0p0 Chapter 502 The Ex-Wife in the Historical Fiction 1
Chapter 502 The Ex-Wife in the Historical Fiction 1
Shangge Village, Xinghuatun.
The Gu family courtyard was full of people, including members of the Gu family and members of the Qi family whom Gu Lixuan had specially invited.
Three years ago, on the eve of his wedding to Qi Ning from Lihua Village, Gu Lixuan was suddenly drafted into the army.
Qi Ning waited for him for three years, from the age of eighteen to twenty-one, never considering breaking off the engagement and marrying someone else. Now, she has finally welcomed him back.
Today, Gu Lixuan invited the Qi family over, and both families assumed that he was going to discuss his marriage with Qi Ning.
Qi Ning's father, Qi Datian, tapped his pipe on a brick and asked with a smile, "Lixuan, what did you call us over here for today?"
Everyone else was also looking at Gu Lixuan.
Gu Lixuan clenched his fist and mustered his courage to speak: "Uncle, Aunt, the reason I called you here today is to talk about my marriage with Qi Ning... could it be... could it be..."
"Can you do what? Just tell me already!" Qi Ning's mother, Wang Qiaofang, was an impatient person and immediately pressed for an answer.
Not only the Qi family and Qi Ning were waiting for Gu Lixuan's answer, but even Gu Lixuan's parents were waiting for his answer.
In their view, Gu Lixuan had originally planned to marry Qi Ning before he went to the battlefield. Now that he had finally returned from the battlefield, their wedding, which had been delayed for three years, could not be delayed any longer.
Under the expectant gazes of everyone, Gu Lixuan hesitated for a moment before swallowing the word "relief".
"Can my wedding with Qi Ning be postponed?"
……
The world Qi Ning first arrived in was a melodramatic and tragic historical novel.
More than 20 years ago, during the height of the Down to the Countryside Movement, several educated youths also came to Xinghua Village.
One of the tall and handsome educated youths was named Wu Zhihua, and he fell in love with He Xiuyun, a villager from Xinghuatun.
Before Wu Zhihua returned to the city, the two of them secretly tasted the forbidden fruit.
He Xiuyun only discovered she was pregnant after Wu Zhihua left.
Despite the rumors and gossip, she refused to abort the child and insisted on giving birth, hoping that one day Wu Zhihua would come to pick her and her daughter up and take them back to the city.
He Xiuyun named her daughter He Sisi.
He Sisi is the female protagonist of this article.
He Sisi was beautiful and delicate, always looking pitiful, and was pointed at and gossiped about by the villagers since she was a child.
He Sisi never saw her biological father appear until her mother passed away when she was fifteen.
The male protagonist of this story, Gu Lixuan, lives next door to the He family. He has always had a crush on He Sisi and feels sorry for her, so he often helps her with chores such as chopping wood and carrying water.
After He Sisi's mother passed away, Gu Lixuan took even better care of He Sisi. Before long, Gu Lixuan confessed his feelings to He Sisi and wanted to date her.
But He Sisi was afraid that people would say she was as shameless as her mother, so she never agreed.
Gu Lixuan didn't mind at all and continued to take good care of He Sisi, helping her with all sorts of chores around the house.
He Sisi is beautiful, and quite a few boys in the village like her, but they only like her face and none of them treat her as well as Gu Lixuan.
It wasn't until He Sisi and Gu Lixuan were eighteen that He Sisi was completely moved by his sincerity.
She told Gu Lixuan that if he really liked her, he should talk to his family and marry her.
Gu Lixuan knew that He Sisi had agreed to his request, and he was so happy that he immediately went back to discuss it with his family.
However, after Gu Lixuan's parents learned about this, they firmly disagreed with their marriage.
They looked down on He Sisi at all, thinking her mother was shameless and that He Sisi was an illegitimate child who always had a long face, was thin and small, and didn't look like she could do farm work or be easy to raise.
The Gu family parents had a preferred daughter-in-law in mind: Qi Ning from the neighboring Lihua Village.
Qi Ning and He Sisi are completely different people. Qi Ning has a happy family and her family dotes on her. Qi Ning herself is cheerful, quick-witted, loves to laugh, and is efficient at her work. She is likable.
No matter how much Gu Lixuan begged, his parents still disagreed with his relationship with He Sisi and even beat him up.
Qi Ning was unaware of Gu Lixuan's relationship with He Sisi. When Gu Lixuan's parents brought him to their home for a blind date, Qi Ning was smitten and agreed.
Gu Lixuan was a filial son and could not go against his parents' wishes, so he had no choice but to prepare to marry Qi Ning as they requested.
He Sisi never expected that the man who had sworn eternal love to her just a few days ago would be marrying someone else in the blink of an eye.
She couldn't help but think of her mother and the father she had never met. Like her mother, she had also encountered a heartless man.
But He Sisi didn't want to repeat her mother's tragic fate. Since Gu Lixuan was going to marry Qi Ning, she wanted to get married too.
However, instead of choosing other suitors, she took revenge and went to Lu Yiheng, Gu Lixuan's good friend, to ask him if he would be willing to marry her.
