Chapter 171 Negligence
Zhao Yan clenched his hands, feeling his blood boiling, and involuntarily held onto a table and chair beside him and sat down.
He knew what had happened. Ouyang Zui was a well-known lecher. When he saw Huatang on the street in Yuanxiang, he had evil intentions. The maids were all in front of him at that time, so he must have flirted with her or said many obscene words, which is why Huatang acted like this.
Rumor has it in the capital that any woman targeted by Ouyang Zui will not be able to escape.
Therefore, she never left the house again. Even once, he took her to attend Qiao Qingxian's promotion banquet. At the banquet, she was harassed by Princess Changping and Princess Guangping again.
But not only did he not listen to her explanation, he also condemned her.
Therefore, she never told him about this matter. Perhaps in her heart, there was no need to do so because she knew he would not take it to heart.
He sat in the chair in pain for a long time and then asked, "Did Madam do anything unusual afterwards?"
Chu He originally wanted to say no, but under Zhao Yan's intimidating gaze, she thought hard for a long time and finally remembered something. "Yes, it is true... The Third Young Master's wife hadn't slept well for several days. She woke up in the middle of the night and sat in the yard a few times. It was Chu Tao who got up and opened the window to find her."
He finally understood why she was so scared today. Ouyang Zui was popular with both men and women. Even a handsome man would be scared and disgusted when seeing his evil eyes, let alone her.
How scared she must have been at that time. Although the incident did not happen, it concerned a woman's reputation. She could not tell anyone, even the only person she could tell, her husband, who did not care about her. He could obviously come forward to solve the problem, but she was frightened and even dared not go out.
How derelict of his duty he was. Perhaps today she would still think that she should not have come to the capital so that she would not recall the pain of the past...
Chu He stood aside, quietly looking at the young man in front of her, and felt that he had changed a lot compared to before. After a long time, Zhao Yan remembered her and said, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today. You can go down first."
"Yes." After Chu He left, Zhao Yan still sat in his seat for a long time.
In the evening, he called someone again and found out about the former Lady Wang. Not long after, he got up and went to Lanyuan, and the servants brought Lady Wang over.
As early as four years ago, Madam Wang's family had some money and moved to Xiangyuan Alley. Now, after four years, she stepped into this place again, but it was the noble Third Young Master who came to see her. She didn't understand why and bowed respectfully.
Zhao Yan asked her to sit down, explained his purpose, and asked, "Did my wife ask you to sell lanterns before?"
Madam Wang thought for a while before realizing that the young man's wife was the former Miss Yu.
Seeing that he was asking seriously, she didn't know what he was going to do, so she said nervously, "Yes, at that time, the Third Young Master's wife of your family asked me to help her buy it, but the price I offered was fair, and I definitely didn't mean to bully the lady."
Zhao Yan nodded and asked, "How much silver could a lantern sell for at that time?"
Madam Wang replied, "Not much, probably around one or two taels of silver. Some of the cheaper ones are only sixty wen, while the better ones are more expensive. For the whole month, the Third Young Master's wife earns around ten or so taels."
Zhao Yan was puzzled. "Why do you say that? Doesn't the mansion also have monthly silver?"
Madam Wang looked at Zhao Yan for a moment, hesitating for a long time before finally speaking. "The Third Young Master's wife had no dowry back then... her monthly salary alone was far from enough. The mansion had to pay people for work." Finally, she said nervously, "I've known the Third Young Master's wife for two years, and I've never seen her dressed in all the red and green like the other ladies. I'm afraid life was tough..."
He sat there speechless. He had no idea that the dignified Young Lady of the Left Prime Minister's Mansion had to earn money every month, and even that was only a dozen taels. If he hadn't heard it with his own ears, he wouldn't have believed it...
In the past, he only knew that the maids in the mansion were used to currying favor with the powerful, but he didn't know that as weak as she was, she had to pay money even to ask others to do things for her.
His eyes were tearful. It was his fault. He hadn't loved her in the beginning, but had married her for fame and prestige, thinking it was a great blessing. Afterwards, everyone saw his attitude, and that's why they treated her with such contempt and arrogance.
It's all his fault. He made everyone do this...
After a long while, Lady Wang beside him called out softly. Zhao Yan withdrew his gaze from the door and ordered someone to give the reward. As Lady Wang was leaving, he instructed, "Thank you for your help, mother. Please don't mention what happened today to anyone else."
"Oh, I know, sir." Madam Wang nodded and followed the servant out the door.
The facts that followed one after another caught him off guard and made him extremely heartbroken. Now, is he still qualified to say that he wants to win her back? Will that wounded heart still stay for him?
He was not in the mood to sleep after dinner, so he went to Chunhua Pavilion to visit his mother first. After coming out of Chunhua Pavilion, he wandered on the path behind for a long time. He didn't know whether he should go or what he should say.
He wanted to care about her, but he felt that this belated affection was as cheap as grass.
In the end, he didn't hesitate to come up with the result.
He just heard someone calling "Master" from behind, and when he turned around, he saw his father standing in the Langxuan of Chunhua Pavilion.
He came out from the small path, greeted his father, and went back.
Unexpectedly, not long after he came back, the servant said that the master wanted to ask him to come over.
He went to his father's study, where Zhao Yanshan was sitting. Seeing him come in, he let him sit down and then said, "I saw you hesitating for a long time in the backyard today. Is it related to Miss Yu?"
Zhao Yan knew what his father was going to say and nodded, "Yes, but it's too late, so it's not convenient to go."
Zhao Yanshan asked, "So, it's for a personal matter? What's your relationship with her now..."
Zhao Yan didn't answer immediately, but instead asked, "Father never cares about these things. Is there something wrong now?"
Zhao Yanshan said, "I went to see your mother today. She's worried about your marriage. She also said that you mentioned adoption last time out of the blue, and it looks like you'll be alone for the rest of your life. I want to ask you, what do you think?"
Zhao Yan looked over and said bluntly, "To be honest with you, father, I want to get back together with Hua Tang, but she doesn't want to."
"Since they don't want to, just give up and listen to your mother. Why do you say you want to adopt a child?"
Zhao Yan said, "But, I don't want to be with other women. You could say, I only want to marry her in this life."
Zhao Yanshan looked at him quietly and said, "You mean, you want to wait for her, until she is willing?"
"yes."
"Why? You clearly didn't like her before. Also, have you ever thought about whether your mother and I would agree?" Zhao Yanshan asked back.
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