Chapter 4 Chapter 4 "You are a jinx who brings misfortune to your husband!"...
A quarter of an hour later, the farce in Qionghua Hall was completely calmed down. The servants borrowed from the Meng family moved the things to Lanyue Pavilion nimbly in a short while. Then, more than twenty people stood in a row respectfully.
Qiao Yue was very proud, she stood in the corridor with her hands on her hips, and said with a look of wanting credit, "Look, grandma, I got everything back for you."
"Well done." Zhao Qingyi stood aside, gently waving her round fan, her brows soft, "Tan Yue, weigh out a handful of barley for each of them."
These people were originally sent by Meng Jiawen, the young master of the Meng family. Naturally, they would receive a reward after completing their tasks. In addition, they had stolen a lot of things in Qionghua Hall, and their grandmother didn't care. They were already satisfied, and they didn't expect that they would receive another reward. They were busy expressing their gratitude.
Tan Yue weighed the food and gave everyone a handful. "Now that we're out of the Li family, do you all know what to say?"
"I know, I know. We servants will go out and talk to them properly." The servant girl took the silver cleverly, smiling so much that her teeth were showing.
After everyone left, Qiao Yue checked the things that were moved back one by one and counted them and put them into storage.
Tan Yue returned to Zhao Qingyi's side, a look of worry on her face. "Grandma, I heard that the old lady fainted from anger. What should I do if she complains to you when you come back?"
It’s not that she was afraid of Luo. Tan Yue was just worried that her grandmother’s sudden behavior would have a bad impact on the Li family. If it affected the uncle’s official reputation, it would affect the relationship between the uncle and grandmother.
However, Zhao Qingyi, who lived a new life, did not care about the so-called love between husband and wife at all. In her thirty-six years of life and twenty years of marriage, she had seen through Li Che's heartless and fickle nature. Love was worthless.
"They acted shamelessly and brought rumors to me. As a mother, they don't even consider their own sons, and they want me to put myself in a difficult position and take care of them?"
ridiculous.
Tan Yue has always been good at observing people's words and expressions, but for a moment she couldn't figure out her grandmother's temperament and thoughts. She always felt that her grandmother seemed to have changed a lot after waking up.
But it’s hard to say whether it’s good or bad.
At this moment, Qiao Yue, who was originally very happy, came running over and said, "Oh no, grandma, I just went to the storeroom and found that your dowry seal is missing."
That's something extremely important.
Tan Yue was also shocked.
Zhao Qingyi was very calm and not surprised at all.
How could Luo Shi give up the private seal when she wanted to seize her dowry? With the private seal in hand, she would be the owner of her dowry shop and control all her money.
In her previous life, she took Li Che into consideration and turned a blind eye to Luo's actions, not wanting to make things too embarrassing.
In this life, the Luo family has hit a wall.
"The private seal is in the hands of my mother-in-law, but to avoid alerting the enemy, I will keep it secret for now."
Thinking of the two maids who had worked tirelessly with him in his past life, running around without complaint and aging prematurely, Zhao Qingyi didn't want to keep them in the dark. "Let me be frank with you. I don't want to be a wife of the Li family anymore, let alone a husband-wife relationship. So you don't have to care about anyone in the Li family. As for you, if you don't like me, you can divorce me as soon as possible."
When Zhao Qingyi mentioned her marriage with Li Che, she felt unlucky and turned back to her room, leaving the two maids, Tan Yue and Qiao Yue, staring at each other.
Divorce...reconcile?
This is even more shocking than the old lady stealing grandma's private seal.
—
That night, the moon shone brightly into the water.
In Qionghua Hall, Luo had just woken up and was lying on a half-worn reed mat, crying out "Ouch, ouch." She was used to sleeping on a soft bed and a high pillow, so how could she tolerate the rough and cheap thing under her? She cried out in pain and cursed at the same time.
"I can't live like this anymore. That bitch actually...actually...When my son comes back, I'm going to teach this little bitch a lesson!"
Luo cursed excitedly, and in the excitement he raised his upper body. There was a "crack" sound, and Luo felt his lumbar spine numb. He cried out in pain again, "My waist... my waist..."
Li Susu stood by, wiping away tears. Suddenly, she heard Luo's cry and hurried over to help her. "Mom! Mom, please don't get too excited. Take care of yourself!"
But Mrs. Luo couldn't swallow this.
Qionghua Hall and Lanyue Pavilion were only separated by a door. It was now late at night and the group of servants borrowed from the Meng family had left. Zhao Qingyi must not have many people around him, so Luo Shi became furious and pounded the bed angrily.
"No, help me up! I want to ask her what she's planning! Is she deliberately torturing us mother and daughter? If so, when Che'er comes back, tell her to get out immediately!"
Li Susu had exactly this in mind. She hadn't had time to complain when Luo fainted before, and now the new and old grudges were combined together, so she wanted Zhao Qingyi to give an explanation.
Mrs. Luo supported her old waist which had just been sprained, stood up tremblingly, walked to the door, turned back, and asked the maid to dress her up. She took out her most precious dark purple satin jacket, the lapels and cuffs of which were embroidered with intricate twined flower patterns, and paired it with a snail-green horse-faced skirt.
