Chapter 24 Chapter 24 An unexpected encounter, a sudden collision...
Li Che's voice broke the excitement in Zhao Qingyi's heart. She grabbed Qiao Yue's hand first and got directly into the carriage.
Li Che's hand froze in mid-air, but thinking that he was going to the Zhao family today, he endured it and put on a smile again. He wanted to get on the carriage, but was stopped by Qiao Yue.
"Master, this carriage is full of gifts from grandma. It can't accommodate two people. You may have to take another carriage." Qiao Yue's words were to give him face. She didn't say it directly, but in fact, the grandma had no intention of letting him accompany her.
In the past, Li Che was not so attentive to their grandmother. The only reason he came to her so eagerly was because their master had been promoted.
How could Li Che not hear the deep meaning in these words? Their Li family only had one carriage, which was the one Zhao Qingyi brought as a dowry. If he was not allowed to get on, where could he hire another one?
This is intentional to prevent him from going.
But he insisted on going.
"Qingshi, go get a horse." Li Che turned around and ordered coldly.
Zhao Qingyi had no intention of waiting for him to go together. As soon as he sat down, the carriage rolled towards the Zhao family. The housekeeper and Qiao Yue followed quickly on both sides of the carriage, while Tan Yue was left behind by Zhao Qingyi to guard the Lanyue Pavilion.
The rest of the Li family stood there in a daze.
In order to catch up with Zhao Qingyi and arrive at the Zhao family at the same time, Li Che forgot to prepare gifts. When he arrived at the Zhao family's door, the Zhao family's servants were already unloading the return gifts from the carriage. The housekeeper saw Li Che and greeted him with a smile, "Sir, you are here. Is there anything I can help you with..."
The butler shifted his gaze behind Li Che and saw that he was empty-handed and his horse's back was bare, indicating that he had not brought anything with him. His words stopped abruptly.
Li Che's face turned even uglier. He pretended not to see the strange looks from the Zhao family servants. "The gifts are all in Madam's car. I went back to change clothes temporarily, so I was a step behind Madam."
The steward was very smart. He just laughed twice, let the matter go, and asked the servant to lead him in.
This was Li Che's third visit to the Zhao family. The first time was when he and Luo came to propose marriage, and the second time was when he came to pick up the bride on the wedding day. Only now was this his third visit.
The Zhao family mansion is located in the inner city, only three streets away from the imperial palace. The mansion is much larger than the Li residence. Two stone lions stand with their heads held high on both sides of the doorstep, restrained and solemn, just like the Zhao family's noble style.
Li Che walked up the stone steps and around the corridor. When he reached the second door, he saw Zhao Qingyi standing in the hall with her back to him.
Unlike the calmness and composure she showed when facing him, Zhao Qingyi seemed like a different person after returning to her mother's home. She was crying in Meng's arms at this moment, showing a vulnerability that he had never seen her see before.
Li Che was slightly stunned, and his anger inexplicably subsided a lot.
As for Zhao Qingyi's mother, Meng, she is less than 40 years old this year. She is still a beautiful woman with fair skin and graceful figure. Her eyebrows, eyes and facial features are about 60% similar to Zhao Qingyi, but there is a faint sense of illness on her face. She was left with a deficiency of qi and blood when she gave birth that year. She has been relying on old mountain ginseng to nourish her body for so many years.
She was trying to comfort her daughter, but when she looked up and saw Li Che, she quickly whispered to comfort her, "Okay, okay, stop crying, or the Li family will think you're here to complain."
On the way back to Beijing, Meng had heard a lot of rumors and guessed that her daughter was not having a good time in the Li family.
Hearing her whispered reminder, Zhao Qingyi stood up straight and stopped crying.
Zhao Huaiyi happened to be coming from the inner courtyard. He was exhausted from the journey, so he went back to bathe and change into a plain straight Taoist robe. He saw Li Che in the corridor opposite and smiled politely, "My dear son-in-law is here."
