Xu Yanli stared at Ruan An’an with his eyes wide open, as if he had seen a ghost.
“You actually dared to splash water on me?!”
Ruan An’an sneered inwardly.
The original owner had spent all day acting like a saint just to please the Xu family— and what did that get her in return?
Wasn’t she still treated like a fool and toyed with?
In her view, when dealing with people like this, you had to meet force with force. Whoever backed down would lose.
But now wasn’t the time to tear everything apart.
With that thought, Ruan An’an suddenly reddened her eyes and choked up, saying, “Xu Yanli, do you remember what you promised my mother on her deathbed?”
“You swore to her, hand on your chest, that you would treat me well for the rest of my life! But today is our wedding night, and you betray your vows, abandon me, and go have children with another woman. Don’t I have the right to be sad? To be angry?”
Xu Yanli opened his mouth, but no words came out.
Ruan An’an was stunningly beautiful—when had he ever seen her with tears brimming in her eyes like this?
For a moment, he actually felt a bit guilty.
“An’an, my feelings for you have never changed.”
Watching this man pretend to be affectionate made Ruan An’an feel sick to her stomach.
Seeing her expression soften, Xu Yanli hurriedly explained, “But I can’t just watch the Xu family die out, can I? You should understand my difficulties.”
If it were the original naïve girl, she might really have been fooled by this line of reasoning.
Unfortunately, Ruan An’an knew everything clearly—
The original owner was never infertile. She had been deceived by the entire Xu family!
They had found a doctor to issue a fake diagnosis, all just to provide a fig leaf for the bastard in Su Qingyue’s belly!
The thought filled Ruan An’an with rage.
On the surface, Su Qingyue was the fiancée of the eldest son, Xu Yancong.
But Xu Yancong had enlisted at seventeen. Over the past five years, Su Qingyue had moved into the Xu household under the excuse of taking care of his parents.
The neighbors all praised her for her devotion, yet they didn’t know that three years ago—when Xu Yanli got engaged to the original owner—this pair of dogs had already been carrying on an affair.
The so-called “taking two wives to continue both lines” was nothing more than a cover-up.
Now that Su Qingyue was pregnant, they didn’t want to give up the original owner’s dowry, so they came up with this delaying tactic.
Ruan An’an saw through it all but said nothing, secretly calculating instead.
The original owner’s dowry was still in the Xu family’s hands. She needed to find a way to get that money back first.
She put on a pitiful expression. “Of course I believe your feelings for me are real. But asking me to share my husband with someone else—how am I supposed to endure that?”
As she spoke, tears welled up and shimmered in her eyes.
Just as Xu Yanli was about to speak, Ruan An’an suddenly turned her attack toward Su Qingyue.
“Besides, Sister-in-law is devoted to Big Brother. She entered the household to serve the parents even before getting married. Now forcing her to sleep with her younger brother-in-law— isn’t that degrading her? Just watching makes my heart ache for Sister-in-law!”
Hearing this, Su Qingyue’s eyes flickered. “No. Yancong died on the battlefield. How can I let him die without descendants? I’m doing this willingly.”
Madam Xu clasped Su Qingyue’s hand with satisfaction and nodded repeatedly.
See? This is what being sensible looks like!
What kind of scholarly family background? Ruan An’an was just a selfish rich young lady—she’d never compare to Su Qingyue.
Watching their show of intimacy, Ruan An’an curled her lips slightly. “Sister-in-law, don’t you feel wronged?”
“Not at all,” Su Qingyue said with a gentle smile. “This is what I should do as a daughter-in-law of the Xu family. After all, of the three forms of unfilial behavior, having no heirs is the greatest.”
“I can’t let the Xu family line—and Yancong—die out.”
Her words made Madam Xu and Xu Yanli nod again and again.
Qingyue truly was a blessing to the Xu family!
Ruan An’an felt her stomach churn.
How could such twisted logic even be spoken aloud?
The eldest son wasn’t even their biological child. They heard he had died and simply assumed he was gone.
If they had sent even a single telegram to ask, they would have known Xu Yancong was still alive.
With thinly veiled sarcasm, she said, “Sister-in-law is truly righteous. I can’t compare.”
Su Qingyue caught the hidden meaning and felt displeased, but still put on a magnanimous air. “An’an, I know educated people like you aren’t willing to share a husband.”
She raised her hand and swore, “I, Su Qingyue, swear here and now—once I’m pregnant, I’ll move to the countryside and never disturb your married life. If I break this vow, may heaven—”
“Qingyue!” Madam Xu hurriedly interrupted, full of concern. “Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oaths to heaven must be repaid. I won’t allow you to speak such nonsense.”
Xu Yanli didn’t say anything, but his eyes were filled with tenderness.
He hadn’t meant to break his promise. It was mainly because Ruan An’an was too inconsiderate.
This concerned the Xu family bloodline, yet she refused to yield at all.
A flash of smugness crossed Su Qingyue’s eyes as she subtly checked the reactions of the mother and son.
In which family aren’t sons and lineage the most important?
If Ruan An’an kept being uncooperative, she’d have a hard life ahead.
How could Ruan An’an fail to see through her scheme?
She simply couldn’t be bothered to play these mind games and went straight to the point.
“Fine. I agree—but I have one condition.”
The three of them immediately beamed with joy.
Madam Xu asked eagerly, “What condition? Say it!”
“I want to withdraw the marriage application!”
The moment the words fell, the room plunged into dead silence.