To say that Li ili was surprised was an understatent. The words that just ca out from the empress had shocked Li ili down to the core. It made sense to her now why her best friend had a sudden change of heart towards her husband. It turned out that Zhang Jiren was Tang Moyu's twin brother, the one who everyone thought had died along with their birth mother.
"Moyu, I—" Li ili found herself lost in words, not knowing how to respond to her best friend's revelation. Her mind was having a hard ti to accept it all. But what caught her attention was the last one Tang Moyu had ntioned.
"What do you an he's sick and could be dying?" she asked the empress. "Moyu, what's going on?"
It didn't matter if she and Zhang Jiren were in a contractual marriage, because at the end of the day, she was still his wife and he was her husband. She had every right to know what was going on with Zhang Jiren.
Fear gripped her heart painfully. To think that Zhang Jiren was suffering without her knowing about it; Li ili wanted to bla herself for her incompetence. She also didn't understand why Zhang Jiren didn't bother to inform her about it.
Didn't he trust her at all? Li ili thought that in the ti they spent together, she and Zhang Jiren had co to understand each other better. It turned out she was wrong. Zhang Jiren didn't trust her enough.
"As I said, he's sick. Two lumps have been found in his body, ili. The one in his abdon was surgically removed a month ago, hence his sudden disappearance before. Tianyi and I made sure that the news wouldn't reach the public, especially the Zhang family. However, the mass that has been found in his brain is still there."
The more Li ili heard about it, the more she got upset, knowing that Zhang Jiren hid it from her.
"I fear that the longer it stayed there, the more it would put his life in danger," Tang Moyu confessed her fears. She might look calm on the surface, but her heart wasn't at peace ever since she found out about her twin brother's sickness.
This ti, Li ili couldn't stop her tears from falling down. She lowered her head in sha, knowing that she had never been a good wife for Zhang Jiren throughout their marriage. He even went as far as preparing and signing their divorce papers ahead of ti because he wanted to spare her the trouble of looking after him.
'Idiot,' she told herself. Didn't Zhang Jiren know that she was willing to do anything that she could just to help him? Did he think that because he was sick, she would abandon him?
Was there sothing she could do to help him, aside from signing the divorce papers in her hands? She brought down the papers and wiped her tears dry.
Li ili hadn't realized that she'd been crying. Why? Why should she cry? Zhang Jiren was only doing his part of their deal. He'd never said or showed any signs that he loved her, but why was he divorcing her so soon?
"I'm sorry it turned out this way, ili. More than anything, I want you and Jiren to be happy. But seeing him love you and Leyan knowing that he is just a substitute, a replacent for Beixuan also bothered . I'm not telling you to completely move on from Beixuan— that would be selfish of , but please also consider Jiren's feelings. He's too much of a coward to admit these to you. He has no idea I'm doing this for his sake."
Li ili nodded but didn't say anything in return. How was she supposed to answer Tang Moyu when even she didn't know what to do and what she was feeling at the mont? The only thing she knew was that she didn't want Zhang Jiren to die.
"Thank you for informing , Moyu. I'll make sure to talk about it first with Jiren," she said after a long silence between them. If Tang Moyu hadn't told her what was happening, Li ili had no doubt that her husband wouldn't say anything and she would sign the divorce papers without knowing the truth.
"Whatever you two decide, I'll respect it," the empress replied. "But please make sure you won't regret any of it."
Li ili understood where her best friend was coming from, and couldn't help but throw herself at Tang Moyu who was seated next to her. Thankfully, they had so privacy and the children were away along with the housekeepers.
Tang Moyu was taken aback all of a sudden, sensing her friend's grievance over the matter. She tightly embraced Li ili and patted her back gently, allowing her to cry at her heart's content.
Listening to Li ili's silent cries, Tang Moyu's heart ached. It wouldn't be easy for Li ili to sort out her feelings, but it was enough for Li ili to acknowledge that Zhang Jiren wasn't just a substitute husband anymore.
Li ili prided herself as a strong woman, and actually, from when she was young, she could understand people's attitudes toward her. Her father loved her, but she didn't like him bossing her around. She also never acted like a spoiled child towards him.
Whoever loathed her, insulted her behind her back for not being a proper heiress people expect her to be, Li ili pretended not to care. She would only avoid these people in the future and never shed a single tear in front of them.
Because she knew, even if she cried, those people wouldn't care. She had long accepted that so people would leave her, but not Zhang Jiren. Just like what Tang Moyu said, she had wasted enough ti running from Tang Beixuan before; she should know better not to ss up this ti with Zhang Jiren.
What should she do? How could she convince him to stay with her? It didn't matter if he was sick, or he was dying because she didn't have the heart to let him go.
'Zhang Jiren, this ti I won't let you love in vain.'
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