Zhao Huaiyi is tall, with a neat beard and clear features. He has always been low-key and unpretentious, and does not have the arrogance of a high position. Instead, he is very approachable.
Li Che came back to his senses, lowered his head and quickly stepped forward, bowing to the two of them, "The son-in-law greets his father-in-law and mother-in-law."
Zhao Huaiyi patted his shoulder and said, "We are all family, no need to be polite."
Mrs. Meng stood aside. Unlike Zhao Huaiyi, she was not as elegant and polite. After covering her lips and coughing twice, she pulled the corner of her mouth and said, "Banpan has been crying just now. She is very worried about her brother. I will take her to the backyard first."
Banpan is the nickname given to her daughter by Mrs. Meng, which is taken from "Wanwan is graceful and elegant, Banpan is like a painting".
Zhao Huaiyi has always been sympathetic to Meng's difficulties over the years. Hearing her cough, he hurriedly said, "Then go quickly. I will entertain you here."
The mother and daughter of the Meng family bowed and were led to the backyard by the maid. Li Che's eyes were still following Zhao Qingyi's back.
The backyard is where the Zhao family's children live, so I guess Zhao Manyi is also in the backyard.
"Father-in-law, I heard that my uncle had a head injury. I wonder how his current situation is?" He wanted to follow him.
"It's just a minor injury, nothing serious." Zhao Huaiyi asked him to sit down and have some tea. Li Che had no choice but to deal with it here.
After Zhao Qingyi and Meng had gone far away, she asked, "Mother, why don't you see Grandmother?"
"When your grandmother learned that we had nearly escaped danger and had now returned safely, she said she would go to Xiangguo Temple to fast for two months before coming back." Old Lady Zhao had spoken, and Meng Shi couldn't disobey, so she could only let her do as she pleased.
"What a coincidence." Zhao Qingyi felt a little regretful for not being able to see her grandmother. Then she asked, "Mother, how did the accident happen to you on the way?"
Meng briefly recounted what had happened. Thinking back on it now, she still felt a pang of fear. "...By the way, I'm still wondering, what was your intention in having your cousin deliver the letter? Why did you send us on a detour back to Beijing via Shunde Prefecture? Could it be related to this robber?"
Zhao Qingyi wanted her parents to avoid this disaster, so she said that she wanted to eat the snacks from Shunde Prefecture. Out of love for her daughter, Zhao Huaiyi and Meng went there in person. It was not until the robbery incident came out that Meng wondered whether her daughter knew something in advance.
The matter of rebirth was difficult to explain, so Zhao Qingyi used Zhang Wanyan as an excuse. "Before His Majesty summoned you back to the capital, Wanyan quietly told me that my father would be promoted to the cabinet. Coincidentally, I also heard that robbers and murderers were frequent in Shanxi. Mother, you are a daughter of the Meng family, so you are easily targeted. I thought that Shunde Prefecture was peaceful, so I asked you to take a detour on your way back to the capital. I didn't expect..."
"Alas, man proposes, God disposes." Seeing her guilty look, Mrs. Meng held her hand and comforted her, "If they had been targeting us earlier, we wouldn't have been able to escape this disaster even if we had traveled to the ends of the earth. But look at us now, we're all safe."
While the mother and daughter were talking, they had already arrived at the courtyard of their younger brother Zhao Lanyan. Several servants were guarding outside the house. Zhao Lanyan, who was lying on the couch, had just taken her medicine. When she heard the servants' greetings, she knew her sister had arrived, so she quickly lifted her quilt and got out of bed.
"elder sister!"
Zhao Lanyan didn't even bother to put on his shoes and ran to the door barefoot. There was a bandage wrapped around his head, and his pale face was a little more vibrant due to his excitement.
Zhao Qingyi's eyes were filled with tears again. When she got married, her brother was only nine years old and only as tall as her waist. Three years passed in the blink of an eye, and now the young boy standing in front of her was only half a head shorter than her.
Zhao Qingyi touched the top of his head, his eyes swept across his wounds, full of heartache.
