't expect anything nice to come out of a dog's mouth."
"Expecting something to come out of a dog's mouth is either stupid or malicious," Zhou Xu sneered.
"Alright," Wu Zhenhai said, "I'm not going to argue with you. My head hurts, give me a massage."
Zhou Xu didn't move. Instead, she slumped onto the table, resting her head on her arm, and said softly, "I originally planned to marry you properly. I never imagined that even leaving the Zhou Family would be so humiliating."
Wu Zhenhai suddenly felt a pang of heartache.
Little Chili Pepper, when have you ever shown weakness?!
She was truly hurt today.
Wu Zhenhai reached out and stroked her head, his tone unusually gentle as he coaxed her, "I know, I know you've been wronged."
"You know that, but you just don't feel bad about it," Zhou Xu said.
"It hurts, of course it hurts! I'll buy you two shops in the capital! Land in the capital is incredibly expensive, two shops would cost ten thousand or eight thousand taels."
"If your daughter were being smeared today, would you let her endure it and give her two shops instead?"
Wu Zhenhai said awkwardly, "You're not my daughter, why do you keep bringing this up?"
In the end, it just means they don't care about me.
"You're not like yourself today," Wu Zhenhai said. "You're the kind of person who never suffers a loss, so I'm not worried. Chanjuan is different; she grew up without a mother and has a soft, submissive nature..."
"Am I strong-willed because I have a mother who taught me that?" Zhou Xu said. "I don't suffer losses, so I deserve to be bullied."
Today's Zhou Xu left Old Cabbage Stalk with a strange feeling.
Feeling guilty, uneasy, and worried?
Wu Zhenhai himself couldn't explain it.
Because Zhou Xu never complains, she only makes demands.
Even if he and Zhou Fu were like that... she wouldn't have cared before.
Her feelings for him were mostly calculated.
Wu Zhenhai understands everything.
But today, she seems different.
Feeling wronged, tender, bittersweet, wanting to confide, waiting for his tenderness... In short, very different.
"Could you be pregnant?" Wu Zhenhai suddenly asked.
He knew from his wife that a pregnant woman's personality would change drastically.
"No," Zhou Xu said. "The doctor said it would be difficult for me to conceive again after the abortion."
Wu Zhenhai felt as if his heart had been pierced by needles. He gritted his teeth and said, "That must be a quack. Go and beg the Princess Consort for help; she'll surely have a solution."
"You're from the Zhou Family. How will the Zhou Family view you if you go to beg the Princess Consort?"
"That's none of your business. Just focus on getting better."
"Old Cabbage Stalk," Zhou Xu's tone suddenly became ethereal, "Do people still have souls after they die?"
Wu Zhenhai glared at her. "What's with all this talk about dying! Are you going to throw a tantrum and threaten suicide?"
Zhou Xu didn't reply, but continued to say to herself, "If there really is an afterlife, I don't want to be human again. Being human is so tiring."
Wu Zhenhai felt sorry for her, but said, "Don't talk about those useless things. Who knows if there's a next life? Just get what you want in this life, why wait for a next life!"
He has never believed in an afterlife.
You have to live this life well.
Power and women are what he desires, and he will scheme and plot, climbing and pursuing them by any means necessary.
"Neither of us are good people," Wu Zhenhai said. "So if there really is an afterlife, we certainly won't have a good ending either."
"You do have some self-awareness," Zhou Xu said. "If there's an afterlife, I'd like to be a tree. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter—the seasons will take their course. I can just stay Jingjing, watching everything unfold. Wouldn't that be wonderful..."
"It would be better if you became a tortoise, you'd live a long life," Wu Zhenhai said irritably.
"And what about you? You turned into a turtle?" Zhou Xu laughed.
For some reason, Wu Zhenhai felt that Zhou Xu seemed like a completely different person today.
She was clearly joking, but he felt a desolation in her smile.
No, it must be his own problem.
He's made a fool of himself again today, so he's understandably upset.
"Just focus on embroidering your dowry," Wu Zhenhai instructed. "Zhou Fu should be behaving herself by now..."
"Is that so?" Zhou Xu sneered.
She's also going to marry someone from another place.
"Does he really think everyone else is blind and deaf? Trying to bury your head in the sand after something like this has happened? Ha!"
"Stop talking nonsense, don't bury your head in the sand. You want her to come with me?" Wu Zhenhai glared at her.
No sooner had she finished speaking than Zhou Fu arrived with her maid.
When she entered the room and saw Wu Zhenhai, her eyes were filled with hatred.
But she was coming for Zhou Xu, and raised her hand to strike.
--She absolutely refused to believe that Zhou Xu wasn't behind this scheme against her today!
Zhou Xu sat there, motionless, coldly laughing as she let her be hit.
Wu Zhenhai grabbed Zhou Fu's hand and pushed her away.
Zhou Fu lost her balance and stumbled back a few steps before being helped back to her feet by her maid.
"Wu Zhenhai, who do you think you are, daring to lay a hand on me!" Zhou Fu said angrily.
She had Zidu lost face and dignity today; she was furious and no longer cared about her image.
She was indignant. Why, after all her years of hard work and dedication, could she only end up marrying someone far away or to someone of lower status?
Wu Zhenhai: "What am I? Just the man who pins you down!"
Even with him right in front of her, Zhou Fu dared to raise her hand and strike, which shows how arrogant she is in daily life.
He knew Zhou Xu was having a hard time, but he never imagined it had gotten to this extent.
Zhou Xu chuckled, "And after all that, she still doesn't want your man. Ninth Sister, you're better than me in every way, it's just a pity that Wu Zhenhai only likes me."
Zhou Fu's face turned purple with anger. She pointed at them and said, "You, you two plotted against me, didn't you? Yes, you definitely did!"
"Pah!" Wu Zhenhai spat. "Who do you think you are! If you want to seduce me, you should become my woman!"
Zhou Xu was even happier.
Unexpectedly, the Old Cabbage Stalk showed absolutely no mercy to the beautiful woman.
"If you're smart, you'll keep a low profile." Wu Zhenhai was merciless, "Who do you think you are! You're a disgrace to the Zhou Family. If you cause any more trouble, I'll make sure you die of illness!"
Zhou Fu was about to raise her hand again.
Wu Zhenhai sneered, "If you dare to lay a finger on Zhou Xu again, I'll chop off your claws. You'll see!"
"Don't be like that. You have to consider the owner before you beat a dog," Zhou Xu said coolly. "She's still a girl from the Zhou Family."
"A married daughter is like water spilled from a cup, let alone a worn-out shoe like this!" Wu Zhenhai said bluntly.
The two of them went back and forth, belittling Zhou Fu to the point of being worthless.