Su Xiaoqi herself was not doing too well at this moment.
She was full of inner turmoil.
On one hand, she told herself she couldn't do *that* with him.
Yet, on the other hand, she recalled the earlier moments.
She actually felt that perhaps trying wouldn't be so bad.
After all, he was so handsome, so capable, and they were legally married…
If by chance she got pregnant, she would quickly run away, staging an ancient version of "runaway with a baby."
Su Xiaoqi’s imagination ran wild, as she conjured a whole story within her mind.
Little did she know that upon hearing her inner thoughts, Shen Yun's burning passion was instantly extinguished.
That audacious woman, she was thinking of leaving him again.
And this, even after they had consummated their marriage and she might be with child.
Could she possibly be any more heartless?
Not only did she want to escape herself, but she also wanted to take his child with her.
He would absolutely not grant her wish.
He let out a low growl, his throat bobbing slightly, finally refraining from further mischief.
He placed his hands back on her waist, embracing her and closing his eyes.
He would endure the separation, and see how she planned to run away with their child.
Su Xiaoqi knew her imagination was quite rich.
But she certainly did not expect Shen Yun's imagination to surpass hers.
If she had known, she probably would have cupped her hands in a bow and said, "I concede."
Su Xiaoqi survived the night, narrowly avoiding disaster.
But for some, it was not as fortunate.
At the spectacle they had missed, one person had become the sole audience member, witnessing the entire play in their stead.
And when the grand drama concluded, she carried Zhao Hai’e, ravaged by Zhao Guanggun to the point of being like tattered rags, back to her own home.
She diligently cleaned her, changed her into her own new clothes.
She also thoughtfully brought a bowl of plain white congee, coaxing her to eat.
Zhao Hai'e remained like a soulless puppet throughout the entire ordeal.
She allowed Zhao Xiaohua to strip off her torn clothes and wash her.
The disgusting marks left on her body were cleaned away, and she was dressed in new clothes.
She was aware of all of this, yet she sat there, dazed, her eyes vacant and unfocused.
She didn't know what she was supposed to do now; she even contemplated death.
"Hai'e, please don't be like this. If you're unhappy about anything, just cry it out.
Crying it out will make you feel better," Zhao Xiaohua said, gently combing Zhao Hai'e's hair with her fingers.
"Ah… Xiaohua jie, what should I do, what should I do?" Zhao Hai'e finally couldn't help but wail uncontrollably under her persuasion.
Zhao Xiaohua held her in her arms, patting her gently to comfort her.
"Good Hai'e, cry, cry all you need, and then tell me what happened.
Didn't you… didn't you have everything arranged properly? How did it turn into you and him…" Zhao Xiaohua asked anxiously, wanting to know the details.
Thinking back, this matter had indeed happened in her previous life.
But the circumstances were different.
The cause was Zhao Hai'e's affection for Shen Yun and her desire to marry him.
However, finding Su Xiaoqi to be an obstacle, she had conspired with her to design Zhao Guanggun to ruin her purity.
Then, it was to be publicly announced that Su Xiaoqi was involved with Zhao Guanggun.
Next, she would persuade her father, the village elder, to demand that Shen Yun divorce his wife.
Both the plan from her past life and the current one were quite well-conceived.
But the outcome was the same, both had failed.
In her past life, she had also participated, so she knew the details clearly.
That Su Xiaoqi was fiercer than anyone, she had directly picked up a stone and smashed Zhao Guanggun's head until it bled.
Then she found Zhao Hai'e, who was hiding, and fed her some underhanded medicine.
Thus, in the past life, Zhao Hai'e had voluntarily thrown herself onto Zhao Guanggun, losing her virginity herself.
But in this life, because she wanted to curry favor with Shen Yun, she had leaked this information prematurely.
And because she needed to avoid suspicion, she had not been deeply involved.
Therefore, Zhao Xiaohua had absolutely no idea what had happened.
Had she been counter-killed by the formidable and fierce Su Xiaoqi again, just like last time?
And had Shen Yun witnessed all of this?
Would he still want his wife, knowing she was such a ruthless and vicious person?
The answers to all these questions lay within Zhao Hai'e's words.
Zhao Xiaohua desperately wanted to know.