"Sister, it's just a minor injury. It won't hurt." Zhao Lan grinned and even performed a set of boxing moves on the spot, his martial arts skills were so vigorous. "Look, sister, I can still practice martial arts."
Mrs. Meng was at a loss for words. The Zhao family had always produced upright scholars, but here they had a boy who didn't like studying but loved wielding swords. "Look at you, you naughty monkey! Now that your injury has healed, go back to studying and practicing calligraphy tomorrow."
Zhao Lanyan, who had been in high spirits, uttered a painful "Ah!", his face wrinkled, and he held his head and wailed, "Oh, my head hurts... I feel dizzy..."
He staggered and pretended to faint, and the maid in the room went over to support him and helped him to the bed to rest.
Zhao Qingyi knew that his younger brother did not like studying. It was because he had heard about the heroic deeds of the current emperor when he was only sixteen years old when he conquered the northwest. Since then, he was full of passion and wanted to become a military general. When he was asked to study on weekdays, he would secretly run away to practice martial arts, and was often beaten for this.
Zhao Qingyi shook her head and laughed, then advised Meng, "Mother, I think my brother has some talent for martial arts. Why don't you let him try and follow his own path?"
Since the rise of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, people valued literature over military affairs and were proud to become officials through imperial examinations. The Zhao family had several generations of literary talent and held a prominent position in Daliang. However, in their eldest branch, there was only one legitimate son, Zhao Lanyan. Naturally, his father Zhao Huaiyi had high hopes for him. Unfortunately, Zhao Lanyan really didn't like studying and was often tortured to the point of wanting to die.
Thinking of the almost extinct eldest wife in his previous life, Zhao Qingyi felt that it was enough to be alive. He had finally saved his life. Instead of forcing his younger brother to get what he wanted, it would be better to fulfill his wish and let him make his own way. At least he would have no regrets.
Having narrowly escaped death, Meng's mentality had changed. She was no longer as harsh on Zhao Lan as before, but she still gave him a glare. "No wonder you're so obsessed with returning to the capital. It turns out you know your sister will spoil you."
Zhao Lanyan heard that Meng was about to give in, and continued to chuckle.
Mrs. Meng ignored him and pulled Zhao Qingyi to sit in the inner room. "Don't worry about your brother. I heard that you adopted a son some time ago. How old is that child? What's his character like?"
Zhao Qingyi knew that she couldn't hide it from her, so she told her everything about Li Jiao's background. As for the matter between Li Che and Zhao Manyi, she didn't tell Meng because she didn't want her mother to worry.
When Meng heard her praise Li Jiao for being a hardworking and sensible child, she sighed and said, "What a pitiful one." In her heart, she became more and more dissatisfied with her son-in-law Li Che. If she had known that he already had a child with his concubine, she would have risked disobeying the old lady and sacrificed the reputation of the first wife, rather than let her daughter suffer this grievance.
Fortunately, this child is quite sensible. If he can be filial to Zhao Qingyi in the future, she will not care about the child's background.
"Since you like this child and have placed him in the Zhao family school, you must be hoping for his best. I thought that when you have time, you should ask your father to invite the great scholar Mr. Kong from the capital to take a look at this child. If Mr. Kong is willing to accept him as a student, it will be of great benefit to him in the future when he passes the imperial examinations. And since you are his legitimate mother, it will bring honor to you."
After weighing the pros and cons, Meng added, "However... you still have to hurry up and have a biological child as soon as possible. Only then can you be absolutely safe in the Li family."
No matter how much she disliked Li Che, her daughter was already married and life had to go on. Meng naturally had to make arrangements for her daughter. She let Zhao Qingyi give birth to her own child, which was also a choice that most women from wealthy families would make.
Zhao Qingyi didn't dare tell Meng that she was planning a divorce, so she just smiled faintly and responded.
The mother and daughter had just spoken for a while when Qiao Yue came over to report, "Madam, the young master has arrived, and the eldest princess has also sent someone with gifts."
Meng Jiawen's arrival was expected, but the fact that the princess actually sent someone to give them gifts made Meng flattered. "How can this be possible?"
