Hua Qianqian remained silent for a long time. She wasn’t stupid. If she still didn’t understand Hua Yaoyao’s scheme by now, she would have wasted all the years of teaching she had received from the Hua family. But she still didn’t quite understand: “Why did Yaoyao do this? If it was to get revenge on me for harming her substitute, she wouldn’t need to write to you again!”
Li Hao said with a stern face, “Why would she want revenge on you? Even though you harmed her by making her a substitute, she still benefited from the misfortune and gained a good husband! She’s taking revenge on me!”
After explaining the whole story, Hua Qianqian pointed at him, unsure whether to laugh or be angry: “You… you’ve just asked for trouble! I knew you had to lie to Yaoyao for a few days. Prince Yu did have important business to attend to, so why did you have to lie to him like this?”
Li Hao said matter-of-factly, “I was a stand-in for a few days, but it made me live in fear every day! Not only did she not appreciate my kindness, but she also found an inn to stay at after leaving the Li family, which made me search the whole capital to find her. And I’m not even allowed to tease her a little?”
Hua Qianqian was both amused and annoyed: “A little teasing? If someone told me you wanted me to remarry, I’d be worried to death, and you call that a little teasing?”
Li Hao choked on his words: “That’s because you don’t know how she treated me! She…” He couldn’t finish his sentence.
Hua Qianqian looked at him with a half-smile: “Did I drug you?”
Li Hao was startled: “How did you know! Did Hua Yaoyao tell you in her letter?”
Hua Qianqian nodded: “Otherwise, how would I know?”
Even a fool could guess how she would slander him in her letter, and Li Hao couldn’t help but feel a surge of anger: “That damned woman!”
His outburst calmed Hua Qianqian’s earlier unease considerably, and she suddenly felt like teasing him. So, she said, half-jokingly and half-seriously, “Then you’re wronging him. Yaoyao praised you as a rare gentleman, able to remain unmoved even with a woman in his lap, and advised me to cherish you!”
Seeing her jealous expression, Li Hao didn’t believe her: “If she really praised me, why have you been acting so strangely towards me for so many days?”
Hua Qianqian glanced at him: “When did I ever have a disagreement with you?”
Seeing his wife’s expression of being ready to forgive him as if granting him a pardon, Li Hao didn’t dare to explain any awkwardness and quickly changed his words, saying, “No, no, there’s no awkwardness. I misunderstood you.”
Hua Qianqian then smiled genuinely: “That’s more like it!” Understanding Hua Yaoyao’s meaning, she naturally wouldn’t hold a grudge against Li Hao anymore.
It was just a small act of revenge from her half-sister, and Hua Qianqian took it all in stride, though she was a little unaccustomed to it: “Yaoyao has become quite lively these days!”
Li Hao scoffed, “More than just lively! You’d be more like a feisty shrew, and a bit unreasonable!”
Hua Qianqian tilted her head to look at him: “How did you know?”
Li Hao smiled smugly: “Silly Qianqian, since you are my fiancée, I will naturally pay more attention to your family’s affairs.”
Hua Qianqian felt a sweet warmth in her heart and smiled.
Seeing that she was no longer angry, Li Hao quickly seized the opportunity to ask, “Qianqian, come home with me to meet my parents!”
Hua Qianqian was taken aback upon hearing this, and her face suddenly turned red. She said softly, “How can this be?” Although she was bold in love and hate, she still couldn’t help but feel shy like a young girl. Going to her husband’s house before marriage was just unreasonable.
Li Hao sighed inwardly and earnestly explained, “My parents found out about your elopement and have some misunderstandings about you. They think you never had feelings for me, and now they refuse to agree to our marriage. I want you to come to my house…”
He simply couldn’t bring himself to say the words “apologize.” Although his wife was a bit willful, he couldn’t bear to blame her when he thought of her pitiful little face in that small-town tavern.
Moreover, he understood the pressure she was under. He didn’t think she was wrong. If she was wrong, it was just her escapism. However, his parents had a deep misunderstanding, and he was unwilling to wrong his little wife. Therefore, he delayed for many days before earnestly making his request.
Hua Qianqian readily agreed: “Okay, let’s go!” Although Li Hao only said half of what he meant, his meaning was already very clear.
After all, she had already decided to come back and face the situation, and she should give the Li family an explanation. Moreover, Li Hao must have been in a very difficult position these days, caught between his parents and her. Since she was going to live with Li Hao, she would inevitably have to meet his parents. She couldn’t hide forever!
She agreed so readily that Li Hao was deeply moved and quickly said, “Qianqian, my parents are actually very nice people. It’s just that my mother is a bit nagging. As long as things are explained clearly, they won’t hold it against you. If they embarrass you in person, I will never let you suffer.”
Hua Qianqian winked at him and teased, “Looks like I’ll be in for a tough time at your place this time! You’ve already laid it all out upfront!”
Li Hao opened his mouth, speechless for the first time in front of Hua Qianqian. After all, he didn’t know how his parents would treat Qianqian, but he had made up his mind that he would never let Qianqian suffer.