Lu Yiheng's family situation was not much better than He Sisi's. His parents died early, and he grew up with his grandparents, who also passed away a few years ago.
Now he lives with his uncle's family, and life as a dependent is not easy. He is busy working in the fields every day, but he is not as free as Gu Lixuan. He also knows nothing about Gu Lixuan and He Sisi's relationship.
Lu Yiheng was an honest and upright person. Although he was somewhat surprised that He Sisi would suddenly propose to marry him, he thought about it and realized that they were indeed at the age to get married and were well-matched in terms of social standing.
So Lu Yiheng discussed it with his uncle and agreed.
The news that He Sisi and Lu Yiheng were about to get married soon reached Gu Lixuan's ears. Gu Lixuan was heartbroken and decided to break up with He Sisi completely and live a good life with Qi Ning.
Just as the two couples were preparing to get married, war suddenly broke out at the front, requiring young and strong men to go to the front lines.
The fate of the nation is everyone's responsibility. At such a time, personal feelings can be temporarily set aside. Gu Lixuan and Lu Yiheng put aside their wedding plans and rushed to the battlefield, leaving behind two brides waiting to be married.
Neither He Sisi nor Qi Ning had any intention of marrying anyone else; they were both waiting for their fiancés to return.
Qi Ning was a diligent girl. Since she was already engaged, she regarded the Gu family as her husband's family and often came from Lihua Village to Xinghua Village to help the Gu family with chores.
As Qi Ning visited Xinghuatun more often, she became increasingly familiar with He Sisi, frequently helping out at her home and chatting with her.
Sometimes when villagers bullied He Sisi, she would even help them curse back.
Three years passed in the blink of an eye. Gu Lixuan finally returned, but Lu Yiheng was nowhere to be seen.
Under He Sisi's persistent questioning, Gu Lixuan finally revealed that Lu Yiheng had sacrificed his life.
He Sisi was devastated and stayed home, refusing to leave.
After Gu Lixuan returned, his family urged him to marry Qi Ning, who had waited for him for three years.
Gu Lixuan was worried about He Sisi. He wanted to break off his engagement with Qi Ning, but Qi Ning had waited for him for so long, and his conscience wouldn't allow him to do that. His family wouldn't agree either.
After some hesitation, Gu Lixuan invited both families to discuss postponing the wedding.
The Qi family naturally disagreed. They had already accepted that Gu Lixuan had gone to the battlefield and waited for him for three years, but now that he had returned, he was postponing the wedding. Their family would have to consider marrying Qi Ning off to someone else.
Gu's parents couldn't bear to part with Qi Ning, their daughter-in-law, and forced Gu Lixuan to marry her.
On their wedding day, Gu Lixuan saw He Sisi looking forlorn outside the courtyard.
He was restless and lied to Qi Ning in the bridal chamber, saying that he had been wounded on the battlefield and had a psychological trauma, so he could not share a room with her for a while.
Qi Ning thought that Gu Lixuan wanted to postpone the wedding because of this, so she not only didn't blame him, but also said that she was willing to wait for him and keep his secret.
Even though Gu's parents openly and subtly urged Qi Ning to have children after marriage, Qi Ning did not reveal that they had not yet consummated their marriage.
After they got married, Gu Lixuan said that Lu Yiheng had sacrificed himself, and he felt sorry for his brother's fiancée, so he would go to the He family to help out from time to time.
Perhaps when you love someone, you feel that whatever they do is right. Qi Ning didn't notice anything unusual. Instead, she thought Gu Lixuan was a kind and righteous man, and even took care of He Sisi with him.
If Gu Lixuan were to frequently visit the He family alone, it would certainly attract attention. However, Qi Ning's frequent visits to the He family also served as a cover for Gu Lixuan.
Even if someone in the village goesssips, Qi Ning will argue back.
One night, when He Sisi's light bulb broke, Gu Lixuan went to fix it for her. The two couldn't control themselves and rekindled their old feelings, ending up having sex.
Gu Lixuan didn't return home until very late that night.
Afterwards, Gu Lixuan and He Sisi both regretted it deeply. They felt sorry for Qi Ning, and their relationship became somewhat distant afterward.
Not long after, the villagers discovered that He Sisi was pregnant.
The villagers were abuzz with gossip, all speculating about the identity of the wild man who had gotten He Sisi pregnant.
He Sisi knew she had followed in her mother's footsteps, but it was all her own doing. She refused to mention Gu Lixuan or make him admit it.
Gu's parents did have their suspicions about Gu Lixuan, and they secretly asked him about it, but he denied it.
Qi Ning never doubted Gu Lixuan. She felt that Gu Lixuan was not the kind of person who would bully his good brother's fiancée, and he hadn't been to the He family much lately.
When the villagers pointed fingers at He Sisi, Qi Ning always defended her and comforted her, saying that it wasn't her fault, but that man's fault.
He Sisi and Gu Lixuan felt even more guilty towards Qi Ning, and the two of them became increasingly careful to avoid each other.
On the day He Sisi gave birth, she had a difficult labor. To make matters worse, the weather turned bad, with heavy rain and a power outage.
Not only that, Gu Lixuan went to help out in the next village that night and happened to be away from home.
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