She hurried to the door and saw servants carrying large and small bags into the backyard.
"The Princess and her husband saved our lives, so we should go and express our gratitude. How can we let the Princess spend money and then send us gifts instead?"
The housekeeper ran to Zhao Huaiyi and whispered to him. Zhao Huaiyi was also shocked. He quickly went to the backyard and discussed with Meng how to return the gift.
Li Che was left in the front hall, not knowing what was going on. When he saw Zhao Huaiyi heading towards the backyard, he hesitated for a moment and got up to follow him. He saw Zhao Huaiyi and his wife whispering something in the yard. He couldn't hear clearly because they were too far away. Just as he was about to walk over, a maid passed by him and turned back to give him a look.
Li Che paused. He recognized the maid. She was the one who served Zhao Manyi. Her name was Xiaoman.
Thinking of this, he turned around the corridor and followed the maid all the way west. The backyard was divided into two courtyards, east and west. The east courtyard was the residence of the eldest son, and the west courtyard was the residence of the second son.
Unlike the bustling east wing, the west wing was much quieter and he didn't meet anyone along the way. Xiaoman was familiar with the route and led him to a rockery and then left.
Zhao Manyi poked her head out from behind the rockery and spoke in a mournful tone, "Brother-in-law..."
The red rash on her face had faded a lot. Today she was not wearing a veil and only put on a little makeup. At first glance, she looked no different from usual.
Li Che looked around and saw no one around, so he quickly walked around to the back of the rockery. Zhao Manyi threw herself into his arms.
After the last quarrel with Li Che, Zhao Manyi was left out for several days, which made her unable to sleep or eat. In addition to worrying about Jun Ge'er, she was also afraid that Li Che would dislike her. When she heard that Zhao Qingyi and Li Che had returned home, she couldn't wait to ask someone to bring him over.
"Brother-in-law, Man'er knows she was wrong. I shouldn't have argued with you last time. Please don't be angry, okay?" Zhao Manyi used her old tricks and cried bitterly.
Li Che was softened by her crying and hugged her back, "It's good that you know your mistake."
Zhao Manyi was the best at climbing up the pole, and she immediately offered her lips. The two of them hid behind the rockery and made out for a while. When Zhao Manyi felt dizzy, Li Che put his mouth to her neck and said, "Man'er, do you miss Jun'er?"
Zhao Manyi narrowed her eyes, "I want to..."
"So, do you want to go into the mansion?"
Zhao Manyi suddenly regained consciousness, her face filled with joy. "Are you going to divorce Zhao Qingyi and marry me?"
Li Che knew that she was thinking about the position of wife, and fell silent when he heard it.
Zhao Manyi suddenly understood, and her expression changed instantly as she pushed Li Che away. "If you don't divorce her, she wants me to marry her. Are you asking me to be your mistress?"
"Man'er, it's really Jun who misses you." Li Che tried to impress her with his son. "He cries in front of his grandmother every day, and insists that you live with him."
Zhao Manyi didn't want to listen and turned her head away. "Stop talking. I won't be a concubine unless you divorce Zhao Qingyi and marry me in a grand sedan chair."
Li Che wanted to say that if she really had integrity, she would not have run to Lingnan to be his concubine and give birth to a son for him. Now she was talking about marrying into the family in a dignified manner. Isn't it ridiculous?
On the surface, he still gently put his arm around her shoulders and said, "Man'er, listen to me. Being a concubine is only temporary. One day in the future, I will definitely make you my wife."
"Then wait until you divorce Zhao Qingyi before that." Anyway, she couldn't marry him before then. "If Jun'er misses me, you can arrange for us to meet."
"Man'er!" Li Che was slightly annoyed. "Wife and concubine are just different statuses, but my love for you will not diminish in the slightest. When you arrive at the Li family, I will give you the best food, clothing, and other necessities. Just consider it as a slight sacrifice for Jun'er, okay?"
Thinking of Jun Ge'er, Zhao Manyi sobbed again, "I don't want it. Anyway, I don't want to be a concubine..."
