Chapter 19 Chapter 19 "Zhao Qingyi is rich, you can go find her...
However, Zhao Qingyi would not remind Luo and Li Susu of these things. If they were greedy for power and anxious to get engaged, then let them do as they please. But in this life, it was impossible for her to add dowry to Li Susu.
Mrs. Wang looked at Zhao Qingyi's departing back and became more certain in her heart.
I have heard that after the Zhao girl married into the Li family, she was filial to her mother-in-law and treated her sister-in-law well, and all the good things were given to them first. Now that Luo treats her like this, she is gentle and polite and listens to her. I believe that in the future, she will also carefully prepare the dowry for her sister-in-law.
After all, Zhao Qingyi's maternal grandfather was the number one imperial merchant in Daliang, and she had hundreds of thousands of dollars in her hands.
Mrs. Wang's eyes darkened as if she saw a piece of fat meat about to fall into her mouth. Then she smiled again, very kindly and amiably. "Since we have a chance today, why don't you and my two families have a vegetarian meal together?"
Luo agreed without hesitation. She had heard that Xiangguo Temple had reserved meditation rooms for the powerful and wealthy, which were warm in winter and cool in summer, separate from the ordinary pilgrims like them. Not only were the rooms spacious, but they also had all kinds of tea, fruits and pastries. She and Li Susu had long wanted to see them.
The mother and daughter simply followed Mrs. Wang.
Zhao Qingyi returned to the Zen room. Li Jiao and Jun Ge'er were still in the room, with only two maids serving them. She took the two children to the dining hall.
Seven-year-old Li Jiao can eat with chopsticks by himself, but Jun Ge'er can't do that. He is three years old, and he can't even speak clearly, let alone use chopsticks to eat by himself. He picked up a few grains of rice awkwardly and found it tasteless. He was so angry that he threw the bowl and chopsticks and lay on the ground crying.
"I don't want to eat this! I want to eat meat!"
In the past, he had Zhao Manyi, his biological mother, to serve him and spoil him in everything, but when he came to Zhao Qingyi, she acted as if she didn't hear him crying.
Tan Yue was startled by the child's temper, but seeing him throwing a tantrum on the ground, she didn't dare approach him. She just tried to persuade him kindly, "Jun'er, this is a temple, and you shouldn't eat meat. Make do with it for now. When you get back, tell the old lady what you want to eat."
Her persuasion was ineffective, Jun Ge'er was still rolling on the ground, wailing and crying.
Only Li Jiao was soft-hearted and went over to help him up, but unsurprisingly, he was kicked by Jun Ge'er.
"You are all bad people! You are all bad people! I want my mother, I want my mother... wuwuwu..." Jun Ge'er cried heart-wrenchingly.
Li Jiao wanted to persuade her, but seeing Zhao Qingyi's cold expression, he returned to his seat to eat. Sensing the oppressive and dull atmosphere in the air, he took the initiative to put a piece of green vegetable into Zhao Qingyi's bowl and said, "Mom, you've worked hard these days. Eat more."
Zhao Qingyi was slightly stunned. She was indeed in a bad mood just now. She recalled everything in her past life. When she saw Jun Ge'er again, she thought of the look of hatred on Jun Ge'er's face before he died, and she felt cold all over.
In her previous life, because of Li Che's instructions, she hoped that Jun Ge'er could pursue a career as a civil servant and bring honor to the Li family. She raised him like her own son, hired the best teachers for him, provided him with meticulous care for food, clothing, housing and transportation, and built relationships everywhere to pave the way for him.
Later, in order to find him a wife, Zhao Qingyi carefully selected a dignified and reliable girl from a noble family. But in the end, he blamed her for forcing him to study, forcing him to take the imperial examinations, and insisting on marrying a prostitute with ulterior motives. She disagreed, and Jun Ge'er resented her as his biological mother.
It is said that parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run. Zhao Qingyi is not his biological mother. She believes that she has a clear conscience for doing this, but she has not gained any benefit at all.
Anyway, he is an ungrateful person who can never be tamed, so she simply indulges the child. She wants to see how unruly he can become without her supervision.
Zhao Qingyi pulled herself away from her memories, smiled, and patted Li Jiao's head. "The vegetarian meal is light, you eat it first. If it's not enough, we can go home and eat later."
Her attitude was so gentle, completely different from her coldness towards Jun Ge'er.
Li Jiao took big mouthfuls of the rice in the bowl and said, "That's enough, my son doesn't mind." The mother and son were having a great time.
Outside the dining hall, Zhao Manyi watched this scene from behind her veil, feeling both heartbroken and angry, her exposed eyes red.
