No Longer the Pitiful Creature of the Past!

Uncle Zhang, having finished the preparations, asked Hua Qianqian, “Mam… no, Lady, are we returning to the Hua Mansion?”

Hua Qianqian fluttered her eyes and replied, “Anyi Street.”

The carriage departed, leaving the members of the Yongning Earl’s Mansion stunned in their place. Hua Qianqian had actually left!

She walked away without even looking back!

It was only now that Madam Xiao reacted, glaring at Xiao Yan and saying, “My son, you… did you divorce her just like that? According to the laws of the Great Feng Dynasty, you cannot divorce your wife without a valid reason! I know you don’t like her, but you could have left her in the mansion and let me handle it. There was no need for you to personally divorce her and send her back. What if she causes trouble when she returns?”

Madam Xiao incessantly chattered in Xiao Yan’s ear, but he unconsciously clenched his fist and interrupted, “Mother, it wasn’t me who divorced her, it was her own decision to separate!”

“What? How is that possible!” Xiao Lan couldn’t believe it.

Holding her injured hand, she exclaimed, “That wretched woman used to be willing to do anything for Brother. How could she possibly choose to separate on her own? She must be plotting something! No, tomorrow I will go to the Hua Mansion. I will tell Old Lady of Hua family about everything she did today and make sure she punishes that wretched woman severely!”

Xiao Yan pursed his lips, his mood not lightened by getting rid of Hua Qianqian.

On the contrary, he felt even more agitated.

He thought that he just didn’t want to owe her anything, which explained why he felt this way.

Once he returned her dowry, he would no longer have any burdens!

Watching Xiao Yan walk away with his hands behind his back, Xiao Lan stomped her foot in frustration. “Mother, what should we do? Are we really going to return those things to that foolish woman?”

Madam Xiao nonchalantly replied, “Divorce? How dare that woman say such a thing! How could Old Lady Hua allow her to divorce? I reckon she will be sent back by the Hua Mansion tomorrow. When she tries to enter the Xiao Mansion again, it won’t be so easy!”

Unaware of Madam Xiao’s thoughts, Hua Qianqian felt alive again the moment she left the Yongning Earl’s Mansion.

Qiutao looked at Hua Qianqian with some concern, thinking her Lady would be sad.

However, she noticed she wasn’t upset at all. Instead, a faint smile hung on her lips.

Seeing Hua Qianqian’s smiling face, Qiutao was momentarily stunned.

“Miss, you look so beautiful when you smile. You must smile more in the future!”

Beautiful? Hua Qianqian lazily leaned against the carriage.

How could she be beautiful with her current plump figure?

When she was young, her parents and older brothers all adored Hua Shuyue, praising her round and chubby appearance as adorable. Because of those words, she kept eating, hoping that her family would also compliment her.

But instead, she ate herself into becoming overweight.

Not only did no one call her adorable, but they also mocked her every day.

At that time, she truly didn’t know what to do…

Hua Qianqian lowered her long lashes, concealing the pain in her eyes.

Yes, even after being reborn, thinking about these past events still made her bitter.

But she quickly composed herself.

After experiencing so much, she was no longer the pitiful creature who yearned for love!

After a while, the carriage finally arrived at Anyi Street in the western part of Jing City.

This place was inhabited by the lowest class of people in the capital.

Compared to the bustling streets of the city, this street was simple and dilapidated.

At this early hour, the dogs in the alley started barking one after another upon hearing the sound of the carriage.

Uncle Zhang parked the carriage outside a courtyard, and Qiutao jumped down to knock on the door.

Soon, a young man walked out of the house.

The man was not yet twenty years old, with a handsome face that resembled a painting.

Even his coarse clothes couldn’t hide his elegance.

When Hua Qianqian saw this man, her eyes instantly turned red, and her throat tightened.

“Second cousin.”

Li Yuanbang, upon hearing this voice, was momentarily stunned.

Then, seeing Hua Qianqian stepping down from the carriage, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes. “Why are you here?” Li Yuanbang’s face hardened, and his furrowed brows added a touch of annoyance to his androgynous face.

“Ever since you became the Lady of Yongning Earl’s Mansion, you have severed all contact with me. It’s the middle of the night, why have you come knocking on my door?”

Seeing her second cousin turn and walk back into the house, Hua Qianqian felt a sense of trance.

In the past, she had only focused on pleasing her several brothers.

If her eldest brother liked chess, she would collect chess manuals from all over the capital, completely ignoring her second cousin who always helped her with the carriage.

Her second cousin was skilled in painting, so she went to the mountains to mine minerals for him to make pigments.

But she forgot that it was her second cousin who worked tirelessly as her laborer.

Her third brother enjoyed wielding swords, so she saved up her monthly allowance for months to buy him a good spear.

She knew her second cousin was also skilled with spears, but she only asked him to help choose one and then immediately gave the selected spear to her third brother.

Her fourth brother loved food, so she painstakingly made various pastries, and her second cousin was always the first to taste them.

Regardless of whether the pastries were delicious or not, her second cousin always accepted them all, unlike her fourth brother who would directly knock them over if they didn’t suit his taste. Compared to those four blood brothers, her second cousin was more like her own brother.

Given her second cousin’s cold attitude, Hua Qianqian knew that he was hurt.

Not long after her second cousin returned to the house, a gentle yet weathered voice came from inside. “Bang'er, who is it?”