Chapter 20 Chapter 20 "Tonight, let's consummate our marriage"...

The housekeeper, who had just passed by the outer courtyard, heard the sound and suddenly stopped. She asked suspiciously, "Is it the master who has returned?"

Li Che no longer cared about anything else and pushed the person out. The moment Qingshi closed the door, the housekeeper came over and hurriedly bowed to him. "It turns out that the master has returned. What was that noise just now? I seemed to hear... the voice of the Third Miss?"

Zhao Manyi was outside the door and was about to shout, but when she heard the voice of the housekeeper, she dared not say a word.

"You heard wrong." Inside the door, Li Che felt that there was no need to explain to a servant, so he coughed lightly and changed the subject, "Where is your grandmother?"

Despite her suspicions, the housekeeper didn't dare ask any further questions and quickly replied, "Grandma and the old lady just returned from Xiangguo Temple. They entered the mansion through the back door, so they didn't run into Master. They're now preparing to eat."

Li Che secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, they avoided each other. If they met at the main gate and Zhao Qingyi saw him and Zhao Manyi entangled, he would be in trouble.

Thinking of his affair with Zhao Manyi, and the hard work Zhao Qingyi had put in running the household business over the past three years, Li Che strangely felt a surge of guilt and a desire to make amends. He followed the housekeeper's words and said, "I'm hungry. Go to Lanyue Pavilion and tell them I'll be there after I change my clothes."

The housekeeper's face lit up with joy and she agreed without hesitation.

Outside the door, Zhao Manyi listened to Li Che's footsteps fading away. No matter how unwilling she was, she could only return to the Zhao family angrily. Shortly after she left, another figure walked out from the shadows at the corner.

Li Heng pursed his lips tightly. The Autumn Examination was approaching, and he spent most of his time in the provincial school. However, he didn't expect to hear something he shouldn't have heard when he returned home today.

Thinking about the relationship between Li Che and Zhao Manyi, and even having a child behind his sister-in-law's back, Li Heng's hands trembled slightly as he carried the bookcase, and his pair of black eyes became deeper.

Sister-in-law...how sad it must be.

—

When the news that Li Che was coming to dine was delivered to Lanyue Pavilion, Zhao Qingyi knew that tonight would not be easy. Just as she was thinking about how to refuse, Li Che arrived right after her and sat down at the round table as soon as he entered the room.

Tan Yue and Qiao Yue looked at each other and had to set the table.

Zhao Qingyi was disgusted and didn't want to dine at the same table with him, so she said she wanted to check on Li Jiao's homework. When she passed by Li Che, he quickly grabbed her wrist.

The hand was extremely cold, and the touch with her skin was as disgusting as a poisonous tongue licking her. Zhao Qingyi hurriedly pulled her hand back.

Her subconscious reaction did not escape Li Che's eyes. He pressed his thin lips into a straight line, his displeasure visible to the naked eye, "Sit down."

Zhao Qingyi was standing by the door, "Master, please use it first..."

"I told you to sit down." Li Che's voice turned cold, almost commanding.

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became tense, and the two maids stood aside, not daring to make a sound.

It was not the time to get angry yet. Zhao Qingyi endured it again and again, took two steps back, sat opposite Li Che, and had no intention of having a meal together.

Li Che sent the two maids away, leaving only the couple in the room. He picked up his chopsticks and said, "I know why you brought Yuxiu back. You don't want me to come to your courtyard."

Even after being exposed, Zhao Qingyi remained calm and composed, her almond-shaped eyes indifferent, "She was your companion and gave birth to your son. It's only natural to take her back."

"But Jiao'er is not the legitimate son born to you and me." Li Che ate very slowly.

Zhao Qingyi remained silent after hearing this.

After waiting for a long time without any response, Li Che raised his eyes and his gaze fell on her snow-white little face.

