Chapter 14 I Disagree With You Going Back

These past few days all he had heard were tales of how harshly Lady Woo treated this girl, and how the girl always accepted her fate without complaint. Yet, when this same girl dealt with Lady Woo just now, she navigated the situation with ease, hardly resembling someone who could be bullied.

Qin Xiaoruo felt a chill in her heart under the man's inscrutable gaze. She hadn't done anything too out of line just now to arouse his suspicions, had she?

Was he upset because she had brought up Mother Fu earlier?

Qin Xiaoruo tentatively spoke out, "Since my father has returned, it would be better for me to go back home to live."

Initially, she felt that living in the Fu Family's house was a more comfortable option than facing Lady Woo and her son. However, the man before her was so unpredictable. Living under the same roof, her secret might not remain hidden from him. After weighing her options, Qin Xiaoruo spontaneously changed her mind.

"Are you sure?" Fu Hanwen asked, his eyebrows twitching slightly, his emotions inscrutable.

Gathering her courage, Qin Xiaoruo met his deep eyes and nodded vigorously, "Yes!"

Her reluctance to return had nothing to do with not wanting to waste time entangled with Lady Woo and her son; she wasn't afraid of them. Her sixth sense told her the man before her was dangerous. Between two evils, she chose the lesser, naturally opting to go back.

"What if I don't agree?"

"Ah?" Qin Xiaoruo was taken aback.

"I mean, I don't agree with you going back!" Fu Hanwen declared, staring directly at her with an unquestionable tone, "Come back to Fu Family with me!"

His refusal to let her go was not out of concern that she would be bullied by Lady Woo and her son, but because he didn't want to see her act timid and cowardly again.

Qin Xiaoruo was dumbfounded, "This... isn't this inappropriate?"

It wasn't surprising that Qin Xiaoruo was shocked; they weren't even married yet. On what grounds was this man objecting to her going home?

Was he truly considering making her a child bride?

"There is nothing inappropriate. My mother intends to nourish your health." With that serious remark, Fu Hanwen turned and walked away. He wasn't worried that the young girl behind him wouldn't follow. Without looking back, he could guess the expression on her face.

Qin Xiaoruo rubbed her forehead. Was this what it meant to shoot herself in the foot?

It's true that one shouldn't do bad things!

Qin Xiaoruo was conflicted for a moment, but in the end, she didn't have the nerve to go against this man's will, trudging heavily toward Fu Family.

"Hey, isn't that Xiao Ruo?"

Three women with baskets approached, one of whom was the wife of Village Chief Qin Daliang.

Seeing the herbs in their baskets, Qin Xiaoruo forced a smile, "Are you ladies coming back from herb picking on the mountain?"

After exchanging a few polite words with Qin Xiaoruo, the women asked, "Xiao Ruo, we heard that Lady Woo and your father are back?"

"Mhm," Qin Xiaoruo responded listlessly.

At that, one of the women said with schadenfreude, "That Lady Woo is afraid of death herself, dragged your father and the two kids to run away, and even left you, who were sick, in the care of the Fu Family, and all for nothing. They must have missed out on work in the fields. Serves her right!"

"Indeed," another woman added indignantly, "The Village Chief has said that the enemy's conquest of Qingping City was just a rumor. Yet Lady Woo ran away. It's one thing for her to run, but to abandon Xiao Ruo, can that even be considered human?"

Village Chief Daliang's wife hesitated for a moment before whispering, "Actually, it's true that Qingping City was conquered by the enemy."

"What?!"

This revelation stirred up quite a commotion among the women.

"Sister-in-law Daliang, don't scare us!"

"Yes, Sister-in-law Daliang, that's not something to joke about."

Qin Xiaoruo was also stunned, staring straight at the wife of Village Chief Daliang.