Chapter 749 Completely Giving Up

It wasn't so much a tug-of-war as it was actually just Lord Liao talking to himself, because the guards simply ignored him.

They just blocked his way in, and Lord Liao was flapping his wings like a duck, but he just couldn't get through.

Liao Jiu remained calm and asked Madam Zhou in a low voice, "Mother, what's going on?"

When I came back one day and didn't see Lord Liao, I felt strange.

Given his personality, it is impossible for him not to show off and take credit at this time.

Before I had a chance to ask Mrs. Zhou, I saw this scene.

Mrs. Zhou was just about to answer when Lord Liao saw them.

The first thing you see is Duke Zhou and Prime Minister Zhou in front.

"Father-in-law, father-in-law, brother-in-law..."

Duke Zhou and Prime Minister Zhou ignored him.

Lord Liao stretched his neck and saw Liao Jiu and Madam Zhou behind him.

Suddenly, Lord Liao excitedly cried out, "You're fine! You're finally back! You're fine! If you don't come back, our Qingning Marquis Mansion will have to change its name and become the Zhou family! Dad will never be able to see you again in this life..."

Lord Liao rushed over in two steps and was about to hug Liao Jiu, but Liao Jiu gently brushed him back to his original position with his sleeve.

"Dad, don't get excited. What's the origin of this? What happened?"

Lord Liao wiped the tears of excitement from the corners of his eyes with his sleeve. "Nothing much. It's just that your mother has been promoted to the rank of First-Rank Consort and entered the palace to manage the entire harem. She now has more people under her command and is very powerful. She no longer takes your father's sinecure seriously. It's difficult for me to even see her. She won't let me into the palace. I've been waiting for my son outside the palace all day. The soldiers outside the gate are all snobbish and just listen to her, not letting me in. I've been eagerly waiting until this moment..."

Madam Zhou's expression was cold, and she finally spoke, "Is the performance over? I'll tell you when it's over. Is he safe? Liao Honghai is not a human being. News broke in the capital about the defeat and the disappearance of you and Lianzhu. Liao Honghai packed up his things overnight, preparing to flee the capital with the Yao family. He even secretly took out all the valuables in the mansion and sold them..."

She lived in the palace and accidentally encountered such a thing. Fortunately, the housekeeper was reliable and found out something was wrong. He quickly sent someone to deliver a secret letter to her, so that the Qingning Marquis Mansion was not emptied.

While she was away from home, Liao Honghai brought Yao's family back to live in the mansion, and Yao also stole many of her jewelry.

Lord Liao argued, "What nonsense are you talking about? It's just because you don't give me money to spend and don't live in the mansion. I go out every day to play chess, take a walk, and have morning tea, but I have to pay on credit. It's too embarrassing. I just pawned a few things casually. I didn't pawn them to escape..."

Duke Zhou couldn't stand it anymore.

He coughed, "Hong Hai, I'm not saying anything, but for whatever reason, the capital was already in a state of panic those days, and yet you were wantonly selling off household items. That Yao family member told everyone that the Five Nations coalition was about to invade and that you were going to run away! What a bad influence this had! If it weren't for your safety, you would all be thrown into jail..."

Liao Jiu's expression changed.

He could imagine the seriousness of the matter.

He is a really unreliable father. His son is fighting outside and fighting for his life, but he can't help at all. He even does such a thing at the critical moment.

"Dad, you're really disappointing your son by doing this."

A panic flashed across Liao Honghai's face. "I'm not. I'm just short of money, so I sold some things to spend. I didn't want to run away! I was planning to ask your brother to join the army at the front and find you. But when you disappeared, I, as your father, couldn't eat or sleep well. I planned to ask your brother to look for you and sell some silver for him to use as travel expenses..."

Madam Zhou sneered, "You haven't thought of escaping yet, yet you're still making excuses. Are they any use? A real man like you only has this much guts. Are you afraid your son will come after you? What did you tell me then? You said our son was the commander-in-chief, and he fled in defeat. If the five-nation coalition forces capture the capital and can't find our son, they'll take their anger out on you, their father. They might even have you torn apart by five horses and your hands and feet filled with lead. You said you were afraid and didn't want to die, but you insisted on selling your property and going back to your hometown with the Yao family to hide. You even said you'd split the family property with me, with half each of the Qingning Marquisate, and you could sell half and take it away. You'd never come to the capital again. You'd leave your own way. That's what you said, Liao Honghai!"

Liao Honghai blushed, "I didn't say that. Don't try to slander me. Wuyang, your mother looks down on me now. She throws dirty water on me for everything. She also put the Yao family in jail and put me under house arrest in the Qingning Marquis Mansion. She won't let me go out unless necessary. I sneaked out today..."

Mrs. Zhou didn't say anything more. She had said everything she needed to say.

She believed that her son still had some ability to distinguish.

It was indeed she who imprisoned the Yao family, because Yao told everyone that the Da'an Kingdom was about to be destroyed and asked everyone to flee. Didn't this shake the people's hearts?

If it were someone else, it would be a serious crime punishable by beheading.

However, for Liao Honghai's sake, she did not kill them. If she had killed them, people would inevitably accuse her of abusing her power for personal gain.

She no longer has any thoughts about Liao Honghai.

I never gave up before.

She didn't want to divorce, she wanted to get her son a hereditary title of marquis, and she didn't want to let the Yao family get away with it.

Now, her son is the regent, second only to the emperor and above everyone else. The hereditary status of the marquis is not worth mentioning at all.

Besides, she is now a first-rank lady. If this title is made known to others, wouldn't it be more prestigious than that of a marquis' wife?

Liao Honghai's character was also terrible. When Liao Jiu got promoted, he abandoned the Yao family for wealth and fame and returned to live in the Marquis' Mansion. But when bad news came from the battlefield and Liao Jiu's life or death was unknown, he immediately went back to mingle with the Yao family and secretly sold off his property, hoping to leave the capital with the Yao family and return to his hometown for refuge...

Mrs. Zhou had completely given up on this man whom she had loved and hated for ten years.

Liao Jiudao said, "I believe mother had her reasons for doing this. Dad, if you feel you've been wronged, I'll investigate the truth of this matter someday. I'm sure there should be witnesses and physical evidence. Spreading rumors and shaking people's hearts is a serious crime punishable by the death of nine generations of the family. We'll hold a public trial. If they're wronged, we'll clear their names. If they're true, we'll execute them at the Meridian Gate..."

Lord Liao was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Wuyang, you're so busy, so don't bother with this little family matter. Just give the order to release them. Family members don't need to be so fussy, don't you think?"

He came today to ask Liao Jiu to release Yao and her family.

Yao sent letters to the jailer every day, asking him to find a way to get them out, but he had no good ideas!