At this point, Luo still felt that it was not decent enough, so she walked to the window with the help of Li Susu, smashed the potted plants on the table, and dug out a lot of gold hairpins and pearl flowers from a pile of yellow mud.
Li Susu almost dropped her jaw in shock, "Mom...you..."
"Hmph, I knew long ago that Zhao was nothing. She relied on her good family background to look down on our Li family. She usually gave us gifts as if we were giving alms to a dog. Look, today her true colors are revealed and she wants to take everything back. If I hadn't been careful, I, your mother, wouldn't even be able to keep these few things."
"But, if Zhao sees you take it out..."
"No." Luo's smile was sinister, and her triangular eyes gleamed. "These are not on her dowry list. What reason does she have to leave?"
During these three years, they often wandered around jewelry stores in Beijing. With such high monthly expenses, it was not surprising that they could save some gold and silver privately.
Li Susu suddenly realized and couldn't help but admire, "Mom is really thoughtful."
After Luo washed and dried the gold hairpins, she inserted them into her bun in front of the bronze mirror. Soon, the thin bun was full of hairpins, and it made a jingling sound when she walked.
Lose the battle but not the battle, that's what it means to be dignified.
Luo straightened her back, put on a cold face, and walked towards Lanyue Pavilion in a threatening manner.
However, when they arrived at Lanyue Pavilion, they found the gate closed. Luo just raised her hand to knock on the door, but then she changed her mind, picked up a medium-sized brick from the ground, and knocked on the gate.
The brick was knocked on the door, making a loud noise. After only two or three hits, Tan Yue, who was guarding the ear room, was awakened.
She ran to the corridor and looked towards the courtyard gate, only to see the heavy wooden door trembling from being knocked. Tan Yue was hesitating about what to do when Luo's shouting and cursing came over the courtyard wall.
"Zhao! You are a bitch who has no manners, disrespects elders, and humiliates your mother-in-law! Hurry up and get up!"
"Today I fell ill, and you didn't come to my bedside to tend to me. Now I've come looking for you, but you've locked the door. Is this the good daughter your Zhao family has raised?"
Tan Yue was secretly frightened and subconsciously glanced at the surrounding courtyard walls. Outside the courtyard wall of Lanyue Pavilion were neighbors, where many women from officials' families lived. It would be difficult to hide any noise made in the middle of the night.
Just as Tan Yue was about to go into the house to report to Zhao Qingyi, the door creaked open.
Zhao Qingyi was standing at the door wearing a plain wide-sleeved silk gown. In the dim moonlight, her fair oval face could not tell whether she was happy or angry.
In the alley, the clapperboard sounded three times and then stopped abruptly, as if it had heard some movement from the Li family.
"Grandma, what should we do now?"
Tan Yue hurried up the stairs and approached Zhao Qingyi. "If this continues, these dirty words will spread to the neighbors. I'm afraid it will damage Grandma's reputation."
Zhao Qingyi unexpectedly made the opposite decision, "Go, open the corner door at the back."
It's the Li family's shame anyway. It's the Li family's face that's lost, it's Li Che's face. As for her...
For someone who has died once, how can face be as important as real benefits?
This time, she wanted not only the dowry, but also the power to be the head of the Li family. Without the stupid and foolish Luo in front of her, how could she show her power?
It’s better to make a bigger fuss, take it to court, and report it to the Jinyiwei.
By then everyone should know that having her, Zhao Qingyi, be the head of the family is the safest and most advantageous choice. Even if Li Che comes back, he won't dare to say a word.
Tan Yue probably understood her grandmother's intention, and she nodded in agreement and went to do it.
Qiao Yue, who had already gone to bed, was also woken up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and came over. "Grandma, is this old hag crazy? She's not sleeping in the middle of the night, and why is she yelling?"
She rolled up her sleeves and said, "See how I scold her back!"
"It's nothing serious." Zhao Qingyi crossed his arms, calm and composed. "If a mad dog bites you, are you going to bite back like it?"
Qiao Yue endured it again and again and finally refrained from cursing.
Fortunately, Tan Yue came back soon. She nodded slightly at Zhao Qingyi and said, "The old lady's voice is so loud that it can be heard from the two nearby streets."
Almost as soon as Tan Yue finished speaking, the door was banged again, accompanied by Luo's increasingly fierce curses.
"It's all because of you, you jinx! My son has a bright future ahead of him. If it weren't for you, how could he have been exiled to that barren, desolate place for three whole years? Ever since my son married you, our Li family has been in constant turmoil! Not only do you not know how to serve your mother-in-law, but you even brought your own family to humiliate me!"
"You rely on your family's power and influence to ignore me, your mother-in-law. Aren't you afraid that God will open his eyes and strike you, an unfilial daughter-in-law, to death with a bolt of lightning?"
Zhao Qingyi in the courtyard laughed instead of getting angry.
Isn’t it because of your mother’s family?
