Ex-Wife is a Big Villainess
Chapter 146 - 105: The Stubborn Xia He

Chapter 146: Chapter 105: The Stubborn Xia He

Jiang Shouzhong felt that this old lady might be confused, slightly senile, perhaps mistaking them for someone else in a moment of absent-mindedness.

But for now, all they could do was to follow the old lady’s wishes.

Jiang Shouzhong, holding the shoes, approached Xia He, noticing the girl’s extremely cold, threatening gaze and rolled his eyes, thinking to himself that he wasn’t trying to take any advantage of her; he had warned her not to follow, but she insisted on being a persistent nuisance.

Jiang Shouzhong squatted down and reached out to grab Xia He’s lower leg.

The young woman instinctively shrank back.

"Girl, there’s nothing to be shy about," Old Madam Ran picked up an unfinished shoe sole, saying with a smile, "Back when I was young, my husband liked to make shoes himself, and every time he finished a pair, he’d always try them on for me personally."

Xia He stiffened, forcing an awkward smile.

She wanted to retort that her relationship with Jiang Shouzhong was not the same as that of the couple, but she moved her lips and yet didn’t dare to speak.

While she was distracted, the man gently grasped her delicate lower leg.

Since she was usually dressed in warrior attire, she habitually wore black soft satin boots with gold lace on her feet, highlighting her well-rounded legs and proportionate figure.

Xia He’s body trembled as she watched him take off her satin boots, revealing her small feet wrapped in snow-colored silk stockings.

The overwhelmingly graspable, slender, and delicate feet were like newly sprouted bamboo shoots, provoking one’s imagination.

Jiang Shouzhong, however, appeared calm, fitting the butterfly-embellished embroidered shoes on the young woman’s feet. Feeling they were suitable, he said to Lady Ran, "Lady Ran, they fit quite well."

"Good, it’s good that they fit,"

Old Madam Ran picked out several pairs of shoe pads embroidered with mandarin ducks, handing them over to Xia He," I don’t have any other gifts for you, these pairs of shoe pads are for you, don’t disdain them."

Xia He, her boots back on, hurriedly took them with respect, "Thank you for the gifts, Lady Ran."

"Girl, you go rest in the room first. I’ve already arranged a place for you to stay. Tonight, you shall stay at the Ran residence. Let’s have dinner together, consider it keeping this old lady company to ease my boredom. I’ll have a talk with your man here," Old Madam Ran said with a laugh.

Stay for a night?

Jiang Shouzhong’s brows furrowed slightly, he hesitated for a moment, but did not refuse.

Xia He held back her words, ultimately still not daring to speak, and left the room with the embroidered shoes and shoe pads in hand.

At this time, Jiang Shouzhong was somewhat certain the old lady was a bit muddled, thus he reminded her, "Lady Ran, the girl who was just here is not my wife, nor is she your granddaughter. Her name is Xia He."

Lady Ran, threading a needle through the thick shoe sole and fabric, said with a laugh, "Jiang Yi is still behaving like a little girl. She used to quarrel with her sister, and now she quarrels with her niece. It’s a pity for those four young girls."

Jiang Shouzhong suddenly froze.

Jiang Yi, Jiang Wan... He suddenly slapped his forehead, a rueful smile on his face.

How foolish of him, only now did he realize.

He finally understood why that woman had such a strange reaction upon hearing Ran Qingchen’s name and insisted on having Xia He stay close—Jiang Shouzhong regretted acting clever at that time, telling her the sword manual was in Ran Qingchen’s possession. Who would have guessed, she turned out to be Ran Qingchen’s aunt.

What surprised him even more was that Old Madam Ran looked very lucid, not muddled at all.

"Speaking of which, we the Ran Family have failed her. We couldn’t take good care of her sister, so it’s natural for her to hold a grudge against our family,"

Lady Ran sighed, "She, well, she’s just like that, a little hedgehog who wants others to be good to her, yet she curls up, not letting anyone close, wanting to prick everyone with a jab. When she hurts someone, she begins to regret it and starts to devalue herself."

Jiang Shouzhong listened silently, calculating in his heart how he should interact with Silver Moon Tower moving forward.

Now that everyone’s identities had been made clear, it was impossible to sever their ties.

Since he couldn’t break free, he might as well shift his thinking, see if there was any advantage to be gained, to maximize the benefits.

Lady Ran looked at Jiang Shouzhong, "How are things between you and Qingchen?"

Jiang Shouzhong snapped back to reality, scratching his head sheepishly, "We each live our own lives. Qingchen has her own pursuits, and I fully support her, so... just let nature take its course."

"You are much like my third son,"

Old Madam Ran said with a warm smile, gazing at the flickering candlelight, "He and Qingchen’s mother also respected each other like guests, almost living their separate lives. I scolded him for it. He said: While it’s nice to see one’s wife like a canary in a cage, if one could admire the dance of a phoenix in the sky, it would be a delight to the eyes as well."

Jiang Shouzhong wondered to himself, was the old lady implying something?

Not to keep Ran Qingchen tightly bound to himself?

But then Lady Ran shook her head, "Still, I don’t like the way they did things. I, as a married woman, believe that a husband and wife should be loving and as inseparable as mandarin ducks. But young people have their own ideas, and I, an old lady, shouldn’t meddle too much. Besides, throughout history, many household conflicts have been stirred up by mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law, causing the husband to be in an awkward position, stuck in the middle."

Jiang Shouzhong smiled, "You are a good mother-in-law."

Lady Ran laughed and waved her hand, "No, not good at all. There are many things that you only come to understand after people are gone. Sadly, the realization comes a bit too late. Just like with my husband, at first, I despised him for so many things. I said to him, ’How could you, a grown man, enjoy sewing shoes and cooking, doing women’s work?’ I was, after all, a Commandery Princess; I couldn’t afford to lose face. So, I despised him for a lifetime."

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