Shi Fengju found himself increasingly at a loss for words as he looked at her. "Cousin, you should give up! When you entered the family, it wasn’t a big affair, and nothing has happened between us. It won’t be a problem for the Shi family to find you a good household to marry into. Just wait patiently!" "No! No!" Gu Fangzi shook her head, murmuring, "I won’t leave! You can’t treat me , you can’t! Big Cousin, even if you’ve forgotten our past, I’ve already entered the Shi family’s door, I’m already your woman! You want me to remarry, what do you take me for! Although I haven’t read much, I understand the simple truth that a woman should remain faithful to one man!" Shi Fengju felt like it was impossible to get through to her. His expression turned cold, "You really think so? I truly don’t understand, why must you do this?" With lowered gaze, Gu Fangzi wept without speaking. Why? How could she simply accept this! After all the hard work and effort of over a decade, she was about to harvest the fruits of her labor, and now being asked to settle for less and give it up, how could she accept that! "If that’s all you think, it’s utterly unnecessary! I’ve told you, nothing has happened between us, there’s no need for you to overthink!" "I can’t!" Gu Fangzi said tearfully, "Big Cousin, even if you forget about me, I can’t forget you! I won’t leave, even if, even if you don’t acknowledge me, it’s fine, just don’t make me leave, please, I beg you!" Shi Fengju was once again confronted with Gu Fangzi’s relentless persistence. In the beginning, it was her entanglements that left him with no choice but to take her into the family during her mourning period, and now she was resorting to her old tricks again. Shi Fengju suddenly asked, "Why must you stay in the Shi family?" Gu Fangzi’s heart turned ice-cold at his words. Why, of course, it was for him! She just wept softly, "I can’t bear to leave, I really can’t bear to..." Shi Fengju shook his head in mockery, "If you’ve really decided so, then I’ve nothing more to say! When the time comes, feel free to pick any place in the Shi family’s villa manor! Either marry someone else, or move out to a villa, you choose one of these two options!" "Big Cousin!" Gu Fangzi abruptly stepped forward and desperately clung to Shi Fengju’s sleeve, "Why must you treat me this way! I’ve really changed, I promised you I would remember my status, and I will keep my word, why do you still treat me this way! Can’t you see that I’ve really changed! Big Cousin!" Shi Fengju shook off her hand and said indifferently, "Is that so? But I don’t feel it! Enough, stop treating me like a fool, I might not guess exactly what you’re thinking, but I can guess it nine times out of ten. There’s no one else here, so there’s no need for you to continue this tiring act! Cousin, I’ve made myself very clear, think about it yourself! I hope you can figure it out by the end of your mourning period!" Shi Fengju left the peony garden with a silent sneer. Gu Fangzi stumbled and, trembling, steadied herself on the armrest of a chair, with tears clouding her vision, a boundless hatred seeped through. She truly hated! Did Sang Wan think she could so easily replace her in everything? She wouldn’t let her have her way! Gu Fangzi soon fell ill. She first developed a high fever, then persistently coughed and stayed in bed without getting up. The doctor said it was because she caught a cold and internal frustrations of the liver were festering within her. Both issues combined prevented her from getting up; if she could resolve the frustrations in her heart and manage her condition regularly with medication, she would naturally recover. Gu Fangzi’s illness alarmed Mrs. Wang and Shi Yumei. The mother and daughter visited her in the peony garden personally and Sang Wan, left with no other choice, also accompanied them. Mrs. Wang was well aware of the reasons behind Gu Fangzi’s frustrations and felt truly conflicted. On one hand, her son was adamant, and on the other hand, Fangzi had fallen sick because of this matter! Both parties were dear to her, which posed a great dilemma for her. Although Gu Fangzi was pale and sickly, when Mrs. Wang, Shi Yumei, and Sang Wan came, she still treated them with courtesy, barely managing to smile and laugh through her pain, and the inadvertent look of grievance in her expression moved Mrs. Wang to pity. "Take it easy and rest, stop worrying over nothing! There’s nothing more important than your own health, right? Fang’er, be good, once you recover, your Auntie will take care of things for you!" Mrs. Wang held her hand, comforting her with a soft voice. She turned to Sang Wan and said, "Miss Wan, Fang’er is ill, you’ll have to pay more attention to the peony garden. Visit more often and send someone to check on her routinely!" The implication of those words was clear: they served as a reassurance to Gu Fangzi and as a reminder to Sang Wan that Gu Fangzi was also one of Shi Fengju’s people! To their surprise, before Sang Wan could respond, Gu Fangzi coughed twice and hurriedly interjected, "Auntie, rest assured, Fang’er will take good care of herself and strive to recover soon! Sister is so busy, there’s no need to bother her with such a trivial matter here! Otherwise, I’ll feel uneasy! Lan Xiang and the other maidservants are enough to take care of everything!" Google seaʀᴄh novęlfire.net