CHAPTER 564: CHAPTER 290: DO YOU REGRET IT

The wine and dishes were promptly served, and Shi Fengming kept inviting with his cup, but Shi Fengju shook his head, glancing at him and remaining silent as he accompanied him.

When half-drunk, Shi Fengming began to speak nonsense, and eventually, the topic turned to Zhou Jingyi. Taking advantage of his inebriation, he finally revealed his thoughts, albeit in a veiled manner. Usually not one to be roundabout, this sudden attempt at depth left Shi Fengju feeling somewhat dizzy; it took him a while to decipher those circuitous words.

Looking at Shi Fengming across from him, with his eyes half-drunk and blurry, appearing nervous and somewhat expectant, Shi Fengju felt both amused and irritated as he said, "For such a trivial matter, do you really need to beat around the bush so much? If you regret it, just go and ask to marry her back!"

Once his carefully concealed thoughts under a layer of gauze were bluntly pointed out by Shi Fengju, Shi Fengming, no longer embarrassed, admitted, "But my parents-in-law and my eldest brother-in-law hate me so much, they won’t agree! If I went to their door, I’m afraid I’d get beaten before I could even speak!"

Shi Fengju thought to himself—it’s your own fault for being so ruthless before, not leaving yourself any way out! Now finding no way back, you’ve got what you deserve.

"You have to take the beating if it comes; once they let out their anger, you’ll naturally have a chance to speak!" Shi Fengju said, "In any case, if your sister-in-law could marry you again, it would be better than her finding someone else. But whether Master Zhou and Mrs. Zhou will trust you again, fearing she might be bullied by you once more, that’s the tricky part!"

And that was exactly what Shi Fengming worried about, he hurriedly said, "That’s what I think too. If they don’t trust me, what should I do?"

Sighing, Shi Fengju replied, "There’s no other way but to show them through your actions and let them see your sincerity! Also, if your sister-in-law is willing to come back with you, perhaps Master Zhou and Mrs. Zhou can’t stand against their own daughter’s wishes."

Shi Fengming thought it made sense and said, "As long as I can see Jingyi first, everything else should be easier to handle, right? My parents-in-law have always doted on her, and her word carries more weight than mine!"

"Nonsense!" Shi Fengju laughed in exasperation, "Don’t even think about sneaking to see your sister-in-law before formally apologizing. Do you think the Zhou family’s inner courtyard is a place you can just enter at will? Is scaling walls something you should be doing? If the Zhou family catches you, getting beaten up and handed over to the government isn’t out of the question! By then, things will only become more rigid! You’ve created this mess for yourself, and if you want to reconcile, you must expect some hardships; stop daydreaming about easy solutions!"

After thinking it over, Shi Fengming felt despair. His brother was right; how could the walls of the Zhou family’s inner courtyard be easily scaled? And what if Jingyi simply ignored him or worse, started screaming, causing a commotion? That would only make things worse.

"Big brother, why don’t you accompany me to the Zhou family just this once? Please?" Shi Fengming pleaded with Shi Fengju, "I’m too scared to go alone..."

He was sure his eldest brother-in-law would thrash him. The last time, Jingyi had been there to intervene, but this time, if he was going to offer an olive branch, he couldn’t possibly fight back or even dodge; what if his brother-in-law didn’t stop hitting him? Just thinking of his brother-in-law made Shi Fengming’s scalp tingle. With his elder brother there, at least there’d be someone to mediate.

"You really are..." Shi Fengju was at a loss for words.

Once Shi Fengming had blurted out his request, he threw all caution to the wind and shamelessly smiled, "Big brother, please help me out! You wouldn’t want to see me get beaten, would you?"

Shi Fengju looked at him skeptically and asked, "What else happened that I don’t know about? Why are you so sure the Zhou family will beat you? Master Zhou and Young Master Zhou are gentle and scholarly, and although Mrs. Zhou is a bit fierce, she wouldn’t actually beat someone. Why do you think so?"

Shi Fengming knew he couldn’t hide anything from his brother, so he hung his head, avoiding his gaze, and hesitantly recounted the incident in Biluo Pavilion. Shi Fengju’s brow furrowed as he reprimanded, "Honestly, I don’t know what to do with you! Why do you always create such unreliable messes? You’re happy with the thrill of the moment, never thinking of the consequences!"

Shi Fengming hurried to apologize with a good attitude.

Yet Shi Fengju’s expression suddenly sharpened as he said sternly, "I think you should first calm down, reflect for a few days, and once you’ve thought it through, then decide whether to go to the Zhou family or not!"

"Big brother—"

"Don’t interrupt! Who knows if this is just another of your whims?" Shi Fengju said irritably, "If you do bring your sister-in-law back and then revert to your old ways, causing more trouble, even I will be too ashamed to face the Zhou family again! Think it over!"

"Big brother, I’m serious! I really am serious!" Shi Fengming was too anxious to wait, hurriedly assuring, "I promise you, if Jingyi comes back with me, I will never let her down again! If we wait any longer and she really gets engaged elsewhere, what then? Isn’t that—"

Shi Fengju replied, "If that’s the case, then it only means that you two are not fated to be together, and you should just give up. Moreover, if she really intends to marry someone else, do you think the Zhou family would pay attention to you now? Think it through. In the meantime, I’ll have someone inquire about this matter—it might just be a misunderstanding after all!"

Shi Fengming wanted to say more, but Shi Fengju interrupted without mincing words, "You’re so anxious now, so why didn’t you act earlier?" His words struck Shi Fengming speechless, leaving him with no choice but to obey.

Anxious as if tormented by a cat, Shi Fengming couldn’t wait any longer after three days and ran back to Ningyuan to find Shi Fengju. Seeing that Shi Fengming was truly in a hurry, Shi Fengju agreed to accompany him to the Zhou family the next day. Only then did Shi Fengming relax, grinning widely, and he eagerly asked whether the news about Zhou Jingyi’s remarriage was true or not.