Unknowingly, her questions became more probing.
Zhao Hai'e recounted the events.
She spoke of how Zhao Guanggun had already pounced.
But the person who had done so was not Su Xiaoqi.
It was Shen Yun.
Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiaohua felt a chill run through her.
Something was not right.
In her previous life, at the time Shen Yun passed the provincial examination, his marital relationship with Su Xiaoqi was already very poor.
She often hid behind them, observing them secretly.
She saw them either exchanging glares of hostility or not speaking to each other at all.
Looking at them, they were not like husband and wife at all, but more like sworn enemies.
It was precisely because of this that she had the opportunity to intervene and gain Shen Yun's favor.
When he went to the capital, she became his confidante.
Although they did not have the title of husband and wife, she was able to accompany him all the time.
He was so outstanding, like the pure and lofty clouds in the sky to her.
In her previous life, being able to accompany him had already satisfied her immensely.
But fate had once again given her an opportunity.
Allowing her to be reborn into this life.
She felt this was heaven's favor towards her, and also heaven's hint that she should strive for what she deserved.
Therefore, in this life, she was determined to advance towards the position of Shen Yun's legitimate wife.
She would prove to him that only someone as uniquely favored by destiny as herself was worthy of standing by his side and becoming his true wife.
"Wuwu… Xiaohua jiejie, tell me, tell me, what should I do?"
Zhao Hai'e was indeed wicked, but she was simple-minded.
On the surface, she appeared fierce, but when faced with real trouble, she would shrink back like a turtle, tucking her head away to hide.
"The most urgent thing now is for you to pretend that nothing has happened.
And then, find a way to make Zhao Guanggun shut up." Zhao Xiaohua said in a low voice.
"Shut up? How do I make him shut up?" Zhao Hai'e panicked.
She wanted to do that too.
But she was afraid that before she could make him shut up, he would spread the news first.
Wouldn't that mean she would have to marry him?
"Let me think about it carefully," Zhao Xiaohua said calmly. "I'll go make a trip for you first and tell him not to talk nonsense."
Zhao Xiaohua's words momentarily stopped Zhao Hai'e's crying.
She fearfully and wearily snuggled into Zhao Xiaohua's embrace.
She was flustered and confused, and then began to hate again.
She hated Shen Yun's cold-heartedness, and also Su Xiaoqi's good luck.
When Su Xiaoqi woke up, her mind was in a mess, still lingering on the chaos of the previous night, and she didn't want to get up.
But Shen Yun had already prepared himself and was about to depart.
She remembered the numerous matters she still had to handle in the city, so she had no choice but to get up.
However, as she put on her clothes, she discovered that the marks on her body were terrifyingly numerous.
There were red strawberries everywhere, and in some places, there were large patches of redness.
"Shen Yun…" she gritted her teeth and shouted towards the door.
As if by chance, as soon as she called out, she saw Shen Yun entering with his book bag.
Seeing her touching her chest, which was now exposed, he recalled the thrilling and soul-stirring moments of the previous night.
He understood, and his face became somewhat uneasy.
He lowered his head, coughed twice, and tried his best to calm the surging emotions within him. "Uncle Zhao's cart has arrived, and Zhao Ye's fish have been loaded." They should leave.
"Are Xiao Zhu and Xiao Mei also ready?" Su Xiaoqi managed to suppress the anger in her heart with great effort, allowing herself to speak normally.
She had figured it out.
She had already suffered the loss, and saying more would be useless.
Besides, she didn't dare to truly fall out with Shen Yun.
Shen Yun nodded and said that her maternal grandmother had instructed that there were still many pastries at home, and she must absolutely not buy any more.
Su Xiaoqi recalled the expression on Old Yu's face when she said this, and finally couldn't help but smile.
That old woman was just saying one thing and meaning another.
However, there were indeed many pastries at home these past few days.
The weather was hot now, and the shelf life was short, so she really shouldn't buy any more.
She tidied herself up as quickly as possible, bid farewell to the three people at home, and got into the mule cart.
As the curtain of the cart was drawn, she thought she saw the faces of Zhao Xiaohua and Zhao Hai'e.
She involuntarily raised her gaze to look at Shen Yun.
She still didn't know how the battle from last night had turned out.