Rebirth: Contract Husband Falls in Love with Me-Chapter 574 - 297: Sang Rou’s Escape (Part 2)

The doctor came for his last visit, and he confidentially told Mrs. Li to prepare for the worst. Seeing the circumstances, it was feared that he might not last more than three or four months!

Mrs. Li was struck as if by a bolt from the blue, and it took her a long while to come to her senses.

But what was the use of grieving now that things had come to this stage? Thinking of her daughter who over these years had achieved nothing notable and was yet to be married off, once Sang Pingliang passed away, she would need to observe three years of mourning. By then she would be almost twenty—who would want to marry her?

Furthermore, thinking of her daughter’s soft and gentle nature, whoever she married would likely see her bullied by her mother-in-law and sisters-in-law. Moreover, expecting her to control her husband seemed quite impossible! After much thought, Mrs. Li decided to seek a son-in-law to come live with her. After all, she had no sons, her husband was close to death, and she did not plan on adopting a son. Having a son-in-law come to live with them, being under her watchful eye, seemed much better than sending her daughter away!

Once the decision was made, Mrs. Li kept the seriousness of Sang Pingliang’s illness from outside world and quickly sought out a matchmaker for Sang Yan’s marriage arrangement, saying it was to bring some relief to Sang Pingliang. She only asked for a suitor who was honest, good-looking, diligent and willing to work hard, adding that if he agreed to marry into the family, everything in the household would eventually be his!

In the village where many poor families had many sons but little land, the matchmaker quickly found a suitable candidate and asked Mrs. Li to meet him. After meeting and inquiring about his background, Mrs. Li nodded in satisfaction.

The process of accepting a son-in-law was simple, cutting down on many complicated formalities. Mrs. Li, lacking the patience for grand preparations, only planned to arrange a few simple banquet tables and select a day for him to move in.

Thus, she sent Sang Hong to send a letter to Sang Wan, asking her to come back for the wedding feast. Naturally, what she cared about most was Sang Wan’s congratulatory gift.

Previously, she had brazenly demanded a substantial dowry from Sang Wan for Sang Yan, but now that Sang Yan was bringing in a husband instead of marrying out, her life continuing here, Mrs. Li dared not ask Sang Wan for too much—after all, who would Mrs. Fang let it go so easily? Now that her household had no man to make decisions, her relationship as a "distant aunt" to Sang Hong and Mrs. Fang had become even more distant, and she no longer had the courage to provoke them.

When Sang Wan and Shi Fengju returned and heard about these matters, Sang Wan couldn’t help but sigh incessantly. She had not expected Sang Rou to be so bold, but being a country girl who had never traveled far, bringing so much money along with her was probably not a good sign! And this greedy uncle of hers had ended up in such a plight, it was uncertain whether it was fate’s doing.

Sang Wan and Shi Fengju reluctantly visited Sang Pingliang’s home for a while. Sang Pingliang, hearing that Shi Fengju had come, would have clung to him like in the old days, likely even hoping that Shi Fengju could patch up his financial holes. But having just been caught stealing and sent back, he was too ashamed to meet Shi Fengju. Hearing of his arrival, he became so frightened that his illness worsened, and he did not dare to show his face.

It was Mrs. Li who, pulling Sang Wan’s hand, cried with a mix of tears and snot, sobbing incessantly, "What are we to do! Why is my fate so miserable!" It took Sang Wan quite an effort to extract herself to bid farewell, leaving behind 200 taels of silver, a set of gold jewelry, and two lengths of brocade for Sang Yan’s dowry.

Mrs. Li did not dare to say anything, but in her heart, she thought it too little and later grumbled behind their backs. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Sang Wan noticed the slight change in her expression but pretended not to see it.

After the rather subdued wedding feast, Sang Wan and Shi Fengju bid their farewells to head back to Qingzhou. Thinking of the mess awaiting her in Qingzhou, Sang Wan felt inexplicably restless, wishing she could stay a few more days but finding it inappropriate to voice her desire, parting from her sister-in-law Mrs. Fang reluctantly.

Indeed, no more than a couple of days after they returned home, Mrs. Wang directly placed a bright red invitation in front of them, asking them to pick a good day.

Sang Wan’s face changed immediately, still remaining silent.

Shi Fengju was also displeased and asked Sang Wan to return to Ningyuan first. Sang Wan glanced at him, then courteously excused herself from Mrs. Wang.

Mrs. Wang did not care about her, but coldly said to her son, "We can no longer delay this matter. I’ve cherished Fang’er for so many years, having watched you both grow up! I know precisely what kind of girl she is, and she has nothing but good things to say about you! You cannot let her down!"

Shi Fengju knew arguing with his mother would be unproductive, and forcibly opposing her was difficult. Annoyed at Gu Fangzi for not knowing better and for persistently entangling him, he said, "I actually happen to be going to the capital soon, and might need over two months before returning. We probably cannot manage this affair this year! Mother, since cousin is willing to wait, it’s not too urgent, is it? The year is almost over, you know I have lots of responsibilities, how can I attend to anything else?"

If she wanted to drag this matter out, then so be it, let’s see who can outlast whom! It seemed useless to reason with her now.

"You, are you doing this deliberately?" Mrs. Wang was too angry to speak.

Shi Fengju looked past the partition, speaking indifferently, "There are no outsiders here, cousin doesn’t need to hide. Come out and talk!"

Gu Fangzi, greatly embarrassed, had no choice but to come forward, bowing slightly and softly calling out "cousin."

Shi Fengju looked at her with a hint of mockery, speaking mildly, "Currently, I’m quite busy, let’s discuss this matter after the New Year, what do you think, cousin?" adding quickly, "I hope cousin can wait that long?"

Gu Fangzi’s face turned pale, biting her lip, she looked at Shi Fengju uncertainly; her hands clenched tightly at her sides, digging into her palms until they swelled red.

She had never imagined that he would embarrass her so publicly, leaving no room for her dignity, not a bit!

When had he become so heartless! Sang Wan, it was all because of Sang Wan.