Zhai Sheng did not spend much time at home to begin with, and after getting married, he spent even less time at home. Qiu Chenxi had been pampered while growing up, and because of that, there was no way she could have tolerated the loneliness.

  It could be said that Shi Peng had been absolutely right about Zhai Sheng’s divorce from Qiu Chenxi. It was just that Shi Peng’s health had not allowed him to live to see that day, or to counsel Zhai Sheng to be more open-minded, to stop thinking about Qiu Chenxi, and to find a new relationship instead of giving up on himself because of his family’s influence.

  Knowing that Zhai Sheng was getting married, Shi Qing was happy and sad at the same time. She was happy because she knew that her dad would finally be able to stop worrying about Zhai Sheng. The sad part was that the one man whom she had liked was getting married, but she was not the bride.

  Hearing Shi Qing talk about Shi Peng, there was sadness in Zhai Hua’s expression. Shi Qing smiled upon seeing her reaction. “Sister Zhai Hua, don’t be like that. It’s been such a long time. Besides, my dad passed away in the military that he was the most passionate about. For my dad, it was probably the greatest blessing in his life that he was able to go to rest in this land.”

  Besides, it had already been so many years. Much of her grief had already dissipated.

  Zhai Hua patted Shi Qing on the shoulder. “It’s been hard on you.”

  \r \r \r

  Shi Peng’s passing was definitely not such a simple matter. Even though they had not really kept in touch, Zhai Hua had heard about Shi Qing’s situation after Shi Peng’s passing. She knew that the Feng family had tried to force Shi Qing into marriage, but that had happened after Zhai Hua’s marriage to Wei De and when her relationship had gone downhill.

  Because she was busy enough trying to handle her own relationships and life, Zhai Hua had no time to care about Shi Qing. At that time, it was unsuitable for Zhai Sheng to step in either since it would probably cause even more trouble if he could not handle it well.

  Shi Qing laughed. She had already been through the worst times of her life. Now, she was in a great place. Her grandmother’s family no longer controlled her life or expected help from her. Of course, there was no way her grandmother’s family would dare to sell her off just to help her uncle get a promotion as they had done in the past.

  What she was capable of doing now was much more than what her grandmother’s family had been capable of doing in the past. Since they had not succeeded in selling her off at the time, whether or not her grandmother’s family could get what they wanted would depend on whether she allowed it to happen.

  Shi Qing did not mention that the Feng family no longer dared to mention that incident anymore. She could not help but wish that everyone on earth would stop mentioning it. That way, she would naturally forget about it as time went by. There was no other choice. The man whom the Feng family had found for Shi Qing had nothing but a good family background. Not only had he not been able to make a name for himself, but he was also a failure in life.

  Shi Qing had refused to get married to that man and had gritted her teeth and decided to follow in Shi Peng’s footsteps, joining the military while gritting her teeth and bearing with the pressure and scoldings from everyone around her. That man would never stay a bachelor just because Shi Qing refused to marry him.

  Without Shi Qing, there would still be Zhou Qing or Wang Qing.

  It was only natural that that man would find another woman to marry him if Shi Qing refused to do so. Not only had that man gotten married, but he had even managed to stay married up until now. But it was not that he did not want to get divorced. It was simply that he could not get a divorce.

  Not only had that man fooled around outside even after getting a wife and having children, but he had even gotten an STD that he had passed on to his wife. He had been utterly humiliated because of this matter and had even become a running joke among his friends.

  That family’s life could not get any worse. That proved that Shi Qing had made the right decision by severing her ties with her grandmother’s family and refusing to get married. The Feng family had claimed that they had found a great candidate for marriage for Shi Qing. In reality, they had not even known the kind of man they had found and had been ready to throw Shi Qing into a fiery pit.

  That alone was more than enough proof that the Feng family did not just care about Shi Qing because of their familial relations. If the Feng family knew what kind of man that guy was and thought that it was normal for men to fool around before marriage as long as he changed for the better after marriage, it showed that the Feng family was simply treating her as a playing card to further their own interests. They were not at all interested in Shi Qing’s life after marriage or how bad it would become.

  Without her husband, Feng Cheng naturally grew closer to her own family. Initially, Feng Cheng had agreed to let Shi Qing get married to that man. After all, she did agree that that man’s background was good. Shi Qing had a bad temper, so she might just be able to live a good life in the future if she could keep that guy in check.

  Moreover, her daughter’s marriage would benefit her elder brother. Unlike her in-laws, her family would never hurt her or her daughter.

  Feng Cheng’s willingness was based on the premise that Shi Qing would be happy after getting married. If Shi Qing was not going to lead a blissful life, Feng Cheng would never agree to it either.

  Shi Qing’s refusal to get married and running away from home to secretly join the military made Feng Cheng fly into a rage, nearly causing the mother and daughter to sever their ties. But just a few years later, Feng Cheng could no longer get angry at her daughter upon seeing the kind of man her daughter had almost gotten married to. In fact, she even felt guilty toward Shi Qing.

  At that time, Shi Qing had already toiled in the military for several years. She was no longer that helpless young lady who had no one to rely on after her father’s death. Upon closer analysis, Shi Qing and Feng Cheng realized what the Feng family had been up to. Knowing that her own family had tried to take advantage of her daughter, Feng Cheng was infuriated at her family and hated them very much.

  While her father-in-law had been alive, he had been biased toward Qiu Chenxi, but at the very least, he had still cared about her daughter. On the other hand, her family seemed to care for her daughter on the surface, and yet, they had been plotting such things behind their backs. They were indeed much worse than her father-in-law.

  Now that Shi Peng was gone, Shi Qing was Feng Cheng’s closest kin. The Feng family came after Shi Qing. If she had to make a choice between her daughter and her family, it went without saying that her daughter would come first.

  As such, Feng Cheng toughened her attitude and no longer tried to speak well of the Feng family in front of Shi Qing. Even when Shi Qing rose through the ranks in the military, even surpassing that of her uncle in the Feng family, Feng Cheng had never once wavered in her stance.