Chapter 22 Return to Grandma's House

*

After Zhou arranged everything in the Shen Mansion, she brought her daughter Shen Huazheng to the Grand Tutor's Mansion.

The maid who was waiting under the corridor led the two to the main hall.

As soon as she stepped into the hall, Shen Huazheng took a quick look and saw some familiar faces.

Sitting in the first seat were the original owner’s maternal grandfather, Grand Tutor Zhou, and grandmother, Madam Zhou. Sitting below them were his eldest uncle Zhou Chengxuan and eldest aunt, Ms. Zhao, and his third uncle Zhou Cheng’an.

The old Grand Tutor Zhou and his wife had three sons and one daughter. The eldest son, Zhou Chengxuan, was in the Ministry of Personnel. The second son, Zhou Chengrui, was now an official in Huaizhou and would return to Beijing after his term of office expired next year. The third son, Zhou Chengan, did not enter the government but chose to do business.

Zhou Cheng'an had a deep relationship with his first wife, Zou. After her death, no matter how others persuaded him, Zhou Cheng'an never remarried, but lived with Zhou Ying on his own.

The other young faces in the hall were Zhou’s two cousins ​​and Zhou Ying, the cousin Ying whom Zhou had been talking about these past two days.

As soon as she saw Zhou and Shen Huazheng come in, Mrs. Zhou smiled happily, and she waved to Shen Huazheng, “Zheng’er, come to grandma.”

Shen Huazheng smiled and followed Zhou.

She saluted to the elders present in a standard manner, walked up to Old Master Zhou and Old Madam Zhou, and called out sweetly, "Grandfather, Grandmother."

Madam Zhou held Shen Huazheng's hand, and was extremely happy. "Zheng'er looks much better, and there is more flesh on her face. Has she grown taller?"

After Shen Huazheng woke up, everyone in the Zhou family went to the Shen Mansion to see her. At that time, she had lost a lot of weight and looked very weak.

Now seeing that her complexion was rosy and she had grown taller and fatter, Mrs. Zhou felt relieved.

Aunt Zhao also chimed in, "Yes, Zheng'er looks taller than before, and more beautiful."

Zhou smiled and said, "Mother and sister-in-law have really good eyesight. Zheng'er has indeed grown taller and fatter during this period of time."

"Okay, okay, getting well is more important than anything else." Old Madam Zhou pulled Chen Huazheng to her side, "Zheng'er, sit next to grandma and keep her company."

Shen Huazheng responded sweetly and sat obediently beside Old Lady Zhou.

Old Master Zhou was very happy when he saw his well-behaved and lovely granddaughter. He rarely changed his serious image and spoke to Shen Huazheng in a friendly manner.

The two of them asked and answered each other and had a very pleasant chat.

All the guests in the hall were having a great time, except Zhou Cheng'an who looked a little lonely.

Zhou Cheng'an was very happy, just like everyone else.

But when he thought of his poor daughter, the smile on his face faded a lot.

After finishing the conversation with Old Master Zhou, Shen Huazheng raised her head and accurately found Zhou Ying among these cousins.

Zhou Ying was wearing a chest-length skirt with jade-colored orchids embroidered on it. Her facial features were delicate and her eyes were filled with heroism, but her face was a little pale.

As if she had noticed something, she looked up with a sense of awareness and happened to meet Shen Huazheng's gaze.

Zhou Ying was stunned at first, then a smile gradually spread to the corners of her eyes and eyebrows, and a brilliant smile bloomed on her lips, brighter than the fiery red pomegranate flowers blooming on the branches.

Cousin Ying is so beautiful!

This was the only thought in Shen Huazheng's mind at this moment.

She stared at Zhou Ying blankly and gave him a shy smile.

The smile on Zhou Ying's face suddenly deepened. She hadn't seen her cousin for a long time, but her cousin was still the same and as lovely as before.

*

After sitting in the hall for a while, Old Master Zhou and his two uncles went to the study, while the female family members moved to Old Madam Zhou's courtyard.

Zhao sat for a while, then found an excuse to leave, leaving the room for Mrs. Zhou to have some private conversation with her daughter, granddaughter, and granddaughter-in-law.

"Ying'er, tell grandma what you think now? Do you still want to live with Song Zhichen?"

Madam Zhou took a sip of tea and looked at her granddaughter.

During the days that Zhou Ying returned to her parents' home, everyone tacitly refrained from forcing Zhou Ying to make a decision. They just wanted her to calm down and think it through herself.

Old Madam Zhou loves her granddaughter and also her own son.

At that time, Zhou Cheng'an was unwilling to remarry, and Zhou Ying was almost raised by him alone.

His greatest wish is that his daughter can be happy.

Zhou Ying was not having a good life, and Zhou Cheng'an felt worse than anyone else.

Old Madam Zhou also knew that many of Zhou Ying's actions were for Song Ye. If it weren't for Song Ye, she would have proposed a divorce to Song Zhichen long ago.

It would have been fine if Song Zhichen had done all those bad things in the past, but at least the concubines he took in were from good families.

The Duke of Wei was relatively fair, and the two families had not yet reached the point of falling out.

But now, Song Zhichen wanted to force Zhou Ying to live in the same room with such a lowly woman and call each other sisters. That was not only disrespectful to the legal wife, he was also slapping the Zhou family in the face!

Old Madam Zhou wanted to know Zhou Ying's true thoughts. If she wanted to divorce, the Zhou family would help her leave the Weiguo Mansion no matter what the cost.

If Zhou Ying still wants to continue living like this, then the Weiguo Mansion must give an explanation to the Zhou family, and that woman must be dealt with.

According to the Zhou family, they prefer a peaceful divorce.

Song Zhichen came several times, but each time Madam Zhou had someone send him away and wouldn't let him in.

As early as the day Zhou Ying just came back, the moment she saw her, Mrs. Zhou's heart skipped a beat.

Zhou Ying used to be such a lively and cheerful person, but now at such a young age, there is no light in her eyes.

She has no hope in life anymore.

It hasn't been long since she married into the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion, and this once lively and cheerful granddaughter has become like this.

Old Madam Zhou really couldn't imagine what Zhou Ying would become if she continued to stay in the Duke of Weiguo's Mansion.

There is a reason for keeping Shen Huazheng at this time.

Zhou Ying has loved her cousin Shen Huazheng the most since she was a child, and Old Madam Zhou hopes that Shen Huazheng can persuade her.

When Zhou Ying heard Song Zhichen's name, a flash of disgust passed through her eyes.

She put down the teacup with a calm expression.

"Grandma, I have long seen through Song Zhichen. The reason I stayed in the Duke's Mansion was only for Ye'er."

At the beginning, Song Zhichen wanted to take the prostitute named Runiang as his concubine, but Zhou Ying strongly opposed it and the Duke of Weiguo also disagreed.

Song Zhichen was powerless and unwilling to send Runiang back, so he just placed her outside the mansion, where she lived peacefully for a while.

Unexpectedly, not long after, he ran to Zhou Ying again and asked her to ask Duke Weiguo to ask Na Runiang to enter the mansion.

He also said that Runiang was kind-hearted and aware of her own status, and would never dare to overstep her boundaries, let alone compete with Zhou Ying for anything.