Qian Zhenzhen stood in front of Meng Yao with a face full of unease, rubbing her clothes with both hands, "Aunt Meng, tell me the truth, Li Chang’an he..."
The sentence stopped there with a pause.
Meng Yao thought Qian Zhenzhen had found out Li Chang’an was pretending and was pondering how to comfort her, but she only heard her say, "Is he not going to get better?"
Well, she was overthinking it. A girl like Qian Zhenzhen, who is so straightforward, wouldn’t think that much, right?
"Well, it’s hard to say. Maybe after a sleep, he’ll be back to normal, or it could be—" Meng Yao hesitated, trying to come up with a reasonable time frame.
Unexpectedly, Qian Zhenzhen took over the conversation, "Or he might stay for the rest of his life, right?"
Girl, I didn’t say it; you said it yourself.
"Aunt Meng, although I’m a bit confused right now, rest assured, I will take full responsibility for the trouble I caused. Please, Aunt Meng, take me to the Li Family. I must apologize in person, and by the way, propose marriage." Qian Zhenzhen said with determination.
Meng Yao was too shocked to say anything. Is this girl so decisive?
"There’s no need for that, is there?" Meng Yao said with difficulty.
"How can there be no need? Although it’s a bit hard to accept right now, it’s what I ought to do. After all, his condition is not unrelated to me," Qian Zhenzhen said seriously, "If we get married, it’ll be easier for me to take care of him. If he ever recovers and doesn’t want to, I can divorce him anytime to set him free."
Meng Yao was at a loss for words.
"What about you? This is a lifetime matter; are you being so hasty? If Chang’an doesn’t want it in the future, even if you divorce, your reputation will somehow be affected." Meng Yao advised her.
"Oh, it’s nothing. As people of the countryside, we don’t worry about minor things. What’s a little reputation hit?" Qian Zhenzhen said indifferently, "I know what you’re worried about is my future marriage prospects. I’ve thought it through: when that time comes, I’ll have my mom arrange a marriage for me."
The plan is well thought out and quite long-term.
But girl, why don’t you think about the possibility that Li Chang’an is pretending?
If you say Li Chang’an is acting very convincingly, hence there are no flaws.
But it’s clearly not like that; there are so many flaws.
Even Zhao Xiaohua noticed something fishy.
"Luckily I brought a lot of silver this time. Before visiting tomorrow, I’ll buy some things. Aunt Meng, you know what Li Chang’an’s parents like, right? I need to tailor my approach to their preferences to show my sincerity." Qian Zhenzhen chattered.
Normally, Meng Yao should quickly find an opportunity to tell Li Chang’an to stop pretending.
But thinking of how Li Chang’an usually has everything under control, Meng Yao suddenly wanted to see what he would look like when panicked.
It was his own spur-of-the-moment decision to fool Qian Zhenzhen, and no one forced him. So no matter what the consequences are, he has to face them.
"Alright, then I’ll go with you tomorrow." Meng Yao said.
By dinner time, Qian Zhenzhen’s psychological preparations were surprisingly well done.
Without Li Chang’an having to make unreasonable demands, she busied herself around him, feeding him soup and water, wiping the corners of his mouth.
She coaxed Li Chang’an softly, like dealing with a child.
This left Li Chang’an completely at a loss.
The main issue is that this girl takes care of him so attentively that he can’t even find a fault.
After dinner, Qian Zhenzhen even fetched some foot-washing water, intending to help Li Chang’an wash his feet.
In the end, Li Chang’an, claiming to have an unbearable ’headache’, skipped this part. He decided that after a night’s sleep, he would be back to normal.
Before dawn, Qian Zhenzhen knocked on Meng Yao’s room door.
Even earlier than the time Meng Yao usually wakes up.
Meng Yao got dressed and opened the door.
Qian Zhenzhen had already tidied up, "I already fed Huijin, Aunt Meng, we can set off now."
Meng Yao said she would make a simple breakfast, and Qian Zhenzhen said they could eat when they arrived in town, as the earlier they apologized, the more it would show her sincerity.
Meng Yao had no words to counter, she wasn’t hungry anyway since she had just woken up.
Qian Zhenzhen drove the cart, with Meng Yao sitting beside her on the driver’s seat. They were halfway to town when the sky began to pale.
Song Xiu’er and Zhao Dajiang woke up first, and after washing up, one was busy cooking in the kitchen while the other was chopping wood in the yard.
After Song Xiu’er finished making breakfast, everyone else gradually woke up.
Usually, her mother-in-law would be up by now; why hadn’t she left her room today? Song Xiu’er, worried that Meng Yao might not be feeling well, quickly went to knock on the door.
After knocking for a while, there was no response.
Song Xiu’er quickly pushed the door open, and the room was empty.
Zhao Xiaohua also said Qian Zhenzhen was not in her room.
"Could it be that you scared Qian Zhenzhen away? My mom found out and went after her." Zhao Dahe glanced at Li Chang’an, teasingly.
Li Chang’an felt like he had punched into thin air.
He had thought about how to handle it, but no one was there to respond to him.
This feeling was somewhat frustrating.
Meanwhile, Meng Yao and Qian Zhenzhen had already arrived in Anyang Town.
The two paid for parking and handed their carriage to someone for safekeeping before walking towards the town.
They found a stall selling wontons and each ordered a bowl.
After eating, Qian Zhenzhen asked what they should buy.
Meng Yao suggested that since it was the first visit, buying some snacks so as not to appear empty-handed would suffice.
Qian Zhenzhen felt that was a bit lacking, but Meng Yao reassured her that there would be plenty of time in the future and there was no rush.
Meng Yao knocked on the Li Family’s door, and shortly after, an internal voice asked, "Who is it?"
It was Li Baixia’s voice.
"Brother-in-law, it’s me, Meng Yao."
After some rustling sounds, the door opened.
"This early in the morning, did something happen?" Li Baixia looked a bit serious.
"Nothing’s wrong, is my sister up?" Meng Yao asked.
"She’s awake but still lazing in bed. Ever since she got pregnant, she’s been more lethargic and sleeps a lot," Li Baixia said, "Take a seat inside, I’ll go help her get up."
Li Baixia glanced at Qian Zhenzhen, "And this is?"
"It’s Mr. Dahe’s daughter," Meng Yao explained.
Li Baixia nodded, a bit curious about why Meng Yao had brought this young lady, but he didn’t ask further.
Before long, Meng Yao and Qian Zhenzhen were joined by Li Changning instead of waiting for Meng Zhu.
"Aunt," Li Changning beamed, holding her skirt.
Meng Yao introduced them to each other, and Li Changning greeted Qian Zhenzhen gracefully.
"Aunt, why didn’t you bring Xiaohua with you? I miss her," Li Changning asked.
"She wasn’t up when I left. If you miss her, I’ll tell your mom, so you can stay with us a few days," Meng Yao replied.
"Better not; my mom is getting bigger every day, and dad is busy too. I should stay by her side," Li Changning said.
"Changning is so considerate." Meng Yao praised.
Qian Zhenzhen also thought Li Changning was considerate; she had never thought of staying with her mom.
Just then, Meng Zhu and Li Baixia arrived.
"Ah Yao," Meng Zhu said cheerfully, "I was thinking of staying at your place for a few days, but your brother-in-law said it wasn’t convenient. Eh, who is this young lady?"
Qian Zhenzhen quickly stood up, "Hello, Aunt. My name is Qian Zhenzhen, from Fengyang Town. I’m here today to propose to you and your husband."