She is a concubine now. Even if she is promoted to the wife in the future, her son Jun will be labeled as a bastard and will always be superior to Zhao Qingyi's children. This is not the result she wants.
She was crying, and suddenly she thought of something. She turned her head and looked at Li Che suspiciously, "You never asked me to be your concubine before, why did you change your mind now?"
"You can't bear to part with Zhao Qingyi, so you want me and want to live a good life with her at the same time, right?"
Seeing that she was getting more stubborn, Li Che turned and left. He knew Zhao Manyi, and she wouldn't dare to make a fuss if he was angry.
As expected, as soon as he turned around, Zhao Manyi didn't dare to speak and hurriedly grabbed his sleeve, "Brother-in-law..."
Li Che's frown suddenly relaxed, but he still pretended to be unhappy and brushed away Zhao Manyi's hand. "Don't worry, if you don't want to, I won't force you."
"Brother-in-law, that's not what I meant..." Zhao Manyi panicked, and crystal tears rolled down her face.
Li Che sighed, "There are many troubles in the mansion. I won't come to see you recently, so I won't mention the matter of making you my concubine. You don't have to cry."
Zhao Manyi was anxious to please him, so she asked, "Brother-in-law, what happened to make you so upset?"
Li Che waited for her to ask, then sighed again, "It's all my sister's fault for angering the Loyal and Brave Marquis's Mansion. Now the Marquis's Mansion is demanding a dowry of 30,000 taels. Otherwise, my Li family will be in turmoil, and even my career will be in their hands."
It's actually like this.
Zhao Manyi's eyes flashed, "Then, then can you take out these thirty thousand taels?"
"If I had these thirty thousand taels, I wouldn't have to worry so much." Li Che hugged Zhao Manyi again. "Man'er, if I were suspended from work and stayed home forever, or even if one day I were ostracized by the nobles and expelled from the capital, would you... would you still be willing to follow me?"
What? Suspended from work and expelled from the capital?
How can this be!
"No, no, Zhao Qingyi has a generous dowry, you should ask her for money."
Li Che choked. If Zhao Qingyi was willing to take the money, why would he come to her?
Zhao Manyi seemed to see the embarrassment in his eyes, and her body swayed and she almost fainted. Zhao Qingyi, this cold-hearted woman, didn't even care about her husband's life or death.
But if she doesn't care, Li Che will definitely not be able to come up with so much money. By then, the Li family will be finished, and her brother Jun will be finished too.
Zhao Manyi hesitated for a long time before she gritted her teeth and made up her mind. "My mother did prepare a dowry for me. After I divorced, I brought all the dowry back with me. It should still be in my mother's hands now."
Although it’s not much, it’s still a few thousand taels.
Li Che was deeply moved. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "I knew that you, Man'er, are the only one who truly treats me well and is willing to help me. I swear, when I rise to prominence in the future, I will send Zhao Qingyi away and marry you in a grand ceremony as my legal wife."
The two were so affectionate, but they didn't know that the housekeeper was on the other side of the rockery and heard their conversation clearly.
The housekeeper felt like the sky was falling.
Zhao Huaiyi and Meng were preparing to take their family to the Princess's Mansion to express their gratitude. She was sent by Zhao Qingyi to find Li Che. However, she asked around in the east wing but couldn't find Li Che's whereabouts, so she went to the west wing of the second house to look for him. She never expected to hear these dirty words.
The housekeeper immediately recalled that on the day she returned from Xiangguo Temple, she heard a voice at the door that sounded like the Third Young Lady. Now that she thought about it, she was not mistaken that day; it was indeed the Third Young Lady.
The Third Miss and the Master have an affair, and have been secretly doing so behind the back of the Grandmother! The Jun brother they brought back to the mansion is their illegitimate child!
The housekeeper knew that this matter was of great importance, so she held her breath and tiptoed away from the vicinity of the rockery. As soon as she reached the east wing, she ran to report to Zhao Qingyi.
"Grandma, something terrible has happened!"
