Chapter 353: She Could Only Handle Her Own Wedding

Chapter 353: She Could Only Handle Her Own Wedding

Zheng Hongxu had come to visit his ailing mother, so the two of them entered together.

Madam Zheng lay in bed, finishing the remaining half-bowl of medicine.

After drinking it, she started cursing Wang Fuzhen again.

Seeing Zheng Hongxu arrive, her anger intensified, and she scolded him as well.

"It's all because of that witch you brought into our lives. Fortunately, she didn't marry into our family; otherwise, I would have been driven to an early grave."

Feeling hurt by the scolding, Zheng Hongxu still mustered the courage to ask, "Mother, why do you say that? I heard that you once considered having Wang Fuzhen marry me, is that true?"

Madam Zheng was taken aback, then nodded, recalling the past.

"Yes, I did consider it before. She is the legitimate daughter of the Wang family and likes you. It would have been a suitable match."

Zheng Hongxu's heart raced with excitement as he cautiously asked, "Then... why did you change your mind later?"

"Hmph, I never expected Wang Fuzhen to be so wicked," Madam Zheng said, turning to look at Zheng Jinyu.

Her hatred for Wang Fuzhen stemmed from the fact that Wang Fuzhen targeted Zheng Jinyu, bullied her, and spread rumors about her.

Who could say she didn't care for Jinyu? In that matter, didn't she firmly refuse to let Wang Fuzhen enter their home for Jinyu's sake?

Zheng Jinyu observed their expressions and suddenly smiled. "Mother, this will make Third Brother hate me."

Madam Zheng was startled and quickly reassured Zheng Hongxu, "No, no, that's not what I meant. Lao San, it's because Wang Fuzhen has a bad character; it has nothing to do with your sister."

Zheng Jinyu calmly replied, "Indeed, it has nothing to do with me. I have no grudge against Wang Fuzhen, and we don't even know each other. But she disliked me the moment we met, deliberately antagonized me, and tried to embarrass me. Third Brother, isn't that strange? How could someone who hasn't even met me have such hostility towards me? Someone must have spoken ill of me to her and incited her to act against me, right?"

Zheng Hongxu knew Jinyu too well. They had no grudges, and she was his own sister.

Why did he despise her so much without even meeting her?

The way he treated her during their first meeting—why? He understood the reason all too well.

At that time, Zhenzhen and Jinxiu were close friends, and Zhenzhen was influenced by Jinxiu's provocations.

Given Zhenzhen's temper, it was natural for her to stand up for her friend.

"Jinyu, Third Brother has wronged both you and Zhenzhen."

He was foolish, and they were all foolish, believing Jinxiu's one-sided words and doing so many unreasonable things.

Faced with these events, he couldn't reconcile the current Fang Jinxiu with the past Zheng Jinxiu.

If not for her, could he have interacted normally with his own sister?

Could he have married Zhenzhen?

Zheng Hongxu felt a deep sense of unease.

He had come to check on Madam Zheng and asked after her health before leaving.

But he didn't go far, waiting outside the door for Zheng Jinyu.

Zheng Jinyu had come to inquire about her wedding preparations.

Some things needed to be arranged in advance, such as ordering chickens, ducks, and fish from farmers to ensure they were ready in time.

There were no fast-growing chickens back then; if raised now, it would take at least six months for the chickens to be large enough.

These tasks should have been handled by Madam Zheng, who had prepared last year. However, when the grandmother passed away suddenly, Zheng Jinyu had to observe a year of mourning as a granddaughter, rendering the preparations useless. The poultry and meat were used for the funeral instead.

This year, Madam Zheng was preoccupied with Fang Jinxiu and was now too ill to get out of bed.

Zheng Ji was equally unreliable, spending most of his time at the grandmother's residence, leaving only Lady He to serve.

With no one to manage her affairs and the auspicious wedding date set by the Imperial Astronomer unable to be changed, what could she do?

Zheng Jinyu had no choice but to handle everything herself.

Hearing Zheng Jinyu's purpose, Madam Zheng's face turned grim, her guilt reaching its peak.

Despite being too ill to move, she struggled to get out of bed.

"It's all my fault. I almost forgot about your important day. I'll get up now and help you with the wedding preparations."

"No need. You're sick, so rest properly. It's not a complicated task; I can handle it myself."

She was used to this. Madam Zheng's guilt was genuine, but it was just that—guilt.

Her words were beautiful, but whenever something involving Fang Jinxiu arose, her own matters were quickly forgotten.

"How can that be? No bride prepares her own wedding," Madam Zheng said sadly, hoping her daughter would rely on her more.

Zheng Jinyu felt that Madam Zheng still hadn't woken up. Who wouldn't want to rely on their parents when young? But every time she needed support, Madam Zheng would let her down due to some issue.

Disappointment accumulated over time, and she stopped expecting anything.

"Mother, please rest. Don't tire yourself out because of my affairs."

With that, she took the ledger handed to her by Lady Luo and left.

Madam Zheng watched her leave, sighing, "Look at how different she is from other girls. Lady Luo, when she first returned, I was genuinely happy to see how smart and excellent she was. But now, I wish she weren't so capable, so she could rely on me more."

Lady Luo remained silent, quietly attending to her duties.

Zheng Hongxu did not leave; he remained in the courtyard.

When Zheng Jinyu came out, he hurriedly went to meet her.

"Little Sister."

Zheng Jinyu looked at him in surprise. "Is there something else?"

"Oh, nothing." Zheng Hongxu seemed a bit embarrassed but still stammered, "Little Sister, I'm sorry. Third Brother has wronged you."

He had said this several times already. In fact, she had long since let it go and did not need his apology.

Zheng Jinyu replied calmly, "Third Brother, you're too polite. You don't need to apologize to me."

"I know, but I still want to say it."

Suit yourself.

Zheng Jinyu continued, "Actually, you should apologize to Wang Fuzhen. Because of your actions, you have indeed wronged her, even ruined her life. You should be the one to say sorry to her. Oh, right, she probably doesn't need your apology either."

In this lifetime, they were in love. Initially, when the Lu family wanted to force a marriage with Wang Fuzhen, apart from Wang Fuzhen's defiant resistance that disregarded her reputation, there was another path: Zheng Hongxu could have bravely stepped forward and pressured Lady Zheng to propose to the Wang family.

At that time, Lady Wang indeed considered taking that route because she knew her daughter truly loved Zheng Hongxu. Forcing the Zheng family to marry Wang Fuzhen would be far better than her becoming a concubine in the Lu family.

If Zheng Hongxu had been willing to cooperate, it could have been accomplished.

Back then, the Lu family did not want to marry Wang Fuzhen; they wanted to force her to become a concubine.