One has to admit that Zhao Qingyi is extremely beautiful. Nowadays, people prefer girls who are as delicate as willows, with fair skin and fair complexion. For example, Zhao Manyi has fair skin and innocent eyes, which gives her a kind of fragile and pitiful beauty. However, her whiteness is a sickly paleness, while Zhao Qingyi's whiteness is luminous, translucent, and her blood and qi are rosy.

In addition, her gorgeous and bold facial features, coupled with a gentle oval face, reveal a sense of coldness in her brightness, especially the slightly upturned chin, as if she was born with the picky and arrogant nature of a noble lady.

She never looked him in the eye.

At the beginning, he was hurt by Zhao Qingyi's attitude. As a man, he could not accept a woman who was superior to him and suppressed him in every way. Even though this woman was his wife, a wife who brought him countless wealth and made his career worry-free, he still could not love her from the bottom of his heart.

Only Zhao Manyi and Yuxiu are so gentle and pleasing, and they win his heart.

But for some reason today, when he stared at Zhao Qingyi's face, he suddenly felt a strong desire to conquer her.

He wanted to break Zhao Qingyi's arrogance. He wanted her to submit to him and fall in love with him.

Li Che made up his mind, put down his bowl and chopsticks and said slowly, "Let's consummate our marriage tonight."

He could feel that Zhao Qingyi was deliberately distancing himself from him, but Zhao Qingyi's father, Zhao Huaiyi, was about to return to Beijing and be promoted to the cabinet. If he could win Zhao Huaiyi's favor, it would be of great benefit to his career, and maybe he could even return to the Hanlin Academy.

Once a woman gives her body to her husband, she will devote herself to him wholeheartedly. He cannot allow Zhao Qingyi to treat him coldly. He must consummate the marriage as soon as possible so that he can make plans for the future.

Zhao Qingyi vaguely guessed Li Che's thoughts. She folded her hands on her legs and slowly clenched them. "I've been praying to the Buddha at Xiangguo Temple to bless the Li family. I've vowed to be a vegetarian for three months. I'm afraid I'll disappoint my husband during this time."

Her hesitation and reluctance made Li Che very angry. "What our Li family needs is a legitimate son born from you and me, not some blessing from gods and Buddhas!"

His anger finally made Zhao Qingyi turn her head slightly and look at him, but her eyes were still calm, like an invisible cold pond.

"When my husband came back with that child in his arms, didn't he say that he loved me, pitied me, and didn't want me to suffer the pain of childbirth?"

The calmer she was, the more crazy he seemed.

Just like how he treated Zhao Manyi.

Li Che was stunned, remembering that those words were said when she persuaded Zhao Qingyi to adopt Jun Ge'er, "In the end, didn't you also not accept Jun Ge'er's child..."

"Yes, but I have Jiao'er now, what else does my husband want?"

Li Che was choked by her and was speechless. After a while, as if to save face, he stood up and said, "Even if it's not for the child, you and I are still husband and wife. How can a husband and wife always sleep in separate rooms?"

Zhao Qingyi fell silent again.

Li Che pondered for a while, then walked straight to the inner room and sat beside the bed, ordering her, "I'm tired, come and help me undress."

“…”

He just had to come here to disgust her, didn't he?

A trace of murderous intent flashed across Zhao Qingyi's face. She slowly pulled out the golden hairpin on her head and held it tightly in her hand. If it really came to that, she would rather stab Li Che than repeat the mistakes of her previous life.

Just as she was about to walk over, Tan Yue came in and bowed, "Grandma, the old lady has sent someone to ask you to come over to discuss my aunt's dowry."

Li Che in the inner room frowned unhappily.

Zhao Qingyi woke up instantly, the murderous intent in her eyes disappeared, she put the golden hairpin back in place, and quickly walked out.

She felt it was bad luck to stay under the same roof with him for even a moment longer.

When they arrived at the gate of the courtyard, she specifically instructed Qiao Yue, "After he leaves, throw away the dishes and chopsticks he used, and the mattress he touched, and replace them with new ones." Then she led Tan Yue to Qionghua Hall.

