"Stop it! Stop it!" Sang Wan couldn’t stand his teasing, hurriedly laughing and blocking, she complained to him: "I don’t have the strength, and yet you still tease!" Shi Fengju then laughingly embraced her: "Who told you to be distracted while walking beside me?" "I wasn’t distracted!" Sang Wan’s eyebrows twitched. Lowering his eyes, Shi Fengju smiled at her: "Silly Miss Wan, we are husband and wife, how could you hide it from me? Is something troubling you, hmm?" Seeing that he asked, her eyes dimmed and she sighed softly, "There is something, but please don’t be upset if I tell you." Seeing her sincere expression, Shi Fengju also became serious. He thought she might be feeling aggrieved and couldn’t help but gently soothe her, making Sang Wan feel a rush of emotions. After Sang Wan finished recounting the events of the day, Shi Fengju’s expression immediately turned stern, as dark as the bottom of a pot... "That young man from the Hong family is shameless, daring to come here to ask for my younger sister as a concubine!" "Keep your voice down!" Sang Wan gently shook him, sighing, "Who knows what their intentions are! Anyway, someone from the Hong Mansion did indeed come today, and mother seemed quite interested, you see—" "Absolutely not!" Shi Fengju coldly said: "That Hong Xi, though he has been an official like his father for half a year, he is known in Qingzhou City as a frivolous dandy, always gambling and womanizing, he’s not a proper man. How could my sister end up with someone like him! It would ruin her life! Mother is really being foolish!" "How could mother know about these outside matters! It’s all because of those people from the Hong family talking big, perhaps you can persuade mother tomorrow!" Seeing that Shi Fengju also opposed the idea, Sang Wan felt a weight lifted off her heart. "Of course, I will persuade her. Our family does not need to trade my sister’s lifelong happiness for benefits. She is my sister after all, how could I bear to watch her jump into a fire pit! Moreover, she had already rejected Hong Xi in the plum forest that day. If she really ends up in Hong Xi’s hands, she will surely suffer! I won’t let that happen!" Sang Wan happily said: "Hearing you say that, I’m relieved! Today I went to see my sister, seeing her cry like that made my heart ache too!" Shi Fengju could not help but look at her more, and said with a smile: "You have a closer relationship with my sister than others, but I’ve never seen you two this close! I didn’t expect you to care about her so much!" Sang Wan glanced at him and said solemnly, "You men do not understand the difficulties of women. It’s true I am close to her, but also, it tugs at my heartstrings. Who can really decide their own marriages in a woman’s family? If one marries well, she can live peacefully, but if not, she can only endure day by day. What else could she do? I just can’t bear to watch a good girl like her suffer endless sorrows in the hands of such an indecent person!" Shi Fengju fell silent, then after a moment, said self-mockingly: "Miss Wan, are you still harboring grievances in your heart? Are you resentful that I was indifferent towards you in the beginning?" Sang Wan, regretting her words, hurriedly smiled and shook her head, "I didn’t mean to blame you, it was just a moment of emotion! Even in the beginning, you took care of me..." "Miss Wan!" Shi Fengju interrupted her, pulling her tightly into his chest and gently stroking her face saying: "I’m sorry!" Sang Wan was momentarily stunned, staring blankly at him. Laughing, Shi Fengju said: "You are innocent, I shouldn’t have blamed you back then. Don’t be mad, okay?" Tears welled up in Sang Wan’s eyes, and she swiftly looked away, burying her head in his chest and spoke softly, "Don’t, don’t say that, my husband, aren’t we doing well now! I’m not mad, really not." Shi Fengju chuckled softly, lifting her chin and smiling lightly: "If you’re not mad, kiss me, then I’ll believe you!" Really... not a good word in three sentences! Seeing his eager eyes fixed on her, Sang Wan could only slightly tilt her head and kiss his cheek. Shi Fengju’s eyes sparkled, and he chuckled: "That doesn’t count, kiss here to make it count!" he said, pointing to his lips. "Who says it doesn’t count? You didn’t say it didn’t count just now!" Sang Wan refused, laughing as she turned her head away. Shi Fengju suddenly held her head and twisted it over, fiercely kissing her lips until both were nearly breathless before he released her, chuckling lowly: "Miss Wan, do you remember now? This is how it should be done!" Sang Wan’s petite, rosy lips slightly parted, her eyes watery as she looked at him, unable to utter a word. Seeing the woman’s skin moist and flushed, her eyes misty with the allure of spring, her cloud-like hair messily scattered on the pillow, a few strands draped over her snow-white neck and fragrant shoulders, her small rosy lips charmingly red, how could he restrain himself any longer? With a hoarse voice, he called out "Miss Wan!" and started to kiss her as they embraced and became entwined. