Chapter 858: 858 Rong’er schemes successfully2
Her face bore a trace of sorrow, tears sliding down, “In my family, I only have one brother and too many sisters. Five years ago, Father and Mother sold me to the Fang Mansion. The second young Master may not know, but Rong’er started in the Fang Mansion as a servant, bound by a death contract for life. I was clever enough to be liked by Miss Fang, and she took pity on me and changed my deed of sale to a five-year living contract. Now that the five years are up, upon returning home, Father and Mother still see me as a loss-making good, and my elder brother, who has accumulated a debt of twenty taels of silver, dragged me to pay off his debts. If not for the second young Master’s help, I would have already fallen into a pit of fire…”
Xiao Yishan listened and, seeing her sorrowful and beautiful countenance, a beautiful woman with tears falling, felt especially sympathetic, and believed her somewhat.
“Second young Master, do you know? You have three brothers in your family, and your relationships are so harmonious. I envy that a lot, unlike in my family…” She curved her lips in self-mockery, “You’re right, one tael of silver is indeed a lot for someone like me, equivalent to three or four months’ salary. But even if I brought money home, Father, Mother, and sister-in-law would force it out of me. Instead of giving it all to them, spending one tael to make your acquaintance, what harm could it do?” She drew an embroidered handkerchief from her sleeve pocket and delicately wiped the tears on her cheeks.
The heart of Xiao Yishan wavered.
On one hand, he felt that his third brother made sense, and on the other, he trusted that Li Rong’er was not scheming.
But her next words dispelled all his doubts.
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“Second young Master, I do admire you.” She knelt and wept, “Coming back with you at this time, when the Xiao Family has so much land, will surely lead to gossip, implying a wrong relationship between you and me, suspecting me of coveting your land. I know you care about the young Mistress, and though I admire you, I would never dare to entertain improper thoughts. I’m just a servant, accustomed to tough days. I truly do not care about whether you own land or not, having a roof over my head, and not going hungry at meals are enough!”
Xiao Yishan looked at her tearful and endearing face.
Thinking of his wife’s cold demeanor, he suddenly felt this woman knew more about books and manners, and was far kinder than his wife.
And indeed, she was much more beautiful than his wife.
When had he ever been confessed to by such a wonderful woman? He helped her up, his typically cold voice softening, “Rong’er, why do you put yourself through this?”
She took a deep breath through her nose, “If the second young Master still doesn’t trust my sincerity, isn’t the third young Master talking about dividing the family? It doesn’t matter, you can give all the land back to Su Qingyue if you want, and I am willing to live in hardship with you.”
He was stunned, “Rong’er, are you serious about this?”
“Mhmm.” She nodded, tears streaming down.
He was profoundly touched, his third brother said she was manipulative, but now he deeply believed that his third brother had misunderstood her. He suddenly pulled her into his embrace and kissed her lips, “Rong’er…”
She responded to his kiss, trying to make herself seem inexperienced.
He held her as he took a few steps toward the bed, but she hastily pushed him away, “Second young Master, please don’t…”
His expression darkened, “Didn’t you say you were willing to be with me?”
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“Second young Master, the person in your heart is the young Mistress,” she said bitterly, “I don’t want to compete with the young Mistress for you, nor do I want to be the bad woman.”
“You are not the bad woman,” he said. “Of all the women I’ve met, nobody is better than you…” As his words faded, the image of his wife appeared in his mind, how she went through all the effort to earn money and manage the household when he was paralyzed on the bed after being bitten by a poisonous snake, even taking care of the chamber pot for him, and he became less certain.