Mother Luo, who was standing at the gate of the courtyard, pricked up her ears and saw Li Che coming out with a gloomy face. She vaguely guessed that the grandfather and grandmother had quarreled.

Zhao Qingyi didn't shy away from asking, "Mother Luo, why don't you lead the way?"

"Yes, yes, please come in, grandma." Mother Luo nodded and bowed, making up her mind to tell the old lady in a while.

When Zhao Qingyi arrived at Qionghua Hall, she saw several boxes piled up in the room. They said they were gifts from the Duke of Zhongyong's Mansion to Li Susu. The mother and daughter surrounded the boxes and couldn't let go of the treasures inside.

Zhao Qingyi wasn't interested. She just glanced at him casually and asked, "Mother-in-law, do you have something to talk to me about?"

Hearing her voice, the mother and daughter suddenly reacted and quickly closed the box, as if they were afraid that Zhao Qingyi would see it and snatch it away. Seeing this, Tan Yue rolled her eyes secretly.

Mrs. Luo cleared her throat. "I called you here this evening because someone from the Marquis's residence just now came to give Susu a gift. They've already decided to come to your residence to propose marriage the day after tomorrow. It's time for us to discuss Susu's dowry."

Zhao Qingyi's eyelashes drooped slightly. "My mother-in-law knows the situation well and will make preparations herself. Why would she need to call her daughter-in-law here?"

"Tsk." Mrs. Luo glared at her in dissatisfaction. "What kind of family is that, the Bo's Mansion? They're a well-known noble family in the capital. If Susu wants to marry into one of them, the dowry must be substantial. If it's less, won't the people in the Bo's Mansion look down on her?"

Zhao Qingyi pretended not to understand and nodded seriously, "Mother-in-law, what you said makes sense. How about asking your husband to discuss this with you?"

She was about to send a servant to invite Li Che over, but Luo Shi quickly stopped her, "Why call him? He's now a member of the Imperial Academy, and he's a completely different person now. He has a lot of social engagements to attend to. There's no need to call him for trivial matters at the backyard."

Zhao Qingyi hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat embarrassed. "...Mother-in-law, you should discuss this with my husband. After all, he has never contributed to my household expenses in the past three years, and his salary has never been in my hands. I'm afraid it will be difficult for me to prepare a dowry for my sister-in-law."

Not only did she not ask Li Che to settle the accounts for the past three years, but she actually wanted her to pay for Li Susu's dowry? What a foolish dream.

Luo's face suddenly changed. "How could you do this? As the eldest brother, Che'er would have prepared her share for Susu, but as Susu's eldest sister-in-law, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"

"That's right." Li Susu stood up and said, quite dissatisfied, "After all, I have called you sister-in-law for so many years. Now that I am getting married, it is my turn to add some dowry to my wedding. It will be more reasonable when I arrive at the uncle's mansion."

She walked forward and hugged Zhao Qingyi's arm affectionately, "Sister-in-law, I am not married to an ordinary family. It is the loyal and brave Marquis's mansion. When the Thirteenth Young Master inherits the title in the future, I will be the Marquis's wife. Naturally, I will also receive benefits from you."

Zhao Qingyi didn't know what the benefits were, nor did she care to know. She smiled faintly and pulled her hand back. "Forget it, it depends on how my husband adds makeup. I will be slightly thinner than my husband. After all, my husband is the most important, and I can't always go beyond him."

Luo and Li Susu's expressions changed again. How much money their own son and brother had?

It was because she didn't have any that she asked Zhao Qingyi to add some makeup. Now, she kicked the ball back. Li Susu was already angry and sat back with a cold snort.

For the sake of her daughter, Luo Shi endured it for the time being and advised gently, "My dear daughter-in-law, you can't say that. You know Che'er's situation. His salary is not much, and he has to make friends outside, which requires money. Asking him to buy Su Su's dowry is probably too difficult."

Luo was afraid that Zhao Qingyi would leave, so she quickly pushed her into her seat and personally brought her a cup of tea.

