Chapter 31: Remember! You can never be open in front of me (Additional update)

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Her reaction made He Chu freeze for a moment, and his fingertips curled up unnaturally.

Shen Hua clearly had nothing left, so how could she be so arrogant?

He had stated that he was willing to take her as a concubine, out of old affection. So why wouldn't Shen Hua seize this lifeline to completely leave the Shen Residence, that place of strife?

Who else would dare to marry someone like Shen Hua?

"Why are you still pretending to be strong? I once vowed before your father and brothers to take care of you with all my might and certainly not to break my promise."

Shen Hua was unmoved, yet He Chu was immersed in self-satisfaction.

He found it difficult to speak.

"Back then, you consented to the engagement; we were both fond of each other, but Yangyang, I have great ambitions. Zhou Zhizhi's father can hire the most renowned teacher in Fengzhou City to guide me. I'm sure to pass the imperial exams soon."

Shen Hua: ??? She laughed angrily.

"Yangyang is a name you think you can call?"

"He Chu, why do you have to act like a gentleman reminiscing about the past when things were different?"

"A girl's reputation is important; did the He Family ever give me a way out? Stop using your mother and filial piety as excuses. You're an adult now; it's your indecision, not that you're still breastfed. And don't use your so-called bright future as a pretext. That's just you taking chances with unreasonably high aspirations!"

She spoke slowly, yet it was like a slow execution.

Shen Hua also found it laughable, wondering why she had been so bewildered into agreeing to He Chu's proposal back then.

Ever since He Chu rescued her, Shen Hua had been extremely repulsed by him.

That year, a pretty little face of the girl was stung red and swollen by wasps, forming hard red patches, and he saw this ugly state.

"Wah wah wah, it hurts so much, I'm going to be ugly, even Shen Zhui, that little concubine daughter, is going to be prettier than me."

"Why aren't you gone yet? What are you looking at!"

"Zheng Qianyu definitely won't sell rice properly anymore and will come to mock me!!! She's not human! Not human!"

She sobbed in hiccups, even Shen Zhi couldn't coax her to feel better.

Later, whenever Shen Hua made a mistake, Shen Zhi would scold her, and Shen Wei would reprimand her. But He Chu never said she was wrong.

Even when Shen Hua complained about her brother and father, he would say one thing.

—Indeed, your father and brother were too harsh. Yangyang feels wronged.

To please Shen Hua, he blindly accepted whatever she said, regardless of right or wrong, much like those servants she commanded.

After several times, Shen Hua found him pleasant to look at.

Thus, the engagement was decided.

But the more she associated with him, the more disappointed Shen Hua became.

He Chu simply couldn't compare to her brother.

Merchants focused on profit, whereas the Shen Family prioritized promises. Even though Shen Wei dearly loved Shen Hua, he wouldn't allow her to back out of the engagement halfway through.

—Yangyang? When you agreed to the engagement, did Daddy force you? You swore that He Chu was a good match, and Daddy had someone investigate, and indeed, he wasn't bad and cared for you. You're marrying beneath your status, and with your father and brother present, he wouldn't dare treat you poorly.

—Your mother passed early, but she taught you since childhood not to toy with others. Did you forget?

—He Chu almost dug his heart out to show you, he was even more attentive to your matters than Daddy, he's done nothing wrong to you.

Shen Wei's words made Shen Hua feel ashamed and dared not mention it again.

This is why Shen Hua was even angrier.

She endured He Chu, prepared to fulfill the engagement, yet He Chu had the nerve to despise her?

Shen Yangyang had never suffered such indignity!

If Shen Wei could see He Chu's behavior for himself, he might as well climb out of the coffin in anger.

Shen Hua's lips curled into a cold smile.

"In these years, how many benefits have you taken from the Shen Residence? Do you need me to count them one by one for you?"

Without the support of the Shen Residence, the Zhou Family was not affluent either. He Chu's education was expensive, and Mrs. He, as the scholar's wife, was unwilling to do rough work like laundry. Shen Hua wanted to see where he would get the money to marry a wife.

She looked at the man in front of her, and spoke each word distinctly: "Remember this! In front of me, you'll never be able to act openly for a lifetime!"

Shen Hua left this sentence and walked away without looking back.

The joyful mood followed with fluctuations. Even the candy-coated hawthorn now lost its initial sweetness.

Shen Hua pursed her lips as she returned to the residence.

Yicui's face looked even worse than Shen Hua's.

"How could he even say such things? It's really shameless."

"Without the lady, he couldn't even afford the tuition for his early studies; without the Shen Family, could he even become a scholar?"

"He's just a scholar, the uninformed might think he's a top scorer."

Shen Hua's thoughts were not on what Yicui was saying.

As soon as she entered the residence, she sensed the cold atmosphere around her. The closer she got to the small courtyard, the stronger this feeling became.

Just entering the moon gate, she saw the courtyard filled with kneeling servants. They carefully looked towards Shen Hua, their faces full of worry.

"Lady, the stepson..." someone whispered.

Shen Hua stopped in her tracks, her gaze slowly shifting to the half-opened door.

"Why aren't you coming in!" the person inside the room coldly ordered.

Shen Hua dawdled, taking two steps for every one. Just as she was at the threshold, she saw a blue and white porcelain teacup being thrown in her direction.

It missed slightly, hitting the door panel, sending shards flying, slicing into Shen Hua's jade-like cheek and leaving a bloody mark.

"Lady," Yicui cried out in surprise.

"Drag her out!" Shen Qu coldly instructed.

The housekeeper, fearing implication, covered Yicui's mouth and dragged her out, not forgetting to close the door.

Worried for Shen Hua, Yicui struggled to break free, scratching several bloody marks on the housekeeper's hand.

The housekeeper winced in pain, but didn't dare let her go.

"The lady is insensible, should you not be sensible? She's always causing trouble, and you, foolishly, don't stop her! We're all one family here, why cause such fuss? If the Shen Family isn't well, she won't have a peaceful day."

"The master is truly angry this time."

The housekeeper had watched Shen Hua grow up and had helped clean up many messes, but this time, what Shen Hua did was really...

"Do you think the master will let you off easily? After dealing with the lady, he'll turn to you next!"

At this, Yicui laughed.

Since Housekeeper Wu chose Shen Qu, they haven't been on the same path.

She naturally prioritized Shen Hua, while Housekeeper Wu was considering his own interests or for Shen Qu's sake, that's his business.

"They cannot please the lady, so why should the lady bow down to them?"

Housekeeper Wu frowned, "If the embroidery workshop fails, the lady will let down the late master and madam, how can she be worthy as a descendant of the elder house? The Second Madam is her legitimate mother, if something happens, the lady will be solidly labeled as unfilial."

Yicui's face turned cold, and she no longer retained her former respect for Housekeeper Wu.

"Housekeeper Wu!"

"People view everything with bias. As long as it pleases the lady, who cares what others say!"

Shen Hua, over these years, had been called stubborn and unreasonable by others countless times, hadn't she?

Why should she constrain herself and continue to endure grievances for these people?

"The embroidery workshop was left for the lady by the master and madam, yet suddenly a stepson emerges. If he truly cared for the lady, then on the night the master was buried, when the lady was burning with fever, and the Second Madam, ignored it completely. I begged him, only then did he nod and find a doctor! Something he should have done became a favor in the end."

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