Shen Xiu originally wanted to push Qiao Meier directly to Magistrate Zhen.
But she later changed her mind.
No matter how infatuated Magistrate Zhen is, he is still a man. But men cannot escape from a theorem. That is, no woman who takes the initiative to send him will be cherished by them.
And what they have repeatedly rejected and made them pursue hard will actually make them cherish it after getting it.
Shen Xiu, considering both himself and Qiao Meier, decided to play hard to get and whet Magistrate Zhen's appetite.
But before Magistrate Zhen came to visit, Shen Xiu and Qiao Meier had a good talk.
She told Qiao Meier all the truth about the matter.
Magistrate Zhen, as an official of the imperial court, why Shen Xiu was sure that he could fall in love with Qiao Meier was entirely because of Qiao Meier's appearance.
Qiao Meier's doubts were all solved at this moment.
Probably because the truth came suddenly and she was told that she would be a substitute, Qiao Meier's face went numb for a moment, and she didn't know what to say for a moment.
Shen Xiudao: "I know how you feel. I was the one that Magistrate Zhen fell in love with at first, but I am already married and have a good relationship with my husband, so I don't want to marry him. But he keeps pestering me, and I want to get rid of him."
, that’s why we made this decision.”
"The reason why I tell you the truth is because we have met for a while and I don't want you to be kept in the dark."
Shen Xiu paid attention to Qiao Meier's reaction, "I know that I have wronged you by asking you to marry Magistrate Zhen as a substitute. But you can refuse. If you don't want to, I will send you back immediately."
After going back, Qiao Meier's face finally showed some expression, and she said confusedly: "If I don't want to, will you really send me back?"
Shen Xiudao: "Of course. If you don't believe it, I will send you back now and wait until you think about it at home before telling me the answer."
Shen Xiu kept her promise and actually sent Qiao Meier back to Qiao's house.
After Qiao Meier had lived in the county town for so many days, when she returned to Qiao's house, she felt that everything was strange and terrifying.
The low thatched house, the dirty yard, and the musty-smelling room all made Qiao Meier feel strange.
Is this really the place where she grew up?
Although she only lived with Shen Xiu for a short period of time, she felt that the clean, tidy and elegant house was her real home.
Just like this, Qiao Meier was confused and helpless, carrying her luggage and returning to the wing room where she originally lived.
After Shen Xiu exchanged greetings with the Qiao family, she said goodbye. But before leaving, she gave them some money and asked them to take good care of Qiao Meier.
After all, Shen Xiu has raised Qiao Meier for so long, and she doesn't want to let Qiao Meier return to her original state just by staying at Qiao's house for a few days.
As for why Shen Xiu took the risk and sent Qiao Meier back to Qiao's house, it was because she wanted to concentrate on dealing with Magistrate Zhen.
On the way back to the county town from Qiao's house, Shen Xiu held the stove in her arms and thought about it carefully, and finally figured out how to respond to Magistrate Zhen.
Her preparations soon came in handy.
When Shen Xiu got off the carriage, Lai Sheng had been waiting at the door for a long time.
"Ms. Shen, you are finally back." Laisheng stepped forward and said with a smile, "Your Excellency asked me to deliver a message, saying that I must see you today no matter what."
Shen Xiu said lightly: "I know what you adults mean. Yesterday I said I would give him a big gift, but I didn't have time to give it to him yet. Just wait for me for a while, and I will give it to you."
Of course, Laisheng knew that Magistrate Zhen did not want that big gift, so he continued to smile and said: "Mrs. Shen, we adults don't want any big gifts, we just want to see you. It's not convenient at the county government office, so you asked me to stay at the nearby office." We have reserved a private room in the teahouse, and your Excellency is already waiting for you there."
Magistrate Zhen waited in the private room for a long time before he saw Shen Xiu, who had arrived late.
Shen Xiu apologized as soon as he came up: "I promised you that I would give you a big gift, but I didn't expect something unexpected happened..."
Magistrate Zhen was not interested in the gift at all at this moment, so he interrupted directly: "Who is that girl?"
Shen Xiu looked puzzled and asked blankly: "Which girl?"
"You don't need to pretend to be confused with me. I know that girl has a close relationship with you, and I also know that you don't want me to see her." Magistrate Zhen said in a deep voice, "You just avoid me like a flood, why don't you even let that girl , you also want her to avoid me?"
Shen Xiu's tone also became colder, "Since you know everything, I will tell you straight away. Since I know clearly that what you are looking for is a substitute, why do you push my cousin into the fire pit?"
"Fire pit?" Magistrate Zhen laughed angrily, "Why would you marry me into a fire pit? Am I so unbearable?"
Shen Xiu said calmly: "My lord, you are not unbearable, but your thoughts are a bit unbearable. You can't let go of your original wife, so you asked us to be this substitute. Are we born just to be this substitute? How unfair is this to us? !”
Shen Xiu was originally just using the topic to express himself, but when he thought of the entanglements he had received, he became more and more excited and spoke out all the words in his heart.
"We are also raised by our parents. Why should we sacrifice our whole lives to fulfill your deep love just because you can't forget your first wife? Is it because we have no power, so we have to be at your mercy?"
Magistrate Zhen turned pale after being spoken to. Shen Xiu's words were like a sharp dagger, piercing deeply into his heart. But he couldn't refute even a single word, because he knew Shen Xiu was right.
In this matter, he did something wrong indeed.
After Shen Xiu finished speaking, she took several deep breaths to calm herself down.
Magistrate Zhen was silent for a while and then said: "You are right, this matter is indeed unfair to you. But I can make up for it."
"It seems that your Excellency hasn't given up yet." Shen Xiu sneered, "But you didn't give up on me in the past, but now I'm afraid you just have a crush on my cousin!"
Magistrate Zhen was not angry after being provoked by Shen Xiu, and admitted generously: "Yes, I do have a crush on your cousin. She is more like Wan Niang than you. That's fine, since you don't want to change husbands anyway."
"I don't want to change my husband." Shen Xiu said simply: "But I also don't want my cousin to marry you on my behalf. You'd better give up!"
Magistrate Zhen refused to give up and said persistently: "Your cousin should have never been engaged! As long as she agrees to marry me, I can grant her the status of a noble concubine, and she will not marry anyone to fill the house in the future. Never in this life." I will only stay with her, isn't this better than marrying an ordinary person and becoming my wife."
This condition sounds really good.
But Shen Xiu still wanted to whet his appetite again, "My cousin has never been engaged, but she is also discussing marriage. The person she will marry in the future may not be as powerful as you, but she is a well-matched and loving couple. Isn’t it better than being someone’s concubine?”
Magistrate Zhen was speechless for a long time and said helplessly: "I can't help you. But your cousin is not you. How do you know she won't be willing? Let me see her and I will ask her personally.
"
If it were Qiao Meier, she would be captured by Magistrate Zhen within just a few words. This is why Shen Xiu sent her away so quickly.
"There's no need to meet. I sent him away early today. Otherwise, why would I come here so late."