The two greeted Hua Wenye and his wife in the front hall, only saying that Li Hao’s mother wanted to see Qianqian, and then left the Hua residence amidst Madam Hua’s radiant smile.
Watching Li Hao’s departing figure, Madam Hua felt a surge of pride. Her daughter was truly blessed! Even after running away from her arranged marriage, her son-in-law found her and didn’t hold it against her, wholeheartedly wanting to live with her daughter! Qianqian was truly fortunate in her past life! She was certain that Qianqian was her mother’s daughter!
The atmosphere in the front hall of the Li family mansion was somewhat stiff compared to that of the Hua family mansion. The reason was none other than the fact that the two young children who had returned to “apologize” had greatly displeased the two elders of the Li family!
Mother Li didn’t bother to say a word. People say sons grow up and become independent, and that once they get married they forget their mothers—it’s so true! Look at her own good son, all the hard work she put into raising him, changing his diapers and feeding him—wasn’t that difficult? And what did she get? He got a wife and now he doesn’t want his mother anymore! He doesn’t listen to her either…
Even within the realm of ideology, Li Mu shouldn’t nag about her true nature…
Ignoring his parents’ thoughts, Li Hao simply expressed his feelings: “Father, Mother, I brought Qianqian back to see you. I hope you can forgive and forget. Qianqian is truly a wonderful girl, and I have already decided that I will marry no one but her. I hope you will grant my request.” He then knelt down to show his sincerity.
Hua Qianqian knelt down next to her future husband and said softly, “Uncle, Aunt, Qianqian has come today to apologize. It was really willful and reckless of me to run away from the marriage. I dare not defend myself, but please believe me, Qianqian is truly sincere towards Li Hao.”
At this point, Hua Qianqian glanced at Li Hao and blushed, saying, “Qianqian has paid more attention to and understood Li Hao since childhood. Over the past ten years, she has been deeply in love with him. It is Qianqian’s blessing to have such a husband. In the future, Qianqian will cherish this blessing. I hope that Uncle and Aunt can understand Qianqian’s true feelings and forgive her.”
By the end, having mustered her courage, Hua Qianqian’s face was as red as a ripe tomato. Although she wasn’t afraid to express her love, she still couldn’t help feeling shy telling her future in-laws how much she liked their son. Fortunately, she didn’t stutter, which was considered a good performance.
Mother Li replied in her conscious form, “Hmph, anyone can say nice-sounding lies. If you really liked my son so much, why did you run away from the wedding?”
The next moment, the question in her consciousness was asked by her father in perfect unison, only without the interjection “humph,” making the question sound much gentler.
Just as Li Hao was about to speak up for his wife, Hua Qianqian stopped him. Although she was shy, she was still Hua Qianqian who dared to take responsibility. Since she had come to admit her mistake, she should have a proper attitude. If Li Hao spoke for her, her parents might become even more resistant to her!
So, Hua Qianqian recounted in detail the reasons for her elopement and her subsequent relationship with Li Hao. Of course, she omitted some cheesy and embarrassing parts. Although she was embarrassed, she still felt that she should express her utmost sincerity.
Sure enough, when she got to the part about the tavern, Mother Li couldn’t help but interrupt: “He’s been following you for so many days and you didn’t know? Luckily it was Ah Hao. What if you’d run into bad guys following you? You kids never think about the consequences of your actions—you just do whatever comes to mind…”
Mother Li was about to continue, but Father Li stopped her: “Alright, isn’t she right here in front of us, perfectly fine? Don’t interrupt—let Qianqian continue.” He then turned and waved to Hua Qianqian and Li Hao: “Get up and sit down! How can your knees take kneeling all the time!”
Seeing that Father Li had relented, the young couple were naturally delighted. Hua Qianqian thanked him and sat down to continue listing a thousand reasons why she and Li Hao had to be together.
Interspersed among these were Mother Li’s endless nagging: “You kids go out and forget to come home! Don’t you care about your parents’ worries?” “Since you found him, why didn’t you come back sooner? There’s a limit to how much you can play…”
…After Hua Yaoyao, Mother Li once again had a loyal listener for her nagging. If Hua Yaoyao were here, she would surely sigh with satisfaction, “There is a successor!”
Finally, amidst Mother Li’s constant interruptions and Father Li’s increasingly gentle tone, Hua Qianqian finished stating her thousand reasons to be together, winning the unanimous support of the two Li elders!
While discussing with Father Li how to explain things to outsiders, when the wedding would take place, the proper etiquette and marriage customs, and the auspicious date, Mother Li nagged Hua Qianqian: “Don’t pay attention to those people’s nonsense. It’s not like they’re the ones marrying Ah Hao—what does it have to do with them? They’re always gossiping; just ignore them…”
“But you should too. Let’s sit down and discuss things properly. Even if things don’t work out, you and Ah Hao are betrothed since childhood. There’s nothing wrong with meeting before marriage and cultivating your relationship. You can talk to him about it. How can you just walk away?”
“Speaking of which, it’s all thanks to your half-sister, Hua Yaoyao—otherwise the years-long friendship between the Li and Hua families would have been ruined! You! Next time, you really need to think things through carefully before you act…”