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on novel★fire.net The next day, when he went to pay respects to Mrs. Wang, before Shi Fengju could speak, Mrs. Wang asked him about the previous day’s matters. Naturally, Shi Fengju disagreed, and with just a few words, he silenced Mrs. Wang. Seeing her son also spoke thus, she dropped the idea. Shi Fengju then rose to leave for the trading firm. While Shi Fengju and Mrs. Wang were talking inside, unbeknownst to them, Shi Yumei had also come to pay respects to Mrs. Wang and happened to overhear everything at the doorway. After Shi Fengju left, Shi Yumei eagerly went inside to curiously inquire from Mrs. Wang about what had happened? Why would Mrs. Wang hide anything from her own daughter? She casually told her everything. Upon hearing this, Shi Yumei immediately became excited and said, "Mother, this is a great marriage proposal, why did you turn it down!" Shi Yumei inherently knew this was not a favorable marriage proposal, but she had always disliked Shi Lian and her mother. She always felt they had stolen her father away. When her father was alive, he often praised Shi Lian for being sensible, yet he never praised her, and he scolded her quite often. He called her unreasonable, tyrannical, hot-tempered, and lacking any ladylike demeanor, nothing but harsh words! Naturally, she wouldn’t mind seeing Shi Lian’s downfall! Moreover, her own marriage being unhappy, she was even less willing to let Shi Lian find a good family to marry into. It would only please her if Shi Lian ended up in a worse situation than herself. To become someone’s concubine, huh, with Shi Lian’s reserved nature, she would surely be tormented to death one day! "Great for what!" Mrs. Wang waved her hand, "Our family’s daughter doesn’t need to be someone’s concubine! It’d give people reasons to say that I, as her stepmother, am mistreating a concubine daughter! My whole life’s good reputation can’t be tarnished just like that!" "How is this mistreatment!" Shi Yumei argued, "The other party is the governor’s legitimate son, a proper official family! Not just any concubine daughter, even the legitimate daughter from a common family might not find it disgraceful to be a concubine in such a household; they might not even hope for such a chance! I think this marriage proposal is really good! Besides, they are the governor, and our Shi family is the first family of Qingzhou City; this marriage would bring us lots of benefits! It could also support Fengju, making him less exhausted!" When Mrs. Wang heard this, her just-made decision wavered, finding her daughter’s words appealing. Indeed, if the two families were to be connected by marriage, they would become relatives, and wouldn’t the governor favor us then? The Zhuang family wanting to surpass our family, huh, maybe in their next life! "But, Fengju and Miss Wan both say this marriage is not good; I think—" "Mother, who said it first, Fengju or Sang Wan?" Shi Yumei interrupted to ask. Mrs. Wang said, "Yesterday, Miss Wan first learned about this, and just now Fengju came to pay respects and spoke about it!" "That’s right!" Shi Yumei clapped her hands, "Mother, you know how dearly Fengju cherishes Sang Wan, it must be Sang Wan who instigated him to oppose! The words of Sang Wan, huh, he follows them more strictly than imperial edicts! Just a few words from her and whatever she tells him to do, he does!" "Nonsense!" Mrs. Wang heard this and couldn’t help feeling a bit sour, frowning, "Where is Fengju such a spineless person? Besides, why would Miss Wan needlessly instigate him! If the two families being related by marriage is beneficial for our family, wouldn’t Miss Wan want our family to prosper? She is our family’s daughter-in-law, and eventually, she will be the matriarch!" "Her taking over as head of the family is a long way off, not for decades! That’s why she’s planning ahead!" Shi Yumei declared emphatically. Mrs. Wang was perplexed, "How can you say that?" Shi Yumei sneered: "Mother, don’t forget, Sang Wan’s second brother has gone to take the imperial exams in the capital, hasn’t he? If successful, he will also be an official! Mother, think about it, if her brother becomes an official, her position in our family will certainly be even more secure! But if our family marries into the governor’s family, we wouldn’t necessarily rely solely on the Sang family for things in the future, but could go to the governor directly, not showing off the Sang family’s importance, and wouldn’t her position in our family also not be as significant? Sang Wan is smart, of course, she wouldn’t want to see such a scenario unfold! Therefore, by sabotaging our family’s marriage proposal with the governor’s family, our family will have to depend on the Sang family in the future! This is exactly her calculation!" After listening, Mrs. Wang opened her mouth, unable to speak for a long while. If Sang Wan were here, she would definitely be awe-struck and admire Shi Yumei’s audacity. Saying such far-fetched things so convincingly, indeed deserves a word of "admiration". "She, she has such deep schemes?" Mrs. Wang felt unsettled, her heart in chaos. Her daughter’s words truly scared her; Mrs. Wang had lived most of her life without resorting to cunning, and hearing this now made her shudder, as if she had nurtured a fierce and malevolent monster by her side. "Aren’t you the one who always praises her intelligence!" Shi Yumei sneered, "An educated woman, naturally different from us! Mother, this marriage proposal, I think it’s very suitable! Suitable for our third sister and suitable for our family! If we miss this chance, there won’t be another; Mother, you better make a decision quickly!"