Chapter 223
Chapter 223
Fu Yuan stood stunned.
For no apparent reason, his mind returned to what had happened on the night he broke the engagement.
That evening, he had once again invited his friends to drink at Wangyou Tavern. For once, Zuihuan had agreed to accompany them.
In front of everyone, she had even taken out a personal handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow.
He had gained tremendous prestige before his friends and accidentally drunk himself into a stupor.
It was already late at night when he returned home.
For some unknown reason, Wen Yu had remained at the Fu Family residence instead of leaving.
After learning that he had returned drunk, she had voluntarily come to his room to attend to him.
As Fu Yuan lay on the bed, he sensed a figure moving around the room and assumed it was his maid, Xiaoyao.
When the person approached with sobering soup, he took advantage of his drunkenness and pulled her into his arms.
The woman in his embrace gave a startled cry, then suddenly went still.
Mildly intoxicated, Fu Yuan had intended to tease her. But when he felt how rigid her entire body had become, he sensed that something was wrong.
Then he studied her by the candle beside the bed, and half his drunkenness vanished from fright.
“You?”
Once he recognized the woman in his arms, undisguised disgust filled Fu Yuan’s eyes.
He rose, shoved her away, and demanded, “Why are you in my room?”
Though Wen Yu felt wronged, she still explained cautiously, “Brother Fu, it is Yu’er… I promised Madam Fu that I would embroider a sachet, so I came to deliver it today.”
“Madam Fu said you had gone out, so she kept me here for dinner…”
“I was preparing to leave when a maid said you had drunk too much. That is why I came to see you.”
As she spoke, she moved closer in an ingratiating manner and offered him the sachet she had failed to present at his birthday banquet. Her face was filled with bashful hope.
“I embroidered two of these sachets. This one is for you…”
Fu Yuan refused even to look at it. Instead, he deliberately hardened his expression and spoke harshly.
“You are an unmarried woman, yet you remain in another family’s home so late at night. What will people say if word gets out?”
Wen Yu hurriedly replied, “I do not care. In the future… I will be marrying you anyway.”
The words irritated Fu Yuan even more. “You may not care about your dignity, but I care about mine. Get out immediately!”
Seeing his anger, Wen Yu was at a loss.
She hurriedly apologized. “Brother Fu, I am sorry. Yu’er did not mean to anger you. I only wanted to stay and care for you…”
No matter how pitifully she pleaded, Fu Yuan continued glaring coldly and refused to spare her the slightest consideration.
They remained at an impasse for a while. When Wen Yu saw that he would not acknowledge her, she could only rise silently and prepare to leave.
As she turned, however, a silk handkerchief embroidered with red plum blossoms fell from his sleeve.
Wen Yu’s steps abruptly stopped. She immediately thought of Zuihuan from Wangyou Tavern…
At that moment, a strange emotion surged through her. Suddenly emboldened, she asked, “Brother Fu, do you truly… like Zuihuan of Wangyou Tavern?”
Fu Yuan felt somewhat guilty, but he snorted and gave an evasive answer. “Who in Beiding County would not like a woman like Zuihuan?”
Wen Yu asked again, “What… do you like about her?”
Fu Yuan had lost patience. “Why ask so many questions? Hurry home!”
Wen Yu suddenly clenched her teeth. Abandoning all restraint, she turned and threw herself directly into his arms.
Then she began tugging wildly at her clothes. “Brother Fu Yuan, do not send me away. I… will give you everything…”
Fu Yuan froze in shock.
Before his eyes, she removed her outer and middle robes until only a pale pink undergarment remained…
She stood timidly before him, trembling violently from nervousness and fear.
When Fu Yuan recovered, his blood surged.
At that moment, he believed she was insulting him. “Wen Yu, what kind of man do you take me for? You pride yourself on being a respectable young lady, yet you… you would commit such a shameless act?”
His face flushed scarlet. He picked up her clothes one by one and threw them back at her. “Put them on! I never want to see you again!”
Fu Yuan personally escorted Wen Yu home. The incident immediately alarmed her parents and elder brother in the Wen Family.
Without sparing her any dignity, he told her parents everything about how Wen Yu had refused to leave his room.
Finally, he said, “Uncle, please withdraw the arrangement for this nephew to marry Miss Wen. Let this matter… be considered my fault!”
“Uncle and Aunt may resent me, but I will never marry a shameless woman and make her the wife of my Fu Family.”
After delivering those resolute words, Fu Yuan turned and left.
Wen Yu tried to follow and explain, but her brother pulled her back and slapped her hard across the face.
“You still want to follow him? Have you not humiliated us enough?”
Hearing this, Fu Yuan felt an unprecedented sense of relief over breaking the engagement.
He understood perfectly that placing all the blame on Wen Yu would allow him to rid himself of her completely.
Given the Wen Family’s temperament, they would dare only blame their own daughter and would not utter a single criticism of him.
But now, as he recalled these events, Fu Yuan felt his heart contract violently.
Naturally, it was not because he had developed a conscience. He simply found the truth impossible to believe.
Wen Yu no longer wanted to marry him…
“Wen Yu” continued, “Everyone believes I died because you broke the engagement and immediately married a brothel woman.”
“They all believe I was utterly devoted to you…”
“But in truth, I never loved you. I wanted so desperately to marry you only because I had always placed every hope I had for living upon you.”
“A woman like me was born… seemingly with no choice except to marry a good husband.”
“Everyone around me was constantly ‘disciplining’ me, as though I needed to accomplish only one thing in this life: marry Fu Yuan.”
“No one ever asked whether I wanted it. Even I never thought to ask myself.”
Whether Fu Yuan understood or not, “Wen Yu” continued while he stared at her in astonishment. “Fu Yuan, setting all that aside, you are neither worthy of marrying me nor worthy of marrying Miss Zuihuan.”
“To you, a woman is nothing more than a matter of prestige. Naturally, you had your reasons for refusing to marry me.”
“You thought it humiliating that the dignified eldest legitimate son of the Fu Family could not even choose his own wife. You could not hold your head high before your friends.”
“You married Zuihuan for prestige as well. You never loved her.”
“Otherwise, you would not have found fault with everything she did after only a month of marriage…”
Fu Yuan wanted to defend himself, but by the end, he discovered he had no rebuttal.
He fell silent.
Seeing that he said nothing, “Wen Yu” deliberately stepped closer.
Fu Yuan recoiled in terror, his lips trembling as he tried to speak.
“Wen Yu” bent down gently, placed one finger against his lips, and suddenly gave a cold laugh.
“You do not need to defend yourself. I will not kill you. But I know your good days are about to end.”