As soon as she heard that the Li family had gone out to burn incense, she rushed out before her face even recovered, wanting to take the opportunity to see her son, but she didn't expect to see this scene.
Damn Zhao Qingyi, how dare she treat her son so harshly!
Zhao Manyi couldn't help but rushed forward.
"Zhao Qingyi, Jun'er is still a child!" She went over and picked up Jun'er who was lying on the ground crying.
Jun Ge'er was heartbroken and had forgotten Zhao Manyi's instructions before entering the mansion. He opened his mouth and wanted to call for his mother. Fortunately, Zhao Manyi was quick to stuff a piece of candy into his mouth and said distressedly, "God has pity on you. A three-year-old child is treated so harshly by his stepmother..."
She wiped Jun'er's tears with a handkerchief, turned her head and looked at Zhao Qingyi dissatisfiedly, "Big sister, how could you do this?"
Li Jiao didn't want Zhao Qingyi to be misunderstood, so he stood up and explained, "Aunt, my mother didn't treat him harshly. He just thought the vegetarian food was tasteless and made a fuss in the temple asking for meat."
He is now raised by Zhao Qingyi, so naturally he calls her Zhao Manyi based on their relationship.
Zhao Manyi held the child in her arms. "Jun Ge'er is only three years old. It's the time for him to grow. Besides, at such a young age, how could he understand the rules of vegetarianism in temples? Big sister, you should find another way to accommodate Jun Ge'er."
"aunt……"
Li Jiao was about to argue, but Zhao Qingyi held his shoulder, signaling him not to say anything more. She then looked at Zhao Manyi and said, "Third sister, you're wrong about something. I'm Jiao'er's mother, but not Jun'er's. There's no relationship between this child and me. I'm not qualified to discipline him on behalf of his biological mother. Also, it was my mother-in-law who brought him to Xiangguo Temple."
Jun'er's position in the Li family is awkward. It's a favor for her to take care of him, and it's her duty not to take care of him. Don't even think about accusing her of being a vicious stepmother, because she doesn't recognize this child.
Zhao Manyi was unwilling to accept this. "Even if you are not Jun'er's mother, Jun'er is living in your house now. As the mistress, you should take care of him..."
"What's so natural about this?"
It's fine if outsiders don't know, but Zhao Manyi knows the origins of this child very well, and she still wants to pretend with her? Is a child born out of wedlock worthy of her care?
Zhao Qingyi put down her bowl and chopsticks and said softly, "Third sister, you have no relationship with this child, yet you seem to care about him very much. Could it be that you have some connection with this child?"
"I... of course I didn't." Zhao Manyi's eyes flashed, feeling a little guilty. She couldn't let her relationship with Jun Ge'er be exposed. "I just felt bad when I saw him crying like that. Big sister, I still feel sorry for my own child, so why can't you treat him the same?"
Still want to treat Jiao'er equally?
Zhao Qingyi decided to be generous for once. "Since Third Sister is so worried about Jun'er, why don't I go back and talk to my husband and ask him to adopt the child to you? From now on, you will take care of Jun'er. As for how much money you have to pay, just ask my husband. I don't mind."
She has now clearly separated herself from Li Che, and she doesn't even look down on Li Che's salary.
Zhao Manyi choked again.
"What a great idea!" Qiao Yue clapped her hands immediately.
She was not as kindhearted as Tan Yue. She disliked Jun Ge'er's temper as soon as she saw him throwing a tantrum. She wanted to send him away. "Since the Third Miss loves this child and is a widow with no children, why not let the child live with her? She will take care of the Third Miss in her old age and see her to the end of her life. It would be the best of both worlds."
What's good about it!
Zhao Manyi almost jumped up and cursed. If that was the case, why did she and Li Che go to so much trouble to send Jun Ge'er to the Li family? It was just to let Zhao Qingyi recognize the child and inherit Zhao Qingyi's dowry and property in the future.
Zhao Manyi's face turned pale and blue under her veil. Seeing her hesitation, Jun Ge'er started crying again, "Even you don't want me anymore, and you don't care about Jun Ge'er anymore..."
"Don't cry, don't cry, how can I not feel sorry for you?"
Zhao Manyi took the opportunity to comfort the child and pinched Jun Ge'er's arm to remind him, "But you have to know that you are now the young master of the Li family, and I am just a widow. I have no relatives or friends with you."
Zhao Qingyi looked at the mother and son quietly, with a smile on her lips.
She liked to see Zhao Manyi worried about the child and helpless. This feeling was really wonderful.
Zhao Qingyi slowly wiped the corner of her lips.
Anyway, Zhao Manyi has been given the opportunity to take her son away. It was she who didn't want him. Then in the future, let Zhao Manyi witness with her own eyes how this child was spoiled!
