After being scolded, Zhao Ziqi walked dejectedly towards his courtyard. One of his personal servants came over and asked, "Young Master, shall we go again? When we left just now, Miss Ziyan said she was waiting for you."

Zhao Ziqi said impatiently, "Go away, go away! What are you going to do? Didn't you hear the Marquis getting angry just now? Get out of here!"

Zhao Ziqi returned to her study, feeling increasingly wronged. No matter how she thought about it, she hadn't caused this mess, so why was she the one being scolded?

Confused, Zhao Ziqi got up and walked towards Xu Shao's courtyard. Passing through the garden, she saw several unfamiliar maids walking by. At first, she didn't pay much attention, but when she saw someone who looked somewhat familiar, she was startled and turned around to continue walking.

Xu Shao didn't expect Zhao Ziqi to come over, but seeing that Zhao Ziqi's expression wasn't very good, she didn't say anything sarcastic, but instead arranged for someone to bring Zhao Ziqi a cup of hot tea.

Zhao Ziqi drank a cup of tea before calming down. She wanted to confide in Xu Shao, but didn't know where to begin. After hesitating for a long time, Xu Shao, seeing Zhao Ziqi's conflicted look, said impatiently, "Did you come here for something?"

Zhao Ziqi gritted his teeth and said, "A-Shao, isn't Xing-ge's fiancée a bit too rude? Although our family was founded by military men, after so many years, everyone here is a scholar. Won't people laugh at us if we find such a rude wife?"

Xu Shao looked at Zhao Ziqi with surprise after hearing his words. Zhao Ziqi felt a little uncomfortable under Xu Shao's gaze. He was the one who had come to talk to Xu Shao about Zhao Sixing's marriage. Now he was speaking ill of his future daughter-in-law in front of Xu Shao, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

Zhao Ziqi sighed and said, "They're just a few thugs. Their place is remote, and they're not from any prominent families. It's common for thugs to come and bully people. Why is it that when it comes to our future daughter-in-law, she single-handedly picks them out one by one with a red-tasseled spear?"

Upon hearing this, Xu Shao's expression changed immediately. She hadn't heard the news about Zhou Junhong's accident.

Xu Shao slammed her hand on the kang table and asked sternly, "What exactly happened? Explain yourself clearly."

How could Zhao Ziqi dare to tell Xu Shao exactly what her father had just told her? Just now, Marquis Yongping told Zhao Ziqi that the thugs arrested by the Zhou family had been taken away by people from Marquis Yongning's mansion. It had been found out that it was one of their stewards who went to find them, and that steward had also been secretly taken away by people from Marquis Yongning's mansion. Now, even if their mansion wanted to go to Marquis Yongning's mansion to sort things out properly, they couldn't.

The Marquis of Yongping summoned Zhao Ziqi back and gave him a scolding because the whole thing started in their mansion. As the heir apparent, Zhao Ziqi didn't care about anything and only cared about eating, drinking, and having fun. The Marquis of Yongping couldn't even find someone to share his burdens. Moreover, although the Marquis of Yongping was the master of the mansion, some things still had to be decided by his person who stayed in the backyard like a bodhisattva.

If Zhao Ziqi were more ambitious, wouldn't he be able to get some benefits out of her, given that he is the biological son of the Marquis of Yongping's wife?

This is the reason why Marquis Yongping scolded Zhao Ziqi.

Zhao Ziqi did not expect that after learning of this news, the Yongning Marquis's mansion did not tell Xu Shao. They seemed unwilling to continue the conversation. Judging from Xu Shao's expression, if he explained the whole story, he estimated that Xu Shao would cause a huge mess in the backyard.

Zhao Ziqi stood up to leave, but Xu Shao wouldn't let him have his way. She shouted, "Guard the door properly, everyone outside. No one is allowed to let our young master out without my order."

Someone outside answered, and then someone shouted, "Quickly go to the gate and call over the old women guarding the gate."

Zhao Ziqi was stunned for a moment, then walked towards the door, only to find that the door had already been locked from the outside.

Zhao Ziqi's expression changed, and she shouted at Xu Shao, "Xu Shao, what are you doing? Do you still consider me your husband?"

Xu Shao came out from the inner room, leaned against the door frame, sneered twice, and said, "I only ended up like this because I treated you as my husband. Zhao Ziqi, after so many years of marriage, how many times have I cleaned up your messes and filled in your holes? Because of you, I had such a falling out with my family. How much of my dowry was spent on you?"

Zhao Ziqi said awkwardly, "I was just short of money."

Looking at Zhao Ziqi, who had become overweight and had an oily complexion, Xu Shao felt disgusted and regretted why she had insisted on marrying such a person.

Xu Shao's expression gradually calmed down, and she said to Zhao Ziqi, "Tell me the whole story, and I will let you go. I will go back to the Yongning Marquis's residence to ask what happened. If you don't tell me, I will lock you in the back room. Anyway, you spend your days indulging in pleasure outside, so it doesn't matter whether you are in the residence or not."

Seeing Xu Shao's serious expression, Zhao Ziqi became anxious and shouted, "Xu Shao, you can't do this! People will criticize you for it!"

Upon hearing the word "criticism," Xu Shao couldn't help but laugh and said, "Criticism? Haven't I been criticized enough by people in the capital? My virtuous mother-in-law has never given me a second glance since I entered this household. Aren't I the laughing stock of this household? Zhao Ziqi, I'm not afraid, really. I have no more desire for fame."

While pushing the door hard, Zhao Ziqi said, "Xing-ge'er, if you don't consider it, you should at least consider Yan-jie'er and Shen-ge'er. If Yan-jie'er's family makes a fool of themselves, won't she be laughed at by her husband's family? Although Shen-ge'er is still young, he still has to study for the imperial examinations and get married in the future."

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