Ever since Zhao Qingyi became the housekeeper, there has been no good tea in the Luo courtyard, so she did not enjoy it. Instead, she let Tan Yue take it and put it aside.

Zhao Qingyi sighed, "It's not that my daughter-in-law doesn't want to, it's just that unfortunately, the little money she had was invested in the shop some time ago, and she won't be able to get it back for a while."

"No hurry, no hurry. After we propose marriage, we still need to calculate an auspicious date for the wedding. There's no need to rush right now."

Mrs. Luo thought she was about to relent, so she recounted the hardships of raising her children. "Over the years, I've devoted all my energy to these two children. I used all my family's meager wealth to support Che'er's imperial examinations and his career, which gave him his current status."

"As his wife, you will rise with him in the future. Who knows, you might even be granted an imperial title, which will bring you endless wealth and glory. As his mother, I have worked hard for half my life to make your life a success." Mrs. Luo sighed.

These words were exactly the same as what she said in her previous life. Zhao Qingyi believed them then, and felt sorry for the difficulties faced by her mother-in-law and husband. She took out a lot of money from her dowry as a deposit for Li Susu, but what was the result?

As Li Che rose to prominence, she suddenly "died of illness". Thinking that after her death, she had helped Li Che and Zhao Manyi, a pair of dogs and bitches, to be together, and that Luo had taken all her dowry for nothing, she wanted to tear these people apart. Now, she would not believe a single word of these words.

Luo was so busy wiping her tears that she didn't notice Zhao Qingyi's expression at all. She complained about her troubles but didn't forget to teach her a lesson. "As a wife of the Li family, you must first understand the hard work of your husband and mother-in-law. Secondly, you must also take care of our family. Susu is your husband's only sister. If she marries well, it will also be beneficial to your husband's career in the future."

Mrs. Luo rambled on and on, and Zhao Qingyi nodded in agreement. "Mother-in-law, what you said makes a lot of sense. Now it seems that if my sister-in-law marries well, my husband will benefit the most. Such a good thing must be discussed with my husband. In my humble opinion, why not sell the old Li family house and use the money to buy my sister-in-law's dowry?"

"Zhao!"

Mrs. Luo slammed the table and stood up. She had been talking for so long that her mouth was dry, and Zhao Qingyi had misinterpreted her meaning in this way? The old house was the only ancestral property of her Li family. How could it be sold?

"You're still pretending to be ignorant even though you know the truth. Don't think you can act so arrogantly in front of me just because you come from a noble family! I'm your mother-in-law, and Che'er is your husband. Since you've married into the Li family, we're all in the same boat. I have to help you even if you don't want to!"

Luo said something harsh and threw the dowry list she had prepared in advance on the table in front of Zhao Qingyi. "This is a list I roughly drew up. The things in it are all things Susu used in the past. You won't be able to use them anyway, so just take them out."

When Zhao Qingyi opened it, she found that it was indeed the things she had ordered people to move from Li Susu's room before. She even added a few jewelry, jade and other items from her warehouse. At the end, it was noted that it was worth three thousand taels of silver.

Tan Yue glanced over at the scene, her face pale with anger. She wasn't as aggressive as Qiao Yue, so she also shouted angrily, "You guys are robbing me!"

As soon as the voice fell, Li Susu slapped Tan Yue in the face, "You slut, how can you have the right to speak?"

Tan Yue was hit so hard that a slap mark appeared on her pretty white face. Her eyes were filled with shock and anger.

As a servant of the Zhao family, she had been with Zhao Qingyi since childhood. Even the mistress and master of the Zhao family had never beaten her. But now, she was beaten by Li Susu.

Mother Luo outside was horrified and had a bad feeling, so she ran to find Li Che in a panic.

In Qionghua Hall, almost at the moment the slap fell, Zhao Qingyi slammed the table and stood up from the chair. She pulled Tan Yue behind her and stood in front of Li Susu.

A sneer appeared on Zhao Qingyi's lips, but she still maintained a dignified and elegant demeanor. Then, in the other party's astonished and doubtful gaze, she slapped him back with her backhand.