Chapter 260: Chapter 355: The Liu Family's Dispute_1
"Grandpa, did you want to see me?"
Within a bustling street, at a certain restaurant, Liu Qianqian approached the Family Head of the Liu Family and asked softly with a slight bow.
Liu Dongfeng glanced at his granddaughter, sighed slightly, and shook his head, "Qian Qian, your mother told me that you and Fang Ren had been in a relationship before?"
Liu Qianqian's expression stiffened for a moment before she denied, "No, Mother is overthinking it. There were only some feelings in the past, but all that is history now."
Hearing this, an even deeper look of regret crossed Liu Dongfeng's face as he said, "Back then, your mother, she was too hasty in drawing conclusions without proper investigation, and she kept Hu Hui from letting you and Fang Ren be in contact."
Liu Qianqian shook her head and said, "Grandpa, did you call me here today just to ask about my past?"
Liu Dongfeng shook his head, "Sit down and eat first; we'll talk slowly."
Having heard this, Liu Qianqian finally found a seat and sat down. After a while, a group of people from the Liu Family arrived at the location.
Liu Qianqian's parents, her eldest uncle and aunt, her younger uncle, her third-aunt, as well as the siblings from the family, all sat down at the same dining table.
As everyone had assembled, Liu Dongfeng began, "Qian Qian, the entire family has gathered here to discuss your marriage with... no, the third young master of the Fang Family, that's right."
"Fang Lizhong?" Liu Qianqian asked expressionlessly, "Grandpa, are you still insisting on making me marry him?"
"Qian Qian, your grandfather doesn't mean that," her father interjected with a frown. "Your physique, as personally stated by Master Qing'an, is a cultivation talent that comes once in a thousand years. How could our family possibly let you marry so early?"
"Didn't the Fang Family say last time that they wouldn't agree to call off the engagement?" Liu Qianqian questioned.
Liu Dongfeng replied, "Indeed, they did not agree to call off the engagement, but they said they could wait until your physique stabilized before consummating your marriage with Fang Lizhong. However, the marriage must happen.
Our Liu Family has always been at the bottom of the upper echelons in Tianjiang, and now that we finally have a cultivation talent like you, they want to tie you firmly to their family. Of course, we don't want to agree, but what can we do given our family's lack of strength?"
"So, my marriage with Fang Lizhong is still going to happen; it's just that it won't be consummated?" Liu Qianqian clarified.
"That's exactly what the Fang Family's Head intends. He wishes to hold your marriage ceremony with Fang Lizhong on the same day Fang Ren and Bai Qi get married, to celebrate double happiness," explained Liu Dongfeng. "But once you marry Fang Lizhong, the happiness of your entire life will no longer be in your own hands.
I, too, like them, once intertwined your happiness with the family's interests, thinking of marrying you to Fang Lizhong for the sake of the family's survival, and you didn't have the right to grasp your own happiness. But now it's different, Qian Qian. You have that right, and I don't think we should marry you off to someone you don't like.
In the end, even your cultivation honors would be shared by the Fang Family."
Liu Qianqian listened to these words without developing a significant fondness for her grandfather. Talking about the right to happiness, a person should naturally have that right from birth, not because of a strong physique.
These people of the Liu Family, from beginning to end, were always the same; they had never changed.
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Saying that she didn't want her to marry Fang Lizhong was because the future glory of her cultivation success would belong to the Fang family who provided the resources for her cultivation, with little left for the Liu family.
The words of her grandfather were not spoken with her happiness in mind, but rather out of fear that if she grew up in the Fang family, her loyalty might shift towards them, leaving little contribution to the Liu family.
But then again, she genuinely disliked Fang Lizhong and had never considered marrying him. If she did marry Fang Lizhong, once her cultivation level increased, to divorce him would surely brand her with a reputation for ingratitude. After all, upon marriage, the Fang family would undoubtedly provide her with the best cultivation resources, which she would be obliged to repay.
Liu Dongfeng paused for a moment, then continued, "The reason I asked you about your relationship with Fang Ren the moment I saw you was actually to suggest you seek his help in persuading his grandfather to call off this engagement. Since you both had feelings for each other in the past, he surely wouldn't want to see you marry his brother, right?"
Upon hearing these words, Liu Qianqian suddenly felt a surge of anger. Now it turned out they wanted to use Fang Ren's past feelings for her to achieve the cancellation of the marriage, ultimately keeping her in the Liu family to contribute.
As a member of the family, Liu Qianqian knew she should make some rightful contributions to the clan, but the issue was that these relatives didn't seem worthy of her respect.
From beginning to end, they had only drained her of her value. When she was unable to cultivate, she was required to enter into a political marriage, and even the possibility of being with the boy she liked was threatened by the family's interests.
Now they were sweet-talking her again, which truly chilled her heart.
The Liu Family had always lacked "human touch", willing to forsake anything for the benefit of the clan. Everything revolved around the family's interests, disregarding that every person has feelings.
"I won't go beg him for help," Liu Qianqian firmly stated as she stood up from the dining table.
"Qian Qian, don't get agitated," her father quickly interjected as he grasped her hand. "We all know the family hasn't treated you fairly in the past and made you miss out on Fang Ren. But think about it calmly now, your status is different. If you had been with Fang Ren back then, your physique would have been wasted, and in the end, you would still have to marry Fang Lizhong.
Sometimes, missing out isn't necessarily a bad thing."
Liu Qianqian shook off her father's hand and said, "Father, no matter what you say today, I will not ask Fang Ren to help me, nor will I marry Fang Lizhong. The decisions you made in the past are now being changed at your convenience, using me like a tool. Have you ever considered my feelings?"
Liu Dongfeng frowned and said, "Qian Qian, you know the situation our family is in, not ideal at all. If we don't strive to climb higher, we'll soon be pushed down and even bullied by the middle class. I hope you can understand us. And if you still like Fang Ren, then tomorrow I will brazenly speak to the Fang Family Head, so he doesn't rush into arranging Fang Ren's marriage.
After all, once you start cultivating with your physique, you will soon surpass Bai Qi..."
"Grandfather!" Liu Qianqian immediately interrupted him, angrily retorting, "How is what you are doing now any different from setting up my engagement with Fang Lizhong? The reason you don't want me to marry Fang Lizhong is that you know he won't achieve as much as Fang Ren will.
You're not considering my happiness; you're just looking for me to climb up to Fang Ren, who now possesses extraordinary talent!"
"Qian Qian! How can you speak to your grandfather like that?" her mother scolded immediately.
Liu Qianqian turned to look at her mother, her heart filled with even greater indignation, "Back in Yangming City, when you clearly saw Fang Ren with another woman, you still agreed with grandfather, saying it was for my happiness, suggesting I should approach Fang Ren in some way. As my mother, aren't you going too far?"
The "other woman" she referred to was naturally Mu Huanqing.
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