Zhao Qingyi finished eating and winked at Qiao Yue behind him. Qiao Yue walked forward and took Jun Ge'er in her arms, pressed him down on the bench, and put the bowl and chopsticks in his hands again.
"Brother Jun, eat quickly. Everyone eats the same thing. Look at the young master. He is the eldest son of our family and he can even eat vegetarian food. But you, a country boy, are so spoiled and picky. If you keep crying and making a fuss, you'll tell others that our grandmother treats you harshly and ruins her reputation. Then go back to where you came from..."
The words "from the country", "delicate and picky", and "outsider" all pierced Zhao Manyi's heart.
Her own son was belittled and she was called an outsider!
Zhao Manyi's heart ached. Her Jun brother...
Sooner or later, she would make Zhao Qingyi an abandoned woman! By then, she would be able to reunite with Jun Ge'er openly as mother and son.
Zhao Manyi gritted her teeth and wiped away her tears. After leaving Xiangguo Temple, she could no longer control her emotions and cried all the way back to Beijing. This time, she was blocked on the way back to Beijing by Li Che.
As soon as they met, he rushed over and beat Li Che on the chest.
"Didn't you say you were going to hire the best wet nurse for Jun'er? Why is there no one to take care of him now? Are you just going to that bitch Yuxiu's room all day and don't care about Jun'er at all?"
"Speak up! Speak up!"
Zhao Manyi was like a madman, crying and hitting. Li Che was so scared that he simply opened a corner of the street door, brought her in directly, and dragged her to a place under the wall where no one passed by.
Li Che's face turned completely cold, and he roared in a low voice, "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"
Zhao Manyi had originally been looking for him to vent her frustrations, but when she was suddenly attacked, she was stunned for a moment before she started clutching his clothes and crying, "You heartless man, give me back my son! Give me back my son!"
Li Che just felt that she was inexplicable and pushed her away, "Enough! Stop going crazy!"
After saying this, he straightened his clothes and said, "I asked you to find a way to ask your father to speak well of me in the official circles, but you didn't do it, did you?"
As soon as he returned to Beijing, he was suspended from his post and stayed at home. He had no choice but to go out and socialize with his former colleagues, but he ran into obstacles everywhere and no one paid any attention to him. Those colleagues who were not as good as him to begin with have now been promoted and are doing well in Beijing.
Looking back at himself, the former top scholar in the imperial examination was exiled to Lingnan for three years. After returning, he was nothing and was often ridiculed. How could he swallow this?
Li Che was feeling depressed, and was even more annoyed when Zhao Manyi blocked his way.
Zhao Manyi had no idea of this. She was completely focused on her son. "I was at Xiangguo Temple today and saw with my own eyes how harshly that bitch Zhao Qingyi treated Jun'er! Your son is practically being tortured to death, and you're still only focused on your own career!"
Her voice suddenly rose. Li Che was afraid that these words would be heard by the servants, so he immediately covered Zhao Manyi's mouth.
Zhao Manyi only wanted to vent her grievances, so she directly knocked Li Che's hand away. During the argument, her veil fell off, revealing her face covered with rashes.
Li Che took a breath and turned his face away.
The last time I saw this face was late at night, and I didn’t see it clearly. But when I saw it today, it was really creepy.
Zhao Manyi was also frightened. She hurriedly picked up her veil to cover her face, still sobbing, "My Jun brother has no one to take care of him. He is only three years old, and Zhao Qingyi won't even let him eat meat. In just a few days, my Jun brother has lost a lot of weight..."
Zhao Manyi sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks.
In fact, she was beautiful just by looking at her eyes, but Li Che had seen her face covered with rashes just now, so he could not feel any sympathy for those misty and tearful eyes.
"Okay, okay, I get it. You go back first." Li Che hurriedly sent her away. "I'm busy with work. I'll talk to her later..."
"No!" Zhao Manyi no longer believed him. "Give Jun Ge'er back to me! Otherwise, we can be like before. You rent a house outside, and Jun Ge'er and I..."
"Stop it." Li Che was annoyed and exhausted. "Do you think we are still in Lingnan? Now that I'm back, my mother won't send me money anymore. Without money, how can I rent a house for you?"
Zhao Manyi seemed to be unaware of the situation in the Li Mansion. She grabbed Li Che's hand and said, "Zhao Qingyi has money. Go find her!"
Li Che felt that there was no way to communicate, "Let's talk about it later, you go back first..."
Seeing this, the servant Qingshi opened the door a crack and waited for Li Che to push the person out.
"Li Che!"
Zhao Manyi suddenly screamed.
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