At this time in her previous life, her parents and brother were still alive. Even though Luo Shi secretly disliked her and plotted against her dowry, at least on the surface, they still maintained a neutral relationship, that is, a mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, until her father was transferred back to Beijing and encountered a robbery and murder...
Zhao Qingyi will never forget that half a month after Li Che returned home, she received the tragic news from Shanxi: her parents and younger brother died, the Zhao family's eldest branch was extinct, and she was the only daughter who married out.
Her grandmother, the old lady of the Zhao family, could not bear the blow of losing her son, and she fell ill overnight and passed away soon after.
From then on, all the people closest to her in the Zhao family were gone, and she went from being a beloved noble lady to an orphan overnight.
She lost her father who was a cabinet minister, her mother who was from an imperial merchant family, her beloved younger brother, and her grandmother who loved her so much.
Apart from the hundreds of thousands of dowry that she had brought to the Li family, Zhao Qingyi no longer had any value that could be used.
When she was in trouble, she finally realized who was around her. Luo no longer concealed her ambition and malice. She seized all the dowry in her name, found fault with her, set endless rules for her every day, and even disagreed with her observing a three-year mourning period for her deceased parents. She forced her to consummate the marriage with Li Che and continue the Li family's lineage.
In order to gain a foothold in the Li family, she had no choice but to give in and endure after losing her support.
She still remembers the pain of the wedding consummation day. She was dressed in mourning, she cried, she begged, but she could not get even a trace of sympathy from Mrs. Luo. As her husband, Li Che chose to watch coldly and chose to force her.
At that time, she felt like she was in hell, suffering both physically and mentally.
She had never felt so disgusted by her husband before.
She was forced to consummate the marriage that day and became pregnant, but because of the rules that Luo set day after day, she still had a miscarriage in the snow, and she developed a chronic illness from then on.
Luo and Li Che could finally take a concubine legally, and asked her to accept the illegitimate child as her legitimate son.
Zhao Qingyi originally thought that it was all her own fault, and she even felt guilty about it. She raised Li Che's illegitimate son as her own son and devoted her entire life to him. She wasted all the affection her father had accumulated during his lifetime to pave the way for Li Che's career.
But in the end...
Zhao Qingyi learned the whole truth only when he was dying.
Recalling his previous life, Zhao Qingyi felt cold all over, chilled to the bone.
She closed her eyes in pain.
Even if she were to live her life again, or even if this life had not happened before, she would never be able to let go of these hatreds, let alone forgive them.
She wants everyone to pay the price. She wants these people to pay back the pain she once felt a hundredfold or a thousandfold!
When he opened his eyes again, there was only an inhuman coldness in Zhao Qingyi's eyes.
"Zhao, you're such a jinx! It's all your fault! You've ruined my son! You've ruined the Li family!"
Outside the yard, Luo was still yelling and cursing.
As she yelled and cursed for longer, Qiao Yue, who was originally angry, became less angry. Especially when she heard Luo complain about her son being exiled to Lingnan, she suddenly curled up the corners of her mouth and looked at Tan Yue, as if to say that Luo was doomed.
Once Li Che passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi, he could have entered the Hanlin Academy directly. However, for some reason he offended the current emperor and was exiled to Heshan County in Lingnan on his wedding night. However, Luo was crude and stupid, and did not know the reason. She often talked about this matter and blamed everything on Zhao Qingyi. She stubbornly believed that it was her horoscope that would bring bad luck to her husband, and she said to everyone she met that she was unlucky, as if trampling on her in this way could save the Li family's face.
Little did they know that if these words fell into the ears of someone with ulterior motives, they would be considered to have committed a serious crime of disrespect for the Li family.
It is said that thunder, lightning, rain and dew are all grace from the emperor. Even if you are demoted or beheaded, you have to thank him. But Luo is clamoring for dissatisfaction. On the surface, she is dissatisfied with her daughter-in-law Zhao Qingyi, but in fact, she is dissatisfied with the fact that His Majesty sent Li Che to Lingnan three years ago.
In the previous life, in order to protect the Li family and Li Che's official position, Zhao Qingyi often followed Luo's mother and daughter to clean up the mess. Now there is no need for her to say more, just watch Luo get into trouble.
After hearing what he wanted to hear, Zhao Qingyi felt relieved and at peace.
If we hurry, we can see the results tomorrow morning.
"It's getting late, go back and rest."
The three of them dispersed.
Outside the Lanyue Pavilion, Luo was tired of smashing and scolding, so she dejectedly threw down the brick in her hand and found a stone step to sit down with the help of Li Susu.
"Mother, I think Zhao is deliberately unwilling to pay attention to us. She has been banging on the door like this and there is no response. How about we come back tomorrow morning?"
"I don't believe she can stay in there forever without going out." Luo Shi was relentless and it seemed as if she was going to stay there until dawn.
Li Susu had no choice but to guard the gate with her, but she was so sleepy that she fell asleep in a daze.
The next day, at daybreak, the neighbor's rooster crowed three times, and the housekeeper's mother also screamed.
"Old lady, it's bad, it's bad!"
The housekeeper ran, stumbling and falling, shouting, "The Imperial Guards are here!"
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