Zhao Qingyi, her parents, and her younger brother were all in the front hall. Meng Jiawen was also there. The housekeeper came running over, and when she saw the people in the room, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue, "Grandma..."
Seeing that she was hesitant to speak, Zhao Qingyi guessed what she meant, so she said to Zhao Huaiyi, "Father, you two go outside first. I'm going to look for my husband and will be back later."
Zhao Huaiyi and Meng looked at each other, tacitly did not ask any further questions, and led Zhao Lanyan out first.
As soon as everyone left, the housekeeper leaned over to Zhao Qingyi's ear and trembled, "Grandma, I heard with my own ears that Master, he, he, and the Third Miss..."
She quickly told Zhao Qingyi about their affair. After hearing it, she asked Qiao Yue to give her some money. "I know. Keep it a secret for now and don't let anyone else know."
"I saved it." The housekeeper's heart was still beating fast. In comparison, Zhao Qingyi, the person involved, was much calmer.
Since Li Che is busy having an affair with Zhao Manyi, there is no need to bring him along when going to meet the princess.
Zhao Qingyi got up and left. Zhao Huaiyi and Meng at the door saw that she came alone and were too lazy to ask Li Che. It was getting late, so it was more important to rush to the princess's mansion to express their gratitude.
In the inner city, there is almost a noble family every five steps and a powerful person every ten steps. For example, the Zhao family is next to the Pingxi Prince's Mansion, and the eldest princess's mansion is closer to the imperial city, only one street away from the Zhao family. The family can walk to the princess's mansion.
The Princess's Mansion was bestowed by His Majesty, so it is naturally extremely luxurious, and the royal style and dignity can be seen everywhere. The two white marble pillars in front of the gate alone are worth a lot of money, and there are imperial guards guarding the door.
When they saw Zhao Huaiyi and his group, the leader bowed respectfully and led them into the mansion without any neglect.
The eldest princess understood Zhao Huaiyi's character and guessed that he would bring his family to express his gratitude, so she waited in the hall early.
Zhao Qingyi had never seen the eldest princess before. As soon as she entered, she was attracted by the person sitting there. Different from her inherent impression of the royal family, she was a young woman in her early twenties. Although she was wearing a red brocade palace dress with gold decoration, her demeanor and behavior were unrestrained and free.
When the Zhao family was about to kneel down to pay their respects, she supported Zhao Huaiyi and said with a smile, "We have met several times and are already familiar with each other. There is no need to be polite."
On the way back to the capital, Zhao Huaiyi and Meng had figured out the eldest princess's temperament, so they did not pretend to be nice to her. Instead, they sat down one by one as arranged by the maid.
The eldest princess's eyes swept over the Meng family members. They were all familiar faces. When she came to Meng Jiawen, although she had just met him for the first time, she nodded in greeting until her eyes fell on Zhao Qingyi.
She couldn't wait to see the eldest daughter of the Zhao family, so she walked straight towards Zhao Qingyi.
Zhao Qingyi didn't dare to sit any longer and stood up to respond.
The eldest princess walked around her, not disguising her scrutiny. "I've heard that the Zhao family's daughter is stunningly beautiful, dignified and polite. Seeing her today, I can see she's truly extraordinary."
It’s no wonder that the emperor values the Zhao family so much. It’s a pity that such a good woman is already married.
The princess's beautiful eyes were full of admiration. At this moment, two more figures stepped over the threshold and walked in. Zhao Huaiyi and the others bowed and said in unison, "Greetings to the Prince Consort..."
Then he paused and everyone looked at the strange man beside the prince consort.
Zhao Huaiyi was so perceptive that as early as when the two of them entered the door, he noticed that the prince consort did not dare to walk side by side with the man, but was slightly behind by half a step, which showed that this man's status was higher than that of the prince consort.
In this brief moment of stagnation, Zhao Qingyi turned sideways and raised his eyes.
Chu Yuanhe happened to be looking in her direction, and their eyes met unexpectedly in the air and suddenly collided.
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